Possibility of Atari 2600 cart memory wipe...

[closer.to.harbor]

I recently stumbled upon a copy of Tigervision's River Patrol for Atari 2600.

I am a cart. collector, however I figured someone else might enjoy owning this gem more than I. So I decided to sell it to Atari2600.com

The cart was working flawlessly before I sent it off. I have several individuals who can vouch. But when It arrived on the other end, I recieved a call from atari2600 informing me that the cart was no longer working.

He send it back, and sure enough, it no longer works. All I get is a black screen.

This is a real disappointment, seeing as how the cart is self, physically, is in almost mint condition.

So my question is: what are the chances of a memory wipe via postal scanning, etc.


and could someone maybe suggest some other possible problems?

thanks.

[Leo_A]

Doesn't seem like there's a chance it would get erased. I'm not even sure if it would affect something like a eprom since people routinely send those through the mail without issues.

I would think there's a bad solder joint somewhere that maybe was affected enough by being in something like a unheated shipping container in the cold much of the country has been experiencing that finally made the cartridge inoperable.

Don't do it on my account until you get some confirmation from someone else here that's more knowledgeable than I am, but I would think if you reflow any solder and make sure any chips are seated properly, you could probably easily revive this cartridge.

[closer.to.harbor]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I can get the thing fixed. Do you know of anyone (or where) that can get the thing working again?

[Compute]

ROM = read only memory. You cannot erase it. I could see the possibility of electrostatic discharge, though it is unlikely. Are you sure you received the cart that you sent? Have the screws or label been tampered with?

[closer.to.harbor]

That was my first assumption, but no. I don't believe anything had been tampered with.

The only reason the possibility of a memory wipe was considered was because that's what the guy that I sold it to had suggested. I figured such a thing would be unlikely, but he mentioned the fact that he was told that Tigervision carts had a tendency to be erased.

[RP2A03]

It was always my understanding that all cartridge games, except prototypes, were stored on a silicon chip that could not be erased or corrupted without a really high voltage (such as lightning).

Perhaps you set it down near your Tesla coil? http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad101/RP2A03/smiley/elotrocute.gif

[jb143]

It was always my understanding that all cartridge games, except prototypes, were stored on a silicon chip that could not be erased or corrupted without a really high voltage (such as lightning).

Perhaps you set it down near your Tesla coil? http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad101/RP2A03/smiley/elotrocute.gif

Static shock from just touching the contacts can do it too(which IS a really high voltage), especially if they're CMOS chips, though it's not incredibly likely to happen, especially with 2600 contacts being harder to get to.

[slapdash]

How interesting that the Telegames cart Scott shows must have been for a 32-in-1 multicart, seeing the 5 slots for the switches under the label...