System 1 problems (again)

Silverunicorn

Well-known member

Donor 2011-2012
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
4,810
Reaction score
416
Location
Quakertown, Pennsylvania
I finally scored a personal grail of mine, a kit for my Atari System 1 cabinet. Problem is, it does not work (was sold to me like this, this post is not bashing the seller AT ALL).

Anyway, I got the control panel, marquee and boardset. I plug the kit daughter board into my motherboard and get a flashing "NO CARTRIDGE" message.

I try the 'new' motherboard that was in the kit with all the daughterboards I have and get the following screen:

5270499543_b84687fa33.jpg



Some of the characters blink, some flash. not really sure what's going on here. There is a red LED on the motherboard that does NOT light up. anyone know what that indicates?

Any ideas on where to begin with this?

Oh, the kit that was such a 'grail' for me?????

5270499671_aa19bca171.jpg


Thanks in advance!

Chris
 
Last edited:
If you put the game in Self Test do you get anything?

I had the same screen when I put the mahcine in test mode. Althought now I don't remember if I put it in test mode while power was off. If I put my motherboard in, I get a good picture on the Indiana Jones. My motherboard has issues on the header pins that make the controls not work :(

Not sure if that helps you at all or not.

Chris
 
I had the same screen when I put the mahcine in test mode. Althought now I don't remember if I put it in test mode while power was off. If I put my motherboard in, I get a good picture on the Indiana Jones. My motherboard has issues on the header pins that make the controls not work :(

Not sure if that helps you at all or not.

Chris

You can put the game into test mode at any point and it will go into test (assuming you turn it on :D).

If a different cartridge works with the main board, the problem is going to be on the cartridge.

You'll want to check for bad program EPROMS. Those are the EPROMS closest to the Slapstick. You should also inspect the bottom of the board and look for any pins that are bent over and possibly touching another pin, or a trace. While you're at it, check for broken traces.
 
What board you after ?? I've got a few System 1 boards and daughter boards :D

Do you have the PPR control panel ?

Check out my PPR CPO creation :D

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=159919

I was following that thread actually. Very nice work. The control panel that I got is pretty nice actually, so I think I will leave well enough alone with that.

I suspect the motherboard is bad. There's ALOT of jumpers on it, and no matter what daughter card I put in I get the same garbled screen. Dont know that I have much more $$ to put into this right now.

You can put the game into test mode at any point and it will go into test (assuming you turn it on :D).

If a different cartridge works with the main board, the problem is going to be on the cartridge.

You'll want to check for bad program EPROMS. Those are the EPROMS closest to the Slapstick. You should also inspect the bottom of the board and look for any pins that are bent over and possibly touching another pin, or a trace. While you're at it, check for broken , traces.


Will check those things out, thank you. Every daughter card gives me the same screen with this motherboard.

Chris
 
If I put my motherboard in, I get a good picture on the Indiana Jones. My motherboard has issues on the header pins that make the controls not work

check with a multimeter you have the correct voltages especially the +5V
before and after the connector to the motherboard
 
Silverunicorn;1448634There is a red LED on the motherboard that does NOT light up. anyone know what that indicates?[/QUOTE said:
An LED that isnt lit is a major sign that something isnt getting the power it wants, the LED is there for a reason, it should be lit.
 
An LED that isnt lit is a major sign that something isnt getting the power it wants, the LED is there for a reason, it should be lit.

If I recall correctly, the main board LED's are NOT lit. The one furthest from the edge connector should flash as the board boots.

If you really want to know the voltage, there are several test points on the board.
 
Will check those things out, thank you. Every daughter card gives me the same screen with this motherboard.

Chris

Ok, couple things to try:

1) Try the current main board WITHOUT a cartridge. You should get a "NO CARTRIDGE" error. If you get the same thing as what you have now, you'll know for sure it's the main board that is causing this issue.

2) Try the other Main board again. You might not have had the cartridge seated correctly in the connectors.

3) There are several points on the board that you can test for +5V. Make sure those are as close to +5V as possible.

If all that checks out, you can try swapping the CPU between the two boards.

From there, you'll need a logic probe to start digging deeper..
 
Ok, couple things to try:

1) Try the current main board WITHOUT a cartridge. You should get a "NO CARTRIDGE" error. If you get the same thing as what you have now, you'll know for sure it's the main board that is causing this issue.

2) Try the other Main board again. You might not have had the cartridge seated correctly in the connectors.

3) There are several points on the board that you can test for +5V. Make sure those are as close to +5V as possible.

If all that checks out, you can try swapping the CPU between the two boards.

From there, you'll need a logic probe to start digging deeper..


Thanks, I will try to get to this ASAP and report back.

Thank you for the information!

Chris
 
Back
Top Bottom