Asteroids not working, Looking for guidance.

[+pboland]

I have an Asteroids arcade that does nothing but hum a little when I try to turn it on. I can see power is at the monitor, because the neck of the tube glows and there is a red LED that is lit on a PCB in the monitor chassis. The game board has a red LED but it is not on. I've checked all fuses and they are fine. I've cleaned the main game board connector, but still nothing. I did notice that if I wiggle the connector while I'm putting it on the game board (while powered on) the LED does light briefly (less than a second). It does not do this when I just try flipping the main power switch. Something tells me that it is time to get the voltmeter out and start looking around, but before I do that I didn't know if there is some common problem I might be over looking before I start looking for some schematics and doing the old hunt and peck method.

 

Thanks for taking the time.

[+Mitch]

Take a look here.

 

Mitch

[+pboland]

Take a look here.

 

Mitch

Thanks Mitch. That is the info I needed.

[atarian63]

I have an Asteroids arcade that does nothing but hum a little when I try to turn it on. I can see power is at the monitor, because the neck of the tube glows and there is a red LED that is lit on a PCB in the monitor chassis. The game board has a red LED but it is not on. I've checked all fuses and they are fine. I've cleaned the main game board connector, but still nothing. I did notice that if I wiggle the connector while I'm putting it on the game board (while powered on) the LED does light briefly (less than a second). It does not do this when I just try flipping the main power switch. Something tells me that it is time to get the voltmeter out and start looking around, but before I do that I didn't know if there is some common problem I might be over looking before I start looking for some schematics and doing the old hunt and peck method.

 

Thanks for taking the time.

They can be a real bear, I bought a used cocktail version and evrything had problems. Power supply, (big Blue) the chassis board fpr the monitor 3 txrs and a cap kit. Plus the game board had some bad ram and a couple bad caps. Took me 6 months of on and off work to get it going. I wish you well. The guide mitch sent you is really good!

[+pboland]

Take a look here.

 

Mitch

Mitch, you are the man! I went to the link you sent and read the FAQ's. One of the FAQ's sounded just like mine. I went to Radio Shack today and picked up a new transistor for the regulator/sound PCB (Q3). Just soldered it in. Plugged the board in and turned on the power and it is now working perfectly!

 

The game was set for $0.50! Chances are this game has been out of commission since the early 80's! Even the picture was nice and crisp. Not bad for a $70.00 non-working game.

[+Mitch]

:thumbsup:

 

That's awesome that you were able to get it working. Enjoy.

 

Mitch