Asteroids Deluxe AR fried R26.

mhanlen1

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Ok, so I have a few problems with my AD. I installed Bob's new kit on this Sunday. Bob's kit says the 10 ohm resistor is for R29... but I noticed my R26 seems to be the same part (correct me if I'm wrong) and since the original R26 looked toasty, and everything else looked good, I replaced that instead. Well if it was a little toasty before it's been through Hell now.

A few questions:

Did I install it backwards? Since the original was burnt, I couldn't easily tell... if you're looking at the image as it is now, from left to right I installed it Gold, black, black, brown.

I had a regular Asteroids in the past, and I had a black diode here. On the net I can see that several AR boards with the same part # A034485 also have a diode. Was this a later mod? Should this be the part I install?

Also since I rebuilt the thing, what caused this? Was this a problem before I got it or did I do something boneheaded?



Atari Audio Regulator Board from Asteroids Deluxe Cabaret by mhanlen1, on Flickr


For reference his is my AR board from an Asteroids I no longer own.


Atari AR Board Front Wide by mhanlen1, on Flickr
 
That resistor is not polarized and can not be installed backwards. I don't have the schematics with me so I can't point to the exact cause but I have seen those burn when your edge connector pins are weak. Have you rebuit your edge connectors? At the very least the power and ground line pins should be replaced.
 
That resistor is not polarized and can not be installed backwards. I don't have the schematics with me so I can't point to the exact cause but I have seen those burn when your edge connector pins are weak. Have you rebuit your edge connectors? At the very least the power and ground line pins should be replaced.

I'll tell you right now my edge connector sucks. The game still works with it as sucky as it is though. I'm actually a little afarid to rebuild it. I have the part from Bob. What else do I need to redo it? Do I clip off the connector and redo it? Extract the pins? Do I need a tool of some sort? I've never done one before. I've done a molex or two with limited success. I have a ratching crimper that seems to big for the pins, and then one of those cheap crimpers that you can get at Walmart.

Is there a tutorial anywhere on how to do this properly. I'd really not like to mess this up, and I don't have a lot of confidence.



By the way. It only took 2 minutes of the thing being powered on to do this with the new one which looks way worse than the prior.

I had the original in there before I rebuilt it on for 20 minutes and it didnt look like this. Why would it entirely trash the new one but the old one didn't look that bad?
 
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I'll tell you right now my edge connector sucks. The game still works with it as sucky as it is though. I'm actually a little afarid to rebuild it. I have the part from Bob. What else do I need to redo it? Do I clip off the connector and redo it? Extract the pins? Do I need a tool of some sort? I've never done one before. I've done a molex or two with limited success. I have a ratching crimper that seems to big for the pins, and then one of those cheap crimpers that you can get at Walmart.

Is there a tutorial anywhere on how to do this properly. I'd really not like to mess this up, and I don't have a lot of confidence.



By the way. It only took 2 minutes of the thing being powered on to do this with the new one which looks way worse than the prior.

I had the original in there before I rebuilt it on for 20 minutes and it didnt look like this. Why would it entirely trash the new one but the old one didn't look that bad?

The old one likely burned more slowly and therefore looks better than the new. Also, newer components just don't seem to stand up to abuse as well as older ones do. The resistor may actually still be good, they tend to burn the outer coating off due to heat build up but can still be functional after the outer coating is burned off. I'd just replace it since the part is only a few pennies.


Bob has a good tutorial on crimping as well as suggested tools for doing the job: http://www.therealbobroberts.net/crimping.html

I usually pull out and replace one wire at a time. Remove the old pin, cut the old pin off, strip the wire, crimp on the new pin, and then reinsert. Repeat as needed. It keeps me from mixing the wires up.
 
The old one likely burned more slowly and therefore looks better than the new. Also, newer components just don't seem to stand up to abuse as well as older ones do. The resistor may actually still be good, they tend to burn the outer coating off due to heat build up but can still be functional after the outer coating is burned off. I'd just replace it since the part is only a few pennies.


Bob has a good tutorial on crimping as well as suggested tools for doing the job: http://www.therealbobroberts.net/crimping.html

I usually pull out and replace one wire at a time. Remove the old pin, cut the old pin off, strip the wire, crimp on the new pin, and then reinsert. Repeat as needed. It keeps me from mixing the wires up.

I guess I'll need to buy some more tools for this... I'll look into it when I get home.
 
If you got the connector from Bob then you should have extra pins. You can practice with the two crimipers you have to see if either works for you. I normally use the Waldoms that Bob suggests but I have about a half dozen other crimpers that can do the job.
 
I'm pretty sure you installed a resisitor where a diode goes!
Also, if your edge connector is half as bad as you say.....you're going to continue to tear stuff up on the A/R board. Fix the edge connector FIRST.....then fix the A/R board.

If I'm looking at the parts diagram correctly.....that position is CR3....a 1N400X diode.

Edward

EDIT: OK, I was looking at your pictures. In picture #2, that position shows a diode....I just pulled a manual and it shows a 10 ohm resistor.
 
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I'm pretty sure you installed a resisitor where a diode goes!
Also, if your edge connector is half as bad as you say.....you're going to continue to tear stuff up on the A/R board. Fix the edge connector FIRST.....then fix the A/R board.

If I'm looking at the parts diagram correctly.....that position is CR3....a 1N400X diode.

Edward

EDIT: OK, I was looking at your pictures. In picture #2, that position shows a diode....I just pulled a manual and it shows a 10 ohm resistor.

That's what I dont understand. That 2nd pic came from another asteroids I owned... And that particular ar board worked flawlessly. Some ar pcbs Aldo have the diode symbol next to the part. But the ar manual has a 10 ohm resistor there... And my current board had a resistor like it says in the manual. You'll also notice that although both boards are the same model number there are slight differences and the 5 v test point is in a slightly different spot. So I should replace it with a resistor right ?
 
Ok, so I'm digging back into this. Can anyone verify if a Diode or resistor goes in that place on the AR board? Right next to the arrow in the 1st pic.
 
Ok, so I'm digging back into this. Can anyone verify if a Diode or resistor goes in that place on the AR board? Right next to the arrow in the 1st pic.

The best I can tell......looking at an Asteroids Deluxe manual, it shows that as R26.....10 ohm 1/4 watt.

Edward
 
Yes....and check that diode to the right side of your picture. It looks a little ugly, but it might just be looks!

Edward
 
The one Edward is talking about has the number 22 on it and maybe one other number.

The number is 224.....that's a ceramic cap. It looks fine (to my eyes), and they rarely go bad. The diode is the black thing to the right of the voltage pot (and beside of the heat sink).

Edward
 
The number is 224.....that's a ceramic cap. It looks fine (to my eyes), and they rarely go bad. The diode is the black thing to the right of the voltage pot (and beside of the heat sink).

Edward

There are two black diodes on the AR and both tested good (they got a voltage reading one way and a "1" when flipped the leads).
 
The number is 224.....that's a ceramic cap. It looks fine (to my eyes), and they rarely go bad. The diode is the black thing to the right of the voltage pot (and beside of the heat sink).

Edward

Yeah, I was a little nervous when I tested the "224" "diode" because it gave me inconsistent readings no matter what way I had the leads.
 
The number is 224.....that's a ceramic cap. It looks fine (to my eyes), and they rarely go bad. The diode is the black thing to the right of the voltage pot (and beside of the heat sink).

Edward

That does look a bit crispy now that I look at it with glasses on. I hate wearing them but when soldering they are very necessary.
 
Bob has a good tutorial on crimping as well as suggested tools for doing the job: http://www.therealbobroberts.net/crimping.html

I usually pull out and replace one wire at a time. Remove the old pin, cut the old pin off, strip the wire, crimp on the new pin, and then reinsert. Repeat as needed. It keeps me from mixing the wires up.

Thanks to this, I replaced me edge connector a few days ago. The game still has problems, but my 10ohm resistor no longer fries.

I used your method to replace one pin at a time, and it worked great. I even made a video on how to replace the connector.

 
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