My poor,...poor atari..HAS YOUR LONG FULFILLING LIFE ENDED!?

[Retromaster]

I am the master of retro, hence my screen name....but it was only until recently that I aqquired an atari 4 switch 2600 system. It was christmas.
I saw this as a breakthrough from all thy retro games I had played. I BEGAN TO LOVE THE SYSTEM. I LOVED IT LIKE...LIKE...MORE THAN MY NES....IT LIVED IN HARMONY...UNTIL...IT WAS ON MY STAND IN MY ROOM....SITTING THERE IN FULL GLORY....HOOKED UP TO MY TV IN MY EMACULATE ROOM.....I WAS PLAYING PACMAN....
UNTIL....................................................IT STARTED TO FIZZLE......... .................ITS PICTURE TURNED INTO SNOW.....THE IMAGE STARTED TO SCROLL UP........IT WAS DYING!!!!!..........IT STILL WON'T PLAY CORRECTLY NOW.......I EVEN OPENED IT TO SAVE IT WITH MY MULTIMETER.....NOTHING....... ......NOTHING ................ IS IT DEAD I SHALL ASK ALMIGHTY NOLAN BUSHNELL....!!!!!!
HAS ITS FULFILLING LONG LIFE ENDED FOR NOTHING????!!!!!!!! DAMN YOU AGE!!!!! DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT..........................IS IT STILL......ALIVE....? IS IT ONLY IN A COMA!!!!????
CAN IT BE SAVED FROM THE BRINK OF THE AFTERLIFE!!!!!?????
FOR ANY OF YOU WHO WILL HELP ME ON THE QUEST TO FIGHT FOR ITS LIFE, YOU SHALL BE DEEMED A SAVIOR TO ME AND THE ATARI!!!!!!
YOU SHALL BE CALLED THE ALMIGHTY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU WILL ASCEND WITH POWER IN THE EYES OF THE ATARI AND THE CRUSADERS ON THIS FORUM!!!!!!!

IF YOU HELP IT, YOU SHALL BE BOWED DOWN UPON!!!!!!!!

if you help me save it, don't expect a response too soon as my computer is in a coma and i'm posting this from an abandoned school house.

ALMIGHTY ONES.......YOU HAVE THE POWER..... NOW FIGHT FOR ITS LIFE LIKE A DEMON COBRA!!!!!!!!

[A_Username]

The same thing happened to me, I was about ready to scream and puke at the same time. I found this site on google, when mine broke, for like $10 or $20 he can restore and clean you atari. If it is beyond fixing, he will even tell you so you don't have to spend like $100 fixing everything on the board. The guy who owns this is really polite and helpful. Just fill out a form with what kind of atari you have, the nature of the problem, and your shipping information.

http://www.atari-garage.com/Service.html

Hope it helps,

-Derek

[vb_master]

It was because you were playing Pacman.

[Retromaster]

The same thing happened to me, I was about ready to scream and puke at the same time. I found this site on google, when mine broke, for like $10 or $20 he can restore and clean you atari. If it is beyond fixing, he will even tell you so you don't have to spend like $100 fixing everything on the board. The guy who owns this is really polite and helpful. Just fill out a form with what kind of atari you have, the nature of the problem, and your shipping information.

http://www.atari-garage.com/Service.html

Hope it helps,

-Derek

this will probably help. thankyou.
still posting this from an abandoned school house. computer is not fixed yet.

[Retromaster]

It was because you were playing Pacman.

what's wrong with pacman?
is it badly programed?

[vb_master]

It was because you were playing Pacman.

what's wrong with pacman?
is it badly programed?

If you havn't noticed yet...

The game sucks.

[Retromaster]

Oh yeah......I remember now.......That game DID suck....I died almost on every move I made.....Right now it's sitting on my desk screaming demonic possetion phrases out of the cartridge door. (you need to see the excorcist)

[ShockSlayer]

Let it sit for awile, clean everyting.

SS

edit: yeah I know, Go look at my topic in n64's

[Retromaster]

Has been sitting for days, haven't cleaned it yet 'cause I don't know how to safely remove the cartridge slot assembly safely without it breaking. I couldn't clean it with canned computer air duster 'cause i'm fresh out of that. rubbing alchohol would work if I put it on a playing card and clean the pins, right?

EDIT: you made a thousand posts shock slayer.

[Retromaster]

OK, I think i've found a suspectable problem....
there is this weird oily non liquid residue that coats all over both sides of the board. there's also a crispy brown substnce near certain leads such as 2 leads on a processor ic and on the leads of the DPDT power switch. I'm afraid this might be rust. do you think this has anything to do with the failure of the system? I tried to see what I could do with the rust on the processor ic leads by desoldering the leads and resoldering with fresh metal. I haven't really tested it out afterwards ('cause i'm too lazy to unhook my nes ) but all desoldering did was make the substance sizzle a bit. It sizzled like really polluted french fry oil you see at FatDonalds...(you know what I mean- the home of the phsycho clown named ronald) any one think this is a problem?

EDIT: sorry for all the caps in the first post- it was before I stopped doing that.

[Steve-o]

I'm pretty sure thats just flux.

[Retromaster]

yeah, it is remarkably like flux....it could be from too long of contact with iron to joint....It sizzled like grease though, just like flux. So then I came up with a new possibility..THE RF BOX COULD BE BAD! it seems the most likely, so I might just waltse on over to the trading post for a while....

[Rekarp]

i wonder if theres a capacitor in that rf box that could have gone bad.

[Retromaster]

hmmm.....you just brought up a very interesting point.....never thought of opening the rf box....WHICH is what I shoud do. whip out the multimeter, pliers and desoldering iron- ITS TIME.....
(that was a quote from one of the best movies ever made...)
Of course, to REMOVE the rf box you have to go through acres of solder to free it from the board.....yep.....boot up the soldering gun......
i'm sure you know what type of agony I had to go through to get the nes rf box off, right?

[SpongeBuell]

rather than replace the RF, why not do an A/V mod?