Asteroids Deluxe monitor tips?

Mitsurugi-w

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I picked up an Asteroids Deluxe for cheap today. The previous owner said that the monitor would come on sometimes. When I plugged it in at home I noticed that the monitor had neck glow and that there is a red led that is lit on the chassis. The game plays blind so I know the pcb is fine.

It is a 19v2000 monitor. Where should I start on this monitor? Any info I should read before diving in? I plan to start on the repairs on Saturday. What should I be looking for? Thanks in advance.
 
The red LED is the "spot killer" indicator. The spot killer comes on and blanks the display when you have a lack of deflection on the X- or Y-axis (or both). I think it also detects a bad 90V supply. The problem could be a number of things....shorted output transistors, loose cable connection, bad power supply, fuse, bad solder joints on the X/Y connectors on the deflection board.

What tools do you have available? Volt/Ohm meter? Oscilloscope (with X/Y mode)?
 
The game plays blind so I know the pcb is fine.

This does not hold true like ArcRevival states, I got a cheap asteroids deluxe a long time ago and had vertical deflection failure. I did a whole cap kit with transistors, new big blue, and then realized that the PCB had a bad tl081 op-amp on the output. Turned out to be a .30 cent part...
 
Yep...the PCB could be bad. That's why I was hoping you had an oscilloscope. So you could check the PCB outputs. But we'll try with a meter. I'm late for work now, but I'll write more later.
 
Sweet. If you can help me diagnose a potential problem on the main pcb that would be helpful. I did reflow a bunch of cold solder on the deflection pcb as well as cleaned up some shoddy solder work by someone previously. The red led in the deflection pcb is no longer on but I still have no pic. I do have neck glow and the screen glows when the lights are off. I'm going to go ahead and order a cap kit for it anyway but I still want to try other things to get it up and running.
 
I've just started to work on my AD, which also plays blind. I just got a new Big Blue and a cap kit w/ transistors. Hopefully, that's all it will need.

Good luck with yours, it's a game that shouldn't be non-working for long. Such a fun game!
 
Ok, do this:

Display the crosshatch pattern using the test switch. It's inside the coin door on my cabaret. Set your multimeter to read AC Volts (true RMS reading). Find the GND test point on the AD main board and clip the negative lead of your meter to it. Leave it there.

Now clip the positive lead to the XOUT test point right by the edge of the board. You should be able to adjust the XGAIN pot so that the meter reading changes. Mine reads 5.25 VAC when the gain is adjusted correctly.

Next clip the positive lead to the YOUT test point and adjust the YGAIN pot. That reading is 4.00V on mine when adjusted correctly.

Last measure the ZOUT test point. This should read 0.931 VAC....there is no adjustment available.

In summary:

XOUT = 5.25 VAC
YOUT = 4.00 VAC
ZOUT = 0.931 VAC
 
Ok. Set meter to AC 200V and here is what I got.

XOUT= max I could turn it up to was 4.7v
YOUT=was ale to adjust to 4.0
ZOUT=2.9V(?!?)


What would cause these crazy readings?

EDIT: OK. I may have a HV problem. I disconnected the black light and I see now that the screen is not glowing. The blacklight was making it look like it was. The heater elements are working but I guess I have no HV to run the tube. Time to pull the entire monitor I guess.

EDIT2: Maybe the HV is fine. It did have a charge on the tube when I discharged it. Is there a way to test these HV units?
 
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Ok, some differences, but X and Y are large enough to turn off the spot killer. Is the LED still off? Do you hear the tube "chattering"?

Z is way different. Are you sure you're in test mode? IIRC, the game should beep once when you flip the switch to enter test mode. Still....the higher the value of Z, the brighter the display should be. Up to about 4V. So I think you should be seeing something.

It's time to start measuring voltages on the monitor boards. Start by measuring things on the deflection board.

Google for "x/y monitor faq" and follow the first link. Print that doc and keep it with your V2000 manual. It seems G05 centric, but it's good stuff and there are V2000 specifics in there too.

To directly test HV you need a special HV probe for your meter. Otherwise you measure things that are derived from the HV. Or measure the low voltage that is used to generate the HV. I think that's 90V in the V2000.
 
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the monitor needs a rebuild and needs to be resoldered anyway. I would stop wasting time troubleshooting an old monitor and rebuild it or have someone rebuild it.
 
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