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Hi everyone. I recently bought a Sega SG-1000 and am having trouble getting it to work. It was sold as tested and working so I'm assuming it's something I'm doing wrong. It appears to power up fine. When I put a cartridge in and power it on, it seems to detect a game but the video and audio appear all glitchy/messed up. I've cleaned the cartridge a bit with isopropyl alcohol. However, I'm hesitant to go any further with that since the pins are black and the cotton swab turns black when I clean it. I have never seen that before so I'm unsure as to what's normal here. Pardon if this is a dumb question, but is that normal? It's my only game so I don't have others I can test or compare it with. I've added a couple pictures to give you an idea of what the cartridge pins currently look like. I've attached a video of the console being powered on as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sega SG-1000 Troubleshooting.mp4 (1.06 MB)

SG-1000 cartridge pins 1.jpg (172.46 KB)

SG-1000 cartridge pins 2.jpg (164.64 KB)

What kind of RF box are you using? The auto switching RF boxes (like the ones that came with NES/Genesis etc) will not work. You need one that has a physical switch on it like the old Atari 2600.

try to use a multimeter in continuity mode between the front, rightmost two pads. They are both ground (https://www.smspower.org/Development/CartridgeSlot )

If the multimeter does not beep than they are probably too oxidized.

Anyway from the TV image I do not think it's the cartridge. If that were the case you should get a black or whatever color static screen. It seems the TV is not tuning right.

Btw hustle chumy is a great game!

Enforcer wrote

What kind of RF box are you using? The auto switching RF boxes (like the ones that came with NES/Genesis etc) will not work. You need one that has a physical switch on it like the old Atari 2600.

My setup isn't using a box. I've attached a picture of what I'm using. It has been working for my Colecovision and Super Cassette Vision so I assumed it would work with this. My SG-1000 didn't come with an rf box, though even if it did, it doesn't look like I'd be able to connect it to this TV. I don't seem to have any rf boxes that would work on this tv aside from NES ones (which won't work as you said).

RF CRT connection.jpg (91.32 KB)

On my SG-1000 II, I had to adjust the RF generator to get a good picture. Mine seemed to be set some where between US CATV 95 and 96. There might be a pot you can adjust if you are ok with opening the unit.

Enforcer wrote

On my SG-1000 II, I had to adjust the RF generator to get a good picture. Mine seemed to be set some where between US CATV 95 and 96. There might be a pot you can adjust if you are ok with opening the unit.

Interesting idea. Before I open up the console and do any modifications, I think I'll see if I can test out another game.

UPDATE: I got it working now. It turns out that all I needed to do was change the channel on the TV from 95 (what I had it on) to 96. Thank you everyone for your assistance.

Sega SG-1000 working.jpg (270.52 KB)

Author	Message
V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Troubleshooting Sega SG-1000 Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 11:40 pm
V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Hi everyone. I recently bought a Sega SG-1000 and am having trouble getting it to work. It was sold as tested and working so I'm assuming it's something I'm doing wrong. It appears to power up fine. When I put a cartridge in and power it on, it seems to detect a game but the video and audio appear all glitchy/messed up. I've cleaned the cartridge a bit with isopropyl alcohol. However, I'm hesitant to go any further with that since the pins are black and the cotton swab turns black when I clean it. I have never seen that before so I'm unsure as to what's normal here. Pardon if this is a dumb question, but is that normal? It's my only game so I don't have others I can test or compare it with. I've added a couple pictures to give you an idea of what the cartridge pins currently look like. I've attached a video of the console being powered on as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sega SG-1000 Troubleshooting.mp4 (1.06 MB) SG-1000 cartridge pins 1.jpg (172.46 KB) SG-1000 cartridge pins 2.jpg (164.64 KB)

Enforcer Joined: 16 Mar 2018 Posts: 29 Location: Indiana	Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 12:04 am
Enforcer Joined: 16 Mar 2018 Posts: 29 Location: Indiana	What kind of RF box are you using? The auto switching RF boxes (like the ones that came with NES/Genesis etc) will not work. You need one that has a physical switch on it like the old Atari 2600.

kamillebidan Joined: 25 Feb 2013 Posts: 384 Location: Osaka	Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 12:05 am
	try to use a multimeter in continuity mode between the front, rightmost two pads. They are both ground (https://www.smspower.org/Development/CartridgeSlot ) If the multimeter does not beep than they are probably too oxidized. Anyway from the TV image I do not think it's the cartridge. If that were the case you should get a black or whatever color static screen. It seems the TV is not tuning right. Btw hustle chumy is a great game!

V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 1:08 am
V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Enforcer wrote What kind of RF box are you using? The auto switching RF boxes (like the ones that came with NES/Genesis etc) will not work. You need one that has a physical switch on it like the old Atari 2600. My setup isn't using a box. I've attached a picture of what I'm using. It has been working for my Colecovision and Super Cassette Vision so I assumed it would work with this. My SG-1000 didn't come with an rf box, though even if it did, it doesn't look like I'd be able to connect it to this TV. I don't seem to have any rf boxes that would work on this tv aside from NES ones (which won't work as you said). RF CRT connection.jpg (91.32 KB)

Enforcer Joined: 16 Mar 2018 Posts: 29 Location: Indiana	Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 4:01 am
Enforcer Joined: 16 Mar 2018 Posts: 29 Location: Indiana	On my SG-1000 II, I had to adjust the RF generator to get a good picture. Mine seemed to be set some where between US CATV 95 and 96. There might be a pot you can adjust if you are ok with opening the unit.

V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Posted: Sat May 13, 2023 8:30 pm
V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Enforcer wrote On my SG-1000 II, I had to adjust the RF generator to get a good picture. Mine seemed to be set some where between US CATV 95 and 96. There might be a pot you can adjust if you are ok with opening the unit. Interesting idea. Before I open up the console and do any modifications, I think I'll see if I can test out another game.

V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	Posted: Sun May 14, 2023 9:08 pm
V-SNES Joined: 09 May 2023 Posts: 4 Location: Canada	UPDATE: I got it working now. It turns out that all I needed to do was change the channel on the TV from 95 (what I had it on) to 96. Thank you everyone for your assistance. Sega SG-1000 working.jpg (270.52 KB)

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