Has my cart split its mortal coil???

[Atari Creep]

Hey guys. I have an M Network cart that has never worked. Board and pins are clean and everything seems to be in good condition. Now I know games sometimes fry but I have never had a game I could not get going.

Here are images of the board and the games symptoms. Is anything out of place here, maybe something I just can't see with my non tech eye or should I just let it walk quietly into that dark night????

Thanks

 

EDIT*** Its Masters of the Universe The Power of He-Man if that is important to know.

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Atari Creep

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I'm afraid that one might be dead.  The ROMs are epoxy coated so you can't do anything with those.  I could be wrong.  Have you tried cleaning contacts on cart edge with an emery board, gently?  

[RickR]

I've had some die just like that before.  Best thing I can offer is to keep trying to clean the pins.  I've had good luck with a soft toothbrush and warm soapy water when q-tips/alcohol don't work. 

[Scott Stilphen]

Try a green 3M Scotchpad.  Those work great on edge connectors.

If that doesn't work, try a piece of fine-grit sandpaper.

If that doesn't work, that cart is dead.  That board uses COB (chip-on-board), so there's no option to reflow any solder joints.  If you're really bored, you can fill in all the pass-through holes on the pcb with solder, but beyond that, there's nothing else you can do.

[Atari Creep]

On 12/27/2018 at 10:45 PM, Scott Stilphen said:

 

 

On 12/27/2018 at 10:45 PM, Scott Stilphen said:

Try a green 3M Scotchpad.  Those work great on edge connectors.

If that doesn't work, try a piece of fine-grit sandpaper.

If that doesn't work, that cart is dead.  That board uses COB (chip-on-board), so there's no option to reflow any solder joints.  If you're really bored, you can fill in all the pass-through holes on the pcb with solder, but beyond that, there's nothing else you can do.

 

On 12/27/2018 at 3:45 PM, kamakazi20012 said:

I'm afraid that one might be dead.  The ROMs are epoxy coated so you can't do anything with those.  I could be wrong.  Have you tried cleaning contacts on cart edge with an emery board, gently?  

I have tried all that, guess I have to just enter the acceptance phase of this loss. LOL Thanks guys.

 

P.S.  I ended up getting the Intellivision port to play for now.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Atari Creep

[nosweargamer]

1 hour ago, Atari Creep said:

 

 

I have tried all that, guess I have to just enter the acceptance phase of this loss. LOL Thanks guys.

 

P.S.  I ended up getting the Intellivision port to play for now.

The Intellivision ports is a lot better anyway.

[Atari Creep]

16 hours ago, nosweargamer said:

The Intellivision ports is a lot better anyway.

Agreed

[Atarileaf]

Is that jumper wire factory or has that cart been modded?

[nosweargamer]

20 minutes ago, Atarileaf said:

Is that jumper wire factory or has that cart been modded?

 Judging by this pick from another M Network cart, it might be factory

[Atarileaf]

Ah ok. Looking at the pic I wonder if that cap at C1 might be dead and if so that would cause these issues. I suppose if one had a similarly rated cap lying around a simple swap would be easy enough just for the heck of it. I don't really see any bad traces on the board, at least nothing that would prevent it from working. Probably simply a dead rom unfortunately. 

I've had very few dead carts in the 26 years I've been collecting but it does happen. I find it mostly with Activision carts. Just last year I lost a Keystone Kapers cart AND Riot chip at the same time when I turned on a 2600 I was working on that got zapped by static electricity. I heard a small pop. I've since bought an anti static wrist strap. Lesson learned

[Atari Creep]

On 1/4/2019 at 6:08 AM, Atarileaf said:

Ah ok. Looking at the pic I wonder if that cap at C1 might be dead and if so that would cause these issues. I suppose if one had a similarly rated cap lying around a simple swap would be easy enough just for the heck of it. I don't really see any bad traces on the board, at least nothing that would prevent it from working. Probably simply a dead rom unfortunately. 

I've had very few dead carts in the 26 years I've been collecting but it does happen. I find it mostly with Activision carts. Just last year I lost a Keystone Kapers cart AND Riot chip at the same time when I turned on a 2600 I was working on that got zapped by static electricity. I heard a small pop. I've since bought an anti static wrist strap. Lesson learned

Maybe I will try to swap the cap if I can find one down the line. Like you, in all my years I have had VERY few carts go dead. Thanks for the advice bro!!!!