Donkey Kong restore?

[The EH Man]

Hello!  This is my first post and my first project.  I picked up a Donkey Kong game for free this week and would like some guidance on how to go about restoring it.

Here's some pics of the unit as it is.








It powers up but the screen freezes right after DK drops his 1st barrel.  Additionally, the screen has some lighter bars across it and has a droop on the left side.  The sides have several bolts from the monitor brackets.
It appears to be complete except for the back panel and some odd bits.
Am I OK with a restore or should I MAME it?

[JeepMonkey]

Great find.  A complete DK for free, I am jealous.

This is a great candidate for a restore!

There are several DK threads here in the restoration section, as well as mame conversions in project announcements.  This would be a great place to start.

Keep us informed of your progress.

[Mauzy]

Thats a pretty good candidate for a restore. How strong are your electronic skills like soldering and using a multimeter? The monitor looks to need a capacitor kit installed, which isn't a big deal but can be a scary venture for the first time.

Check out this thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76567.0

Make sure you do your research before starting that part of the project.

I can't help with the board freezing, but considering how common DK boards are, someone on here will know.

The sides and front will need to be cleaned (make sure sticker goo is gone...) and holes can be patched with bondo or wood filler. Sand, paint, and find some side art and it will look good as new!

Welcome to BYOAC!

[The EH Man]

Is it better to start with the cabinet or should I make sure the electronics are in good working order first?

I do have an electronics degree although this is a bit different from what I normally do.

[Mauzy]

Id start with the electronics, though I would probably play it too much while I should be working on the cabinet. That happened with my Neo Geo cab...

If your degree includes a basic knowledge of circuitry and the way electrical components work, you should have a decent start. I started this hobby knowing nothing of electronics and I got the hang of the repairs pretty quick.

[Level42]

Even though I never follow this rule: do the outside completely first. Once you get it playable, the restoration process stalls

Man, getting something like that for free is totally impossible here. A cab in that condition would easily get €400.- here.

[Wade]

Is it better to start with the cabinet or should I make sure the electronics are in good working order first?

I do have an electronics degree although this is a bit different from what I normally do.

I don't think this is the norm, but I usually clean and restore a game cosmetically first, then fix the electronics last.  I'm just not motivated to work inside a dirty and smelly game and get my hands dirty every time I touch a part.  Once the game looks really nice though, it's much easier to find the drive to fix the electronics and get it playing 100%.

Wade

[BUCKETHEAD]

Great pickup!  And for free!  wow!

Here's what i did with my DK.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79183.0

I went MAME, But i had nothing but a empty POPEYE cab.

Maybe some of my techniques may help you?

Happy Restore!     

[CheeseSndwch]

I'd love to hear the story about how you scored such an awesome cab for free...craigslist? family friend? dumpster? Details man, we need details.

[The EH Man]

I'd love to hear the story about how you scored such an awesome cab for free...craigslist? family friend? dumpster? Details man, we need details.

It was through a listing on BBINFreecycle, which is a list of things people are giving away in your area.  I believe there are lists for different areas of the country.  I sometimes post on there with extra packing materials I've accumulated at work.
Anyway, the guy posts that he has the DK and wants to get rid of it so I drop him an email and lucky me!  I'm the first responder.  He said he had 18 emails for it.  It came from a fraternity here at IU that was going to throw it away but he thought he'd take it home and fix it up.  Never found time, needed room in his garage, etc...  Now it's mine.  Just ordered the recap kit today.
Any ideas why it's freezing up like that?  The screenshot shows it in the frozen state.  It always stops in the same place.

[Level42]

That could be a RAM or a ROM problem. Apparently it "gets" to a point in the program that makes it crash. Might be corrupted data in the ROM or RAM. Can you get it into test mode ?

[The EH Man]

That could be a RAM or a ROM problem. Apparently it "gets" to a point in the program that makes it crash. Might be corrupted data in the ROM or RAM. Can you get it into test mode ?

How do I put it in Test Mode?

[Level42]

There should be a "Service switch" inside the coindoor. Not sure how it works on DK, but on Mario Bros you simply push and hold the button a few seconds and it switches to test-mode.

[WunderCade]

First things first on your 25 year old PCB - remove, clean, and reseat the proms. If that don't work and you get too flummoxed over the ram - rom stuff. Mike's Arcade has a nice exchange service, where you can exchange your non-working 2-board pcb with a working one.

As for the Sanyo monitor "drooping" and bars...a cap kit should fix that up nicely. Here's an online tutorial of how to install a cap kit on that exact monitor.

Your new addiction will ensue shortly.

[The EH Man]

First things first on your 25 year old PCB - remove, clean, and reseat the proms. If that don't work and you get too flummoxed over the ram - rom stuff. Mike's Arcade has a nice exchange service, where you can exchange your non-working 2-board pcb with a working one.

As for the Sanyo monitor "drooping" and bars...a cap kit should fix that up nicely. Here's an online tutorial of how to install a cap kit on that exact monitor.

Your new addiction will ensue shortly.

I'll reseat the proms and clean the connectors this week to see if that helps any.  I did a recap of the monitor board Friday and it does look a lot better: no light bars and better colors.  It still has the left hand droop in the display, though.

[The EH Man]

Also, what have other restorers done for the light in the marquee?  The bulb in mine is bad but I can't find an FL10 bulb locally.  Should I just replace the entire light assembly and attach it to the 125V rather than the 100v?

[Q*Bert_OP]

I think low +5v is causing the game to freeze...

[Level42]

Also, what have other restorers done for the light in the marquee?  The bulb in mine is bad but I can't find an FL10 bulb locally.  Should I just replace the entire light assembly and attach it to the 125V rather than the 100v?

Yes I did it that way. Cheapest solution and better (more even) light because of the wider tube I chose. I chose a warm-light tube. Looks really nice.

[hatrick]

Also, what have other restorers done for the light in the marquee?  The bulb in mine is bad but I can't find an FL10 bulb locally.  Should I just replace the entire light assembly and attach it to the 125V rather than the 100v?

I went with a $6.99 under cabinet light from Walmart. I just cut off the plug end and wired it right into the 120v distro block before the transformer on the DK power supply. The marquee lights up perfect.

[The EH Man]

There should be a "Service switch" inside the coindoor. Not sure how it works on DK, but on Mario Bros you simply push and hold the button a few seconds and it switches to test-mode.

Gave that a try but it wouldn't go into test-mode.
I did replace the light fixture with a new 120v fixture and wired it directly into the wiring block.  That looks great!

[Level42]

There should be a "Service switch" inside the coindoor. Not sure how it works on DK, but on Mario Bros you simply push and hold the button a few seconds and it switches to test-mode.

Gave that a try but it wouldn't go into test-mode.
I did replace the light fixture with a new 120v fixture and wired it directly into the wiring block.  That looks great!

Yeah, I figure DK(jr.) don't have test-modes ? I recently tried my DKjr. bootleg board and when I pressed the testswitch it just credited the game....

[The EH Man]

I did remove the boards today and reseated the ICs on both boards.  Now, the left-hand droop is gone    but the freezing is still there.  Jumpman shows on the screen, then falls through the bottom girder till only his head shows.  The rest of his body is at the top of the screen in the 1UP.
I'll be checking voltages tomorrow.

[The EH Man]

I think low +5v is causing the game to freeze...

I wish that was the case.  All the voltages check out so I guess I'll need to do a board exchange w/ Mike's Arcade.  OUCH!!

[Wade]

I think low +5v is causing the game to freeze...

I wish that was the case.  All the voltages check out so I guess I'll need to do a board exchange w/ Mike's Arcade.  OUCH!!

Shop around.  I sold a 100% working DK boardset on ebay a while back and only got $35.  That wasn't even an exchange!

Wade

[The EH Man]

I can't believe I got this 4 yrs ago and still haven't got it working.   I think I'm going to contact Mike's Arcade and see about a board exchange.  

If I get new side art, what should I do about the bolt heads on the sides?

[05SRT4]

lol I just looked at the start date.
How does the joystick and buttons feel?

[The EH Man]

lol I just looked at the start date.
How does the joystick and buttons feel?

I think the  buttons are OK but the joystick is pretty loose.

[The EH Man]

Well, I installed my new PCBs and fired it up.................nothing .  All I get is a hum and a blue screen.  Any suggestions?

[alfonzotan]

Well, I installed my new PCBs and fired it up.................nothing .  All I get is a hum and a blue screen.  Any suggestions?

Likely suspect is the power supply.  First thing to check is usually the 5v tap on the PCB (you'll have to pull the DK manual or ask somebody familiar with the board on where exactly that is).  If it's too high or too low, the board won't boot.

[The EH Man]

Likely suspect is the power supply.  First thing to check is usually the 5v tap on the PCB (you'll have to pull the DK manual or ask somebody familiar with the board on where exactly that is).  If it's too high or too low, the board won't boot.

I pulled the power supply and hooked it up to a Variac for 100vac.  All voltages checked out.  Reinstalled the power supply, turned it on, and IT WORKS!

Now I need to rebuild the joystick.  It's pretty crappy feeling.

[The EH Man]

Joystick is rebuilt and it plays fine now.  

Looks like I'm going to have to do a little cab work.
 
The right side is coming off as some of the screw holes are stripped.  Time to fill and drill!

[boardjunkie]

So essentially what you did was reseat the connectors on the PSU. As with anything this old, first thing you do is clean/reseat *anything* that is socketed.

Check your 5v, -5v and 12v *at the board*. If you check at a connector you don't know what the V is after that. Best way is to check voltage at chip pins.

http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Nintendo/Donkey_Kong_Schematics_(TKG-4).pdf

Keep in mind these boards were not intended to last 30 years, so the quality of chip sockets is not always that great. I would replace quite alot of them when I was repairing boards for the collectors years ago.

[astroone]

Congrats on getting the Donkey Kong Working 

[GameKing]

very cool... Where I live it's much harder to find arcade machines, so I have built my own DK

[The EH Man]

I'm in the process of putting the whole thing back together but I found an odd piece of wood loose in the bottom and I have no idea where it goes.  It's about 19-5/8" long x 1-13/16" wide x 3/8" thick.  It's painted completely black and has 4 staples through it.
Also, I need to make a back panel but I can't find any pics.  Does anyone have a pic handy?