Anyone else ever accidentally burn test your games

Black Matrix

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Hey all,
I can't decide whether to feel like crap or feel quite proud. The power in our storage building where I store my games got the power disconnected. On Sunday, I had just moved in my Donkey Kong and had plugged it up to test it after a short move. Later that day I reapplied the power to the building forgetting that I had a couple games plugged in. For the most part, I have worked fairly hard at "bulletproofing" my games as best I can. So from Sunday around 4 to Monday around 4 I accidentally burn tested my DK and my cockpit Star Wars. Both were running without a problem. I already know that was a dumb ass move, but I can't help feeling pretty good that both games survived for 24 hours without dieing or burning the building down. Especially the 25" Star Wars. Anyone else ever do something similar.
 
not any pins or vids, ......but i left my psp on connected to the wall for a WEEK i was pissed at myself and shocked it was still working lol
 
I kind of feel like if they can't do that anyway, maybe you shouldn't run them at all...


+1 If I had a game I couldn't feel comfortable leaving on for 24hrs I would consider it to be broken. Now if these were project machines I could understand the concern.
 
I had a friend come over so I could fix his Tempest monitor. I unplugged the monitor in mine, set his up on a table behind it, then diagnosed and fixed it. Three days later I walked into the room and noticed the marquee light was on. Turns out I left the interlock on the back pulled out. Luckily I had the monitor unplugged, although it's been rebuilt properly and probably would have been fine...
 
I've got a Buck Hunter Safari in the shop thats been powered up for a month.

I wouldnt worry too much about the raster games. Its the color XY's that you need to be careful with.
 
I haven't yet (knocks on wood)... I own quite a few G07s, and I'd prefer not to die of smoke inhalation when all the flybacks decide to explode and release their smoke bombs ;) . While I feel comfortable leaving them on while I'm awake and periodically wandering through (and in audible range of the smoke alarms), I would definitely not ever purposefully leave a basement full of ~30 year old electronics in large firewood boxes running while I'm not home, or sleeping.

I also have lots of fire extinguishers all over the house (biggest one in the basement :p), so hopefully I'd be able to react if anything was to happen. I don't think there's any sort of "bulletproofing" to prevent a cabinet from catching fire... any component could blow at any time, and one that would blow bad enough to catch a cabinet on fire would certainly be more catastrophic than being caused by a bad solder joint, old caps, or likely anything that a "bulletproofing" would prevent.

DogP
 
I once left a ms pac on in the garage and went out of town over night. When I remembered it was on I hauled ass back home. Scared the shit out of me. Just kept thinking I would return home to a burned shell of my house. Luckily the game was still working and nothing caught fire. I was relieved.
 
When I picked up my Asteroids, I played it for a week or so, then left it on while I went out to dinner. When I came back, a ram chip had failed.

After getting the ram chip replaced, I've left it on for a few hours at a time. I'll do it again, but I want to do the preventative rebuilding of some components first.
 
I kind of feel like if they can't do that anyway, maybe you shouldn't run them at all...

Not so sure about that. Thats like saying you shouldnt EVER drive your antique car unless it can also run flawlessly as a 5 day commuter car. When things get old, (especially electronics with an original expected useful life of ~24 months), parts deteriorate. Adding power and heat for 24 hours at a time isnt going to help...

With that said, yep, done it before. Left a handful of games on for the night once or twice by mistake.
 
You guys are way overthinking this. These games were designed to run all day. If they were out on location, they'd be running the entire time the establishment is open, and even then some places never shut their games off. If I had a game that was in such a state that I didn't trust it to run all day, then there is something wrong with it and it needs to be repaired.

What is is about a game that makes it more dangerous than any other electrical device? You wouldn't race home in a panic because you left a television on, but you would because of Ms. Pac?

Even if something horrible were to fail, such as a G07 flyback, it won't burn the house down, ignite the cabinet, or anything. It'll realease a puff of smoke, blow the fuse, and that'll be the end of it.

The only failure I can think of that even could remotely start a fire would be the G08 color vector. When one of those goes, it can produce a small flame. But, even then, it's highly unlikely to catch the wood of the cabinet on fire.

-Ian
 
I work on appliances for a living. Some particular brand of clothes dryers has a nasty habit of burning up the power cord terminal block. A dryer is about 95% metal with nothing combustible near the terminal block. However, that doesn't stop my customers from worrying about their house burning down when I show them a fried terminal block.
 
You guys are way overthinking this. These games were designed to run all day. If they were out on location, they'd be running the entire time the establishment is open, and even then some places never shut their games off. If I had a game that was in such a state that I didn't trust it to run all day, then there is something wrong with it and it needs to be repaired.

What is is about a game that makes it more dangerous than any other electrical device? You wouldn't race home in a panic because you left a television on, but you would because of Ms. Pac?

Even if something horrible were to fail, such as a G07 flyback, it won't burn the house down, ignite the cabinet, or anything. It'll realease a puff of smoke, blow the fuse, and that'll be the end of it.

The only failure I can think of that even could remotely start a fire would be the G08 color vector. When one of those goes, it can produce a small flame. But, even then, it's highly unlikely to catch the wood of the cabinet on fire.

-Ian

Exactly my point. If it's not working well enough that you're worried it'll catch on fire, then something is wrong.
 
Yeah, I was wondering about this whole post because there are places that run games 24/7. Are we forgetting about truck stops TODAY and 24 hr arcades back in the day? Heck the laundromat here has games that haven't been shut off in YEARS. These things are built to stay on. Granted you might have to change a power supply more often and have burn in on your monitor depending on the game but it's quite normal for games to be on if they are meant to be on location.
 
The vectors I would be hesitant to leave on for extended time. Any other game I dont think should be an issue. These things spent the first part of their life on all the time and were made to do so.
 
You guys are way overthinking this. These games were designed to run all day.

...some twenty to thirty years ago.

Even if something horrible were to fail, such as a G07 flyback, it won't burn the house down, ignite the cabinet, or anything. It'll realease a puff of smoke, blow the fuse, and that'll be the end of it.

True. But then I'll possibly have a busted monitor, and either have to repair it, or spend $$. I don't want to do either.

My games, to me, are like an antique car. I use them for fun - their "regular service" day are done.
 
I was working on my Star Trek cockpit one evening and I went inside to grab some grub. The next morning I remembered I never went back out to turn it off! Luckily I didnt have to call the fire department for a G08-related incident.
 
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