Atari 7800 video problem

[parker]

Hi I got a Atari 7800 system for a good price from a goodwill and got a power supply and hooked it up and I got no video or audio I took the system apart and checked the insides I started by cleaning the cart slot that did nothing so I started playing with the color and audio nobs and that did nothing the system doesn't play 7800 or 2600 games is there a way to fix it as the power led comes on and I do get a black screen

[ElkinFencer10]

This may seem like an obvious question, but we all miss obvious things now and then, so don't take this as an insult - did you make sure that the RCA cord is in the system tightly and screwed into the TV's RF port tightly? And make sure that it's on the right channel.

[Ziggy]

Clean the cart slot and the carts a few more times, it might just be really dirty.

[parker]

I have cleaned the cart slot about 5 times and got nothing also I put my rf cable into my nes and it was fine I took the Atari 7800 apart to make sure in had a good signal and nothing

[parker]

It sort of works on my copy of turmoil it will show a sort of rainbow scrolling thing on the screen and if you hold the pause button it makes noise other then that you cant play the game

[Jagosaurus]

Al, owner of Atari Age, told me the Atari 7800 is extremely unreliable. He brings multiple to conventions, expecting them to act up.

I personally had 1 completely quit playing 7800 games (dead Maria chip likely) and another start having video issues. I was 0/2 on 7800s.

[CRTGAMER]

It sort of works on my copy of turmoil it will show a sort of rainbow scrolling thing on the screen and if you hold the pause button it makes noise other then that you cant play the game

Just like the 5200 4 port switchbox, the RCA jack (RF Output) coming out of the 7800 console is fragile. Both do not have clearance in the plastic shell for thick insulated RCA plugs which can damage the connection. The tight outer ground prongs of an RCA cable also can damage the RCA jack, breaking loose its solder connections inside. You might have to resolder where it connects inside the RF box, though this is tricky in remelting the solder. Check to see if the RCA jack is loose, just don't push it too hard. Gently push the RF (RCA) cable side to side to see if the picture changes. If you get a clear picture, you could "tension" the cable looped to the side that gets you a solid picture.