Battle zone playing blind, no beeps, no spot killer

Ok, AR2 board had all test points at normal values. I don't know how to check the DACs yet, but I am going to pull out the Chassis and check to see if I have a cap kit already. I am pretty sure I do if its the g05 like asteroids.

I checked around all boards for voltage and it all looked good. I also just replaced the big blue, cause it was looking a little shitty.

I have a LOT of ICs if I need a replacement, and I have a shop near me that carries thousands of originals confirmed working (not sure how they did this. Kind of scary) but knowing which one is failing is a bit beyond my current skill level.

I am going to start posting YouTube videos of my progress on all 6 of the machines I have in my shop. Not for money, but so I can demonstrate what I am seeing on them. lol

I am enjoying fixing these machines more than playing funny enough, so I really do appreciate all of the help in getting started here!

Swap out the bottlecap transistor on the AR II. One of the first things that needs to be done for any vintage Atari cab. Much more likely to fail (and more damaging when it does) than the Big Blue.
 
Ohhhh, a new think I don't know how to test yet lol time for a beer
yes, on monitors, especially vector, you never just replace fuses without testing for shorted parts first. thats's the reason andrewb's guide makes a particular emphasis on testing procedure where you handle it in phases. the fast track to blowing more stuff up is blindly replacing fuses or testing/fixing a section and plugging everything in all at once.

before you do anything I encourage reading this: https://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/FAQ Black and White XY Version 1.1 dated 7 Feb 02.pdf

andrewb's guide is for color 6100s but most of the same psychology applies to B&W: https://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/How to Bring Up a 6100 Monitor - v20170517.pdf
 
Swap out the bottlecap transistor on the AR II. One of the first things that needs to be done for any vintage Atari cab. Much more likely to fail (and more damaging when it does) than the Big Blue.
Swapped out the 3055 on the AR2 and no change either. The old one was looking worse for wear as well, so probably due for a change
 
yes, on monitors, especially vector, you never just replace fuses without testing for shorted parts first. thats's the reason andrewb's guide makes a particular emphasis on testing procedure where you handle it in phases. the fast track to blowing more stuff up is blindly replacing fuses or testing/fixing a section and plugging everything in all at once.

before you do anything I encourage reading this: https://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/FAQ Black and White XY Version 1.1 dated 7 Feb 02.pdf

andrewb's guide is for color 6100s but most of the same psychology applies to B&W: https://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/How to Bring Up a 6100 Monitor - v20170517.pdf
It's officially on the shelf now! I think I have read this before as well, funny enough
 
Trying to share a photo of my manual binding collection, but the uploader is busted on mobile lol darn
 
Gonna do the cap kit on the monitor in the morning. 🤷‍♂️ Thanks again all, and happy Easter!
 
You at least have a bad DAC. And a bad DAC can blow the monitor, which is why you don't want to operate it that way.

Here's a collection of other threads with similar issues, that I have posted in before. I recommend reading all of them, as they will explain the general troubleshooting process for all vectors (which is similar for all of them) :

 
You at least have a bad DAC. And a bad DAC can blow the monitor, which is why you don't want to operate it that way.

Here's a collection of other threads with similar issues, that I have posted in before. I recommend reading all of them, as they will explain the general troubleshooting process for all vectors (which is similar for all of them) :

Ok, I think I'm gonna have to rework my benchtop power from Jamma and RGB to Atari and vector. Space is definitely becoming an issue lol

A 2 second search found me a picture of a test bench for Battlezone. I have basically had everything here already, just need a better oscilloscope for the vector viewing.

I could do this in cab, but my back hurts just thinking about it, and I don't have the kinda light I need there for this work. 🤔
 
yes, on monitors, especially vector, you never just replace fuses without testing for shorted parts first. thats's the reason andrewb's guide makes a particular emphasis on testing procedure where you handle it in phases. the fast track to blowing more stuff up is blindly replacing fuses or testing/fixing a section and plugging everything in all at once.

before you do anything I encourage reading this: https://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/FAQ Black and White XY Version 1.1 dated 7 Feb 02.pdf

andrewb's guide is for color 6100s but most of the same psychology applies to B&W: https://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/How to Bring Up a 6100 Monitor - v20170517.pdf
Also, maybe I misidentified it, but the blown fuse was 5A250V. The troubleshooting section in that B&Y guide says that's just bad luck generally. Source: Symptom Diagnosis #10
 
Ugh. I'm confused again.

On my board, in slot A9, I have a t9741 dac 312h. On the schematic, it says it should have the AM6012ADC.

Considering it did work, I assume that I am either looking at an incorrect schematic, or someone found a replacement that worked.
 
it should be a AM6012ADC

are you reading the numbers on the other chip wrong? I found nothing on that number.
 
DAC 312 is a sub for a 6012. They're the same thing.

I think DAC312's might still be made, but are crazy expensive. You can get gray-market 6012's cheaper on ebay. But you should test the chips in a known-good board either way.

Also, you mentioned that this board had work done in one of the DAC areas. You should check that, and test the DAC in another known-good board, to make sure it's bad. Always suspect prior work.
 
DAC 312 is a sub for a 6012. They're the same thing.

I think DAC312's might still be made, but are crazy expensive. You can get gray-market 6012's cheaper on ebay. But you should test the chips in a known-good board either way.

Also, you mentioned that this board had work done in one of the DAC areas. You should check that, and test the DAC in another known-good board, to make sure it's bad. Always suspect prior work.
I am actually not sure about the main board. I bodged some stuff that needed it. The monitor board, for sure. But the caps look original as far as I can tell after a clean.


I am trying to bench test this main board and I don't have a power supply that has 12 and 15 volts. So, I pulled out the actual power supply, and opened the manual... It just says there is a 12 pin connector, not what the pin out is lol I don't even know the ground at the moment to test the voltage manually.

To Google I guess.
 
What are you trying to bench test specifically?

It's possible to test the main board with just +5V. You just won't get video. You just have to jumper the one diode in the power-on reset circuit (C1 I think on BZ's?) And jumper the self-test signal, which will boot the main board into self-test. (You can't run attract mode without the aux board, but that's good enough to verify the main board's CPU and VG sections.

You can verify that you are getting activity at both DACs on all 10 inputs, all on the bench, which basically tells you the logic is working. That's how I do them. Then I test the video section with the board in a cabinet, where you have full power.
 
What are you trying to bench test specifically?

It's possible to test the main board with just +5V. You just won't get video. You just have to jumper the one diode in the power-on reset circuit (C1 I think on BZ's?) And jumper the self-test signal, which will boot the main board into self-test. (You can't run attract mode without the aux board, but that's good enough to verify the main board's CPU and VG sections.

You can verify that you are getting activity at both DACs on all 10 inputs, all on the bench, which basically tells you the logic is working. That's how I do them. Then I test the video section with the board in a cabinet, where you have full power.
Ah, so with just the +-5v gnd +-12v, the dacs should operate properly? Honestly, I'll replace them anyway, but learning to power and identify issues with ICs is probably a worthwhile skill
 
And Philips has a dac312 with the same pin count. Unsure if it's compatible with the one from all play(name check, the play symbol)

That's $6 on eBay, which isn't terrible
 
The game board logic needs +5V.

The video section of the game boards needs +15 and -15V, and a separate +5V that is just for the DAC (which you can jumper from the game board's +5V, for test purposes). The main game board normally takes in +22 and -22V DC from the AR. The game board has its own onboard regulators, which regulates those down to the +15, -15, and +5DAC. But you can apply those three voltages directly, after the regulators, if you have separate bench sources.

Got a link to the DAC312's you're seeing on ebay?
 
Nevermind, found it.


I'd be a little cautious of that seller. 95% feedback, with 150 sales. They might not be the most dependable. But I did see others listed for a couple bucks more. Most of them are around $9-10 each.

Also, the 'play button' is the logo for Analog Devices.
 
Oh, I saw this, but I didn't know if hp,zh, or any other characters at the end of dac312h mattered lol
 
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