Pac-Man and DK Jr. Restorations

[Ess2s2]

Hey everyone, I have just undertaken a  first project. My employer has several cabinets that he bought for very, very cheap, he has a Pac Man cab, a DK Jr cab, and a Qix cab. All three of them are in varying states of terrible condition. All three had been left inside a barn, and were infested with rats and mice,  some wires have been nibbled on, a bunch of rodent droppings are in the bottom of the cabs, and some parts are in various states of corrosion.

Now for the good news.

The power supplies are intact and the machines power up without any drama. The Pac-man cab powers up,  and the monitor comes on, but I think the board is shot, I have visually inspected the board and can see some light scorching on the contacts of two diodes and on IC.

The DK Jr. cab powers up, and the game sounds intact, the controls seem to work because when you insert a coin, the game reacts accordingly and you can hear music and game sound effects when you move the joystick, but the monitor merely acts like the V+H-holds are off, any tweaking of the pots on the monitor yeild little results. As game screens change, the pattern of colors on the monitor also changes.

I have not even messed with the Qix cabinet yet.

I did a search on restoration projects and classic cabs on this forum and couldn't find anything after a quick search. Any comments, suggestions, tips, nasty remarks, or dirty jokes are welcomed.

[Ess2s2]

Wow, thanks for the help everyone, nice to know this site is filled with people who are willing to help newbies.

[2PacMan]

You won't get any help with that type of attitude.

First of all, you asked no specific questions whatsoever.  What do you want to know?  There's TONS of info on cab restoration, if that's all you're looking for, do a search...go on google...tons of people have restored cabs.  If there is a specific issue with your cab (a specific question), then we'd help you out.  Be as detailed as possible and pics always help. 

[Sizzler]

Any comments, suggestions, tips, nasty remarks, or dirty jokes are welcomed.

disproportionate

[CheffoJeffo]

Wow, thanks for the help everyone, nice to know this site is filled with people who are willing to help newbies.

Second day in a row with a newb ranting about how nobody is helping them ... is it something in the water ?   

Sorry, I missed your first post because I would have expected to see it in Arcade Miscellaneous ...

You couldn't have looked too hard as there are a truckload of links in the Wiki and even if you read 24 hours a day, you would still be reading them now.

It sounds to me like the monitor on the DK Jr needs to be capped (replace the electrolytic capacitors). You'll need to find out what kind of monitor it is (I expect it to be a Sanyo EZ20), then order a capkit for it (if it is an EZ-20, I recommend getting the audio board capkit as well).

Capkits can be ordered from a number of vendors like Bob Roberts or ArcadeShop. See the Vendors Listing in the Wiki.

Get copies of the manuals for the games in question -- ArcArc (see the Restoration links in the Wiki) has them.

You may also want to read up on RGVAC:

http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.games.video.arcade.collecting

Find a copy of Atari's The Book or check Randy Fromm's Arcade School out.

Get a multimeter and start testing voltages -- you may or may not have power issues, but if you have power issues, they need to be sorted out first.

Keep asking questions, but remember that folks have jobs, families and projects of their own that they may choose over answering the questions of a petulant newb who, by his own admission, only did a quick search.

Next time you feel ignored try a polite bump instead of sarcasm.

Cheers.

[arcadefever]

Wow, thanks for the help everyone, nice to know this site is filled with people who are willing to help newbies.

  

very bad Judgment...

[leapinlew]

Second day in a row with a newb ranting about how nobody is helping them ... is it something in the water ?   

No doubt...

Perhaps arcade gaming is hitting the mainstream. Seems that more and more people starting to jump on the arcade building band wagon.

So let me see if I understand this. This guy posts a message and didn't get an answer to his generic questions and he threw a little tantrum. A quiz should be asked before you can post. Something like...

What is the best joystick?
Where can you get roms?
etc.

[Ess2s2]

I'm sorry if it seemed I got an attitude, but with almost a hundred reads and no replies, what would you think?

I have been doing google search after google search and I have found some good resources. I have located some schematics and wiring diagrams, I have been farming info from quite a few different sites and I know I have not scratched the surface.

The picture problem is twofold, my employer doesn't like cameras at his job, and I have a slow connection, so I'll upload pics if I can, but right now, I'm just trying to get some one-on-one time with the cab.

It's interesting how on most forums, most people seem to think that newb = idiot. It seems this forum is quick to judge new users, the fact is that more than one newb wondering why his post isn't getting answered seems to point to a problem with the other users on the site.

All that garbage aside however, I do appreciate the help you have given me, and I will continue to work on this project and keep abreast anyone who is interested. I will also work on being more patient in the future.

As for the Pac Man cab, I noticed that someone has worked on the PCB as recently as 2001. It looks as though it may have gotten a new Z80 and some memory.  I'm trying to get a hold of a multimeter so I can check the wire paths and the board, in that order. I really need to take it out and tear it completely down and clean it though, as I found a dead rodent in the marquee next to the speaker. Not pretty.

On the DK cab, it is clear the thing has also been professionally refurbished. many of the wire paths look brand new and the old 15 watt light bulbs in the marquee have been replaced by a flourecent light. The speaker also looks to be new, and the PCB looks to have been worked on. Unfortunately it too was subject to a rat attack, and I had to do a quick splice on a power wire to get it to boot up.

My priority is with the Pac Man cabinet though, even if the DK cab only needs a small amount of work.

[NightGod]

It's not that people here don't want to help newbs (or anyone, for that matter), it's that you really didn't ask anything specific. I doubt anyone is going to take the time to write up a ten page detail cab restoration process for you, you just need to do exactly what the rest of us have done and dive into the reading (I spent almost three days reading here before I even posted, and I'm a fast reader) and then, if you have a specific question, feel free to ask.

How do I restore a Pac Man cab? = likely ignored

Where do I get service manuals to restore my Pac Man cab? = likely answered quickly

What's a good way to repair mouse holes in an arcade cab (see pics below)? = Will be flooded by Drew with 20 pages of woodworking tips

[Ess2s2]

I see.

I'm pretty good with electronics, used to work with multilayer circuitboards in the Navy, should I send the PCB in the PacMan cab out to get fixed/replaced, or should I try to do it myself? Are PCB components difficult to come by? I'm sure there are ROMS that must be programmed, if so, are there vendors that will program a flash ROM?

[leapinlew]

I see.

I'm pretty good with electronics, used to work with multilayer circuitboards in the Navy, should I send the PCB in the PacMan cab out to get fixed/replaced, or should I try to do it myself? Are PCB components difficult to come by? I'm sure there are ROMS that must be programmed, if so, are there vendors that will program a flash ROM?

Navy guy? Salute! Welcome and thanks for protecting our country!

I would think with all that hurry up and wait you guys do, you'd have more patience! As for your question, I have no idea. I just wanted to say welcome!

[RetroACTIVE]

I see.

I'm pretty good with electronics, used to work with multilayer circuitboards in the Navy, should I send the PCB in the PacMan cab out to get fixed/replaced, or should I try to do it myself? Are PCB components difficult to come by? I'm sure there are ROMS that must be programmed, if so, are there vendors that will program a flash ROM?

The first thing you can do... before you send it out for repair...

1. Brush off dust and grime..

2. Check all connectors (board to board and edge)... make sure they are clean...

3. Check all socketed ics.  My first galaga board did not come up at all... I popped out all socketed ics, cleaned them and replaced the sockets and it worked just fine after that!

4. Check your power supply voltage(s)... I'm not sure about pac man but usually at a minimum your 5v rail should be within 2%.  Many different boards have different tolerances and for some 2% is too far off.

5. Replace your RAM if neccessary... Usually RAM failures are pretty well documented... poke around you may find some trouble shooting tips here and there... I've had luck at MikesArcade.com and ArcadeShop.com

You can still find many components...I use jameco.com for ls logic and stuff.  For some boards there are custom ics that can be difficult to find.   Check ebay for auctions of PCBs of the same type you have... pick up a couple (even if they are not 100% functional) for those hard to find spare parts...

Hope this helps.

[CheffoJeffo]

Don't forget the Pac Man troubleshooting guide:

http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/pac_man/Pac-Man_guide_v1.0.pdf

Definitely follow RA's advice.

Be careful removing/cleaning/replacing chips -- the legs can be rather brittle.

Cheers.

[Ess2s2]

Hey thanks guys, sorry for being such a twit. Tomorrow I'm going to get some pictures of the cabinet and PCB and will hopefully have them posted sooner rather than later. I need to reserve some time to get the schematics and wiring diagrams DL'ed and get my MM out of storage.

I'll have some updates for you hopefully tomorrow.

[Q*Bert_OP]

As far as the game roms, I can program new EPROMS for you!

[Ess2s2]

Here's piccys of the PCB board, the open back of the cab, and the power block. I have the sneaking feeling I'm going to be buying some transformers.

[CheffoJeffo]

I have the sneaking feeling I'm going to be buying some transformers.

I've seen worse ... actually I think I have worse in one of my cabinets ...

I found another Pac-Man troubleshooting resource tonight (and added to the Wiki) -- Pac-Man Troubleshooting By Picture:

http://www.arcadegameover.com/pactrouble.html

Are you getting anything on the monitor at all ?

Cheers.

[Ess2s2]

Well, on power-up, the monitor definitely comes on, there is the trademark high pitched, nearly inaudible whine of a CRT, and upon very close inspection, you can see the guns firing off. The screen is lit, but totally blank. If I had to guess (which is more often than not dangerous), I would have to say either the board isn't getting any juice, or an integral component on the board is bad. I'm hoping for the former.

I have checked all the fuses on the power block and they are all visibly good. My boss bought me a new MM (yes!) and I have verified continuity from the plug to the first transformer. The power cord needs to be respliced, so tomorrow, I am going out to get some heatshrink sleeves.

[RetroACTIVE]

I like the bungee interlock override!

It actually looks ok... not too dirty...  Definitely check your connections and voltage levels before anything else...

Hard to tell if it is monitor, game-pcb or both issue(s) just yet.  You want to post monitor questions in "Monitor / Video Forum".  Ken Layton is the guru on the subject.   He is an unbelieveable resource...he knows all the quirks and history of every monitor out there!  Before you ask a question, make sure you get all of the information off of your monitor chassis...Model/Make/Tube.

[shardian]

You should start new threads for each problem you have in the appropriate forums. Take a stroll thru all the forums here and you will notics that you see different people in different forums. Sometimes, the person with your answer will never see your question in this forum. I know I only check when I am either really bored, or have run out of new posts to read in the other forums.

[SirPeale]

Just remember if you're measuring voltage on the power transfomer you measure for AC voltage, not DC.

[Ess2s2]

"...used to work with multilayer circuitboards in the Navy..."

I still remember the advanced Trig we had to learn just so we could map out and troubleshoot a circuit on paper. The funny thing was, after the year and a half of intense training on everything from basic electrical theory to full-on mathematical troubleshooting ("Before you ever touch that circuitboard, you had better know G******* well what's f***ed up!"), when we actually started working on gear that mattered, we had machines that would do almost all the troubleshooting for us.

Most people have no idea how a transformer works. It actually works through the principal of Electromagnetic Inductance, the same principal that causes a hum in your speakers if you place the signal wires too close to the power wires in your home theater. When a wire is charged with electricity, it creates a magnetic field. If an uncharged wire is placed alongside the hot wire, it will pick up a residual charge due to the magnetic field causing electrons in the dead wire to move...the basis for electricity. Transformers do this on a controlled scale, using wire wrappings and metal plates in order to carefully step-up or step-down the incoming voltage, at a cost of amperes.

But thanks for the tip anyway Peale.