Fixing an Atari 65XE That Has LOST its Colour! Retrocomputer Repair!

[@richards7909]

Mark’s got a bag of crystal. Terry and Dave will be seeing lots of colour shortly….

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I’m the Walter White of Retro.

[@richards7909]

@@MarkFixesStuff I’m not sure Terry and Dave could cope with you emerging in a pair of tightly whities…

[@christostentes3199]

[@vwestlife]

Make that "its" instead of "it's" -- no apostrophe!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

ARGH!!!!!!! You are right! Nice spot. A butcher's apostrophe!!!! I hate them. I'm blaming the iPad!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Thanks mate! Fixed on this and the Patron Ad Free version. I am so ashamed.

[@rigues]

The industrial design of the 65XE is gorgeous. ❤

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Agreed 💯 %

[@chrisrobson8540]

must be the fishy dead cap smell thats attracting the cats

[@MoreFunMakingIt]

Lovely stuff Mark!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Thanks Lee!

[@tharkthax3960]

Awesome video! Nice fix. I have a 800xl that has screen going dull then ok again randomly. Maybe similar fault. Psu is outputting 5v and caps are changed and checked for bad solder joints. So this is very helpful! Thanks! Subscribed

[@RonHelton]

Nice repair, Mark the Cat Lady. LOL I have seen commodore 64s that came across my work bench where people had used too long of a screw. Ouch.

[@mrt.7146]

Thanks for posting the tracklist ... Night Stalker is an awesome tune 🤩

[@MarkFixesStuff]

A few people started asking me what the music was on my videos. I started listing them all but it was a pain in the harris, then I discovered I could make a public playlist on my Epidemic subscription.

[@TheDarkHour684]

Some say he's the cat's meow. Others say he fixes stuff. Legend has it that his hair mutated into its own identity and is working in Stoke-on-Trent as a taxi driver. Women want him, men want to be him. We call him simply Mark.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

I am happy to see that Terry and Dave made it out alive and well from that terrible fire. Onto years of saving Retro nick nacks !

[@desiv1170]

"It has no colour, which makes games a sad affair..." ZX81:

[@Chriva]

I'd check if that thick pad under the crystal is ground and solder the thing to the board. Free floating crystals is a big no-no because they usually end up exactly like the one you replaced. At least put a double-sided pad between it and the board :)

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Funny you should say that, because I have put a double sided sticky pad on the shopping list for when I finally get around to cleaning it up. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. It’s really helpful!

[@coyote_den]

The original crystal had a heat-shrink Atari label on it, so it wasn't soldered down. Probably why it cracked.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Entirely possible.

[@retrojb101]

Another machine lives to fight another day. Great content as always Mark! 👍

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Thanks mate!!!!

[@niino4329]

from what i know, later produced MT DRAMs (e.g. these ones with a datecode of 87) are far more reliable than the earlier ones c.a 83-85

[@djm9937]

Great job, looking forward to the clean up :)

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I’ll come back to it after a few other projects. I also want to try the SIO SD card thing out as well.

[@p_mouse8676]

You could basically just leave the board as is without removing. Removing the crystal is easy, than remove the old solder, next just cut the legs of the new one at the same length, bend them and just solder it in. The solder will go through the entire via. Saves a lot of time and hassle. I have been doing this technique for over a decade, works just fine.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Do you mean solder the new crystal to the legs of the old crystal after cutting it off?

[@p_mouse8676]

@@MarkFixesStuff no. You add solder to the pads/vias of the old crystal. Pull the crystal in the meantime out. Remove the solder with a solder sucker or wig. Put in new crystal and solder the legs from that same side. The via will flow the solder all the way trough. This technique only doesn't work with single layer PCB's, since they don't use vias. The main reason why I prefer this method is not just only saving time. By not having to remove the whole PCB incl often many other things, there is less risk of breaking things. Especially when they are from plastic that can be brittle. I do the same with other components as well btw. (resistors, ceramics etc)

[@keanebgONE]

That’s seems silly, how do you see how long the legs stick down, you need to clip them so they don’t short on the grounded rf shield.

[@p_mouse8676]

@@keanebgONE you can guess pretty well how long the legs need to be. So there is absolutely no danger of shorting things.

[@TEBLify]

That's a nicee and easy fix, wish they all were like that. I got an 800XL that had the wrong colours, had to rebuild that section piece by piece until I found the culprit - a resistor that was reading as open. It wasn't burned or damaged in any way, so I assume the previous owner believed their games were supposed to look like a pink and purple mess 😅

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Reminds me of when I worked with @rmcretro on the CD32 FMV module, and some of the passives had died leaving ONLY the video with a pink tinge. That was fun to scope out!

[@Hellwyck]

Atari 800 CGA?

[@fueledbyregret]

Sometimes a shallow screw is all you need to get the job done.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

This was a quick job.

[@techkev140]

Really loved the shape of the later Atari machines, they did well to unify the range. My first experienced of it was with the 520STFM, loved that machine, apart from the under keyboard mouse and joystick ports (!...?). AMSTRAD rewired the ZX Spectrum 128K+2 joystick ports so no Atari type joystick would work (£££?). The plot didn't work, rewired joystick extension cables for a few £s solved it. Extender cables then went on to avoid wear and tear on the ST (& Amiga) ports. How do the joystick ports on these XE65 models usually look? Also screws, this 65XE had a fair few of them. Metal screws in plastic, eventually don't key if opened too many times. The ST and Amiga suffered these maladies.

[@marky26uk]

I'm sure that variable resistor on the pcb alters the colour frequency.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I’ve not looked into it but I’ll have a butchers!

[@firstsurname9893]

@@MarkFixesStuff It's definitely for color (sic) delay adjustment. If you look carefully you'll notice that there's a hole in the bottom of the case (next to the label) that continues through the shielding and the PCB to the underside of the pot. It's supposed to be used in conjunction with the Production Test Cartridge which, unlike the self-test, includes a video calibration test. If you're interested, grab the ROM from AtariAge and run it from the Uno.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

@@firstsurname9893 super info! Thank you!

[@SolderGuy11]

Great you found your 8. Whoever offered to send the missing key .. I need an 8. Please!

[@Colin_Ames]

Nice easy fix. Well done!

[@ridiculous_gaming]

Greetings, what model Weller desoldering station were you using? Sometimes solder wick is simply not enough.

[@oldguy9051]

The desoldering station isn't made by Weller but either a Zhongdi ZD-8915 or a clone of it. Basically, you buy the variant that looks similar or identical and has a 90 watt handpiece. I have a slightly older one (ZD-8925) which has a nice LED temperature readout instead of an LCD but the same handpiece.

[@ridiculous_gaming]

@@oldguy9051 thank you.

[@retrorobbins]

good video mark

[@dingusbingus7463]

Im glad to know I'm not the only one scarred for life from that "Pokemon movie"

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I wince at yellow things now…

[@mickaka]

I come for the repairs, but I stay for the double entendres.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I glad I touch you in some way.

[@mickaka]

You always dive deep enough to satisfy.

[@TotoGuy-Original]

i had one of these when i was a kid in the 90s i remember 2 of my favorite games henry's house and robot knights

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I’ll have to seek those out. I’m always looking for recommendations!

[@Steve_R]

I clicked on a cat video, and stayed for the Atari content.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Quick!!! Look over there!!!! (Hides mistakes)

[@Eblackadder1982]

I just had to do a double take when I realised I have the same monitor/tv for retro stuff.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Ah, but does yours have a Beauty and the Beast DVD jammed in the drive?

[@Eblackadder1982]

i'll be honest, i didn't even realise it had a dvd drive on the side of it... i will go and check! I doubt it though!@@MarkFixesStuff

[@DavidKlasinc]

Is that solder and steel wool holder 3D printed?

[@MarkFixesStuff]

The holder is. The brass wool cleaner is one of the standard things on Amazon and eBay.

[@DavidKlasinc]

@@MarkFixesStuff yeah, I have one like that, just nowhere to put it. Perhaps I have to search for a decent holder on printables. :))

[@cyphertheory]

I don't remember much about this video, but there was at least a kitten

[@MarkFixesStuff]

And NO MISTAKES...

[@plan7a]

@@MarkFixesStuff Or accidents involving Terry and Dave!

[@-CrippledNinja-]

No need to flick the crystal, when you go hosonic.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Gotta go fast!!

[@Hellwyck]

@@MarkFixesStuff Not too fast, think of the friction burns...

[@MarkFixesStuff]

@@Hellwyck Best part imo

[@plan7a]

I'd like to think Terry and Dave are proud to announce there were no leads knocking them over in this video. LOL. Just saying!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

They are good GummyLads

[@willrobinson7599]

Great video Mark I've got a speccy 48k that often has green, or purple tint , sometimes it's white . Is the crystal likely to be the fault on that too, its had the simple av mod done rf was a green tint too

[@andygozzo72]

is it an issue 2? there notorious for colour tint issues,

[@MarkFixesStuff]

No! I was expecting a pot tweak, but no such luck. It drifted in and out of colour and yellow tinged B/W!

[@willrobinson7599]

It's a version 6 . I did try turning the little screw on the rf module befire I did the av mod but couldn't get it to go white

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Open it up and with the screen displyed, flick the crystal @@willrobinson7599

[@willrobinson7599]

@@MarkFixesStuff thanks Mark. I'll give bit a bash

[@GeezerGamesRetro]

How did you know the crystal was at fault? Surely you had to do some troubleshooting beforehand.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Hi Geezer. This was a nice easy fix because the troubleshooting process I followed actually started with the Xtal. In the past I've had issues with Spectrums that have had missing or drifting colour and it's been down to the crystal being duff. Because they are actually quite fragile I check them first as a matter of course. The 4.433618 Mhz Xtal is the part of the circuit that encodes the colour into the composite signal and I was in the process of trying to check the frequency when I had the burst of colour just by touching the leads of the component. That was pretty much an indicator that the crystal was not in a good way and I have a bag of them for the PAL machines I repair. If the Xtal was OK I would have moved backwards through the colour part of the schematic until I found what wasn't working, but sometimes it's a quick fix and a short video like this one.

[@PCTS99]

6:28 crystal not in right place over the white square on the board. OCD alert!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Haha! I’ll go straighten it when I do the cleaning! Ok?

[@DbugII]

I was about to comment that, I searched first if someone else had commented. It's not only OCD though, if it's aligned on the white square, you know it's not going to touch the pads on the left side.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I'll defintiely tidy it up

[@benbaselet2026]

You almost got off to a good start... and then at 50 seconds I have to take a break and breathe when I see you manhandling Phillips (or is it JISIS?) screws with a goddamn Pozidriv! 🙂 It's a good idea to glue or otherwise attach those crystals to the board, they don't like vibrations.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Yeah. I know. I wondered who would be triggered first haha!!! I’m revisiting the machine to clean up the board and tidy the install when I upgrade the RAM so don’t worry. I’ll use a tri-wing next time to get you to comment and give me that precious engagement that KZbin loves. 😉

[@TheDarkHour684]

Don't worry, Mark, some people are just on the...uh...ZX Spectrum, if you know what I mean@@MarkFixesStuff

[@talsingh451]

Mark, would you consider doing a video of cleaning ps3 and ps4 remote controllers, to stop driftng?

[@craiggilchrist4223]

My 65XE shows Colour on my 1084S monitor through composite but my 800XL only shows in B&W. I know some 800XL's need a mod for the Chroma. Do you have a video for that?

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I don't I'm afraid. I don't have an 800XL

[@Hellwyck]

Here's Flick The Crystal... Grrrrrreat!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Turtleneck engaged!

[@TzOk]

PAL (4.433 MHz) crystals are easy to get, much harder is to buy 14.187576 MHz ones...

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Oh yes!!

[@CallousCoder]

I have not seen it yet not seen the schematic but seeing the luma is there o assume the colour mixer, usually a single transistor is broken. Play the show!!! Edit: wow a crystal!!! I’ve never had one fail on me before. Nice find!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Good guess but more simple!

[@CallousCoder]

@@MarkFixesStuffI just saw Mark! A crystal I would’ve never guessed that. I never had one fail on me. Nice find! And I love the pussies in your video 😂

[@MarkFixesStuff]

@@CallousCoder thanks mate!! I’ve had xtals go in Spectrums so I’m always wary of them if the colour is off.

[@CallousCoder]

@@MarkFixesStuff good to know! It would be one of the last things I’d measure otherwise 😁And for a single quid I will just swap it out if I’d ever have a black and white image before looking at the mixer 😆

[@andygozzo72]

@@CallousCoder crystal do occasionally fail, but not a 'common' thing

[@Omega_Mark]

9:39 Mark, is your power supply all original/stock? I would recommend replacing the caps in it, so your console gets nice and clean power. I would also put a date somewhere inside, so you will know (and one day your kids :) ) when you replaced them.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

It is original unmodded and stock. The psu recap will be another video!

[@stephenelliott7071]

Ah yes, fond memories of Caverns of Mars and Miner2049er (never played the sequel though).

[@MarkFixesStuff]

The scrolling on CoM is amazing. The sound is meaty too!

[@stephenelliott7071]

@@MarkFixesStuff yes silky smooth, I still play COM from time to time. I've always loved the punchy explosive sounds of the Atari Pokey Chip.

[@ToNanOrNotToNull]

Buttons at the front? Oh dear.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

That's the way I like it and I don't care if I'm weird. I had to ask for them there specifically!

[@johnDingoFoxVelocity]

Max out the ram and replace the bs ram

[@MarkFixesStuff]

That's the plan! Also going to try out the SD2SIO and fix the crystal down firmly.

[@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533]

Personally I think Terry and dave are getting a bit big for there boots, reckon it's about time they were took down a peg or two. Never owned or played on any atari, looks like an interesting computer. Nice fix .

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I was just listening to This Week In Retro and you were mentioned!

[@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533]

@MarkFixesStuff yes mate, briefly. They covet my hitsquads, Mine mine mine mine 🤣

[@plan7a]

They were nearly killed in the previous video (during an industrial accident) where a stray lead almost decapitated them! Just saying!

[@Lhawk2107]

👍

[@kmolder9499]

Another!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Another indeed! I’m back to regular programming now!

[@bzuidgeest]

You could have left the board in and soldered it in and out from the top. It's a two sided board. Would have saved you a minute unless the legs were bent down on the bottom.

[@TzOk]

Crystals don't particularly like such long "legs".

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Yeah. I might revisit the part and also fix it to the board. Thanks for the comment and for watching!

[@Mrshoujo]

Bad idea to use the unrepairable Atari power supply potted ingot.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I think I might make a modern one. I think you are right.

[@Mrshoujo]

@@MarkFixesStuff When it goes bad, it definitively goes bad.

[@cinocefalo284]

Flick the Cristal a psychodelic band

[@MarkFixesStuff]

🎷🎺🎸🎹💊💊🕺😵‍💫

[@RobA500]

Bet you wish all fixes where as easy as that.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I don’t usually record the simple ones. I thought this would be more complex. I’m now thinking that I should do the smaller fixes too.

[@piconano]

Terry and Dave look delicious.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

They are about five years old now so I'd hesitate to eat them...

[@piconano]

@@MarkFixesStuff Do they have younger family members? lol.

[@CorporalWobbly]

What happened to your beautiful hair?

[@MarkFixesStuff]

It was getting thinner than a politician’s excuses so I decided to go short again. I explained it in one of my VLOG videos but keep forgetting that they are patron exclusive.

[@CorporalWobbly]

@@MarkFixesStuff I'm sorry to hear that. I grew my hair out during lock down to try to regain my looks from the early 90s. It didn't look so good 30 years later

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Yes, the same. I looked in the mirror one day and say my old mother looking back at me! CHOP CHOP!

[@gregjarvis1232]

He should update his picture to he looks nothing like that in his video's

[@MarkFixesStuff]

@@gregjarvis1232 as soon as I get an opportunity

[@locnar1701]

Mark Fixes Stuff... Please don't fix cats on youtube... (neutering cats in the states is called "fixing them")

[@MarkFixesStuff]

We use the same term here haha! My cat knows where I sleep… 🐈‍⬛ soo I can’t say more…