Sylvania Intellivision video problems?

[pally321]

Hey guys, I got an amazing deal at a garage sale that had an Intellivision with a ton of games, a case, and all the manuals and controller covers, for $3. Anyways, when I hook it up and turn it on, all I get is static. The static distorts a little when it's turned on so I'm assuming it's getting power.

I've tried all of these things:

- Toggling the channel selector on the bottom

- Switching channels

- Using an Atari RF adapter

- Changing the RF wires

 

I'm starting to worry I might need to repair it. Does anyone have any idea on what to do?

[ZarK]

not sure about the Sylvania, but the Intellivision 1 or original had this cheesy ribbon power strip that liked to corrode and disintegrate, thus causing a loss of power to the board, and whole lotta nuttin' on tv.

Some Duckduckgo.com search result: http://www.intvfunhouse.com/tech/ribbon/

The repair obviously requires one to open it up and solder stuff inside. Suprisingly, not many people know how to do this and it's highly recommended to locate a person who can if you all thumbs.

 

That's the first thing I'd check, and if it's more than that, welp... whip out the oscilloscope and other electronics stuff to diagnose the logic IC's, which btw is above my intelligence I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be smrt.

[HunterZero]

Sounds like the channel is not tuned to the Intellivision. Just choosing the channel on the selector is often not enough. Did you tune the TV while the unit was turned on and connected to search for the Intellivision signal? Most modern TVs have an auto search tuning function or you can fine tune it manually.

 

- J

Edited August 7, 2013 by HunterZero

[pally321]

Sounds like the channel is not tuned to the Intellivision. Just choosing the channel on the selector is often not enough. Did you tune the TV while the unit was turned on and connected to search for the Intellivision signal? Most modern TVs have an auto search tuning function or you can fine tune it manually.

 

- J

 

Sorry it took a while to reply, but I tried this to no avail. I also tried using a VCR as someone recommended using the VCR as a pass-through, but that didn't work either.

 

not sure about the Sylvania, but the Intellivision 1 or original had this cheesy ribbon power strip that liked to corrode and disintegrate, thus causing a loss of power to the board, and whole lotta nuttin' on tv.

Some Duckduckgo.com search result: http://www.intvfunho...om/tech/ribbon/

The repair obviously requires one to open it up and solder stuff inside. Suprisingly, not many people know how to do this and it's highly recommended to locate a person who can if you all thumbs.

 

That's the first thing I'd check, and if it's more than that, welp... whip out the oscilloscope and other electronics stuff to diagnose the logic IC's, which btw is above my intelligence I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be smrt.

 

Thanks for the info. I have no idea what the insides are like so hopefully it doesn't have to come down to repairing it.

[HunterZero]

If it's tuned correctly and getting power you should at least get a solid black screen. Did you try bypassing the rf switch box with an rf adapter? It could be an internal rf modulator problem but want to rule out easy stuff before taking the console apart. Easy maintenance is to use deoxit to clean the cartridge port and power switch. If you have a multimeter it is not hard to check power supply board voltages.

 

-J

[pally321]

Did you try bypassing the rf switch box with an rf adapter?

-J

 

Yeah, I bought an adapter, but that didn't work either.

I'm not getting a black screen, so it probably is an internal problem. Would you recommend opening it up to clean the power switch?

[HunterZero]

Yes cleaning the power switch and cart slot with deoxit spray is a good next step. While you have it open, carefully disconnect the power ribbon and ground wire from the power board and check voltages. There's a video on YouTube that shows how it's done.

 

-J

[pally321]

Yes cleaning the power switch and cart slot with deoxit spray is a good next step. While you have it open, carefully disconnect the power ribbon and ground wire from the power board and check voltages. There's a video on YouTube that shows how it's done.

 

-J

 

I just wanted you to know I've been busy this week, I'm planning on trying this out on the weekend. This thread isn't dead just yet.

[HunterZero]

No problem, take your time.

 

It would be good if you had access to a 2nd known working unit that you could use to tune the TV, to definitively take that out of the equation.

 

- J

Edited August 16, 2013 by HunterZero

[ZarK]

Try a VCR, Betamax, or another ancient vintage console.

 

I just showed my age suggesting the BetaMax, huh?

 

If the power switch has corrosion, maybe flipping it on and off (un-plugged from wall socket) about 10 or 100 times might work the corrosion off. I still suspect that ribbon cable tho

[pally321]

No problem, take your time.

 

It would be good if you had access to a 2nd known working unit that you could use to tune the TV, to definitively take that out of the equation.

 

- J

 

Sorry, this weekend got a little out of hand and I didn't have time to test it. And I do wish I had another Intellivision to test.

I think I may just sell it. I figure I'll get bored of it either way. I will try to get it open soon but I don't know much about the internals so I will probably just clean it out and make sure the ribbon cables are tight. If that has no luck I'll probably just sell it.