Arcade Collecting > Miscellaneous Arcade Talk
How to use a multimeter to troubleshoot
Crowquill:
How to check voltages in a JAMMA cabinet. This is assuming you've used/tested at least one other board in this cabinet before and know the monitor and speakers are working.
Plug up the JAMMA harness to the PCB, plug it in and hit the switch. Check the voltages that are getting to the game PCB. It has to be tested with a load (connected to the PCB) or you'll get false readings. If you need to learn more about JAMMA read THIS.
I find it's usually easiest to test at the slightly exposed pins on the JAMMA edge connector. Put the red probe on one of the 5V pins and the black on one of the ground pins near it.
If the voltage isn't in the 5.05V-5.10V range, you'll want to look for a knob on the power supply. This'll adjust the voltage to both the 5V lines and the 12V lines. If the voltage is OK, you'll want to hit the coin switches a couple times and hit start. If you still get no sound or video, you PROBABLY have something wrong with the PCB. double-check for a volume knob and check the dipswitches. Some games have a "hold" switch. If this is on, the game will not start.
For troubleshooting and testing it can be helpful to pick up a cheap, known-working JAMMA PCB that you won't be upset if it gets damaged. Personally, I use CombatTribes.
shardian:
What people who delve into electronics without any prior knowledge should do is go to the book store or local Lowes/Home Depot and get an electronics basics book. Using a multimeter with no knowledge of what you are measuring is the equivalent of a cop using a radar and saying "wow, 97 mph. Wonder what that means? The book says 80 is the max, so it must be bad". (Yes, I know my analogy sucked)
I have the Home Depot- Basic Home Wiring book and it goes over all the tools, including the multimeter, that you will encounter when doing electrical work.
ChadTower:
Electrical work is different from electronics work, but when it comes to wiring up the power supply to everything, that is electrical. Electronics work, how to troubleshoot PCB components and trace circuits, that's an entirely different issue that you wouldn't find a book on at Lowe's. I've actually found it pretty difficult to find good thorough sources on electronic work.
shardian:
--- Quote from: ChadTower on July 12, 2007, 04:02:23 pm ---
Electrical work is different from electronics work, but when it comes to wiring up the power supply to everything, that is electrical. Electronics work, how to troubleshoot PCB components and trace circuits, that's an entirely different issue that you wouldn't find a book on at Lowe's. I've actually found it pretty difficult to find good thorough sources on electronic work.
--- End quote ---
AC/DC, resistance, continuity, current, etc is the same. That is the basics that needs to be understood before anyone lays a hand on exposed wiring/electronics.
If you are looking at a board with multimeter in hand and wondering whether your setting should be AC or DC, you DEFINITELY need to do some reading. ;)
ChadTower:
Yep.. I've read a couple of those $10 wiring books from Lowe's... they don't do a very good job of explaining those particular concepts. They're more about tying wire nuts, making recepticle terminations, mounting ceiling fans and cannister lights.
This book is by far the best all inclusive one I've found on the subject with an eye towards our specific purposes.
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