Colecovision no picture or sound

[cubejunky]

Hi, 

I recently found an Colecovision at a flea market for a decent price so I picked it up. Got it all hooked up and cleaned the cartridge slot and games. When I turn it on, the picture goes black with static and nothing else. Any ideas what’s wrong and how to fix or who could fix it.. not good with a soldering iron at all if that’s what it requires.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

First guess is to make sure that the power supply isn't the problem as they can go bad. I've a short video I made on how to test the outputs on the CV power bright using a standard multi-meter in volts mode:

 

 

[cubejunky]

Ok, the power supply it came with shows correct voltage and all, but it just doesn’t like it for some reason, so I went to a local retro game store and they had a power supply so I picked it up, with this one the system turns on and plays but only in black and white and still no sound. Not sure if it makes a difference but I am using a RCA to F adapter and not a game box like it originally had. The game box adapter it came with was broken.

Edited July 14, 2021 by cubejunky
Updated information

[Dopy25]

1 hour ago, cubejunky said:

Ok, the power supply it came with shows correct voltage and all, but it just doesn’t like it for some reason, so I went to a local retro game store and they had a power supply so I picked it up, with this one the system turns on and plays but only in black and white and still no sound. Not sure if it makes a difference but I am using a RCA to F adapter and not a game box like it originally had. The game box adapter it came with was broken.

Shouldn't make a difference. If anything it should work better than an outdated and busted rf box.

 

Try putting light pressure on the rf jack that sticks out of the back. I don't have a coleco but some of the other systems I have had a problem where the solder jack would break loose and cause static or color distortion. If it is a loose solder joint on the rf jack, it should clear up when you wiggle the cable or put very light pressure on the jack. Don't push too hard because if it is loose you could make it worse. I would say it's a good sign that it at least works. Hopefully it was cheap? 

[cubejunky]

After messing with it more it’s a problem with the RF jack, when I put light pressure on it it works perfectly. I’ll need to find someone who can resolder it back on. It was cheap since they didn’t know the condition of it, so $20.

Edited July 14, 2021 by cubejunky
Additional info

[Dopy25]

That is cheap and I can see why you picked it up. Honestly if it's the solder joint on the RF, you could pick up a $10 soldering iron that comes with some solder and reflow that bad boy pretty easy. The joints on those are far from small and even someone with clumsy hands could reflow those joints. Heat up the solder and use an old piece of wire to pull some (most) of the old solder off before adding more and you'd be golden. Not saying don't hire a pro. I'm just saying RF jacks are probably the easiest thing to reflow.

[cubejunky]

Just now, Dopy25 said:

That is cheap and I can see why you picked it up. Honestly if it's the solder joint on the RF, you could pick up a $10 soldering iron that comes with some solder and reflow that bad boy pretty easy. The joints on those are far from small and even someone with clumsy hands could reflow those joints. Heat up the solder and use an old piece of wire to pull some (most) of the old solder off before adding more and you'd be golden. Not saying don't hire a pro. I'm just saying RF jacks are probably the easiest thing to reflow.

I used to solder all the time, but recently been on a medicine that makes my hands shake to the point where I’m not comfortable soldering anymore. So I’ll have to hire someone to do it, if you got any suggestions let me know tho.

[Dopy25]

18 minutes ago, cubejunky said:

I used to solder all the time, but recently been on a medicine that makes my hands shake to the point where I’m not comfortable soldering anymore. So I’ll have to hire someone to do it, if you got any suggestions let me know tho.

Oh I see. I'm sorry to hear about that. You might want to reach out to CrossBow. I know he works on many consoles and does absolutely amazing work from what I've read.

[Russell Davis]

I too need help . I have power but no color or sound. Maybe something to hook up to the colored jack holes? I have no experience in this so quoting Christmas Vacation layman's terms only 😊