Star Tech Journal

Conversions Made Easy ...
Bill Johnston
Johnston's General Store
Buffalo, New York
1. Play the old game.
2. Check all control panel functions: Are the monitor
operation, coin door switches, test mode, audio, and
speaker all ok ? Is your line cord safe? if damaged,
replace it and replay the game.
3. Unplug the game.
4. The grounding strap or wire is important for safety:
Is your game safely grounded through its third pin on
the plug? Verify this with your ohmmeter, from the
ground pin to the monitor, power supply, control
panel, and coin door ground wires/ straps.
5. Repair any missing grounds, plug the game in, and
replay the game.
6. Unplug the game.
7. I prefer the dependable Hitron power supply. If
your switching regulator power supply is over two
years old, it is wise to change it rather than suffer
service calls. Install a new power supply. using
switched ac (best from the monitor isolated ac).
Ground the case of the power supply. Verify the power
supply's inputs and outputs with your multimeter.
11. Unpack your PCB carefully and check the follow-
ing items before you power up: Are your chips and
ribbons properly seated? Are the capacitors stand~
up (not shorting against the ground trace)? Does yom .
wiring harness match the PCB pin-out ? Don't trust
"factory settings". Don't even trust the dip/pin-out
page. Go to the test mode if available and verify
settings, including those for cabinet compatibility.
12. Carefully connect the edge connector and mount
the PCB in the cabinet.
13. Remove stray tools and family pets from the
cabinet, and smoke test it.
14. Adjust your power supply for 5 volts de: Measure
voltage across an Eprom farthest from the edge
connector. If the notch is at the top, +5 is on the pin
at the upper right comer. Ground is on the pin at the
lower left comer. Adjust your monitor for its best
picture.
15. Unplug the game, and continue wiring each
section of the game, powering it up, testing it, and
unplugging it as you go.
16. Wire harness to your coin door's coin switches.
Test play.
8. Carefully wire the harness to the power supply.
9. Carefully wire the harness to the monitor.
10. Take a break before the smoke test ahead.
17. Rebuild your control panel with all new parts to
save service calls and achieve maximum earnings
through player satisfaction. Wire harness to your
new controls at your rebuilt control panel. Test play.