Battlezone arcade problems...

[melarky]

Hello,

I just recently got a Battlezone arcade machine that was not working when I bought it.  We have been working to try to get it going, and I think we are close but we are running into a few little problems.

When I first got the machine it was blowing fuses on the monitor board, but we seemed to have tracked that down to a faulty resistor and after replacing it with one from radio shack it stopped blowing fuses but there still seems to be something wrong with it.

Now when I turn it on, a small dot appears in the middle of the monitor, and nothing else happens.  We tried cleaning the contacts on the PCBs, and as I said, it isn't blowing fuses anymore, but I can't even think of where to start troubleshooting now.  Doesn anyone have any ideas what could be wrong with the machine now?

Also, on a side note, the schematics for the PCB were on klov.com for this machine, but I couldn't find any schematics for the monitor board (the one that has the fuses for the monitor on it).  If anyone has a set of those schematics, please let me know.  I would still be interested to look at those even though we were able to track it down to that resistor already.

I appreciate any help in advance.

[SirPeale]

You may want to ask this on RGVAC (rec.games.video.arcade.collecting) via http://groups.google.com

Or the KLOV forums:

http://forums.webmagic.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=&C=2

[D_Zoot]

Interesting, I "Just" finished up a complete rebuild of my BattleZone!

I have a couple of questions for you:

Do you have ANY game sounds at all when you coin up the machine (BattleZone doesn't have any attract sounds) ?

Does the start button light up when you coin up the machine ??

If you put the game in test mode (test switch inside the coin door)  does it make any beeping noises, if so, how many times does it beep ??


Ok,  here's the deal,  BattleZone is what's called an X-Y game.  It's uses a monitor different from the usual arcade machines.  Because of the way it works, if there is no video signal from the game board, all the monitor will do is show you the dot in the middle, or show you nothing.

Unplug that monitor while you work on the machine to prevent that dot from burning in the screen !!!!

Look carefully at both the main and Aux pc boards.  You will see various test lugs around the boards,  they are all labeled,  +5, -5,  +12, +22, -22.....   Measure voltage at those test lugs, the +/-5 should be very close to 5,  The 12 should be pretty close and the rest can be several volts one way or another.    If any of those are missing or way out of whack, look at the regulator board.  Bob Roberts sells rebuild kits for that board.

If the voltages are ok, then sadly you probably have a game board problem.   BattleZone boards can be tricky to diagnose.  Ideally you would need a special piece of equipment called a signature analyzer to work on it.  You can work on the board without it, but frankly, they suck to work on.

If it is your game board,  I would actually suggest sending it out for repair or getting an exchange board from eldoradogames.com ,  the prices are very reasonable there and they warranty their boards.

I do have scans of the owners manual, schematics and monitor manuals,  but I'd Need to know which monitor your game has, it could be a Wells Gardner or an Electrohome G05-801 or a G05-802.   The model number should be on a sticker on the monitor frame, or post a pic of the monitor circuit board (I know they are a bugger to see in a BattleZone cab)

Good luck!!
D

[melarky]

D_Zoot,

Thanks for the help, I will have to play around with that when I get home.  I will also check the video board when I get home, and I can take a pic of it no problem.

The game doesn't make any sounds whatsover.  I was experiementing with the mame version to see what sounds it makes when it does, and I would duplicate the steps on the arcade to see if it would make sounds when I activated the quarter and hit the start button, but it doesn't make any noise at all (other than a little buzz from the speaker as I adjust the volume).

Same goes for the test mode, it also does not seem to work (no beeps, nothing on the screen of course).  The start button led lights up, but it's always on (I was not aware that it only came on after you put a coin in).  The led on the handle for the gun doesn't light up though, it looks like it should, but I haven't taken apart the controls to see if the light is burned out or what.

Please let me know if you need any pics of any other parts besides that video board.  I really appreciate your help with this.  It was encouraging to be able to get it to stop blowing fuses, it will be nice to track down the main problem now.

[melarky]

Peale,

Sorry to neglect to thank you also, I appreciate the resources.  I will check out those links.

[D_Zoot]

I will also check the video board when I get home.
(snip)
The game doesn't make any sounds whatsover.  
(snip)
The led on the handle for the gun doesn't light up

At this point it really doesn't sound like a monitor problem.  The fact that you see the white dot on the monitor is a good indication that the monitor *should*  work.   Unlike typical raster monitors, an X-Y monitor won't do anything except the white dot (or nothing at all) if there is no input signal from the game board.

No game sounds does indicate a power supply problem or a game board problem (or both!).    I have seen on occasion Atari  Audio/regulator boards go bad, or burnt edge connectors and result in the voltage output ramping up and taking out the logic chips on the game board.   If it does turn out that your game board is bad,  plan on rebuilding the A/R board at the same time to protect your investment in the game board.  Also consider replacing the "Big Blue" cap on the power brick.  Bob Roberts sells those too.   If you aren't comfortable rebuilding the A/R board,  I'd do it for you, PM me for details.

The fire button isn't supposed to light up.  Atari used the same switch for the fire button, but cut the leads off the switch for the light portion. There's no wiring for the light in the grip either.


Good Luck !!

D