GTA Toronto MAMERs - Need help!

[henviii]

If anyone knows anyone who might know how to repair a standup mame machine (no picture) in the GTA, could you please PM or email me?

I'm desperate-  it's been 4 months since i've last played and i'm starting to get the shakes!  You will be fairly compensated for your time!

thanks in advance!

[mmmPeanutButter]

e l a b o r a t e...   and we might be able to help you out!

 

[scottyfryer]

shoot me an email and i'll give you my number and i'll see if i can hook you up with someone at Coxwell and Gerrard Area.

Scottyfryer@gmail.com

[Scott84]

www.cgcc.ca

This is a Canadian Gaming Forum that has an Coin-Op section. I highly recommend posting in there...

Its where all the canadians from this board go to talk 

[Brax]

I can't imagine it would be too difficult to talk you through the problem. I'm sure one of us could stop by too, but it may not be too difficult to fix depending on the problem.

[CheffoJeffo]

Definitely post details and location ... there are a bunch of us here (I'm at Islington and Dundas, there are a couple of folks that I know of up in the North end) and on CGCC.

Chances are that if the machine was once working, it will be relatively easy to diagnose and resolve here on the boards.

Cheers.

[RayB]

I'm out in Cambridge, so no way am I making a trek out there (I'd have to charge you too much to cover my travel time and gas), but here are some questions to get th eball rolling:

1. Who made your MAME cabinet?

2. MAME cabinets are just PCs in a big box, so what exactly is it doing?

3. Did you check to see if it's plugged in?

[henviii]

Wow thanks for all the quick replies already.

Here's what happened.

I was in the middle of playing Galaga - suddenly screen goes blank.  All controls still working, sound still on.  Tried rebooting, checking all connections - no go. CPU is fine.

So i figure it's the video card (ArcadeVGA) that's out or (gulp) the CRT monitor itself.  Or could it be the JAMMA card?

I plugged the CPU into a regular computer monitor but got the message "SYNC. out of range" which i found out happens with teh ArcadeVGA card since it outputs at 15khz. 

I'm not a PC person - i've used Mac all my life so all this is new to me.

I bought the machine off of Ebay cuz i really wanted one but have neither the time nor the expertise to put one together - it was a very happy union for 6 months!

[henviii]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention as well - Downtown TO.  by U of T.

thanks in advance.  great board.

[CheffoJeffo]

If you turn up the brightness on the arcade monitor, do you see anything (e.g. or is it the same as if it were off) ? Is there a glow from the neck of the monitor ?

Who was the eBay seller (or where were they located) ?  There is a reasonable possibility that one of us knows the seller and they may be able to provide some details that would be helpful.

Cheers.

[henviii]

Sorry- also forgot to mention- the monitor powers up - but no picture.

[henviii]

yeah, if you tweak the brightness controls- you can see it lightening/darkening.  And when you turn it off, you get a flash of light.

I bought it from a guy named Stu Harrison outta burlington.  I've emailed him a few times and he's been helpful but no one is sure what the problem could be.

[RayB]

It could be a large number of things... loose connections, damaged vid card or damaged jpac, maybe even power supply weakness ...

I would look into the following:

1. In the heat of playing, maybe something got loose or disconnected (due to vibration from pounding on the controls). *WITH THE POWER OFF* check that the video card is properly seated in the slot. Then check that the video cable is properly secure to the video card and to the JPAC (I assuming you have a JPAC?). Make sure everything is secure all the way up to the monitor.

2. With power on, check that the JPAC (assuming you have one) 's LED lights are on (or off?). Check www.ultimarc.com to find out what the lights mean and whether they should be on or off.

My gut tells me it's just a connection issue. But if the JPAC circuitry died, that would cut off the signal too.

[henviii]

Thanks,

I will double check everything but i figure it's either the JPAC or the videocard. 

Does anyone know where i can get a new JPAC in the GTA?  Or do i have to order it off teh ultimarc website?

[Quarters]

You must get jpacs from ultimarc. However I think this not your problem. As RayB said Check that tha AVGA is seated well and the check the wiring to the monitor. I suspect the later.

Sorry, Ottawa to TO is too far for me to drop by.

[Derrick Renaud]

yeah, if you tweak the brightness controls- you can see it lightening/darkening.  And when you turn it off, you get a flash of light.

Does the top or bottom half of the screen seem to get brighter then the other half?

When this symptom happens on a TV, it is an indication that the vertical deflection circuit in the TV has failed.  It is now trying to draw the video as a collapsed line off screen.  If the monitor has an onscreen menu visible, then this is not your fault.

Of course this is just a diagnosis of an unseen fault.  Any chance of getting a pic of it with the brightness turned up?

D.

[RayB]

I bought it from a guy named Stu Harrison outta burlington.  I've emailed him a few times and he's been helpful but no one is sure what the problem could be.

Isn't he on this board?

[CheffoJeffo]

I bought it from a guy named Stu Harrison outta burlington.  I've emailed him a few times and he's been helpful but no one is sure what the problem could be.

Isn't he on this board?

I think that we're thinking of the same guy (has a brother whose name I share?) and he hasn't logged on here in about a month.

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

You must get jpacs from ultimarc.

Actually, I just noticed that divemaster is selling them in his thread in B/S/T.

Cheers.

[scottyfryer]

Do the JPAC lights come on?  Maybe its not being powered by the USB on the PC?  I have an old computer monitor that drops to 15 HZ if you want it..  but i'm in Whitby, but work at Bay and Wellington..  but the cord that goes into the PC is cut off since i used it to hook it up to a Lucky 8 Lines machine i have to see if the board was still good.   I'll give you the pin out diagram, its pretty easy to follow.  Or hit value village like i did and try and find one and hook that up to the arcadeVGA card.

[henviii]

Thanks all,

I will take the next few days to try and figure this puppy out myself  - your input has given me several things to try/test.

I'll post an update ASAP.

[RayB]

That's another cable to check. The one that goes from the JPAC to the PC's keyboard jack (or USB).

I looked up the LED info for you.

If the JPAC is working AND is receiving a video signal, the Sync IN LED will be lit. (That means it would light for ANY signal, even a resolution out of range for your monitor).

If the Sync OK LED is also lit, that means it is receiving a proper 15khz signal.

[henviii]

Ok, been off for awhile on business but now i'm back and ready to tackle this again.

J-PAC -  sync IN led, and Sync OK Led both light up. Green and yellow (i think this is normal).
Monitor- picture screen in blue (i've been playing around with contrast, brightness, vertical)  but in perfect working condition.

So the last thing i can do is guess it's the video card.  But i'm totally defeated. 

At this point i'm ready to open my wallet than wait for a new video card that may or may not fix the problem. 

Anyone have a working system they want to sell and take this thing off my hands? 

Cheers,

Henry

[RayB]

Tricky.  Your JPAC says it's receiving a good signal...

If you own a JAMMA game, I'd say test your monitor with it...