Dig Dug givin me grief .. need some advice please!

nanoryan

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Hey guys,

I got a Dig Dug project a couple weeks ago and I am slowly putting it together. I have a couple issues that I am trying to get sorted out. One is related to video and the other is related to audio.

Video: I installed a switcher and got the game to boot and run once it was getting solid +5 (coins up, plays, attract screen, etc) but no characters display (Dig Dug, Pooka, Fygar, rocks, flowers, the big Dig Dug Logo, etc). I cleaned the pins on all the socketed chips and still no luck.

Audio: It works but it is very very tinny and 'digital' sounding. Almost like the bass and most of the treble have been completely stripped out.

The op I bought the game from included a main power supply assembly but the S/N dosen't match the cab. I assume most of these are universal for Atari games but I suppose I could be wrong. The ARII is an -01 version so that should be correct.

Any suggestions? I would really like to avoid buying a new PCB if possible.

Thanks! Ryan
 
On the video issue:

Totally different game, but if I have the +5V set too low on my Ikari Warriors, I don't get sprites like you are saying.

Also, on my Ikari, if I measure at the power supply and it says +5V, I'm only actually getting +4.68 on the chips on my board (measured by putting the leads at opposite corners on any 16 pin chip). At this level I don't get sprites. If I turn the power up so I get +5V on the board, then everything works great, but I'm a little nervous because out of the power supply the power is quite a bit higher than +5V.

I'm kind of a noob, and I don't understand the power measures differently at the power supply than the chips.
 
Did Dug requires an audio amp which is not provided by a switching power supply.

The video problem is most likely due to not having the switcher feeding +5vdc to all of the pins that need it on the board.
 
Did Dug requires an audio amp which is not provided by a switching power supply.

The video problem is most likely due to not having the switcher feeding +5vdc to all of the pins that need it on the board.

Thanks for the replies. The ARII is still there providing audio. The only change in the power scheme is that all +5 to the board (including the sense line) is now hooked up to the switcher.
 
Test the power on the A/R II and tell me what you get.
Meter set to 20vdc
Black lead to J7 - pin 2
Red lead to J7 - pin 5
 
Test the power on the A/R II and tell me what you get.
Meter set to 20vdc
Black lead to J7 - pin 2
Red lead to J7 - pin 5

Thanks Dave, I will go check it now. Sorry, need some clarification. What do you mean by meter set to 20vdc? Where is pin 1 located on J7? Does the count start from left to right?
 
Thanks Dave, I will go check it now. Sorry, need some clarification. What do you mean by meter set to 20vdc? Where is pin 1 located on J7? Does the count start from left to right?

set your multimeter for the 20vdc range

.......J7.....
..^..^..^..
..1...2...3..
..4...5...6..
..7...8...9..
...............
 
unplug J5 from the power brick and read
Red lead to J5 - pin 2
Black lead to J5 - pin 5

J5 is the big connector right? There was a sticker over the connector label. Using the same pinout as J7 it is reading 14.25vdc
 
I have no clue why the switcher was installed, it appears that your A/R II is working fine.

Where did this game come from?

Well, it wouldn't boot before the switcher and now it does so something is up.
 
check your coin door lockout coils

Disconnected the lockout coils and no change (they operate fine). To clarify, the reason I put the switcher in was because I couldn't get above about 4.6vdc at the board from the ARII .. even with the adjustment pot turned all the way up.

I was really hoping this might be an easy fix but other than a corrupted ROM set I am not sure what might be wrong with the PCB. Maybe buying a replacement working PCB would be easier than trying to fix the one in it currently.
 
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