Beginning my Sea Wolf repair journey

steve8091

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I recently picked up a pair of Sea Wolf machines which between them hopefully have enough parts to build a single, working machine. I knew when I got into this that it was going to be my most difficult repair to date. I don't yet have the skill, expertise, or experience for board repair...my work thus far has been more around rewiring and all-out replacing bad component assemblies (power supplies, boards, etc.).

Anyway, I pulled the best parts from each and appear to have a complete game, plus a load of spares to swap in and out if I have problems. So, I crossed my fingers and flipped the switch...

The good news is that it does have signs of life. The front lights flash in sequence and the monitor lights up, showing garbage at this point. Just for kicks I swapped in the second PCB and had similar results, though the monitor essentially just lights up white with this one...no wavy lines or anything. Without getting too deep too quickly, I'm wondering where to start on this thing. As I said, I'm not yet up for replacing components or reflowing solder, particularly if I can potentially get this thing working with the right combination of boards. If I can't, then I'll start risking breaking stuff.

I'm looking for a list of dummy problems to check for before I get too deep. I'm thinking that I'll go through and thoroughly clean up all of the edge connectors, then give it another shot. On another note, the boards I have are different - I believe one is a version D and the other an E - anyone know the differences between the two, and all things being equal, which would be better to keep?

Thanks in advance for your patience!
 
Alright, I checked the power supply and was able to achieve +5.2 (bottoming out the adjustment pot), +13.0 (no adjustment pot on this PS), and I'm not sure where to measure the -5V. Anyone know where I measure -5V? I'm thinking that my +5 and +12 are in the acceptable range?

So back to my boardset question - I have two different PCB configurations 80-900D and 80-900E (see photos below). The 80-900D has had the edge connector 'repaired' with giant globules of solder (which elektronforge recommends against), so my first inclination is to try to use the 80-900E (after either bending the pins or replacing the edge connectors). Is there any other reason that one would be preferable over the other?

Thanks for the help!
 

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Check you voltages on the main board edge connector, i think 5-6 is -5v or thats 12v and 3-4 is -5v)
(or CPU or RAM pins)

The solder globs isnt ideal (it will stretch out your new harness edge connector but may otherwise work if the copper didnt lift when it was done)
 
Hey gwarble - I just posted in your other thread. Apparently I got really lucky with this one...just for kicks I tried the un-soldered board, bent in the pins on the harness edge connectors (they must have previously been attached to the repaired board, as they were stretched out) and viola - my game is up and running! I still have to fight the periscope, but it's coming along.

Anyway, the harness edge connection is still really spotty, and I'd like a more permanent solution. Are there good replacements for these edge connectors (the three of them)?
 
I believe i ordered a couple of each, ebay i think but i'll double check

Edit: yup ebay unfortunately, but 4 of each so i could probably give you a set when they show up
 
Well my periscope isn't aiming consistently - from what I've read, shimming down the upper PCB may help with that, so that's my next step. The traces are also somewhat gouged from years of the contacts scraping back and forth...has anyone attempted to repair them? Explosion lights are inconsistent as well (some are working), but I'll tackle that one next. Lots of good information on both topics in archived threads.

One thing that I didn't see in searching the forums (I saw it asked, but never answered) was a good source for the black fluorescent light for the top part of the front glass. Also, would a standard fluorescent light just be too bright? They have a good selection of those at ReStore for very nice prices, so if the difference isn't HUGE, I might just go that route. :)
 
I may well be largely talking to myself, but if nothing else, it's good to get my thoughts on paper. I shimmed down the upper PCB (I used about 1/8" piece of lexan) , and it very quickly corrected my random 'aiming' issue. I had to slide the PCB to the far end of the slot to align properly with the crosshairs, but it's now aiming properly.

My list of remaining functional issues (note that I've not yet replaced the edge connectors):

1. I'm not getting the sonar sound effect. I get all other effects, and have maxed out the volume control pot, but I still get nothing. I have two sound boards, and neither produces sonar, so I'm betting it has something to do with the crappy edge connector on the main motherboard. If anyone knows what specific voltage to check where to figure this one out, I'd love to hear it.

2. My explosions are sporadic. Using the test plug, all bulbs are good, but I don't seem to be getting them all (I haven't yet specifically documented which I'm missing). What's odd is that I was getting no explosions (not even the test) until I swapped in a second sound board. I'm not sure what impact that has, but clearly the two are tied together. I'm hoping for the time being that replacing all edge connectors will fix the issue. Again, if there is a specific spot I can check, that'd be great.

3. My periscope is as saggy as an 80 year old woman. This causes my indicator lights for ready/reload and number of torpedos to overlay the playing field, rather than being above it. I've not yet rebuilt it, though I suspect that this will have little effect on the sag. Anyone have a way to give it a good lift? If not, I can live with it. My crosshairs are also at a slight angle from vertical, which is a slight annoyance.

I believe everything else is working as it should. Once I get it running, I'll take care of the cosmetics, and ultimately post up some pics. Also, once I get a fully functional set of interconnected boards, I'll be either selling complete or parting out what's left of the second machine I'm working with.
 
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I highly recommend you grab a copy of the sea wolf test rom I wrote for looking at your sonar and explosion problems. It'll make it a heck of a lot easier to test signals and connectors. FWIW a few of the transistors that drive the explosion bulbs were out when I got my sea wolf.
 
Yeah, I suspect that if it isn't my connections, it's those transistors. While my PCB is in fairly good shape, it's one of those things I could see someone not even messing with, and just living with. So that'll be my order of troubleshooting - if I get through both and still have issues, I'll look you up. Much appreciated.
 
I thought I'd check in with an update. I've got the unit mostly working, outside of a few issues that I suspect new edge connectors will correct (gwarble is helping me out with those). In the meantime, I've been doing some cosmetic repairs - painting, cleaning, etc. Specifically last night I refurbished the periscope - the grease in mine must have been original (35 years old), and took some heavy cleaning (ultimately steel wool did the trick) to get off. I soaked the balls themselves in chem-dip overnight, which worked well. Not to mention that when I opened it up, the bearing track was full of various pieces of metal - washers, screws, and shrapnel. Anyway, I got it cleaned up, regreased, and back together, and now it turns as smooth as silk. :)
 
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