Berzerk Resurection

[nitrogen_widget]

So I have an old Berzerk cab in my basement.
Had it forever.
It was gutted and converted to the wiz at some point and then gutted again and given to me.
didn't know it was Berzerk.
The community helped me identify it.
I like the game.
Was going to restore it's appearance then mame it with a CRT TV and an RPI with the 240p output.
Keep berzerk and frenzy only.

Over the yrs, picked up a marquee, had some vinyl printed for the bezel to match a 20" CRT, and picked up a steel repro control panel.
blah blah blah crap happens and I never got to it.

Anyways i'm drinking and trolling ebay.
Find a complete board set for berzerk with extra boards and I think, I got the wiring harness, powersupply, and other stuff still in the cab.
Board sets were few and far between on ebay and cost more than I cared to pay.
i make an offer or two for a price I like for an untested set and I guess it's coming. 

My plan is to hope the board set works or doesn't need too much work to get working and do an RGB mod on one of the many 19 or 20" crt tv's I have to use with it.
Worst case a JROK board to convert rgb to component and use a 20" flat crt.

I may still get a JROK board just so I can see what's going on when I hook the board's up and apply power since an actual arcade monitor probably won't happen unless i find one on Facebook marketplace or craigs list.
They occasionally pop up but i haven't needed one so I disregarded.
I've downloaded the Berzerk service manual and the pull out board everything mounts to will make it easy to put together on the dining room table as opposed to my basement.

Here are some pics.


lot's of parts left inside.
harness is little butchered but I can run new wires if need be.

At one point tried to clean the paint off to get to the robots but not even that citra stuff works so i guess i'm painting it black then stenciling.


only thing I need is to figure out joystick and if I want to go with the bat handle.
Current joystick is a leaf switch.
From what I can tell it was the replacement when the optical sticks started failing.

I'm planing on a 3d printer this winter so may try to make my own.
$125 for a repro handle is not going to happen.
That's insane for something I could make close enough from a wooden dowel with my sander.

[nitrogen_widget]

Boards are in.
they are filthy and will need some cleaning.
I've read dishwasher or just spray with simple green then rinse in sink and allow to dry for a week.

anyone with experience in this?

there are a few issues on two of the boards I see right away.
two filter capacitors def. need replacing.
I have to dig out my meter to make sure but the fuses look intact which is a good sign.


however the thing I was really worried about was the main board and the acid damage i've read about.
someone yanked the battery from this board before things got too bad.
I did pour some vinegar on the corrosion and gently go over it with a soft toothbrush before rinsing off.


no lifted traces I can see but, these chips may need replacing though.


I have the harness and the other non-board components still mounted on the slide out tray but i'm going to need to make a lot of ribbon cables.

[Mike A]

You have your work cut out for you. I look forward to watching your progress. I have a Pole Position II board that I peck away at. I don't have much experience in board repair, but I am trying to learn.

[nitrogen_widget]

You have your work cut out for you. I look forward to watching your progress. I have a Pole Position II board that I peck away at. I don't have much experience in board repair, but I am trying to learn.

yeah this is going to be my winter project.

I went to school for electronics technology and my first job out of college was a service tech doing board repair in the field sometimes but after a few yrs of that I went into computers.
since then it's just repairs for myself mostly and hobby stuff.

the service manual has a lot of good info and there are a handful of Berzerk repair logs out there on the web I've read so thanks to those people (which I will link once I get into it.) I think I have a decent handle on troubleshooting steps.

I also have an oscilloscope and a waveform generator boxed up in my basement.
With those tools I should be able to test components in circuit.
gonna need refresher course though because I haven't used them since the late 90's.

Found this berzerk "ribbon" cable kit for $40.
http://cambridgearcade.dyndns.org/?q=node/125



I don't think I can make them cheaper when you consider I need a crimper, wire, and connectors.

anyone ever heard of this place before or bought from them?

or I could just get these and deal with putting a jumper on each pin.
it has the correct spacing

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5X-40pcs-10cm-Female-To-Female-Dupont-Wire-Jumper-Cable-for-Arduino-Breadboard/232361552009?hash=item3619d3e889:g:H6cAAOSwqVBZX3dN

[nitrogen_widget]

Ordered diodes, transistors, a bag o' resistors and logic chips replace the one's with corrosion and looking sketchy from acid damage.
A few caps for the power board also.
That should keep me busy while I try to get to the first stage of successful testing.
Also, the z80 isn't exactly the right one.
original part was 2.5 mhz.
This one is 4mhz.

[nitrogen_widget]

Components are arriving.
first order is to replace the caps on the power board and make sure the power-supply in the cabinet is actually good.

Then i'll start de-soldering components from the main board and work on the corrosion under those components.
I've had pretty good results with this acidic toilet bowl cleaner I read about on other forums. zepp or zeff.
drip it on, run a wet brass brush over it and let it bubble away for about 15-20 mins.
Go over it with the brass brush again and rinse with vinegar.
Was very surprised at how much corrosion disappeared.

also the stuff is great getting hard water marks off a toilet bowl!

[thehammer12]

You have your work cut out for you. I look forward to watching your progress. I have a Pole Position II board that I peck away at. I don't have much experience in board repair, but I am trying to learn.

Agreed, this is gonna be a major project. More like a winter and summer project, but wish you the best.

Also you can forego the $120 replica handle joystick and get the legit one for $150-$170 on ebay....that is a must.

[nitrogen_widget]

At this point i'm going to get the boards running before I invest more money in it.

I have all the parts and components and have cleaned the mainboard well enough where I can unsolder the corroded components and clean it better.
but i've been working on some major "before the snow flies" projects outside so once that's done I can start on this project.

[pbj]

Did you really start ripping components off the board without testing it first?

Dude.

[gameconsultants]

I have a way easier Berzerk rebuild that I need help on...
If there’s anyone in the SanFernando Valley that wants to come over and help me.
Free pizza and beer and satisfaction of rescuing this super clean original Berzerk I found... that someone installed Frenzy boards into.
I have a complete board set for Berzerk to install in its place, but would really be stoked to have both on s toggle switch!

Obviously I can also compensate with more than Pizza and beer... I just don’t have the experience working on these old machines, and I don’t wanna kill it as my first attempt... it’s so clean and complete!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nitrogen_widget]

Did you really start ripping components off the board without testing it first?

Dude.

did you even look at the pictures of the main board?
The acid damage isn't bad compared to some pics I've seen but transistors are hanging on by one lead and the logic chips pins are bridged with corrosion and some of the some diode and resistors leads are corroded through also.

On the power-board one of the filter caps is busted so that needs replacing also.

I am not putting power to that mess.

[nitrogen_widget]

I have a way easier Berzerk rebuild that I need help on...
If there’s anyone in the SanFernando Valley that wants to come over and help me.
Free pizza and beer and satisfaction of rescuing this super clean original Berzerk I found... that someone installed Frenzy boards into.
I have a complete board set for Berzerk to install in its place, but would really be stoked to have both on s toggle switch!

Obviously I can also compensate with more than Pizza and beer... I just don’t have the experience working on these old machines, and I don’t wanna kill it as my first attempt... it’s so clean and complete!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

download the Berzerk manual and look through it as a start.
Does Frenzy work?

[nitrogen_widget]

I'm resurrecting my Berzerk Resurrection thread.
yeah, this went nowhere for a long time.
Mostly because i really didn't have a spot to work and had to many other things to do.

currently working on the power board.

just picked up an actual Williams crt monitor from someone with a converted berzerk cab.
it needs work as it only has a white horizontal line in the middle.
research says needs caps.

the very nice gentleman who sold it to me also found all the original paperwork that came with Berzerk so I have that now also.
manuals, schematics for boards and monitor, instruction cards, warranty card ect.
stuff i can find online but it's just cool to have the originals.

it was funny because i was traveling out of town over the weekend and happened to be looking up routes in google maps and it popped up on FB marketplace in a place sort of on the way out of my set range so i probably would of never seen it.

(they are watching!)

this will still take a while to work my way through the board repairs but i've collected some good links on past restores and will link those so credit is given.

[thehammer12]

I regret selling mine, it was 95% restored and original, and it was beautiful.

Keep us posted, would love to see how this goes.

[BR_Kazoo]

I'm resurrecting my Berzerk Resurrection thread.
yeah, this went nowhere for a long time.
Mostly because i really didn't have a spot to work and had to many other things to do.

currently working on the power board.

just picked up an actual Williams crt monitor from someone with a converted berzerk cab.
it needs work as it only has a white horizontal line in the middle.
research says needs caps.

the very nice gentleman who sold it to me also found all the original paperwork that came with Berzerk so I have that now also.
manuals, schematics for boards and monitor, instruction cards, warranty card ect.
stuff i can find online but it's just cool to have the originals.

it was funny because i was traveling out of town over the weekend and happened to be looking up routes in google maps and it popped up on FB marketplace in a place sort of on the way out of my set range so i probably would of never seen it.

(they are watching!)

this will still take a while to work my way through the board repairs but i've collected some good links on past restores and will link those so credit is given.

Well, did you get it working? It's been years :-)

[nitrogen_widget]

I'm resurrecting my Berzerk Resurrection thread.
yeah, this went nowhere for a long time.
Mostly because i really didn't have a spot to work and had to many other things to do.

currently working on the power board.

just picked up an actual Williams crt monitor from someone with a converted berzerk cab.
it needs work as it only has a white horizontal line in the middle.
research says needs caps.

the very nice gentleman who sold it to me also found all the original paperwork that came with Berzerk so I have that now also.
manuals, schematics for boards and monitor, instruction cards, warranty card ect.
stuff i can find online but it's just cool to have the originals.

it was funny because i was traveling out of town over the weekend and happened to be looking up routes in google maps and it popped up on FB marketplace in a place sort of on the way out of my set range so i probably would of never seen it.

(they are watching!)

this will still take a while to work my way through the board repairs but i've collected some good links on past restores and will link those so credit is given.

Well, did you get it working? It's been years :-)

no.
i did start cleaning the boards a few yrs ago though.
lol.

i have a back log of things i need to fix and no place to really fix them right now.
hoping to finish making the basement useful for electronic repair this winter.