Discs of Tron PCB and Deflect Button help!

khabbi

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Well, I have my UDOT working pretty damn good, the sound is working 100%, and gameplay is spot on.. but, I can't get my deflect button to work and there appears to be some modifications to the PCB.. I don't know where to start to troubleshoot this, so I'm hoping someone can help..

I recently bought a second DOT PCB with the hopes that I could get the machine back to 100%, but upon plugging that in there appears to be some serious scroll issues.. I was able to fire a credit up and listen to gameplay, and when I hit the deflect button I did not hear a noise that it was working.. I assume that the deflect function makes a noise, correct? Pulled this one and put back my original PCB, will deal with this one later.

Back to my original PCB. First off, when I bought the game, this is what I noticed had been done to one of the harnesses, I don't know if this was done to a factory harness or someone took a different harness and modified it to work with this game.. again, the only thing that is a problem right now is the deflect button... but I'd still like to know if someone can decipher what was done to this and why:

dotpcb1.jpg


Also, the original PCB has had some work.. and there is a capacitor (forgive me if I'm calling it the wrong thing) that is not attached... see pic below. It is located in the CP26 part of the board.. can anyone research what this area of the board would be responsible for? My other PCB appeared to have the capacitor at CP26 intact, and I didn't hear the deflect working when I hit it. Here's the pic of the detached capacitor:

dotpcb2.jpg


Thanks in advance for any help!!
 
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Here's the pic of the detached capacitor:

dotpcb2.jpg


Thanks in advance for any help!!

Holy tall capaicitor Batman! What part of "through hole mount" did the PO not understand?

I would reattach that cap leg, actually I would un solder all those caps and mount them down low next to the board as they should be. However, there is a good chance that is not your problem with the deflect. Sorry I dont have a better answer.

I can tell you that deflect does make a bzzzzzt sound, and you will hold up an electrical arc above your head when you hit that button.

Congrats on your amazing progress so far in bringing an awesome game back from the dead!!!!
 
Probably pointing out something way to simple, but did you you confirm the deflect button is wired and working correctly? Maybe in test mode, or just confirming the connection? It looks like deflect wires up to J5-7.
 
See that Brown & Blue wire that's cut in your picture? That's your deflection wire, I believe. It goes on Pin 7 like Jeff said, which would be next to the six wires on that top connector in the picture, the connecter by the reset button. It must have pulled loose or something, those are pretty crappy connectors they used on those anyways. The brown, loose wire, needs to go next to the 6 other wires at the end of that one connecter.




















Disclaimer: if your shit blows up after this, i'm not responsible.
 
Probably pointing out something way to simple, but did you you confirm the deflect button is wired and working correctly? Maybe in test mode, or just confirming the connection? It looks like deflect wires up to J5-7.

Yeah, no go on the button working in the setup mode.. but the deflect button is lit up red at least :)
 
See that Brown & Blue wire that's cut in your picture? That's your deflection wire, I believe. It goes on Pin 7 like Jeff said, which would be next to the six wires on that top connector in the picture, the connecter by the reset button. It must have pulled loose or something, those are pretty crappy connectors they used on those anyways. The brown, loose wire, needs to go next to the 6 other wires at the end of that one connecter.



Disclaimer: if your shit blows up after this, i'm not responsible.

Thanks for your help. Are you sure? lol. I want to be sure before I do anything (fry a DOT board).. but I trust you guys.

I'll do my best to track back the brown/blue wire to see where it goes. Man I am a little paranoid with all these loose wires and capacitor not welded correctly and the only thing wrong is my deflect.. Almost like I'm afraid I'm gonna F something else up worse by connecting stuff.

I really do need the deflect in this game, without it it certainly changes the gameplay. I could live without it, but what fun would that be?

So is there any way to track back on the blueprints what the disconnected capacitor goes to?

Thanks again for all your help!!
 
He's right. You can double check if you like - page 36 here: http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arca...ron_Parts_and_Operating_Manual_(Aug_1983).pdf

The red connector in your first photo...the one farthest away, should have the first 7 pins connected to the joystick or spinner. The 7th pin is your deflect.

If you're concerned about the caps, check the PCB diagram (p38) and find out exactly what is supposed to go in those spots. Something was most likely missing or bad and replaced. I had an entire row of the .1mf caps missing from my board, and replaced them with the larger green ones too:
dot_237.JPG
 
Thanks again for all your help guys.

With re-attaching that wire, do I just strip the wire and place it in the slot or do I need to solder it or?

I am not electronically inclined, so while I have an idea how to do this I'd like to know the right way.

If this does indeed fix my deflect I'm going to be very happy.....
 
If you snap the little black cover off the connector, you'll see how it works. You just push the wire down in there, and little blades make contact through the rubber on the wire. You'll probably see the broken piece of wire inside it.
 
If you snap the little black cover off the connector, you'll see how it works. You just push the wire down in there, and little blades make contact through the rubber on the wire. You'll probably see the broken piece of wire inside it.

You might also try connecting it directly to the board and hold it with your fingers while someone else pushes the deflect button...that might tell you if that's the problem or not.
 
I just want to say that YOU GUYS ARE THE SHIT!!! I finally got some time to work on my DOT and now my deflect works!! I am so friggin stoked, it's a totally different game with deflect.. so much more enjoyable to play With it!! :)

Thank you VERY much, greatly appreciated!
 
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