MegaManFan Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 I recently picked up a copy of this game in a trade, which I was pretty happy about given it was the last Sega game for Atari 2600 I needed for a complete set. When I plugged it into my 7800 though, I noticed that the screen would "jitter" up and down a couple of pixels. First thought: * Hmmm, Spy Hunter doesn't like my 7800. I'll try a 2600. So I unpack the 2600, plug in all the cords, and fire it up. Same problem. Next thought: * Hmmm, the cart's not making good contact. I'll clean it up. So I unpack my rubbing alcohol and Q-tips, and give it a good scrub. The head tip was pretty black when I was done, so I assumed that was the problem. Dry it off, plug it in, fire it up, and it's still jittery. Next thought: * Hmmm, maybe this TV is just a piece of crap. I'll hook up to the Sharp upstairs. So I pull all the cords out of the TV, unplug the power supply, carry everything upstairs and hook it into the TV here. Fire it up and wouldn't ya know it, the screen is still "jittering" up and down. At this point I'm at a loss for ideas. I know it's not the console, because it behaves the same way on 3 different Ataris. I don't think it's the cart either, because I cleaned the contacts thoroughly and the fact that it boots up and is playable says something in itself, aside from a bad case of "the shakes." I don't think it's the TV because it looks that way no matter what set I hook it up to. Does anybody have any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 Is it only Spy Hunter that has the jitters? It might be an RF switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted August 31, 2003 Author Share Posted August 31, 2003 I don't use an RF switch and never have - I bypass with the RF-to-cable converter. And why should it behave the same way on 3 different Ataris and 2 different TV's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted September 1, 2003 Share Posted September 1, 2003 Do you know of someone who might have another copy of the game that you can try? Maybe the one that you have has some bit rot or some sort of damage. Just guessing here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted September 1, 2003 Share Posted September 1, 2003 It's a possiblity that if it jitters, would this be one way of saying that it rolls? I might sound kind of far fetched, but do you think it could be a PAL version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted September 2, 2003 Author Share Posted September 2, 2003 The trader I got it from tested it on his Atari and TV, and it didn't jitter +OR+ roll. That's what's really odd about this. I have no reason to disbelieve him either - I got three CV games in the same trade and they all work great. :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Maybe Spy Hunter is getting all excited about the new Spy Hunter movie and can't keep still. The new movie was discussed in Game Informer and will star Van Diesel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 My guess MMF is that the game is either a PAL version and it didn't roll on your friends TVs simply because his can handle the signal. I have an old Sylvania from '85 that can handle a PAL signal just fine. Or, it could be that the game has an Eprom in it...and it is started to get some bit rot going. However, the fact that it didn't jump on your buddies TV would nix this idea. I say you got a PAL cart... You could send it to someone to have it dumped and verified if you like? I would be happy, or CPUWIZ...you know who to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted September 2, 2003 Author Share Posted September 2, 2003 Just a few thoughts though before I mail it out for dumping: 1. How common would a PAL Spy Hunter be anyway? 2. What would one be doing in a secondhand game store in New York? 3. This cart is fairly beat up (used looking) to begin with - possibly been used right here in the US for a long time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Actually I don't know how common a PAL Spyhunter is...or isn't. But I have ran into PAL carts at the second hand stores here in Tulsa! My mothers Defender Cart is PAL. But, it seems to play just fine on her Samsung 27inch from like 98 or something. Also, Troy obtained some PAL Xonox Double Enders from somewhere here...and then there is always Stan's Solaris cart that was Pal...but looked every bit NTSC until I dumped it and checked it out. PAL carts actually seem to show up from time to time. Heck I actually run into Megadrive carts at several of the stores around town pretty often. I always make sure they know they have them on the floor...because I could just see some unsuspecting person picking them up for their Genesis 2 at the house..and getting pissed when they state it doesn't work. The store wouldn't know because they actually use a Genesis model 1 which isn't region locked and doesn't require anything special to play megadrive carts other than a TV to support it which theirs will since they sell imports for the other consoles all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Actually I don't know how common a PAL Spyhunter is...or isn't. But I have ran into PAL carts at the second hand stores here in Tulsa! My mothers Defender Cart is PAL. But, it seems to play just fine on her Samsung 27inch from like 98 or something. Also, Troy obtained some PAL Xonox Double Enders from somewhere here...and then there is always Stan's Solaris cart that was Pal...but looked every bit NTSC until I dumped it and checked it out. PAL carts actually seem to show up from time to time. Heck I actually run into Megadrive carts at several of the stores around town pretty often. I always make sure they know they have them on the floor...because I could just see some unsuspecting person picking them up for their Genesis 2 at the house..and getting pissed when they state it doesn't work. The store wouldn't know because they actually use a Genesis model 1 which isn't region locked and doesn't require anything special to play megadrive carts other than a TV to support it which theirs will since they sell imports for the other consoles all the time. I think there's a japanese SNES cart at my local Half Price Books right now.... I'd have to ask someone to check, because it's stacked in a pile in a locked cabinet with the connector side facing the window. REAL bright... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted September 3, 2003 Author Share Posted September 3, 2003 Super Famicom games aren't that hard to find, oddly enough. I already own a half-dozen and could easily pick up three or four more at Gamers if I didn't mind their exorbitant prices ($40 for stuff I could get on eBay for much less). Y'know, Dragonball Z games and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 Super Famicom games aren't that hard to find, oddly enough. I already own a half-dozen and could easily pick up three or four more at Gamers if I didn't mind their exorbitant prices ($40 for stuff I could get on eBay for much less). Y'know, Dragonball Z games and the like.Yah. The SNES WAS a good system to import for. Wouldn't know if it was DragonBall Z, though. May be something a tad more interesting than Crap Battle 12. Saw Street Fighter 2 Japanese once. ... I'd pr'ly find a lot more of them if I hunted the games hard. I'm more casual about collecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted September 3, 2003 Author Share Posted September 3, 2003 Saw Street Fighter 2 Japanese once. What's the diff between that and the US version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xot Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 Saw Street Fighter 2 Japanese once. What's the diff between that and the US version? Other than the names, absolutely nothing. I had one of these for a while, too. I think I still have the manual, in fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hat Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 I got a spy hunter at the begining of summer that I won in an auction. Sort of had the same problem. The screen would flicker and roll once or twice and then I would lose the screen all together after playing for a minute or two. The cart was sold as tested and working so luckily I did get my money back on that one. I have another one now that works just fine. My guess is that possibly the carts were made with inferior parts and have deteriorated over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 Saw Street Fighter 2 Japanese once. What's the diff between that and the US version? Ummm...The cartridge is round? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted September 5, 2003 Author Share Posted September 5, 2003 Anyway, back on topic, I have a curious (and for me somewhat satisfactory) ending to this discussion. On a lark after thinking about the whole RF switch possibility, I got out the Colecovision Expansion Module my wife bought at PhillyClassic and hooked it up, since the Coleco is hooked up to my TV via a good ol' fashioned game/antenna switchbox. Wouldn't you know it? On the Expansion Module the game works perfectly - no screen jitter. That leaves me to think now that for some reason, it's the RF-to-cable adapters that are causing the problem. I'll bet if I hooked up one of the Ataris via the old fashioned switchbox, I'd get the same jitter free picture. What I really wonder now is why the RF-to-cable would cause this problem, since I've never experienced it with any other game out of the 565 I own. Did the Spy Hunter programmers perhaps cheat and use an odd # of scanlines to create such a complex display? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastius Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 It just might be that Spyhunter indeed has some messy timing routines that are just off the average, or perhaps the clock generator in your atari is off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted September 5, 2003 Author Share Posted September 5, 2003 Yes but the clock would have to be off in two different 2600 models and in a 7800 to boot, the odds don't favor all THREE being simultaneously hosed (although it is I suppose mathematically possibile in some tiny iota of a degree). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 the odds don't favor all THREE being simultaneously hosed hosed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hat Posted September 6, 2003 Share Posted September 6, 2003 I use one of those female phono to coaxial from Radio Shack to connect my system and spy hunter works fine for me. That is quite a strange thing you have going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keir Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I just got Spy Hunter (yay!) and had the same problem when I tried to play it last night (boo!). It is quite strange indeed. I'll have to try it again with a standard RF switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keir Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 OK, this is even weirder. Nothing I did with my 4-switch woody worked. However, when I tried playing it on my 7800 it worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Sorry. Please ignore this. I hit the wrong button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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