Star Tech Journal

Issue: 1994-February - Vol 15 Issue 12

..;..._""rAR TECH JOURNAL
February 1994
WINTER GAME
ARACHNID
DARTMAN
DOS
6
II
MOVING
BACKUP
PRECAUTION
PRECAUTION
Kerry Messana
Betson Advance Dist.
Syracuse, New York
Scott Serpa
Arcade Services
Albany, Oregon
SUBJECT
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Starting with DOS 6.0 and now
into 6.2, Microsoft has eliminated
the Backup command and re-
placed it with MSBackup for
DOS and MWBackup for win-
dows.
I found this problem with
Dartman but I am sure other pro-
grams are running up against this
as well. As a temporary measure
you can use a text editor such as
Notepad and open the
Backup.bat file and change the
backup command to Xcopy.
A Twilight Zone pin was moved
in 20 degree weather and plugged
in immediately at the new loca-
tion. The dot matrix display now
jitters and shakes intermittently.
What can cause this symptom?
PROBLEM
DOS 6 users are experiencing
backup problems.
Although these backup utilities
look impressive, they will not ex-
ecute in the normal way. How is
this important? If you are using
Dartman II from Arachnid and
are backing up your data files
with one of the utilities included,
then YOU ARE NOT BACK-
ING UP!!!
This will copy your files in
uncompressed form to the se-
lected drive. I will report in more
detail in a later issue.
Monitor
Problems?
Get our tech pub
LAw
#1512
MuRPHY' s
We don't see
Monitors:
Symptoms/Solutions
includes all monitor articles
from 1990, 1991, 1992 &
1993 for only
1
$39.95
1
things as they
are,
we see things
as we are.
Order Prepaid or COD
STAR* TECH Journal,
Post Office Box 1 065
Merchantville, NJ 08109.
SOLUTION
Start by checking all the voltages
generated on the dot matrix con-
troller board. Make sure there is
no Ac voltage component on any
of the De voltages.
If it looks OK, then try swapping
the glass with any other Williams
or Bally pin with dot matrix dis-
plays. See if the problem travels
with the glass.
BRRRR
To actually answer the question
directly, the cause of the problem
with these symptoms is that the
game was plugged in and fired up
too soon after it came in from the
cold!
Condensation is the devil around
those high voltage circuits. (An
expensive lesson, I am sure.) In
the future, let that game warm up
a bit before applying the juice.
------------------5-----------------
..;.._~AR TECH JOURNAL
February 1994
Wells Gardner
25 11 Color Monitor
T'S hooting
WILLIAMS
NEW UPGRADE
PRECAUTION
Kerry Messana
Betson Advance Dist.
Syracuse, New York
Evan Wessel
Mercury Amusement
Havertown, Pennsylvania
SYMPTOM
A Terminator 2 video game with
a 25" Wells Gardner color moni-
tor that suddenly went "greenish
white".
THE PLAGUE
then the monitor is at fault. From
there, you then start to trouble-
shoot the bad unit (monitor, CPU
or wiring harness).
The background got very light
with a green tinge. In order to get
the background neutral again the
green screen must be turned all
the way down. The other drive
controls had to be remixed to get
some sort of balance.
~
STAR TEO-ls : ~
*
I
I
~~;;si~:::
We are no longer at
18 North Centre Street.
PROBLEM
Now, the background is black,
but the color isn't right. It looks
all blue and red and turning up
the green drive screws the picture
up. Obviously, something failed.
Any clues? Where do you start?
Please Note:
Send all correspondence:
I ii
Thanks to Todd Erickson for his
valuable article about the new
Williams flipper Mega-links
(S*TI Apr93, Dec93).
Broken links have been an abso-
lute plague for pin mechanics and
the new Mega-links should cor-
rect most of the problems. Cheers
to Williams for offering an up-
grade for older games at a rea-
sonable price. It's nice to know
that they are concerned about
past sales.
PRECAUTION
After installing the kit, care
should
be given to adjusting the
PO Box 1065
m
: ::~ ::~ l~ space between the crank clamp
Merchantv.1lle
New Jersey 08109
:] and the nylon playfield bushing.
It's much more critical now -be
careful
or binding will result.
,;.,.,,,_;,;;;,;,. ..... :,:.,...;;.w:,.w,wi,¼ «-...=
«,«,"w,,Mw-<"'"I
j~j
SOLUTION
First thing to be done is to use the
built-in monitor test patterns
(very nice to have, thanks Will-
iams!). Check the various color
screens and color bars.
( ••• N ~-;;,· ·y~~~. ,;;;;:~·~;;.~·. -~
• •
:) Bill Changers: Repair & Maintenance
T'SHOOTING
:
:
:

:
Most bill acceptors, changers and handlers used
in the coin-op industry. Fixes, modifications,
t'shooting tips and precautions for models from:
Rowe, Mars, Deltronics, Greenwald, Coin Con-
trols, Merit, Ardac and others. $24. 95 + $3 s/h.
If you want to determine where
the problem is, simply switch the
color wires around at the moni-
tor connector. If the problem
moves with the wire, the board is
at fault, if it stays with the color
:
FROM
S*TJ THE BOSS
:
• •
:
:
:

. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . !
• Order prepaid or COD from STAR* TECH Journal, POB I 065, •
\ Merchantville, NJ 08109. Phone : 609/ 662- 1080. Fax: 609/ 662-0537. J
'-·····································_,.
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