right!
ive cleaned all of the pins. cynthcart and other games all work on it.
and! mssiah works on an old board sitting in the corner.
been using it all day, and suddenly when i turn it on now, it goes to a blank grey screen the same colour as the startup page where it has the mssiah logo. but its blank! and wont respond.
pritty frustrating because i have another board, but ive spent ages on this board and seems a shame to have to start all over again..
any ideas would really help!
could it be any components near the ports that are screwed? ive noticed cynthcart has 5 unused connections, ive traced where most of them go to on the c64 and its to the 5 in 1 capacitor right behind the port... could that have fried maybe????
cheers
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Hi, clean cart connections with switch cleaner maybe.
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Hi,
I have a similar problem with a "new" C64 Breadbin and my MSSIAH Cartridge. The C64 starts OK with no cartridge inserted but when I insert the MSSIAH Cartridge, I sometimes get nothing at all, and sometimes it looks like this (seems to depend on how far it is inserted : when completely inserted, I get nothing...) :
I cleaned contacts with a contact spray but it didn't change a damn thing.
The MSSIAH cartridge works great with my other C64 (8580 version)
Any suggestions ?
Thanks !
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(detailed as ever: ) Well, maybe it's too obvious, but: have you tried to fix the different metal clamps of the expansion port? The grip differs enormously from on C64 to another one which is sometimes noticeable in the required pressure to put the cartdridge in. So maybe individual clamps of the female connector have no contact to the mssiah contacts (or loose it within time), caused by heavy use and over stretching of the port, over all these years. The caused defective communication between mssiah and c64 causes defective outputs on the screen...
Perhaps it's visible which clamps are defective: they must all slightly reach over the plastic seperators between them. Even if not visible, disconnect the c64 and mssiah, then use a screwdriver to carefully and slightly press the (visible twisted, else all) clamps one by one to the center (the upper ones: down, the lower ones: up - to prevent misunderstandings). Make smallest possible bendings, cause the clamps can break, they make it harder to put the cartridge in and the more over grip the more the contacts of mssiah are slowly scraped. Thus, it's better to make it successively: bend a bit, test, bend a bit, etc. - But be aware of the possibility that there are other causes. So, don't over do it. - But it's the most likely reason and, therefor, seems to be the most meaningful starting point for diagnostics.
Could I help?
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Well I'm afraid I already checked grips and tried to bend a bit more those how seem to be a little loose. But that was far from obvious... I'll try again today.
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Do you have another Cartdridge for testing the similarity of effect?
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Unfortunately no other cartridge, which makes trouble shooting a bit difficult...
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I got screen problem with one of my bad SID's. Do you have any you could replace with? although if it fires up fine to home screen without cart, I would have to agree it could just be the connector.
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Actually I tested the SID with my MIDIBOX SID and it works great...
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You are sure the mssiah cartridge isn't damaged, so works with another C64, and c64 itself works, i.e. works also loading and playing a game, and grip of the socket is proper and nothing is deadlocked there? Well, the next thing, I would check, is the condition of the connection of all the port pins to the mainboard, as it is possible that the different effects come from a loose pin or loose printing on the board. I recognized that the copper prints of few mainboards of my c64s have less footing. So, if the port is heavy used...
Otherwise, in this moment I think, it could be the logical area ics ("U17" and "U15" in old versions). I remember vague that a defective CIA could produce such phenomenons, too. I, however, don't know why this should happen only with the cartridge in. --- But, before you give up or warm up the soldering iron, the next step should be to ask this question in a real geak forum for the commodore again. I'm sure there's someone who knows more details... We are only some ordinary musicians here!
Last edited by CassandraX (2012-01-23 20:46:15)
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Have you checked whether the original OS-ROM is installed or not? Maybe there are conflicts... Or does the C64 have other special properties or mods? Did you check MSSIAH with minimal configuration: no SID2SID, no Joystick, no midi cable plugged in - only power supply, monitor, mssiah?
Last edited by CassandraX (2012-01-25 19:18:20)
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Thanks for all your tips CassandraX.
No mods on this C64 straight from the box, I mean, from Ebay...
I juste received a game cartridge I ordered to test the port. It is "Dragonsden".
Unfortunately it doesn't work either... So there must be something with the port.
I tested the SID, the C64 menu boots when nothing is inserted and the display is fine.
So... I guess I'll follow your advice and post on a C64 geek forum!
Thanks again for your suggestions. If you have more, feel free! ;-)
Last edited by tupinamba (2012-02-02 00:33:46)
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Well, I tried my best, but remote diagnostics remain tricky.
(i) Yesterday one more suggestion came to me: Did you use the identical power supply? Defective or even only weak ones often show astonishing, individual and, therefore, hardly explainable characteristics.
Also remember: The correct, but more or less only start screen and even many further tested operations are neither a sufficient indicator for the fullfilled function of all necessary parts of the c64 nor a sufficient indicator for the original commodore rom. (ii) For the latter you have to check the start-up message, e.g. "jiffy dos" (which were compatible), and, even if not, the board e.g. for eproms (often with paper seals on the upper side) or ics with handmade sockets. (iii) For the former you can check the other ports and input devices, because they all (including expansion port) are connected to the important CIAs, generally and especially for MSSIAH: So, the operational reliability of those are indicator for the operational reliability of the CIAs which are a necessary condition for the circuitry to the expansion port. For this purpose check 1. all keys of the keyboard, 2. disk operations, 3. joysticks on both ports, 4. mouse and, if possible, 5. the userport. Are these all fine, it will more probable that it is indeed the socket itself and its solder connection to the mainboard, repairable through IMO "crude" resoldering. - Well, enough for today...
Good luck!
Last edited by CassandraX (2012-02-02 12:49:15)
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The Mssiah cart is probably busted. Try contacting 8bitventures, the contact page is somewhere on their home page.
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