ATARI Flashback with NO DISPLAY - Can I REPAIR it?

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Hi, in this video I attempt to fix an Atari Flashback console which doesn't display on the TV. It was sent in by Lee who has sent in quite a few items over the years. Can it be fixed and work as intended once again? Let's find out.
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Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince.

[@jddeluxe2242]

I personally love that you're getting back to your roots with fixing game consoles... Keep em' coming 👍

[@JamesPotts]

I lucked into a Centipede arcade cabinet a few years back. Still brings a smile to my face when I turn it on.

[@djGreenALERT]

Congratulations on the repair.. Proof that persistence really does pay off..Well that and buying another one to use for parts helps. Just something I remembered when playing Centipede.. the Spider will never double back on itself, so if you miss it, don't chase after it. It's best to let it go off the screen!

[@gkimble90]

You could also use soldering paste Vince 😊

[@kiphakes]

Haha. Nice to see the old mug! Collectors item now! Really interesting little console

[@Mymatevince]

Yes, a very rare mug, like the MMV Rolls Royce mugs. Only a few sold worldwide, never to be sold again 😥 One day I will look back at this era and gasp at the way I was nonchalantly drinking from it. I'm holding onto it Kip to fund my retirement. I have your toothbrush as well!!!! 😂👍

[@kiphakes]

@@Mymatevince haha.. that last sentence makes you sound like a mental fan of mine.. 😂😂

[@Mymatevince]

@@kiphakes 😂😂😂

[@frankrigby7937]

Have no clue what your talking about. But absolutely fascinating watching how you get a dead piece of electronics back to life. Love it.

[@Scyllinice]

There was another Atari console between the 2600 and 7800: the 5200. It only lasted 2 years and sold way less than the 2600. They don't look to be too expensive as parts, at least states side.

[@MoTheBlackCat]

What. A. ROLLERCOASTER! Good job there.

[@jamesdye4603]

A word about the controller, the originals were horrible right out of the box, so I'm not surprised that you find the Flashback ones annoying as well.

[@boblowes]

The weird thing about this original Atari Flashback, is that it isn't actually an Atari in any way, shape or form. the company that was licensed by Atari to make it was led by Curt Vendel (who was an original Atari employee), and they were given a very short amount of time to produce the machine for the xmas market. so the simplest solution was to make a Nes-on-a_chip solution, port the games to it quickly, and bung it in a replica 7800 case. If you tried plugging the Flashback's controllers into a real Atari 7800 (cos they're quite a nice size and comfortable to hold), they won't work, as they're basically NES controllers with an Atari plug. However, the Flashback was quite a big seller for Atari, so they went ahead with the Flashback 2. This time, Curt Vendel made sure he was able to spend more time on it, and produced a replica 2600 that was actually an Atari 2600-on-a-chip. He also included instructions for adding a cartridge slot to add the ability to load real Atari 2600 cartridge games. You can also plug in paddle controllers, and unlock some paddle games. They followed this up with the Flashback 2+, which has some minor differences, but every Flashback since then has been produced by AT Games, and is some sort of Arm-based emulator. Atari have now produced the Atari 2600+, which is basically, a 7800 in a 2600 case, with HDMI output, and compatibility with both the 2600 and 7800.

[@M1LAD81]

I was on tenterhooks when you went to test and then the second time too. Good job it was only that you forgot to plug in the power adaptor! 😂

[@mattbettany1174]

I had an 800 XL as a kid . Great memories

[@TorqueEffect]

I just saw one of these today at a Half-Price Books.

[@chezsnailez]

We have the 2600 version Flashback Atari. We used to have a 7800 with games but we gave it to an upstairs neighbour girl since we weren't using it. Have a 2600 but no cartridges and a 5200 with a cartridge but we haven't been able to get it playing. Oh, well... Watching some of that gameplay and it looks-a lichen you got hosed with 2600 games in a 7800 form factor

[@xzytqweo3538]

Great job, Vince.

[@eugene5008]

Винс крутой) так ковырять эту атари) молодец 👍

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

If the reg. is a 7805 be sure to jam in a TSR-1 2450.

[@meetoo594]

I have one of these but the menu is different, its just got blue `buttons` for each game rather than the stacked game and console graphics on this one so maybe I have an earlier version. Its absolutely identical in all other aspects. It uses a nes on a chip and the games arnt emulated but recreated iirc.

[@nalleholm]

a product when the DC output is labelled as 9v and yet its outputting 18v I would fix it or throw it away

[@skeelo69]

Mr Blobby wants a go at fixing it 😂😂😂

[@dschult3]

If you're interested in fixing Atari hardware, pick up some Atari 5200 controllers, Vince. Those are notorious for breaking.

[@DEmma1972]

looks like something had burned through the black blobby blob blob which can be seen at roughly 20:36 in the bottom left of the blob

[@seguramlk]

AWESOME

[@MayaPosch]

Those 78-series LDOs (low drop regulators) are linear regulators, meaning that they discard excess power as heat. For 9VDC input you get 5VDC with only minimal heat production, whereas with 18VDC input you'd get the original waste heat plus that of the additional 9V on top of it, making a heatsink likely a good idea. It's probably why they picked 9VDC for the adapter, and it's still concerning to see it output 18VDC. Makes you wonder what's wrong inside the adapter...

[@REVERSE_BIAS]

Exactly what I was going to say Maya to the letter! Yes it'll still give a 5v output, but get red hot. No way I'd be using an 18v input.

[@rfmerrill]

7805 is not an LDO, it's a normal linear regulator.

[@VVerVVurm]

the adapter may be fine .. before switch mode power supplies this was normal behaviour of the crappy just-a-transformer-bridge-rectifier-and-cap PSUs. loading it with the specified current will bring it down to about 9V. we never saw the output voltage with a proper load

[@REVERSE_BIAS]

@@VVerVVurm I've worked on lots of vintage equipment and consoles and although I'm not saying you're wrong, I've personally never experienced that myself. 18 volts is too high, even for a 9 volt straight bridge-rectifier power adapter, which would output approx 12volts.....which I have actually seen. But never 18. I personally wouldn't use it.

[@VVerVVurm]

@@REVERSE_BIAS I agree .. if I think about it again .. SQRT(2)*9 .. 12-13V seems reasonable .. and the adapter is made for 230V AC .. what would happen if there are shorts on the primary side of the transformer? fewer effective turns and higher output voltage? or they used a 12V transformer inside the adapter by mistake

[@Tigerhawk1981]

just wait till you work on an ATARI 5200........................those things sucked, controllers never worked.

[@joshuaupham5993]

Atarti Flashback systems are absolute garbage.

[@marcellipovsky8222]

Hi Vince, just my 5 cents here - I suggest you get a proper 9V adapter there. The 7805 can handle the 35V input but it also needs a proper heatsink for that and here is none.

[@brendonelton]

Keep smashing out the repair video's Vince! I thoroughly enjoy them! keep up the good work! 👍🏻

[@BuyitFixit]

Great Video Vince, That blob chip you ground away looks like some kind of eprom or flash memory from the layout of the die. I wonder if it's possible to use one a smd one of the footprint. I also noticed on the one you were soldering in had a mark of WE which could be Write Enable and 8b and 16b which looked like a jumper for 8 or 16bit access. Keep up the great work 👍 Also it's called a trackball 😂😂

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Mick. Trackball...Yes that's the one 😂👍👍👍

[@pvc988]

If you want to see actual bond wires take a classic UV EPROM chip and look closely through its windows. Bond wires are clearly visible there.

[@lifooz2955]

"I hate not having a positive outcome on a video if possible" What a legend we are watching folks!😍🥰 /L

[@MRMichaelDeaver]

I love how Vince gets excited when things go to plan :)

[@MrJDNJ]

The atari flashback 9 (and above) are great because they have an SD card slot and hdmi out. I've had success and failures in trying to fix a few of them, but I never investigated the blob chip.....

[@TachiUk]

Another excellent video, and always love seeing the games from my childhood. Would love to see some work on a C64 one day ;)

[@Mymatevince]

I'd love to do a C64 also, I've looked a few times on eBay and I don't see any faulty ones. I do have a Spectrum 48k to look at though 👍👍👍

[@brendonelton]

@@Mymatevince Get on it Vince! I love a good Spectrum being brought back to life!

[@ErrorMessageNotFound]

I'd still replace that lead with a proper 9V one. That 7805 is going to get really hot at 18V.

[@kennybacchus1488]

ATARI. Flashback. With no. Display can. l. REPAIR. It. ?

[@MrBrainFear]

Don’t plug it in, first thing done. Let’s plug it in. 😂 good ol’ Vince. Triggers me so bad… 😅

[@legendsflashback]

33:56 I love success, have fun with NES on a chip Atari game clones NES games 😂

[@Ascania]

You looked up the maximum input voltage of the 7805 voltage regulator and concluded from that that the power supply providing double the stated input voltage would be safe to use. This is not a safe assumption to make. To drop the voltage a linear regulator like the 7805 disperses the excess power as heat and can get quite hot. Hot enough it can cook and destroy itself if the circuit draws sufficient current. In this example here the regulator was used without a heat sink, which strongly limits the amount of current the circuit can draw and by going from 9V to 18V input you effectively tripled the amount of power the regulator has to disperse as heat.

[@rfmerrill]

A true 7805 has built-in thermal protection, so it shouldn't completely fry itself from heat--the output will just drop and eventually shut off completely. However, the thermal protection does kick in at a pretty high temperature so you're not doing any favors to the system by letting it reach that.

[@Ascania]

@@rfmerrill True. Though I wouldn't rely on this thermal protection working all too well with modern Chinese-sourced 7805s.

[@zeb3144]

Despite not having any knowledge of electronics, i really enjoy watching your fix it videos.

[@rfmerrill]

Hey Vince, fun fact: The original Atari Flashback is actually a Famiclone :) Companies in China and Taiwan have been making clone NES chips for so long that it was actually cheaper for them to reprogram all of the games to run on NES than it would have been to use a modern chip or try and clone the Atari hardware. I am assuming the hardware you have is the Famiclone version and not the later ones that do actually emulate/clone the Atari hardware, but that might be hasty. If I'm correct, the blobtop you have on that little carrier board is the ROM chip that stores all the built-in games. I actually have a cheap bootleg cart that uses the same mapper and ROM chip as well. Unfortunately there is no modern equivalent of the ROM that can be purchased that will drop right in :/ The closest one would have been a 27C320 but there are none available anywhere in the correct package. You would have to bodge in a pair of 27C160s with the right logic to switch between them. 27C322 wouldn't work as it doesn't support byte access.

[@AmbroseClarke]

Wonder if those bridged jumper pads on that chip board is for selecting different games/roms. Maybe the Famiclone is still in there - Ive taken apart stuff before where you get different languages or sound effects by making or breaking those solder links.

[@summerlaverdure]

yeah, was hoping this was the Flashback 2, actual 2600 on a chip but sadly no its the lame first one :(

[@TheCod3r]

You sound funny on 1.5x vince 🤣

[@TheCod3r]

@xMyMateVINCE-it9br you're not my mate

[@TheCod3r]

@xMyMateVINCE-it9br you're not my mate

[@Mymatevince]

Hahaha, I watch myself back on 1.75x to speed up the video. Watching myself on normal speed now is painful 😂

[@6581punk]

As soon as I saw this I thought "it'll be full of black blobs".

[@legendsflashback]

Can you plug Sega controllers in it?

[@UnCoolDad]

What's up with the Rolls?

[@darrenthebuilder]

Thats the Atari that i used to have. Would of been around 1986/7 I had mine

[@StevieBGoode]

Has anybody ever told you you kind of look like Robert Hays? It's not an uncanny resemblance, but I see it. I am serious, and don't call me Shirley...

[@Tim_3100]

Ooh atari trying to fix

[@JLsoft]

This is the first version of the Atari 'Flashback', and there were some odd choices that happened. First of all, it's not emulating games or anything...the guts are basically a NES-on-a-chip/Famiclone (just like most of the other XXXX-in-1 cheapo systems where there are like 10 NES games with repeating 100 times throughout the menu), and the 'Atari' games are just re-creations made for the NES/Famicom hardware, and so the accuracy is all over the place vs. the original games. Second, they designed the shell after the Atari 7800, a system that wayyy less people would recognize at a glance, so that was cutting out even more potential based-on-nostalgia buyers. (Also, *ugh* at the flared-legs Atari logo from this era :P...but that's just me) Luckily it sold enough that the Flashback 2 happened, which _was_ styled after an Atari VCS/2600, and the guts were basically a modern 'Atari-2600-on-a-chip' that's runs the original game ROMs. The designer of both put _so_ much thoughtful work into making the 2's hardware faithful that the circuit board lists what you need to hook up in order to add an actual cartridge port to play physical games carts on it. RIP Curt Vendel

[@dodgydruid]

My ol' mum working at the Times had to review the Pong machine and then a weirdly branded Ingersoll Rand VCS in a plain brown cardboard package but inside was the original VCS sans any Atari logo'ing and the awesome Space Invader's cart and the excited Smartie joystick of course. Brother and I became gods with the VCS, suddenly we were uber popular until me dad threw his dummy out the pram and banned all our new mates leading to some proper bashings in the playground :( Only one shop in London sold the games in Holborn and the prices were absurdly high til me mum cultivated a couple of US contacts over at the embassy who managed to get us a couple more games.

[@caperlion]

We just picked up an atari flashback X. It doesn't appear to turn on. Do you have any interest in taking it, or should we trash it?

[@KAPTKipper]

The Atari 7800 was 2600 compatible too. The Atari 5200 was not. They had weird multi-function joysticks. IMO 7805 with 18V is too much - the extra power is converted to heat. 8 or 9 V is more norm.

[@bones1225]

Hi Vince , have been an avid follower since the Bronze Age. A little known channel that I also have been following since inception, is Hasseb Electronics. This guy is the epitome of “the internet of everyday use cases… and I will fix it”. Would love for you to give him a plug? Like you, this guy is awesome.

[@GadgetUK164]

Those darned chips!!! Nice work though Vince!

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Chris 👍👍

[@FelinoAnticomunista]

Maybe that BlobChip is an EEPROM that you can copy to a standard DIP EEPROM... Maybe some one in the web has a dump from that chip

[@logothaironsides2942]

Yeah! Haha. Fantastic mend. To think how exciting it used to be to watch blocky graphics popping around on the TV. I remember typing in values to get characters to come up on the TV with our old spectrum. I think poking numbers into memory. The clever crowd could do it in machine code and ruled the programming scene and were often only teenagers.

[@dodgydruid]

The machine to get is the Ryzen powered Atari, hybrid games player plus fairly decent PC all in a box.

[@TheDefpom]

@22:00 I’m 90% sure the fault would have been the soldered bridges between the main to sub board, those are prone to cracking, especially as it got worse when you tried soldering them, I think if you had persevered with those connections you would have got it working.

[@8bitbubsy]

I agree with this. It's quite unlikely that the connections to the die would go bad in a simple device like this that is stationary.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Scott. Maybe, looking through the microscope they all looked ok, but it is easy to miss a crack especially with all the reflections from the lights 👍👍

[@paulbinns1524]

What's the music during timelapse? Really nice song. Cheers for the great content. Always entertaining.

[@Styler3x]

I'd try to apply some heat to the chip, using hot air station before completely destructing semi-working asic. Checking traces continuity around the problematic area also is not bad idea.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

That PSU is either labelled wrong or faulty. There's no way that regulator will last very long without a heatsink. Get a 9v PSU or fix the broken one.

[@TobiEstosWorld]

what are you doing with most of the things you repair? I presume things like a vacuum or a macbook you keep and use, but all those toys and replica retro consoles I doud you have thenm all connected in you living room xD

[@Graytail]

18:30 Yeah, thought it'd turn out to be the ROM because of the spotty output. I'm not sure what the pinout is, or if its even possible on this model, but some of those flashback consoles could be modded so you could wire in an original atari cartridge slot, replacing the onboard games

[@atomic4l]

I grimaced when you started to grind the resin away on the "Blob" chip... Knew it was going to end that way.. :( Heatgun and lift :(

[@chrismazur6148]

15:18 the pins are labeled 9n the Mainboard. 😂

[@chrismazur6148]

​​@xMyMateVINCEour not my mate vince so go your way and dont try to scam me @Mymatevince a scammer in your comments

[@309electronics5]

Am a bit late but that blob on pcb is probably a rom chip holding the software and games and you moving it caused it to work and without pressure the dots appeared probably because the cpu/ppu had nothing to execute than random garbage in ram i wonder what those rom chips hold and if they have been dumped so maybe you can replsce it with a regular rom chip would be fun to see but you can also call it a day. Also the blob chips popping is a common issue i have probably because then air gets introduced or some pressure difference pops the epoxy, killed a few roms but replaced with regulsr roms

[@defiantgsxr]

Sweet

[@123simion1989]

Nice fix Vince, how is the car coming along? Ready for the MOT?

[@dungeonseeker3087]

It says a lot about the QC and quality of a product when the DC output is labelled as 9v and yet its outputting 18v. Sure its fine for most modern stuff since they have regulation built in but if someone grabbed that to use on an old device thinking it was a 9v output it would almost certainly kill it.

[@MizuhoChan]

I would imagine it's not actually supposed to be 18v, I had a 9v that was doing 12v, it's likely just a failing cap or something. If this was from 2004, that would put it in the age of bad caps, like you get on the original xbox and such too.

[@MrFujack103]

22:17 why didn’t you re address the soldering you did before grinding the blob? Something changed and could be a stubborn solder joint between the 2 boards still?

[@fishandreptileinfo]

Have you sold the Rolls Vince ????? Really missing the videos.

[@sparzref]

Can you help , I've got some referee buzzer flags that's are broken , I have no idea who to go too to fix them Can you help me

[@JTAG123Slamma]

You’ve got one of those nice buttery voices. That’s why I like you.

[@TurboTimsWorld]

Vince the "scary bear curtain pattern" did anyone else see it? lol 7;39

[@retroconsole_]

In centipede why the speed is a bit slow? Is it because it's pal version, 50hz?

[@DennisHeinzen]

I haven't watched it until the end yet, but at 20:25 at the first resolder you solded 2 pins together...

[@RDJ134]

So... you wacked the bal around. Not what i expected on a repair video, but here we are ;)

[@nalinux]

I don't think it's a good idea to measure continuity on a circuit with voltage. You can 't be sure of the validity, and there's a chance you damage the meter.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@29:54 - That blob chip you soldered on to the good machines is labeled 3.3V on the right side of that board in this shot.

[@charlesdeens8927]

Nothing like a good fix to actually make 40 year old games fun again.

[@jonjonblazezany808]

Hey Vince, what’s the name of the song and artist in the video, thanks.

[@za_ozero]

You bridged the first one while trying to refresh solder on the blob so it stopped working😢

[@shaunewing8973]

you have great taste in music :) . I cant find this song though :(

[@sprinter768]

"Stupid game!".... Oops. wrong channel..

[@wisher21uk]

Vince the king of consoles, nice fix Vince, well spotted and thanks for the upload 😊

[@Zackprojects]

Very cool! 🎉 great job Vince. Also cool to see inside a blob, many times I been tempted to crack one open.

[@chrisstyles4630]

Good old atari the nostalgia even though its on a classic & not the full fat atari

[@andrewmoore150]

Any more car videos? I love the car restoration vids.

[@leoglena2812]

Enjoyed "ATTACK OF THE BLOB!!"

[@dexdex1635]

where you buying low melt solder? Thx

[@andymouse]

Love Centipede and I'm old and it's a " Blob chip " !!.....cheers RIP Calculon

[@danieldobrzynski738]

River Ride was the coolest game on Atari ,but ROBBO was the best of the best, and it was Polish game. LK AVALON , Janusz Pelc .

[@danieldobrzynski738]

@xMyMateVINCE xVince , nice try...

[@Tig3rj]

Atari 2600, Atari 5200 and Atari 7800 were the main gaming systems..then of course the Atari Jaguar later on and the current Atari VCS system.

[@meetoo594]

Dont forget the lynx, best handheld by quite a margin on launch. Developed by some of the original Amiga team as well.

[@legendsflashback]

Great videos this is rare flashback indeed

[@CLC-1000]

I’m so happy to see more fix videos Vince. Interesting item, but those black blob chips look so tricky to work with.

[@WeFixTvs]

great video, thanks

[@tinman7551]

The very first console I ever touched. My cousin owned one and I could play for 20 minutes at a time in my local electronics store. It led to a life long obsession with computers that turned into a career. Love the channel sir 🥰😁🤩

[@GarthBeagle]

What a battle! Nicely done Vince 👍

[@Mymatevince]

Thank Garth 😎

[@Adam_81]

I LOVE ATARI

[@vresi]

What little grinding tool is it you have at 21:57 ?