Please help. Display issues with Atari 7800 pro system.

[Crypt1cV1bes]

Hello! Im sorry if this has been talked about already but I cannot find anything on the internet for my issue. I got this Atari 7800 from someone online. It didnt come with a power cable or a video cable. I got a cable with the coax adapter. I got the power cable and it turns on fine. Plugged it into my flat screen and no video. So I got out my old tube tv and hooked it up. My issue is with the video. I turn the system on and I get random lines. If I put different games in a get different color lines. They scroll too. If I have no game in the screen is just black with white/gray lines. I dont seem to have sound either. Also if I move the cable around the picture changes slightly and the lines sometimes change colors or scroll faster and change shape... I used that same video cable and hooked it to my Super Nintendo and it works fine. Im not sure if I should be looking at the port it connects to on the Atari or what. I was born in the 90s and do not have a ton of knowledge on the system and I cant find much about them sadly but I would love to see it work! Anybody have any ideas? Would doing the composite mod fix this or is it a something more serious. It seems like its trying to give me a picture with different carts but it just gives me colored vertical lines instead. Any help would be appreciated. I have it set to work with video 3 because on video 4 its just white snow even if I flip the switch on the back. The tv doesnt seem to have channel 2. I also have some little cylinder shaped black adapter that says radio shack on it. Think its suppose to do something with the signal but t doesnt make a difference if I hook that up or not. Thank you.

[fiddlepaddle]

Are you in US? If so, channel 3 usually works best. Pics of your connectors please? Did you clean the game connectors with Qtip and alcohol? Did you try a different TV? Do you have a CRT to try?

[Andromeda Stardust]

If you are using the autoswitch that came with the super nintendo, it won't work with Atari. Nintendo/Sega switchboxes need dc bias on the rf cable to power the active switching circuit. Atari consoles lack this dc bias so the autoswitches will not work. For Atari, you need a manual switchbox or a direct connection ie rca/coax adapter. The Nintendo/Sega brand switchboxes absolutely won't work with Atari consoles, and most vintage switchboxes with manual switches have oxidation resulting in poor connection.

[Crypt1cV1bes]

I am not using the Nintendo switch for it. Its just an rca cable type cord and then that connects to a coax adapter that goes into the tv. I did try the Nintendo switch on the Atari though and I did not work. But I meant I tried the cable I have for the Atari on my Nintendo and it did work. But its just a cord and an adapter. Yes Im in the us. I have about 30 different carts and I have tried them all with no luck.

[Crypt1cV1bes]

Oh, also I am not sure how to upload pics. Sorry, I am new here. But the TV works fine. Im not sure what a CRTv is exactly but the one Im using is an older tube tv. The big heavy ones with a curved solid screen. The tank looking ones lol.

[SignGuy81]

Have you tried both 7800 games and 2600 games?

[Crypt1cV1bes]

I have tried both yes. If I put the game warlords in I get a solid gray screen and little black horizontal lines. Thats about the clearest I have gotten. Everything else has random scrolling colored lines. Like I said some games do alittle but different things. I am getting some sound but its all buzzing or beeping sounds.

[+DrVenkman]

To post pics here, start a post then click the orange button at bottom right that says, "More Reply Options." At the bottom of that editor window, you'll see the option to upload and attach pics.

 

Now, as for your 7800, my first thought is to wonder if the cartridge connector has debris in it or needs cleaning. Shine a bright light down in there to see if there's something inside the connector. Had a system (a 5200) that arrived with a bobby pin down inside the connector under the plastic protector. If you don't see anything, great. Spray electrical contact cleaner (CRC or better yet, Deoxit) down into the slot, then work a 7800 cartridge into and out of the slot several times to clean it. Use a 7800 cart rather than a 2600 cart because the 7800 cart has two more pins on either side - if you use a 2600 cart, you won't spread the cleaner across those four additional pins.

[Crypt1cV1bes]

I will pick up some cleaner and try that. Thank you all for your replies!