Ringthane Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 OK, I'm having trouble getting my 4-port system to display anything. I recently dusted off my old 4-port Atari 5200, set it up with its special switchbox, connected to the TV, put in Pac-Man, switched on the console, and sat staring at a slightly orange screen for a few seconds. I've fussed around with it a bit and it looks like the system is not recognizing that a cartridge is plugged into it -- I get the same orange screen whether there's a cartridge in the system or not. I opened it up, and I don't see any obvious damage anywhere (not that I'd recognize anything, anyway), so I'm a little stumped. At first, I thought the problem might have been the switchbox, since it was a little corroded. SO I went on EBay and found another one, but the same problem happens. SO now I have an extra switchbox if I ever need it, but no working system to plug it into... Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Have you tried cleaning the cartridge contacts? Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringthane Posted July 19, 2004 Author Share Posted July 19, 2004 ...alcohol and a q-tip... Also, here's how I setup my switchbox: RF cable from the console into the GAME port on the switchbox. AC adapter into POWER port on the switchbox. Coaxial output cord from switchbox into TV. STANDBY/NORMAL switched to NORMAL. There's also a switch on the back of the console with a square and a circle. I've used both settings with no luck. I'm assuming this was the Ch 3-4 selector? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 You can open it up and try reseating all of the chips. If that doesn't work then one of the chips is probably bad. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringthane Posted July 19, 2004 Author Share Posted July 19, 2004 What's involved in reseating the chips? I'm assuming I'd have to take off the metal sheet covering 3/4 of the board... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 What's involved in reseating the chips? I'm assuming I'd have to take off the metal sheet covering 3/4 of the board... Yep, you have to take off the RF shielding to get to the chips. To reseat the chips you can either just try pushing them into their sockets so that they make a good connection. Or, you can remove each chip and then put it back in again. Have fun. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringthane Posted July 20, 2004 Author Share Posted July 20, 2004 Thanks! I'll try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringthane Posted July 21, 2004 Author Share Posted July 21, 2004 I've read elsewhere on this board that if reseating the chips doesn't work, then I probably have a bad ram chip or 6502 chip, which is said to be easy to replace. IS it easy? I've downloaded the 5200 board schematics, but how would I find replacement chips? Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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