New 5200 4 port owner with problems...

[128Kgames]

New 5200 4 port owner here with problems looking for any help:

 

Hooked up the console and popped in a Pac-Man cart. System came on with a wavy image, sort of diagonal lines slanted right (/) like the picture was out of whack. Tried switching the 5200 to channel 2 but got the same thing. Switched it back to channel 3 and then changed the TV channel to 2. OK, so now I got a stable image so to speak but fuzzy and black and white (which I expected) but stable enough to start a game. Sound came through fine and I could play the game but again, wrong channel and still with a messed up picture on channel 3. (Tried other carts as well, just to be sure!)

 

Googled for Atari 5200 info and came across this forum (been to this site before but not for 5200 info as I've owned a 7800, now currently just a 2600 plus Coleco's, Bally's and Vectrex's).

 

Searched for anything that looked related but found nothing. Went back to check on the 5200 only to find a black screen. Yup, looks like it "died" while I was busy searching for a fix. Took it apart for some basic troubleshooting and cleaning with compressed air. Found no broken leads on the board, bad solder, etc. and re-seated all the chips.

 

Way to go Atari putting all those sockets on the board (de-soldering chips is not my favorite pastime!) but you lose points for the RF shield! (what, no screws?)

 

Nothing. Black screen remains. So where do I go from here? Any known issues like this? Do I get the board repaired or replaced and where would I go for this? Pick up another 4 port and just swap chips or the whole board?

 

Any leads or suggestions would be appreciated.

[classics]

Do you have a multimeter?

 

If so you could try seeing the internal voltage regulators (on the heat sink) are putting out 5V+

 

Steve

[Charlie_]

I'd use ebay and snipe the cheapest 4 port you can find just as the auction ends. The 5200 is worth it, when ya get a working one

 

I had a 4 port with a * is the serial number do the same thing to me. I actualy used the chips from that board to make my 2 port a perfectly working machine.

 

Charlie

[128Kgames]

Steve-

 

I don't currently have a multimeter, but was this to check if the board is powering up or the amount of voltage being put out?

 

The reason I ask is that if powering up is what this looks for I can tell you that the red LED does come on and there is no "static" displayed on the screen. It's defiantly a static "black" image as if the unit was on but just not functioning (I've seen the same "black" display on bad Astrocades when they croak).

 

The power supply does work on another 4 port I picked up. I was going to swap boards as the case on my bad 4 port is in NM condition but now I'd really like to see if I can fix this one.

 

What about swapping chips from the bad board to the good board to see which one (if any) is defective? Do I run the risk of messing up the good board if I swap in a bad chip?

 

I don't want to kill a perfectly good board!