Trouble Shooting an Atari 2600

[treismac]

Let me apologize ahead of time for knowing so little about electronics.

About 7-9 months ago, my 2600 worked apart from a busted controller port. Now, the TV doesn't register that I've turned on my Atari at all when I flip the power switch.

I'm thinking that I should start by testing my 2600's AC adapter with a multimeter to see if it is the reason the old girl doesn't want to fire up. How would I go about doing this? While not certain, I think the AC adapter is working because I left it plugged in for a while and it feels just barely perceptibly warm.

Dammit.

What would be a good next step if the power is indeed fine?

[Sunnyvale]

Hmm... My usual first step is to try another RF cable. Next is the power cord, as sometimes the wires can break inside but it still works and feels warm. Looking at the male end of the power pack cord, you'll see a black line on the metal tip. That seperates + from -, so use your multimeter set to 50v and touch both of those metal pieces the black line is between. You should get 9-ish. If not, that's the trouble. If it's more complicated than that, the power switch itself would be my next guess.

[FABombjoy]

If you're using an original 2600 power adapter then that's the first thing I would check, for sure. I think in the 11+ years I've been collecting / fixing systems I've had one that worked... out of dozens and dozens. It's rated for 9v but unloaded may read as high as 13-15v.

Next step would be to open it up and check that the 7805 regulator is getting 9V in and 5V out with the power switch on. Depending on the results you'll know if it's power switch or regulator related.

The 2600 service manual has some great flowcharts if you want to follow the factory blessed troubleshooting path. If you see nothing, absolutely nothing... not even a slight change in the TV static when turning the power on/off... then it's probably a power problem.

In any case there's not much to these things so troubleshooting a non-op condition is pretty straightforward.

[treismac]

Hmm... My usual first step is to try another RF cable.

The RF cable is, inconveniently, soldered to the 2600 circuit board... Do I need another 2600 RF cable or can I solder any generic video game system RF cable to it? I'd be thrilled if there was some magical AV cable trick/mod to replace the RF crap cable. What can I say? My retro purism gives way to performance and convenience.

Regarding checking the power, my multimeter, CEN-TECH Digital Multimeter, doesn't have a 50V setting that I can find. Here is what it looks like:



I appreciate the help thus far, Sunnyvale420 and FABombjoy! Right now it's late and my brain is giving way to sleep, so let me see if I can give your collective advice a go tomorrow.

[Sunnyvale]

Some guys AV mod them, but it's more involved than I've ever tried. Soldered to the board you say?!? Wow... Every Atari I ever opened had just a regular port and plugged right in... If you want to upgrade cords, get some of those fancy shielded cables. The proper name escapes me at the moment, but no doubt someone else will drop t he nomenclature.

Use the 20 or 200 setting on the DCv side of your tester. Try the 20 first, but I've seen some cheaper testers do weird stuff, so try the 200 if you get nothing or something odd. Hopefully it's nothing major.

[omp!]

I had a 2600 (Vader) where the TIA chip was KIA, had power etc but just a blank screen.

[treismac]

Soldered to the board you say?!? Wow... Every Atari I ever opened had just a regular port and plugged right in...

Uhhh... Yeah, it wasn't soldered after all. It popped right out. I suppose the odd, stubby look of the plug threw me off. *sigh*

Moving on...

My multimeter reads nothing for the AC adapter so let me see if the Wal-Mart around the corner has anything that will work.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

[Sunnyvale]

My multimeter reads nothing for the AC adapter so let me see if the Wal-Mart around the corner has anything that will work.

Wally world can't help, at least not here. Every now and again I get lucky and find something in a box of cords that will work at a thrift, but Ebay is where I usually have to go to get mine. Sad, but true.

[treismac]

Wally world can't help, at least not here. Every now and again I get lucky and find something in a box of cords that will work at a thrift, but Ebay is where I usually have to go to get mine. Sad, but true.

As an inveterate low stakes gambler, I had to roll the dice. Needless to say, I crapped out. I'm going to email the owner of a retro toy & video game store, Planet Fun, to see if he has any replacement 2600 AC adapters in stock. He mentioned in the past that he had some a while back. Fingers crossed. If doesn't have it, I'll order one online.

[Gameguy]

As an inveterate low stakes gambler, I had to roll the dice. Needless to say, I crapped out. I'm going to email the owner of a retro toy & video game store, Planet Fun, to see if he has any replacement 2600 AC adapters in stock. He mentioned in the past that he had some a while back. Fingers crossed. If doesn't have it, I'll order one online.

You could use a universal adapter if you needed to, for awhile these tended to turn up at the local thrift stores near me for around $1 each. I only needed one so that's all I bought, it had the necessary hookup for an Atari 2600 but I'm just using it for anything I need to test out. I'm not using it dedicated to anything specifically, though I could if I wanted to.

[Sunnyvale]

You could use a universal adapter if you needed to, for awhile these tended to turn up at the local thrift stores near me for around $1 each. I only needed one so that's all I bought, it had the necessary hookup for an Atari 2600 but I'm just using it for anything I need to test out. I'm not using it dedicated to anything specifically, though I could if I wanted to.

This is true, but...
If you have a young child in the house, it's probably bad idea. The switch on them means with a touch of childish curiousity they can send the wrong power into the console. Probably not a good idea, especially if the cord has AC and DC settings. If you have no kids frequenting your gaming turf, NP. But if you do, I'd drop the extra few bucks and wait the extra few days.

Either way, let any adult who goes there know as well. Universal adapters scare me.

[FABombjoy]

The switch on them means with a touch of childish curiousity they can send the wrong power into the console. Probably not a good idea, especially if the cord has AC and DC settings.

The AC/DC thing for sure, but do they even make them that way anymore, e.g. with 5 or so tip styles all built in to one connector? Every universal I've seen in a store for the last 15 years has come with multiple tips that you have to remove to change polarity.

Most universals go from 3V-12V, none of those settings will hurt a 2600. Too low and it won't work, and 9v-12V will work just fine.

For childproofing, just plug it in to a cheap extension cord and run a few passes of duct tape around the whole thing

[Sunnyvale]

The AC/DC thing for sure, but do they even make them that way anymore, e.g. with 5 or so tip styles all built in to one connector? Every universal I've seen in a store for the last 15 years has come with multiple tips that you have to remove to change polarity.

Hell, I dunno. I haven't bought one in a long time. Maybe it's time I get one...

[FABombjoy]

I've got some but I think they're all from the early 80's, with 4 tips and a 9V battery clip attached. Makes it look like whatever it's plugged in to has a throwing star sticking out of its side.

[Sunnyvale]

I've got some but I think they're all from the early 80's, with 4 tips and a 9V battery clip attached. Makes it look like whatever it's plugged in to has a throwing star sticking out of its side.

Them's the ones I used to have. I know they were potentially dangerous to your console, but the new ones...

Sorry, OP

[treismac]

Replacement AC adapter is on the way from AtariGuide. Outstanding.

[treismac]

Them's the ones I used to have. I know they were potentially dangerous to your console, but the new ones...

Sorry, OP

Quite alright. No damage done.

[treismac]

It was indeed the power. Kick ass. Thanks for all the help, gang!