Donkey kong sound messed up...Monitor chassis or PCB??

vader1979

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Donkey kong sound messed up...Monitor chassis or PCB??

I am restoring and original red DK machine...just picked up saturday...i already know it needs to be capped because monitor has the jail bars and background is blue instead of solid black...for some reason the sound is half working....when it starts when mario runs and when kong beats his chest the sound is just fine, but the music..when u get points... and music in between boards is super quiet. Also it looks like someone messed with the audio on the monitor by taking off the white button...sorry dont know what its called...and rigged three wires coming out and hooked some kind of volume control that they could reach from the top of coin box...anyone think this could be the problem...or do you think its a problem with the PCB? any help as i have no idea what is going on being this is my first restore and i am definitly not electrically experienced! any help would be great!!
 
It sounds like you need to install a deluxe cap kit which includes the caps for the sound board. Or it could simply be a bad sound adjustment pot on the actual PCB.

http://therealbobroberts.net/caps.html

20EZ 13"/19" - Deluxe Kit [Plus & Audio Bd Kit]

Audio board cap map:
na1.jpg
 
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There's a pot on PCB that controls the mix of analog sounds (running, jumping, kong's stomp) vs. digital sounds (music, etc.). It could be that there is something flakey with that pot. Adjusting it could clear up the problem.

Also, see this thread http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=64571&highlight=radar+scope+tag

Add your info, etc. From the info in that thread you should be able to tell what's original on your game vs. what's been tampered with. If you're trying to restore it correctly your serial number is important because Nintendo was constantly changing things in the early DK runs.
 
It may not be the same, but I had just the opposite problem. Mine would intermittently play the analog sounds real muffled. One day I pulled the monitor out (mine is a cocktail) to check the audio board to see if any of the caps had swollen or blew (they hadn't), pulled and reseated all the connectors, and it's worked great ever since.
 
thanks guys! I will show this thread to my buddy and hopefully he can track down the problem...i have a 4 board set..and when it comes to the guts of my machine...i am extremely nervous to mess with anything being afraid i will mess something up and wont be able to fix it...:/ when i get my monitor chassis capped will the repair guy also replace that audio pot since it is incorrect as well? Just curious...thanks!!
 
The pot is just a lot like a knob on your TV or stereo to adjust something. You don't need any expertise to adjust it. Although, I can't remember whether the 4-board stack has the pot. I'll have to pull mine and take a look.
 
dk sounds

this is a common problem with the 4 stack board set.i can tell you where your problem is. look at the board set. the one that says sou-06 smallest board of the 4. is your sound board. there you will find the problem.
 
red dk

hey, how about posting a pic of the red dk. always a pleasure to see another one. im sure alot of us would like to know the details..serial# most of all.
welcome to the red dk club!!!!!!
 
The pot is just a lot like a knob on your TV or stereo to adjust something. You don't need any expertise to adjust it. Although, I can't remember whether the 4-board stack has the pot. I'll have to pull mine and take a look.

4-board stack has it on the sound PCB.
 
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