Atarileaf

Sometimes I feel that way with this site. Every time I log in I've got that sense of dread thinking "What's going to not be working today?". But you know what? It's worth it. Just have to find some balance. Maybe step back a little and focus on the aspects of the hobby that you enjoy most.
 
I think it's normal to feel this way, to an extent. When things cross a threshold of "not being fun anymore" then it's time to examine things and maybe rearrange priorities. But please, don't sell off your entire collection! That's not the answer. Most likely you'll regret having done so later on. These items are treasures and each system and game that you own is super fortunate to have you as an owner, someone who really cares about his collection and wants to preserve everything and keep it running for the future.
 
This has affected my gameplay to an extent. I LOVE the TurboGrafx-16 line of game systems almost as much as I love Atari. TG16, PC Engine, TurboExpress, TurboDuo, etc. are all big in my house. I play my TurboDuo as much as anything. TurboDuo and TurboExpress are both known for two things: being expensive and having capacitor issues. Every time I power one of them on I always hold my breath for a second hoping that I get picture and sound. I always do, fortunately. TurboGrafx stuff is not "junk" in my book, but every year that goes by all of these games and systems get older and more fragile. I do my best to keep them running, and to enjoy the heck out of them.
 
The best way to do that is to keep everything running, keep your hobby at the right spot on the priorities totem pole, and to enjoy these games with family and friends, both in person and in the forums 
 
Good luck Atarileaf!

Strange title I know but I'm having a bit of a crisis of conscience, so to speak, with the collection. Lately I've been more and more trying to repair systems with various degrees of luck. Some success but a lot of failure. Just this morning I'm trying to diagnose a light sixer 2600 that had poor RF and I must have done something to blow a chip because I'm just getting the dreaded black screen now. Nothing works, probably one of the 3 main IC's.
 
I often get stressed at the idea of making a video for youtube because I fear when I turn any of my machines on I'm going to find a problem or it doesn't work at all, which has happened more recently. Hence the reason I've been trying to get into repairing more. It's getting more difficult to convince myself to sit down and actually play because of this hardware failure dread that I'm always experiencing.
 
This dread is one of the big reasons I sold off my Tandy Coco collection and TG-16 collection, among others.
 
The whole thing has caused me quite a degree of stress where I'm not enjoying the hobby anymore and like I did in 2005, it's causing me to consider selling everything off and being done with it. The whole point of this great hobby is to enjoy it but I'm not finding that enjoyment anymore due to hardware failure, which lets be honest is going to be more and more prevalent as time goes on.
 
Is what I'm feeling normal and have others experienced these feelings? I actually start getting depressed when things break down, which I suppose is a sign I'm in too deep with this hobby perhaps. Feedback and suggestions are all quite welcome. Thanks.

I  have a few suggestions for you.  I don't think trying to squeeze the stuff you want onto single sided disks is going to be an ideal solution.  A lot of software won't work that way (inserting a pause while you put the second disk in).  Here's what I would suggest:
You can replace your single sided drive with a double sided drive.  The secret here is that old PC 3.5" floppy drives work in the ST.  The cabling is identical.  You may need to buy cable extenders.  And it can be difficult to find a drive that won't involve some cuts to the case. Buy an Atari ST external drive.  Buy a floppy emulator and replace your disk drive with this.  This is the solution I'm going to try very soon on my ST.  Look on ebay for "Atari floppy emulator".  All your software would go onto a USB memory stick.  I have this exact setup on a Commodore Amiga, and it works great.  Like I said, as soon as I get some spare time, I want to do this to my ST.  Let us know how you proceed.  I'm very interested to know.  I'll do the same here when I do the surgery on my ST.

I'm late to the party on this one. I did a review when I first got SCAA last year. It is hands down my favorite 7800 homebrew, probably my favorite 7800 game period. 

I haven't played the Jag games but SCAA is fantastic. I love Circus Atari and this 7800 port makes everything about it better. A must own IMHO.

I have a question about sockets. In looking online to purchase some, there seems to be different widths. I'm pretty sure I need the wider ones but some list things about having round pins as opposed to not. The only thing I know for sure is that I need 40 pin and 24 pin sockets for the 2600. Other than that I need a little guidance. For instance this listing on amazon canada
 
https://www.amazon.ca/uxcell%C2%AE-2-54mm-Double-Socket-Adapter/dp/B00O9YQSUO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517830747&sr=8-2&keywords=40+pin+ic+sockets
 
shows round pins but this listing for 24 pin sockets doesn't
 
https://www.amazon.ca/Pieces-2-54mm-24-Pin-Socket-Adapter/dp/B00OK5YOGC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1517830813&sr=1-2&keywords=24+pin+ic+sockets
 
A close up of both shows small round bases on each pin underneath the 40 pin listing and the top where you insert the chip is round but the 24 pin listing shows the pin without this little base and a different top where you insert the chip. The second one looks more like the ones I've seen in atari's before. Is one better than the other or does it even matter?
 
Thanks

Thanks very much. That makes sense I believe the ones in a 2600 are also the ones in the second link. I'll look for those thanks

Looking at the list I see three that really intrigue me in this order
 
Quantum Fox - Solar Fox is in my top 10 favorite 2600 games. I absolutely love it.
Cheesy Mouse - I'm a big fan of both Lady Bug and Mouse Trap
Animal Keeper - I've never played it but the videos of the arcade game look really good

I think Lance over at Video 61 might know more on this.

I haven't played the Jag games but SCAA is fantastic. I love Circus Atari and this 7800 port makes everything about it better. A must own IMHO.

I haven't played the Jag games but SCAA is fantastic. I love Circus Atari and this 7800 port makes everything about it better. A must own IMHO.

I actually purchase my sockets locally here in town. Only things I really get from Best is just 5200 parts...lol. The rest I find online from other vendors or usually console5.

I would just grab the refresh kit and replace everything from the kit. Comes with a new 7805 of higher quality over the original, new caps, and a new switchcraft powerjack if I remember correctly. Those refresh kits are great and I've used them on just about all of my 2600s I have on hand and always on ones that I give away to friends and relatives or sell. For $10 it is cheap insurance in a plastic baggie!

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.

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?

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.

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.

You can verify the ribbon cable with the continuity check setting on a multimeter and test each line in turn while giving the cable a bit of a wiggle. While you're at it you should then test continuity between power and ground rails, to ensure there are no shorts present, and then power it on and check your voltages on power rails and on pin at various chips.

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?
 
 

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?