Chase H.Q. -- Steering Mod / Repair

nazerine

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Hey everyone,

Here's some info I learned about my Chase HQ game, and some repairs:

Taito Chase H.Q. Steering Mod

My game came with the steering wheel free spinning 360 degrees, from factory the steering wheel has a bump stop, and spring return only allowing 270 degrees right and left.

To my surprise inside my cabinet I found a document detailing "Chase H.Q. Steering Mod", which is how to convert the game to have free spin steering! Awesome I said! I couldn't find ANYTHING about this online. This mod definitely makes the game way more fun to play.

So to convert your setup to free spin, you must remove the spring, steering bump stop, and the optical sensor that detects center. Now here's the big secret, Dip switch bank A, switch #1 -- Must be set to ON for free spin, OFF for 270 degree.

Steering Wheel Repair

I picked up a Chase H.Q. machine last week. Outside of the game board issues, the steering was in TERRIBLE shape .. it was able to free spin 360 degrees, and had a major amount of slop .. the steering didn't work well at all.

So, I tore it down. The bolts holding the steering wheel on were loose, and slightly stripped. Had to re-tap the holes, bought new bolts. Old bolts had bits of aluminum stuck in the threads, yuck.

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Next was the gear assembly which drives the optical sensor, it was all worn out and everything was loose. The brass bushings that the gear shafts go through, and held onto an aluminum plate using some kind of clip, similar to a lock washer but made out of spring steel. Doesn't seem very clever.

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So I decided to work with what I had, and cleaned the brass bushings up, sanded off the high spots on the aluminum bracket, and silver soldered them in place. You cannot bond brass to aluminum with silver solder (unless you have the right flux), so the solder itself is acting like a retainer. Seems to have worked well so far!

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So one plastic gear with two set screws was pretty messed up .. the teeth were a little wrecked from riding at an angle for years (loose brass bushing). I used some pins to open the gap, and super glued it back together. Appears to have worked.

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So then I put it all back together, and the tolerances were almost too tight! With grease it didn't spin nice and free like it used to. I guess that means its fixed properly? :p

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oh man..nice job repairing that busted gear. where did you get the spring at? ive been looking for one but gave up after awhile. great pics on your work also.
 
I ended up trying two different springs. Bought a box of 1000 springs from a local store, but none of them had the right feel. Went to local hardware store Rona, which they had an absolutely perfect spring. It was a harder steel, smaller diameter, but had 2 times the pull. Not the one pictured.

Originally I had fabricated the missing tab to connect the spring, and the bump stop on the shaft. They seemed to work fine, but then looking at the schematic I realized you need the "find center" circuit board, and some other missing pieces I don't have. So after I realized this and played a few games (didn't steer well after 5+ games, center was lost), I removed the stop and spring, and switched the game board to free spin steering mode.... Overall I think I prefer the free spin steering, as it is more accurate at high speeds with less effort :D

Surprised there aren't more people with this game, it is lots of fun and faced paced. Naaanncccyyyy!!!
 
I have a really beat up HQ also I'm looking to restore. I can't wait to start it. Great Mod amigo. Post some finished pics.

If you know where to find a CP and the shift for it, let me know. Mine didn't come with any of that. Steering wheel and all. lol. Thanks and good luck.
 
I'd post up in the WTB section, someone has to have some spare parts laying around.

I'll post up some complete pics some time soon, game has gotten a lot of attention in the man cave since I got it working. Managed to rock out 3.7 million points and change by Stage 4 using TG settings.... going to have to go for the top score on tg now :D
 
I've got a steering wheel and a shifter laying around here somewhere. I remember someone was interested in it quite a while ago, but I lost the PMs. I don't have the CP though, just the parts for it.

-Ian
 
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