Asteroids Deluxe troubleshooting help

Homer_J123

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Just picked this up last week. Here's what I've got so far: power it on in test mode, speaker hums, p1/p2 buttons light up solid. Button presses make beeps but no picture. Switch to game mode and p1/p2 buttons blink and spot killer flashes on and off but still no picture.

Then I did the following:
1) big blue replaced (also tested with another power brick I know worked before and had same results)
2) cleaned edge connector
3) re-seated the 6502 chip

When I powered it back on I got similar results as before but this image showed up in test mode (see attached). Here is what it looks like when I switch to game mode (video link) https://www.dropbox.com/s/kt613h56o9k9u3o/AD-spotkiller.mov?dl=0

I then re-seated all the chips on the board but no change. Voltages on the A/R I think are within spec (5.2V and 12.5V). The 10.3 is high but I read somewhere that it can show as high as 13V and thats ok. Correct me if thats wrong.

What should I try next? I have a limited tool set right now as I'm still new to repairing. If I've mislabeled or done anything wrong please let me know. Thx!
 

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You have PCB issues. If it's not playing in game mode (i.e., enough that you can at least hear the sounds), you may have CPU or other digital issues, but also from that pic you have a bad x-axis DAC (which is what causes the horizontal stretching), and possibly other stuff.

Unless you want to start doing component-level board repair, I'd look for someone to send it to, and/or a replacement board.
 
I was sort of leaning toward the pcb but hoped maybe I just missed something else as a cause. Do you think I might have any kind of success with a logic probe to troubleshoot further? I don't mind spending some time tinkering with it before I have it professionally fixed.
 
As andrewb said, replace/socket a new X DAC and see what happens. Can't hurt (unless you're bad at soldering). :)

>> your new screen capture confirms code is running ... at least in TEST MODE.

I'd also pull the POKEY to see if it is dragging down the addr/data lines. (sometimes happens)
 
The bigger question is what is it doing when not in test mode. Can you give more info? Are the dips set to free play? If not, try that (or just try coining it up) and seeing if you can start a game, enough to hear sounds, even if there is no picture.

You're going to need to replace that DAC at the very least, as there are definitely issues in the analog section (and hopefully it's just that DAC). Once you fix that, test mode might show you more error codes, but right now they're pushed off the left side of the screen (as that's where things like ROM error codes are displayed.)
 
BTW, where in Kittery are you? I live in downtown Portsmouth, so if you're close enough, you could literally walk it across the bridge, and I could repair it for you. If you get to that point. ;)
 
Also to answer your other question it wont play at all in game mode. Set to free play and no game sounds. It actually looks like the board is power cycling on/off (at least thats what the spot killer is doing).
 
You can try pulling, cleaning, and re-seating the ROMs. A can of DeOxit is a useful thing to have in cases like this.

It's likely in a continuous reset loop. However the fact that test mode is working is a good thing, as that means most of the system is working, and it's potentially something simple, like a bad ROM, or something else messing up the address or data bus, which is allowing the test mode ROM to be accessed, but not the other ROMs.
 
TEST MODE works off of the "first" ROM. No?
GAME MODE needs all the ROMs.
All socketed parts should be reviewed. All sockets reviewed. (have any RAM been replaced and socketed? - check any repairs for open traces, bad solder etc)
The 5VDC voltage checked on the logic board and not just at the ARII.
 
Thanks all. I'll poke around a little more with the pcb tonight after work and will let you know if anything changes/improves.
 
Unfortunately nothing new to report. I reset and cleaned all the chips as best I could. One thing I noticed is this board has had previous repair work done.
 
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