B&W Vector "Wiggle/Wave"

Lamprey

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I have an Asteroids deluxe that is working pretty good. Just a bit of HUM from the speakers left to resolve.. But, in regards to the monitor there is a slight "wave" or "wiggle" in the lines.

Is this indicative of anything in particular? I was thinking of doing a cap kit, but if this is something caused by transistors or something else I'd focus on that. I'm fairly ignorant here, so thought I'd ask the pros. :)

Here is a picture with a couple of the wiggles highlighted in red.

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PS - Is Ian Kellogg's site closed or is it down temporarily (I can't get to it right now)?
 

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AD boards actually have a fair amount of distortion/inconsistency/variation in the picture. It's usually not so obvious as to be distracting, but I've repaired probably over a hundred of them, and they all have little idiosyncrasies in the image.

Ultimately it comes down to consistency of the parts in the analog section, as well as the DACs themselves (which I've seen vary quite a bit, in terms of how smooth they are). In your case I wouldn't worry too much about it, but artifacts like those in the crosshatch are usually caused by the 4016's, TL082's and TL081's, in the lower right corner of the board. They're analog amplifiers and switches, so they all contribute little artifacts. You can socket and replace them, but I would only recommend doing so if you are confident removing IC's from boards, as if you aren't comfortable and/or don't have the right tools, you can cause severe damage pretty quickly, as the traces are small and fragile in that area of the board.


Regarding Ian Kellogg, I heard on the John's Arcade site that he had a house fire yesterday. Apparently everyone is ok, but there was major damage. I don't have any more info than that, but that's likely the main factor in him being offline.
 
AD boards actually have a fair amount of distortion/inconsistency/variation in the picture. It's usually not so obvious as to be distracting, but I've repaired probably over a hundred of them, and they all have little idiosyncrasies in the image.

Ultimately it comes down to consistency of the parts in the analog section, as well as the DACs themselves (which I've seen vary quite a bit, in terms of how smooth they are). In your case I wouldn't worry too much about it, but artifacts like those in the crosshatch are usually caused by the 4016's, TL082's and TL081's, in the lower right corner of the board. They're analog amplifiers and switches, so they all contribute little artifacts. You can socket and replace them, but I would only recommend doing so if you are confident removing IC's from boards, as if you aren't comfortable and/or don't have the right tools, you can cause severe damage pretty quickly, as the traces are small and fragile in that area of the board.

Appreciate the reply. It isn't too noticeable while playing, so I may just leave it for now. I was just looking at my Asteroids and the cross-hatch pattern on that is near perfect. Maybe if I get motivated later this year I'll try swapping out 4016's, TL082's and TL081's that you mentioned.

Regarding Ian Kellogg, I heard on the John's Arcade site that he had a house fire yesterday. Apparently everyone is ok, but there was major damage. I don't have any more info than that, but that's likely the main factor in him being offline.

Man that sucks! Glad everyone is OK. Ian seems like a really cool guy. Hopefully, he/they can get things sorted out and get back to their normal lives.
 
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