Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Troubleshooting Guide
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Fault-finding for the Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III, the six-game colour Pong console with a light gun sold by Adman Grandstand from 1977.[1] No repair report for a Mk III has been found, and its board has never been photographed, so its game chip is unconfirmed; the evidence points to General Instrument's AY-3-8500.[2][3] The checks below come from a collector's photographs and notes on a working Mk III,[4] General Instrument's data for the AY-3-8500, and repair accounts for the 3600 Mk II, which uses the same case. Opening the case and routine care are on Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III General Maintenance.
What should happen at power-on
[edit | edit source]With six good C cells or a 9 V adaptor, POWER switched ON and an analogue television tuned to the console:
- A colour picture appears on a green field, with two-digit scores at the top in colour.[4]
- The game slider chooses one of six games. On SOCCER each player has two bats, a goalkeeper and a forward.[4][2]
- With SERVE on AUTO the ball is served by itself. On MANUAL the game waits after each point until SERVE is pressed.[4][2]
- RESET starts the game again with both scores at zero, which is what the AY-3-8500's reset input does.[2]
- TARGET-1 and TARGET-2 are played with the pistol plugged into the GUN sockets.[4]
Expected measurements
[edit | edit source]| Point | Expected | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Supply at the cells or adaptor | 9 V; adaptor rated 100 mA on the label | [4] |
| Adaptor known to work | Ingersoll XK9, 9 V 250 mA | [4] |
| Game chip supply, if AY-3-8500 | +6 to +7 V; 60 mA maximum at +7 V | [2] |
| Game chip clock, if AY-3-8500 | 2.012160 MHz ±1% | [2] |
| Closed switch contact, if AY-3-8500 | 1 kΩ or less to ground | [2] |
The AY-3-8500's full pin list is under test points on the 3600 Mk II. Confirm the chip's marking before using it. A Mk III that has been stored for years is best woken on a bench supply at 9 V, current-limited to roughly 150 mA; anything far above the label's 100 mA suggests a short.
Symptoms
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Likely cause | Action | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nothing on cells | Flat cells; corroded springs or contacts in the two rows of three | Clean the contacts back to bright metal and fit fresh cells. Leaking cells also attack the power and RF sockets. | [4][5] |
| Works on cells, not on an adaptor | Adaptor voltage or polarity; dirty side socket | The label gives no polarity. Measure the socket's polarity against the cells, then measure the adaptor off load. Clean the socket. | [4][6] |
| Nothing on cells or adaptor | POWER switch; wiring; a failed transistor | Measure 9 V after the POWER switch. A 3600 Mk II sold as having no power needed a transistor replaced and wiring repaired. | [7] |
| Snow, no picture | Wrong channel; set has no analogue tuner; RF lead | The label gives no channel. Tune slowly across the UHF band; GI's standard modulators were set to E36 (UHF) or E3 (VHF). Check the RF lead. | [4][8] |
| Picture distorted but the game can be seen | Sync fault | One 3600 Mk II showed a stable but distorted picture from a horizontal sync problem. Check the sync output of the game chip and the parts between it and the modulator. | [6][2] |
| Steady screen, no game | The game chip is not running | If it is an AY-3-8500, measure pin 4 (+6 to +7 V) and pin 17 (about 2 MHz). | [2] |
| One bat missing, jumping or stuck | Hand controller variable resistor, lead or plug; panel socket | Swap the two controllers between LEFT PLAYER and RIGHT PLAYER. If the fault moves, it is in the controller. | [4] |
| Controller works only when the plug is held | Worn or dirty panel socket | Clean the socket; reflow its joints or replace it. The 3600 Mk II in a repair video needed its controller sockets repaired. | [7] |
| A setting or the RESET or SERVE button has no effect | Dirty slide switch or button contact | An AY-3-8500 needs 1 kΩ or less through a closed contact. Clean the switch and measure it closed. | [2][7] |
| Soccer with an extra bat for the right-hand player | Game slider resting between positions, or a dirty slider contact | With none of its game inputs grounded the AY-3-8500 plays an undocumented game, Handicap. Move the slider firmly into a position and clean it. | [9][5] |
| Gun never scores | Testing on a flat-panel set; lens; trigger; twin plug or GUN sockets | Test on a CRT television. Clean the twin plug and both GUN sockets and check the lead. | [4] |
| No sound | Speaker, its wiring or the sound driver | The speaker sounds through the holes in the base. Check its wiring when the base is off. | [4] |
Known faults reported for this device
[edit | edit source]No fault report for a 3600 Mk III has been found. The Mk III photographed by Ian Hill was bought boxed and works.[4]
Two repair accounts exist for the 3600 Mk II, which has the same case and base label:
- A Mk II bought on eBay as having no power had several faults. The chapters of the video record a transistor being replaced, wiring repairs, the controller sockets being fixed, the switches being cleaned, and work on the controllers and light gun.[7]
- Another Mk II gives a stable but distorted picture, which its owner puts down to a horizontal sync problem.[6]
These are Mk II boards. Use them as a guide to what can go wrong in this family, not as a parts list for the Mk III.
Things that are not faults
[edit | edit source]- The bats and ball smear sideways on a flat-panel television. The photographed Mk III shows this on a modern set.[4]
- The gun does nothing useful on a flat-panel television.[4]
- On MANUAL serve the game waits after every point.[2]
- Wikipedia lists the target games as "skeet" and "target"; the panel calls them TARGET-1 and TARGET-2.[10][4]
- Play stops when one side reaches 15. On the AY-3-8500 the ball keeps bouncing but no more hits or scores count until RESET is pressed.[2]
What is realistically repairable
[edit | edit source]| Part | Repairable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Battery contacts and springs | Usually | Clean them. Contacts that are eaten through must be replaced; one AY-3-8500 console owner removed ruined contacts and ran his console from an adaptor only.[5] |
| Panel sockets and side power socket | Yes | The controller sockets take mono mini-jack plugs. Replace any socket like for like, as was done on a corroded AY-3-8500 console.[4][5] |
| Slide switches, game slider, buttons | Usually | Clean first. A switch that cannot be cleaned needs a donor of the same pattern. |
| Hand controllers | Yes | A variable resistor in a cylinder; separate from the console, so easy to test by swapping.[4] |
| Light gun | Usually | The lead, plug and trigger switch are ordinary parts; the gun comes apart for the box.[4] |
| Transistors, electrolytics, wiring | Yes | Through-hole parts; on a Mk II a transistor and wiring were part of a full repair.[7] For the capacitors see Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Capacitor Replacement Guide. |
| Game chip | Only by transplant | If it is an AY-3-8500, it was made in large numbers and fitted to hundreds of consoles, so donors exist.[9] Rule out supply, clock and switches first. |
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III
- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III General Maintenance
- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk II Troubleshooting Guide, the same case with a photographed board
- Grandstand Universal Mains Adaptor
- Capacitor Failure Symptoms
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Centre for Computing History, "Adman Grandstand 3600 Mk III TV Game", CH50705 (retrieved 2026-10-18): "A six-game Pong console from Adman Grandstand", manufacturer Adman, dated 1977.
- ↑ 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. 4-10, PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-18). AY-3-8500 data sheet: six games (tennis, soccer, squash, practice, two rifle games); scores displayed 0 to 15, and when one side reaches 15 the game stops, the ball still bouncing but no further hits or scores being made; soccer gives each player a goalkeeper and a forward; VCC +6 to +7 V on pin 4, VSS pin 2, supply current 60 mA maximum at +7 V; clock input pin 17, 2.012160 MHz ±1%; manual serve input pin 8, which when open stops the game after each score until a serve is made; reset pin 25, momentarily grounded, sets the scores to zero; control inputs need a contact resistance of 1 kΩ or less to VSS; sync output pin 16.
- ↑ Cameron Kaiser, "A Dick Smith VZ200 without the Dick Smith (but with a serial port)", Old Vintage Computing Research (blog), September 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-18): states, from a picture on VTech's history page that he says has "some verifiable inaccuracies", that the "Grandstand Adman Colour TV Game 3600 Mk III ... used a regular AY-3-8500 and was produced until 1979". Not confirmed by a photograph of the board.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 Ian Hill, "Grandstand Colour TV Game 3600 MKIII", Ian's Retro Museum (collector's site; photographs not freely licensed, read and described here) (retrieved 2026-10-18). A boxed Mk III bought from a Cash Converters shop: same form factor as the Mk II with a restyled panel and a single game slide switch; battery compartment and speaker in the base; external power connector in one side; light gun that disassembles; controllers that are a variable resistor in a cylinder with no serve button; Ingersoll XK9 adaptor, 9 V 250 mA. Shown working on a flat-panel television, a soccer game on a green field with two bats a side and coloured scores, with a CRT needed to check the rifle. Photographs examined at full size: panel with POWER, SERVE (MANUAL/AUTO), SPEED, ANGLE, BAT SIZE, RESET, SERVE, game slider (TENNIS, SQUASH, TARGET-1, SOCCER, PRACTICE, TARGET-2), LEFT PLAYER, RIGHT PLAYER and GUN sockets; battery compartment for two rows of three UM-2 cells; base label "BATTERY: UM-2 x 6 OR AC ADAPTOR (9V / 100 MA) ... MADE IN HONG KONG"; star of speaker holes in the base; THUNDERCOLT Super Marksman 304 pistol with a twin plug.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Raphaël Assenat, "APF TV Fun console repair", raphnet.net (retrieved 2026-10-18). Repair of an AY-3-8500 console: battery leakage had left heavy verdigris on the battery contacts, which were removed and not replaced (the owner chose to use a mains supply only), and the power and RF connectors were corroded and replaced with new parts; the undocumented Handicap game appears when the game dial rests between two positions.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ian Hill, "Adman Grandstand 3600", Ian's Retro Museum (collector's site) (retrieved 2026-10-18). A boxed ADMAN GRANDSTAND 3600 MK II: Grandstand A.C. adaptor, 240 V in, 9 V 150 mA out, made by Adman Electronics, Harrogate, described by the owner as a 9 V supply with a 3.5 mm plug, tip positive, and a polarity-reversing connector in the lead; "This one seems to have an issue with horizontal sync, the image is stable and you can see the unit working even though the image is distorted".
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 My Mate Vince, "Repairing a Vintage 1977 TV Games Console with MANY FAULTS - Grandstand ADMAN 3600 MK2" (YouTube video, 35 min), 18 June 2022 (retrieved 2026-10-18). Description: bought on eBay "sold as no power but it actually has quite a few things wrong with it as well as that like the light gun and the controllers". Chapter list: console inspection; opening the console; replacing the transistor; wiring repairs; fixing controller jacks; cleaning switches; initial testing; controller and light gun; final gameplay session.
- ↑ General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, pp. 73-83 (Astec International application notes), PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-18): standard game modulators are tuned to channel E3 (VHF) or E36 (UHF).
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 David Winter, Pong-Story, "PONG in a Chip" (retrieved 2026-10-18): the AY-3-8500 plays a seventh, undocumented game, Handicap, in which the right-hand player has a third paddle, when none of the six games is selected; the chip was used in "hundreds of different game systems".
- ↑ Wikipedia, "Grandstand (game manufacturer)", table of Pong consoles (retrieved 2026-10-18): the 3600 Mk III listed with six games, "Tennis, Football/Hockey, Squash, Practice, Skeet & Target".