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Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Capacitor Replacement Guide

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Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (14)
This is the board of a 3600 Mk II, the Mk III's predecessor in the same case, not a Mk III. The blue 220 µF electrolytic is on the top edge above the second and third slide switches; two more blue electrolytics sit above the 2 MHz crystal at the left end, the "SE 10 V" part is in the bottom left corner, and a small light-blue one stands beside the green trimmer at top right. No photograph of a Mk III board has been published.

The Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III (front label ADMAN GRANDSTAND COLOUR TV GAME 3600 MK III) is a six-game colour Pong console with a light gun, made in Hong Kong and dated 1977 by the Centre for Computing History.[1][2] Its electrolytic capacitors are the same age as the rest of the console, more than forty years old. Nothing about them has been published: no parts list, no schematic and no photograph of the Mk III's board. The nearest documented board is that of the Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk II, which uses the same case and carries the same base label.[1][3] Below are the Mk III's own supply details, the Mk II's capacitor readings (labelled as the Mk II's), how to open a Mk III, and how to read and record its parts so that a list can exist.

Opening and care are on Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III General Maintenance; symptoms are on Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Troubleshooting Guide.

What is known for the Mk III

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  • The base label asks for six UM-2 (C) cells or a 9 V adaptor rated 100 mA, and gives no polarity. The socket for the adaptor is in the side of the case.[1]
  • The photographed Mk III works on an Ingersoll XK9 adaptor, 9 V 250 mA, with a four-way multi-plug.[1]
  • The six games on its panel (TENNIS, SQUASH, SOCCER, PRACTICE, TARGET-1 and TARGET-2) are the six that General Instrument's AY-3-8500 provides, and the Mk II in the same case uses that chip.[1][4][5] The Mk III's chip has not been seen in a photograph.
  • No capacitor value, position or failure has been published for the Mk III.

The 3600 Mk II board, for comparison

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Electrolytic capacitors on one photographed 3600 Mk II board (not a Mk III)
Position on the Mk II board (component side, switches along the top) Capacitance Voltage Sleeve
Top edge, above the second and third slide switches 220 µF Not legible Blue
Left end, above the 2.000000 MHz crystal (two parts) Not legible Not legible Blue
Bottom left corner, below the crystal Not legible 10 V Blue, marked "SE"
Top right, beside the green trimmer and the 4.433618 MHz crystal Not legible Not legible Small, light blue

Read from File:Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (14).jpg at full size (3720 × 1676 pixels).[5] The same reading is on Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk II Capacitor Replacement Guide. The Mk II board has no C-numbers printed beside its parts.[5]

Use this table as a guide to what to look for, not as a parts list for the Mk III. The Mk III's panel is laid out differently: one game slider in place of the Mk II's two GAME SELECT switches, and the GUN sockets on the panel instead of in the right-hand side of the case.[1][6] Its board is therefore likely to differ at least around the switches and sockets. Whether its supply, clock and colour sections match the Mk II's is not known.

What the capacitors do on a board of this kind

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  • Six cells give about 9 V, and the base label asks for 9 V,[1] while GI specifies the AY-3-8500 at +6 to +7 V between pin 4 (VCC) and pin 2 (VSS).[4] GI's reference circuit places a 10 µF electrolytic across the chip's supply.[4]
  • The Mk II has a 2.000000 MHz crystal for the game chip and a 4.433618 MHz crystal with a trimmer for the PAL colour subcarrier, with electrolytics beside both.[5] GI's game clock is 2.012160 MHz ±1%.[4]
  • In GI's circuit each bat input uses an R-C network with a 0.1 µF capacitor, and the speaker driver has 0.2 µF and 15 kΩ at its base.[4] These are not electrolytics.

A supply electrolytic that has dried out lets ripple and noise from the supply reach the chips; Capacitor Failure Symptoms describes the usual signs.

Signs of trouble

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  • A domed, bulging or leaking capacitor, a split sleeve, or deposits on the board around its leads. The Mk II board in the photograph has light-coloured deposits in the corner beside the "SE 10 V" capacitor; their cause has not been established.[5]
  • Hum bars, a rolling picture or colour that comes and goes, once the cells or adaptor, the television's tuning and the switches have been ruled out. See Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Troubleshooting Guide.
  • Do not assume a dead console means bad capacitors. In a video repair of a 3600 Mk II sold as having no power, the chapter list shows a transistor replaced, wiring repaired, controller jacks fixed and switches cleaned, and no capacitor work.[7]
  • Leaked cells in the battery compartment; see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.

Reading and recording your own board

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  1. Photograph the whole component side square-on before touching anything, and a second time from each end.
  2. Note the chip markings first. A Mk III board with its chip identified has not been published, and the chip number settles which GI data applies.
  3. For each electrolytic, record its position (relative to the switches, the game slider and the crystals), the capacitance, the voltage, the maker, the size and the side carrying the negative stripe.
  4. Turn any part whose printing faces away gently with tweezers, or use a mirror.
  5. Measure each part you remove with a capacitance or ESR meter, and keep the record with the photographs.

Replacing the capacitors on the Mk III

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  1. Press the two tabs at the edge of the battery cover, lift it away and take out the six cells. Unplug the adaptor, both hand controllers and the gun.[1]
  2. Remove the two brass screws in the floor of the battery compartment, between the two rows of cells.[1]
  3. Turn the console over on a soft cloth and remove the two screws beside the feet at the other end of the base.[1]
  4. Lift the base away slowly. The speaker sits in the base and may be wired to the board.[1]
  5. Photograph the board and every flying lead before unscrewing anything. On the Mk II the board is held to the upper case by two screws;[8] count the Mk III's screws yourself.
  6. Work on one capacitor at a time: read and record it, desolder it from the solder side with a pump or braid, clean the holes, and fit a new part of the same capacitance and the same or higher voltage, rated 105 °C, with the same lead spacing and polarity. If your board has crystals and a trimmer like the Mk II's, keep the leads short near them and do not turn the trimmer.
  7. Refit the board so that the switches, the game slider and the panel sockets line up with their openings, then refit the base.
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  • Soldering iron with temperature control, desoldering braid or a pump, flux and isopropyl alcohol.
  • Multimeter; ESR or capacitance meter.
  • New 105 °C radial electrolytics (Nichicon, Panasonic, Rubycon or another current maker) matching the values read from the Mk III board.
  • A current-limited 9 V bench supply for the first power-up. Measure the polarity of the side socket against the battery terminals first: the label does not give it.[1] See also Recommended Tools.

Checks after recapping

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After recapping a 3600 Mk III
Check Expected Source
Supply at the side socket or the cells 9 V DC [1]
Supply current Below the label's 100 mA; an AY-3-8500 draws 40 mA typical, 60 mA at most at +7 V [1][4]
Game chip supply, if it is an AY-3-8500 (pin 4 to pin 2) +6 to +7 V [4]
Game chip clock, if an AY-3-8500 (pin 17) 2.012160 MHz ±1% [4]
Picture A soccer or tennis game on a green field in colour; the gun games need a CRT television [1]
Controls Both controllers move their bats; RESET and SERVE buttons and the game slider work [1]
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Ian Hill, "Grandstand Colour TV Game 3600 MKIII", Ian's Retro Museum (collector's site; photographs not freely licensed, read and described here) (retrieved 2026-10-19). Text: same form factor and name as the 3600 Mk II but a restyled control panel, with a simple slide switch for the games instead of the Mk II's double switch; the base houses the battery compartment and the speaker; one side has the external power connector; the controllers are a variable resistor in a cylindrical housing with no serve button; it came with an Ingersoll power adaptor with a multi-plug, 9 V 250 mA; shown working, with a CRT needed to check the rifle. Photographs examined at full size: front label "ADMAN GRANDSTAND COLOUR TV GAME 3600 MK III"; panel with POWER, SERVE (MANUAL/AUTO), SPEED, ANGLE and BAT SIZE (AMATEUR/PROFESSIONAL), RESET and SERVE buttons, a game slider with TENNIS, SQUASH, TARGET-1, SOCCER, PRACTICE and TARGET-2, LEFT PLAYER and RIGHT PLAYER sockets and a pair of sockets marked GUN; battery cover with two tabs; battery compartment with two rows of three cells moulded "1.5V UM-2" and two brass screws in its floor; two screws beside the feet at the other end of the base; base label "COLOR TV GAME / ... / BATTERY: UM-2 x 6 OR AC ADAPTOR (9V / 100 MA) / SERIAL NO. 005416 / MADE IN HONG KONG"; Ingersoll adaptor type XK9, 9 V 250 mA; the console showing a soccer game on a green field.
  2. ↑ Centre for Computing History, "Adman Grandstand 3600 Mk III TV Game", CH50705 (retrieved 2026-10-19): "A six-game Pong console from Adman Grandstand", manufacturer Adman, dated 1977.
  3. ↑ Photograph by José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, File:Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (15).jpg (CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons): the base of a 3600 Mk II, with the label "COLOR TV-GAME / PATENTS BRITISH NO: 1268821 AND 1328223 AND IN OTHER 18 COUNTRIES / BATTERY: UM-2 x 6 OR AC ADAPTOR (9V / 100 MA) / ... / MADE IN HONG KONG".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, pp. 4-7, PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-19). AY-3-8500: six games (tennis, soccer, squash, practice, rifle 1 and rifle 2); pin 2 VSS, pin 4 VCC; standard conditions VCC +6 to +7 V; supply current 40 mA typical, 60 mA maximum at +7 V; clock input pin 17, 2.012160 MHz ±1%; an R-C network on each bat input sets the bat's vertical position. System Diagram 1 (p. 4): a 10 µF electrolytic across VCC and VSS; 0.1 µF bat capacitors; the speaker driver's base fed through 15 kΩ in parallel with 0.2 µF.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 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 (3720 × 1676 pixels): the component side of a 3600 Mk II board, with "GI AY-3-8500 7831 TAIWAN", Motorola "MC14075B", "CD4069UBE RCA 827", crystals "2.000000 K.D.S" and "4.433618 K.D.S", a green trimmer beside the 4.433618 MHz crystal, a "TOA" speaker, seven slide switches along the top edge, and five electrolytic capacitors: a blue one printed "220 µF" on the top edge, two blue ones above the 2 MHz crystal, a blue one printed "SE" and "10 V" in the bottom left corner, and a small light-blue one beside the trimmer; light-coloured deposits in the corner near the "SE" capacitor; no C-numbers on the board.
  6. ↑ Photograph by José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, File:Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (5).jpg (CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons): the right-hand side of a 3600 Mk II, with a small and a larger socket side by side for the light gun.
  7. ↑ My Mate VINCE, "Repairing a Vintage 1977 TV Games Console with MANY FAULTS - Grandstand ADMAN 3600 MK2", YouTube, 18 June 2022 (description and chapter list read 2026-10-19). Description: bought on eBay "sold as no power", with further faults in the light gun and controllers. Chapters: opening the console; replacing the transistor; wiring repairs; fixing controller jacks; cleaning switches; initial testing; controller and light gun; final gameplay session.
  8. ↑ José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, "Consola pong Adman Grandstand TV Game 3600 MK II Colour (1978)", Retro Ordenadores Orty (collector's blog, in Spanish), 23 November 2023 (retrieved 2026-10-19): on the Mk II, four screws hold the lower case, and removing it exposes the back of the board, held to the upper case by two screws; the console works, in colour; the 3600 series had three models (TVG 3600, Mk II and Mk III).


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