I have many questions about my SORCERER pin

[ChadTower]

Easy way to check the speakers:  attach them to something else.  They're no different from other regular speakers.

[ChadTower]

I don't see anything that says the sound worked when the seller wiggled connectors.  I do see vintage wiggling connectors to no effect.

I agree about the connector percentage, though.  It also amazes me how infrequently people bother to swap out the header/connector combo when it is demonstrably failing.  Spend a half hour, change the set, rather than have to play with it constantly for the next two years.

[vintagegamer]

Didn't he say earlier that the sound worked when the seller wiggled the connectors?

Remember, vintage, 90% of problems with pinball machines are connector related.  It's almost always a loose or dirty connector.

Yep, you're right  PJ- the seller had told me he and his son would do that, and the sound would apparently work sometimes.  In the time I have had the machine tho (about 2 wks), I have never heard any sound other than the hum).

[vintagegamer]

Easy way to check the speakers:  attach them to something else.  They're no different from other regular speakers.

I will attempt this sometime this wknd if I can.

[ChadTower]

So, at least, you should re-pin that connector, probably replacing the ---smurfy--- IDC (I assume) connector with a better one.  If you are able, replace the header pins too.

That is very common.

[ChadTower]

Logic circuit connectors don't carry significant voltage (in terms of scale) and they are very commonly huge problems.  It certainly can't hurt any to do if he gets it right.  Sometimes they just corrode but that's probably not a cause here.

It could easily be a cracked solder joint, maybe even a pulled pad, if the seller really was wiggling those connectors with any frequently.  Check those first, those are both simple fixes.

[vintagegamer]

In layman's english, you guys are basically telling me the main CPU board has to come out, right?  Keep in mind this is my first pin..

[ChadTower]

No.  Not even close, bro.  Don't touch the main CPU!

Pull the sound board, inspect the backside of the header pins for those connectors.  If the pads don't look visibly damaged, reflow the solder on them.  Then plug back in and fire it up.  If you can solder should take 10 minutes which is almost all waiting for the iron to reach temperature.  If you can't solder now is the time to learn.  It's a necessary skill for owning a pin.

[ChadTower]

Ah, I wasn't going to point him there until we could rule out the simplest cause of a cracked solder joint on the header pins.  He's not ready to be putting an iron anywhere near the CPU board.

[ChadTower]

But they wouldn't get to the speakers if the circuit going to the speakers is open, yes?  Have we proven yet that it is generating anything?  All we have is the seller's word that "I used to wiggle these connectors to get sound" but we can't reproduce that.

[vintagegamer]

Many thanks PJ, but I'm in MD so that's a pretty long-@$$ drive

If I have to pull the board, is it worth considering one of those all-in-one boards?  After all, who's to say something else might go after I get this fixed?

As for the soldering, I'm actually pretty f*k'd off that I can't get it down right.  I had to learn to MIG weld to restore my Chevelle, and it's funny I can do that all day long, but soldering kicks my @$$..  Oh well, I have my share of gifts/talents already, so it's OK if there's 1 or 2 I suk at.

VINTAGEGAMER

[vintagegamer]

Well didn't I just pick the gem...   

[vintagegamer]

System9 machines will still generate music and sound effects without the daughter card.

Then going off of this detail, that points directly to a. speakers or b. broken solder joint I assume.  Waiting for this speech card to come in the mail is probably a wasted effort then I assume (aside from me dropping the one speech eprom into the bowels of hell).

[ChadTower]

There are very very few pins that do have an all in one replacement, all of them earlier SS games.  An all in one board for a System9 would be a downgrade.  There is a reason the boards are segregated as they are.

Soldering isn't hard once you get it.  I had a hell of a time figuring it out, then all of a sudden BAM I was good at it.  My problem was crappy equipment an inexperience.  I got a reasonable station and some solder that wasn't ancient and was fine from there.

[shardian]

reflowing is EASY and doesn't really require soldering skill. Just get the iron up to temp, set it on each pin until the solder melts, then release. TA DA! you can redo a whole board in minutes.

[vintagegamer]

I think that is precisely my issue, Chad.  I kept trying to use one of those lame solder guns with the bent tip on it..  Kept getting solder on the gun tip and kaput it was ruined.

Then my neighbor helped me fix something once, and HIS soldering iron looked more like an ice pik, and he put solder on the tip and blammo he did the trick w/it.  So, I think I might just need the right equipment.

VINTAGEGAMER

[ChadTower]

reflowing is EASY and doesn't really require soldering skill. Just get the iron up to temp, set it on each pin until the solder melts, then release. TA DA! you can redo a whole board in minutes.

When I was having trouble I couldn't do that.  Looking back I now know it was a crappy copper tip that got all filthy when it got hot, of course making it less hot, and not so effective at actually melting solder.  I'd sit there and be like WTF when I couldn't even tin the thing... it was an iron I was given by someone at work along with some solder and it turned out both the iron and the solder were crap but I didn't know enough to know it yet.

[shardian]

I think that is precisely my issue, Chad.  I kept trying to use one of those lame solder guns with the bent tip on it..  Kept getting solder on the gun tip and kaput it was ruined.

Then my neighbor helped me fix something once, and HIS soldering iron looked more like an ice pik, and he put solder on the tip and blammo he did the trick w/it.  So, I think I might just need the right equipment.

VINTAGEGAMER

Using a solder gun is like taking a sledge hammer to a finishing nail in this case. get yourself a decent soldering workstation. If you plan on working on pins, a really good soldering station with variable temp would be ideal. I use this and it works just fine and is also the first iron I've ever used without burning myself  :

[vintagegamer]

Thanks for the insight guys- Sharidan, I will see if the local HD has that unit.

I'm also updating my profile to read "solder impaired" 

[ChadTower]

Is that an Xacto knife style tip?

I got the station I use most off Freecycle.  Old two temp Weller station.  Heats fast, evenly, does a very good job.  For the most part, once you understand what you're doing, you can get the job done with a $10 pencil iron.  Learning is much tougher when your tool sucks, though.

[shardian]

Is that an Xacto knife style tip?

I got the station I use most off Freecycle.  Old two temp Weller station.  Heats fast, evenly, does a very good job.  For the most part, once you understand what you're doing, you can get the job done with a $10 pencil iron.  Learning is much tougher when your tool sucks, though.

Yep it is a heated xacto tip. For $26, that kit is a very good value. The soldering iron is two temp, with a "ready" indicator. All of the tips are included as shown in the pic. I ordered mine off of amazon:
Amazon Link

[ChadTower]

500 degrees is too cold for board work, and 900 is far too hot.  That's not a suitable soldering iron.

It's a good point... it doesn't list electronics in potential uses, none of the pics show it used that way, and the first review actually says not suitable for electronics.  Every other review is based on other tasks.

Probably not a good one for learning, but could be used by someone who has some experience.

[shardian]

500 degrees is too cold for board work, and 900 is far too hot.  That's not a suitable soldering iron.

It's a good point... it doesn't list electronics in potential uses, none of the pics show it used that way, and the first review actually says not suitable for electronics.  Every other review is based on other tasks.

Probably not a good one for learning, but could be used by someone who has some experience.

I think that 900 number is overrated. I only use it on electronics and it works great. 

[ChadTower]

I'd be afraid of it swinging those arms around screaming DANGER WILL ROBINSON.

[shardian]

I'd be afraid of it swinging those arms around screaming DANGER WILL ROBINSON.

That would kick ass! I could train it to help me hold and move things.

[vintagegamer]

I'd be afraid of it swinging those arms around screaming DANGER WILL ROBINSON.

LOL

[vintagegamer]

Pop out the CPU board, vintage, and take an up close photo of the back where those two connectors plug in.

Reflowing is very easy.  Hell you could hold a match under the solder points for a few seconds and probably do the job. 

500 degrees is too cold for board work, and 900 is far too hot.  That's not a suitable soldering iron.

PJ, you have me determined to do this this wknd..  I will get pics and forward for all the world to see.  That will rock if that's all that's causing the problem.  I really want to kick the caveman's @$$ who would do such damage to a poor defenseless pin..

[ChadTower]

I have a helping hands set sort of like that.  It's stupid.  Any board more than a couple inches square tips the thing over.  Real helpful.

[shardian]

I have a helping hands set sort of like that.  It's stupid.  Any board more than a couple inches square tips the thing over.  Real helpful.

The only thing I've ever really used helping hands for is to splice wires together.

[vintagegamer]

What is helping hands?

[shardian]

What is helping hands?

The positional arms with alligator clips on the end shown in my soldering iron pic.

[vintagegamer]

Will any of these be adequate for me?  I'm less than 1 mi away from Home Depot at my work.

Link to Home Depot

The "gun" one ($40) is the one I have always killed in the past.

[ChadTower]

The only one even close is the 40 watt pencil iron and that's still too hot.  Home depot is the wrong place.

Don't bother with the Cold Heat iron.  Says right on the box NOT FOR USE ON ELECTRONICS.  Plus it sucks.

[vintagegamer]

I was thinking of going after the pencil iron one, but I guess not.  You guys are determined to make me do mail order and wait longer 

[shardian]

My home depot only had the really, really crappy soldering Iron. Come to think of it, I went for amazon because of the fact nowhere had a decent iron. You can get a decent soldering station at Radio Shack, but you will pay about 1000% what it is worth. They have priced themselves right out of the market.

[vintagegamer]

Yeah they have some digital mo-bob that's like $70. 

Radio Shack Link

I'm not trying to fix HAL 9000, I just want to reheat some solder..  CAN'T A MAN JUST REHEAT SOME SOLDER AROUND HERE???  I'm starting to dig PJ's match technique.   

[ChadTower]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=29053.0

That's a good thread from when I was asking the same thing a couple years ago.

[vintagegamer]

Thanks Chad- just wishing for once I could walk into a STORE that had something, rather than have to point, click, order, get banged over the head on shipping, and sit and wait.  Kind of defeats the purposes of stores when we have so many out there, filled w/crap for the wrong applications.

Did anyone look at the Radio Shack one I posted above?  The one with the station for $70?  Would that be half decent?  I'd love to be able to pick something up on the way home- I have kids now, so if I go home, I'm not allowed back out 

[shardian]

That's the thing about Radio Shack, their self branded products aren't that great. If you are going to spend $70, might as well get your moneys worth.

[ChadTower]

Some are quite good but you have to know which ones.  The Radio Shack DMM I have is very good, has a serial interface for recording measurements over time on the PC.