Star Tech Journal

4
STAR*TECH JOURNAL/JULY 1983
NEW-JONE ELECTRONICS, INC.
QUALITY REPLACEMENT
SEMICONDUCTORS
AVAILABLE FOR THE
ELECTRONIC GAMES
INDUSTRY,
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING
MANUFACTURERS:
• ATARI
• SEGA/
• BALLY
GREMLIN
• CINEMATRONICS • MIDWAY
• EXIDY
• STERN
• GOTTLIEB
• WILLIAMS
AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL
NTE DISTRIBUTOR
Rush me a FREE Electronic Games
cross reference Gulde #CR10
COMPANY NAME
YOUR NAME
TITLE
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE
ZIP CODE
PHONE NO.
CLIP AND MAIL TODAY TO:
NEW-TONE ELECTRONICS, INC.
DEPT. G1/44 FARRAND STREET
BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY 07003
WE
REPAIR
EVERYTHING
FAST!
Board
Specialists
Video Games
Domestic & Foreign
Technicians
formerly with Bally
Send your
repair work to:
REPAIRS
UNLIMITED
119 Robin Road
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
(305) 339-6601
ATARI POLE POSITION FRONT GLASS PANEL
* * * ATARI
DIG DUG AND XEVIOUS CONTACT POINTS
SEGA SIT DOWN STAR TREK START BUTTON
* MELTEC BOOM BALLS TROUBLE AREAS
By Todd Erickson, Summit Amusement, St. Paul, MN
Atari Pole Position Front Glass Panel
The sit down Pole Position has what I consider a very dangerous condition - the front panel
unscrews from the back of the game. If the panel is pushed from the back or falls open, the front
glass will fall out and break! This happened to one of my employees while servicing the game. If
you want to save the glass rather than purchase a new one, open the panel from the front. If
Atari had made a small groove in the side of the cabinet to support the glass, this would have
never happened.
Atari Dir, Dur, and Xevlous Contact Points
A few months ago I recommended replacing the contact points on these games with 45 degree
cross bars. This worked fine for awhile, then it was back to the same old intermittent problem
( only not as• consistent). My Dig Dug boards had been modified as Atari suggested with 1 k
resistors. My new Xevious started having the same intermittent contact problems.
Every operator knows how to install contact points on Atari games. Wrong! You have a
50% chance of installing them incorrectly . .. The problem is the slip-on connector and lug end
of the contact. The lug of the point has a dish shape. If the open end of the connector is slid into
the dish, the connector may be too loose. Reversing the connector will ensure a tight fit.
Installed improperly, they will never be tight. If eel these connectors are of poor quality and are
difficult to install.
Saga Sit Down Star Trek Start Button
Due to the fact that the background is dark and the start button is black, it is difficult to locate
the start button in a dimly-lit arcade. To cure this, I shorted out the switch. This way, the game
will start immediately as soon as the coins are deposited This will also decrease the amount of
time a player loiters before starting play.
Meltec Boom Balls Trouble Areas
"Everything is different except the fun" claims Meltec about their new Boom Balls. This unit
was first released in January of this year. The service is the same as the old production. I
received no parts breakdown for the game or any instructions on the ticket dispenser. After
operating the game for about 30 days, the top cannon fell off one of them. It had been attached
with three 8-32 screws. The holes were almost big enough for quarter-inch bolts. I replaced 8-
32 screws with quarter-inch by 20 bolts.
The coin mech assembly is an outdated design used many years ago. They're nothing but
trouble. It should be replaced with a double unit having lit buttons. The ticket bezel is not
labeled. Customers try to put money in that. The whole door the coin mechanism is mounted in
is removable, but this is also the service door. This door can be tipped upside down and all
money can be removed. There should be a service switch inside this area. With the amount of
trouble with the game, a service light would also be helpful. This ticket area is locked by itself.
The money and tickets should be locked up together away from the service area. This would
help prevent pilfering. The ticket dispenser has been a complete disaster. It is made by
Deltronic. There should be a button to make the ticket dispenser motor run. An LED should
signal a pulse from the circuit board. I was using rolls instead of boxes of tickets. Again, no
documentation from Meltec to tell me different.
There are no sides for the Boom Balls to prevent people from stealing the balls. Mel
McEwan, president of Meltec, told me that they should be supervised at all times so this
doesn't happen. I would like to see an arcade where you can pay someone to stand by the
games at all times, and still make money. Some kind of shield in front of the cannon would also
be helpful. After talking to a large operator, he told me he was looking for a net to put around
the game. The balls are expensive and only available from Meltec!
The air system is another problem. The air comes into the unit low. Mel says you should
have a refrigerated dryer on the unit. As of now, I don't feel it' s necessary. The cost is about
$500 and requires another $150 to run them for a year. The air goes directly to two small
valves as it enters the machine. The directions say you should assemble the unit using Teflon
tape and not pipe compound. Meltec uses pipe compound Any dirt going into the valve may
cause trouble. A filter should be installed immediately before the air enters the valve. The 4-
way valve is way too small and troublesome. Mel told me to have stock available on this valve
because they will fail. He was right! I have purchased regulator/filters and a new 4-way valve
assembly for the game. •
The new Boom Balls is basically a good unit that was never debugged All the things I have
mentioned can be corrected and made quite reliable. The electronics of the game have been no
problem at all. The earnings have been good With an expenditure of around $100 per game,
the game should work properly. Here's hoping the ticket dispenser will work properly with the
correct tickets. I will be following up these problems and updating you with solutions in
upcoming issues of the Journal.