Star Tech Journal
Issue: 1996-July - Vol 18 Issue 5 - Page 13
July 1996
CID
... continued from page 11
gether is high. In these cases, we
make the repair as sturdy as pos-
sible elsewhere and run small
wires. Usually it is easier to sol-
der these jumper wires to what-
ever is at the ends of the broken
traces rather than trying to sol-
der to the trace itself near the
break. Get a roll of really fine
wire, some call it "mod wire" be-
cause they use it to do "mods"
on the PC boards, don't try to use
18 or 20 gauge for this work. Save
large wire for the big traces.
Trying to glue the broken edges
together is really pretty pointless,
go for the mechanical methods
above. The edges don't provide
a good surface for glue. Super
STAR*TECH
glue is handy, but it has no shear
strength to speak of (lots of ten-
sile strength though), epoxy is
very strong, but there isn't a con-
venient way to apply it here. Sili-
cone sealer might help if you glob
a big portion across the break. It
will stick to the board and cure
into a big rubber brace. Silicone
is also handy for repairing and
stabilizing things that stick up
from the board like width coils
on a monitor chassis.
BURNT
PC
BOARDS - SPECIAL
CONSIDERATIONS
Strictly speaking, burnt boards
are not really broken, but it is a
common enough repair that I in-
clude it here. Sometimes your
board invents fire, and the results
can be pretty spectacular.
Journal
Usually the smoke makes things
look a lot worse than they are.
Nearby components get a thor-
ough coating of black goo and
they look bad. An old toothbrush
and your favorite electronic
spray cleaner (I like Blue Shower)
will clean off a lot of it. Hey, not
so bad ... You are better off than
you thought.
PC boards that are discolored by
heat are still OK, though the
traces may be weakened. That
crumbly stuff that looks like char-
coal is actually, well, charcoal.
The board material breaks down
under excess heat leaving behind
carbon. THIS CARBON IS
CONDUCTIVE. Thefirstrepair
... continued on page 16
ARCADE, VIDEO GAME
COIN ACCEPTOR
Configurations available:
• Undersize token
• Quarter and undersize token
• Quarter and oversize token
• Oversize tokens
• Foreign coins available - call
for details.
An Imonex coin acceptor means
coin flow . Non-stop. There's
long reputation for quality. A full
virtually no stopping for coin jams.
one year warranty. And toll free
Or routine service or adjustment.
customer support.
And Imonex continuously processes
even damaged coins . It's all
NOW AS LOW AS
$9.95
Also ideal for:
• Pinball
•Car washes
• Kiddie rides
•And more
Behind every Imonex is our decade-
because our famous pro-
For non-stop coin flow, call today.
Imonex, P.O. Box 519, Katy,
TX 77492-0519 USA,
cessing system elimi-
Phone (713) 391-4704,
nates troublesome
Fax (713) 391-4239
electronics, rockers
and cradles .
IMONEX.
CID
... continued from page 11
gether is high. In these cases, we
make the repair as sturdy as pos-
sible elsewhere and run small
wires. Usually it is easier to sol-
der these jumper wires to what-
ever is at the ends of the broken
traces rather than trying to sol-
der to the trace itself near the
break. Get a roll of really fine
wire, some call it "mod wire" be-
cause they use it to do "mods"
on the PC boards, don't try to use
18 or 20 gauge for this work. Save
large wire for the big traces.
Trying to glue the broken edges
together is really pretty pointless,
go for the mechanical methods
above. The edges don't provide
a good surface for glue. Super
STAR*TECH
glue is handy, but it has no shear
strength to speak of (lots of ten-
sile strength though), epoxy is
very strong, but there isn't a con-
venient way to apply it here. Sili-
cone sealer might help if you glob
a big portion across the break. It
will stick to the board and cure
into a big rubber brace. Silicone
is also handy for repairing and
stabilizing things that stick up
from the board like width coils
on a monitor chassis.
BURNT
PC
BOARDS - SPECIAL
CONSIDERATIONS
Strictly speaking, burnt boards
are not really broken, but it is a
common enough repair that I in-
clude it here. Sometimes your
board invents fire, and the results
can be pretty spectacular.
Journal
Usually the smoke makes things
look a lot worse than they are.
Nearby components get a thor-
ough coating of black goo and
they look bad. An old toothbrush
and your favorite electronic
spray cleaner (I like Blue Shower)
will clean off a lot of it. Hey, not
so bad ... You are better off than
you thought.
PC boards that are discolored by
heat are still OK, though the
traces may be weakened. That
crumbly stuff that looks like char-
coal is actually, well, charcoal.
The board material breaks down
under excess heat leaving behind
carbon. THIS CARBON IS
CONDUCTIVE. Thefirstrepair
... continued on page 16
ARCADE, VIDEO GAME
COIN ACCEPTOR
Configurations available:
• Undersize token
• Quarter and undersize token
• Quarter and oversize token
• Oversize tokens
• Foreign coins available - call
for details.
An Imonex coin acceptor means
coin flow . Non-stop. There's
long reputation for quality. A full
virtually no stopping for coin jams.
one year warranty. And toll free
Or routine service or adjustment.
customer support.
And Imonex continuously processes
even damaged coins . It's all
NOW AS LOW AS
$9.95
Also ideal for:
• Pinball
•Car washes
• Kiddie rides
•And more
Behind every Imonex is our decade-
because our famous pro-
For non-stop coin flow, call today.
Imonex, P.O. Box 519, Katy,
TX 77492-0519 USA,
cessing system elimi-
Phone (713) 391-4704,
nates troublesome
Fax (713) 391-4239
electronics, rockers
and cradles .
IMONEX.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).