bulletproofing asteroids?

Mindl3ss

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My Asteroids cabaret is down at the moment. The board needs some repair work done.

I've considered attempting the repair myself, since it's giving me a bad RAM chip beep in test mode, and I'm fairly sure I could replace that.

While I'm at it, what kind of things can I do to ensure it runs in top shape for years to come? I've noticed some of the caps on the board swelling, so I'll replace those.
Then again... I'm thinking if I send it in, maybe more stuff will be done that I'm not aware of.

I've heard replacing big blue is good to do on the power board.

Are there any other tips or things I can do to ensure a long and active life?
 
Cap the monitor and the Ar board.. Bob roberts has both kits. He also
has a full asteroids power supply rebuild kit. I'd go over the wiring harness

Malice95
 
Replace all the terminals on the PCB connector. Check the PDB board edge and make sure its clean and not badly burned. I do not like the retro fit PCB edge connector kit. Put it on an Asteroids cabaret and I doubt you could get the back door closed.

Might want to rebuild the AR board too.

To completley bullet proof... Rebuild the monitor and replace all the POTS.
 
Yep... like others have said, these are essential:

New Big Blue
Bob's AR board rebuild kit
Bob's G05-802 cap kit with transistors

There are a few guys here who repair boards at decent prices, so ask around.
 
Bullet proof a Vector.. Hmm..

Well I would definitely replace Sockets as these loose tension over time, and they didn't use the best sockets around. Most are just the single swipe kind.

Definitely spend some time, and money on the monitor. Re-flow or replace the connectors as those are a known weak spot.

Vector games require the most maintenance and attention IMHO. Although I've seen them run for years without problems too. My Star Wars has Run for almost 20 years, and 5 moves without a hitch.
 
Just in case, make sure you discharge it properly. I made the mistake on my Asteroids and wound up having to wait for Bob Roberts to send me a new HV Diode. A quick Google search turned up this tidbit about discharging:
"Discharge X-Y Monitors with a 10M-ohm resistor or the use of an HV probe."

Also, the X-Y Monitor FAQ is awesome.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2240150/Black-and-White-Vector-Monitor-FAQ-and-Guide

Good luck!
 
Well I would definitely replace Sockets as these loose tension over time, and they didn't use the best sockets around. Most are just the single swipe kind.

I can vouch for that. The tempest board (I'm still trying to fix) creaked like a screen door every time I picked it up (the sound of 100s of ROM pins slipping from their sockets).

12 new machine tooled sockets later, it's quiet as a mouse, and those ROMs are locked in tight.
 
Very cool.

Thanks for all the tips.

I didn't see the cap kit for the main PCB on Bob Robert's main parts page. I did see the rebuild kits for the AR board and the power board, however.

Thanks again. Hopefully I can get off my a$$ and order these parts soon, since I can afford them right now.
 
Very cool.

Thanks for all the tips.

I didn't see the cap kit for the main PCB on Bob Robert's main parts page. I did see the rebuild kits for the AR board and the power board, however.

Thanks again. Hopefully I can get off my a$$ and order these parts soon, since I can afford them right now.

It's under the cap kits page.

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/caps.html
 
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