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Magnavox Odyssey 200 General Maintenance

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Magnavox Odyssey 200 YF7015 adjustment locations (SM 6503)
Magnavox's top view of the YF7015 (Odyssey 200) board, showing the adjustment controls, switches and ICs (Service Manual No. 6503, p. 6503-3)

The Magnavox Odyssey 200 (YF7015) dates from 1975 and runs from six C cells or a 9 V adaptor. Routine care is the battery compartment, the five switches, and the internal controls that set the picture, the playfield, the two fixed players and the on-screen score. Magnavox's Service Manual No. 6503 gives the service adjustments; the owner's booklet IB 2900-2 gives the simpler versions an owner was expected to make with a screwdriver.[1][2] Fault-finding is on Magnavox Odyssey 200 Troubleshooting Guide and the electrolytic capacitors on Magnavox Odyssey 200 Capacitor Replacement Guide.

Opening the console

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The service manual has no disassembly instructions.[3]

  1. Turn the console upside down. Press down on the coin screw in the centre of the bottom cabinet, turn it about half a turn anticlockwise, and lift the bottom cabinet off by both sides.[2] This exposes the battery compartment, the channel and sound switches and the adjustment holes.[2]
  2. The Odyssey 200 uses the Odyssey 100's case design in a different colour, with its own case parts.[4][5] To take the board out, follow the steps on the Odyssey 100 maintenance page.
  3. When refitting the bottom cabinet, put the grille over the SOUND switch and lay the game cord in the slots in the cabinet.[2]

Batteries and power

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  • Fit six C cells in the direction shown in the compartment. Magnavox warns that reversed cells can damage the electronics, and recommends alkaline cells for long play.[2]
  • If the console is normally run from the AC adaptor, take the cells out. Magnavox gives this advice to prevent damage from leaking cells.[2] Clean any corrosion as described on Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.
  • The adaptor is 9 V DC and plugs into the socket at the top back of the console. The jack disconnects the cells when a plug is in it.[3][2][6] Magnavox gives the YF7015's current drain as 65 mA.[3]

Supply checks

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Odyssey 200 supply points
Point What it is Expected
W1 and W2 Battery terminals on the board (+BATT and −BATT) +9 V on the schematic
Q9 collector Input to the 5 V regulator 9.0 V
Q9 base Held by the 6.0 V zener Z1 6.0 V
Q9 emitter Regulated 5 V supply 5.2 V
IC1 pin 3 Regulated supply 4.5 V to 5.5 V (nominal 5.0 V)

[3][7][8][6]

The Odyssey 200 takes its 5 V from Q9, not from the regulator inside IC1 that the Odyssey 100 uses. On a 200 with good cells and a low 5 V supply, check Q9, Z1 and R104 (820 Ω).[6][8]

Switches

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Odyssey 200 switches (parts list, p. 6503-12)
Ref Function Magnavox part
S1 Power on-off and ball reset 160546-3
S2 Player select (2 or 4) and score reset 160546-3
S3 Game select (Smash, Tennis, Hockey) 160546-2
S4 Channel select (3 or 4), under the bottom cabinet 160556-1
S5 Sound on/off, under the bottom cabinet 160556-1

[5][2]

S1 is the same part as the Odyssey 100's power and ball reset switch. On an Odyssey 100, Nerdly Pleasures found one player unable to serve until the ball reset contacts in that switch were opened and polished, and cured a noisy channel switch with contact cleaner; the method is on the Odyssey 100 page.[5][4] S2 also carries the score reset contacts (S2B): moving it to its other position clears the on-screen score.[1][6]

Service adjustments

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YF7015 service adjustments (Service Manual No. 6503, p. 6503-2)
Adjustment Control Connection or setting Set to
Horizontal frequency R2 Frequency counter on IC1 pin 16 15,734 Hz ± 30 Hz
Vertical frequency R4 Frequency counter on IC1 pin 14 60 Hz ± 1 Hz
Blanking width R70 Oscilloscope on IC5 pin 5 (composite video); +3 V DC bias on IC5 pin 8 16 µs
Blanking centring R71 As above Blanking starts 6 µs before horizontal sync
Lower rebound R10 +3 V DC bias on IC3 pin 3 Whole ball visible at the bottom of the screen
Upper rebound R8 As above Whole ball visible at the top of the screen
Right wall position R6 Hockey, players switch at 4 Right wall as close to the right edge as possible and fully visible
Goal opening R14 Hockey, players switch at 4 Openings centred vertically
Horizontal score position R78 Hockey, players switch at 4 Score marks about 1 inch right of the left hockey wall
Vertical score position R77 Hockey, players switch at 4 Lowest part of the score marks about 1.5 inches from the bottom of the screen
Left fixed player R33 Hockey, players switch at 4 About its own width to the right of the left wall
Right fixed player R36 Hockey, players switch at 4 About its own width to the left of the right wall

[1][5][2]

For the rebound adjustment, turn the right ball control (R74) fully anticlockwise and the left ball control (R75) fully clockwise; only one of them will have an effect. Set R10. Then turn R74 fully clockwise and R75 fully anticlockwise and set R8.[1] The manual's text calls the upper rebound control R9 and places the right fixed player relative to the "left wall"; the parts list and board drawing give R8, and the owner's booklet sets the right fixed player against the right side wall.[1][5][7][2]

Owner's adjustments

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The booklet's procedure needs only a thin-bladed screwdriver, with the console and television on and the bottom cabinet off.[2]

  1. If the picture rolls, turn the control through the hole marked "VERT FREQ" until it stops. If it tears, turn the control through "HORIZ FREQ" until the picture is straight.
  2. Set the GAME switch to C (Hockey) and the PLAYERS switch to 4.
  3. Turn "R. WALL POS" until the right side wall is as close to the right edge of the screen as possible while still completely visible.
  4. Turn the goal position control until the goal openings in both walls are centred top to bottom.
  5. Turn "R. FIXED PLAYER HORIZ POS" until the right fixed player is about its own width to the left of the right side wall. The right vertical control may be needed to bring it on screen.
  6. Turn the CENTER knob on top of the console until the left side wall is as close to the left edge as possible and still visible, then turn "L. FIXED PLAYER HORIZ POS" until the left fixed player is about its own width to the right of it.
  7. Turn "SCORE VERT POS" to move the on-screen score up or down to taste.
  8. Refit the bottom cabinet.

Television connection

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  • Push the antenna-game switch fully to GAME or fully to TV.[2]
  • Unplug the game cord by its plug, not by the cord.[2]
  • A 75 Ω round antenna cable needs a 75 Ω to 300 Ω balun to connect to the switch box.[2]

Preventive maintenance checklist

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  1. Open the bottom cabinet and inspect the battery holder and contacts for corrosion or damage.[2]
  2. Take the cells out if the console runs from the adaptor.[2]
  3. Work all five switches, and clean any that are intermittent.[5][4]
  4. Measure Q9's emitter (5.2 V) and IC1 pin 3 (4.5 V to 5.5 V).[8][3]
  5. Check the picture for roll and tear and set R4 and R2.[1][2]
  6. In Hockey with four players, check the walls, goals, fixed players and score positions, and reset any that have drifted.[1][2]
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6503, February 1976, p. 6503-2: typical operation (Tennis), the electronic scoring marks of the YF7015, and the service adjustments with Figure 1 (blanking). Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200 Service Manual 6503.pdf.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 The Magnavox Company, Odyssey 200 Installation and Game Rules, IB 2900-2, 1975: the antenna-game switch and game cord (pp. 3 and 4), battery installation and the channel switch (p. 4), the sound switch and adjusting the television (p. 5), customising the console (p. 6), the player controls and getting the ball on screen (p. 7), Smash and its scoring (pp. 8 and 9), Hockey scoring (p. 13), the performance check list (p. 14). Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 200 Installation and Game Rules IB2900-2.pdf.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Magnavox Company, Service Manual No. 6503: YF7010 & YF7015 Odyssey, first issue, February 1976, p. 6503-1: general information (6 C cells or an optional AC to DC 9 V adaptor; the YF7010 has two games, mechanical scoring and two players; the YF7015 has three games, electronic and mechanical scoring and two or four players with Tennis and Hockey) and the specifications table. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200 Service Manual 6503.pdf.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Nerdly Pleasures, "Sears (Atari) Tele-games Pong vs Magavox Odyssey 100 - Battle of the First Pong Consoles", 7 August 2022 (retrieved 2026-10-19), sections on the Odyssey 100 and 200, "Quirks of the Odyssey 100" and "Issues Encountered with the Odyssey 100": the battery compartment and its coin screw, the AC adaptor plug, the battery snaps, the RF cable, the internal adjustments, and the owner's repairs. Owner's hands-on report.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6503, February 1976, p. 6503-12: master board replacement parts list (coils, capacitors with type, value, rating and part number, controls and switches, semiconductors, miscellaneous) and cabinet replacement parts list. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200 Service Manual 6503.pdf.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6503, February 1976, pp. 6503-9 to 6503-11: YF7015 schematic diagram, with regulator Q9, IC4, IC6, the player select and score reset switch S2 and the timing capacitor table. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200 Service Manual 6503.pdf.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6503, February 1976, p. 6503-3: YF7010 and YF7015 top views showing the adjustment potentiometers, controls, switches, integrated circuits, transistors and battery terminals W1 and W2. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200 Service Manual 6503.pdf.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6503, February 1976, p. 6503-4: YF7010 and YF7015 voltage charts for IC1 to IC6 and transistors Q4 to Q7 and Q9 (taken with a VTVM, game switch at B, players switch at 4, sound on, players centred, ball volleying), with notes 1 to 16, and the IC basic functions (IC4 and IC6 not used in the YF7010). Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200 Service Manual 6503.pdf.


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