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Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III Capacitor Replacement Guide

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Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (13)
The solder side of a colour TVG-3600 Mk II board, seen with the base removed: the case design the 3600 Mk III also uses. No board of a 2600 Mk III or a 3600 Mk III has been photographed, so none of this board's parts can be assumed for either.

The Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III is listed by Wikipedia as a black-and-white, six-game Grandstand console made in Hong Kong,[1] but no photograph, parts list or schematic of one has been published. There are no capacitor values for the 2600 Mk III, and none for its colour counterpart, the Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III, whose outside has been photographed but whose board has not.[2] What can be offered is where to look, how to record what you find, and how to replace the parts safely.

Opening and care are on Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III General Maintenance; fault symptoms are on Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III Troubleshooting Guide.

What is known

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2600 Mk III capacitor information
Item Status Source
Board photograph (2600 Mk III or 3600 Mk III) None published None found
Parts list or schematic None found None found
Supply, if built like the 3600 Mk III Six UM-2 cells or a 9 V 100 mA adaptor [2]
Speaker In the base, on the 3600 Mk III [2]

On the 3600 Mk III the supply is 9 V,[2] while an AY-3-8500 runs from +6 to +7 V,[3] so a board of that design needs a stage that brings the supply down for the chip; its filter capacitors are the first electrolytics to check. GI's reference circuit puts no electrolytic capacitors around the chip itself, only 0.1 µF on each bat input, 0.2 µF in the sound driver and 0.01 µF on the reset line.[4] A black-and-white console needs no colour encoder, so the colour stage seen on the 3600 Mk II's board, with its 4.433618 MHz crystal,[5] should be absent.

Recording your own board

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  1. Confirm the model from the front strip and the base label before anything else.
  2. Remove the six cells, unplug the controllers and gun, and take out the base screws.
  3. On a 3600 Mk III-style case the speaker is fixed to the base;[2] lift the base without straining its leads.
  4. Photograph the whole board, then each electrolytic close up so that its value and voltage can be read.
  5. List each one by position: beside the regulator, the RF modulator, the game chip, the speaker leads or the power socket. Note capacitance, voltage, temperature rating, maker and stripe direction.
  6. Record the game chip and crystal markings too. Shared, these would be the first published description of either Mk III's board.

Signs of trouble

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  • Bulging tops, leaking or crusted bases, split sleeves.
  • Corrosion on the board near the battery compartment, where leaked cells do most damage.
  • A sagging supply, a draw well above the chip's 60 mA maximum,[3] or hum bars and rolling once the television has been ruled out. See Capacitor Failure Symptoms.

Replacing the capacitors

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  1. Change one part at a time, keeping track of the stripe.
  2. Desolder with a pump or braid, with brief heat: copper on boards of this age lifts easily.
  3. Fit a radial electrolytic of the same capacitance, at least the same voltage rating and 105 °C, with matching lead spacing.
  4. Clean flux and any electrolyte with isopropyl alcohol, and inspect the tracks.
  5. Before refitting the base, check the speaker leads and the leads to the side power socket.
  6. Power up from a current-limited supply before connecting a television.
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  • Temperature-controlled soldering iron, pump or braid, flux, isopropyl alcohol.
  • Multimeter and a capacitance or ESR meter.
  • Good-quality 105 °C radial electrolytics, such as Nichicon, Panasonic or Rubycon.

Checks after recapping

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After recapping (AY-3-8500 values; confirm the chip first)
Check Expected Source
Chip pin 4 to pin 2 +6 to +7 V [3]
Pin 17 clock 2.012160 MHz ±1% [3]
Play Field, bats and scores; all six slider positions; target games with the gun on a CRT set [2]
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References

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  1. ↑ Wikipedia, "Grandstand (game manufacturer)", table of integrated Pong consoles (retrieved 2026-10-19): "Adman Grandstand T.V. Game 2600 Mk. III", black and white, six games, made in Hong Kong, 1977 to 1979; no source cited.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Ian Hill, "Colour TV Game 3600 MKIII", Ian's Retro Museum (retrieved 2026-10-19): "the same form factor (and name) as the Grandstand 3600 Mk2"; "The base of the unit houses the battery compartment and the speaker"; base label read at full size, "BATTERY: UM-2 x 6 OR AC ADAPTOR (9V / 100 MA)"; no photograph of the board.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, p. 6, PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-19). AY-3-8500: VCC +6 to +7 V; supply current 40 mA typical, 60 mA maximum at +7 V; clock 2.012160 MHz ±1% on pin 17.
  4. ↑ General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, p. 5, AY-3-8500 system diagram, PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-19): 0.1 µF on each bat input, 0.2 µF in the speaker driver, 0.01 µF on the reset line; no electrolytic capacitors around the chip.
  5. ↑ Photograph by José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, File:Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (14).jpg (CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons), examined at full size: the TVG-3600 Mk II board's colour section, with a crystal marked "4.433618 K.D.S" and a green trimmer.


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