Basic Atari TV Hookup Question

[Casati]

I've hooked up my Atari 7800 to my TV and played within the past year, but it's been many months since then, and I'm unable to get a working screen. I'm hooking up directly to the tv's vhf outlet. My TV channels are either 4 or 91 and the console options are channels 2 or 3. I know it should still work though, since I've hooked it up in the past. Channel 4 displays a fuzzy white screen with background noise and channel 91 is blank (black).

[CRTGAMER]

You TV is not programmed to channels 2 and 3. Manually add them in the TV service menu. You can also direct select the TV channels 2 or 3 with the Remote.

[Casati]

I manually entered both 2 and 3 in the remote and neither displayed the screen cleanly. The screen has a fuzzy background although it runs the Atari game by this method. I'm almost sure that I ran the Atari on a clear screen this past year by using either channel 4 or 91, probably channel 4, although that doesn't make any sense. I plug the Atari outlet jack into the TV's VH jack by using a small, add-on adaptor.

My TV has a cable channel box sitting on top. I normally set the channel to 4, then use the cable company's remote to surf available cable channels. I play my NES games with the TV set to channel 4, and my SNES games with the TV set to channel 91. I'm almost sure that in the past I've unplugged the NES RF jack from the TV's VHF outlet to plug in the Atari for playing the Atari.

It can't be a console problem because both of my Atari consoles worked fine earlier this year, and it's not a problem with the TV because I use the TV for playing other consoles all the time.

[APE992]

How fuzzy is fuzzy exactly? RF isn't a picture of beauty by any stretch of the imagination.

Probably better off getting a composite or S-Video (if possible) mod done.

[Casati]

By fuzzy, I mean as fuzzy as the fuzzy screen I have when it's disconnected, the whiteout background fuzz that produces a loud noise if you have the volume at normal levels. When I've played my Atari consoles in the past, the screen has been clear, so it's something I'm doing differently with the connections.

[APE992]

By fuzzy, I mean as fuzzy as the fuzzy screen I have when it's disconnected, the whiteout background fuzz that produces a loud noise if you have the volume at normal levels. When I've played my Atari consoles in the past, the screen has been clear, so it's something I'm doing differently with the connections.

Possible but this interests me:


It can't be a console problem because both of my Atari consoles worked fine earlier this year, and it's not a problem with the TV because I use the TV for playing other consoles all the time.

I don't know how the 7800 does things but the 2600 had a cable that plugged into a jack on the board that could easily come loose or become damaged over time. My grandparents had a 2600 that looked utterly horrid and upon opening it you could clearly see that the cable inside had started to crack open and likely was accepting interference from somewhere. Quick swap of the cable and it was factory fresh.

There are also capacitors that do go bad even if they previously worked a month prior. The TV could hypothetically be at fault - just because it works with other consoles doesn't mean it'll work happily with the 7800. Especially if a failing/failed component puts the signal out of spec or a cable/connection is damaged on the 7800 side of things. I'd wager you're right in that the TV isn't at fault if you can use other consoles with the same exact connection.

Just to eliminate a possibility, have you tried the 7800 on another TV?

[Casati]

Possible but this interests me:



Just to eliminate a possibility, have you tried the 7800 on another TV?

No, that's the only available one for gaming. I'd be killed if I used the family room TV for it. But I can't believe that both of my Atari consoles went bad at the same time after a brief respite from use. I think it's just my memory failing me about exactly how I connected them to the TV in conjunction with having the cable channel box placed in use on top of the TV.

[Urzu402]

Are you using an NES rf switch for the Atari? If so it won't work you need a single RCA cable and an RCA to coaxial adapter this stuff is like 10 dollars at RadioShack

[Casati]

Are you using an NES rf switch for the Atari? If so it won't work you need a single RCA cable and an RCA to coaxial adapter this stuff is like 10 dollars at RadioShack

No. I think I'm using what you listed. I unplug the NES hookup from the TV's VHF jack, the screen goes fuzzy and produces loud white noise, I plug in the Atari hookup with the adaptor in the VHF jack, turn on the Atari, and get a clear Atari screen. All while my TV cable is set to channel 4, I believe, the default channel that it stays on while I surf through channels with the cable remote.

Or that's been the result in the past. Nowadays the Atari screen doesn't display.

[Urzu402]

Hmmmm sorry then, that sounds like something that would happen if you're using an NES rf switch. The switch on the back of the Atari should be Chanel's 3-4 I think not 2-3. I know it's a long shot but try jiggling the conections around a bit. Maybe your adapter went bad or needs cleaning

[ApolloBoy]

The switch on the back of the Atari should be Chanel's 3-4 I think not 2-3.
Pretty much every Atari system save for the Jag uses 2-3 as opposed to 3-4. If it's displaying on channel 4 instead of either 2 or 3 then there might be a coil that needs adjusting. I forget which one as I chucked the RF modulator out of my 7800 when I modded it.

[Casati]

My memory was that I was using channel 4 for Atari as I use channels 4 and 91 for all of my video game consoles just because of the way my digital cable channel is hooked up. Well, my memory was wrong because today I tried the Atari again and was able to play both my 2600 and 7800 consoles on channel 3 with a very clear picture... until later in the day, I plugged in my Sega Genesis to see if a game I received in the mail works, then when I tried using the 7800 again, the screen was very fuzzy as it has been the past few weeks, and I have no idea what caused that since I didn't disconnect any of the 7800 connections while playing the Sega.

update: it's some type of electrical interference issue because when I move the unplugged NES RF around, the Atari screen alternated between clear and fuzzy. It also cleared up for awhile when I plugged my Genesis and SNES jacks in different outlets on the back of the TV. I tried something with my TV's cable box, and now the cable box has to be reset.

[theclaw]

RF jack internal damage could be a factor. With potentially years of plugging and unplugging.

Similar happened to my Coleco Gemini's power jack.