1988 Data East Audio Hum

FrizzleFried

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Can anyone suggest anything I can do to reduce the audio hum coming from my 1988 Data East Secret Service? The hum is easily 10x as loud as the hum I get from my Whirlwind (which is very minimal but still there).

The hum isn't bad when other games are on, etc... but firing just the Secret Service up alone in a quiet room and the hum sounds pretty damn bad... and being I am trying to sell the pin, if I could reduce the hum at all, I'd be all over it.

Thanks!
 
Can anyone suggest anything I can do to reduce the audio hum coming from my 1988 Data East Secret Service? The hum is easily 10x as loud as the hum I get from my Whirlwind (which is very minimal but still there).

The hum isn't bad when other games are on, etc... but firing just the Secret Service up alone in a quiet room and the hum sounds pretty damn bad... and being I am trying to sell the pin, if I could reduce the hum at all, I'd be all over it.

Thanks!
try tightening the screws that secure all the printed circuit boards to the backbox,if that doesnt work then the large filter capacitor on the sound board needs to be replaced.
 
try tightening the screws that secure all the printed circuit boards to the backbox,if that doesnt work then the large filter capacitor on the sound board needs to be replaced.


Well, I tried tightening down the circuit boards...no help.

Now, the filter cap... I am not sure which cap that is... if it's actually on the sound board, there isn't any one capacitor that is larger than the rest... that said, there IS a large cap on the power supply and a separate large cap (about the size of a big blue) strapped to the backbox under the power supply board.... but as far as the soundboard is concerned, none of the caps stand out as the filter cap... anyone know the position?
 
Nevermind... I am guessing it's the 1000uf 25v cap as it's the largest on the board. I'll be replacing that shortly...
 
Well, I tried tightening down the circuit boards...no help.

Now, the filter cap... I am not sure which cap that is... if it's actually on the sound board, there isn't any one capacitor that is larger than the rest... that said, there IS a large cap on the power supply and a separate large cap (about the size of a big blue) strapped to the backbox under the power supply board.... but as far as the soundboard is concerned, none of the caps stand out as the filter cap... anyone know the position?

Its a large capacitor that connects +5 volts to ground
 
Yeah... well, it sucks because it's LOUD when the game is the only one in operation. Well, I made sure all boards were firmly attached to the back box... each has at least 2 screws and they're firmly in place... same hum. I replaced the filter cap. No go... same hum. Any other suggestion or am I just stuck with the hum? It's loud enough you can feel the vibration on the speaker cones... FWIW one seems to have more hum than the other (stereo).
 
Can anyone suggest anything I can do to reduce the audio hum coming from my 1988 Data East Secret Service? The hum is easily 10x as loud as the hum I get from my Whirlwind (which is very minimal but still there).

The hum isn't bad when other games are on, etc... but firing just the Secret Service up alone in a quiet room and the hum sounds pretty damn bad... and being I am trying to sell the pin, if I could reduce the hum at all, I'd be all over it.

Thanks!

DE's hum but excessive is not what I would deem as normal. Check your power supply by wiggling the wires and see if the pitch or volume of the hum changes.
Check your power cable ground.


Falling short of recapping the entire sound board I'm out of ideas otherwise.
 
Did you figure out your humming problem? I've got the same problem with a Monday Night Football.

Jeff
 
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