[Atari Heavy Sixer Ribbon Problem]

You could swap it out.  But I'd buy a new one.  They are super cheap.  Look on ebay.

 

It would cause black screen issues.  Unfortunately, the higher voltage *may" have taken a chip or two out with it.  But try changing the regulator out and see if it works.  In many cases, it does. 

 

Will do thanks Rick.  I'll put that order in at console 5. Yes my concern is that some chips went too but fingers crossed. I'll post again when the voltage regulators arrive and I swap them out. Maybe I'll grab a refresh kit while I'm at it.

[Atari Heavy Sixer Ribbon Problem]

Thanks for the help I really appreciate it

 

So I'll try to find a suspect capacitor. Should I just follow the board traces between the power jack and the regulator and see if I find any suspect readings on the various caps along that path?

 

BTW I do have an old intellivision parts machine with a voltage regulator that's giving me 12.5v in and 5.1 out. It's a standard 7805. If I don't find any bad caps I suppose I could swap out the regulator on the atari for this one? I may also order a dozen or so from console5. That's a great site with very helpful people.

 

Also would a bad voltage regulator cause black screen issues?

[Atari Heavy Sixer Ribbon Problem]

So I seem to be getting continuity with all the pins where the ribbon cable is soldered in place to the various spots on the board each pin leads to and they all seem to check out. I'm getting the beeps. So it's possible the ribbon cable itself is fine and the plastic on both sides is simply separating?

 

As for power to ground rails, I'm not sure what that means. The power jack where the psu plugs into? What are the ground rails. Sorry I'm still fairly new to this and I'm not overly familiar with the terminology. The power jack itself seems to get continuity to those same points on the board to that ribbon cable so I think it's alright.

 

BTW I checked the voltage regulator again with the machine powered on and I'm getting 8.5v in and 6.3 out and the heat shield around it is pretty hot to the touch. That sounds out of spec that should be replaced?

[Atari Heavy Sixer Ribbon Problem]

good point. I thought the ribbon would be an issue since it's separating in two places.

[Atari Heavy Sixer Ribbon Problem]

Thanks for the reply. I'll check continuity on these tomorrow. In the event it's toast, is something like this repairable and if not, are there replacements for these without cannibalizing another machine? This is the first one I've seen with a mylar style ribbon, my other heavy/light sixers use a regular wire cable. These mylar ribbons seem problematic at best and a generally poor design.

[Atari Heavy Sixer Ribbon Problem]

I was given this heavy sixer which I was told was dead and noticed the ribbon cable is in very poor condition. I get a black screen when it's powered on and am thinking there's a good chance it's this ribbon cable. It seems to be separating which would lead me to believe there's poor or no communication between the two boards. Any advice on this and possible replacements?