Arcade repair help.

[pmpddytim]

Well I've tried everything I am comfortable with and I still can not get my Berzerk cab working . If all else fails I'll turn it into a mame cab but I REALLY want to keep it original. Is there anyone out there that is experienced in fixing these machines that could take a look at it for me? PM or respond to this thread and we will work somthing out.

 

-Tim

[bjk7382]

Well, what I would do in your case would be to start looking for Berzerk boardsets. This Guy might still have one left. Granted that 180 for a working boardset may seem high, it is actually a good price (and even better since you got your machine for next to nothing) Then if you wanted to you could turn around and sell the machine for 5-6 hundred.

 

Or just keep looking for more problems yourself (since you know for sure there is a problem with your boards, and you will get more comfortable taking out sockets and fixing traces) The problems are usually with sockets and the traces around them.

 

Or send them to someone to be fixed. There are people out there that might fix it depending on how bad it is.

 

But the last thing you should do is mame it You would probably spend about 180 on the parts to do that right. (unless you do the ultra crappy mame with the 15 inch monitor and a dos box)

[spongebue]

What kind of problems are you having? That's always a good way to start. If you get absolutely nothing at all, that's actually a pretty good sign, since it's probably a bad power supply or even cord. If you can get sound, but no video, it's probably the monitor. Otherwise, it's still possible that it's the motherboard, and that would be known by either weird gameplay (doesn't start right, but you see something, maybe) or, like the power supply, lack of any response. Try taking a multimeter and testing the voltage outputs on your power supply.

[pmpddytim]

Well, what I would do in your case would be to start looking for Berzerk boardsets. This Guy might still have one left. Granted that 180 for a working boardset may seem high, it is actually a good price (and even better since you got your machine for next to nothing) Then if you wanted to you could turn around and sell the machine for 5-6 hundred.

 

Or just keep looking for more problems yourself (since you know for sure there is a problem with your boards, and you will get more comfortable taking out sockets and fixing traces) The problems are usually with sockets and the traces around them.

 

Or send them to someone to be fixed. There are people out there that might fix it depending on how bad it is.

 

But the last thing you should do is mame it You would probably spend about 180 on the parts to do that right. (unless you do the ultra crappy mame with the 15 inch monitor and a dos box)

 

Well, I'm not going to sell it, I want it for myself. And Mame is way down the list, I've actually pretty much ruled it out..

 

As for the probelms it has I get a garbled screen and a little sound thats it.

 

-TIm

[bjk7382]

If it were mine, I would check traces till my multimeters batteries wore out. I would replace every socket in the acid eaten region and below (acid fumes travel downward) And just do that, and test it until it worked. I am not that great with electric circuits either, and it took me 2 months of poking around the monitor chassis in my Space Invaders until I found the problem. And it was a part that I had looked over several times in that 2 months of searching on and off. Granted monitor chassis are much simpler than logic boards.

 

You could also buy a logic probe and learn how to use it. This will tell you what chips on the board are doing what (if they are doing what they are supposed to be or if they are stuck high/low) Because there is a good chance that traces and sockets aren't your only problem and you will have to locate and buy a few chips to fix it.

 

By garbled screen, does this include any game graphics or is it just like a static screen? Getting anything on the screen is a good start and means that you have power going to the right places. (I remember you posted pictures before in the last thread but don't remember if you posted pictures of the output you are getting on the screen) Maybe post a pic of your "garbled screen" (It could just be stuck in the ram test or something similar to what williams games do when they start)

[yorkshire_spam]

I'd take a look at it for you, but unfortunately I'm on the other side of the pond, so shipping it to me would cost a fortune.

Why not post on r.g.v.a.c on the old news groups? (groups.google.com or whatever) SOmebody on there might be local to you and be willing to help out?

[sebastius]

Tim, what is the actual problem with the board? I have some experience with game repair (not berzerk), and with a set of schematics, a good soldering iron and some time anything can be fixed.

[pmpddytim]

Well it looks like I'm going to buy a new board set fromt he guy BJK pointed out. And I'll probably end up selling my old boards to make up a bit of the cash. I think its a good deal though, and I'm very much excited.

 

-Tim

[bjk7382]

Thats great. Maybe you can send him your old boards and get a discount on the price.

 

This is a hard game to find working, and for the price you are paying for the end result, I am envious This is a game most veterans of the hobby can't find working (or even fix themselves because of the damn batteries they put on the board)

[TheBman80]

Hey its been a while since you last posted this did you fix your Berzerk cab yet? Funny thing about that game did you ever look it up on the KLOV web page suposusly thats the first game that they blamed for killing some one well not just one person but 2 people thats freaking crazy. I can't say many games have that reputation.

 

KLOV Trivia:

 

Berzerk shares a rather chilling distinction of being the first known game to be blamed for an actual player's death. In January 1981, Jeff Dailey, a 19-year old Berzerk player, died of a massive heart attack right after playing his favorite game. His score was 16,660 (a very respectable score but disturbing for obvious reasons). On an equally distressing note, in October 1982, 18-year old Peter Burkowski, a physically healthy person who was alcohol-free and drug-free, inscribed his initials in Berzerk's top ten list twice in a matter of only fifteen minutes. A few seconds after that, he collapsed and died of a heart attack as well.

 

Better watch yourself with this one once you get it working!

[pmpddytim]

Hey its been a while since you last posted this did you fix your Berzerk cab yet? Funny thing about that game did you ever look it up on the KLOV web page suposusly thats the first game that they blamed for killing some one well not just one person but 2 people thats freaking crazy. I can't say many games have that reputation.

 

KLOV Trivia:

 

Berzerk shares a rather chilling distinction of being the first known game to be blamed for an actual player's death. In January 1981, Jeff Dailey, a 19-year old Berzerk player, died of a massive heart attack right after playing his favorite game. His score was 16,660 (a very respectable score but disturbing for obvious reasons). On an equally distressing note, in October 1982, 18-year old Peter Burkowski, a physically healthy person who was alcohol-free and drug-free, inscribed his initials in Berzerk's top ten list twice in a matter of only fifteen minutes. A few seconds after that, he collapsed and died of a heart attack as well.

 

Better watch yourself with this one once you get it working!

 

I should get the parts this week.

 

Yeah, I found the history of the machine quite interesting. I wish I could find the news clippings about those who died to frame and hang next to the machine..........