Play Meter
Issue: 1981 June 01 - Vol 7 Num 10 - Page 48
FRANK'S
CRANKS
I
By Frank Sen.insky
The End and Phoenix :
Two new videos seen
from a troubleshooter's view
THE END/ Stern After having
reviewed Stern's Berzerk (PLAY
METER, April 15), I was somewhat
disappointed with The End. What
could have gone wrong? Stern had
done such an excellent job with
Berzerk; the logic boards and power
supplies could slide ·out from the
front panel on a track, a 110-volt
outlet was provided .. .I called Lou
Rudolph, the field service engineer
for Stern, and was assured that the
reason for eliminating many of the
improved features had to do with
accomodating a licensed system.
Stern basically just took an already
built system and fit it into its own
cabinet. This will be the last piece
that Stern will license. From now on
Stern Electronics will design all of its
own games.
The coin door is exactly the same
as that on Berzerk. It is strong and
reliable and I can see no reason to
complain about it. The cashbox is
the same sturdy Stern type. The
cashbox can be seen trom the back
of the game but Stern plans to have a
completely sealed cashbox area in its
next game.
The logic boards are mounted
vertically so the components can be
seen and worked on while in the
game. The volume control is located
on the CPU board but should be on
the front door. The power supply is
screwed to the bottom of the cabinet
but is in a vertical position. This is
better than having the power supply
board lying flat on the bottom
because there is less chance of stray
metal pieces falling on exposed
components. However, the trans-
former is now on the bottom of the
cabinet and is fully exposed to falling
metal parts. The monitor can be
taken out easily if it has to be
repaired. In essence, The End is an
easy game to work on but not as easy
as Berzerk.
For some unexplained reason, a
coin meter was not installed in The
End uprights. (I'm told that coin
meters have been installed in all The
End cocktail models.) The wires and
diode have been installed. Stern will
provide coin mete rs to those who
have purchased this game, at no
extra charge.
The color monitor schematic is
very large and easy to read. It is a full
"Size D" drawing (3' x 2'). In the
future Stem will futher improve its
schematics by using three colors-
red , blue, and black to distinguish
between the address lines, data lines,
and all other lines.
The +5 volt section of the power
supply has been redesigned. Stern
has eliminated the use of the old
LM323 to develop the +5 volts. A
2N6121 and a 7805 are now used
instead. This will reduce the medium
to high failure rate experienced in
past games. If something goes wrong
with the +5-volt section, the 6121
transistor will shut down and no
further dam
"crowbarring" . O n futur e Stern
power supplies, all other critical
supply voltages will be "crowbarred."
PHOENIX/ Centuri After having
some problems with its wooded
monitor mounting brackets coming
loose during shipment of the Eagle,
Centuri has "beefed up' the Phoenix
cabinet. Metal brackets held in by
large carriage bolts have been added
to reenforce the entire monitor area.
Metal brackets were not used on
Eagle. The monitor screen is almost
vertical-which not only gives the
player a better view of his objectives,
but also makes it easier for the
spectators to watch the action.
From a troub!~shooter's stand-
point, all of the monitor components
are easy to get at and test. All adjust-
ment controls (contrast, brightness,
vertical hold) are located at the rear
of the monitor.
The two logic boards are mounted
with foil facing foil, which is the
second best way to mount boards
(the best way being to have all com-
ponents on one board, · if space
permits). All of the components are
thus facing outward and can be
troubleshot on location in the game.
The volume control is located on one
of the logic boards, which makes
operator adjustment difficult.
The transformer is placed on the
bottom of the cabinet floor instead of
on a cabinet wall where it would be
out of the way of falling nuts and
bolts. However, the transformer has
n€t open terminals, so the possibility
of short-circuiting the transformer is
reduced.
The power supply is especially
well-designed. The test leads for+ 12
volts, -5 volts, +5 volts, ground, and
110 volts are all clearly marked and
located on a terminal block facing
the rear of the cabinet.
The Phoenix comes with the
"Deluxe Coin Acceptor Door" just
'On future Stern power supplies, all other critical supply voltages
will be crowbarred.'
56
PLAY METER, june 1, 1981
CRANKS
I
By Frank Sen.insky
The End and Phoenix :
Two new videos seen
from a troubleshooter's view
THE END/ Stern After having
reviewed Stern's Berzerk (PLAY
METER, April 15), I was somewhat
disappointed with The End. What
could have gone wrong? Stern had
done such an excellent job with
Berzerk; the logic boards and power
supplies could slide ·out from the
front panel on a track, a 110-volt
outlet was provided .. .I called Lou
Rudolph, the field service engineer
for Stern, and was assured that the
reason for eliminating many of the
improved features had to do with
accomodating a licensed system.
Stern basically just took an already
built system and fit it into its own
cabinet. This will be the last piece
that Stern will license. From now on
Stern Electronics will design all of its
own games.
The coin door is exactly the same
as that on Berzerk. It is strong and
reliable and I can see no reason to
complain about it. The cashbox is
the same sturdy Stern type. The
cashbox can be seen trom the back
of the game but Stern plans to have a
completely sealed cashbox area in its
next game.
The logic boards are mounted
vertically so the components can be
seen and worked on while in the
game. The volume control is located
on the CPU board but should be on
the front door. The power supply is
screwed to the bottom of the cabinet
but is in a vertical position. This is
better than having the power supply
board lying flat on the bottom
because there is less chance of stray
metal pieces falling on exposed
components. However, the trans-
former is now on the bottom of the
cabinet and is fully exposed to falling
metal parts. The monitor can be
taken out easily if it has to be
repaired. In essence, The End is an
easy game to work on but not as easy
as Berzerk.
For some unexplained reason, a
coin meter was not installed in The
End uprights. (I'm told that coin
meters have been installed in all The
End cocktail models.) The wires and
diode have been installed. Stern will
provide coin mete rs to those who
have purchased this game, at no
extra charge.
The color monitor schematic is
very large and easy to read. It is a full
"Size D" drawing (3' x 2'). In the
future Stem will futher improve its
schematics by using three colors-
red , blue, and black to distinguish
between the address lines, data lines,
and all other lines.
The +5 volt section of the power
supply has been redesigned. Stern
has eliminated the use of the old
LM323 to develop the +5 volts. A
2N6121 and a 7805 are now used
instead. This will reduce the medium
to high failure rate experienced in
past games. If something goes wrong
with the +5-volt section, the 6121
transistor will shut down and no
further dam
"crowbarring" . O n futur e Stern
power supplies, all other critical
supply voltages will be "crowbarred."
PHOENIX/ Centuri After having
some problems with its wooded
monitor mounting brackets coming
loose during shipment of the Eagle,
Centuri has "beefed up' the Phoenix
cabinet. Metal brackets held in by
large carriage bolts have been added
to reenforce the entire monitor area.
Metal brackets were not used on
Eagle. The monitor screen is almost
vertical-which not only gives the
player a better view of his objectives,
but also makes it easier for the
spectators to watch the action.
From a troub!~shooter's stand-
point, all of the monitor components
are easy to get at and test. All adjust-
ment controls (contrast, brightness,
vertical hold) are located at the rear
of the monitor.
The two logic boards are mounted
with foil facing foil, which is the
second best way to mount boards
(the best way being to have all com-
ponents on one board, · if space
permits). All of the components are
thus facing outward and can be
troubleshot on location in the game.
The volume control is located on one
of the logic boards, which makes
operator adjustment difficult.
The transformer is placed on the
bottom of the cabinet floor instead of
on a cabinet wall where it would be
out of the way of falling nuts and
bolts. However, the transformer has
n€t open terminals, so the possibility
of short-circuiting the transformer is
reduced.
The power supply is especially
well-designed. The test leads for+ 12
volts, -5 volts, +5 volts, ground, and
110 volts are all clearly marked and
located on a terminal block facing
the rear of the cabinet.
The Phoenix comes with the
"Deluxe Coin Acceptor Door" just
'On future Stern power supplies, all other critical supply voltages
will be crowbarred.'
56
PLAY METER, june 1, 1981
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).