Carnevil: focus issue?

mc300baud

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ok, so unfortunately i can't give a lot of details about the problem because it's a machine for sale, the person running the place knows nothing about games, and i can't crack the cabinet to have a look or make adjustments. the coin mechs have also been taped off so i didn't try a game, just watched the attract mode.

symptoms: monitor is sorta dim and out of focus. when the picture fades from one scene to another it comes into focus just briefly (then of course it goes to black.) does the opposite when it fades back in.

is this symptomatic of something specific and repairable? or is this too general an issue to be able to tell? the price is pretty good and if it's something i can take care of pretty easily i'm very interested. if not then i don't want to take on another basket case project, especially if i'd have to find a monitor for it.
 
flyback adjustments... screen and focus. perhaps the flyback is dying too. never replaced one before, or ever saw one go bad.

if you were able to get in and tinker with the focus (after the monitor's warmed up for 15+ mins) and it loses focus again, then it's a sign that the flyback is going bad.

monitor geniuses, where art thou?
 
i figure it's a flyback but for me that's just a guess.

of course, i can't see what model the monitor is so i have no idea if flybacks are available.

do gun games use special monitors, or would any 25" do?
 
buy it youll like it lol..

ive had 2... one had a dead wells 7500 that i replaced with a 25k7901 iirc(just a standard run of the mill monitor)

the other one that i still havfe troday i stuffed a biog ass 33" tri res in there and shes pretty...

but again like i said it just uses a standard res stanrard type monitor... so even if yours un unrepairable you could just find another monitor and viola...


im real interested to see what monitors in there.. cant do much else psycic diagnostica without knowing what you are dealing with.. if its a neotec or a wells k7000 i almost guarantee it needs a flyback..
 
i've got a 25" K7000 out of a Chase HQ (still trying to get a working board set; haven't trashed that cab yet...) that i could use at least temporarily.

i also have a new spare K7000 flyback from Bob and he sells replacements for the K7400 and K7500 series.

i won't have time to go back and look at it until this weekend; i suppose if i do i'll try to get in a game or two to test the guns. don't know if they'll function if the monitor is really out of focus though. and hey, if it's already sold by then it just wasn't meant to be.
 
i got a chance to go back to the location and speak with someone there.

apparently, not only is there a focus issue, but the picture comes and goes. i'm suspecting this is part of the same flyback problem, but that's just a guess.

unfortunately, the picture gone when i was there this morning so i was unable to plunk a few quarters into it to see if it would coin and play.
 
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if it's anything like the WG K7500 in my Blitz 99, then it's probably for certain that the flyback is going. in my case though it doesn't help that the tube has issues too, but my K7500 will seriously be in focus one time, and I'll come back inside a couple hours later and the focus will be totally gone.

haven't had any problems with it blacking out on mine though.

for fun, has this Carnevil been moved around a lot? monitor gurus, would any of these problems be symptomatic of the neckboard maybe being loose?
 
mabye, or even bad solder where the focus wire meets the neckboard...

on top of the blanking out issue the tube could also be very dirty as well.. youd be amazed how may times ive fixed focus issues by simply cleaning the frickin crt!
 
mabye, or even bad solder where the focus wire meets the neckboard...

on top of the blanking out issue the tube could also be very dirty as well.. youd be amazed how may times ive fixed focus issues by simply cleaning the frickin crt!

:p

Carnevil is such a bitch to clean... the dedicated ones, the marquee is like friggin paper and just freefloats behind glass. I just did ours like 2 weeks ago.

but good call, Carnevil attracts a lot of dust, so maybe it needs a bath.
 
i know it's not just dirt on the monitor (though it probably is pretty nasty as i'm sure it's been on route or location for the last 10 years,) because it did come into focus just briefly as the graphics faded to black.

if the person i talked to today is to be believed, i'll be picking up the cabinet this weekend and see what kind of basket case i've gotten myself into. yay!
 
you mean when like the screens fade to black in the game they appear to be in focus?

if that's the case, then the contrast is probably just cranked.

try this first, the guy just has to open the top coin door for you..

turn the brightness way up, and then gradually turn it down until the black background is not longer seen (ie: the black should look black, not dark grey)

then do the same with the contrast. keep turning the contrast down until the smearing on the text disappears.

that's how I was told to adjust those. if the brightness is still too high, then you probably have to dig into the Screen pot on the flyback and turn it down a smidge.

I'd muck with these first before getting crazy with the soldering iron and parts.
 
once i get the cab home i'll be messing with the adjustments as they won't let me do it on site (i can understand that.) i'm still guessing that it's a dying flyback but if it's not and changing the brightness and contrast fixes it i'll of course be happy.

the person i initially talked to also had stated that other than the monitor problems it was fully working; that'd be awfully nice if it turns out to be true.
 
ok, picked up the game today and opened it up... cracked flyback.. i did get it to focus pretty well (using a screwdriver with a non-conductive handle of course.) turns out it plays great despite the dim picture.

it also needs a new marquee fixture and possibly the noisy cooling fan next to the PCB replaced it's rather noisy. otherwise it's in better shape than i thought with some minor damage to the side art and CPO but super clean and solid. even my wife who helped me move it was surprised at the condition. wouldn't mind having the shotguns instead of the more reliable replacement pistols, but for now i'll be content with what i've got.

oh, yeah, since i was buying this from an arcade owned by a national chain, i had to jump through a few hoops to take it home. apparently each machine has to be inspected by the regional manager before it can go out the door. the store manager relayed to me that the regional manager had checked it out, called somebody about a replacement part to fix it and, they said it would be about $1000. so she warned me several times about the price for repair, as if after hearing it i wouldn't want the machine. i suspect maybe he'd looked at it and realized what an easy fix it was (new fly or replacement 25" CRT,) and thought that maybe he could scare me out of wanting it so he could make repairs then sell it at a much higher price.

Bob's got the K7400 fly i need for $26 i'll do an $11 cap kit it while i've got it out as well. $37 just doesn't seem that close to $1000. hmmm.

oh yeah, my price was $195 + tax, just in case anyone was wondering.
 
ok, so unfortunately i can't give a lot of details about the problem because it's a machine for sale, the person running the place knows nothing about games, and i can't crack the cabinet to have a look or make adjustments. the coin mechs have also been taped off so i didn't try a game, just watched the attract mode.

symptoms: monitor is sorta dim and out of focus. when the picture fades from one scene to another it comes into focus just briefly (then of course it goes to black.) does the opposite when it fades back in.

is this symptomatic of something specific and repairable? or is this too general an issue to be able to tell? the price is pretty good and if it's something i can take care of pretty easily i'm very interested. if not then i don't want to take on another basket case project, especially if i'd have to find a monitor for it.

The CarnEvil at Tilt arcade right?
EDIT - just read the rest of the posts. Good deal man.

You see the prices on the rest of their stuff? f*cking ridiculous! lol.

I *almost* bought that thing 2 weeks ago when they first put it up for sale but decided I already have enough projects going right now. Glad a collector bought it :)
 
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yeah, it was the one at Tilt at the Supermall. i saw it a while ago and it took some time to jump through all the hoops to finally get it.

and yep, most of their prices are outrageous. if i had room i'd pick up that dual Skeeball for $295, though. the Addams Family redemption machine had unfortunately already been spoken for before i saw it... apparently it was priced at $45. my wife's maiden name is Adams and she would have loved having it.

i thought it was funny that a converted Neo Geo (4 or 6 slot) with some newer fighting game was priced at $295, but if you wanted the converted MK cabinet right across the way it was $1895. same game. huh.

and the Tilt up at SeaTac Commons has a few more games at vaguely reasonable prices. the Daytona USA looks like both sides are in good shape and if i had room and money i'd have been tempted.
 
i think i checked the Namco website once and they had some decent prices but the nearest one was Vegas.

there's another Tilt down in Olympia that i might run to later this week. maybe in can go say hi to Ken Layton when i do it.
 
namco arcades has some good deals around chi but good luck getting a return phone call!

same people in Elk Grove? we got a 20th Anniv Ms Pac. at their auction back in July (or was it August? gfd I'm losing my mind) ... was all their like trade-in stock and such, real top quality stuff. like if the game they were auctioning was broken, they'd replace the bad parts for free.

I had an "EP" (extra part lol) coin door floating in the bottom of it. parted it out to fix our DDR. how's that for dumb luck? lol

those prices are vomit-inducing. take a glance at ebay sometime for some real upchuck material.
 
ok, got the new flyback and a cap kit installed. focus isn't a problem anymore, but brightness still is. the monitor is a WG 25K7401.

i tried making all the adjustments i could on the remote and neck boards. if i turn up the CONTRAST, RED DRIVE or GREEN DRIVE too much the picture will flicker (i only tried this on the RED and WHITE test screens.) otherwise, the picture looks dim and "white" looks pretty blue. i do know i'm getting all three colors as they are dimly visible on each of the respective single-color test screens.

at this point i can only assume that the tube needs a rejuve or is shot. unfortunately it's one of those Zenith tubes that have been mentioned as sucking for rejuvenation.

so assuming the tube is bad and i can't revive it, i can use any 25" standard monitor or replacement tube (with the right pinout, of course,) and the light guns should still function just fine?
 
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