Mattel Intellivision UK Version Repair - What Shielding?

[@TheGeoffers08]

Great video mate. Stumbled upon your vids by accident. Now.subbed, keep up the good work!

[@BillFixesEverything]

Thank you for watching and for the sub, hope you enjoy the videos coming up👍

[@technretro7115]

Hi Bill. I think I read somewhere that the shielding in commodore computers was a US FCC requirement that they just rolled out for all units. Maybe other manufacturers decided to save on additional costs for countries/regions that didn't require it. Keep up the good work.

[@BillFixesEverything]

Yes you could be right. If you look at a ZX Spectrum which was released around 1983 that has zero shielding but Colecovision in the UK did. Thank you and hope you enjoy the upcoming videos👍

[@MotownBatman]

I just picked up an OG Intellivision, Beautiful Shape, Has Issues playing games, Most games Wont Play, and every time I would Shut Down Pull/Replace the Cart, Different Pixels or MATTEL Letters would change Colors but Not start the game. Tapping Controller one causes the Screen to Glitch, Lite Taps on the System itself a little bit too. I got Some Tinkerin' to Do.

[@BillFixesEverything]

Hopefully you've been able to sort it now. I did another video on the Intellivision where I replaced the membranes in the controllers and when I plugged them back in again, the controller wouldn't work. It may be worth unplugging the controllers first and see if that makes a difference. Following that, remove and reseat the chips that are mounted in chip holders, then clean the cartridge port with some isopropyl alcohol to make sure that's not the issue. If none of that works, have a look to see if there are any dry joints. If none of that works, it could be the STIC chip but hopefully not.

[@MotownBatman]

@@BillFixesEverything I've Seen the Membrane Vid. I have it Gutted on the Workbench, It really seems like the Cartridge Slot is Swollen, I have to rock a Cart back 'n Forth to make sure all the Contacts are seated properly; But not too Far, or Everything is Grey Scale.. This thing is Clean, More to come Really Weird.

[@Tycowiz]

I bought a boxed one with 2 games for a fiver years age not fired it up yet.

[@BillFixesEverything]

The good news is that unlike some younger consoles, the Intellivision is fairly bullet proof. Maybe worth plugging it in and seeing if it works. On my one it’s the controllers, will have an update video on these shortly and then trying to work out the best way to add a composite video to make it easier to connect to a modern tv. Thanks for watching

[@Intellivision78]

I have a large number of Intellivision systems, and my biggest concern is not getting the controls in order, but rather the unit going into black mode. It can work for a short while and then the screen goes black. I have no solution for this. I read that it might have something to do with the processor etc.. But I'm bitter that I can't solve the problem.. Greetings from Sweden!

[@BillFixesEverything]

Good to hear from you in Sweden. An interesting problem. I’ve done a little research and most people have it going blank screen from startup. I think what may be happening is that once the system is warming up, a component is failing causing it not to read the cartridge correctly and then causing a blank screen. First thing I would try is giving the cartridge port a good clean. I’ve seen it on things like NES consoles where a game will play for a bit and then glitch or freeze. I’d use isopropyl alcohol or contact cleaner and try get down the contacts by inserting and removing a cart, giving it a wiggle of course, do this all with the power off. It could also be a dry contact on the board. These are also notorious for causing weird issues happening. For this though, you’d need a soldering iron and some solder to freshen them up. A little solder flux may help to. See if that fixes it or at least means the game runs for longer without crashing. Failing that, it’s looking at the board traces to make sure they are not damaged or corroded or start changing things like the capacitors as maybe one or two may be dry and no longer at the correct value. Hope something here helps you fix it

[@MotownBatman]

The US Had a bunch of Stupid RF Shielding Requirements, Thats Was a Huge Downfall of the FAIRCHILD CHANNEL F System They had to do a Last Min Revision and Add a Huge Shield/Heatsink/Slab of Heavy Metal to the Design

[@BillFixesEverything]

I thought we had similar rule here but when you look inside the ZX spectrum there isn't any. I'm guessing by the second revision of the C64 they must have relaxed it a bit because that has a piece of cardboard with a bit of foil on it for the shielding. Shame the Channel F didn't stay in there longer. Even though it was first to market, once Atari got a foothold, even if your console was superior, they grabbed the market share. Thanks for watching.