Arcade Collecting > Miscellaneous Arcade Talk
Midway Arcade Cabinet by Big Electronic Games
jbserra:
--- Quote from: dallasipattorney on February 01, 2016, 04:52:58 pm ---Hi all, just ran across this thread and was wondering if anyone was still active on it? I've had one of these Midway Big Electronic Games arcade machines since 2007 (bought used) and just recently it stopped working. Not sure if the main board went bad or perhaps the monitor. Was just wondering if any of you had a similar problem that you troubleshooted correctly.
Before it stopped working, I caught my 4 year old pushing the Reset button over and over forever as only kids will for some reason want to do, so I'm wondering if that messed up the board.
I took the back of the cabinet off and only had a short time yesterday to start my troubleshooting. The first thing I did was plug a portable DVD player into the monitor's inputs, but nothing played on the monitor. That leads me to believe the monitor is bad. It seems like the speakers are in the monitor as well, so that would explain why no sound is heard even if the picture is bad.
When I have a chance to get back into it, the next thing I will try is to plug the output from the board into a working TV just to see if the board is working properly. Anyone have any other suggestions?
One unrelated question I had is if the cartridge is supposed to be able to be pulled out from the front of the machine (above the screen)? It looks like it should pull out, but I pried on it a little and it did not budge. I didn't force the issue because I didn't want to break it. Also, I started loosening the board housing from the backside of the bezel, but it would not come off despite removing the 4 screws holding it against the bezel. Also, the screws holding the housing together are only accessible from underneath, which is just about impossible without taking the structure of the cabinet apart (I'm wondering if whoever put mine together attached the board housing to the backside of the bezel upside down by accident).
In any case, if this thread is still active, please let me know if you have any troubleshooting tips!
-James
--- End quote ---
Hey, welcome to the post everyone wants dead ;-)
I have 2 boards so if you end up needing one, let me know.
Your troubleshooting sounds good. If the TV didn't display an image from the DVD (assuming the tv was on), that may be a bad sign for the TV. I went out and replaced mine with a 20" sony which is a little big, but fit just about perfect inbetween some existing bracing. Just moved the board that keeps the TV from sliding out the back, cut a hole for the larger tv case out the back and off to the races. Well, still working on a new bezel, but game is up and running.
Nothing really comes out easily. I took a lot apart to get at the TV and the cartridge. There is a metal clip that holds the cartridge into that holder. You have to take the screw out of that or possibly pry it up while trying to remove the cartridge. Not sure why they made it look like you could swap carts but then basically locked it in.
If you have any other questions, just send me a message.
Good luck!
EDIT:
I found these pictures from when I tore it apart:
https://goo.gl/photos/b6qixnPfrZBLPi1RA
I think that is the silver tab under the holder that is keeping the cartridge from pulling out. You can see a sliver of it in the close up pic.
livingonwheels:
Hello everyone, I'm a new owner of a Big Games Konami and Midway machine. The Konami works flawlessly, but I'm having a problem with the Midway which I hope someone here can help me with. The volume buttons on the Midway do not seem to do anything. The unit is very loud and I'm unable to lower the volume.. I wanted to try to manually lower the volume but I'm unsure how to remove the TV from the unit. Any advice on this? What screws need to be removed in order to free the TV? Is any of the wood in the unit glued instead of screwed? I see that a few of you got remotes for the TV. Could a universal remote find the code for this TV and is the remote even able to function with the TV while it is in the cab (is the sensor covered?). I'm hoping that if I get the TV loose there is just a loose connection on the volume buttons.
Edit: This morning I was able to enter the TVs on screen volume setting using a Radio Shack Universal HDTV remote (#15-135). I had to aim the remote slightly to the right half of the TV and aim very close and down (to get behind the enclosure).The power button and volume button seems to be the only buttons that function on this remote with this TV. I'm very thankful that I was able to lower the volume from it's set volume of 76 down to a more comfortable 20. I would still like to get the volume buttons on the machine working, just because I hate to leave things undone. Any advice on easily accessing behind those buttons? Like I said previously I'm hoping it's just a loose wire. I would also love to access the TVs other settings such as color, contrast, etc like one of the users above me did. Can they be accessed with the official remote? If so, I'd order one right away.
Edit 2: I attempted to order the official remote control for the TV via sales@mybiggames.com but it was returned deliverable. Where are some of you ordering this remote control? I've also contacted TCL North America Customer Support but they said that because the TV was not manufactured in North America, they cannot help me.
Edit 3: I've been able to access all the TV's controls via the Radio Shack Universal Remote Model #15-135. So if you ever need a remote to adjust your setting, and can't find an official one, this is your best bet. Here's what the remote's buttons do:
Firstly, enter 11314 into the remote's program feature (if you need instructions on how to this this, contact me and I'll send you the instructions).
The 'Volume' button adjusts the volume of the set.
The 'CC" button (closed caption button) brings up the TV's settings (pressing the 'Volume' button here will scroll through other option pages but only the 1st page is needed).
The 'PIP' button (picture in picture button) scrolls down through the settings menu.
The 'Volume' button will then adjust the setting you chose with the 'PIP' button.
I would still like to fix the physical volume buttons on the machine, so I appreciate the knowledge anyone may be able to give me in regards to this.
jbserra:
livingonwheels,
The TV removal requires a lot of disassembly. It's not horrible, but you have to take a lot of the unit apart if I recall correctly.
The company that built these is long out of business. There is no way to get a remote from the company anymore.
Thanks for the information on the universal remote. I had tried a Philips remote and couldn't get the buttons to walk through the menu options so I ended up just drilling a little hole on the front to access the button on the front of the TV (when I was still using it).
I use a remote for turning on the unit and adjusting volume, but I've swapped out the TV at this point for a bigger one. I never opened the TV, so I'm not sure what would be required to repair the volume. You could pull it out and find that the button is broken somehow as well. There is a button on the front bezel of the arcade which pushes a button on the front of the TV. If they're not being pushed all the way in for some reason, they obviously wouldn't work. If you get to the tv and the tv volume button doesn't work, then you get to crack open a TV and try your luck and repairing the circuit. Good luck!
livingonwheels:
You were correct, the buttons on the front of the machine were not touching the TV's volume control. Just out of curiosity I decided to press the volume buttons on the cabinet a little harder than I normally would (slightly bending the enclosure). Well, it was enough for it to make contact with the volume controls on the TV! I suppose now I would consider them working, I just have to press them in a little bit harder. One other note for those who's high scores are not saving: I noticed that if you use the remote to turn off the unit (instead of the button on the side of the cabinet) your high scores will be saved. Now of course that also means the power box and electronic module in the machine is still running (even though the TV is off). Weather or not that is causing wear on the it, I do not know. I suppose it would be like keeping any vintage video game console running 24/7.
jbserra:
Unfortunately, the games will not save. I've tried 2 boards and neither save even when left powered. As soon as it goes into demo mode or loads another game, it wipes out the high scores. I keep hoping I'm wrong, but even the developer confirmed that the mfg didn't opt for the extra ram chip to save games.
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