Atari Centipede Cocktail Restoration, Low and Slow.

SuperSpy45

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Howdy from Texas! The time has come to start this Centipede. This will not be a full restore but rather a refresh on an already solid cabinet. Picked this up locally for around 350.00 about a year ago and its been sitting in my kitchen. I have only restored one cabinet before so I still consider myself a newbie, I'm excited to learn about all things Atari. Game is playing blind with sound, I plan on ordering the cap kit for it and the big blue. Bearings and control panel art will be replaced as well. I have some questions on whether I should rebuild the ARII and what to bullet proof on this cabinet so it is solid for years to come, hoping somebody can help me with that. This is going to be a learning process and will take me awhile hence the title. Parts are on the way so I will update as I receive more components. Let's get started!
 

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Nice score, the ARII will probably only need the bottle cap transistor 2N3055 (get it from a reputable source not ebay)on the big heat sink replaced as it looks original from the date on it, caps should be fine on it, the monitor is a 100v one if it has a standard 2 prong wall plug do not plug it into a wall outlet or it will be damaged, if you don't have a picture it could be more than a cap kit, check all fuses and clean the fuse holders, on the main board clean the edge connector on the board, get a fiberglass pen, others will chime in with more help just take your time and enjoy learning
 
Clean the edge connector on the PCB. With that done and a new 2N3055 as mentioned above on the AR, it'll be stable for a long time (assuming your wiring is all good.)
 
20+ years ago, I restored a couple Centipede games for a friend for him to resell. (two cocktails and a cabaret)

At his request, in one of the cocktails, I replaced the trackballs and fire buttons with translucent red, and then installed lights within each control panel to backlight them.
I thought that it turned out looking pretty cool. So did he. He ended up keeping that game for himself and still has it to this day.

A few pics attached. Back then, I used regular incandescent lamps. These days, I'd use a colored LED lamp instead.
 

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I've been wanting to change my Centipede ball and button to clear with color changing lights for a while. Just haven't been doing that kind of tinkering lately!
 
Okay I found some issues with my ARII and PCB, on the ARII there are some burned up diodes that need to be replaced. On the PCB I see some parts that need to be replaced as well. So far I have identified Y1, C62, VR2?, R30, and CR1. For C62 does anyone know of a good source to replace these particular diodes, I have not been able to find anything so far.
 

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Also had a question on the Filter Cap for the chassis, I'm assuming I can read the value and replace that as well? Definitely a noobie, would appreciate the help.
 

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Okay I found some issues with my ARII and PCB, on the ARII there are some burned up diodes that need to be replaced. On the PCB I see some parts that need to be replaced as well. So far I have identified Y1, C62, VR2?, R30, and CR1. For C62 does anyone know of a good source to replace these particular diodes, I have not been able to find anything so far.
That's actually a capacitor, the "C" in the descriptor helps you. It's a 0.1 uf ceramic axial capacitor, 25V. You can get them at a lot of places, but here's the Digikey link which is a 50V (you can go with a higher voltage value when you replace caps): https://www.digikey.com/en/products...raloric-bc-components/A104K15X7RF5UAA/2819271

Regarding the monitor, just get a cap kit if it's in need. That should have about everything you need. Arcade Parts and Repair is a good source for those. Maybe they have the little caps too ....

I'm guessing if you are finding obviously bad parts that you'll end up with some invisible problems like non-functional RAM or 74LS chips. Good luck and post questions here.

link to the manual which will also help you ID parts: https://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/C/Centipede.pdf
 
Okay great thank you for the information, I wanted to be careful and order the right parts with the correct values before I blindly just look at a capacitor and buy something that's not going to fix the issue, it was recommended to me from Peter at arcade parts to replace that filter cap I just wasn't sure which one to buy.
 
Little bit of progress today, got my parts from arcadeparts and repair. Looking forward to diving in and doing my first cap kit. I did have a question about the 2N3055. I have been researching KLOV and watching videos online to see if I need thermal paste for my particular board, if so any recommendations? I don't want to short anything or cause any bigger issues. Wish me luck dudes.
 

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Little update with the centipede. I have capped the monitor chassis, replaced all the parts in the pics above except for the transistor (VR2). I noticed on the black monitor cable that the copper wire is exposed and needs to be re-pinned as well as the pins on the molex that are coming out of the power brick that plugs into the monitor power. When I plug in the power to the game it still plays blind except for a singular green line that goes across the monitor. I have two questions, one for the transistor what heat compound is needed for VR2 and if I re-pin those molex cables will it fix the issue I am having with the monitor?
 

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I have reached a point where I need help from the arcade guru's. I did not adjust the B+ setting after recapping the monitor and have no idea how to adjust the B+ setting while the monitor is on and in the cabinet. I looked at several threads online and have looked at the manual for this monitor. How do I find the test points, where is the Q801 emitter and how do you test and adjust this setting safely without frying anything? It is a 14" Matsushita.
 
Something is causing my monitor to shut down after it turns for a few seconds. I'm not sure if the B+ is out of spec or if it is something else. How can I measure the B+ with the monitor on and would anyone else have any idea on what else could cause this issue? Please let me know, thank you.
 
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