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[georgeh]

When I got a colecovision for Christmas 2022, I was so excited to play the best donkey Kong port out there. Until I turned it on and realized I got a junk console that has been collecting dust for over a year

Below is what i usually get vs when it wants to work

 

Idk what to do! I've tried everything! Power supply is fine, currents carry fine, Google leaves me with more questions! I don't wanna give up on this thing yet, so pls help me!!

[+evg2000]

Hi @georgeh
some of the possible problems could be:
power switch needs to be removed, disassembled, cleaned, greased with dielectric grease, and then reassemble.
ram


I've attached a guide for disassembling the CV.

there is also good information here:
https://wiki.console5.com/wiki/Colecovision

they also sell repair parts.

A Guide to Disassembling the ColecoVision (Rev 1).pdf

[nick3092]

Also when you say "power supply is fine", make sure you are measuring the output while the Coleco is powered on loading it down. I have at least two bricks that measure fine with no load, and then one of the power rails takes a nose dive when loaded.

 

Heck, I replaced just about everything inside one of them (new caps, new ICs/regulators, new transistors), and it still bogs down too low under load. They just aren't reliable after 40 years.

[Jess Ragan]

Best Donkey Kong port...? I mean, compared to the Atari 2600 and Intellivision versions, sure. Even that's no longer the case as more accurate arcade ports were made for both of those systems. Personally speaking, I'm not a fan of ColecoVision DK... they wrote a big check of arcade perfection the design team couldn't cash. The NES version is more faithful. The Atari 8-bit version is more faithful. Heck, even the VIC-20 version is more like the arcade game mechanically, even if the graphics are as thick and chunky as overcooked oatmeal.

 

Er, anyway. The other responders had some good ideas... these machines are seriously old and are long overdue for new capacitors. However, your CV may also need a new graphics chip. I know the graphics chip is something that starts getting screwy with age. I'd suggest that you start with the easier problems and work up from there. Also, get flux and plenty of patience, because the components have pretty much calcified themselves to the board, and are going to be really tough to remove.

[OurVision]

I use yandex.com for technical searches. It's the only halfway decent search left, in my opinion.

[bogbean]

Glitching graphics but sometimes ok-ish... I have limited experience but would suspect a sagging 5V. Could you follow the disassembly guide evg2000 posted and measure what voltage you actually get downstream of the power switch?

 

Do you find the graphics glitches improve when the power supply has been given 5 minutes to warm up a bit?

[georgeh]

Wow this got pretty responsive. Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that all that needs to be done is a power supply replacement and a power switch cleaning. I also did a bad soldering job so I'm gonna fix that as well.

[rietveld]

sometimes bad RAM will give that garbled screen