 As a kid, I grew up on the Atari VCS system (more commonly known as the Atari 2600). I was fortunate that my Dad owned a hobby shop/toy store when this came out in 1977 and was one of the first of my friends to have one (along with many of the games that play on it). In 1985 when I was departing for my time in the Air Force I was unloading a storage unit of my things and the truck driver was very interested in my Atari so I gave it to him making for one very happy family. Here I am over 30 years later and interested in retro-gaming so I picked up an old Atari VCS from a seller on Ebay a year or so ago not knowing the condition. The price was right for the gamble so I did it. As it turns out, it did not work (powered on but no picture) so I have been trying to decide what to do about it. One resource I found was at www.atari2600.com where they will repair any Atari 2600 console for $24.95 plus parts. I was considering this option but have always wanted to tackle a small-ish electronics repair job so I figured I would give that a try.
www.console5.com. Please note that this link goes straight to the kit for my 'Light Sixer' unit, there is another page with a kit for the 4-switch units.  'Naked' Atari 2600 The 'sixer' units come with 2 boards, a main board and a switch board. I will be doing modifications to both of them. I did not get pictures of the boards before removing components, but it will be clear what I replaced. My instructions assume that anyone attempting this repair knows how to remove the boards from the case so I will not go into that here. Main board Repairs Atari 2600 Main Board NOTE In some cases I am using radial in lieu of axial type capacitors because that is what came in the kit. It does not make any difference for functionality but do be aware of polarity on these capacitors when installing.
Repair #2 - Replace the original pair of styrene caps with 820 pF MLCC capacitors at locations C206 & C207. These capacitors are related to audio issues which I don't know if I have but since they are in the kit and I have all the soldering tools out I got them installed.
Repair #3 - Replace original diode/capacitor assemblies with new zener diodes and .1µF capacitors at locations C236 & C237. Solder the capacitor across each diode as shown in the picture.  Repair #4 - Replace the DC Power Jack. They tend to get broken, dirty, or lose tension over the years. (no picture needed) switch board repairs Atari 2600 Switch Board Repair #1 - Replace the original capacitor with a new 2200µF 16V axial type capacitor as shown. 
The repair kit even includes a bolt and nut for units that had the VR installed to the board via rivet. Fortunately mine was just a screw. Repair #3 - Replace the .22µF "chicklet" capacitor with a non-electrolytic type. The "chicklet" type sometimes cause 'sparkles' in the video when they fail.
Repair #4 - Identical to repair #1 on the Main Board. Replace the original axial type capacitor with a new 4.7µF 50V radial type capacitor. Note polarity before removing old capacitor. summaryIn the end, this repair went quite well. Once I got all the components installed I was able to fire it up and have a working unit.  My next project will be installing a composite video modification to get better quality video and eliminate the RF modulator.
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Dan BlanchardThis is my collection of tips, tricks, and projects that I have made over the years while enjoying my various hobbies. Categories
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