Atari 2600 Picture Cutting Out After A Few Minutes Of Gameplay

[Skippy B. Coyote]

In the ongoing saga of problems with my Vader model Atari 2600, just this week it started doing the strangest thing I'm hoping to get some feedback on what might be causing it. What is happening is that about half the time I start playing a game on it (and this applies to every game I've played over the last week) the game will play fine for a minute or two then suddenly picture on the TV will cut to total white out static, just like it would if I didn't have the Atari powered on but with little bits of the game still occasionally visible behind the static.

 

When this happens there is no way to get the screen to show anything other than static for at least a few minutes, and then (seemingly randomly) the system will start working again. No amount of unplugging and replugging in the RCA cable at either end or swapping the RCA cable or coaxial adapter for a different one changes anything when the picture decides to go out, and unplugging and replugging in the AC adapter doesn't get the picture to come back either. The same goes for powering off the system, removing and reinserting the cartridge, then powering it back on. There's still just static for a few minutes until the picture just randomly pops back in.

 

At this point I'm pretty well set on just selling the Vader for parts due to all the problems it's had and buying a new properly working Atari 2600 with a Rev. 16 board in it (I like the color quality output of the Rev. 16 board much better than the earlier revision boards I've played 2600 games on), but I'm still curious to find out what might might be causing the picture to go out for minutes at a time like this. It seems to happen about 50% of the time I go to play any game on the 2600, and it's got me completely stumped.

[BigO]

Could be a component or a solder joint heat failing. If it's a solder joint then you might get some reaction out of it by hitting the console with your hand. Don't break anything.

 

The simplest first test might be to substitute a different power supply. The next simplest test would be to check the output of the 5v regulator, especially if you can catch it in failure mode.

 

Somebody else may have some specific experience that says it's some component in the RF modulator.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Thanks for the advice BigO! Giving the console a few light whacks doesn't seem to make any difference when the picture cuts out, and unfortunately I don't have a spare power supply for the 2600 (or any means to test the output of any parts on the board). I have wondered if it might have something to do with the power supply though, since I seem to recall reading that the Wico Command Control trackball could possibly damage the Atari 2600 power supply and I have logged a whole lot of hours with that trackball on my 2600. I've never heard of this actually happening to anyone, but it is a possibility I had wondered about.

[zylon]

When picture cuts out, try unplugging power cord from system and then plug it back in while it is still left in "on" position. if this jumpstarts it working again, your regulator is bad.

Modulators also fail to static screen as if power turned off. When on snow screen you should still see the slightest flicker of something when powered on.

Edited July 31, 2015 by zylon

[Skippy B. Coyote]

When picture cuts out, try unplugging power cord from system and then plug it back in while it is still left in "on" position. if this jumpstarts it working again, your regulator is bad.

Modulators also fail to static screen as if power turned off. When on snow screen you should still see the slightest flicker of something when powered on.

It sure sounds like it's the modulators that have gone bad. The regulator test (unplugging the power supply then plugging it back in while the system power switch is still flipped to On) had no effect, but the snow screen is exactly like you described it. It's all snow except for some staticy diagonal lines with the tinest little flicker of whatever game is inserted occasionally becoming barely visible behind all the snow.

 

I'm glad to know what actually went wrong here, even if I don't have the tools/skills/parts to fix it. Do you think there's any chance that this could have been caused by heavy use of the Wico trackball, or do you think it's completely unrelated?

[zylon]

It sure sounds like it's the modulators that have gone bad. The regulator test (unplugging the power supply then plugging it back in while the system power switch is still flipped to On) had no effect, but the snow screen is exactly like you described it. It's all snow except for some staticy diagonal lines with the tinest little flicker of whatever game is inserted occasionally becoming barely visible behind all the snow.

 

I'm glad to know what actually went wrong here, even if I don't have the tools/skills/parts to fix it. Do you think there's any chance that this could have been caused by heavy use of the Wico trackball, or do you think it's completely unrelated?

 

No. This part does fail eventually. The modulator is not serviceable and must be replaced. If the Wico were to affect anything, I would bet on the TIA failing first.

I have a rev-14 vader ready to run if you need one or just the board even.

 

Pin 3 is where you would check voltage on the modulator when it fails.

Edited July 31, 2015 by zylon

[Skippy B. Coyote]

No. This part does fail eventually. The modulator is not serviceable and must be replaced. If the Wico were to affect anything, I would bet on the TIA failing first.

I have a rev-14 vader ready to run if you need one or just the board even.

 

Pin 3 is where you would check voltage on the modulator when it fails.

I think I'm (finally) going to take you up on that replacement Vader option. I was hoping to find one with a Rev. 16 board, since the one time I played games on a Rev. 14 board the colors looked significantly darker and muddier (most noticeable in Kung-Fu Master and Pitfall II) but if you think the color output from your Rev. 14 Vader looks good then I'll give it a go. Funds are a little tight at the moment so it might take me up to a week to get the cash together, but I'll take the system off your hands ASAP if the color output is good. And thanks for offerering to sell just the board, but I should probably get an entirely new system since the lower half of my current Vader's case is broken in three different places and GOOP glued back together.

[zylon]

I move in a week so we'll see what happens.

[+RichG1972]

Zylon what are you looking to get for your system, maybe I can help him out to get it

[Andromeda Stardust]

When picture cuts out, try unplugging power cord from system and then plug it back in while it is still left in "on" position. if this jumpstarts it working again, your regulator is bad.

Modulators also fail to static screen as if power turned off. When on snow screen you should still see the slightest flicker of something when powered on.

This. See my first post on Atariage...

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/199541-atari-2600-4-switcher-intermittant-fuzzy-reception/

 

I replaced the "Chicklet" cap and 7805 regulator. Problem solved!

[Skippy B. Coyote]

A replacement system has been acquired! I really didn't want to turn my nose up at Zylon's generosity, since he did offer me such a good deal on his Vader (and I'll still take it off his hands if I can swing it), but when I saw this beauty sitting on eBay for $18—tested and working—I just couldn't pass it up.

 

 

 

The sheer sexiness of the Sears Video Arcade II and it's LED indicator lights was beyond my capability to resist, and the idea of not having to constantly pop in Space Invaders to check to see whether or not my difficulty switches were in the right positions for whatever game I wanted to play was pretty darn attractive too. No power supply was included, but fortunately I have a 10v 850mAh Sega Genesis Model 2 power supply that should work just fine with it.

 

As far as my Vader with the burnt out modulator and capacitors (the 4.7uf 35v capacitor near the modulator definitely needs replacing too) goes, I'm just going to hold onto it and see if I can find someone on the forum willing to replace the modulator and capacitor if I mailed them the board and paid them for the labor. I've had way too many good times with this system to sell it for parts, and if I can get it fixed up and working again I'd like to hold onto it. Plus the color definition in the video output from the Rev. 16 board in it is as perfect as I could ever ask for from an Atari 2600, so maybe at some point I can get it fixed up and have a spare Atari around incase the newly purchased SVAII goes belly up somewhere down the line.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

A replacement system has been acquired! I really didn't want to turn my nose up at Zylon's generosity, since he did offer me such a good deal on his Vader (and I'll still take it off his hands if I can swing it), but when I saw this beauty sitting on eBay for $18—tested and working—I just couldn't pass it up.

 

 

 

The sheer sexiness of the Sears Video Arcade II and it's LED indicator lights was beyond my capability to resist, and the idea of not having to constantly pop in Space Invaders to check to see whether or not my difficulty switches were in the right positions for whatever game I wanted to play was pretty darn attractive too. No power supply was included, but fortunately I have a 10v 850mAh Sega Genesis Model 2 power supply that should work just fine with it.

 

As far as my Vader with the burnt out modulator and capacitors (the 4.7uf 35v capacitor near the modulator definitely needs replacing too) goes, I'm just going to hold onto it and see if I can find someone on the forum willing to replace the modulator and capacitor if I mailed them the board and paid them for the labor. I've had way too many good times with this system to sell it for parts, and if I can get it fixed up and working again I'd like to hold onto it. Plus the color definition in the video output from the Rev. 16 board in it is as perfect as I could ever ask for from an Atari 2600, so maybe at some point I can get it fixed up and have a spare Atari around incase the newly purchased SVAII goes belly up somewhere down the line.

 

Nice deal and score on the Video Arcade 2!! Too bad it didn't come with controllers. The controllers for that particular system are awesome as it is a 2 in one. Joystick/paddle. At times I look for systems to clean up and help out a fellow in the marketplace. I'm not sure if you are wanting a Vader or Woody later down the road. I'll keep my out for one, and let you know when I come across a system. I'll clean it up to make it look like new, test it, and sell it real cheap to ya. Hope you enjoy the Video Arcade 2!

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Nice deal and score on the Video Arcade 2!! Too bad it didn't come with controllers. The controllers for that particular system are awesome as it is a 2 in one. Joystick/paddle. At times I look for systems to clean up and help out a fellow in the marketplace. I'm not sure if you are wanting a Vader or Woody later down the road. I'll keep my out for one, and let you know when I come across a system. I'll clean it up to make it look like new, test it, and sell it real cheap to ya. Hope you enjoy the Video Arcade 2!

 

Thanks Retrogamer! The controllers for the Video Arcade II do look pretty cool, but I'm happy with my Wico Command Control and Flashback 2 joysticks so I wasn't too disappointed that there weren't any original controllers included. I think the biggest lesson I've learned from all this is "Never be without at least two working systems capable of playing Atari 2600 games." I've seriously missed being able to play 2600 games this week and so I definitely want to get my hands on a working backup system in case the SVA II ever starts acting up, and it should be one with a Color/B&W switch up front for the games that use it. The only thing I don't like about the SVA II is that they stuck the Color/B&W switch on the bottom of the system, and quite a few Atari 2600 titles use that switch as either a pause button (in the case of Sentinel, Shooting Arcade, and a number of homebrews) or to access a map / item selection menu (in the case of Starmaster and Secret Quest).

 

You might remember from one of my status updates at the beginning of July that I picked up a beautiful condition Four Switch Woody, since the misses had been wanting a 2600 with a woodgrain finish for our library, but when we got it we quickly discovered that the colors were all out of whack and looked downright awful. At the time I had no idea that there was a color pot on the board that could have been adjusted to get the colors looking right, so we ended up returning it for a refund. Now that I know I could have fixed the colors with a simple adjustment of the pot I am seriously kicking myself for returning that system for a refund.

 

At this point I'd really like to pick up another woodgrain finish 2600 in the near future to fulfill my promise to my better half that we'd add one to the gaming center, either in as good condition as the one I previously bought and stupidly returned (with the orange bezel paint fully intact), or one that's been refurbished with your method of using a orange paint marker to make it look all pretty and just like new again. A Light Sixer would be the preferred model, but a Four Switch Woody would be perfectly fine too. Definitely let me know if you happen to come across either of them!

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

Thanks Retrogamer! The controllers for the Video Arcade II do look pretty cool, but I'm happy with my Wico Command Control and Flashback 2 joysticks so I wasn't too disappointed that there weren't any original controllers included. I think the biggest lesson I've learned from all this is "Never be without at least two working systems capable of playing Atari 2600 games." I've seriously missed being able to play 2600 games this week and so I definitely want to get my hands on a working backup system in case the SVA II ever starts acting up, and it should be one with a Color/B&W switch up front for the games that use it. The only thing I don't like about the SVA II is that they stuck the Color/B&W switch on the bottom of the system, and quite a few Atari 2600 titles use that switch as either a pause button (in the case of Sentinel, Shooting Arcade, and a number of homebrews) or to access a map / item selection menu (in the case of Starmaster and Secret Quest).

 

You might remember from one of my status updates at the beginning of July that I picked up a beautiful condition Four Switch Woody, since the misses had been wanting a 2600 with a woodgrain finish for our library, but when we got it we quickly discovered that the colors were all out of whack and looked downright awful. At the time I had no idea that there was a color pot on the board that could have been adjusted to get the colors looking right, so we ended up returning it for a refund. Now that I know I could have fixed the colors with a simple adjustment of the pot I am seriously kicking myself for returning that system for a refund.

 

At this point I'd really like to pick up another woodgrain finish 2600 in the near future to fulfill my promise to my better half that we'd add one to the gaming center, either in as good condition as the one I previously bought and stupidly returned (with the orange bezel paint fully intact), or one that's been refurbished with your method of using a orange paint marker to make it look all pretty and just like new again. A Light Sixer would be the preferred model, but a Four Switch Woody would be perfectly fine too. Definitely let me know if you happen to come across either of them!

Doh! That's right. I forgot the wife got one last month. Then you had inverted colors due to the improper adjustment from the color pot. That sucks what happened. That is the model I have in my game room ready to play. And sometimes I'll use the Light Sixer. I have the Heavy Sixer, Light Sixer, Vader, and Junior on my shelf. I'll see if I can find a six switcher when I am out and about. I personally like the six switchers better in my honest opinion. I like the color palette much better. And they look cooler. The con is they can scrape your cart labels cause it is a more tighter fit in the cart slot. That was my first Atari system I had. Got it Christmas 1981 as the family gift. And I was only a baby at the time. 4 switch woodys are everywhere and sell very cheap. Light Sixers aren't too uncommon either. I'll keep my eyes peeled and the next one I see will have your name written all over it.

Zylon is the man here when it comes to diagnosing Atari problems and is ALWAYS spot on. And is very helpful and a great asset to the AA community. If I had the Video Arcade 2. After wakening up still out of it, I'd put 7800 carts in the slot and think it isn't working Has such an identical look.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Doh! That's right. I forgot the wife got one last month. Then you had inverted colors due to the improper adjustment from the color pot. That sucks what happened. That is the model I have in my game room ready to play. And sometimes I'll use the Light Sixer. I have the Heavy Sixer, Light Sixer, Vader, and Junior on my shelf. I'll see if I can find a six switcher when I am out and about. I personally like the six switchers better in my honest opinion. I like the color palette much better. And they look cooler. The con is they can scrape your cart labels cause it is a more tighter fit in the cart slot. That was my first Atari system I had. Got it Christmas 1981 as the family gift. And I was only a baby at the time. 4 switch woodys are everywhere and sell very cheap. Light Sixers aren't too uncommon either. I'll keep my eyes peeled and the next one I see will have your name written all over it.

Zylon is the man here when it comes to diagnosing Atari problems and is ALWAYS spot on. And is very helpful and a great asset to the AA community. If I had the Video Arcade 2. After wakening up still out of it, I'd put 7800 carts in the slot and think it isn't working Has such an identical look.

 

Thanks for looking into it for me! Around where I live there are no flea markets or thrift stores (other than Goodwill, which sends all the games and systems they get in to their online store), and Atari systems almost never show up in the local game stores so I'm pretty much restricted to eBay and AtariAge when it comes to hunting for 2600s. Very nice selection of systems by the way! There are so many unique and interesting variations of the 2600 that I could easily see myself developing Pokémon syndrome and feeling like I have to collect them all. My wife likes the woodgrain versions the best, but for my personal tastes I think the 2600 variant I'd like the most is one of the all black Atari 2600 Jr. systems that were only released in Ireland, but with the internals from an NTSC 2600 Jr. installed in it to make it work properly with my region's games and televisions. That's probably a pipe dream though given how rare the all black Jr. systems tend to be, so I'll happily settle for the Video Arcade II and a woody to please the misses… which sounds way dirtier than I intended, but you get what I mean.

 

I'd really like to get a 7800 at some point too, for pretty much the sole reason of hooking up the Wico trackball to it and playing Centipede. I'm a huge fan of trackball games and the 2600 version of Centipede just doesn't play very well with a trackball; though I've heard the 7800 version works great. In the meantime at least the Video Arcade II will look like a 7800, even if it won't actually play 7800 games. I'll take what I can get lol

 

And yeah, Zylon has been immensely helpful to me on several occasions since I signed up here a few months back. The guy really knows his stuff, and I sure appreciate him lending his expertise to help sort out all these problems I've been having with my Vader; not to mention his generous offer to sell me a replacement Vader on the cheap. If I hadn't spotted that killer deal on the Video Arcade II on eBay I definitely would have taken him up on it, but it sounds like like his spare Vader will be going to someone else in need of a working 2600 so it's still going to find a new home with someone who will put it to good use and enjoy it.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Some days I really wish my favorite hobby would just cut me a break and let me have a system that actually does what it's supposed to do without some kind of problem, and today is one of those days. The Sears Video Arcade II I bought to replace my malfunctioning Vader arrived in the mail today, and wouldn't you know it there's a problem with it. The system's exterior looks to be in perfectly mint condition and it plays games just fine, with the exception of one glaring problem: Whenever I press the fire button on any joystick/controller a big staticky line flashes across the screen. @!#?@!

 

Enough is enough! I have had it with these m*********in' problems on these m*********in' Ataris! Everybody look away, I'm about to throw some consoles out the window.

 

 

Okay, whew. Now that I got that out of my system (and don't worry, no Ataris were lobbed out the window), is there anything that can be done to fix this problem of the fire buttons on my controllers creating static bursts on the screen of the Video Arcade II? I've tested every type of joystick, trackball, and paddle controller I own with it and the problem occurs with every single controller. I tried replacing the stock RCA cable with a better shielded cable and that didn't solve the problem, so I'm guessing it's either something on the board or an issue with the shielding on the console itself. Is there any easy soldering-free fix for this or should I just give up and resell the Video Arcade II for parts?

[zylon]

Try swapping the TIA with the one from your "dead" system. The chips are the sama, assuming you were lucky enough that your rev-16 had socketed chips. The TIA handles the trigger lines and you may have a short inside.

Edited August 5, 2015 by zylon

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Try swapping the TIA with the one from your "dead" system. The chips are the sama, assuming you were lucky enough that your rev-16 had socketed chips. The TIA handles the trigger lines and you may have a short inside.

Thanks for the suggestion! I tried swapping the TIA from the Vader into the new SVA II bust sadly that did not solve the problem. The only thing that changed after swapping the TIA is that I started seeing those strange vertical lines of what looks like interference in the background of the picture on the SVA II that I was experiencing on the Vader, so it looks like the TIA on my Vader might have been faulty somehow. The flashing horizontal lines of static every time I press the fire button are still there on the SVA II though, and it might be my imagination but they seem a little worse after swapping the TIA. Any other ideas for what it could be?

 

If I can't fix this problem I'm pretty sure I'm just going to end up unloading the Vader and SVA II then saving up to pay way more money than a 2600 is worth to Best Electronics, just so I can finally have a like-new condition system that works without issue. All these problems are getting to be way more frustration than I am capable of dealing with.

[zylon]

TIA failures are more common on 4sw models than 6ers, partly due to the hex buffer being eliminated from the design.

BTW: I did find a rev-16 board in my parts.

 

I use one of these mostly:

Edited August 6, 2015 by zylon

[Skippy B. Coyote]

TIA failures are more common on 4sw models than 6ers, partly due to the hex buffer being eliminated from the design.

BTW: I did find a rev-16 board in my parts.

 

I use one of these mostly:

So the current working theory is that the TIA is malfunctioning in both my Vader and SVA II consoles? If that's the case, I don't suppose you might know someone with a spare TIA they'd be willing to sell? I'm okay with retiring the Vader, but if I can fix the whole "the screen flashes with horizontal lines of static every time the fire button is pressed" issue with the SVA II I'd love to keep this system and have it be my daily play machine. I really dig the aesthetics of it, the color output looks even brighter and more vibrant than the output from a Rev. 16 board, and the funneled cartridge slot is so enormous that even a blind drunk koala bear stumbling around in the dark could get any 2600 cartridge inserted properly. Not to mention those sweet looking LED indicators for the difficulty switches.

 

I really dig this SVA II system a lot, I just need to figure out what's causing the screen to flash with horizontal lines of static every time the fire button on any controller is pressed, fix it, and it'll be good to go.

 

Nice find on the Rev-16 board too! If I wasn't flat broke (there is literally $1.26 in my bank account) I'd probably say toss it in your spare Vader and I'll take them off your hands, but I'm once again in a bit of a financial crunch and just trying to focus on getting my SVA II working properly at the moment. Until I do I'm pretty much limited to playing Ms. Pac-Man and Frogger, since neither require you to press the fire button.

 

[zylon]

you can get new TIA's for about 11-12 dollars at Best Electronics. It is better to talk to him on the phone and explain what is happening on the SVAII.

I had one of those before. They are cool looking and stand out.

Edited August 6, 2015 by zylon

[BigO]

Disclaimer: I'm interested in this subject, but by no means an expert.

 

It sounds like there could be something besides the TIA at fault here in the SVA II if the horizontal static line persisted across two different TIA's.

 

Could something like a weak or really noisy power supply cause that sort of weirdness?

 

Does putting the SVA II TIA in to the Vader clean up the previously experienced vertical banding?