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Author Topic: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics  (Read 23400 times)

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bperkins01

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Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« on: November 27, 2019, 08:35:43 am »
I was warned by those on the BYOAC Forum that you could end up with more than one machine..

My Mame cabinet - Lakeside Arcade - was fun to build and gets considerable use.  But it's at a summer home and isn't all that available in the winter.  My game is Centipede - it has been since college - it was the break between dinner and the library that I enjoyed..  Two quarters and about 45 minutes..

Recently I started keeping an eye on Facebook marketplace for a *real* Centipede machine..  Some showed up, $700, $900, $1,200  - but all were 2-3 states away..
Then this machine appeared locally for $450 - however the screen showed a test pattern.. Asking some friends who know better then me (Mike A.)...   he said.. "I'd keep looking.."

So I did, and after about 2 months..  It popped back in for $300.  Now he said "Go take a look!"  (agreed)..

My wife says I lead a charmed life..(I've had some weird luck now and then)..  On the way to pick it up - the owner plugs it in and it boots into the game.  He told me that had I not been on the way (we had been texting)..  He would have pulled it down and doubled the price..

So here I go - my first (last?) original arcade machine - and my personal holy grail..  Centipede.



Triage

I was fortunate the machine actually worked.. well..  worked??



The good news was it booted and I actually played it a couple times.  Overall the machine is in pretty good shape.  Everything seems to be very original (except the CRT definitely was from a Pacman machine at some point).  The marquee and bezel are in great shape on the original tempered glass.

The game board, audio board and cabinet have matching serial numbers.  No real work has been done to it other than the coin button modification.

First observations:
  • CRT - Upper left corner of game pulled up.  Large margin at the bottom of the screen and the playfield is off on the right a bit
  • Trackball barely rolls
  • A coin button was added to the control panel
  • Control panel overlay was covered with black material
    • The original was underneath and torn/worn
       
  • Audio quality was ok at best..  after about 5-10 minutes..  Volume changed by itself
  • Unable to retain top 3 high scores after power down
  • Coin slot 1 mechanism had missing bracket and switch
  • Marquee light not working
  • Fire button way too stiff (ok that is just a personal preference.. it worked..)
  • Everything coated in dust as would be expected


Cosmetically:
  • Front panel has holes from security bar
  • Rear door panel all moisture damage
  • Typical bottom and edge damage all the way around the side panels
  • Leg levelers all broken
  • Side art dinged up some
  • T-molding falling out at the bottom and dinged up in places


I haven't decided the extent of the cosmetic restoration just yet.  My plan is to get it fully functional and running properly.

There were a few old tokens kicking around in the dust..


More to come...


My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Mike A

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2019, 08:48:48 am »
Should I apologize to your wife now or after you pick up your next machine?

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2019, 08:52:08 am »
She was ok with this one..  but it cuts into me doing *her* project time... (rustic mirror frames at the moment..)
So we will see ...   ;)
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

wp34

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2019, 09:09:03 am »
This won't be your last. Congratulations.  :cheers:

Arroyo

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2019, 09:30:50 am »
At a boy!  The addiction begins.

BTW -  Most (not sure about Centipede)  early Atari cabs had a relatively special flat T-Molding.  There has been considerable effort made to remake the flat molding as no vendor currently does.  Over on KLOV there is a production run going on right now:

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=458336&highlight=ATARI+FLAT

Will be watching with great interest.

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2019, 09:43:37 am »
I DO have the flat T-Molding...
I noticed that but have't really gotten that far.
I would be interested in getting some

And I just made a donation so I can see the thread.  I've already got more than my donation work of value with the downloaded schematics, etc..
« Last Edit: November 27, 2019, 09:47:23 am by bperkins01 »
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2019, 10:36:51 am »
Actually - I thought it was flat..  my T-molding has a crown to it..
Now I wonder - was the original rounded or flat?
(new thing to research)
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2019, 10:07:28 am »
Control Panel and Coin Door
Both need some work....

This is not a Centipede control panel if you ask me...



The Original overlay was under this black stuff and they added a third button as a coin button.  The trackball barely rolled and the fire button was way to stiff for my liking..

Step 1: Take it all apart.

I got some closeups so that I know how it goes back together - but the coin switch is going away..



It's amazing the trackballs haven't changed at all..  this is nearly identical to the new one I purchased for my Mame cabinet.



Explains why the trackball didn't roll.  I got a rebuild kit from arcadeshop.com



The new bearings had some lube in them that was a little sticky for my liking.  I soaked all of them in WD40 to loosen them up and reassembled the track ball..  Its cleaned and ready to roll.

The control panel overlay got peeled off.  The original was under the black one and you can see where it was torn away by the rust stain at the trackball opening.  Getting this sticky mess off took a while.  I couldn't find my heat gun - so I used a chemical stripper to get it down to bare metal.  Of course I found my heat gun about an hour after I finished..



It took a couple of hours to get the paint, sticky backing glue, etc. off.  Overall these are pretty solid panels.



What to do about the coin button hole.  My goal was to not have it pop out after the new CP overlay is in place (i.e.  Don't just fill with Bondo).  I considered a welding shop to fill it.  But figured I'd try soldering in my own patch first..  To begin - I sanded the paint off the inside and used a countersink bit to bevel the inside and outside of the hole so there would be center ridge for the filler to grab onto..



I got a small square of scrap steel, cleaned it up, added flux and clamped it in place.  Heated it up with a torch and got the solder to flow.  I was a bit surprised it actually worked..



After that I sanded it all down smooth.  There will not be any pressure to this small spot.  I like knowing that I should not have any issues with it popping out or impressioning through the new overlay.



There were a few areas that I wasn't crazy about and a skim coat of bondo was worth the effort.  Mostly pitting and the area where the hole got filled had a tiny bit of distortion.



Sanded down it came to this.



And painted - ready for the new overlay.



All those years of playing Centipede - I had no idea this was the extent of the fire button technology.  A $1.99 button.  The new one is identical and not nearly as stiff as the original.



The coin door is a little dinged up - I haven't decided if I'm going to repaint it or not just yet.  There is a lot of wiring compared to the Mame coin door I have.  Coin counters, solenoids that deflect coins when the machine is powered off (took me a minute to figure that out..)  A slam switch (equals tilt on a pinball machine)  I looked that up to see what it was supposed to do..  Keeps you from kicking the machine to get free credits.. dam kids!

Issues with my coin mechanism: No coin mechanisms
arcadeshop.com had the ones I needed.  I also ordered LED bulbs to replace the coin eject ones.



Something that I thought was going to be impossible to find..  I found..

When the prior owner bypassed the coin 1 switch - they removed the switch and this little bracket that the switch is mounted too..  For no good reason..

Luckily I found The Arcade Boneyard

They had this little part (and the switch) needed to make coin slot 1 fully functional again.  My plan is this machine will use quarters (at least for now)



Coin slot 1 ready for wire connectors.



More to come..
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Arroyo

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2019, 12:00:58 pm »
Nice work!  You are moving quick.  That hole fill and paint job are excellent.  Looking forward to the next updates.

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2019, 10:54:29 pm »
This will all be old news to the experienced guys - but its my first time through a restoration so hopefully some other noob to this will get something useful..

I've been jumping all over the cabinet and messing with different parts.  My plan is to go through the machine and each component...
It's fun (to me anyway) to learn how to make sure everything is working properly.  Understanding how it all works when its functioning correctly makes it easier to figure out whats happening when something goes wrong.

First up is the what is known as the "Power Brick"

Here is a bad picture of it:



And after a bath in the kitchen to clean out all the crud.



The large capacitor below (called Big Blue) is a new one.  Pretty much every video says spend the $14 and replace what is there so you don't have any issues.  Mine was the original from 1981.  So It got replaced.  I supposed technically it is the first part of an arcade machine that I have ever recapped...  But does it count if its not even soldered?...  It has a couple of screws that hold the leads connections in place.



In the lower right corner - there is a rectifier.  It consists of 4 diodes connected back to back.  I did learn you need to disconnect the wires before testing with your meter.  Otherwise you will get false readings.  Testing diodes with a meter is very well documented - but essentially - you get about .5V in with the leads on one way and 0V if you reverse the leads.  Work your way around the rectifier and the pattern repeats on all 4 sides.  Otherwise replace it.



The last part of testing the power brick is actually plugging it in and checking voltages at the Molex connectors.

This site had very useful information: bitslicer

I used this graphic to create my test chart:



There are a number of YouTube videos on testing these - but I didn't find a actual test plan written down.  The one item you need to address to *actually* bench test the power brick is the 6 pin Molex connector.  Its the connector between the power cord and the rest of the power supply and cabinet.

This connector is where the interlock switches terminate - these are the switches on the coin door and back panel that shut off the machine when you open them.   I picked up a Molex connector to match and made a jumper block to simulate closed switches.

Jump pins 1-4 and 2-5 on the 6 pin Molex to power up the brick.

The 3 pin Molex on the power brick should have 120v AC on pins 1-3 - this powers the marquee light..

On the 15 pin connector:

DC Voltage Test with the meter
Pin 5 is negative

Pin 1 - 5 -> 10.6 vDC
Pin 2 - 5 -> 10.6 vDC
Pin 3 - 5 -> 10.6 vDC

AC Voltages
Pin 6 - 7 -> 36 vAC
Pin 8 - 9 -> 6.1 vAC

The remaining pins are specific to Centipede
Pin 10 - 11 -> 30 vAC
Pin 11 - 12 -> 30 vAC
Pin 10 - 12 -> 60 vAC

Pin 13 - 14 -> 30 vAC
Pin 14 - 15 -> 30 vAC
Pin 13 - 15 -> 60 vAC

One other item I learned is that the power brick is unregulated power - meaning the voltages can vary considerably..  But they all should be reasonably close to these numbers.  Thankfully mine seems to be fine.

Most of the power ends up in the ARII board.  Mine *seemed* to be working fine and the consensus is that the only component that you really should replace is this power transistor.   The 2N3055.  So I did...



There is some bench testing that can be done with this too.  But I will likely need the harness from the cabinet to do any of that - or maybe I do the testing with the board in the cabinet.  It doesn't really make sense to build a bench harness unless I go buy more Atari machines...



More to come on the ARII board..
« Last Edit: December 18, 2019, 10:58:13 pm by bperkins01 »
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

pbj

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2019, 11:15:21 pm »
Might as well sand that rust off the power block while you have it out, or hit it with a wire brush...


bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2019, 07:04:06 am »
Might as well sand that rust off the power block while you have it out, or hit it with a wire brush...
hmmm..  I'm not sure its rust as much as where the plating has gone bad..  I'll hit a couple spots with a wire wheel and see what it does.  It actually looks worse in the picture than it really is..  thanks for the tip
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Arroyo

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2019, 07:47:59 am »
Great documentation, this is going to come in handy for a Tempest restore I’ve got planned.  Nice work, keep it coming!

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2019, 07:55:53 am »
Yea - if a project Joust or Galaga came along...  I'd find room in the basement for them..
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

Arroyo

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2019, 08:40:10 am »
Yea - if a project Joust or Galaga came along...  I'd find room in the basement for them..

And so the addiction begins....I hope your marriage is rock solid.  :lol

Mike A

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #15 on: December 19, 2019, 08:44:43 am »
You can hire me to negotiate. Your whole house will be an arcade.

pbj

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2019, 10:05:29 am »
I used to have a Tempest that had been converted to Dig Dug.. and then Black Tiger... and then DJ Boy... and it used an AR2 as the JAMMA power supply.  That thing kicked ass for getting problematic boards to run.  Seemed like I had... NBA JAM? or something similar that wouldn't run unless I bumped the 5VDC line up to around 6.


bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #17 on: December 19, 2019, 03:54:17 pm »
I have it pretty easy in the get what I want department for the most part..  :)
There is a little negotiation here and there - but if she had it her way - we would have 4 dogs, 3 cats, chickens and an alpaca. 
My issue is space - no good places to put a collection and use them.. 
But things change  :P
My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

jennifer

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #18 on: December 19, 2019, 04:35:40 pm »
A collection is subjective, Somewhere in this mess Jenn has machines I haven't seen for years, possibly decades, The fun is in the build, not just polishing fingerprints off a trailer queen late in the night...Love the Centipede   :applaud:.

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2019, 05:03:43 pm »
Jenn - 100% correct - the fun is in the build.  Many many years ago I did RC Planes - I liked building more than flying back then..

Centipede for some reason - I really do still love playing that game..  I haven't tired of it yet.

After watching videos of guys going through PCB's and testing voltages and logic and reading schematics and replacing a chip and finding the next issue..  I KNOW that is my kind of puzzle.. Too many interests and too little time.

My Arcade Cabinet Build and other projects here:
Centipede, Joust, Joust Cocktail, Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pacman Cabaret, Defender, Space Invaders Cocktail
https://bperkins.wordpress.com/

bperkins01

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #20 on: December 21, 2019, 12:45:34 am »
My machine has a working, but not very good looking CRT.

At some point someone did a tube swap..  There is upside down pacman burn in - and two sizes of it.  Centipede had a swoop in the playfield from the top left down and parts were off the sides..

Research and friendly advice says - recap the monitor (replace all of the electrolytic capacitors) and swap the tube.  People who restore arcade machines and monitors do this all the time - the wealth of information available is insane.

So - I'm not even going to attempt to come up with a *tutorial* so to speak.  I am going to describe my CRT work from the perspective of a guy who has a reasonably good grasp of electronics, circuits and no fear of jumping into things.  But this is my first one.

Not the nicest - but its what I have for now.  I'll have the chassis recapped and back together before I find a donor TV.   Once I find a new CRT - I'll replace it.



Here is the standard inside of the chassis - many years of dust and crud.  I took pictures of everything with many closeups.  These are pretty well documented - I downloaded the manual for this CRT - A Wells-Gardner K4600.  There were a number of YouTube videos on this specific model.  I can say - most of the people working on them didn't care for the design..




I'll say I was quite nervous about the shock hazards inside the CRT.  Every video out there shows you how to pop the anode (suction cup) off the CRT and drain any voltage using a screwdriver with a wire on.  Once I understood that it is essentially discharging a big capacitor - it made more sense.  Find some videos and pop that anode connector right off!  Nothing to fear  ;)

The next set of videos I watched were a bit astonishing..  Grab your CRT and give it a bath - literally!  But after watching about 5-6 of them..  It wasn't a scam.  Most of them used Simple Green - which I just do not like the smell of.  One guy used this stuff - Krud Kutter - available at Home Depot.  He raved about it.  I have to say - it really worked great cleaning up the boards.  It will likely replace some of our other under-the-sink cleaners.

Here it all is - soak it down real good - let is set and wash away..  freaky..



I used warm running water and a soft bristle paint brush to clean in and around components.  Once you get past the not-common sense of washing the inside of a TV..  Use common sense and brush and clean - but be somewhat delicate with it all..

The hand brush I did use on the backside of the boards.  It cleaned up 40 year old flux and other crud on the solder side of the board.  Be careful as well if there are jumpers and resistors on the back.



On the neck board - there is a black ground and the red wire soldered on under a white removable cap.  It goes back to the flyback transformer.  The black wire went to the ground wire on the tube.  The simplest way to remove the neck board was to desolder them.  Guys on the videos did it and it wasn't a big deal.

Neck board before.



Neck board after..



On the main board - there is one little delicate part to be aware of.  The little red coil hanging out on the right.  It can be removed from a holder that is part of the chassis.  Some of the videos they desolder it.  Just don't break it!

Main board before:



Main board after:



One thing in the "wash your TV videos" that I didn't care for was they basically sat them out in the sun to dry..  (except for one guy)..  USE COMPRESSED AIR!   A compressor will blow out every little bit of water out of every little nook and cranny..   Do not blow apart your boards - again - be careful.  Just use some air to get the water out.

Now - I love tools - I really love tools.  There is nothing better than having the right tool for the job.  Replacing all of the capacitors (and reflowing pins..  I will touch on that later) requires removing old solder.  There are a bunch of ways to do it

  • Heat the old part and push it through the board
  • Use a solder wick and soak up the old stuff
  • Use a bulb style solder removal tool
  • Use a pump style removal tool

or

Get something that is fun and easy to use.  I had a 5 day tangent just reading up and watching videos on these machines.  As with anything else - you can spend as much as you want.  But finding a sweet spot for the non-pro is where I was at.  In the end - this was ~$140 and it really works very well.  The vast majority of the caps just fell out of the board after sucking up the solder..  The others required a slight tug.  ZD-985 Desoldering station.



I have a descent multimeter - I think it was ~$50 at Home Depot when I got it.  But while I was at it I decided to upgrade and demote my old one to my secondary tool set that stays at the camp.  I now get why everyone likes the Fluke meters.  You can feel the quality immediately when you pick it up..

While I was replacing the capacitors - I tested the old one coming out AND the new one going in.  My reasoning was simple:
  • Play with the new meter
  • See if there were any *really bad* capacitors coming out
  • Make sure I identified the correct one going in AND check its tolerance for comparison to the originals

Checking the caps coming out and going in also slowed me down and made sure I double and triple checked my work.  Many of the caps coming out were off by 20%-30%.  All of the new ones going in were within 10% and more often within 5%.



Here is the desoldering tool heating up a solder pad.  Once it gets liquid (2-4 seconds)  hit the trigger and it sucks it all up..



Both pads in C608 desoldered.  Pops right out..



To get the new one in and keep it tight to the board - there are a bunch of ways to do it.

My first few I held one lead in place with an alligator clip, trimmed the other lead, soldered it and then clipped the remaining long lead and soldered it.



Eventually I just bent the leads outward just enough to hold the capacitor in place, then clipped and soldered.  I'm going to hit this board again with water/cleaner to remove the flux.



The recap kit these guys provided was complete.  One thing you will bump into - not every board has every capacitor.  I had about 5 left over.  If your original board didn't have it - then don't add it!  I used the sheet as a checklist and went through each one in order.



Pretty much every recapping video said - reflow all of the connector joints.  Meaning any place there is an edge connector, the 40 year old solder is likely failing or will fail.  At first glance I checked my boards and figured.. naaahh....  these joints are all good.  Why fix what isn't broken..

Upon further review I noticed a hair line at this connector.  Took a pic and blew it up.  The guys who do it all the time know what they are talking about. 4,5,6 show the failing joints very clearly.  1,2,3 certainly are suspect.

For reflowing the solder - some of the video guys just heated it up and added a little fresh.  The guys who really seemed to be experts recommended REMOVING the solder and adding all fresh.  This is the route I chose.  The desoldering gun didn't fit over these flat tabs, but it did remove a majority of the old solder.



Reflowed..



I was also warned about this style of connector.  If you have a matching connector, use it to hold the pins so they do not fall out.  I do not...



So I used a binder clip.  Desolder and resolder 1 or 2 at a time so that there is a fixed pin to help hold the others steady.



There were some large diameter pins for the connectors in the center of the board.  My gun came with 3 tips, small, medium and large.  Medium is perfect for the caps.  But large was too small to get over these pins so that I could desolder and reflow them.  My solution was a 3/32" drill bit to drill open the hole in the tip enough to get over the pin AND allow solder to be sucked up around it.  My large tip is now XL.



Here is a board all recapped.



I've finished all of the recapping and reflowing of the pins.

Next up will be washing the tube and chassis and putting it all back together.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2019, 12:49:06 am by bperkins01 »
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #21 on: December 21, 2019, 09:23:50 am »
That is great documentation.

I never have the patience to give my PCBs a bath. I may have to reconsider.

A desoldering gun makes all the difference in the world.

I helped a guy out at Zapcon and he just handed me a brand new desoldering gun.

This hobby pays generosity back with interest.

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #22 on: December 21, 2019, 09:28:20 am »
This thread is now book marked as my reference for original machine repair work.  Good on ya Bob, keep it coming!

BTW - can’t use that tube you found recently?

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #23 on: December 21, 2019, 09:58:32 am »
Thanks guys -

Washing the PCB's is worth the effort (if you have compressed air in my opinion)  We all know heat is the enemy of electronics and all that dust prevents heat dissipation to some small extent. 

I couldn't imaging doing this stuff w/o a gun..  very happy to not have done it the hard way.

@arroyo - The tube I found is pristine.. but it it has the wrong size neck.. i.e.  3 strikes
- wrong connector
- wrong size neck
- wrong resistance on the yoke.

If it were 2 out of the 3 - I could swap the yoke, or get an adapter for the connector..  But there doesn't seem to be a way to make it work. 
I documented all of the details and I'll store the TV..  at some point I'll be able to use it or help someone who can..

Next stop is the transfer station next Saturday hunting for donors..
« Last Edit: December 21, 2019, 12:32:54 pm by bperkins01 »
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #24 on: December 21, 2019, 10:05:10 am »
@arroyo - The tube I found is pristine.. but it it has the wrong size neck.. i.e.  3 strikes
- wrong connector
- wrong size neck
- wrong resistance on the yolk.

If you swap the yolk the resistance of the current one doesn’t matter, the connector can get an adapter, and the neck size shouldn’t be an issue then....at least that’s everything I’ve read and watched on KLOV and YouTube. :dunno:  I would look into that further before moving on, unless you have another tube handy.

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #25 on: December 21, 2019, 10:16:31 am »
I don’t think running circuit boards through tap water is a good idea.  I use lighter fluid when I clean mine... evaporates quickly and doesn’t cause rust...


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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #26 on: December 21, 2019, 10:48:42 am »
I don’t think running circuit boards through tap water is a good idea.  I use lighter fluid when I clean mine... evaporates quickly and doesn’t cause rust...

One of the guys used denatured alcohol - I'd use that before lighter fluid.  But really - the water is fine with the compressed air.  A quick spray with contact cleaner wouldn't hurt.  Many of the guys used this stuff called 'Deoxit' - I got a can of that for the connectors to spray on during reassembly..
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #27 on: December 21, 2019, 10:52:57 am »
If you swap the yoke the resistance of the current one doesn’t matter, the connector can get an adapter, and the neck size shouldn’t be an issue then....at least that’s everything I’ve read and watched on KLOV and YouTube. :dunno:  I would look into that further before moving on, unless you have another tube handy.

The yoke on the original is for a large neck - but the new neck is smaller.  So a yoke neck size adapter too?  I didn't see reference to that - but I'll research a bit further.  It has to clamp into position.. 
« Last Edit: December 21, 2019, 12:33:37 pm by bperkins01 »
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #28 on: December 21, 2019, 12:11:00 pm »
Nice job so far. Centipede is one of those “should have” games if you want a party room. Mine has a Millipede board running the Multipede kit.

And it’s YOKE. All these references to eggs is driving me crazy.
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #29 on: December 21, 2019, 12:14:12 pm »
I thought we we talking about eggs. :dunno

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #30 on: December 21, 2019, 12:15:38 pm »
I thought we we talking about eggs. :dunno

I should have kicked you in the huevos when I had the chance.... ;)
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #31 on: December 21, 2019, 12:17:03 pm »
You had your chance. I was drunk as hell. I wouldn't remember.

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #32 on: December 21, 2019, 12:32:02 pm »
Nice job so far. Centipede is one of those “should have” games if you want a party room. Mine has a Millipede board running the Multipede kit.

And it’s YOKE. All these references to eggs is driving me crazy.

I know that - and I KEEP F**king it up..  grrrr.. 
Hmmmmm  eggggsssss

Updated:  I unscrambled all my yolks
« Last Edit: December 21, 2019, 12:34:27 pm by bperkins01 »
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #33 on: December 21, 2019, 12:38:25 pm »
See boys and girls this is why you don’t type in an empty stomach .  Sorry Bob I kept that one going.

Back to the topic, I would put the YOKE on and try it.  You won’t hurt anything as everything is electrically compatible.  The YOKE just induces the magnetic fields to control the beams.  The worst that happens is you get poor geometry.  Bring the convergence rings from the TV over and fire it up. 

The difference in neck size should be less than .25”, I bet a good cut in a PVC pipe or some wood would act as an adapter.  The sticky foam should do most of the work holding the YOKE in place.

How’s my spelling teach?


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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #34 on: December 21, 2019, 01:21:44 pm »
See boys and girls this is why you don’t type in an empty stomach .  Sorry Bob I kept that one going.

Back to the topic, I would put the YOKE on and try it.  You won’t hurt anything as everything is electrically compatible.  The YOKE just induces the magnetic fields to control the beams.  The worst that happens is you get poor geometry.  Bring the convergence rings from the TV over and fire it up. 

The difference in neck size should be less than .25”, I bet a good cut in a PVC pipe or some wood would act as an adapter.  The sticky foam should do most of the work holding the YOKE in place.

How’s my spelling teach?

Bruh, it’s not a spelling error, it’s the complete wrong word.
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #35 on: December 21, 2019, 01:34:37 pm »
Bruh, it’s not a spelling error, it’s the complete wrong word.

Teacher.

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #36 on: December 21, 2019, 02:26:49 pm »
Anyhoo, looking forward to seeing how this comes out!
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #37 on: December 21, 2019, 02:48:54 pm »
Don't you mean seaing how this comes out?

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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #38 on: December 21, 2019, 08:30:27 pm »
I did run into what I would think would be a rare issue - there is a U-bolt in the flyback transformer that holds a ferrite core in place.  Mine was broken - I'm guessing some metal fatigue.



It turned out to be a bit easier to repair than I thought.
First was a trip to the hardware store - I determined the original threading was metric (3mm).  I also checked the original and it was non-magnetic and hard to cut.  That tells me it was stainless steel. 

I picked up 3/32" stainless rod,  a 4-40 thread tap and a couple of small nuts and washers.  Next I bent the wire with a tool I had for crimping ducts and a couple of needle nose pliers. 



Once I got it to shape I clamped it in the vice and tapped the 4-40 threads onto my replacement.  Little 4-40 die cost $5





Fits perfect and is nice and snug.



« Last Edit: December 22, 2019, 07:56:09 am by bperkins01 »
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Re: Centipede restoration - My first - There will be plenty of pics
« Reply #39 on: December 21, 2019, 08:49:09 pm »
You are just showing off now. :cheers: