My new find! Galaga lovers will be jealous

[unix4hire]

So my buddy asks me if I saw the $100 Galaga on CL.  Usually I notice things like that but somehow missed it (it's been 24 hours since the post).  Well what the hell, I email the guy anyway saying I'll take it as is (it's declared as non-working but formerly worked) and he says although he had 18 other emails he'll let me take it! sweet!

Its the most perfect galaga I have ever seen.  Kind of like a '57 chevy that sat in a garage for 20 years, only this game isn't even dusty!  Good art, good marquee, great bezel, just no CPO - easy fix! (Pic soon!)

It powers up for the most part so I can see the monitor is very crisp, I believe there is a rom error (it's not working to that level now that I moved the cabinet) and then it freezes with garbledly gook on the screen.  So, at least the monitor is good!

So I crack it open and find this board inside flopping around, listed on it is Galaga Filter P.C.  It wasn't connected to anything.  Anyone know what it's used for and maybe it needs to be in use for the machine to work?

[ptistheboss]

I would tell you but with a find like that you deserve to do some work.

J/K I don't know.

[Zebidee]

You mean EVERYONE will be jealous.  Galaga is a bit like chocolate - *almost* everyone either likes it or loves it

[mountain]

 

[Anubis_au]

Unix4hire, not jealous.

ps, you suck 

[bigh4th]

That is a board that opperators used to install in machines that were just about ready to die.  Think of it as life support.   Once they are unplugged, the traces on the boards short out and the game is no longer playable.

I'll give you $25 shipped to take your trouble off of your hands...

Seriously though, I have no idea what that board is (obviously), but I can tell you that I and my girlfriend are jealous.  She's addicted to Galaga like crack and since playing it on my cocktail, she wants one of her own for her house.

-Harry

p.s.

[brandon]

it went in between the mainboard and the wire harness.  AFAIK  the filter board was something they were required to use to cut back on RF interference..  AM, FM, UHF, VHF...  ya know, that stuff that's not used anymore   In other words, you dont need it.  I've fixed quite a few machines just by removing them..

[SavannahLion]

it went in between the mainboard and the wire harness.  AFAIK  the filter board was something they were required to use to cut back on RF interference..  AM, FM, UHF, VHF...  ya know, that stuff that's not used anymore   In other words, you dont need it.  I've fixed quite a few machines just by removing them..

How's your WiFi connection? 

[ChadTower]

Or your cordless phone?

[unix4hire]

I think that board is something extra and not required, it looks to sit between the harness connector and the board.  I will try it out and see if the game works but I doubt it will fix the game problems.  Anyone recommend a galaga repair expert?

Here's some pics 

[Cakemeister]

Anyone recommend a galaga repair expert?

There is such a person as a "galaga repair expert". They sell their services on Ebay. Try repairing your board first. I am no expert, but I think you have a bad RAM.

ArcadeShop Galaga page

[Zebidee]

Very, very sweet looking Galaga cab.

That's a real collector's item!  Hang onto it and treat it well

[unix4hire]

Thanks, all!  Just an update on this "project"..

I received a new CPO from an ebay seller and put it on - beautiful!  The machine originally had some plexi over the CP.  It is decent and has the word FUNK scratched in it and a few small cracks here and there.  I'm wondering, would anyone re-use this over the CP or just toss it?  I figure it would make the CP retain its quality longer, but at the expense of some scratches and such.  Just curious on what others would do.

Secondly, when it boots up it never seems to boot exactly the same screen, but this time it said ROM 1L which looks like a bad video ram according to some web sites I've read.  I'm wondering if anyone has a m58725p chip available to sell me?  if not I can buy from Bob Roberts ($5 for the chip, another $7 for s/h, sucks but oh well).  I hope that's the only problem.

One thing interesting, when it is booted up sometimes I can see the stars moving and such, but they are going UP instead of DOWN, and all the characters (letters, numbers, etc) that show up on the screen in weird places are upside down.  Don't know yet if that's because of the RAM problem or maybe something is plugged in backwards/upside down.

Finally, when testing the voltage across the capacitor on the game board (another recommendation per web sites) it says 4.45V.  The site doesn't say if that's adequate or not, it just says to test it there.  I'm thinking it should be closer to 5V but maybe it doesnt' matter?  At any rate, it also doesn't say how to adjust the voltage using the old non-switching PS.. can it be done or should I focus on replacing it with a switching PS?  Or is 4.45V adequate?

have a great day.

[Level42]

That plexi  is not original, toss it !

With home use you're not going to get the CPO damaged or worn, unless you're really abusing it...or if the CPO is bad quality (why e-bay, was it NOS ?)

I believe the M58725P is equivalent to a 6116, these are only $1,75 at www.arcadechips.com:
http://www.arcadechips.com/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=6116&pfrom=&pto=&categories_id=&x=0&y=0

The starfield is generated completely "on it's own" (at least on a Galaxian, and I have no reason to believe it's different on a Galaga). Has nothing to do with CPU,RAM,ROM etc.

I think the 4,45 V should be enough. Did you measure at a known test-point (one that indicates +5v) ?
I don't think it's adjustable, not sure...
I'd try to keep the old PSU running. It's original and whichever way you think of it, a conventional power supply lasts longer than a switcher.

Did you re-seat all the ROMs (and other IC's on sockets ?) did you check the sockets ? Do they look good ? When the chips are socketed, measure each pin of the IC to the corresponding solder point on the other side of the PCB. SHould read 0 Ohms (about).

[unix4hire]

Thanks for the reply... the CPO was NOS so it's good quality.  I will save the plexi for future use and go with your recommendation.  i also ordered some new buttons from GGG (couldn't find leafs, but after reading other post on modifying micros I think I'll try it out).

Will re-seat all RAM chips to see how they perform.  I'll also try using an eraser on all the posts to see if that helps, although 1L didnt' look dirty at all.

I tested the voltage across the capacitor on the game board, per http://www.arcadeshop.com/galaga/galaga.htm so maybe the 4.45V is adequate.  It will be very hard or impssible to measure each pin to the corresponding side of the PCB because it's two boards sandwiched together (1" between them, solder points on the inside) so I probably won't do that test.

I'll definitely check out that 6116 chip.. hope it's the same!  That would rock ---Erich

[Zebidee]

Keep the plexi, even if you don't use it - you can take it the original plexi down to a glass-cutting place and get it replaced very cheaply - wouldn't cost you very much at all.

You may need to drill your own holes in the plexi for joystick & buttons - just make sure that you use the correct size drill bits and take it slowly, because plexi cracks easily.

[unix4hire]

update:

reseated the single Rom 1L chip that was reporting bad, game actually came all the way up!  But after 20 seconds it started flaking out.  Will attempt to reseat (and clean perhaps) all other easily removable IC's.

Sometimes when machine powers on I have a white screen and a quiet "beeping" sound for 10-20 seconds, then machine starts to POST.  Interesting...

[Pac-Fan]

Common galaga problems:

1) Voltage: Must be between 4.8 and 5.2 volts across the entire two layer board.  Usually drops .15 to .20 between the connector and the furthest chips on the second board. Measure at multiple points and adjust accordingly. May need new interconnect cables or cleaned edge connector, or in some cases extra power strap between 1st and second board. Installing a switcher often helps stablize power as well

2) Bad contacts on the proms, custom chips into cheap sockets. Gently press all in or at most lift slightly and reseat. Dont totally remove and reseat as if they're tarnished you'll likely break legs and be worse off.

3) Broken wafer board resistor packs. These break easily, (more so with bad packing and shipping of the boards alone) and can give many weird issues like graphics glitches and resets. Check resistance of all pins or press lightly against all while on to see if any are broken.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Broken wafer board resistor packs

 

What exactly does the wafer board look like?

[unix4hire]

They have a pic of one on this site:

http://www.arcadeshop.com/galaga/galaga.htm

It's about midway down under an area that talks about "weird resistor packs"

**UPDATE** I couldn't get it to stop rebooting so I sent to board to Pete H who helped me w/ my Pacman PCB.  I'm sure he'll figure out what's up with it and I'll be playing it next week!