Atari 2600a will not show color

[jared silvertree]

I just bought and fixed up an Atari 2600a, It had a LOT of issues like missing its rf cable, broken switches, and a bad rf modulator. I replaced the modulator and ran it through a VCR and it now gives me steady black and white, but no color. Does anyone know why this might be? I am rather new at this.

[bohoki]

yea my original 2600 the color only lasts for a few minutes then it goes bw its probably a bad capacitor

[masschamber]

in the console there is a pot that adjusts the color try taking the console apart and adjusting it while the video is being displayed

try that first

[+H454]

I just bought and fixed up an Atari 2600a, It had a LOT of issues like missing its rf cable, broken switches, and a bad rf modulator. I replaced the modulator and ran it through a VCR and it now gives me steady black and white, but no color. Does anyone know why this might be? I am rather new at this.

 

Broken Switches you say? How about the the color/ black and white switch - what condition is that in?

Have you tried cleaning it?

[jared silvertree]

in the console there is a pot that adjusts the color try taking the console apart and adjusting it while the video is being displayed

try that first

I have tried that but all it does is change the shade of some extra horizontal shading, it does change something though

 

 

Broken Switches you say? How about the the color/ black and white switch - what condition is that in?

Have you tried cleaning it?

It was the silver stick that snapped off the switch body, nothing operational in it was damaged so no I did not take it off. Should I if the stick was the only part broke?

 

Thank's for the help

[alex_79]

What games are you testing? The Color/Bw switch doesn't influence the video signal in any way, it's just an input that can be read by the program in the cartridge. Many games don't use it at all, or use it for different functions (e.g. to pause the game). Moreover, an oxidized or broken switch would usually result in an open contact, which correspond to the "Color" position of the switch.

[+H454]

I have tried that but all it does is change the shade of some extra horizontal shading, it does change something though

 

It was the silver stick that snapped off the switch body, nothing operational in it was damaged so no I did not take it off. Should I if the stick was the only part broke?

 

Thank's for the help

If broken/ dirty, the switch can stay stuck on B/W.

 

Have you tried any games that you know the color switch does nothing?

Donkey Kong and Enduro will always be in color no matter what the color/bw switch is in.

If those are in black and white, then you have other hardware issues.

[jared silvertree]

If broken/ dirty, the switch can stay stuck on B/W.

 

Have you tried any games that you know the color switch does nothing?

Donkey Kong and Enduro will always be in color no matter what the color/bw switch is in.

If those are in black and white, then you have other hardware issues.

Yes donkey kong is b/w, and I think in all my measly 8 games the b/w switch does something but in games like pong it seems to just change the b/w scheme rather than add color

So what kind of hardware issues does that indicate?

 

Also, using superglue to reattach the snapped switches (power and b/w) keeps snapping off at the glue, has anyone successfully glued a snapped switch well?

[+H454]

Yes donkey kong is b/w, and I think in all my measly 8 games the b/w switch does something but in games like pong it seems to just change the b/w scheme rather than add color

So what kind of hardware issues does that indicate?

 

Also, using superglue to reattach the snapped switches (power and b/w) keeps snapping off at the glue, has anyone successfully glued a snapped switch well?

Then the switch can be ruled out. Are the chips socketed? If so, try gently removing them and firmly reinserting them.

If that doesn't work, start looking for bad solder joints (especially the TIA).

 

What kind of 2600 is this ( pic would help)? does it have four or six silver switches on the top?

Some boards are more problem prone that others.

 

To post a pic use the "more reply options" button.

Edited August 28, 2017 by H454