Author Topic: Picked up a Popeye machine (Read 3503 times)

CitznFish · « **on:** October 07, 2003, 04:36:49 pm »

My first game!

I don't know how to rate conditions, but this one looks very clean. marquee and bezel are like new, just about everything is. The monitor won't display anything but a flash of white when the machine is powered off. it doesn't look like it has any burn-in...

I offered the guy $80.oo but on my way there he was playing the game and it suddenly quit on him, so I bought it for $25.oo. I have no idea how to fix it or what to look for though. I checked the main fuse and it seems fine, the monitor hums when it's plugged in but there is no screen and no sound. I know it worked earlier because i could see the game running in the photos the seller sent me. He was in the middle of a game and it just shut off.

Is there anywhere that can show me how to troubleshoot this game?

I'll post pics later.

OSCAR · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2003, 04:49:17 pm »

Congrats! It only goes downhill from here.

First thing when something like that happens is check for +5V/+12V from the power supply to the game boards. Also see if you can find a manual for the game, that makes troubleshooting much easier. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a power supply problem when a game just "goes dead" while playing, that's likely to the be problem 9 times out of 10.

Wienerdog · « **Reply #2 on:** October 07, 2003, 05:02:33 pm »

And if that doesn't work, you should sell it to me for $30.

Just kidding, but good job on the purchase! I find the story hard to beleive though since there probably isn't a way to tell the age of the pictures Not to be mistrusting, but the more likely story is it broke down before he decided to sell it, and just used old pictures for the sale. lol, it really doesn't matter though, I would rather pay $25 and take my chances at fixing it.

CitznFish · « **Reply #3 on:** October 07, 2003, 05:59:08 pm »

Quote from: Wienerdog on October 07, 2003, 05:02:33 pm

And if that doesn't work, you should sell it to me for $30.

Just kidding, but good job on the purchase! I find the story hard to beleive though since there probably isn't a way to tell the age of the pictures Not to be mistrusting, but the more likely story is it broke down before he decided to sell it, and just used old pictures for the sale. lol, it really doesn't matter though, I would rather pay $25 and take my chances at fixing it.

That's a good point. But this guy didn't seem the type to do that, and I had to ask him to take the pictures. Here are the ones he sent me:

RacerX · « **Reply #4 on:** October 07, 2003, 06:01:54 pm »

Wow, that's great! Congratulations, and welcome to the most fun hobby I've ever been a part of.

$25 is a steal. Lot's of people pay that or a little more for empty cabinets. Yours at least has a chance at being fixed.

CitznFish · « **Reply #5 on:** October 07, 2003, 08:15:19 pm »

Quote from: OSCAR on October 07, 2003, 04:49:17 pm

Congrats! It only goes downhill from here.

First thing when something like that happens is check for +5V/+12V from the power supply to the game boards. Also see if you can find a manual for the game, that makes troubleshooting much easier. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a power supply problem when a game just "goes dead" while playing, that's likely to the be problem 9 times out of 10.

Downhill huh? I think I can live witrh thaT

is there a web site that shows how to check my voltage? I am unsure which are the power wires. I guess it's a Jamma because it has a 44 pin edge connector.... i'm sure there's a web site out there...

OSCAR · « **Reply #6 on:** October 07, 2003, 08:52:24 pm »

No, Popeye isn't jamma. Old Nintendo. See here:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9090

At the bottom of the page are links to manuals. Definitely check them out to see if they have schematics. I'm not familiar with Nintendo cabs, but I bet you can locate the power board/harness fairly easily with the manual.

CitznFish · « **Reply #7 on:** October 07, 2003, 09:01:57 pm »

Quote from: OSCAR on October 07, 2003, 08:52:24 pm

No, Popeye isn't jamma. Old Nintendo. See here:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9090

At the bottom of the page are links to manuals. Definitely check them out to see if they have schematics. I'm not familiar with Nintendo cabs, but I bet you can locate the power board/harness fairly easily with the manual.

i d/l the manual but schematics are all greek to me... I'll study it though and try to figure it out.

If it is the power supply, is there a place online that sells them? I would want to get something newer . I think it's called a switchable power supply, but I'm not sure...

CitznFish · « **Reply #8 on:** October 07, 2003, 09:30:14 pm »

if i did it right, the voltage tested OK... 5volts and one at 24 volts...\ like it shows on the schematics. I stuck 1 probe in the ground of the power supply connector and used the positive side to test all the other pins...

can this still be a power supply issue? I guess I should be posting this on rec.games.video.arcade.collecting

OSCAR · « **Reply #9 on:** October 07, 2003, 09:38:24 pm »

Yeah, try a post for help on RGVAC to see if someone with more experience with Nintendo cabs can help. That's probably your best bet. If you are getting proper voltages at the board, your ps is probably okay.

CitznFish · « **Reply #10 on:** October 07, 2003, 09:45:27 pm »

oh, i didn't check at the board, i just chected at teh plug connectors coming off the power supply

CitznFish · « **Reply #11 on:** October 08, 2003, 01:10:32 am »

ok, i checked the power at the board and it seems to be correct. Maybe this will be a little trickier than I thought.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #12 on:** October 08, 2003, 01:56:27 am »

Um a Popeye should have all the following voltages present.

+24 (all Nintendo cabinets have +24)
+12 (everything has +12)
+5 (everything has +5).

and possibly

-5 (common for sound).
-12 (less common, but is used in plenty of prejamma games).

tiggertoo · « **Reply #13 on:** October 08, 2003, 11:21:24 am »

Checking at the plug is ok and a little safer. There's less of a chance of causing a short if you slip with the probe. However if you are missing any voltage at the plug, you will need to check at the supply to make sure you don't have a broken wire or cold solder.

BTW, love that cab! Nice and clean! And definitely a steal at $25.00.

CitznFish · « **Reply #14 on:** October 08, 2003, 12:04:42 pm »

Quote from: paigeoliver on October 08, 2003, 01:56:27 am

Um a Popeye should have all the following voltages present.

+24 (all Nintendo cabinets have +24)
+12 (everything has +12)
+5 (everything has +5).

and possibly

-5 (common for sound).
-12 (less common, but is used in plenty of prejamma games).

I didn't get a +12 reading on anything....where would I see that? Not sure how to read -5 or -12.

I discovered a broken wire this morning, but I think it's for the speaker. I pulled out the dual boards today. i don't think they have ever been removed. The inside of the machine looks brand new (except for the fine layer of dust that was on everything)

CitznFish · « **Reply #15 on:** October 08, 2003, 01:28:49 pm »

Update:

Turns out the speaker was disconeccted. I wired it back up and now
there is sound and I can get the game to play, but the screen is
blank. I saw 2 fuses on the monitor and both seem to be OK (I did not
pull them, just viewed them with a flashlight). What would my next
step be? Do I need a cap kit? (i keep hearing about these, but I have
no idea what they are) I have the schematics for the game, but I
don't really know how to read them.

Any help is appreciated! Thank you.

PacManFan · « **Reply #16 on:** October 08, 2003, 01:48:57 pm »

Measure across both fuses with the ohmmeter on the monitor, and make sure they are good. A cap kit is sort of a get-well kit for a monitor. It fixes problems associated with fuzzy pictures, lines, bad timing, etc... I don't think a cap kit is what you need ... yet.

PMF

CitznFish · « **Reply #17 on:** October 08, 2003, 02:42:41 pm »

Sorry to add yet another comment...but when i power off the game I can see the image for a split second as the monitor is powering off. Is this a clue to what's wrong?

OSCAR · « **Reply #18 on:** October 08, 2003, 02:50:22 pm »

That might be just the high voltage dissipating, but I'm not 100% sure. Check the wires going to the monitor to make sure you have good connections from the game board to the monitor.

On one cabinet, I had a monitor that would only turn on occasionally. Sometimes it would come right on, and other times I would have to cycle the cabinet power 5-6 times before the monitor came on. On times where the monitor didn't come up, when I turned the power off the monitor would flash like you describe. A cap kit and reflowing a few solder joints on the chassis fixed it.

Something else sounds strange here... the game just died while it was being played, but so far you have found a disconnected speaker and a video problem. Both aren't likely to have occurred simultaneously unless the previous owner has been playing without sound for a while and didn't mention it.

CitznFish · « **Reply #19 on:** October 08, 2003, 02:55:51 pm »

i dont think he played with any sound, or the speaker wires broke during transit. he was going to get $80.oo but changed it to $25.oo himself once I got there. I tend to believe the seller about the game crapping out on him, esp. since he sent me picture of it working and was fully expecting the $80.oo. When the game is shut off i could see Popeye and the rest of the game shrink to nothing in a split second.

I guess I'll have to pull the monitor/chassis and take a better look. I hope I don't electrocute myself. At least I'm learning a little bit as I go along...

menace · « **Reply #20 on:** October 08, 2003, 03:01:34 pm »

I had a power supply fuse blow on my q-bert but the wire breakage was not in the viewable glass area--took me an hour before i tested the ohms on the fuses to find the bad one. As for why it comes on just as it shuts down that sounds bizarre--sorry no ideas

CitznFish · « **Reply #21 on:** October 08, 2003, 03:04:57 pm »

how do I test for ohms? I was just testing for continuity (i think that's how you tell if current can flow through the fuse..)

tiggertoo · « **Reply #22 on:** October 08, 2003, 03:08:33 pm »

testing for continuity is basically checking for zero ohms. If your meter beeps, then the fuse is good.

I can't figure out the monitor problem, tho. Hrmm.

tiggertoo · « **Reply #23 on:** October 08, 2003, 05:33:29 pm »

I was poking around on the internet (duh!) and found this website:
http://www.mikesarcade.com/arcade/monitors.html
The site also has alot of other good info. Still didn't find anything useful.

I don't know what kind of monitor you have (Paige probably does) but this site seems even more useful:
http://slot-tech-ftp.serveftp.com:8080/
The info on page 154 indicates one of two fuses, the horizontal output transistor and flyback transformer, or a weak power supply.

Just for kicks, try the brightness control.

Of course, it's probably another bad wire

CitznFish · « **Reply #24 on:** October 08, 2003, 06:37:12 pm »

Quote from: tiggertoo on October 08, 2003, 05:33:29 pm

I was poking around on the internet (duh!) and found this website:
http://www.mikesarcade.com/arcade/monitors.html
The site also has alot of other good info. Still didn't find anything useful.

I don't know what kind of monitor you have (Paige probably does) but this site seems even more useful:
http://slot-tech-ftp.serveftp.com:8080/
The info on page 154 indicates one of two fuses, the horizontal output transistor and flyback transformer, or a weak power supply.

Just for kicks, try the brightness control.

Of course, it's probably another bad wire

Thank you very much for those links. I am checking them right now...

Wade · « **Reply #25 on:** October 09, 2003, 01:49:01 pm »

I believe the seller on this one, a game that works with exception of the monitor in that condition is worth a lot more than $25...

If you can't find any bad fuses, do the same thing with the monitor that you did with the main board. Test the power going to it and make sure it is correct. If it is, then you'll need to find the model of the monitor and try one of Randy Fromm's troubleshooting guides (if he has one for that model) or find someone who specifically knows that monitor. It's a lot easier to solve a problem like that by utilizing someone with experience rather than shooting around in the dark with the manual. Most of these monitors have common failure modes and guys with good experience know just the things to check.

Wade

JoyMonkey · « **Reply #26 on:** October 09, 2003, 05:09:12 pm »

I have a Popeye monitor here, its a Sanyo/Nintendo 18-Z2AB. Think I found a manual for it sometime ago too, I'll have a look around.

My suggestion is: You could hook it up to a computers VGA port pretty easily to test it out. Here's the FAQ on how to wire VGA to an arcade monitor:
http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_pc2arcade.html

If your monitor is the same as mine, it's input connector is as follows (from left to right looking at the back of the monitor):
1 - Green
2 - Red
3 - Blue
4 - GND
5 - GND
6 - Composite Sync
I think several Sanyo monitors inputs are ordered the same as this too.
You'll need to add a '220

dirt · « **Reply #27 on:** October 09, 2003, 09:37:11 pm »

i am also in socal and when i get a problem i cant figure out i call george at el dorado games in anaheim.his number is (714)535-3300.i'm sure he could help you out.

dirt

CitznFish · « **Reply #28 on:** October 10, 2003, 07:31:40 pm »

Thaks for all your help!

I think I narrowed it down to the power supply (as previously suggested). I tested the connector plugging into the monitor. 6 wires and the ones with voltage were all between 3.2 and 4.6 volts.

the plug was like this:

yellow(0) green(0) blue(3.2v)

brown(4.6v) red(4.6v) orange(4.9v)

Also I noticed a faint red glow in the neck of the CRT. I bought a power supply on EBAY, so next week maybe I'll have it up and running.

Stupid me, I get excited just to here the theme song in attract mode


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