Color Vector Monitors

[fredster]

I think some people here have tempests or Space Duel.

I just picked up a Space Duel with a G08 that plays blind.

What am I looking for on this beast? What goes wrong with them that makes them so they can't be fixed?

Somebody put a lot of work in on this machine or treated it really nice, because it had great side art and it had a fanstastic CP, and the machine was very clean.  So I'm guessing that he thought this thing was beyond repair.

Who has one and what tips do you have while I get into this thing?

Isn't there something about not grounding to the chassis if I discharge the monitor?  That would be my first question, because I'm gonna have to take this thing apart.

[Ken Layton]

Visit www.ionpool.net and check out the color vector monitor stuff. Very good info there.

[paigeoliver]

Also, Space Duel and Kangaroo are two Atari titles that are always magically minty fresh. Ones that aren't mint are much rarer than ones that are mint.

Although these days even finding a Space Duel with a monitor in it is a rarity, as the monitor is worth nearly as much as the complete game, people usually gut Space Duels for monitors in order to fix Tempest and Star Wars.

[ChadTower]

Go through the whole machine from top to bottom as if it's ---smurfy---.  Check the power supply, then the AR board, then the outputs from the X/Y/Z test leads.  You may as well, you're talking an hour or two of work and these XY games are so sensitive to power issues.  If you have any uncertainty of the age of that power cap, replace it.

[fredster]

It had a tempest backdoor sheet on the inside.

The caps look old, there are two big black ones, and they look very very bad.

How do you discharge it?

[ChadTower]

Discharging is the same as a raster, AFAIK

Too bad you don't have a copy of Fromm's XY tape.   I know I could use a copy of that too.

[D_Zoot]

Because of diodes in the HV section of a vector monitor, many people don't recomend discharging the monitor the usual way.  The rush of current thru the HV diode can take it out.  It's suggested that you insert 1meg resistance (must be able to handle a couple of watts) into your discharge tool to limit the current and discharge the unit slowly.

Now, having said that,  I've discharged vector monitors the usual way and (knock on wood) have never had a problem...    But, there is always a risk I guess...

You decide !   


Regards,
D

[ChadTower]

Could you discharge it into something else, like the cold water pipe in your basement?  A pole in the grass?  The neighbor's yippy dog?

[fredster]

Well, I don't have a "yippy dog", but I got a cat.

That might be fun.

I could put the resistor in line or use the ground on a plug in the wall, that would be okay.

But the cat did throw up on the carpet the other day.  I don't have a 5 watt resistor, but what kind of resistance does a long hair have? Think about 2 watts??

[ChadTower]

I've heard bad things about using the wall ground... at least use an outlet tester to make sure it's really grounded.  Half the three prong outlets in my house have no ground connection.

[fredster]

No, I think the cat thing will work.

Here kitty kitty kitty, here kitty kitty kitty....

[fredster]

Ok, I got a chance to dig into this thing, and I'm very happy, and yet disappointed.

I have HV, I have a dot when I turn up the brightness, and I have a spot killer dead on.

I have what appears to be a working space duel board and a working monitor, and no function.

I tested the board and it has voltage at the correct levels on the test points. 

I don't know how to test the monitor to see what's up.  But if it's anything like my asteroids, that red light means it's getting no vector.

Any logic probing I can do? 

[D_Zoot]

You can look with a meter and see if you are getting voltage activity on the X, Y and color signal circuits.  I prefer a scope for this, but a meter should give you some idea if there is a signal present. 

If there does appear to be activity present on all the signal circuits, there could be a problem in the deflection amp(s) on the monitor chassis, that can light the spot killer too.    Last one I had on the bench was a G05, blown deflection amp transistors on the Y channel and the spot killer was lit.

That the game seems to play, but blind is usually a good sign that the monitor is the fault (but not always)


D

[ChadTower]

Maybe it would be useful to check the Z, Y, and Z wires, not the test leads.  Check them at the destination.  Maybe the harness or edge connector needs a little rehab.  I know yours looks minty but moving these cabs has a tendency to expose things like this.  Those Atari edge connectors and harnesses are bad news.

[clanggedin]

I just spoke with a guy last night is is planning on selling a working Space Duel, Mouse Trap and an Asteriods. He's just not sure where to price them at. He has an Astron Belt with a bad laser disk player that he want to get rid of too.

If anyone wants his info to see if you can get one of the cabs from him then PM me. I was trying to tell him the Asteroids is only worth arounfd $300 if it is in perfect condition, so you could get you a deal on the Space Duel if you call him with the same price. Just leave me the Asteroids.

He's located in Orem, Utah.

PM me for more info.

[ChadTower]

I'd be ALL OVER that if it were in New England.