Does anyone make and sell new Tempest interconnect cables

Black Matrix

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Does anyone make and sell new Tempest interconnect cables

I believe this was a Bob Roberts deal in the old days, but I may need one STAT as I have a Tempest that has vectors wigging out everywhere. Does anyone make and sell the interconnects that goes between the two pcboards for Tempest games......Probably makes them for Battlezone, and Red Baron as well since they are really similar. Thanks in advance.
 
I have originals and can make new ones. But honestly, they don't usually go bad. (And if they do, they're pretty easy to test and/or fix.) You can test the cable with a DMM.

If you're having issues, it's honestly not likely to be the cable. Have you done basic troubleshooting? Check voltages on both boards, run self-test to see if any errors are being indicated (either RAM error beep codes, and/or on-screen ROM error codes.) If the self test won't run by flipping the switch, try powering the cab on with the test switch already flipped. See the manual for info on the self-test screens.

You also want to reflow the interconnect headers, and reseat all of the socketed chips, and ideally also clean the chip legs.

If you still have issues after doing all of the above, post a video of what you're seeing. Also, you don't really want to run a misbehaving board on a good monitor for long, as you can easily blow the monitor. You should also check to see if the game is playing blind (i.e., it's just a graphics issue), or if the CPU is not working properly. Unplug the monitor, and see if you can coin up and otherwise play a game, with all of the sounds working correctly, etc.
 
I have the board pulled and will probaly do most of that tonight. Then run it through the test. But my vectors were going wonky and changing position all over the screen and ultimatey collapse and the screen went black. I had had an intermittent problem with green vectors going out but I suspected it was a header pin on the monitor or the monitor input connector itself. But this is a bad connection of some type I think. It has had a cowgill multi tempest added so It should be simpler but I haven't quite figured out if it was ever done the way it should be so I have to reseat and clean all the mini boards....It should be more reliable, but I wouldn't count on it....we'll keep after it and hopefully get it figured out. Thanks for the advice.
 
I have the board pulled and will probaly do most of that tonight. Then run it through the test. But my vectors were going wonky and changing position all over the screen and ultimatey collapse and the screen went black. I had had an intermittent problem with green vectors going out but I suspected it was a header pin on the monitor or the monitor input connector itself. But this is a bad connection of some type I think. It has had a cowgill multi tempest added so It should be simpler but I haven't quite figured out if it was ever done the way it should be so I have to reseat and clean all the mini boards....It should be more reliable, but I wouldn't count on it....we'll keep after it and hopefully get it figured out. Thanks for the advice.


Sounds like your monitor blew as well. You may have issues beyond the game board.

You also might want to remove the Clay kit and put the regular ROMs back in, to simplify troubleshooting. But see if you can get it playing blind first (unplug the monitor), then measure the AC and DC voltages on the XOUT and YOUT pins (post them here, all 4 values), before trying to plug the monitor back in. It sounds like it's more than a bad connection, and you're going to have to check things piece by piece.
 
I don't believe the monitor is blown. I had gone through it fully in the past. When I would plug it back in, the picture would come back. Plus, the vector issues I was seeing just doesn't seem like a monitor issue. I believe the image was collapsing and causing the spot killer to come on. Hopefully, I'll get it finished and checked out tomorrow. If it was just a monitor issue, I'd break out my spare and have it up and running in 15 minutes.
 
I don't believe the monitor is blown. I had gone through it fully in the past. When I would plug it back in, the picture would come back. Plus, the vector issues I was seeing just doesn't seem like a monitor issue. I believe the image was collapsing and causing the spot killer to come on. Hopefully, I'll get it finished and checked out tomorrow. If it was just a monitor issue, I'd break out my spare and have it up and running in 15 minutes.



That may be true. But what I'm saying is that when the game board is outputting anything that is not correct game signaling, it can easily generate out of range voltages that can damage if not immediately blow the deflection board, and potentially the HV board as well.

So until you can verify that it is generating 100% correct XY signaling (either with a scope ideally, or at least by measuring the AC and DC voltages on the XOUT and YOUT test points with a DMM), it is risky to connect the game board to the monitor, as even a completely rebuilt and working monitor can be damaged. (Ask me how I know.)

If you test the AC and DC voltages on the game board's output test points, without the monitor connected, you want to make sure the DC is between approximately -1V and +1V, and the AC is 3 to 4 volts or less, for both X and Y.

If you are getting any AC or DC values for X or Y on the order of 4 to 6 volts (or more), do not connect the monitor.
 
you already have the vector jedi andrew helping here but im gonna post my issues from when i was going through my tempest a few months ago.
that main will boot and partially run without the interconnect in place. have a good look at the pots on the main pcb , they are garbage , swap with the style on a starwars avg board ( flat, square type, no stand off legs like tempest has. after i had completely went through mine, pallet-ed it up and moved it from shop to house the sonofabitch went spot killer and i tore my hair out on it , there is a 10.4-6 vdc that feeds the main on pin 14 that comes direct from the brick and not the ARII. stupid me i had assumed all the power to the main came from the ARII and ended up being a poor pin connector in the harness from the brick to the main.
some wiggling of the harness found it very quickly.
best of luck!
C.
 
Best bet is to listen Andrew. I had squiggles on my tempest , I rebuilt the monitor about a year ago. Two caps in the hv went bad. 901 And 902... Replaced them, all is good in the world. Andrew, the wife loves the new setup on the boards, I like the breakout game too. Thanks for all your help. Mike
 
I'm still working on it. I think I'll recap the board before, I put it back in....I'll test the board out as well and do the AC/DC readings on the x and y outputs. For the AC reading do I just put the DMM on AC and connect the ground lead to the ground lugs and the positive to the X or Y inputs. I'll also check out the monitor on my Star wars cabinet. All I have to do is my extra long cable extensions to the next cab over and test to see if the monitor is out.
 
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I'm still working on it. I think I'll recap the board before, I put it back in....I'll test the board out as well and do the AC/DC readings on the x and y outputs. For the AC reading do I just put the DMM on AC and connect the ground lead to the ground lugs and the positive to the X or Y inputs.


Yes, that's how you do it.

Also, there's no need to replace the caps on Atari game boards or AR's, unless they're physically stepped on or damaged. That will not fix your problems here. They don't get hot or voltage stressed like monitor caps do, so they don't go bad.

You're only risking introducing more issues to the board by desoldering and replacing them (as it adds more variables and unknowns, and potential to make mistakes, etc). Better to stick to troubleshooting the actual issue.
 
Wish I had seen this earlier. I did recap the whole pcb. Reflowed the interconnect plugs. Re-seated the daughter boards and 40 pin chips, cleaned the connections with deoxit and pro gold, re-soldered the jumper wires from the daughterboard(I actually think this was the problem or a cold solder joint on the interconnect.) I also tested the monitor with another game to verify it was still working. It seemed to be playing blind, so I tried it with the monitor and all appears to be working...Not to say it won't come back. It was a bit chilly in the game room so I didn't want to run it too long. I'll hopefully try it some more tomorrow. But it appears to be good.
 
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