roberthazelby

Sounds like there's a problem with the monitor PCB. Could mean that a cap needs replacing on it, or there are some dry solder joints. I had a similar problem with my Asteroids cocktail, but instead of the white dot, the image zoomed off the left hand side of the screen. I sent mine away to be repaired, and for a mere £30 (I think that's about 60 dollars going by the current exchange rate) the PCB was fixed and returned to me. There's a big collectors scene in the US. Get onto VAC (I think that's the place) and see if someone is willing to take a look at it. I'm pretty sure it's the monitor PCB at fault. Whatever you do, don't switch the machine back on in its current state. You could cause serious damage to the screen. Anyway, get looking into someone repairing the PCB. It's a shame to have such a wonderful machine not fully working. Good luck! Rob

I have to say that in a year or so of being on Xbox Live I've only received abuse from American players. (I'm from the UK, by the way). The sheer number of racial insults thrown not just as non-US players, but also between themselves is quite frankly shocking. I've had some truly wonderful games with players from France and The Netherlands, and the Germans who seem to be the friendliest of the lot. The abuse from Stateside players is getting to such an extent now that many European players are asking for a Europe only server. A shame really, as when you do find some nice Americans on Live, they really are nice people and a really good laugh. Unfortunately the abusive ones really show them up. Rob

Afternoon all, I've currently been enjoying Kaboom via the lovely `Activision Anthology` for the PS2. What I'd now like to do is add this to my Atari 2600 collection and give it a go on a real 2600 with paddles. I've checked the lowdown for this on the main AtariAge site and there is no mention of a PAL version. Was one released? I certainly can't find any on ebay.co.uk. After making enquiries on the retrogamingradio.com web forums I've been told that the NTSC version won't work on my PAL 2600. Is this right? Any info would be appreciated as I really want to play this with the paddle controllers. Many thanks, Rob

Morning all, I am currently experiencing a slight niggle with my Missile Command cocktail. Over the past couple of months my P1 and P2 start buttons have become less and less responsive, up to the present date where they no longer respond at all. Initially the buttons would become responsive after the machine had been on for 5 or so minutes, but now even that doesn't seem to make them work. The connections from the buttons to the PCB seem fine. Is this a documented problem? If so, can anyone suggest a location or locations on the board I should start to investigate? Many thanks, Robert Hazelby

Many thanks for the help. I'll give it a go this weekend. Robert

Morning all, I've recently been getting into the classic puzzler, Dino Dudes, but have come to a bit of a dead end. I'm on level 7 (password WAGON WHEEL) and I just don't know what to do. I can collect both spears - one from the ledge on the top left of the level, and one from the barbarian type chap. I can also collect the torch and burn the tree, but after that I'm stuck. I can see the exit, but it's blocked by a pillar of ice. I've tried melting it with the torch, attacking it with the spear and have even tried to stack enough dudes to climb over it. All to no avail. I know I can get the password for the next level off the net, but this level is driving me mad, and I'd like to know what to do. Any help would be appreciated! Cheers, Robert The Retro Ranch