Wobbly power board

[Eisengrim]

I've been trying to get my Vectrex to work with VecMulti by swapping in a new VIA chip. I'm stuck because now my Vectrex has no video. It powers up, and I hear MineStorm start, but there's nothing on the screen, not even a white dot. This happens with the new VIA and the old one. One thing I noticed when switching out the VIA chips is my power board kind of wobbles. This is the vertical one with the brightness knob attached. Putting the case back together is very difficult because the brightness knob doesn't naturally line up with its hole in the case; it's kind of leaning over. The whole Vectrex needs to be tilted over in the opposite direction so the power board shifts and the knob lines up with the hole better.

 

From what I can tell the service manual doesn't mention this issue with putting the case back together. Does anyone else have experience with this? I'm wondering if this wobbly board is why I don't have video any more.

[Zitruskeks]

The Power board should align quite good without the need to bend or "place" it before putting the case back together. Usually, it sits in plastic guide rails that keep it pointed to the right position. Sure there is flex in the board and especially with the HV Transformer it will  move, though.

 

The sound, no image problem could be broken solder joints on the cables that connect the two boards, or even a simple problem with the on/off switch. Its switches 2 circuits, so if one of the internal switches is stuck (which is often the case due to gumming up of the grease in the switch this may be the result.

 

[Eisengrim]

Thanks for the info. I can't remember where I saw it but I've heard of a similar issue with the the on/off switch. This may be what's going on - the Vectrex has always had a scratchy problem with volume after being turned on where certain zones of the dial were dead.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Eisengrim