TETRIS Project

[JagNasty]

So, I just bought this handsome TETRIS machine off Craigslist for $100. 


The seller was a high school kid who claimed he was selling it on behalf of his father, whom recently got a Simpsons cab they modded to house multiple Jamma boards.  The kid said that the machine stopped working recently and Dad stated it was the power supply. 


When you plug it in, the marquee lights up and that is it. 


Anyone out there know what type of PSU I should be looking for to get this bad boy back in functional form?


Also, I haven't seen the Atari machine in this style before... so I am guessing someone converted a machine.
Any idea what this thing was originally?

[dextercf]

Any regular Arcade psu would do, i guess..

[opt2not]

That is a Sente SAC-1 cabinet  (a spin-off company of Atari).  I've only seen one of the best 1v1 competitive games released in the arcades in that cabinet, Hat Trick!!


But they had other Sente game kits installed in those machines as well:
http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=607

If it had Tetris in it, then it was most likely converted to JAMMA. So any new arcade PSU available now-a-days would work.

What does the inside hardware look like?

What do you plan on doing with this cab?

[JagNasty]

Sweet!  Thanks for the info, opt2not!

I can snap some pictures of the internals for you tonight. Perhaps you can lend me more insight?

As far as plans for the machine... I just want to get it up and running!  Many a verus match shall go down between the wife and I.  This is the second machine in our collection.

[notbillcosby]

Hi folks!

Jag-Nasty also owns a cabinet housing Konami's "Aliens" game. I've spent most of my research time on MAME stuff, but from what little I know, I'm pretty sure that Aliens board is a Jamma board. Does that mean we could pop the PSU out of his Aliens box and throw it in Tetris to see if that solves the issue?

[opt2not]

Yup. Just make sure you connect the right voltages to the right lines. Otherwise you might fry the board, if it's not already fried...

[notbillcosby]

Cool. I'll have to wait until I can see these up close to see what you're talking about with connecting the right things in the right spot... but assuming they're labeled, I can probably put two and two together.

[JagNasty]

Okay, opt2not and company... here are some interior pics.

[jennifer]

    What the #^@$ am I looking @ here... Is that gray thing replacing the orig trans?

[opt2not]

Yeah, The Jennifer is right, what an ugly hack-job.
Looks like they took the Sente power board (the thing with the black heat-sink) to route power to the Jamma loom, while using a modern power supply (grey) for what looks like a PC's Mini-ITX power supply for the monitor. It probably has a small transformer inside that block, but I wouldn't really know.

Can you confirm the grey power supply connected to the Monitor?

They completely bypassed the original monitor transformer by the looks of it.  I bet it's still good. From this hack-job, I don't think a simple swap-out of the power supply is going to cut it.

Personally I'd pull the original PS (board with the black heatsink) out, and re-wire the cabinet's power from scratch, using the original transformer.
Get rid of that crappy grey PS, I'm willing to bet that it's dead from trying to power that monitor...

AC wiring is very simple, Bob Roberts has a very straightforward guide to wiring it up from scratch:
http://therealbobroberts.net/acwiring.html
Get yourself a switching Power Supply, as pictured in this guide, and have that run to the JAMMA loom. 

Your picture of the Tetris board confirms that it's a JAMMA board.


For a JAMMA Tetris board's pinout you'll definitely need +5v, +12v, and -5v for it's operation.

Follow the JAMMA wires and connect the appropriate wires to the pins of the loom.


Also, get that board off the metal!  Mount it on some wood using PCB mounting feet!

[notbillcosby]

Thanks for the advice! I'll be down at Jagnasty's this weekend and can take a look inside so I can understand what's up a little better. Is there a good place to buy a PSU from, or something specific to hunt for on eBay? Sorry if this has been addressed, I'm reading this on an iPod screen and may have overlooked...

[opt2not]

FYI:  Todd at TNT Amusements just posted this SAC-1 info video of a nicely cleaned up cabinet on youtube.


He does a nice walk-through and you can see what they did to get it looking great. 
I actually agree with him that the orange t-molding looks pretty good.

I can't tell by your instagram filtered photo, but is the plastic sides white? or have they yellow over time?

[JagNasty]

Wow, thanks for all the info, opt2not!  You rule. 

Yes, my friend notbillcosby and I shall take a look this weekend. 

Is there a certain PSU you would purchase?  I don't mind paying a smidge more for one if there is a true difference in quality.  I want this machine to last!

The plastic has turned a creamy yellow.  Mmm... Creamy yellow.

[opt2not]

Is there a certain PSU you would purchase?  I don't mind paying a smidge more for one if there is a true difference in quality.  I want this machine to last!

These happ ones are fine:
http://na.suzohapp.com/all_catalogs/power_supplies/80-0064-00

I'm no expert on which PSU's are best, but I haven't had problems with this one.

[jennifer]

     I noticing they dont talk about the ripple voltage ratings on that particular PS, but if Happ is selling it that to me would be a good choice....
Edit, btw I diddnt mean to freak out earlier, It just caught me off guard. Nice score!!! *Thats jenn being all jelious.

[notbillcosby]

Cool, all of this stuff makes sense after watching/reading. Once I see Tetris in person (didn't make it over last weekend) I'll have a better idea what we're dealing with inside.

Opt2not, you think that weathered old transformer in there would still be good enough to use when building a new power center? It looks pretty gnarly, but I don't know anything about transformer health.

[opt2not]

If you don't see any burn marks, I'd say its fine. But I'd test it with a multimeter to see if the outputs are correct.
Transformers are build like tanks, in my travels I haven't found many that fail. But test it first!

[paigeoliver]

That is actually a fairly valuable cabinet, you could probably get someone to trade you something for it that is already working.

You need a multimeter. If you don't own and use a multimeter then you have no business trying to switch boards or power supplies.

[notbillcosby]

I have a multimeter. I just don't deal with transformers much; the bulk of my electrical work happens inside guitars where there aren't any.

[jennifer]

      If it checks out and the nasty bothers you, lightly sand the magnets and give it a coat of high temp flat black [Engine enamal]... Otherwise that switcher from Happ will work.

[notbillcosby]

I saw the machine in person this week. When you flip the switch, the monitor clearly powers on... Do you still think it's a power supply issue? Yes, I totally agree that it needs to be rebuilt anyway, but would the monitor light up if the PSU was shot?

[paigeoliver]

I saw the machine in person this week. When you flip the switch, the monitor clearly powers on... Do you still think it's a power supply issue? Yes, I totally agree that it needs to be rebuilt anyway, but would the monitor light up if the PSU was shot?

The power supply does not power the monitor.

[notbillcosby]

Gotcha.

[notbillcosby]

Forgive my ignorance.

What kind of fuse do I want to use in this?

[RayB]

That circuit board sitting on a metal panel makes me nervous. Make sure it has 4 or more "stands" to keep its back from making contact with the metal panel.

[notbillcosby]

It slides into a plastic track, so it isn't actually touching the metal. The video of that guy giving a tour of his cab shows how it was made for easy removal and swapping of boards. We're gonna mount it on a piece of wood either way.