BROKEN 1980s CBS ColecoVision Home Video Game Console - Trying to FIX

Hi, here we are trying to fix a broken unusual early 1980s video game console called the ColecoVision. This one was sent in by Mike from 1upGamingLimited over on eBay and it has an unusual fault. When it arrived to me it was not displaying any picture, but when Mike tested it, it was producing a horrible hissing sound.
Can it be fixed and work again like it did in the 1980s.


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.

[watchmedraw]

I love watching this because I just realized I enjoyed watching my dad do this when I was young. I finally bought my first multimeter and I'm going to be using my dad's soldering iron and solder for projects around the house. This is awesome.

[GetRefurbed]

I don't think you can get away with the "I don't know what i'm doing" card anymore Vince, we're watching a pro at work these days. Always a pleasure and always an inspiration! Thank you!

[Pico_Farad]

I love your videos. You are clearly not a trained technician, but your logical thinking always gets you in the right direction. Kudos from Belgium!

[GadgetUK]

Your Son is a talented artist!!! Those "bumpy" traces -its from where the board was wave soldered, or dipped into solder. You got uneven solder on the larger areas as it cooled - common to see on older computers and stuff from that era. Lovely fix =D Video and sound is great =D

[Ksmold]

Even unfinished wow!!! Help keep his interest in his gifts…and help him grow them…I bet you’re an amazing father…good man Vince…thanks for the hours and hours of entertainment!

[viJ]

It's very interesting to see the insides of one of these CBS models for the first time. I was surprised to see that RF modulator situated where it was when the U.S. Colecovision has it on the main board. The CBS models came out a year after the ColecoVision was released in North America, so it would seem that they made some significant changes along the left hand side of the board to make it easier to accommodate different modulators for PAL and SECAM.

[RobiticDuck]

Just bought my first Colecovision console myself. Now I got the real thing and not just the AT Games Flashback system.
Loved this video.

[CRhg]

Haha its funny when you say you have no clue about electronics and then show us a diagram on how you connected the cables.. this was some advanced next level thing.. respect

[StezStixFix]

What a lovely looking console 😍 Ben's artwork is looking great too! Gotta make sure he finishes it! 😁

[SomeNordicMan]

Your son has some skills! Coming from an illustrator and graphic designer. Keep up the good work Vince!

[michaelschwartz]

Why do we enjoy watching you fix things from when we were the little? Probably for me is that you actually fix things. I just carry out their death sentence! I'll look through some of my old electronics and see about sending them to you! Great video and channel, glad I found it!!

[MikeB_UK]

Most tunable coils of that era had ferrite slugs in them. These are quite fragile and brittle. Often once set up in the factory they had hot wax put on to fix them in place. This or just using the wrong tool can cause the core to break if attempted to be turned. Such 'twiddly bits' are often a magnet to young inquiring minds (I broke a lot in radio's etc. as a kid). My guess would be someone played with the trimmers, some broke, a brass screw was substituted for one and whatever was in the other just fell out. Great diagnosis to find the issue pretty quick.

[tsbeech]

I'm from the states and I had one of these as a boy. Absolutely love to see you enjoying it these many later. Great video Vince!

[amnril]

I’ve got a couple of these, one new old stock, something special when released back in the day. Nice to see you working one one.

[jasonrebello]

What a treat to watch after a long day at work

[acamaro]

Greetings from California USA . I bought a COLECO Vision game console system back in 1983 . I still have it . Donkey Kong came came with my system as a combo package. I then bought Donkey Kong Jr, Gorf, Rocky wich was based on Sly Stallone's Rocky movie when he fights Mr. T . Rocky came with a pair of 'SUPER CONTROLLERS " . I then bought Baseball . The expansion module on the COLECO game console, you could connect CLOECO'S ADAM which was a separate computer with key board and all. That is why the power supply on the COLECO Vision is huge. It would power accessories like the ADAM computer and what ever would come in the future . By the way...back in the day most game cartridges were basically versions of arcade games . Gorf, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr are examples of arcade games for home console game cartridges . Of course the graphics and game play were not exactly the same as the original arcade versions but they were still fun to play with .

[johanvandevelde]

Great job! An AV mod is usually the way to go with these old consoles, unless you're an avid collector and really want to keep them mint. I've done some Atari 2600 systems that way. The added transistor is basically amplifying the video signal as this is normally done inside the modulator. The rippling on the PCB I've encountered in an old Atari 400 computer. It's harmless, but scary if you don't know what it is. BTW, your son is very talented indeed. Amazing work!

[GORF_EMPIRE]

It's amazing just how detrimental RF was to the sound quality( not to mention the video quality.) Glad to see you go direct A/V. Made a big difference all around.

[electrickal]

Brand new ASTEC UM1286 modulators are available to buy for around £15 and will come tuned for video and audio ready to solder. Would have kept it original and gave you a lot less hassle. However, it was a well presented video and you used your skills nicely to diagnose and remedy the problem to get a fix. ON to the next one!!

[GoodwinsPlace]

Great work Vince.
I've been looking at buying a faulty Colecovision for a while with the intention of doing the Ben Heck mod. I'm so glad you did this as didn't think about the NTSC difference on the RF modulator. Great fix and I think it will be a good long term fix.