Mr Oni Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 My Harmony cart Just stopped working. I miss it. I need it. So I Pmed Batari 4 days ago and Haven't heard back from him. How does it work to send a Harmony cart back and get it fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 You'll get taken care of it's too premium of a product to get a bad rep or leave customers hanging. IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 He hasn't posted since December. I'm not sure how often he checks in here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Oni Posted April 2, 2017 Author Share Posted April 2, 2017 Not Good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd-w Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) Reflashing the BIOS will probably fix it - try following the instructions in the manual. You can also download the latest 1.05 version here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/156500-latest-harmony-cart-software/ Edited April 3, 2017 by cd-w 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Oni Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 (edited) Thank you for your suggestion. It worked very well! Wonder what caused the bios to stop working? Edited April 6, 2017 by Mr Oni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd-w Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 If you switch off the Atari while a game is loading then there is a small chance the BIOS will get corrupted (I wrote the Harmomy BIOS). Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Got the same issue Hope to get an answer one day ! Maybe he is now super rich thanks to harmony and spend half the year in some exotic countries !!!!! Do anybody knows how to open the cartridge without breaking anything ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Have you tried reflashing the BIOS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I changed sd card, I blowed in harmony, I flashed the bios (pal50 & pal 60) on different sdcard, I tried several insertion position, and finally tried with original game centiped to test the hardware and it works perfectly (guenuine atari vcs 2600 junior pal). I did not open the harmony because I don't understand how to and I don't want to break the harmony cartridge. It stop giving video signal while running although the rom was still running (could hear the sound). since then got crappy video signal or black screen. The crappy video rendering is basically because I believe the pins where not touching each other. I could open it and solder sensitive part if only I knew how to open it and if I would have been sure that this is the problem ! any hints ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Sure it's the Harmony cart? Try it on another system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 yeah the harmony, if I try any other cartridge it works fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 You didn't answer the second question. Have you tried it on another system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 The harmony on another atari vcs ? no. Got the harmony open, there're not so many solder point to fix, everything looks fine ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I can try to find another vcs to test on but I really wish to understand the purpose of it since the vcs on which it was, was running fine with it and just stop all of a sudden. When I lost video signal I could still hear the sound. I will not dare to touch the solder point, too scared to make it worst. hope to get news from batari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 It's just good troubleshooting practice. I was thinking that your existing VCS may not be "strong" enough to run a harmony cart. Weak caps, noisy regulator, or that funky inductor mod that was affecting some melody boards a while ago. I was thinking that something had aged a little more and is now out of tolerance. Hence the simple task of plugging it into another different VCS console. BTW: I would have expected some official response about it by now. Surprises me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Oh ok, now it is said that makes sense to me. Will definitely try. The question is why the video and not the sound ? Why can't I run it blindly without video signal ? But yeah that's a good track, maybe that's the beginning of a worst issue ... I hope not. I got the idea to change the power supply and it appears that I got more often weird screen than black one with no signal. I start to believe that you probably put your finger onto something right. Is there any well known capacitor to change or something on the vcs ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Well personally I'd begin with an analysis of the condition of the DC signal coming out of the regular and that huge-ass capacitor. Most people will blindly replace those in lieu of having a scope and meter and all that. They do age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I have a simple multimeter and I don't know how to test it with it. But I know I can replace it if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 It seems that you need to remove it to do so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Depending on the age of the Harmony, you might better insist on contacting batari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd-w Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 If you don't mind a bit of soldering, mojoatomic is selling cap replacement kits for the 2600: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/262129-atari-2600-cap-and-voltage-regulator-kits/ Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_79 Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 [...] I flashed the bios (pal50 & pal 60) on different sdcard [...] Did the EEPROM loader download successfully (step 1 in the harmony programming tool)? If so, try loading the harmony with a single game, using the "Development" tab in the software and see if it works (you can run the harmony without the sd card in that case). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Oni Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 If you switch off the Atari while a game is loading then there is a small chance the BIOS will get corrupted (I wrote the Harmomy BIOS). Chris Well thank you very much because I can't live without it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0ke Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Did the EEPROM loader download successfully (step 1 in the harmony programming tool)? bios.png If so, try loading the harmony with a single game, using the "Development" tab in the software and see if it works (you can run the harmony without the sd card in that case). devel.png Yes it did download nicely. Will try asap. I bought spare vcs junior pal to test on other vcs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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