Asteroids Deluxe cocktail cleanup

Arthur Dent

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Donor 9 years: 2015-2022, 2025
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I recently acquired an Asteroids Deluxe cocktail from a great fellow KLOVer in KC. I am hoping to get it cleaned up and working to donate to my son's school auction coming up towards the end of April. This is something my wife volunteered me for. :)

I am calling is a cleanup, because I do not have the time or skills to do what I think would qualify as a restore. But I am hoping that I can get it to a point where someone would want it and be happy with it. It appears to be in pretty good shape. I have already started taking it apart and ordered things like cap kits for the PS (big blue), AR, and PCB, plastic end plugs for the legs. I thought I would go ahead and start chronicling it here in case anyone finds it interesting or useful.

Hmmmm...I guess I will break this down into sections and go from there.

First, cosmetics...

The glass seems decent, but the underlay is not as good as I would have hoped. I am assuming that the original art was silk-screened onto the glass? This looks more like decals. There are 4 decals for the signs in each corner. And then a decal for the outer black striping and the inner black strip around the monitor. All of it was coming away from the glass where you could see the air in-between the glass and decal and the stripes were cracked in places. One of the signs in the corners has discoloration where it looks like some liquid, probably soda, leaked under the glass at some point and stained the decal. When I removed the glass, I was not aware that there was an adhesive strip under the outer black stripe. It was not doing anything at all on the side I initially started lifting, but it was still grabbing on the other side and pulled the stripe off in pieces. I wasn't too worried as I felt the stripes needed replacing anyways.

I looked everywhere for an overlay for an Asteroids Deluxe cocktail with no luck. Asteroids, yes. Deluxe, no. I am thinking I might order the Asteroids overlay if it is the same size and cut out the areas with the 4 corner signs and then see if I can clean up the existing signs on mine. I also have a line on a possible complete top that I could just replace mine. I will know more about that this weekend. It will be a little more expensive at the least, but may be more cost effective and desirable than the alternative.

The inside corners of the top, above the control panels, have some mild swelling to the wood. I am guessing that this is common with these things. It's not too bad and I think it is only noticeable because the top is removed at the moment.

The rest of the cabinet wood seems pretty good. The legs are even in pretty good shape with very little rust. The 4 caps for the legs need to be replaced and are on order.

When I cleaned out the bottom of the cab, I saw what I thought was going to be a coin stuck under a piece of the side wood. When I got it out, I was happy to see it was a key. It fit in the first lock (both locks were in the open position when I got it) and it turned. I then tried the second lock and it would not go in. Upon closer inspection, I saw that a key had broken off in the lock. I removed the lock and brought it to work. Luckily a guy at work had a set of small picks and tweezers, and after about 10 minutes of fiddling, I got the key out. I have yet to confirm if the other key fits, but I am optimistic. :)

The CPOs are dirty and cracked. TOG has them on their site, but shows as out of stock. I emailed them and Kendra replied saying that they will try to do a run soon. In time for the upcoming auction I hope. If not, I have seen some others that say they are fro Asteroids Deluxe but have the silver stripes instead of gold.

I think that is it for cosmetics for now.

Next, the electronics...

The game plays blind. So that is a good sign. But, I am thinking I should do cap kits since someone else is going to end up with this and I want them to have a good experience and not have it die 3 months after they get it.

PCB looks great and all original. It doesn't appear any work has been done to it in the past. (I need to look closer. This is based on a very quick look when I removed it and put it in a static bag.) Cap kit on order.

AR board also looks good and all original. Cap kit on order. From what I have read, I really want to make sure this is in good working order.

PS is very dirty which is to be expected sitting in the bottom of the cab. The big cap is blue, and so I assume original. Replacement ordered. I also ordered the bridge rectifier, but I am curious if I really need to replace the old one if it is working. Do those break down over time?

On to the V2000. This was not working. It was already diagnose as needed a new HV diode and 2 new ones came with it. You could see discoloration of the metal on the HV box. I read up on discharging and was going to order a resistor to put inline, but I read that the HV diode is what is in danger of being damaged and since I was already going to replace it, I thought I would take the chance.l, I guess since it had not been powered up since early Feb, it had discharged since then. It did nothing when I shorted the anode to the frame.

Once I opened it up, the damage was obvious. The boot that should have been on the wire to the flyback was missing. The bare wire was sitting against the metal wall and looked like it charred the wall so bad that it discolored the other side. From what I read, I will be soldering the new diode to the wires and then using silicone to insulate it. I also have a cap kit ordered. Just hope the transistor? is ok that was on the other side of the cage wall.

Start buttons look good. Coin door is all intact and should cleanup good. Coin box is there but the lock is missing. I have looked all over, and I can't seem to easily confirm if it is the same as the cabinet locks or not. Were they usually keyed the same or different? And even if the lock is the same, the cam is obviously different. If someone knows what I need here and where to find it, I would appreciate any info.

Ok, enough for now. I will try to fill in details as I go and add some pictures later.
 
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If you want advice, don't cap the game board. It isn't necessary. Those caps never go bad, unless they've been physically stepped on or ripped off, as they are way over rated for the application, and they don't get hot. Especially if your board is virgin (i.e., 100% original), keep it that way, as those are less common, and it's worth more in that condition. Also, you only risk introducing new problems by doing work on it.

Same goes for the AR. The original caps are very good on those, and depending on where you get your caps, you might even be replacing them with lesser quality ones.

The monitor does need a cap and reflow of all headers as well as a lot of the other joints, which can crack).

If you have problems, its always better to troubleshoot the actual problems on these, and not shotgun parts. We can help you figure out anything here, as you proceed.
 
If you want advice, don't cap the game board. It isn't necessary. Same goes for the AR.

Sounds good to me. Less work. I was already feeling pressure with everything that needs to be done before auction time. They want it finished early too so that they can promote it. But I am reluctant to let them do that before I am finished in case something goes wrong. Right now, I figure worst case, I just donate money to the church and tell them I will have it ready for next year. :)
 
Pics!!!!

So, I am trying out using OneDrive to share pics. I have a Microsoft phone (one of a very few) :) and my pics automatically get uploaded. Then I can choose what to share. Let me know if you think it works well or not.

Most items are self explanatory. One pic is of the key fragment I was able to remove. Another is of a small manila envelope. I found it under the power supply. It has a staple hole. Wondering if maybe the keys were kept in it???

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlwPAABwKq67gdNGjoCUAfqbopLwfg
 
Can someone tell me if the lock for the coin box is the same size as the cab locks? And the type of cam I need for it? Are the cab locks and coin box lock usually keyed the same or different?
 
I got the power brick all cleaned up. Looks pretty nice. And I learned that the early bricks did not have the bridge rectifier. I wish I had known this before I ordered a replacement. :(

Information here: http://www.elektronforge.com/transassy.htm

The easy way to determine if you have an early Asteroids or Lunar Lander Transformer Assembly is to flip it over and look at the rectifier. If it's made up of two large discrete diodes, then it is one. If it's got a bridge rectifier with four leads going to it, then it's not.
 
So I was talking to Andy and now I am worried. My brick definitely has the individual diodes. Apparently this indicates that it is an early brick and should not be the one used in Asteroids Deluxe. The page on Elektron Forge supports this. I cannot find the specific number on the transformer that is listed on the Elektron Forge page, but there is a tag on the wiring, and a number stamped in the metal, that are both very close. Then there is the silver Atari tag with the model. Can anyone confirm what game 298-01 is? The monitor is a v2000 also, which apparently should also not be used with this brick.

Edit: I just noticed that the number on the tag, 034623, is on the Elektron Forge page for Lunar Lander. WTF? This thing sure seemed like the one thing that had been in the cab the longest without being removed. I am not sure what to do next.

Another edit: It does look like this cab is an AD based on this thread: https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=1219149&postcount=3 So I guess I need to find the correct brick. Can someone explain how this brick was working with AD? Did they have a different monitor maybe at the time and that is why the current v2000 in it died? I am trying to prepare my wife that we may not have anything for the church auction. Can anyone help me figure out what the deal is here?
 

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Ok, so after coming across information that seems to indicate that this power brick, although numbered for Lunar Lander (by a tag, there is no number on the block) it should work for my Asteroids Deluxe.

So, put the brick back in the game and using information from this thread with Dockert, I tested the voltages. Here are my results. Thoughts?

Power Brick
Remove the big 15 pin connector P5

***V***V***
*1***2***3*
*4***5***6*
*7***8***9*
*10**11**12*
*13**14**15*
***********

Meter set to 20vdc
Red lead to pins 1, 2, 3
Black lead to pins 4, 5
Reading should be 10.3 vdc (could read high 13vdc as it is unregulated)
I get 14.3 vdc

Meter set to 200vac
Red lead to pin 6
Black lead to pin 7
Reading should be 36 vac
I get 37.8 vac

Meter set to 20vac
Red lead to pin 8
Black lead to pin 9
Reading should be 6.3vac
I get 7.2 vdc

Meter set to 200vac
Red lead to pin 10
Black lead to Pin 14
Reading should be 80vac
My block does not have pins 10 or 14

Meter set to 200vac
Red lead to pin 11
Black lead to pin 13
Reading should be 65vac
I get 63.6 vac
 
I went ahead and started looking at the AR board in anticipation of hooking it up and testing it. But, it looks like there is a burnt up resistor between J6 and J7. I am also questioning the diode next to it and another one close to the heatsink. I think everything else at least visually looks good.
 

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Ordered parts from Mouser. I got this 1ohm 1/4w 5% resistor for R10 and this 100v 1A 1N4002 diode for CR1 and CR4 just in case. Hopefully I ordered the right things. I wasn't sure about the carbon vs metal resistors. :feedback:
 
Looking at the HV board on the v2000 now. What do you think about the resistor and mylar cap in the picture? The resistor is just dirty I think from the fallout, but the cap has some damage. I am thinking about replacing them just to be sure.

The HV board has obviously had some work done to it in the past. It looks like a lot of the caps have been replaced, so maybe I won't do a general cap kit. The header reflow looks a little messy. I might try and clean that up.
 

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The resistor on the AR is one of the sense resistors, and they burn regularly when there is a problem with the +5V or ground lines going to the game board. You'll want to check your wiring and edge connector. All you have to do is replace it with any 10 ohm 1/4 watt, and you'll be fine.

The diodes are fine. They just have some tarnish on the legs. No need to replace.

Looks like maybe someone hit that HV cap with a soldering iron or something. It looks like the other caps have been replaced with 105 degree caps, so those should be good.

You can give that HV cage a bath if you want. Hose down with simple green and scrub gently with a soft paintbrush. Put in front of a fan overnight and it will be dry. You can also remove the heat residue with Goof Off or acetone (nail polish remover) and a Q-tip. It'll be easier to work on (and potentially see problems) if it's clean.
 
Looks like maybe someone hit that HV cap with a soldering iron or something.

Thanks for all the tips. I appreciate it. I think that the HV diode assembly came apart while it was powered on and arced across several items. I think it came to rest on the screw that holds the transistor. You can see how "rusted" it is now. That's what has me worried is that not only is potential high heat involved, but high voltage as well <cue AC/DC song>. I ordered a new transistor just in case. If they are easy to test, let me know. I have not gotten around to googling that yet. :)
 

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Actually that theory makes more sense. It looks like heat damage on that cap (which is why I said soldering iron), but arcing is a much better theory.

The grime is all normal. That corner of the cage is always full of baked-on crap, from the grease used on the boot, and the heat from the power resistor nearby. Goof Off and a Q-tip get it off, with a little work.

As for testing the transistor, you can test it like any other transistor, using the diode test function of your DMM (Google if needed).
 
Big thanks to Rich and Kendra over at TOG. They just got the AD CPOs I requested posted to the website and I have them ordered. Glad to have that done. Just need to prep the panels now. :)
 
Trying to order the t-molding. Does anyone know for sure what I need? It looks like the CP and sides are 3/4" and the top is 7/8"?

Also, since I am donating this to a school auction and I do not think there will be a lot of purists there, do you think I should go with something other than black? Maybe blue t-molding to go with the blue in the overlay? I thought gold but that might be a bit much. Thoughts?
 
Please see my last post too ^^^^^^^^^

And, last but not least, I need to paint the metal. I don't do much painting, unless you count the walls in the house. The metal parts are all in pretty decent except for some light surface rust in a few places. Can I get away with sanding away the rust, and a light sanding to the rest, and then painting it all, leaving the majority of the original paint? Or, do I really need to remove all the old paint?

Are the black sides of the cab just painted black? Can I do the same...light sand and spray paint? I am looking for old threads, but I have not found anything really specific to Atari cocktails yet.
 
I found some time to work on the boards and connectors. I replaced resistor R25 on the AR board. I used contact cleaner on just about everything. I even removed pins 1,2,A,B,21,and 22 from the main PCB connector and bent them back into shape.

Then I powered up the system with the main board disconnected and started taking readings. I didn't write them down, but they were close enough that I connected the main board. I barely had to change the voltage on the AR, but I have it so that the main board reads 5.07-5.08vdc.

At the AR it reads 5.35. I don't really know if this is good or bad in terms of the difference. Thoughts anyone?

Oh, and I was able to start a game and play it blind. At first the sound for firing was not there, but the button seemed loose. I opened the control panel, tightened the button and re-seated the wires, fired it back up, and the sound was there. Everything seemed to be working.

Now to get to the monitor.
 
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Did you mean 5.07-5.08V at the board? It's not possible for the voltage to rise that much between the AR and the board. If it really is reading 5.7, turn it down but it's good you got it to play blind
 
Yes, thank you. I meant 5.07-5.08vdc and am going to edit my post now. :D

Did you mean 5.07-5.08V at the board? It's not possible for the voltage to rise that much between the AR and the board. If it really is reading 5.7, turn it down but it's good you got it to play blind
 
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