Star Tech Journal

Issue: 1986-May - Vol 8 Issue 3

STAR*TECH Journal
May 1986 (5).
the crack and onto the power supply.
If this hasn't happened to you yet, nove
the assenbly back and to the right
-turning it at a 90 degree angle.
If it has happened, and if the power
supply didn't blow up, but you can tell
that coke was spilled on it, shotgun it.
Don't bother running hot water on a
switching power supply, in fact don't even
waste your time trying to fix them. Throw
them away! Buy a new one. They're cheap
compared to the standard power supplies.
this would be to nuch for me. The price of
the game is low. We should leave the
building of games of this magnitude to the
guys that do it best. Besides, if GAUNl'LEI'
ever dies, which there is no indication of
that, Atari may come out with a software
change. The logic board has the capability
to hold nore rnenory and the panel can
acconodate any type of player controls
imaginable. So GAUNl'LEI' is the nost sound
investment you can make for a dedicated
game. And best of all, it's ATARI.
EXHAUS'I' FAN
Now, if you really want to go all the way,
do this:
On the back of the game on the bottom
right hand side is a hole for an exhaust
fan and it has a cover over it. This hole
was put there for a fan but it wasn't
really necessary and because of the dust
fans bring into the game, the fans were
not installed at the factory.
But as long as the hole is already there,
put a fan there blowing out. Your nonitor
will last alot longer. The phosphor bum
will be reduced. The logic board will
never blow out from internal problems,
which is a well known fact that
·tenperature is directly related to the
life of integrated circuits.
The higher the tenp the shorter the life
of the chip. IC's life span is always
rated in years but capacitors aren't.
capacitors do not have a life rating in
years, because heat and vibration reduce
the life of caps drastically. So nostly, a
fan will prolong the life of the nonitor
and power supply. Atari has no control
over the quality of the parts that are
used in these items -which were not
directly made by Atari.
In conclusion, I hear a lot of people say
should have been a kit. I'm glad
it wasn't released as a kit and hope it
never will be, because to drill and nount
4 joysticks, 8 buttons and wire up four
coin rnechs and then solder some 48
connections on the control panel is
something I, personally, would not do.
G.1\UN!'LEI'
To nodify a game cabinet to acconodate all
Shuffle Alleys & Pins
By Fritz Runyon
Williams Electronics
Chicago, IL
This nonth, we will clarify a number of
items relating to various garnes.
SHUFFLE ALLEYS
Some operators have requested information
on obtaining access to the pin panel of
Williams (United) shuffle alleys. The
following is a brief procedure:
1. Unplug the game. Unscrew the Phillips
head screw on the top of the pin panel
hood (just above pin #1). Unlock the
backbox and remove the backbox glass. Open
the insert board, and lay it on top of the
pin panel hood.
2. Reach through the hole in the bottom of
the backbox, and tum the two latches
securing the rear cover of the backbox.
Remove the rear cover to gain access to
the wire harnesses (cables).
3. Disconnect the cables leading to the
pin panel. Also disconnect the gr0tmd
braid leading to the pin panel from the
comoon grounding post, by loosening the
wingnut.
4. Take care not to snag or break any
wires, and slide the pin panel toward the
frontbox. CAUTICN: This assenbly has
considerable mass (weight and bulk). Take
care to avoid dropping or tipping it onto
the playfield.
May 1986 (6)
STAR*TECH Journal
5. Reassenble the game by reversing the
procedure.
PINBALL GAMES
For System II games (HIGH SPEED and
future), exhibiting switch problems, here
is the recommended technique for Clearing
switch Problems:
When a switch is inoperative (either never
opening or never closing), the game
program displays a switch Problem Report
message at Game Tum-on or at the
beginning of the Diagnostic Tests. This
message can include up to three switches
that did not operate during the nost
recent 60 balls (20 games) played, or were
not cleared by repair. Accorrpanying the
message is a knocker sound, which may be
turned off by choosing NO as the setting
for Adjustment item 'Ad 50'.
The ONLY effective technique for clearing
the switch Problem message is to repair
the switch, and then enter the switch
Tests portion of the Diagnostic Tests. Use
either the switch Fdges or the switch
Levels test to confirm that repair was
satisfactory. When the game program senses
proper operation of the switch (during the
switch test), it deletes the switch
designation from the switch Problem Report
message.
WARNING: Because the CMOO RAM stores the
game audit data and the game adjustment
selections, as well as the switch
actuation data, the 'quick and dirty'
procedure of pulling the batteries to
clear the 010S RAM is very STR(N;LY
discouraged. The operator loses all
previous game audit data and any
operator-installed game adjustments.
For System 9 or System II games with
erroneous Game Reset actions:
If the game appears to reset in the midst
of game play, check the diodes on the
SO-volt Flipper coils, Kicker coils, etc.
A faulty diode can possibly allow excess
noise to feed back into the system (CPU),
thereby resulting in the "false" reset.
Also, make sure that ALL printed circuit
board nounting screws are re-installed,
when boards are disnounted for repairs or
testing.
G.1\ME MANUALS
To obtain your Game Instruction Manual
(replacing the preliminary manual shipped
with the game), be sure to note that you
want a manual on your Game Registration
card, when you return it to Williams.
G.1\ME TRANSPORI' PREO\Ul'IONS
During transport of assenbled Williams
pinball games to a location by open truck
(especially if the journey is nore than a
few miles or over rough roads), we
recorrmend that the backbox be lowered
(with cushioning for protection) onto the
cabinet. This sinple precaution can
prevent possible game damage caused by
vibration or road shocks. Final elevation
of the backbox and securing it into
position with the furnished bolts then
takes only a few minutes at the selected
game location, but you have assured that
it has arrived safely.
About Pinball Boards
By John Batistic
Univid Test Systems
Cleveland, OH
I have written quite a bit about the ins
and outs of video game board repairs, but
I have not mentioned pinball boards.
First of all, one of the problems you will
encounter is the reality that there is not
a bench test fixture available to the
operator. Pinball systems are nuch
different from video systems. They differ
greatly from one to the next. They all use
different voltages to power up and
different components even though they all
present the same type of game.
The fact is, a universal type test fixture
does not exist for pinball and it is
doubtful it ever will. Manufacturers would
have to do sore nore standardization for a
universal fixture to appear in our
industry. Presently, the cost of
engineering and manufacturing would be
nuch too high to be successful.

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