My VCS died. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[CGQuarterly]

Tonight, while playing Yar's Revenge, my VCS up and died. In the middle of the game, the screen just cut back to whatever was on Channel 3. I already tried hooking another console up to the TV, so it isn;t the TV that's the problem. Now when I turn the VCS on, I might see an image of the game for a split second, but it will just go to a black screen after that. (Black with some interference). I have never had a console die on me before, so I have no idea how to proceed. Any chance that this is a fixable problem? Any chance it is just the power supply that died? I don;t have another one so I can't test that theory without buying a new one. If I were to get a multimeter, what would I check?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Chris

[Robert M]

It sounds like the power supply is wearing out. Its probably either the DC supply or the voltage regulator inside the machine which reduces the 9V from the DC supply to the 5V needed by the system. If you buy a multimeter you can measure the voltage from the DC supply it should be 9V, and if that is correct, then you can measure the voltage inside the machine at the voltage regulator. It should be 5 volts. If either is too low, then replace that part.

 

Cheers!

[Mindfield]

Could be the power supply. The last two I repaired that had those symptoms (extremely brief -- like, 1Hz -- flash of a game screen, then black or, occasionally, lines or colours) it turned out to be a fried TIA chip. Those are easily replaceable in four and six-switch models; the chips are socketed and easily removed. Junior models are soldered, so you'd have to desolder the chip to remove it. If you have a spare VCS lying around you can sacrifice, or one that's dead by some other means (voltage regulator, for example) then just locate the chip labeled CO10444 -- that's TIA, and it should be located right in front of the cartridge slot -- and swap it out using IC pullers or a small (precision-type) flathead screwdriver to gently prise each side out of the socket. Make a note of chip orientation; the semi-circular depression on the one side of the chip should face the same way as the white silkscreened outline on the PCB underneath the socket.

[CGQuarterly]

Thank you both for your help. I will test out those possibilities tommorow. It is a "light" six-switch, BTW.

 

Chris

[CGQuarterly]

OK took the ac adapter to work to test it. It was only delivering about 5 volts without a load on it. I would call that fried.

 

Thanks for all the pointers!

 

Chris