repair lessons?

[urgeboy]

I know this may sound a little dumb, but I want to learn how to work on my games. Only problem is I don't know any collectors in my area to lean on for some advice (In this case a monitor issue). Anyone know of anybody in the dc metro area who is willing to give some instruction on arcade repair? ...even be willing to throw in some cash. I figure the money it will save me to have to go to a repair man every time something goes wrong will pay for its self.

[DrArcade]

Not likely the answer you are looking for however.

http://www.youtube.com/user/randyfromm?feature=watch

If you watch the Arcade School series, and the monitor series. You should be able to fix most basic stuff.

As he states in the video's, most monitors suffer from the same 6, to 8-12 problems. Once you've fixed a few monitors it's easy to fix them.
Also the series on Arcade machines, he covers the most common types of issues.

Trying to learn how to repair something without something broken in front you is akin to learning how to drive with no car available.

If you have specific problems with a repair of a monitor or board, I'd be more than happy to help.

Mr. CAST

[compute]

The main thing is understanding how it all breaks down.  There are not many mechanical parts.  If you've worked on a computer, all of the same stuff is there:  system board, controls, display, power supply, etc.  As a beginner, you probably will not want to mess with monitor or pcb repair.  Many problems are easily fixed, anyway.  Control problems are usually loose wire or a bad switch, for example.  In general the parts on these games are interchangeable.  A joystick connects the same as a joystick.  There are really only 5ish types of monitor, and one is more common than any of the others.

There's no need to be afraid.  We all begin somewhere.  The collecting community is so vast.  Use Google for specific problems, chances are good that somebody has run into the same issue with that game or a similar game, or a game that uses the same type of monitor, etc.

It also helps to lurk around repair forums.  The forums over at KLOV are a great source of info and help.

[ChadTower]

How did you learn how to fix computers?  Very likely by taking them apart and playing around with them until you figured it all out.  You supplemented that with some reading and some questions to others.  Why would arcade games be any different?  It's just the next step forward. 

You need good power, then good wiring connections, then a good board/monitor.  That's pretty much it.  Once you have isolated the problem to the power supply, the wiring, the board, or the monitor, then you can begin a more specific troubleshooting on that part.  It's all the same ideas as PCs.