Atari Lynx General Maintenance

Routine care for the original Atari Lynx (Lynx I). The console has one main board carrying the LCD, the backlight and its inverter, the cartridge slot and a switching regulator that runs from six AA cells or a 9 V adaptor.^[1]^[2] Fault-finding is on the Atari Lynx Troubleshooting Guide; the Atari Lynx II General Maintenance page covers the smaller Lynx II.

Atari's care instructions

The owner's manual asks owners to:^[2]

insert a game card before switching on, and switch off before changing cards;
replace all six batteries at the same time and never mix old cells with new ones, which it warns can make the old cells explode;
never leave weak batteries in the Lynx, because they may leak damaging chemicals;
keep the console between 40 °F and 120 °F (about 4 °C and 49 °C), since Atari says temperatures outside that range permanently damage it;
keep it dry, wipe it at once if it gets wet, and clean it without harsh chemicals, solvents or strong detergents;
avoid twisting it or dropping it, which can damage the boards or break the display glass.

If cells have leaked into the battery compartment, see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.

Opening the case

The Atari Lynx Vault's procedure for the original Lynx:^[3]

Remove the batteries. Undo the four Phillips screws on the back. The pair on the left side are longer than the pair on the right.
Lift the back of the case like a clamshell, starting with the edge nearest you. Two battery wires run to the main board; desolder them.
Lift the main board out of the front case. The speaker stays attached and comes out with it. The rubber button pads tend to stick to the board, so peel them off and keep them.
To reach the LCD, remove the screws holding the screen assembly, turn the board over and pull the rubber supports aside. The screen lifts out with the backlight diffuser.
The backlight tube's reflector is held by two more Phillips screws.

**Original Lynx screws (Atari Lynx Vault)**
Location	Quantity	Size
Case, left side	2	3 mm diameter, black, longer of the two pairs
Case, right side	2	3 mm diameter, black, shorter pair
Screen assembly	6	Brass, 6 mm long, slightly tapered

The Vault gives the external screws as 21.5 mm to 31.5 mm long, all Phillips.^[3]

Cartridge slot and power jack

Clean the cartridge contacts if games fail to start. A Lynx that shows INSERT GAME is running but not reading the card.^[4]
The pin inside the DC jack can work loose and break. Retro Isle advises a dab of hot-melt glue on each side of the jack as a preventive measure, and gives Best Electronics part CB101842 as the replacement jack for the Lynx I.^[5]

Power circuit

The Atari Lynx Vault recommends replacing the MOSFET (Q11) and the zener (ZD1) before a newly acquired Lynx is switched on, because their failure puts the full 9 V into the processor and the custom chips. The two 2N3906 transistors Q4 and Q13 sit beside them and are worth replacing at the same time.^[6]^[7] Atari's schematic gives Q11 as an MTD3055E and the zener as a 1N5991B.^[1] The procedure is on the Atari Lynx Troubleshooting Guide.

Capacitors

The original Lynx has fifteen or sixteen electrolytic capacitors, depending on board revision. The largest are C39 (470 µF 10 V) on the +5 V output and C38 (100 µF) on the input side of the regulator.^[1]^[8] The Atari Lynx Vault lists a recap as a job for any Lynx with display problems or low speaker volume.^[9] The full list and procedure are on the Atari Lynx Capacitor Replacement Guide.

Screen and backlight

The original display is a backlit colour LCD lit by a cold-cathode fluorescent tube.^[10] Atari's schematic shows two fuses marked "100 DEG" in series with the tube and notes that the fuses and the tube are hand soldered.^[1] The owner's manual points out that the picture looks dim when viewed from an angle other than the one the brightness was set for.^[2] Replacement LCDs and LED backlights are covered on Atari Lynx LCD & Backlight Mod.

Paintwork

The Atari Lynx Vault notes that the original Lynx's case is prone to chipped paint and links an AtariAge thread on touching it up with mixed paints.^[9]

Things that are not faults

The Lynx will not switch on without a cartridge. Game cards connect cartridge pin 31, which feeds the soft-power inverter, to the supply pin 33.^[11]
On batteries the console switches itself off after four minutes without use, or after about an hour on the adaptor.^[2]
The headphone socket gives the same mono sound in both ears.^[12]

Related pages

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Atari Corporation, Schematic Diagram, Handy Game (FCC), drawing C104019 Rev. C (document stamp 11 March 1992). Hosted here as File:Atari Lynx schematic C104019 Rev C.png.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Atari Corporation, Lynx Portable Color Entertainment System Owner's Manual, C301139-001 Rev. B, 1989: "Power for the Lynx", the controls list and "Precautions". Hosted here as File:Atari Lynx Owner's Manual (C301139-001 Rev B).pdf.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Atari Lynx Vault, "Lynx 1 disassembly steps and Screw size chart" (changed 5 October 2023). Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Dead/Alive Test - Bypassing The Atari Lynx 9V" (changed 6 November 2023). Community source.
↑ Retro Isle, "Lynx Repair Info", "DC power jack". Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "Replacing the MOSFET and zener diodes in an Atari Lynx" (changed 4 October 2023). Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "Replacing the 3906 transistors on an Atari Lynx" (changed 5 October 2023). Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Capacitor Maps" (changed 4 October 2023). Vendor-published community source.
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Hardware Mods" (changed 9 October 2023): recapping, and the Lynx Model I repaint. Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "LCD Replacement Mod Kits for Atari Lynx" (changed 1 November 2023), photograph captioned "Original Lynx 1 CF Tube LCD". Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Hardware Notes" (changed 3 October 2023), cartridge pinout, reproduced with permission from Osman Celimli. Community source.
↑ Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Specifications" (changed 3 October 2023). Community source.

[sch1-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Atari Corporation, Schematic Diagram, Handy Game (FCC), drawing C104019 Rev. C (document stamp 11 March 1992). Hosted here as File:Atari Lynx schematic C104019 Rev C.png.

[om-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Atari Corporation, Lynx Portable Color Entertainment System Owner's Manual, C301139-001 Rev. B, 1989: "Power for the Lynx", the controls list and "Precautions". Hosted here as File:Atari Lynx Owner's Manual (C301139-001 Rev B).pdf.

[dis1-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Atari Lynx Vault, "Lynx 1 disassembly steps and Screw size chart" (changed 5 October 2023). Community source.

[alive-4] Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Dead/Alive Test - Bypassing The Atari Lynx 9V" (changed 6 November 2023). Community source.

[retroisle-5] Retro Isle, "Lynx Repair Info", "DC power jack". Community source.

[fet-6] Atari Lynx Vault, "Replacing the MOSFET and zener diodes in an Atari Lynx" (changed 4 October 2023). Community source.

[t3906-7] Atari Lynx Vault, "Replacing the 3906 transistors on an Atari Lynx" (changed 5 October 2023). Community source.

[map-8] Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Capacitor Maps" (changed 4 October 2023). Vendor-published community source.

[mods-9] 9.0 ^9.1 Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Hardware Mods" (changed 9 October 2023): recapping, and the Lynx Model I repaint. Community source.

[lcdkits-10] Atari Lynx Vault, "LCD Replacement Mod Kits for Atari Lynx" (changed 1 November 2023), photograph captioned "Original Lynx 1 CF Tube LCD". Community source.

[hwnotes-11] Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Hardware Notes" (changed 3 October 2023), cartridge pinout, reproduced with permission from Osman Celimli. Community source.

[specs-12] Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Specifications" (changed 3 October 2023). Community source.

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