So I broke one of the dust door push-tabs off of my 7800 last night

[+GoldenWheels]

Maybe it was too much wine, maybe it was my rush to play Gorf (though I think it was Q-bert that actually was in when I done the deed).

 

Now I only have a tab on the right hand side of the cart slot. 2600 games seem tricky getting in now. If the other tab goes...am I going to be unable to get 2600 games in completely?

 

Is there a fix for this? Or do I just have to treat the 7800 with kid gloves from here on out (which is tough already since my cart slot has a death grip)?

[jaybird3rd]

Curt Vendel sells replacement 7800 cartridge guides:

 

http://www.syzygycompany.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=52

[+save2600]

Might want to try Best Electronics if nobody here has one to sell.

 

Or, there you go! ^

Edited December 26, 2013 by save2600

[+GoldenWheels]

Thank you so much jaybird, I believe i am just going to go ahead and order one for when the inevitable happens.

 

This is a relatively simple fix I am hoping? Crack the case, few screws, voila?

[AtariBrian]

Thank you so much jaybird, I believe i am just going to go ahead and order one for when the inevitable happens.

 

This is a relatively simple fix I am hoping? Crack the case, few screws, voila?

Be very careful taking the 7800 apart . Very brittle , even the screw bosses can shatter taking in or out the screws .

[+GoldenWheels]

Be very careful taking the 7800 apart . Very brittle , even the screw bosses can shatter taking in or out the screws .

I have not heard this term before but you mean like the female plastic columns on the inside that receive the screw i assume? So be very careful not to overtighten right?

 

Anybody replaced the connector? Easy? yes? no?

[jaybird3rd]

I have not heard this term before but you mean like the female plastic columns on the inside that receive the screw i assume? So be very careful not to overtighten right?

 

Anybody replaced the connector? Easy? yes? no?

Yes, if you're careful not to over-tighten the screws, you should be fine.

 

Replacing the cartridge guide is fairly easy. Once you open the 7800, you'll find the motherboard inside, enclosed in a thin metal RF shield. I don't remember for certain, but I don't think it's necessary to remove the shield to replace the cartridge guide. The two screws which hold the guide in place are accessed from the bottom side of the board; they're on the left and right sides of the cartridge connector, covered over with masking tape (if there aren't any access holes in the bottom half of the shield, then you'll have to remove it first). Just poke through the tape and remove the screws with a small Phillips screwdriver (a #1 should do nicely), remove the old guide, and screw in the new guide. While you have the 7800 open, you might as well take the opportunity to blow out any dust that you see, and to clean the contacts inside the cartridge port.

[+GoldenWheels]

Thanks and will do....wish I didn't have to go at it from the bottom side of the board (I assume I have to take it entirely out of the casing) but I can handle that.

 

Hopefully this solves my cartridge death grip issue too!

[+GoldenWheels]

Well, after a (advertised) holiday delay and then an UNadvertised delay and an email or two, I got the part from Syzygy. Nice folks.

 

I opened the case, and you do have to take of the RF shield (top and bottom, as they interlock through the board and the top is the female side to the bottom's male bend tabs) to reach the screw heads. There was indeed some masking tape there as you said Jay, easily scraped out of the way. I put the part in, re-assembled the 7800, inserted Joust....and got nothing but a black screen and two brown lines. "oh shit, I broke it" I thought.

 

So I opened it back up and removed the RF shield again, and the cart guide, inserted the cart directly to the board and (carefully) turned it on that way. Game works fine. Tried the old guide back in there....games work fine.

 

Tried the new cart guide again without doing a full case re-assembly, but REALLY lean on the cart putting it in, and (voila!) it works. So I fully re-assemble. But I have to press down very hard on the carts to a somewhat uncomfortable degree to get them to read. The Death Grip of a cart slot I had is definitely looser but it is still not easy to remove the games and man do I have to lean on these things to fully seat them it seems. It's not even a matter of "feel"....it's not like it feels like you are getting that crucial 1/4 of an inch or whatever by pushing hard. Pushing light or pushing easy, it feels like you hit "bottom", but unless you push hard, the game will not read.

 

I'm torn here between not being real impressed by the tolerances of the replacement part (though my old cart slot was tight and the guide broken, it never had an issue actually reading games) and thinking I have a bit of a lemon of a 7800 when it comes to the cart slot. Anyway, I am glad the machine is "whole" again (funny how a tiny missing plastic tab can bug a man) and it works.

 

Lucky for me I guess, Joust basically IS my 7800 and lives in it.

[Lynxpro]

Interesting. I was under the impression that the Syzygy version was of a much higher quality than the stock one.

[+GoldenWheels]

Interesting. I was under the impression that the Syzygy version was of a much higher quality than the stock one.

 

I'd say the plastic of the new one definitely is (though new should be better than 25 year old plastic).

 

it just seems a tiny hair too thick/high, or something. I got it all the way in the board, both clips it has are clipped through and locked on the back side of the board so it's not like I could install it any tighter. Combining that with what seems to be a REALLY tight actual cart port on my 7800 is not helping it perform I guess.

[jaybird3rd]

I'm glad to hear that you were able to successfully replace your guide, although it's too bad it wasn't a better fit. The new Syzygy cartridge guide that I use in my main 7800 isn't quite so tight, but now that I think about it, I've only used my Cuttle Cart 2 in that particular 7800 since I installed the new guide. Atari's 7800 cartridge shells seem to vary ever so slightly in thickness, and the tolerances of the 7800 cartridge port design seem to be too tight to properly allow for these variations. I'm sure I'd have similar difficulties with my 7800 if I tried a wider variety of cartridges.

[Lynxpro]

This is all the more reason I wished the 7800 would've used the 5200 cartridge connector for 7800 games. But then having that and a 2600 cart slot for 2600 games would've required a larger mobo and a larger case...and it would've been more expensive.

[+GoldenWheels]

I'm glad to hear that you were able to successfully replace your guide, although it's too bad it wasn't a better fit. The new Syzygy cartridge guide that I use in my main 7800 isn't quite so tight, but now that I think about it, I've only used my Cuttle Cart 2 in that particular 7800 since I installed the new guide. Atari's 7800 cartridge shells seem to vary ever so slightly in thickness, and the tolerances of the 7800 cartridge port design seem to be too tight to properly allow for these variations. I'm sure I'd have similar difficulties with my 7800 if I tried a wider variety of cartridges.

 

Well i am being very careful now about what I put in there as i don't want to have to do it again. But hey, it works, and the part was not expensive....honestly I am thankful someone just makes it new, as originals all by themselves don't turn up on ebay that often.

 

I do think I have read on here that there is a series of 2600 carts which give the 7800 cart slot particular issues. Is it Imagic games perhaps? I'm NOT a big 2600 gamer so not playing 2600 games hardly bothers me.