Star Tech Journal

Issue: 1985-August - Vol 7 Issue 3

STAR*TECH Jc,urr,al
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the location loses revenue.
CLEAN
Dirt slOlfS dolm the ball. And as the
ball slOMS, so do the quarters. Protect
your invest11ent! Clean and ..ax the
playfield at least once a Neek. At the
saae ti11e, check for loose parts and
tighten thetl before they break. If
playfield war begins to sholl, check
for nicks or gouges in the balls.
FLIPPERS
Flippers are the 110St i ■portant
playfield fNture. They thould al..ays
operate at full strength. Tnt the
end-of-the-stroke SNitch: (1) Ju■ p the
unhanded end of the diode on the
flipper coil to the center terail'lill of
the coil. (2) Then operate the flipper
button. (3) If this technique restores
full strength, file and burnish the
end-of-the-stroke •itch-. (4Hbie
adJUSt both blades (actuating and
stationary) together 10 the fliPflll"
pawl opens the EDS •itch Nhln the
flipper is in the up position. (5)
AdJust both SNitch blades ta.ard NCh
other for good conduction. Poor
strength can also bl caused by dirty or
■ isadJusted flipper-button •itches.
BlllPERS/KICKERS
Jet-bu ■ PI" and kicur SNitches ■ust
be adJusted for fast resPOl'ISe to
increase playfield action. On the new
drop targets, the back-up blade should
be lubricated •ith a light
■achine-lubricant. This promotes
reliable dropping. Also lubricate
friction points on SPinning-target
asse■blies.
BLADE SWITD£S
Niver burnish or file a blade •itch.
Here's the right ..ay to clean and
adJust the■: (1) Insert a business card
betMeen contact points. (2) Apply
pressure to both blades Nhile P11lling
the card through. (3) AdJust the
statiol'lilry blade: The contacts should
touch Nhen the actuating blide -is
depressed hal f..ay by the ball. This
al101tS sel f-clNning action for the
re■aining half of travel. (4) The
actuating blade should be adJusted to
begin to travel at the start of SNitch
activation.
DROP TAR6ETS
Drop targets should be checked for
broken or loose parts, or •ires
disconnected fro■ •itches or coils.
PLAYFIELD
Playfield screNS and nuts should be
checked for tightness. ClNn or replace
dirty or NOrn rubber parts.
Check ball shooter plunger for proper
alig....nt and saooth operation.
Check all tilt ■echanis■s for proper
operation.
LAMPS
La■PS
that flicker or don't li!lht.
Check sockets and Mires. Replace all
burned-out bulbs and clean dirty ones.
800<-00X.
Check that al 1 IOI' s and other
socketed parts are properly seated.
Check for loose or da■aged conl'll!Ctors
and replace as needed.
Check for loose scraes holding dOllft
all circuit boards.
Check Mire harness for cub or nicks
in cables bending over edges of
cabinet.
************
SABLE
POER SUPPLIES: DECK FOR "RIPPLE"
By Dennis Sable
Technical Nanilger
Ro■star
Torrance, CA.
S,■ptoa: "Hu■ Bars" on the screen,
PE goes crazy, or garbage on the
screen.
Proble■ :
Possible AC on either the
ga■e P0Ml!I" supply (+5\IDC & +12VIIC>
outputs or Monitor powr supply outP11t.
Possible Cause: "leaky" or bad filter
capacitor.
Troubleshoot in11 guide: Attach D. N. N.
(Digital Multi-Meter) to P0Ml!I" supply
output (check sche■atics for
appropriate test points>. Neasure
voltage on closest DC setting. Voltages
Nill read 10111!1" than nor■al -they ■aY
see■ "good enough" but noticeably lCMRI"
than norllill.
Next •itch your ■eter to AC setting
and check for an AC reading on the DC
line. There should be less than .ti AC
"Ripple" on any ga■e PoNM" supply. If
you find the AC to be grNter then .1i
of the specified DC voltage, suspect a
bad filter capacitor. The filter
capacitor is the largest cap. in the
circuit i■-!diately follONil'!!l the
circuit rectifier (diodes or bridge).
August
1985 · (2)
on control panels. Try to reEllber that
this is a player-ga■e interconnect and
that it is very i ■portant for this
sect ion of the conversion to be laid
out wll (player co■ fortl and that it
t10rks wll (player satisfaction) for
■aXi ■UII ga11e
inc PAtEl.. LAYIIJT
The kits vary on panel layout.
Kona■ i 1 s KICKER
diagra■ on page 2
■anual. They give
has a good layout
of the instruction
you the option of a
single or dual control layout. The dual
control doesn't allON player against
player action, hONeVer, thus I chose
the single because it suits the left or
right handed player.
NA6 NAX (Nichibutsu> doesn't give any
layout, but I installed a fire button
on both sides of the Joystick. With
these kits you'll have to decide Nhen!
to P11t your buttons.
But in the ca!il! of Wico 1 s OAIPI~
BASEJA.L Part II, you' 11 get a
plexiglass overlay Mith pre-drilled
holes so that's Nhere the buttons Nill
have to go. This kit is a dual control
layout, player against player. Looks
like a good kit, too.
ClJT WITH Tl£ Cl.D
Once you have deter■ ined the layout
you prefer, next step is take apart the
old one. It should either be sheet
11etal, or ■etal Mith 3/4• NOOCI, or no
11etal JUSt 3/4" NOOd (Williaas).
We' 11 discuss the sheet ■etal type
first.
To start, you'll need ■ore holes or
less holes. For exa■ple, an Atari DIS
w; to a Kona■ i !IJPER BASl you'll need to add tNO buttons on each
side. Si ■ply drill the l'll!N holes Mith
1-1/8" hole SIN. The buttons to use are
the 1-9/16· long Mith a deep 11eitch
bracket (Wico 115-t98411).
ENN::CS
If you're doing_a ga■e Mith tNO
holes, they ■ust be plugged. After all
the holes are drilled, install the
overlay. You're better off to scrape or
peel off old overlay first. After the
neN overlay is in place, you flip the
control panel over and fill any holes
not needed Mith epoxy. After this is
set, you can then cut out the holes
needed Mith any sharp instruant. Also
tri ■ ends of any excess. At this point,
I P11t on any stickers or decals, fire,
shoot, or Ju■P kick on the control
panel. I ~hen give it tNO or three good
coats of clear polyurethane. This Nill
help keep your stickers on, plus
provide so■e protection fro■ peeling
and cigarette burns.
This
On a control panel using 3/4"
plyNOOCI, unless the previous panel
utilizes the sa■e holes, 1 1 11 scrap it
and start OVl!r Mith a piece of 1/2"
plyNOOCI. Then you can use a 1-13/16"
Solution: Change the suspect
capacitor.
Extra Info: This quick check can be
very useful -it t10rks! By-the-Ny, if
the AC ■easure■ent is very high<• or
higher>, suspect the circuit rectifier
or, in so■e cases, a loose fuse holder.
(Not a bad fuse -Just a loose holder,
i.e. Bally NidNay PAC NAN and NS. PAC
NAN. l
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alfJERSI~ TIPS
by Ji ■ Ennis
Ji ■ Ennis Video Repair
Salisbury, II).
■c>nth
I have soae ti,s and info
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August
1985 (3)
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long button with a thins.itch bracket
(Wico 115-98181). Using a new piece of
NOOd aakes plugging holes easier. Also,
with 112• NOOd you can drill one hole
1- 1/8• for your button.
Using 3/4• NOOd, you can't always use
as.itch bracket. Here yours.itch will
11011nt directly to the NOOd. To aount
any buttons, drill froa the top with a
1-1/8• hole saw about halfway, 3/8•
deep. Then go the rest of the way with
a 3/4• butterfly bit. You can then
aount the button with Just a Pfl. nut
and no washers needed.
On the sheet aetal and NOOd panel
type, I also cut out for the Joystick
using a sabre saw so the Joystick
•itch holar is flush with the aetal.
This wi 11 be IION! secure and look ■uch
better.
TI£
EASY PART
Once everything is 11011nted, it's all
d If the wiring harness is long enough, I
si■ply cut enough for the length of the
control panel plus J• to 4• extra, to
wire the panel. First, connect a ground
wire to one side of all s.itches. Then,
using the edge connector pin-out,
solder the rest of the wires to the
appropriate s.itches; up, lbm, left,
right, 1 and 2 player start, kick,
Ju■P, fire, etc.
All that's left, is to install 2
Molex or AMP connectors, ■aking sure
the wires froa the logic board coincide
with the pins going to control panel.
Tie it all up with plastic tie-wraps
and that's it.
Well, next ti■e •' 11 do coin doors,
and so■e tips on ga■e cos■etics, too.
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ERICKSON
114 TI£ SERVICE TRAIL ...
by Todd Erickson
Su.it A■useaent
St. Paul, ~
NISSLE llJIIAND Cllf.'ERSI~
With l"9CeTlt conversions going into
Atari's NISSLE aJIIAND, there has been
Pl"Obll!ll!i with voltage drops resetting
the ga■e , The cure is very si ■ple. With
the ~itional voltage plugs supplied
by Atari with the ga■e, the aachine can
be changed to a 95 volt unit. Check the
5 volts after this change-over to be
1111"1! it is correctly within tolerance.
~ID'S DART SAIES
Danger!!! These people have built
ttaselves into the replace■ent parts
business. The plug froa the ■e11brane
target ■ust be unhooked to service the
unit. Unf•iliar service technicians
can usily ■iss the warning in a dark
bar. Ar.chnid should receive an award
in poor design for this feature.
NINTENDO SYSTEM CCIIENTS
lllen the VS syste■ was first
released, the a■ount of software was
li ■ ited. BASEM..l was excellent last
siaer and this. Over the winter,
hoNever, there was a lack of good
ga■es, PINRL was Just alright at
best.
In the lut f11t ■onths, though, they
released EXCITEBIKE, ltl6ANS ALLEY and
Dlll< KM. All these are excellent .
ga■es, (The Dlll< KM, I feel, will be
a stronger Fall ga■e,) The de■and has
been so strong for these gues, that
they will be behind in shipping their
next gan for the next ■onth or two.
The guns have been getting such heavy
use, that the rubber has been Nearing
off the and of the barrel. I contacted
Nintendo and they will have a cure for
this shortly.
The large VS syste■ has been too wide
to mve into SOE locations. ""'n the
gaes are ■oved, I reco■■end re■oving
the control panels. They are easi 1Y
da■aged ■oving through doors. A
reaoveable front is in the works for
narrow doors.
With the VS syste11, • will be able
to ■ake good ■oneY with video again.
EVl!l'I the ■arginal ga11e will pay their
way with this syste■.
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MURPHY
If a test installation functions
perfectly, all subsequent production
units will ■alfunction.
***********tr
B A T ::CST ::C C
INPUT PROBl.9IS
by John Batistic
Univid last Syste■s
Clwwland, Clf
Ont of the ■ost COMOn proble■s with
video ga■e logic boards is a proble■
with inputs. laputs are all the signals
that tell the gaa what to do. For
exaple; coin, start, fire, ■ove right,
ate.
We have all encountll"9d proble■s with
inputs and this is a good place to
begin our Journey into board repair.
Input probl ... are one of the easiest
things to repair and if you
IUCCllsfully repair anything on your
logic board, you will be building the
confidence you will need to venture
cnard to ■ore coaplicated proble■s.
I DENT IF ICATIIJ4
The first step is identification of
the exact ■alfunction. For our pur~,
• will say our board will not ■ove the
character on the screen to the right.
We have tested the ga■e and concluded
that tha Pl"Oblt■ is not the JOYSt ick or
STAR*TECH Jourr,al
the •iring. We have re■oved the board
froa the ga■e, plugged it into our test
fixture on our bench and sure enough,
the proble■ still exists. It is now
ti• to do so■ething about it.
PIN-OOTS
Look at the sche■atic and locate the
pin on the edge connector that is
■arked • ■ove right•. Probe at the pin
with a logic probe, ■eter or
oscilloscope. You should have a
nor■ally high signal that goes low when
you mve the Joystick to the right.
This aans you should ■easure around +5
volts DC and it should go to 8 volts.
Plll~ RESISTORS
You ■ay or ■ay not have the correct
signals Pl"ISlnt at the edge pin. The
signal ■ay be floating or it aay be low
all the ti•. A floating signal is one
that is rwither high nor low but
~ in bet.en. Floating or low
si1nals are ca.on and are usually
caUSld by a bid pull-up resistor, A
pull-up l"ftistor will either be part of
a resistor pack or a single resistor.
It wi 11 be connected to +5 vol ts on one
Ind and the input signal on the other.
It's function is to keep the input
signal at a nor■ally high state and to
Pl"ftlftt a dNd short when the signal is
trought to ground,
You can check the pull-up resistor by
disc:omecting the lHd froa the input
signal and probing on the disconnected
1 ... If the resistor is good, you
should have the high signal, You ■ay
also check the resistor with an oh■
■eter. If in doubt, change the
l"ftistor.
NJISE CA~ITORS
The next thing to check is the
capacitor in the circuit. The capacitor
will usually ha comected to the input
signal on one end and ground on the
other. It's purpose is to de-bounce the
input signal, A shortld or leaky
capacitor will also ca1111 a low or
floating signal. To quickly check the
capacitor, siaply cut and lift one end
of it and chick the input signal. The
signal should go high if the capacitor
is bid and should then be replaced.
INTEBRATED CIRCUITS
Once you have reached the point where
the pull-up resistor and the capacitor
haw bNn verified, you will be looking
at an IC chip, The chip will be
transferring the input signal onto the
Data Buss. There is no easy way to
check tha output of the chip so you
should swap it for a known good one.
WRAP UP
all input proble■s should be
solved by this ti■e. You should try
repairing one as soon as you can. This
will start to get you on the track and
build your confidence. Think of our
sc:hl!llatics u your road ■ap and follow
the signals like a high..ay. You ■ay
Al ■ost
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