2600 vertical rolling/hold issue

[ThirtyWest]

Hey folks,

 

First post. Bare with me.

 

Dug out the 2600 after all these years. Some games work and some produce nothing--the latter is for another post.

 

I have noticed that some of the games get the vertical sync/rolling/hold issue when turned on. Some don't.

I recently picked up "adventure" (the original cartridge and not the sears artwork) from ebay and it was rolling as well.

 

I'm using a Sharp 27" CRT (yeah, I still have one of those) and the old TV/Computer switch box with the screwtabs-to-RF adaptor, plugged into the RF input on the back of the TV.

 

I run a DVD and WiiU off this screen and nothing else has issues--so naturally I'm focusing on the 2600.

 

The TV has composite, component, and I believe S-video inputs as well. Perhaps a different line in would address this?

 

Then there is a simple question I've not found yet as I have just started browsing your archives:

 

Do the cartridges suffer from age? I thought that age might produce surface issues on the contacts explaining why some of mine won't even fire up.

 

 

Thanks for the patience. Look forward to hearing back.

 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Yes, cartridges suffer from age. But usually it's not the data on the chips which is suffering first but the mechanical parts. So (intensive) cleaning of the contacts is always the first way to solve problems.

 

If games roll, than you are most likely in the USA (NTSC country) and your TV does not support different TV formats. And then your TV rolls if the game your are using is PAL. You can verify this, by comparing the colors. If the colors are wrong, then your cartridge is PAL.

[ThirtyWest]

Yes, cartridges suffer from age. But usually it's not the data on the chips which is suffering first but the mechanical parts. So (intensive) cleaning of the contacts is always the first way to solve problems.

 

If games roll, than you are most likely in the USA (NTSC country) and your TV does not support different TV formats. And then your TV rolls if the game your are using is PAL. You can verify this, by comparing the colors. If the colors are wrong, then your cartridge is PAL.

 

Is there a way around this, aside from finding an NTSC cartridge?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

To stop the rolling, you would need a different TV. The colors would still be wrong though. Unless you get a multi norm TV (don't know how rare they are in the US).

[ThirtyWest]

Well, a new TV isn't in the cards. And, it works fine with most of the games. I guess I'll have to locate an NTSC game.

[ThirtyWest]

I think I have an old VHS player lying around somewhere. I'll see if I can run it through that.

[Video]

I was going to say pal games, but that's been covered. They have more scanlines than ntsc and some games just hate it, causing rolling screens.

 

The game likely is fine, but you may want to try emulation, or if you prefer hardware, find a ntsc copy if available, and not price prohibitive for you.

 

If you have more tvs, try different ones, some are more tolerant to pal, or have pal support.