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More Adam / Coleco woes


Tkat5200

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Well it looks like you get what you paid for.

The adam / Coleco unit I won on Ebay has issues...lets talk about them as maybe someone here can offer great advice on how to fix

 

The Data Drive is malfunctioning. - It basically rewinds the tape to the begining and then it just clicks...I think its an easy fix but not sure.

The Disk Drive wont load anything but it powers up. - Usually the printer will keep trying to reset and it just clicks like mad.

One of the two super action controllers won't move up

The coleco / Adam when playing cartridges on the coleco for more than an hour...starts to bug out... the game board gets corrupted with crazy graphics and even on reset its all garbage text on the screen

 

so....it looks like as usual as it goes on ebay lately...I got ripped off....again. (I bought 2 colecovisions and both were broken even though they were listed as "like new"

 

sigh....who knew getting back into the consoles I grew up on would be so painful...the only things that work are my Ataris.

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I've bought the majority of my retro gaming collection on eBay. Did you buy from a random seller or someone who specializes in video games?

 

When it comes to systems, I usually only buy from sellers who specialize in gaming hardware and they must have hundreds of positive feedback within a 12 month period. I've found that I'm less likely to get busted hardware that way. When there are problems, the sellers are more willing to work with you since they're familiar with the hardware. I'm more lenient with software. Another rule I follow is that I only buy Japanese systems from sellers in Japan. They know that hardware best and I find Japanese eBay sellers to be fantastic to interact with. I've even maintained personal correspondence with a few.

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The Data Drive issue was covered in the other thread.

 

As far as the Disk Drive, did you get the proper Adamnet cable that was also discussed in the other thread? If not, you can unhook the keyboard and use that cable to hook-up the disk drive and proceed to test it by trying to boot some disk based software. It sounds like a disk drive controller board issue, but until you test it with as many disks as possible... you won't know for sure. The 5 1/4" disks can all be bad as well... it happens.

 

The printer has a small contact switch on the left inside that the printer head contacts and if the switch is bent, dirty or bad the system will hand as it has no idea where the print head is.

 

Take the Memory Console and CV apart and clean it thoroughly with De-oxit and then 90+% Isoprophyl Alcohol.

 

The issue with cartridges crapping out after a while of game play sounds like an overheating issue. Try playing for a while with the covers off and a fan blowing on the system to keep things cool. Could also be a sign of a faulty power supply or degrading RAM chips.

 

Was this eBay purchase AS-IS? Usually eBay sides with the buyer.

 

Did you test it out when you picked it up?

 

Through it all.... DON'T GIVE UP!!!

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BTW...as far as attaching the Adamnet Cable (phone cable), attachh one end to the right side of the Memory Console and the other end connects to the INPUT jack on the back of the disk drive... not the OUTPUT jack which would be used to daisy chain another disk drive or other Adamnet device (s) which never saw the light of day.

 

For most software, it won't matter if you have the drive # switch set to 1 or 2, but it's best to set it to 1.

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Why do people always complain about ebay scumbag sellers? When you buy something on eBay, your only expectation is to get it exactly as described. If it is not as described, then open a case to get a refund.

eBay has specific definitions of terms including "like new" . This definition can be supplemented by what the seller lists in the description. The seller can say "like new" except for damage to the box, or like new except for a big scratch on the side, or whatever they want to say.

If you disagree with the seller's description of the condition, then you can open a not as described case. eBay will always rule in favor of the buyer. You can ask for a partial refund to compensate for the decrease in the value of the item you received, or you can ask to return the item for a full refund.

 

eBay will never get into specifics of how many scratches, or how much yellowing of the plastic, or whatever, makes something like new versus good versus acceptable quality. eBay will accept whatever the buyer says as true.

You can even win a case if you buy something sold as is, and it arrives in several pieces, because it was damaged in shipping. This is because it was sold as is, but it was sold in one piece, not broken in multiple pieces.

Edited by Hannacek
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The Data Drive issue was covered in the other thread.

 

As far as the Disk Drive, did you get the proper Adamnet cable that was also discussed in the other thread? If not, you can unhook the keyboard and use that cable to hook-up the disk drive and proceed to test it by trying to boot some disk based software. It sounds like a disk drive controller board issue, but until you test it with as many disks as possible... you won't know for sure. The 5 1/4" disks can all be bad as well... it happens.

 

The printer has a small contact switch on the left inside that the printer head contacts and if the switch is bent, dirty or bad the system will hand as it has no idea where the print head is.

 

Take the Memory Console and CV apart and clean it thoroughly with De-oxit and then 90+% Isoprophyl Alcohol.

 

The issue with cartridges crapping out after a while of game play sounds like an overheating issue. Try playing for a while with the covers off and a fan blowing on the system to keep things cool. Could also be a sign of a faulty power supply or degrading RAM chips.

 

Was this eBay purchase AS-IS? Usually eBay sides with the buyer.

 

Did you test it out when you picked it up?

 

Through it all.... DON'T GIVE UP!!!

So the seller just pulled it out of storage...but said it was "like new"

I should have known better but I was just DYING for an Adam again and didn't want to spend 500.00

 

I actually tried the keyboard cable last night. the discs do nothing...it just hums and the printer keeps wanting to go thru the side of its own wall LOL

I didn't get to test it cause they met me in a parking lot in their town...I drove almost 3 hours to get this to avoid the insane shipping charges.

 

I've put out an email to the seller...so far ...as expected....no response.

 

I will get this working 100%...there are like 50 51/4 discs here with games on them....some of them are actual Disk games for the ADAM so I need to get this dang Disk Drive to work

I found a Data Drive on Ebay for 62.00...Not sure if I'm gonna buy it.

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BTW...as far as attaching the Adamnet Cable (phone cable), attachh one end to the right side of the Memory Console and the other end connects to the INPUT jack on the back of the disk drive... not the OUTPUT jack which would be used to daisy chain another disk drive or other Adamnet device (s) which never saw the light of day.

 

For most software, it won't matter if you have the drive # switch set to 1 or 2, but it's best to set it to 1.

ok...this i didn't know...LOL I had it going to the OUTPUT.

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Why do people always complain about ebay scumbag sellers? When you buy something on eBay, your only expectation is to get it exactly as described. If it is not as described, then open a case to get a refund.

 

eBay has specific definitions of terms including "like new" . This definition can be supplemented by what the seller lists in the description. The seller can say "like new" except for damage to the box, or like new except for a big scratch on the side, or whatever they want to say.

 

If you disagree with the seller's description of the condition, then you can open a not as described case. eBay will always rule in favor of the buyer. You can ask for a partial refund to compensate for the decrease in the value of the item you received, or you can ask to return the item for a full refund.

 

eBay will never get into specifics of how many scratches, or how much yellowing of the plastic, or whatever, makes something like new versus good versus acceptable quality. eBay will accept whatever the buyer says as true.

 

You can even win a case if you buy something sold as is, and it arrives in several pieces, because it was damaged in shipping. This is because it was sold as is, but it was sold in one piece, not broken in multiple pieces.

I get what you are saying and usually I don't bitch...but when you say "LIKE NEW" and you are talking about the system....I expect it to be working. That's all.

 

I'm gonna sort this out. One thing I do not do is quit.

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If the seller genuinely thought it was like new, then it was a mistake, and is nobody's fault. However, they should not have listed it as like new if they didn't know enough about the item to make that claim.

Maybe they didn't really know what they were selling, which is no a problem by itself. But, if you don't know much about what you are selling, then you should list the condition as good, and say in the description you don't know anything about the item.

 

But, its so easy for sellers to list it as like new, or very good to get a higher selling price. Sellers need to admit when they don't know much about the item, and sell it based on them not knowing much about it.

 

One of the best ways I know when to buy stuff on eBay is if the pictures and description are good. Stay away from one sentence descriptions (especially incomplete one sentences, with no punctuation or capital letters), and stay away from out of focus horrible quality pictures. If someone can't spend the time to take a few good pictures, and write a complete and detailed description, then they didn't spend the time to inspect the item. Their sloppy grammar and punctuation means they are a sloppy person, and there could be problems. Also stay away from listings where the title says something like Lot of 7 Games, and the pictures or descriptions show a different number of games.

Edited by Hannacek
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Got the disk drive working, played a lot of games. Thank you NIAD for the help.

need to get the data drive fixed and the overheating issues now...it happened again tonight playing Pepper II with the wifey

Glad to hear as working disk drives are becoming more and more scarce as well as a hefty investment.

 

You should also check out Rey1178's new ADAM Power Supply so that you can store away the ADAM Printer and save yourself considerable space.

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Hey Tkat5200

 

This will be hard to explain. But ill try. The data drive has two row type connectors 1 9pin, I think, and one six pin?. If they are not connected to EVERY pin on the console connectors, In other words, if the connectors are off center, missing one pin on either side of the connector, witch is very common, the drive will act exactly like you said.

 

Remove the connectors from the console(gently pull the wires and connector strait upward to remove) And reseat them carefully not to miss any pins on either side of the connectors.

 

Any questions post em. Good luck.

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As far as the Data Drive hook-up, there are two connectors. The first is a 9-pin and and the second is an 8-pin. The 9-pin plugs into the pins labeled 1A and the 8-pin plugs into the pins labeled 1B unless you are connecting a second drive which would therefore change things to 2A and 2B. Also, make sure the small slits in the connector's side face toward the front of the Memory Console.

 

I'd still say either the Timing Wheel is bad/melted away or the controller board in the Data Drive is fried. Worse case scenario is the controller circuit/chip on the ADAM Logic Board is fried and even replacing the controller chip will not fix this issue. There is no fix that I know of for this and therefore you end up with a system that can only be used with Disk Drives, IDE Drives and cartridges.

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