Cinematronics Solar Quest Vector Monitor help

Grbgemen

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So i picked up a Solar Quest a few weeks back. Seller plugged it in and i heard the start up explosion but nothing on the monitor. Got it home and had no sounds on power up. Found out breakers were being blown. Replaced all three voltage regulators and it started to play blind.

I also got a very dim picture after the regulators were replaced. I turned up the brightness POT to max and the picture did get a hair brighter but not much. I could faintly read backwards "Solar Quest" and "Insert Coin." Tried to play a game with the mirror in but it was too dim to see anything.

Later that evening, my cousin stopped by and i went to show him that i had a picture now. The game booted with random vectors flying around the screen. They move in the same patterns but they are just random lines. I decided that i would go ahead and follow the FAQ and replace the recommended parts.

So far i have done the following:


  • Replaced resistors R118, R119 R218 and R219 with 47 Ohm, 5W resistors
  • Replace the tantalum capacitors with an electrolytic -- 33uF @ 50V
    replacement value. C4; C10; C23; C105; (cant find cap C211)
  • Replace all 1N4003 diodes with 1N4004
  • Replace the deflection transistors with the 2N3716/2N3792
  • Replaced a few other misc. caps
  • Reflowed all molex header points and any others that looked cracked
I am going to try adjusting the line length pots on the monitor – R102 and R202 after dinner. When i fire a Nuke in the game and it explodes, i get bright vectors near the edge of the screen.

Any ideas on why the screen is not very bright? Will report back later...
 
The monitor in my Star Castle was really dim, I tested the tube, which was kinda weak... I rejuvenated it, and now it looks GREAT. It may be worth looking into... not sure if that's common with tubes in Cine vectors.

DogP
 
When you fire the Nukes does the bright spot always appear in the same spot or is it in different places? Are you sure that you got the monitor ribbon cable back in the right direction?
 
Nukes appear in different spots. But seems like they are always towards the edge. And when they do go off, they are bright. As in brighter than the rest of the vectors on the screen.

As for the ribbon cable, i "think" its the right way. I did not change it from the time that i could faintly read insert coins to when i powered up later too scrambled lines. I could see the ship flying and firing bullets.
 
So it looks like the Amperex tubes went bad in a lot of star castles. Other games that used them did not seem to suffer from the dim issue as much but it did happen.
 
Anyone got an idea where to look or what might be causing this?

The dim picture sounds like its fixable with a rejuv or simply a new tube. Just wanna get it working correctly before.

i suppose this could be a
 
Anyone got an idea where to look or what might be causing this?

The dim picture sounds like its fixable with a rejuv or simply a new tube. Just wanna get it working correctly before.

i suppose this could be a board problem also....
 
Does the game play blind? It definitely could be a board problem... since the monitor did the right thing once, and it does still kinda do something, I'd look into verifying the board (make sure it plays blind, check voltages, reseat chips, etc).

DogP
 
Yes it plays blind with all correct sounds. I have reseated all chips. I checked the 4 eproms and they all verify. +5 volts on the cpu. It looks as if its in attract mode as the screen is repeating the pattern. The lines all fly around in the same motion and for a few seconds it pauses where i assume it says Solar Quest, Insert coin, etc...

When i put it into test mode, i get a blank screen. Im almost positive that i had it in test mode when it was working and at the first screen there was rectangle with little bars on it. i get nothing now.

The second screen i assume should be a grid. Mine has a about 10 lines stacked at an angle and a few others crossing through them also at an angle. Looks nothing like a grid.

Third screen is just random lines.


Maybe I can try and get a video of whats going on.
 
Try swapping the two DAC around on the monitor board and see if anything changes. If you happen to have a LF13331 Analog switch laying around, I would try to swap that and see if it makes a difference. They are obsolete, so I wouldn't recommend buying one just to swap in and see what happens.

It's been a while since I worked on mine but isn't there a couple of adjustments on the intensity board that sits on the back of the monitor?

I had to replace the tube in mine also but the symptoms were different. The picture on mine was also dim but the lines on the screen were more like dotted lines.
 
It's been a while since I worked on mine but isn't there a couple of adjustments on the intensity board that sits on the back of the monitor?

I believe there is a 'contrast' pot.

I am still in the process of collecting funds to get my 2 solar quest boards repaired. Then I will have to tackle the monitors. I will be watching this thread closely.
 
Contrast POT doesnt seem to change the picture much at all. I shot a short video last night but did not have time to post it. Will do so later today.

I also already tried swapping the DAC80's with no difference in picture quality.
 
get another tube, or rejuve it... if you are luck enough to have a local TV repair shop just bring it in must if not all can do that for you.

mh
 
Klov member Troxel was over yesterday afternoon and brought along his B&K Rejuv. We followed the directions but had a few issues. In the end, we are unsure if the rejuv is working correctly. I am going to be buying a rejuv myself(if i can find one) and we can go from there.
 
Little update on this....

I ended up picking up a Sencore CR70 Rejuv. Went ahead and hooked it up today, set all the controls according to the sencore site and started reading. Failed Auto restore, manual 1, manual 2, and rejuv(supposed to do those first three before rejuv). Emissions tests bad. Looks like a new tube is needed.

As for the board, I moved the cabinet across the garage and when powered on, I started to see some flashes on the pcb LED(supposed to be one flash then off). I contacted Mark at cinelabs and went ahead and sent it off just to be sure. He got the board and says it works.... He is gonna let it burn-in for a few weeks to be sure there is nothing wrong.
 
So it looks like the Amperex tubes went bad in a lot of star castles. Other games that used them did not seem to suffer from the dim issue as much but it did happen.

The latest urban legend I heard is that some of the Amperex tubes got a double-shot of phosphor at the factory.

I do not claim this to be true :)

All my Amperex tubes are dim, though. The Sylvania CRT on my Rip Off is still strong.
 
Update...

Mark at cinelabs tested my board for over 700 hours. Worked perfectly. I went ahead and ordered two replacement DAC80's and the LF13331. Turned out to be the LF13331 causing all the problems.

Game is up and running now with a brand new tube. Now i just need to finish work on the cabinet and put it back together.
 
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