Tempest Repair Log

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:53 pm

I'm mostly going off this...

http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_VAtari6.html

Right now, the game plays blind and there is sound. The "spot killer" is on.

The chief problem with this shit is getting to the bottlecap transistors. Oh, and I had no idea what the test for when I was using my multimeter with transistors.

Originally I had just the top half of the screen. This meant that the bad transistor was either Q706 or Q606.

I THOUGHT I was reading the transistors right, and I swapped out 706. I got a really wavy picture, the bottom half was still missing, and I turned my game off. I turned it back on and now the entire fucking picture is gone.

So I decided to test all the transistors.

Q103 was bad, so I just swapped that. I turned it back on and it now blew two fuses. Aces! It requires a 5 amp 250 v fuse, and I just had some 2 amp, 250v fuses. Those now blow immediately. I gotta pick some up from Radio Shack tomorrow.

Once again, this was my greatest arcade fear and I knew this day was coming. I only hope it's just the transistors.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:13 am

Here's a question.

When I have my multimeter set to diode, it shows a 1.

I have the red lead on the omega symbol, and the black lead on COM.

Is that considered "open"? If I touch them together it will go down to 0.00 and I assume a circuit is complete and therefore that is not open. But yeah, is 1 = "open"?

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:27 am

(This my my third draft.)

When testing a diode, you are basically testing the fact that it works in one direction but not the other. The circuit should go from AtoK (or +to-), but not in the other direction.

With your meter on the continuity setting (the ohm symbol, or as I call it, "the horseshoe") you should be able to test diodes, and it should act like you described by giving a reading of 1 when a circuit is open, and 0 when it's closed. Wave the probes around and, unless you are submerged in a conductive material like delicious gravy, it should read 1. Touch the two probes together and you should get a 0.

So going from red to black and measuring AtoK or +to-, you should get a reading of 0 (complete circuit). If you reverse your meter's probes you should get a different reading (probably blank or unlimited or infinity).

I don't know if it's the same with diodes as it is with fuses (and I suspect it is), but I get false readings all the time unless I remove things from the board. I have tested fuses I know are bad and got good readings because I was touching the fuse holder or something.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:33 am

Flack wrote:(This my my third draft.)

When testing a diode, you are basically testing the fact that it works in one direction but not the other. The circuit should go from AtoK (or +to-), but not in the other direction.

Christ! This is the best explanation I have read so far. Thanks, buddy.

I am almost definitely going to take some community college classes if they offer actual off-line classes outside of my work hours. Er, take some classes for electrical repair. I find it interesting, I'm motivated, and I am doing this shit any way without the knowledge of WHY.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:47 pm

Christ! I think I just fixed it.

So I found the bad transistor last night. Fuck, I'm pumped. I installed it and -- well, let me back up.

I had blown two fuses ("and two guys" -- the audience) during all this. The two I blew were 5 amp, and I had a bunch of 2 amp ones here at home. (250v in both cases.) So I installed those and they died right away.

So I went to Radio Shack to get a bunch of proper 5 amp slow blow 250 volt fuses. I installed them both, but I unplugged one of the connectors to the deflection board. I wanted to plug them in one at a time so I didn't somehow destroy both fuses if there was still an issue.

Well, I turned it on. And I saw a fucking spark. Nothing else happened, which was expected. Oh - I mean, the fuse didn't blow.

I connected all the transistors and turned it on and smelled ozone. Christ! But I didn't see or hear any fuse blow... I walked around to the front of the game and it was working! It was fucking working.

It's off right now, because it's basically like the child molester of my arcade collection. I don't dare leave it alone. At least not any time soon. I am going to move it back into position and turn it on and play a few games. Hopefully there is no other issue with it. But I know that (as long as it's absolutely and strictly transistor-based) if there IS a problem, I can....

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:46 pm

Soooo, I turned it on tonight and got no picture.

How the fuck could that have happened? I didn't move Tempest. I had it in its place and was watching it on and off for two hours last night.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:47 am

Maybe a break in a trace or something that was working the other night after the machine had warmed up?

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 10:07 am

Maybe you accidentally superzapped it?

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 10:30 pm

I don't fucking know.

Someone thought maybe the frame wasn't grounded, but then it was.

I bought an LV2000 board from vector-repair.com. It was only like $27 and it's supposed to bypass all that shit for 6100 monitors. It SEEMS to be within my range of soldering skills. I'm tired of being intimidated by this SHIT.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:05 pm

Here's how it went: it's still fucking broken.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon May 21, 2012 10:04 pm

I asked two dudes if they could fix it. One guy is setting up the 2UP in Denver and is busy till next month. I didn't hear back from the other dude.

So there is one other guy I might ask, otherwise I am going to throw myself onto the pity of KLOV and try to find a mentor. This is costing me $40 in transistors each time I try it.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:20 am

I did finally get a hold of a tech to come look at it. The guy is late 50s, early 60s -- he was a board tech for a while at some point. Came in and with a multimeter and screwdriver, he fixed my Tempest.

I had one busted transistor, one cold solder joint, two dead fuses and one wire that had disconnected itself. Luckily I am well-stocked on fuses.

Anyway, I have the guy's card. He was great -- nice guy, very personable, very reasonable rates. He also lives in the same town as me. Funnily enough, I was introduced to him thanks to the guy who drove my Funhouse pin to my place. It definitely helps to ask people involved in video games if they know people. I only wish I had more broken shit going on with games! (I don't wish that.)

All my games work at the moment, with one exception: a Qix that I got as a project to see if I could make it work myself.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:20 am

When jscott came to interview people for his arcade documentary, he got the following quote out of local home arcade owner "Exidy":

"The best tools in fixing a game is a screwdriver and a multimeter."

(Paraphrased.)

The guy who came to fix Tempest did it with a screwdriver and meter. Hee hee hee. I mean, it did take additional parts as noted above, but those were the main tools.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:59 am

It all seems so easy, in theory.

I mean, the blueprints are right there in front of you, right? And they show where the electricity flows, and how much each component should receive. So in theory, you should be able to sit down with a multimeter like he said and just go "aha!" and, if not fix the problem, at least discover where the problem is.

At least that's how I imagined it would work. In reality all I ever did was stare into the back of a machines holding a flashlight and going "homina-homina-homina" and drooling on various parts (which actually made things worse). I can't tell you how many projects started with "just remove the chip and check the pins for corrosion" turned into "well here goes attempt #14 on straightening those GD pins I've ruined again ..."

I wish I saw arcade cabinets the way I see computers. I don't even see computers anymore, I just see plastic or metal cases with a bunch of random parts installed in them. I kind of see arcade games like that, like I see the power supply and the PCB and the control panel, but I never got to the point where I saw the parts that made up those parts. Like, to me, a board is a board. I wish I had got to the point where I could troubleshoot stuff the way you're doing it. "Repairing a cold trace" is code for "into the garbage chute, flyboy!" to me.

The other thing as you noted is that there were multiple problems, which made the troubleshooting that much more difficult. I'm glad he was able to solve the case. How long did it take him?

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:37 am

I mean, the blueprints are right there in front of you, right? And they show where the electricity flows, and how much each component should receive. So in theory, you should be able to sit down with a multimeter like he said and just go "aha!" and, if not fix the problem, at least discover where the problem is.

Yeah, I gotta take a two-month class on electricity. How the fuck did we get educated without this shit? An entire year on Earth Science (which nobody cares about... well, half of the US politically doesn't care about it) and, what, a few weeks on basic electronics?

So all I remember is stuff I picked up and somehow retained. I want to be able to read a schematic, take readings, and now if shit is good or bad. The completely broken wire that was going from the cage to the deflection PCB -- well, that one I probably could have solved. If I had noticed it.

I wish I saw arcade cabinets the way I see computers. I don't even see computers anymore, I just see plastic or metal cases with a bunch of random parts installed in them. I kind of see arcade games like that, like I see the power supply and the PCB and the control panel, but I never got to the point where I saw the parts that made up those parts. Like, to me, a board is a board. I wish I had got to the point where I could troubleshoot stuff the way you're doing it. "Repairing a cold trace" is code for "into the garbage chute, flyboy!" to me.

Haha, the tech (Eric) said the same thing -- he sees arcade games like how you and I see computers. But he sees computers like how you and I see arcade games.

The other thing as you noted is that there were multiple problems, which made the troubleshooting that much more difficult. I'm glad he was able to solve the case. How long did it take him?

The multiple problems is what tripped me up, ultimately. If a fuse blows and I identify it, I'm good -- as long as it wasn't something else, too. That's where I think I am running into trouble with Qix. I think there's multiple problems.

It took him maybe a half-hour to fix my Tempest. That includes the time it took me to wheel it out from the abandoned electroics room. (milkunits is coming for a 32" CRT television this weekend, and that room will finally be free of any unused or broken electronic equipment. Finally!!)

I played a game of Tempest today before work. It's such a great game. Now that it works I will never, ever turn it on again.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:27 am

I like Tempest. Actually, I like any game that you can play for a while even if you're not any good at it and it makes you feel like you're good at it. That's how Tempest is for me. Every time I play it I think, man, I'm kind of good at this game. And then I get to level two! </rimshot> Actually I get several levels in, far enough to think, wow, I might be kind of good at this game! And then I look up people's high scores and realize I have a better chance of tearing apart a Tempest cabinet with my bare hands and eating it in an hour than I do at obtaining a high score on it.

You know, I was thinking ... arcade repair is a lot like Qix. It's all about divide and conquer. Draw a line, make sure this section is good, and then move to the unknown section. And then eventually a spark will appear that will kill you.

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:46 pm

Congrats on getting the Tempest fixed. It's like having a long lost friend come back from Outer Mongolia or something, isn't it.

Re: Electricity. I learned on a Radio Shack 200 in 1 project kit (and in high school) where the number one project was making shockers. Start with the easy fun stuff or you'll end up hating it is what I always say.

THE
DOUBLE A TASER
AARDVARK

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 11:55 pm

Soooo Temp-- okay, strap in.

Tempest is dead again and that's not all. The tech that I talked about earlier in the thread? Yeah, well, he is technically on craigslist at the moment:

https://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/5324390546.html

Not gonna lie, teared up a little finding that tonight.

This does leave me in the spot of Tempest not working. Last time it was a good seven months before it was fixed. (By Eric, 100%) I would like to get it fixed in a month and then fix Zoo Keeper within a month from that and then get a cap kit on the GnG game.

Nothing works here!

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 8:31 am

Would have been better if he had died by getting shocked by a monitor, or maybe if Polybius had fallen on him. The pneumonia angle is way too depressing.

Donald Ebinsen · Post by **Donald Ebinsen** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 8:36 am

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I had one busted transistor, one cold solder joint, two dead fuses and one wire that had disconnected itself.

"And a partridge in a pear tree."

Sounds like you're lucky it either didn't blow everything on the board, or worse, if you weren't super careful, electrocute you. I hope for your sake when you work on these things you make sure you are not touching anything hot - live - when not wearing gloves.