JuanIgnacio Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Hi all. I’m a new member My atari 7800 ntsc shows the atari logo when I insert a xevious cartrigde and then turns off. I asume its a ntsc cartrigde because I bought it in the US What could be the issue? It plays asteroids 7800 ok and 2600 games ok. But the same happens with choplifter. Juan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 When you say it plays Asteroids do you mean it plays the Asteroids cart okay or does it come up with Asteroids automatically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 21 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said: When you say it plays Asteroids do you mean it plays the Asteroids cart okay or does it come up with Asteroids automatically? Sorry I didn’t make it clear. I meant that I inserted the asteroids cart and it plays ok. As far as I know the ntsc 7800 didn’t come with any internal games. It’s a av mod 7800 and if I insert Choplifter, it also shows the atari logo and then the image goed to black even though the power led is on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Have you tried cleaning the game cartridge contacts with isopropyl alcohol? Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 It really sounds to me like he is trying to use PAL carts in an NTSC system and only his Asteroids cart is actually NTSC. The black screen condition is happening because the carts are failing the encryption key check either because they are actually PAL versions of the games, or because as @Mitch stated, the games or the cartridge slot is dirty and not making good contact causing the encryption checksum to fail. 2600 games do not require the encryption check since the 7800 itself turns into 2600 mode when using a 2600 game and acts the same as any other 2600 would at that point so PAL and NTSC 2600 games will still load up and work on NTSC 7800s minus graphical issues or CRT/Displays not liking the PAL signal, but they will try and load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 It really sounds to me like he is trying to use PAL carts in an NTSC system and only his Asteroids cart is actually NTSC. The black screen condition is happening because the carts are failing the encryption key check either because they are actually PAL versions of the games, or because as [mention=11]Mitch[/mention] stated, the games or the cartridge slot is dirty and not making good contact causing the encryption checksum to fail. 2600 games do not require the encryption check since the 7800 itself turns into 2600 mode when using a 2600 game and acts the same as any other 2600 would at that point so PAL and NTSC 2600 games will still load up and work on NTSC 7800s minus graphical issues or CRT/Displays not liking the PAL signal, but they will try and load. Thank you for looking into it.I also have thought about the ntsc/ pal issue. But there is no way to prove it. I bought the 7800 on ebay from the US, so I think its NTSC. And it came with Choplifter (doesnt work). Then I bought xevious from ebay from US (doesnt work). Then a lot of carts forom ebay also US including asteroids (works). I have not tried the others from the lot yet. But if all came from the US they should be ntsc. Next is to clean the carts. How should I do that?Any other things I may be missing to get xevious to work?Regards JuanEnviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 Have you tried cleaning the game cartridge contacts with isopropyl alcohol? MitchNo I havent Mitch. Thanks for the tip. Will try and then post an update.Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 There would not be many good reasons for PAL carts to turn up in the US. The most obvious "transfer mode" might be US military staff bringing them back from Europe in the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 There would not be many good reasons for PAL carts to turn up in the US. The most obvious "transfer mode" might be US military staff bringing them back from Europe in the 80s.Yes, I think so too. Hope cleaning the carts solves the problem Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Ok, as of now I confirm that after cleaning all my 7800 carts are working including Xevious.Thank you all, it checks well the theory that if the 7800 cannot obtain the checksum because of dirty connector it turns of.I also have some 2600 carts that wont fit well : imagic Demon Attack or have the connectors bended like Starblast, starmaster, Bugs. Is there a way to open the carts and fix them?ThanksEnviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 17 minutes ago, JuanIgnacio said: I also have some 2600 carts that wont fit well : imagic Demon Attack or have the connectors bended like Starblast, starmaster, Bugs. Is there a way to open the carts and fix them? Imagic cart shells rarely fit the 7800 cart tunnel properly. It’s a common problem. Some late red label Atari carts have similar issues. Some people use a Dremel or similar tool to cut notches in the corners of the cartridge tunnel in order to allow a better fit. As for opening 2600 carts with a dust cover flap, you can use a small flat blade screwdriver inserted into the notch to release the cover and expose the PCB edge contacts for cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SmittyB Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 If you want to play those troublesome 2600 carts on a 7800 then the best solution is to grab one of these. https://winzmods.com/product/atari-2600-lock-on-cartridge/ By acting as a pass-through it allows you to play the cartridges that won't fit without cutting or cracking the inner plastic of the 7800 (or snipping off the tabs on Tigervision cartridges). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 1 hour ago, SmittyB said: By acting as a pass-through it allows you to play the cartridges that won't fit without cutting or cracking the inner plastic of the 7800 (or snipping off the tabs on Tigervision cartridges). There are ways to modify the sleeve that aren't easily seen or noticed. And there is also a way to allow for tigervision carts to fit as well that doesn't require clipping the pegs. Just FYI... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sixersfan105 Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 3 hours ago, SmittyB said: If you want to play those troublesome 2600 carts on a 7800 then the best solution is to grab one of these. https://winzmods.com/product/atari-2600-lock-on-cartridge/ By acting as a pass-through it allows you to play the cartridges that won't fit without cutting or cracking the inner plastic of the 7800 (or snipping off the tabs on Tigervision cartridges). This is an excellent product! I, too, highly recommend it for the third-party carts that don't play nicely with a stock 7800 cart slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Imagic cart shells rarely fit the 7800 cart tunnel properly. It’s a common problem. Some late red label Atari carts have similar issues. Some people use a Dremel or similar tool to cut notches in the corners of the cartridge tunnel in order to allow a better fit. As for opening 2600 carts with a dust cover flap, you can use a small flat blade screwdriver inserted into the notch to release the cover and expose the PCB edge contacts for cleaning. Thank you very much for the tips!! Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 If you want to play those troublesome 2600 carts on a 7800 then the best solution is to grab one of these. https://winzmods.com/product/atari-2600-lock-on-cartridge/ By acting as a pass-through it allows you to play the cartridges that won't fit without cutting or cracking the inner plastic of the 7800 (or snipping off the tabs on Tigervision cartridges). Very nice. I will look into itEnviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanIgnacio Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 There are ways to modify the sleeve that aren't easily seen or noticed. And there is also a way to allow for tigervision carts to fit as well that doesn't require clipping the pegs. Just FYI...Thanks. Will research about it.Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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