Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Arcade Collecting => Miscellaneous Arcade Talk => Topic started by: davieboynj on August 30, 2009, 03:50:36 am

Title: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: davieboynj on August 30, 2009, 03:50:36 am
My time pilot (restoration thread here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=56692.0) had been out of commission for a while (wasn't taking coins) so today i decided to fix it.  sure enough, there was a ground in the coin switch that had a bad connection.  problem solved, right?

nope.

When i started to play, there was no sound.  - - come to think of it, time pilot has attract sounds  - - It must have been dead for a while, as even when it wasn't being used I still had it powered on from time to time. 

Are there any troubleshooting steps i can perform here?  can anyone point me in the right direction to replace the sound amps?  I'm guessing that's what needs to be done here.   I'm a little out of my depth, but, like Paul McCartney, "I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends..."

I'm tempted to take this "opportunity" to justify picking up Gyruss for testing, as it's the only other game I know that uses the same joystick and pcb wiring.  Doesn't hurt that it's a personal favorite either...  :) 

Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: SirPeale on August 30, 2009, 10:58:37 am
First, check your voltages.  I don't know if Time Pilot requires -5VDC, but a lot of boards require it for sound.  That or +12VDC.

Failing that, the amplifier IC may have blown.  It happens.
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: Kevin Mullins on August 30, 2009, 05:08:35 pm
Just have to ask....

Have you turned the volume up on the pcb?

Attract mode sound can be turned ON or OFF via a dipswitch setting.
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: davieboynj on August 30, 2009, 08:10:55 pm
thx for the replies.  I have messed with the volume knobs on both the board and underneath the control panel, with no effect.  I do get a very quiet scraping sound when moving the one under the control panel, but not as loud as i would expect.  I'm doing all this during gameplay, just in case my memory is shot. 

I'm going to check the voltages with a probe, is there anything more i need do?  I know that sometimes a PC power supply will show voltage, but won't work under load.  I'll post my results...
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: davieboynj on August 30, 2009, 08:44:03 pm
the voltages seem fine..  -5v is only -4.8 but i'd assume that's ok. 

If i have to replace the amps, are there any tutorials for that? 
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: RayB on August 31, 2009, 02:03:34 pm
It's likely a problem with the connection between the 2 boards. Mine will not play sound unless I squeeze the two boards together a bit.
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: davieboynj on September 01, 2009, 06:51:52 am
do you mean the ribbon cable?  I'll give it a shot...
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: davieboynj on September 03, 2009, 07:25:30 am
tried it a few times and no luck...  any other ideas?
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: Kevin Mullins on September 03, 2009, 11:40:20 am
Is the potentiometer in the cab good ?

Is there sound coming off the board but prior to the cabinets potentiometer ?

Could still very well be a sound amp issue, but might as well plug away at the little stuff first.
Title: Re: Lost all sound on time pilot
Post by: davieboynj on September 09, 2009, 10:23:04 pm
first off,  thanks, all for your help.  I'm sorry i've not been quicker testing things, but i've just been so busy with "real life"TM lately.  anyways, i bypassed the potentiometer and no luck...  should i check ac voltage on the speaker output, or is it a foregone conclusion that the audio amp is blown?  anyone know how or what parts i need to replace it?  or should i just replace the entire board?

As a side note - - this game is so difficult to play without sound.  I never would have guessed that...