Together we can fix my Chase H.Q! (cannot turn left)

[djuret]

I'm going to build a MAME-machine sometime in the near future. But until then I got my hands on an almost working Chase H.Q. Everything works except I cannot turn left.

Since I'm a complete newb when it comes to arcades, I'm not sure what I can do in order to try and fix it.
I assume all the parts are original, however I'm not sure.

Any ideas on what I can do in order to try and repair this myself?
Where do I start?

[rusolinio]

Is there a test switch for the cab? I assume you could try and calibrate the wheel again through the test menu?

Do you know what type of steering wheel it is? (potentiometer, optical etc..)

Ive only had experience with potentiometer types, but theyre easy enough to fix if they go wrong and experience issue such as yours. Just replace the control pot with a new one, and that it really.

[djuret]

I did some searching and found that there is a "service button" behind the coinmech / coindoor on the cabinet.
however pressing it just adds credits =/

I'm gonna see if i can understand what screws I need to loosen in order to access the mechanics of the wheel.
Some screws don't seem to do anything "they just rotate and aren't attached to anything"

Has anyone "opened up" a chase HQ cabinet and can give some pointers?

[djuret]

I assume the control panel opens up towards the player (where the origin of the rotation is the piano-hinge (magenta)).
The screws (marked with red in the image) wont come off =/ they just rotate.

I haven't touched the torx screwes (marked with green in the image) since I'm quite posivite they are used in order to hold the wheel In place.

Any ideas on how I should crack this thing up =)

[djuret]

The door on the back of the cabinet is locked, and I don't have the key. (It's apparently long gone).
Do I need to 'open up' this door in order to access the inside of the controlpanel?

Anyone help is greatly appreciated

[rusolinio]

looks like it drops down towards you (exactly like my ridge racer cab). Undo the bolts on the top and use your body to prop up the wheel when you have the bolts undone. It will simply swing down, allowing you to gain access to the steering wheel controls.

It looks like you wont need access to the back, as the steering wheel controls will be well exposed once you swing it open.

[djuret]

Thanks for the much needed info!

I have some difficulties in loosening the bolts. The heads of the bolts are terribly worn (can't get a good grip). Anyhow, the bolts seem to go through an L bracket, theese bolts are then fastened with a screw-nut. This nut however is just rotating together with the bolt. I have to somehow "hold on" to the nut as i unscrew the bolt in order to get access to the inside of the controlpanel.

I can reach the nuts on the left side of the cabinet through the coin-door. Not the right-side nuts though =/

Attached are some images to easier explain the construction.

[Kevin Mullins]

Dude .... that's just a flip latch. 
Reach under there and pry outward/up on it a little bit.
 

[Level42]

Yup, looks like the UK built Electrocoin version to me. I have no experience with their Chase HQ, but I had a Double Axle which is in a very similar cab. IIRC it had latches, reach through the coin-door and simply open the latches.

Locks can be easily drilled out. My solution for stuck bolts is cutting a slit with a Dremel and then use a simple screwdriver to open it. Do watch out for any artwork around it though ! And yes, you'll need to replace the bolt, but it was worthless anyway...

[djuret]

aH1 

I didn't see the latch =). I managed to reach both latches and access the control panel!
behold what I found inside the cabinet at the back =)

[djuret]

I'm gonna scan this manual and post it on the forum in glorious PDF.

My heart almost stopped for a while...
As I closed the coin-door after pressing the service button (in order to get a credit). the machine said POOOF and a high-pitch sound echoed through my bones. I pulled the power-cabel, fearing the worst...

I did a search in order to see what caused this poof. And found the reason!
Look at these cables.

Luckily I had some "sockerbitar" (don't know the English word for it, define: plastic  thing with a screw which is used to attach two cables to each other) and this little operation seemed to do the trick. The cabinet is up and running again... can't steer to the left though.

I can now see that the steering-wheel is optical. I'm not quite sure if everything is in order...The small plastic disc kind of wobbles as it's turning... could this be the cause of the problem? (I'll post a video soon so you can see how it rotates)

[Kevin Mullins]

Looks like there is a steering test mode ..... activated by the dipswitches.

Cool find on the manual.... different cover from this one which looks like it's just a basic manual:
Taito Chase HQ

[u_rebelscum]

I'm gonna scan this manual and post it on the forum in glorious PDF....

I can now see that the steering-wheel is optical. I'm not quite sure if everything is in order...The small plastic disc kind of wobbles as it's turning... could this be the cause of the problem? (I'll post a video soon so you can see how it rotates)

Ah-ha!  If it's optical, one of the two sensors can be bad/shorted/disconnected.  If the board does 1x reading (vs 2x or 4x), a bad sensor will make it go only one way.

Could you post pictures, and number of teeth and gears, if any?  This would be great info for the wiki.  The the manual would be great for documenting the game too.  Thanks!

[u_rebelscum]

Okay, looking at the manual Kevin linked to, there's a few interesting items.

A. Looks like the biggest gear ("first gear") might be 80 teeth, and the next biggest gear ("third gear") might be 36 teeth, according to parts list.  The small gears aren't numbered in the parts list though.

B. There is a third optical sensor, just for centering.  Very much like 720 (skate or die).  This makes at least two arcade games with a optical "center" sensors.

C. The manual is specific to the upright cab.  Not only are the diagrams of the upright, but the dipswitch page says that the first two dipswitch must be closed, which is what mame labels as "Upright, steering lock".

D. Mame uses paddle (pot based, limited turn) input type.  And either mame isn't emulating the centering sensor, or that is being bypassed as not needed to be emulated because the chip being bypassed converts into a normal, pot like, data.


djuret, is your manual the same as the one Kevin linked?  If not, I'd like to see the differences.  (What I really want is to see the cockpit manual, and see the differences.)

[djuret]

Hmm... I believe the steering is working now  . I feel I want the steering to be a bit more sensitive.
I read my manual and changed the 3:rd switch on dipswitch A in order to test all the controls. These are the values I got when turning the wheel:

Left Steering: FFB7
Right Steering: 66

Here's a video of the rotating disc.
(couldnt figure out how to embed the video)

Oh it did it automagically! sweet

thanks for your input rebelscum.
I'll make sure to scan the manual tomorrow (I'll do it from work, don't have a scanner at home)
Could you elaborate on the 1x, 2x and 4x reading?

I've attached some images of the gears, and my repair on the cables.
And also an image from the test-screen. Note the spelling on BRAKE =)

[Level42]

That wobbling is no problem. As long as the  holes are passing through the infra-red beam it's fine. A (small) wobble is normal on trackballs and spinners.

Remember that this is the Electrocoin (UK) built version of Chase HQ. Probably a different manual. All Chase HQ's I've seen here are like that.

That Hantarex power supply you see on the bottom also supplies the monitor with 135V DC !!!!!

[Jess--]

if its the hantarex us series of power supplies they have a habit of getting jittery on the 5v adjustment, then while the psu is in use it will flip out and screech like djuret described

if djuret is feeling confident enough he should strip the psu and clean the 5v adjust pot (Mine took out my jpac when it went wrong)

[Level42]

When I bought my Double Axle it was completely dead and there was a high-pitched sound when I tried to power it up.

Turned out to be a defective transistor on the Hantarex PSU but this was caused due to the fact that there was a fan installed on top of the HVT on the monitor. The fan was 12V, but it was connected to the 5V. I wonder how (if) that ever had worked before. I replaced the fan and connected it to the 12V. Replaced the transistor and it was working fine after that.
I regret selling this cab now....but hey.....it funded my Galaxian....

[djuret]

The steering problem persists 

What could be the reason if the steering works for a few minutes, and then slowly stops working...
I believe it responds "OK" to the left... then slowly the car responds less when turning left. FInally it wont turn left at all.

I'll see what the test-screen says if i turn the wheel for a few minutes.

The manual: "Chase H.Q. - Service Instructions and Parts Catalogue (electrocoin)"
My manual is quite different from the one posted earlier.
here is a PDF of my manual. (not great quality, but it's better than nothing)
If suggest someone to put this PDF on a webserver for easier access.

edit: fixed link
edit2: FIXED LINK!

[Kevin Mullins]

The manual: "Chase H.Q. - Service Instructions and Parts Catalogue (electrocoin)"
My manual is quite different from the one posted earlier.
here is a PDF of my manual. (not great quality, but it's better than nothing)
If suggest someone to put this PDF on a webserver for easier access.

Thanks for the manual scan.
Just sent a copy to ArcArc, so it should be archived on their site shortly.
(when they get a chance that is)
 

[Level42]

The manual: "Chase H.Q. - Service Instructions and Parts Catalogue (electrocoin)"
My manual is quite different from the one posted earlier.
here is a PDF of my manual. (not great quality, but it's better than nothing)
If suggest someone to put this PDF on a webserver for easier access.

Thanks for the manual scan.
Just sent a copy to ArcArc, so it should be archived on their site shortly.
(when they get a chance that is)
 

Hah ! yeah, right. Sent them the Meteor manual. Not even a response by e-mail   

[Kevin Mullins]

Hah !   

CHASE HQ ELECTROCOIN VERSION

[Level42]

O wow, impressive, so whatever happened to the Meteor manual ?

[Kevin Mullins]

That I can't say ... I've always had pretty good response from them.
I've sent them several oddball manuals and they have always gotten to them fairly quick.
Wonder if it got lost in spam mail or something???

[Level42]

Could very well be. I just PMed you the location of the manual. Thanks !

Djuret, sorry about taking this off-topic, let's put it back on topic

I bet there's either something wrong with the opto-boards or maybe the buffer IC's on the PCB.

[djuret]

I bet there's either something wrong with the opto-boards or maybe the buffer IC's on the PCB.

I'm quite a noob when it comes to this...  could you please elaborate how I can fault-find on the opto-boards.
And how I fault find the "buffer IC's"

[rusolinio]

http://www.zumbrovalley.net/ArcadeOptics/

Some interesting info there. Note the pic of the arkanoid optical encoder (opto board), and how it looks very similar to yours.

After some short browsing, i found a guy on some racing sim forum who wants to change his pot based steering wheel to an optical one:

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?p=3901788

In the reply someone suggests buying an optical board and provides a link to one supposedly suitable, but i couldnt find anywhere that supplies them.