Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Arcade Collecting => Miscellaneous Arcade Talk => Topic started by: johnvv on July 21, 2005, 11:57:25 pm
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I have a completely restored Star Wars upgright that was fully working about 4 months ago. It was left in dry storage during the interim and recently moved inside.
Since it has been moved, it randomly resets during gameplay. The entire reset takes about 2 seconds and the play is returned to the initial 'welcome' screen. The monitor does go blank during the reset. Any ideas of what the source might be? Or a resource to check for more info? Based on my computer experience, it looks like a complete board reset is happening.
I checked the worn power cord and replaced it with a new one. The ampliphone HV transformer was replaced during the restore and is fine. The internals are clean.
Thanks for any suggestions or ideas.
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Did you check all the connections inside the cab? Reseat connectors, etc? Just a guess.
- Mike -
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Did you re-seat the main connector that attaches to the game board(s)?
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Replace the big blue cap if you haven't already.
Check the voltages first though. Low voltages are the most common cause of a reset.
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I had a similar issue with my Star Wars cab when I first got it and it went away after I pulled the game board and pressed lightly on the chips to make sure they were seated properly. After sliding the board back in it worked. I did separate the main board from the sound board and reseat that connection as well.
Hope it helps
-Goz
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When he moved it, some solder joints probably went cold. Examine the back side of the PCBs carefully. This one could be a ---smurfette--- to find. When moving these Atari cabs it's very common for solder joints to break and become intermittent.
Since the whole game is resetting, I would definitely start with the ARII and the power supply.
Paige's suggestion is a good one, too, make sure all connectors are seated properly and have strong connections.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I checked and reset all the connectors, but the problem continued. I think the 'big blue' cap was replaced just before I bought it - I'll check with the seller - it looks new.
I decided to to a self-test. While no errors were found, I think the problem may have been related to either the self-test switch or aux coin switch. After flipping both of them several times for tests, the problems *appears* to have gone away. It hasn't happened in several hours, which is a record since I moved it inside.
Checking voltages is beyond my ability to do safely, so I'll have someone more experienced do that if the problem recurs.
Thanks again all!!
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Oh, yeah, those switches. They didn't age well. A lot of people remove them for home use.
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To complete this thread for future use by others...
the reset problem recurred a few days after I adjusted the internal reset and test switches. Turns out the problem was the 'big blue' capacitor. It's been replaced and the assualt on the Death Star has resumed...
I also noticed that the unit was making a noticeable humming noise recently (like a ground loop sound in home theater systems). That has also decreased significantly with the new cap.
Thanks all for you suggestions and help.
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The hum was AC ripple in the power supply. Replacing the cap will definitely take care of the AC ripple, since it is the cap that is responsible for keeping a smooth, constant output rather than pulsing output.