Help with commodore 64 problem

[TangentDelta]

Hello, I have joined this forum because I am having problems with my commodore 64 system. When I got it on ebay, it came with a huge bundle of joysticks, a cassette player, a 5 1/4 floppy drive, and various din cables. It powers up okay, but I have to tilt the power cable slightly down, because the machine's power in port seems a bit worn out. I did not come with a VHF switchbox or any means to connect it to a TV, so I bought a VHF switchbox off ebay. When I power it up, when connected to the TV with the VHF switchbox, The noise and static goes away, and is replaced with a gray screen (I only have a black and white TV from 1978) I am only able to get this screen, nomatter what I do. I would love to get some help with this.

[bryceHUHwhat]

i had the same problem and it ended up being a faulty rf switch. note that an auto-switch will not work.try adjusting the fine tuning of the TV. also, if the TV has the capability, go directly in without a switcher. aka. use a RCA-coaxial adapter on the output, then connect directly with coaxial cable. if you only have antenna in. then take an RCA cable, and cut off one end. strip the two leads, and crimp on some horseshoe connectors. then attach these direct to the tv. this will minimize noise, and may solve your problem, or make the problem easier to solve. i had the same problem and it ended up being a faulty RF switch. note that an auto-switch will not work.

[TangentDelta]

After some research, I have discovered that my commodore 64 is experiencing blank screen syndrome. I put the game cartridge Centipede into it, and after moving the power adapter around, a garbled game screen came up. I switched the computer off, but after that, I couldn't get it to give me that screen again. I was able to diagnose my problem, by using this text.

[TangentDelta]

Could somebody please help me? I'm still unable to solve the blank screen syndrome that my Commodore 64 has. I used an oscilloscope on the Vic chip, and all of the pins have the correct frequency. I personally think it's the character ROM, but I don't know where to find replacement chips at. If I can't fix it, then I might end up scrapping it, and getting a whole new Commodore 64all together, that actually works.

[BenjaminLumen]

Hmm, look in town for a USED COMMODORE Computer shop.. Ebay

Buy Multiple 64's and just plug in new chips until you have one running system..

That is how you keep that old hardware working for the most part..

Just open up the machines and get your just bought one and replace each rom in turn.. etc.. go right down the line until you get the problem chip.. that is about all
you can do..

takes 4 commodore64's to keep 1 up and functional..

[rbernardo]

Buy Multiple 64's and just plug in new chips until you have one running system..

That is how you keep that old hardware working for the most part.

That is the scatter gun approach to repair, i.e., maybe you'll hit the problem(s), maybe you won't. If you really want to precisely diagnose the problem, you should have a qualified repair technician, like Ray Carlsen, look into what's wrong.

FCUG celebrating 30 years,