Asteroids and Stargate questions

RidicRick25

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I picked up Asteroids and Stargate that have been sitting in a barn for almost 20 years. Paid $100 each for them. I have restored and worked on many cabs but never any old classics like these. Is there anything from sitting so long that I need to do, look for, or be cautious about before I plug these in. I have had them for 3 months now and I want to finally fire them up. It was an older guy and he said when his father passed who owned them they were put in a barn to not be sold with all his other property. They were working back then when stored but now almost 20 years later who knows. Here are some pics. The cabs are in great shape, they just have layers of dirt, dust, and a ton of surface rust on the control panels. I have not even opened these up, there could be animals living it them for all I know.

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Turn the machines around. Take the backs off. Vacuum them out and use a soft small or medium sized good quality paint brush that won't drop bristles everywhere to gently brush the dirt off the electronics. Put on some safety glasses and from a distance looking at the back of the machine plug it in using an extension cord.
 
If the control panel rusted it indicates moisture was around them so the boards might have rusted chips also. Then again you might get lucky!
 
Barn?

Open up the backs and check for live/dead animals.

Take the marquees off and check for live/dead animals.

Report back.
 
Like ArcRevival said, clean the machine inside and out first.

Then check ALL the connections, the fuses and check for any loose, frayed or broken wires or components.

Visual inspection will tell you alot.

When you fire it up, watch from the back for anything that may burn up...it's better to see it than smell it and try and find it later. If the game doesn't come up, flip it into test mode and see what you get.
 
On the Stargate, pull the power cable from the power supply board going to the circuit boards. Then power it up (don't forget to pull the interlock switch). You should see 3 LEDs on the power supply board lit up. If you don't, then one or more of the voltages is toast and you will need to rebuild the PS board. If all three are on, then power off, reattach the power cable and power it on. If everything is good, you should see a 0 appear in the 7 segment LED on the ROM board. And you should see some messages on the screen relating to reseting factory settings, high score and bookkeeping.

If the previous owner left the batteries in it, you can expect nothing good.

ken
 
Thanks everyone, I am finally going to open them up tonight and see what I can do, I will take all your advice and let you know what happens.
 
OK, I opened up Asteroids, looks like all of it is there except for a part of the monitor.. nothing happens when plugged in, couldnt find the dam switch if there is one. But.. Stargate started right up, holy crap it was loud!! had to find the volume knob right away.. LOL the cabinet looks like it has never been opened since the day it was made in the factory. The monitor fired right up but I am not sure what is wrong since I know nothing about arcade monitors yet. Here is a video, maybe you all can tell just from that. Let me know. Thanks!

Stargate Cabinet
 
But.. Stargate started right up, holy crap it was loud!! had to find the volume knob right away.. LOL the cabinet looks like it has never been opened since the day it was made in the factory. The monitor fired right up but I am not sure what is wrong since I know nothing about arcade monitors yet. Here is a video, maybe you all can tell just from that. Let me know. Thanks!

Stargate Cabinet

1-3-8 on the 7 segment LED means that the RAM chip in Bank 3 position 8 is testing bad. That is why you are getting the startup sound over and over again.

The video looks like you need to adjust the vertical and horizontal holds. If you look through the dust on the back of the monitor you should see the potentiometers on the back of the chassis. They should be labeled.

ken
 
I suppose I cant really adjust the monitor until I get the game working right? Can you fix the board Yellowdog? And which board is it out of the few?.. LOL I really appreciate your help, want to see these classic up and going in my game room soon.
 
You can adjust the monitor. You should be getting the RAM test on screen. It is called the "Rug Test" because it looks like one of those old twisted rag rugs like your grandmother had.

I circled the bad chip on the picture below. It may be just that it needs to be removed and the legs cleaned and replaced. Very often with boards that have sat in storage for a long time the RAM just needs to be pulled and replaced.

Before shipping the board(s) in, I'd like you to try pulling and reseating the RAM chip.

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I would also pull those batteries before they cause any more damage.

ken
 

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Ok, I pulled those 3 batteries.. havent replaced them yet. I pull out the chip carefully, its in good shape still, cleaned it off and plugged it back in.. still says same error code when I power it back up. Tried it a few times. I got the monitor so it doesnt have horizontal or vertial movement, of course nothing comes on the screen I am guessing since the game has an error.

What is this switch? When I turn on the cabinet switch the game doesnt make any noise just yet, then I have to either pull that out, or push it in to make the game appear to load up with the stargate music. There is also 2 dipswitches there and the three buttons inside the coin door are clear scores and nothing I really need to mess with right now right?

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That is the reset switch for the sound card. If you have to pull it out, the spring on it is shot. It should bounce back when pressed. If it doesn't, then pull it out and leave it alone. If you press it in when power is on, it will run the internal diagnostics and play one of the sound effects over and over and over and over until you power down.

Regarding the RAM error, try moving the RAM chip to a different location. If the error moves with the chip then the chip needs to be replaced. If it doesn't move then it could be one of several other errors.

ken
 
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Well YellowDog, I tried the ram chip in other slots, still gives the same error no matter what. I ordered all new ram chips (since they are so cheap) just as one last thing to see if it works. If not then I guess I will be sending it to you. :)
 
Is it possible to send you the asteroids board also so you can look at it, see if its in working order or needs fixed? I just figured I would kill 2 birds with one stone on this one. Ill let you know what happens once I get the ram chips in. I really appreciate all your help.
 
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