Asteroids Deluxe - overlapping rocks

Spunkmeyer

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I just picked up an Asteroids Deluxe, and I think something might have vibrated loose on the trip home.

When I start a game, all of the Asteroids are drawn on the screen as overlapping each other, and when I shoot them they stay together as a single unit (but smaller) as opposed to expanding out and spraying all over the screen in a random way.

Any ideas as to what I should be checking or re-seating to fix this problem? Thanks!
 
Thanks, ArcRevival, for the response -- I'll check that out later today.

I also found via Google that Pokey chip location M7/8 could also be the issue.

Hopefully it's as simple as a loose connection...
 
POKEY chip it was -- self test reported "error' and according to the back door sheet that means its the sound chip.

Fortunately I have a non-working Centipede board I was able to scavenge the POKEY chip from, and bingo, now it's working fine again.

Thanks to everyone who replied -- now to get my Bob Roberts order together to bulletproof this thing before I slide it into its new home.
 
I know this post is 5 years old, just wanted to post my story anyhow. I bought an Asteroids Deluxe that some sounds were missing and the asteroids didn't spread apart the same as you were experiencing. So I ordered up a couple POKEY'S so I have a spare, and I put the new one in making sure to keep it facing the same direction. Of course the problem was still there... the guy that had it before me put the chip in backwards lol, so lesson learned to look a little closer.
Luckily that did no damage at all, so reversing the chip fixed it right up! And I waited a few weeks not playing the damn thing when it wasn't broke in the first place! Ahh yeah, fun in the arcade. Cheers!
 
These POKEYs are failing at an amazing rate; the cocktail I had came to me with a busted pokey, and recently got a another AD recently (working with exception of not saving high score) and yesterday it decided to stack the asteroids. Dammit.
 
Was AMI the major manufacturer for POKEY chips? That was the brand on the few I have seen (inside atari carts)

AMI made garbage product as far as reliability in my opinion. I have more trouble with their PIAs, CPUs, and RAMs than anyone else. Specially the ones in plastic packages.
 
Ok, I have to apologize to the POKEY on my AD board. I swapped it into a working Tetris (which has two POKEYS) and it worked just fine. The socket the POKEY was in was the culprit, not the POKEY itself. Mine is a Signetics, interestingly enough.
 
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