Star Tech Journal

October 1 995
CID
STAR*TECH
Journal
SIMPLE HELPFUL SERVICE TIPS
f OR TROUBLESHOOTING VIDEOGAMES
You have a game on location and it stops functioning. Try to apply these simple rules before going into
grave expense on the repair. Use these helpful hints in case of difficulty. These apply to any videogame.
,.. No raster/No viile ,,,. No Switak lnji,ut
-:=::::::,:
0 Check A. C. line cord
0 Check line fuse
0 Check monitor brightness
0 Check power switch and/ or in-
terlock switch
0 Check all solder connections
on line filter and transformer
0 Check for proper orientation
of the PCB connector
.,.. Raster/No video
0 Check all PCB to monitor
connections
0 Check power supply voltage
on PCB
.,,. No Video
Game sounds can 6e·htard
0 Check monitor brightness
0 Check all PCB to monitor con-
nections
_.. WrongColors
0 Monitor needs degaussing
0 Check for proper wiring be-
tween PCB and monitor
0 Check monitor adjustment and
adjust if necessary
0 Check monitor ground is prop-
erly connected to monitor
0 Be certain sync inputs are
properly connected to monitor
0 Check horizontal hold adjust-
ment
iir Hork,antal
/Vertical Roll ,
"
..
0 Check horizontal and/ or ver-
tical hold adjustments
0 Check for proper wiring of
sync from PCB to monitor
.- No Sound
0 Check for -5 volts on edge con-
nector or PCB
0 Check volume control poten-
tiometer adjustment
0 Check for + 12 volts on edge
connector of PCB
0 Check wiring from PCB to
speaker
0 Check speaker for low resis-
tance between the + and - tabs
.::::::=::::
,c;::, ,.,;.,,:
.,,·.
W-
0 Check ground connection to
switch/es
0 Check wiring between PCB
and switch/ es for proper connec-
tion
0 Check switch/ es with an ohm-
meter to verify proper operation
Iii- Switch (JJ,erauslncorrect
Function
0 Check wiring between PCB
and switches for proper orienta-
tion
0 Check wiring for shorts be-
tween switch inputs
.- No CoinMem
0 Check wiring to coin meter
0 Check that +5 volts is on"+"
side of meter
0 Verify a +5 volt meter is used
.,. When coin switch is made
and meter pul,ses, the screen
blanks out and/orgame resets
.,. Bad Sound
0 Check wiring to speaker for
bad solder connections
0 Check sound with another
speaker
0 Verify that a meter with a di-
ode is used
0 If no diode is built into meter,
a IN4004 can be used across the
meter. Cathode to + side of meter
and anode to - side of meter