This Atari 2600 Vader edition is dead.
TV is on the right channel, Atari is on the matching channel, and I am using a known working
AC adapter - but sticking a cartridge in and flicking the power switch does absolutely
nothing.
I flicked the power switches and RF channel switch a bit to see if they were just dirty,
and there were still no signs of life.
Once you get inside an Atari 2600 with this problem, you can do a few additional things
real quick like... check the RF cable at the modulator to make sure it has good connection
and check the solder joints for your power jack and power switch.
But if you have a multimeter, at this point it is pretty easy to throw a cartridge in,
power up, and see if you are getting the right values.
The 9 volt Atari AC adapter outputs around 15 volts when it isn’t under any load load.
Turning on the Atari will drop that value.
If we measure the voltage at the large filter capacitor, we can quick check the functionality
of the power jack and power switch.
We are getting a steady 13.8.
That is still kinda high for a powered up Atari 2600.
So… let’s check the output of the 5 volt regulator.
0.73 volts.
It’s toast and will have to be replaced.
Here is the old regulator in circuit.
I actually have a spare one from an old Atari that I am going to use to revive it.
If you don’t have a spare one handy, you could pick up one from console5.com. They sell replacements as well as thermal grease.
After flipping the board over to get to the back, I can desolder the voltage regulator.
Once that is done, it is time to unscrew the regulator from the board.
Now to remove the old thermal paste.
I’ll use some Q-tips dipped in alcohol.
Note that if you don’t have a desoldering tool with a vacuum pump like the one I used,
you may wish to unscrew the regulator, bend it up away from the board, clean the
thermal grease off FIRST, and then desolder the regulator.
You can wiggle the regulator on the top side of the board without getting grease all over
your fingers while adding heat from your iron to the solder points on the bottom of the
board.
I applied the grease I had left to the spot where the replacement regulator will go.
You may wish to add a little bit more than this to get full coverage and use a plastic
tool rather than a Qtip.
No need to get expensive stuff like you would use for modern CPUs and their heatsinks.
You may find grease that comes in a syringe a bit easier to apply.
The replacement regulator needs a bit of cleaning of its old thermal grease so... I'm going to get that off.
Insert the legs into the three holes and make sure the body makes good contact with the
board.
Don’t worry about grease coming out the sides.
You can cleanup the overflow later if you wish.
Bolt the regulator to the board.
I generally like to turn the screw counterclockwise first and make sure the threads sit properly,
and then tighten it down.
Now all that is left is to solder the regulator in place.
Joints look good!
One thing a lot of people don’t really show in these videos is clean-up.
You may want to use a Qtip with some alcohol to clean your flux off after you've done some soldering. Just clean your work area.
There seems to be some other gunk down here that I may want to clean off after testing.
OK.
Time to test!
Reconnect the RF cable.
Reconnect the power cable. (Make sure the switch is off first.)
Put in a cartridge, Aaaaand….
Success. I’ll move the camera and turn off some lights.
Now remember what I said about checking your RF cable earlier?
That thing can be in pretty shabby shape as well, so I’ll mess with it a bit to try to
clear up the picture.
There we go.
Awesome.
I’ll probably replace that cable or at the very least clean up its connectors a bit.
OK. Finally, let’s check the output voltage of the replacement regulator.
It looks good!
This guy may still need a bit of refurb work in other areas, but at least now we now know that voltage
is good and the machine is operational.
Hope this helps any of you with a dead Atari 2600.
Thanks for watching.