Asteroids Lives Again !

[CheffoJeffo]

No grand or enlightening story to tell -- my Asteroids began throwing RAM errors several months ago.

I went through the normal routine. Cleaned the connectors and contacts. No difference. Checked the voltages, swapped in a different Big Blue. No difference. Rebuilt the AR board. No difference. Swapped in a known good AR board. No difference.

Damn -- I'd run out of stuff to so with what I have lying around.

A few (several?) months went by before finally got around to ordering some RAM and sockets (along with some other bits and bobs that I was missing for other cabs -- thanks MikesArcade!).

I had a hell of a time desoldering the RAM at P4 (guess where the error codes indicated was the problem) and, once I finally got it off, found that either the last guy to replace the RAM there (who couldn't be bothered to put in sockets) or yours truly had gouged the crap out of the parts-side traces. I replaced the RAMs (and put in sockets) at M4,N4,P4,Q4.

Put the board back in. RAM errors at M4 and R4. Crap -- guess I need to check those traces at P4.

I found a total of four broken traces between P4, N4 and R4. Stopped by the electronics store yesterday to pick up some wire-wrap wire. Fixed the four traces.

Put the board back in. Instead of the normal "bump ... bump ... BOMP" of the RAM test, I got an incessant high pitched beeping. Super-Crap -- what the hell is going on now ?

Sat back down with the board, the multimeter and a pint of Guiness and resigned myself to checking all traces on the board, starting in the area around P4.

Turns out I had missed a broken trace from P4 on the solder side. Fixed the trace.

Put the board back in and got the cross-hatch and DIP settings (it had been so long since I had seen it that I almost thought it was an error code!).

And now she's back in the land of the living.

Time to order up a replacement coin door insert, repro cardboard bezel and a high-score kit.

[cw]

Great job....way to stick with it... 


                                             

[Level42]

Please don't tell me you tried to get that old IC out in one piece.....

The way to go when replacing an IC is cutting all it's legs, remove the body, and then get out all the pins by desoldering them.....

Great you got it back to working though, did I mention Asteroids (Deluxe) is on the top of my wanted list ?

[CheffoJeffo]

That's funny -- P4 was the one that I did cut out (and, FWIW, the gouges were under the chip, so I suspect they were the result of prior repair). The others came out in one piece without a problem (took a little patience with the soldapult, though).

I totally dig that game -- I am terrible at it (I'm bad at pretty much every game that I like), but love to step in, play a quick game and then carry on with whatever I was doing.