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Thread: Need help connecting vintage Magnavox Odyssey to TV!

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    Default Need help connecting vintage Magnavox Odyssey to TV!

    Hi. I recently purchased a used Magnavox Odyssey 4000 game system online and I am having trouble hooking it up to an RCA color television from the 80's. I've connected the game cord to the game cord swtich but then when I connect to the tv using the back VHF terminals (using the two prongs), nothing happens when I tune in the channel to 2 or 3. Plus I have tried using the fine adjustment on the tv ann I still have the problem. Could someone be willing to help me?

    Thanks!

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    Did you try another TV?

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    Is the system plugged in and turned on? (I know, obvious, but people skip that step sometimes when they're excited.)

    Also, I'm not sure, but does the 4000 take batteries?

    I know the AC adapters for some of the pong consoles are notoriously fickle. My APF TV Fun will not run on anything but batteries, no matter how many adapters I've tried.

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    OP, have you tried tuning to channel 4? AFAIK, the channel 2-3 thing was mostly on Atari consoles, with the others being 3-4. I could be wrong, but that's my recollection.
    Don't go away mad....just go away!

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    Quote Originally Posted by CastlevaniaDude View Post
    Is the system plugged in and turned on? (I know, obvious, but people skip that step sometimes when they're excited.)

    Also, I'm not sure, but does the 4000 take batteries?

    I know the AC adapters for some of the pong consoles are notoriously fickle. My APF TV Fun will not run on anything but batteries, no matter how many adapters I've tried.

    THe 4000 does not use batteries. It uses an adapter. I hooked up everything just like it send in the manual. However by TV has a scree fine tuning mechanism. Also, I think I plugging in the forks in the back the wrong way.

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    Quote Originally Posted by CastlevaniaDude View Post
    Is the system plugged in and turned on? (I know, obvious, but people skip that step sometimes when they're excited.)

    Also, I'm not sure, but does the 4000 take batteries?

    I know the AC adapters for some of the pong consoles are notoriously fickle. My APF TV Fun will not run on anything but batteries, no matter how many adapters I've tried.
    The AC adapter works fine with this unit. It's just the connection to the TV is the problem. I'm using an RCA XL-100 color tv if that helps

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarioMania View Post
    Did you try another TV?
    I wish I could! BUt I only have this RCA color tv since it has the screw on antenna terminals

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    If your pretty sure the console works you can test it out on another tv with regular antenna input with something like this. The goofy end Magnavox used are pretty stupid and can be replaced with a normal R/F cord like the 2600's, then you wouldn't need the switch box. I've had to mess with the fine tuning once with an old Sony TV I had but the vast majority of the time it was my console not actually having power or another issue.

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