Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III Troubleshooting Guide
Fault-finding for the Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III, a black-and-white six-game console known only from Wikipedia's list of Grandstand models.[1] Nothing about its insides, supply or behaviour has been published, and no fault has been reported. The values here are General Instrument's for the AY-3-8500, the chip whose games the listing matches,[2] and the behaviour of the colour Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III, which has been photographed working.[3] Use them as a starting point once you have confirmed what your console is; care and opening are on Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III General Maintenance.
What should happen at power-on
[edit | edit source]Expected behaviour, if the console works like the 3600 Mk III and its AY-3-8500:
- A black-and-white field with two bats and on-screen scores.[1][2]
- Six slider positions on a 3600 Mk III-style panel: tennis, squash, soccer, practice and two target games.[3]
- The target games scored with a light gun plugged into the GUN sockets, on a CRT television.[3][2]
- RESET clears the scores; with SERVE on MANUAL each point waits for the SERVE button.[3][2]
- Sound from the speaker in the base on hits, bounces and scores.[3][2]
Expected measurements
[edit | edit source]| Point | Expected | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Supply (3600 Mk III label) | Six UM-2 cells or 9 V 100 mA; confirm on your own label | [3] |
| AY-3-8500 pin 4 to pin 2 | +6 to +7 V | [2] |
| AY-3-8500 supply current | 40 mA typical, 60 mA maximum at 7 V | [2] |
| Pin 17 clock | 2.012160 MHz ±1% | [2] |
| Closed switch contact | 1 kΩ or less to ground | [2] |
Symptoms
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Likely cause | Action | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dead on cells | Corroded springs or flat cells in the base compartment | Clean the springs and contacts and fit six fresh cells; measure the supply after the POWER switch. | [3] |
| Dead on the adaptor only | Adaptor voltage or polarity; side socket | No polarity is printed. Measure the socket against the battery contacts and the adaptor's output; clean the socket. | [3] |
| No picture on a modern television | No analogue tuner | Use an analogue UHF set; GI's standard modulator channel was E36. | [4] |
| Blank screen, no game | Chip not running | Measure pins 4 and 17. | [2] |
| Third bat on one side | Slider between positions, no game selected | Seat the slider firmly and clean its contacts; the AY-3-8500 plays Handicap when no game is selected. | [5] |
| Target games never score | Flat-panel television; gun twin plug not fully home; lens or trigger | Test on a CRT; seat both pins of the twin plug; clean the gun. | [3] |
| Bat jumps or is stuck | Controller potentiometer; mono jack plug or panel socket | Swap the controllers; clean the potentiometer, the plug and the socket. | [3] |
| Silent | Speaker in the base or its leads, disturbed when the base was removed | Check the speaker leads; on the AY-3-8500 the sound comes from pin 3. | [3][2] |
Known faults reported for this device
[edit | edit source]None: no report of any kind has been found for a 2600 Mk III.[1] The colour 3600 Mk III photographed by Ian Hill gives a picture on a flat-screen television; its gun had not been tried.[3]
Things that are not faults
[edit | edit source]- Black and white on a colour television: the 2600 Mk III is listed as black and white.[1]
- Target games labelled TARGET-1 and TARGET-2, as on the 3600 Mk III's panel, where Wikipedia says skeet and target.[3][1]
- A game that stops at 15.[2]
What is realistically repairable
[edit | edit source]Switches, slider, buttons, sockets, controller potentiometers, the speaker, electrolytic capacitors and small transistors are all ordinary parts that can be cleaned or replaced; see Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III Capacitor Replacement Guide. If the game chip is an AY-3-8500 and has failed, a donor console is the realistic source, since the chip was used in hundreds of different models.[5]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III
- Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III General Maintenance
- Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk III Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Troubleshooting Guide
- Capacitor Failure Symptoms
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 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 (Tennis, Football, Squash, Practice, Skeet and Target), made in Hong Kong, 1977 to 1979; no source cited.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, pp. 6-8, PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-19). AY-3-8500: six games (rifle 1, rifle 2, tennis, soccer, squash, practice); pin 4 VCC +6 to +7 V; 40 mA typical, 60 mA maximum; clock pin 17, 2.012160 MHz ±1%; sound pin 3; reset pin 25; manual serve pin 8; shot and hit inputs from the rifle circuit; contact resistance no more than 1 kΩ; the game stops at 15.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Ian Hill, "Colour TV Game 3600 MKIII", Ian's Retro Museum (retrieved 2026-10-19): base "houses the battery compartment and the speaker"; external power connector in one side; light gun included; controllers with a variable resistor and no serve button; "Here it is working, I need to get one of my old CRT's out to check the rifle attachment". Photographs read at full size: slider TENNIS, SQUASH, TARGET-1, SOCCER, PRACTICE, TARGET-2; POWER, SERVE (MANUAL/AUTO), SPEED, ANGLE, BAT SIZE; RESET and SERVE buttons; GUN sockets; gun with twin plug; controllers with mono jack plugs; base label "BATTERY: UM-2 x 6 OR AC ADAPTOR (9V / 100 MA)"; the console giving a picture on a flat-screen television.
- ↑ General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, printed p. 81 (page 77 of the PDF), PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-19): standard RF modulators tuned to E3 (VHF) or E36 (UHF, 591.25 MHz).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 David Winter, Pong-Story, "PONG in a Chip" (retrieved 2026-10-19): Handicap is played when none of the AY-3-8500's games is selected; the chip was used in "hundreds of different game systems".