Atari 7800--no A/V, any suggestions?

[diesel_dan]

Hey guys!

So I picked up a SUPER clean Atari 7800 (still has the plastic sheets over the shiny bits!) complete with 14 games this afternoon for a steal. Only problem is, I can't get an A/V signal out of the thing. I'm using an RCA cable with a coax adapter to make the connection. All I get is a black screen, a gray screen, or sometimes a white warbly screen if I'm lucky. No sound, no visuals. I've tried multiple games (2600 and 7800) and two seperate TV's.

So did I buy a retro brick, or is there a way to salvage this thing? Any common problems I'm not aware of?

Thanks!

[CRTGAMER]

Do you get a red power light? What channel do you have the TV on? Other thing to look at is the cart connector/ game cart contacts. Even the console video jack or cable might be an issue. Make sure controllers are not plugged in to eliminate them as a problem. Also maybe console buttons might be "stuck" on from sitting too long. Tapping might free them.

[diesel_dan]

Power light is on, TV is set to channel 3--other channels just put out static. Do you think the console contacts could be dirty? Any way to clean them? I'll unplug the controller and give the the console buttons at love tap to see if that gets things going.

If I can rule all of those things out, is there anything I can do about the video jack, or should I just start looking for another 7800?

[CRTGAMER]

Power light is on, TV is set to channel 3--other channels just put out static. Do you think the console contacts could be dirty? Any way to clean them? I'll unplug the controller and give the the console buttons at love tap to see if that gets things going.

If I can rule all of those things out, is there anything I can do about the video jack, or should I just start looking for another 7800?

Game contacts in console and on carts could be dusty or dirty from sitting so long. Contact cleaner, Q-tips and aerosol can of air. Usually this is the common problem and fix.

You can hook up an electrical tester to check for continuity of the cable and that RCA (RF) jack. Maybe simple as a re-solder to the main board. There is also a direct Composite/S-Video mod you can do to bypass the internal RF modulator.

There is another guy here with identical problem on the 2600.
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a
Maybe PM christoph and join your efforts, but do share with the rest of us to get these Retros working.