Magnavox Odyssey 200

[Zap1982]

Hi Guys,

 

Hopefully someone can help me. I have aquired this Magnavox Odyssey 200 in an "untested" condition due to the previous owner not having the power lead.

 

I was aware that the system can run on batteries but sadly the compartment seems to have had a leak in there at some point and is also broken in places.

 

I have not had time to take it to bits yet to inspect general condition but the underside of the board I think looks reasonably clean and free of corrosion from the battery leak.

 

Any advice on what power lead I can use with it to test or would that not be advisable at this stage? I am in the UK so would need a suitable three prong plug. I believe the Magnavox version is identical to the Phillips release we had over here but as this is "Magnavox" it appears to be the USA released console - will this make any difference when considering a suitable plug?

 

Any pointers very much appreciated.

[bah]

Hi, 

Go looking on the internet for a users manual and a service manual.  If I remember right, Magnavox sold a power adapter that was 9V DC with a 3mm audio style tip.  I think the Atari 2600 power supply would work. 

The cord end you show is for Magnavox's proprietary RF video end.  The signal will be NTSC and come in over the channel you set on the bottom of the console.  

Good luck, the batteries seemed to have leaked with the fluid going down to the bottom case half at least.  Hopefully the electronics look good and still work.

[mutterminder]

It's a single sided phenolic PCB. The cardboard can be lifted up to inspect the traces to make sure there is no damage from the batteries electrolyte.  If residue is found it can be cleaned with household vinegar.  (I use an old toothbrush.) Dry off any excess, and once the PCB is dry, inspect for opens in any of the circuit traces. If there are opens, these can be jumpered with some small gauge wire soldered across the damaged area. (You might have to scrape away some of the green solder resist to get the solder to stick.)  If the electrolyte migrated to the component side and damaged the component leads, it becomes a much more difficult problem.  If I recall, the chips in this are very early Texas Instruments series chips that each generated one element of the on screen display, like the ball, player, or dividing line.  These were not used very long before most manufactures, including Magnavox, started using single chips that contained all the game logic, so getting replacement parts might be difficult.

 

This unit does not produce on screen scoring, hence the two little white sliding pointers. These are use to keep track of the score. If you do get it working, you might want to consider doing a composite video mod.

Edited April 23, 2023 by mutterminder
Typographical error.