pete@utgpu.UUCP (03/13/87)
Hi everybody, Just thought I'd relate a little horror story I've been having with the service department of Atari here in Toronto. I've had my 1040 for about a year now, and have been mostly satisfied with the machine. cheap and powerfull. The computer itself seems to be pretty reliable. my sm124 however... My monitor developped a glitch a little while ago that takes the form of the image shifting left to right or right to left at random interval and random distances. The distance is usually less thatn 5 mm and the entire image usually shifts, though occasionally I also notice horizontal spikes and wave- ering. I took my monitor to Atari service here in Toronto, and they said it would take 2-3 days. 7 days later, they told me it was done. I went out to pick it up: all there was was a note:No problems, must be with computer. This seemed wierd to me as my color monitor has NEVER given me problems. Anyways, I took in the whole system. 5 days later. "couldn't find the problem". Damn! I thought. must be interferance. (though I had checked that). SO I set the stupid thing up at WORK. same problem. I took it home, and UNPLUGGED EVERY APPLIANCE AND ELECTRICAL DEVICE IN THE HOUSE. ***SAME PROBLEM***!!!! These guys are either BLIND or just plain aren't willing to spend the time to find the problem. Frankly, I am EXTREMELY PISSED OFF. I spent over $2000 on atari equipment. Yah, the software isn't great, I can live with that. I CAN'T LIVE WITH RUDE AND INEFFECTIVE SERVICE. So, I ask the net, has ANYBODY had the kind of monitor problems I have been having? I guess I am forced to open the damn thing up myself and fix it. Let's hope I don't electrocute myself (for atari Canada's sake!) Pete Santangeli pete@utgpu SNAIL : Pete Santangeli 56 Coldstream Ave Toronto, Ont Canada M5N 1X8
akw@osupyr.UUCP (03/15/87)
In article <1987Mar13.141548.24430@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> pete@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Peter Santangeli) writes: > My monitor developped a glitch a little while ago that takes the form >of the image shifting left to right or right to left at random interval and >random distances. The distance is usually less thatn 5 mm and the entire image >usually shifts, though occasionally I also notice horizontal spikes and wave- >ering. Peter: take a deep breath and relax. That way you will live longer! Seriously though, this is not meant as a flame or even a small spark...just a beacon of possible help. My friend here in the dorm had a similar problem. He took his SM124 back to the Atari dealer who promptly gave him a replacement (EXCELLENT return policy here in Columbus), brought home his new monitor and had similar problems again. Given, dormitories probably do not measure up to national electrical standards and given the RF interference we have here (we are sitting in between three or four TV station transmitters and as many FM radio trans- mitters) but when he moved his power supplies and disk drive *away* from the monitor most of the problems cleared up. Try this and try to plug your system in somewhere else in the house. Otherwise, there could be a problem with your system. | Andy Weaver --+-- akw@osupyr.UUCP | The Ohio State University | Proverbs 25.25 1774 College Rd Cols, OH 43210 |
leavens@atari.UUCP (Alex Leavens) (03/17/87)
> My monitor developped a glitch a little while ago that takes the form > of the image shifting left to right or right to left at random interval and > random distances. The distance is usually less thatn 5 mm and the entire image > usually shifts, though occasionally I also notice horizontal spikes and wave- > ering. Sounds like your video shifter chip might be flaking out. Try reseating it, and if that doesn't work, replacing it. --alex @ Atari BIX:alexl. GEnie: ALEXLEAVENS AtariCorp: 408-745-2006 "How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all."
turner@imagen.UUCP (D'arc Angel) (03/17/87)
in article <665@atari.UUCP>, leavens@atari.UUCP (Alex Leavens) says:
+---------------------------------------------------------
+
++ My monitor developped a glitch a little while ago that takes the form
++ of the image shifting left to right or right to left at random interval and
++ random distances. The distance is usually less thatn 5 mm and the entire image
++ usually shifts, though occasionally I also notice horizontal spikes and wave-
++ ering.
+
+ Sounds like your video shifter chip might be flaking out. Try reseating
+ it, and if that doesn't work, replacing it.
if you have a one meg upgrade, you might check the connections also
the MMU, try reseating it too. one caveat, if you are not a level 1
hardware magic user don't go pulling chips and reseating them, take
it to your dealer, he may charge you but its better than having to
pay him to repair an 'accident'.
+
+ --alex @ Atari
+
+ BIX:alexl. GEnie: ALEXLEAVENS AtariCorp: 408-745-2006
+
+ "How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all."
+---------------------------------------------------------
--
---------------
C'est la vie, C'est la guerre, C'est la pomme de terre
Mail: Imagen Corp. 2650 San Tomas Expressway Santa Clara, CA 95052-8101
UUCP: ...{decvax,ucbvax}!decwrl!imagen!turner AT&T: (408) 986-9400john@viper.UUCP (John Stanley) (03/18/87)
In article <1987Mar13.141548.24430@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> pete@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Peter Santangeli) writes: > > My monitor developped a glitch a little while ago that takes the form >of the image shifting left to right or right to left at random interval and >random distances. The distance is usually less thatn 5 mm and the entire image >usually shifts, though occasionally I also notice horizontal spikes and wave- >ering. I had a similar problem with the first machine I got. > I took my monitor to Atari service here in Toronto, and they said it >would take 2-3 days. 7 days later, they told me it was done. I went out to >pick it up: all there was was a note:No problems, must be with computer. > This seemed wierd to me as my color monitor has NEVER given me problems. >Anyways, I took in the whole system. 5 days later. "couldn't find the >problem". > Damn! I thought. must be interferance. (though I had checked that). SO >I set the stupid thing up at WORK. same problem. I took it home, and >UNPLUGGEEVERY APPLIANCE AND ELECTRICAL DEVICE IN THE HOUSE. > ***SAME PROBLEM***!!!! The problem I had occured durring heavy load periods when the line voltage dropped in my area. Unpluging your whole house wouldn't make much of a difference one way or another. The service center you went to may have in a different power distribution area even if it was a block away... > These guys are either BLIND or just plain aren't willing to spend the >time to find the problem. Frankly, I am EXTREMELY PISSED OFF. I spent over >$2000 on atari equipment. Yah, the software isn't great, I can live with that. >I CAN'T LIVE WITH RUDE AND INEFFECTIVE SERVICE. Don't go blaming the service guys when they can't recreate the problem. It took bribing a friendly service tech into coming to my place to figure out the cause. > So, I ask the net, has ANYBODY had the kind of monitor problems I have >been having? I guess I am forced to open the damn thing up myself and fix it. >Let's hope I don't electrocute myself (for atari Canada's sake!) I certanly hope you haven't zapped yourself before you read this. The problem turned out to be a random glitch in the vidio shifter chip control registers. The solution was to replace the chip... --- John Stanley (john@viper.UUCP) Software Consultant - DynaSoft Systems UUCP: ...{amdahl,ihnp4,rutgers}!{meccts,dayton}!viper!joP P