emccann86 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 so i went and bought a 2609 the other day but when i turn it on i get a green screen, followed my a short flash of text, a green screen and then darkness. what's happening and can it be repaired? ive check the transforme and the powerboard they check out fine. ive also tried it with the controllers unplugged to no avail any help with this would be amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KylJoy Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Have you cleaned the cartridge port and the cartridge connector? Which game are you trying to play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) Did you check the voltages are getting to the board? Check the continuity of the ribbon cable. I suspect they are or you'd get a black screen or nothing at all. Did you try different cartridges? Is the flash of text garbage, random characters or part/all of the title screen? If cleaning the cartridge slot doesn't help (get some deoxit, that stuff is magic), try carefully removing, cleaning and reseating the socketed ICs on the main board. You'll need to crack into the RF shielding to do this. Visually inspect the board for any burnt components, esp the small capacitors. Failing that I suspect that the next possible failure is the RA-3-9600 RAM chip. You'd need a donor system for a replacement to swap in to test. Sadly this is the most common failure point. Edited January 19, 2017 by HunterZero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccann86 Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 any tips for removing the chips so i dont ruin the good ones? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccann86 Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) ok so i desoldered to tabs to open up the case........what fun!! then i started prying up to roms and they all looked clean so i wanted to check the ones with the heat sinks and the first one I pulled looked like this......ok well I can't seem to upload a pic because I must be dumb. but the bottom says STIC and there is a single bent leg in the corner...and I mean it's tucked way up under Edit: ok so I straightened it out put it back in but still the same symptom green, flash, green, black. I tried to make out what it says in the flash from what I can tell its E E E E E M M then below it is a ton of vertical white lines Edited January 19, 2017 by emccann86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) The STIC is a graphics processor. Is it possible that pin is a reduntant power supply pin or unused? Did someone already attempt repair and solder the shield back together? How many different cartridges did you test? Maybe clean the cartridge slot as Kyljoy suggested. The Intellivision uses multiple voltages. There's a reference here so you can check them all. https://console5.com/wiki/Intellivision Also check the ribbon power cable to the mainboard as hunterzero suggested. Edit: didn't think a short in the controllers could cause a game to not start, or can it. Edited January 19, 2017 by mr_me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) The STIC has Vss 0v ground pins on pins 1 and 17. These might be internally connected in which case it might still work with pin 1 bent. I would swap the STIC AY-3-8900 and RA-3-9600 SRAM with known working ones if you have access to another unit. Attached is a board layout. Edited January 19, 2017 by HunterZero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 ...ok well I can't seem to upload a pic To attach a photo, click the orange "More Reply Options" button just below where you type in your message. On the new page, you can add photos by clicking the blue "Choose Files...". Make sure you are using the full WWW site and not the mobile version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Popp Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 After you power the console on, have you tried to press the reset switch? I had one that, depending on the game, required me to hit reset after power on in order to work. I think it was listed as procedure in the instruction manual as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I have muscle memory so I always hit the reset button after powering on the unit... Force of habit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccann86 Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 The STIC is a graphics processor. Is it possible that pin is a reduntant power supply pin or unused? Did someone already attempt repair and solder the shield back together? How many different cartridges did you test? Maybe clean the cartridge slot as Kyljoy suggested. I tested four different carts all had the exact same text in the flash, I also don't know the history of this console to answer that, but it most definitely had all the tabs soldered I would swap the STIC AY-3-8900 and RA-3-9600 SRAM with known working ones if you have access to another unit. Attached is a board layout. unfortunately I haven't found another 2906...yet, and thanks for the img After you power the console on, have you tried to press the reset switch? yes I tried the reset button on all four carts but to no avail To attach a photo, click the orange "More Reply Options" button just below where you type in your message. On the new page, you can add photos by clicking the blue "Choose Files...". Make sure you are using the full WWW site and not the mobile version. thank you here's the STIC and thank you all for your help and suggestions I'll keep you updated as this all moves (hopefully) forward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Weird... That looks to be pin 21 (V2/C2) that is bent. It's possible it was assembled that way, and the bent pin still made contact with the socket? That is one of 5 logic lines go to the color chip, and one of the lines that selects the color. So I'd guess if that pin was disconnected, the unit would still work, but some of the colors would be wrong, eg red would be missing and show as black. Anyway, as seen, that isn't your issue. - J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccann86 Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 yeah I slapped it back together the other day after posting and there was no change, I won an untested 2609 on ebay today(taking another gamble) but hey i'll get some spare parts at least Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Weird... That looks to be pin 21 (V2/C2) that is bent. It's possible it was assembled that way, and the bent pin still made contact with the socket? That is one of 5 logic lines go to the color chip, and one of the lines that selects the color. So I'd guess if that pin was disconnected, the unit would still work, but some of the colors would be wrong, eg red would be missing and show as black. Anyway, as seen, that isn't your issue. - J How do you know it's not pin 1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 How do you know it's not pin 1? By the orientation of the printing on the chip, and you also can't see the orientation indent in the end of the chip that indicates where pin 1 is. The "G" on the General Instruments logo is closest to the end with pin 1. - J 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccann86 Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) ok so my parts unit came in yesterday and i scrounged the SRAM but there was no change gonna start swapping piece by piece till I get change UPDATE: swapped of the R03-9504-021 ROM and if fired right up! just gonna run a few other carts through it now update 2: ran 5 carts they all worked noticed a small amount of intermittent screen bounce/jumping but I can live with it Edited January 31, 2017 by emccann86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Great! Glad you got it working! It did sound like a logic issue. I haven't seen that PROM chip go bad before; That chip it is mentioned in the service manual last in the recommended troubleshooting sequence to swap out ICs (CPU, STIC, SRAM, SROM then PROM last!). The system was probably trying to boot (flashing), then crashing/halting. - J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.