Gauntlet Machine Restoration? - Advice Appreciated

mulch

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First post for me....
Im 36, live in Bristol, UK.

HI... 8)

I hope this isnt too lengthy for you folks to digest, but I would really appreciate some experienced input.

After being totally inspired by the Gauntlet game of the 80s, it has taken me a good 20 years to be in a position where actually owning a cabinet has become a possibility!!!
I purchased one the other day(knowing it didnt work but thinking it MIGHT just be possible to get it running!) as a gift to myself (birthday coming up) and I am keen to assess whether its a project for me as soon as humanly possible!!!

To summarise this email, I've been searching through websites all day and have just got here... its past 4am here in UK... so forgive me for not reading the stickies or the Tech advice section... believe me, I will be!

Here goes my story... spose i'm keen to get any info about where I should start with this machine. What to do first about checking and fault-finding. Are there any common issues with old gauntlet machines wiring or obvious things I should check (obvious perhaps to people like yourselves that is!!)...

Skip to the section below that describes what happens when I switch it on if you want to cut to the chase here...

Machine Appraisal
---------------

Cabinet is a bit tatty round the edges but its a beauty!!!
Its an irish build (stated on handwritten sticker inside - as well as serial info if important)

Slight monitor burn-out obvious in its off state (the right-hand Level and Player detail panel) - this is not a surprise to me and actually not as much a concern as is getting the game operational! (that is, i spose, if the monitor showed any signs of life at all!)

Picture Panel (are these called bezels?) on right side of cab fully intact, a few scratches.
Picture Panel on left missing the top quarter of picture.
All original joysticks and buttons. (looking at their action from beneath control panel, they seem in good condition)
Fitted with '10 pence' slots - I'm missing the keys to both slot doors however the right hand door is already open.
I have the keys for both the coin drawers (below the slot doors).

Inside, the cabinet has obviously been stored for some time... cobwebs and dust everywhere and a bag with some fuses and the maplins receipt for them from 1993!!

After having a good look around inside I notice the following -

Player controls originally all unplugged (including a green cable - probably for earth) (I have carefully plugged these in now but assume their connection doesnt affect the game powering up)

In the top section (behind the original Hantarex tube) the cable that runs from the main pcb connects as it should, but some of the cables that run up alongside them feed off into a 5pin plastic female that hangs there going nowhere... I cant find any obvious location for it to connect, either in the tube bay OR below in the main cab area..

In the base of the cab area, where the power comes in, there is loads of dust and right near the transformer I immediately notice that there appears to be a jumper block missing. There are 3 slots on this base panel - the first panel with the fuse array on - each slot of slightly different size - and only 2 have male plastic blocks attached (i can only assume they are jumpers... the wires simply link back into itself on different posts)... am I actually missing a jumper here??

Fuses here are intact and in good condition.

There is a box immediately to my right (looking in from the lower back, where a panel is missing) that seems to distributes power in different voltages to various parts of the cab. The thing to note here is that also in the cab (just sat there loose and unnatached) is ANOTHER of these which looks slightly newer (its black and not dusty or cobwebbed - has the same screw-fit posts (12v / 5v / gnd etc) - my instincts say that perhaps someone was going to replace this but didnt... (im hoping the fix might be that simple!! - u still with me?? theres more... but not TOO much!!!) (note that this makes a slightly fluctuating faint hissing sound when machine is powered up)

And So...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I POWER UP THE GAUNTLET MACHINE
------------------------------------------------------------
Upon powering up, the lights of the coin slots come on. (Except for Elfs - possibly the bulb has simply gone)

There is a slightly high pitch almost hissing sound from the power distribution unit. (perhaps - if someone recommends it - I should install the other distribution unit i found in the cab)

The red LED on the PCB comes on.

Absolutely NO response from the Hantarex monitor. (I keep thinking of the dangling 5pin plastic female - as mentioned in an earlier paragraph)

Speakers seem to respond to power-up, but only a droning hum which changes depth slightly after about 12 seconds - my guess is that there is a system check and then perhaps an options page and possibly the sound change indicates the end of the system check. (remember I cant see anything on screen) So once I attached the player controls to the board and moved the joysticks and pressed the buttons, the hum coming from the speakers changed as if I were scrolling through a menu or something. (With no monitor its obviously hard to tell what is going on... If anything relevant...)

However, if that is the case, that Im on a menu screen but cant see it, I have yet to get to the end of the menus (after trying many different combinations of joystick and button pressing) ... or perhaps I am just hearing some garbled feedback from the internal electrics which could possibly be at fault anyway....

Finally, after looking a bit more closely inside the cab at the wiring and getting my head around what goes where and what does what, I notice a couple of wires just above and to the right of the panel with the MosFets and heat sink on.... that may have have been cut. one is light blue and the other is light purple... looks like they were both on their way to the 'play counter' area (where the Potential Resistor is mounted as volume control - which works by the way, but crackles severely and only increases the volume of the hum/feedback noise...)...

Speaking of the volume control, there is a two-state switch there that has 6 spades from it... only the bottom four spades of this switch are connected to cables (black and white)...

Finally... I have noticed that up near the wires that (rather messily) come from/to the coin slot area, there are several small wires that appear to have been cut/come unattached/go nowhere...

Eeeek i need help i think!!!

Anyway... it is safe to say that I am so excited and yet so nervous of continuing from here. I have some friends who are keen to tinker with me, but any help or advice I can glean from this forum would be SO appreciated....

Yours hopefully

mulch 8)
 
ok... updates...

Monitor definitely not getting power (checked supply from bottom fuse-board panel - getting nothing through the black and white cables) and that little female plastic block I was concerned about is probably for service engineers to plug into a little monitor if the screen breaks - to see whats going on in its absence.... im rekon i will never need that!!)

I will be backtracing this (lack of) power feed, but it looks like I might have to remove the bottom plate and continuity check the wire all the way to wherever it goes.... hmmm looks like it meets one of the jumper blocks I spoke of in first post....

So... Have now cleaned up the insides with some gentle brushing and hoovered the corners.

Managed to get the other slot door open and after proper inspection found a load of old 10 pences and a couple of weathered Gauntlet 2 promotional sheets (2 of the same) lurking in the left coin removal area. For a moment I thought perhaps the pcb is that of a Gauntlet 2 game and that someone had given up halfway through a re-fit!! but since that excitement I have resigned to thinking it is just promotional literature!!!

We shall see!!!

Still no clearer on the dirty but fluctuating hum that comes from the speakers... im hoping that is going to be some kind of simple loose wire issue...

again... we shall see....

more to follow!!!

Even if nobody joins in this thread I hope you all dont mind my meandering updates....

mulch 8)
 
welcome, I also picked up a gauntlet a couple of weeks ago. unfortunately, mine had to go straight into storage. wish I could help answer your questions, but I never got a chance to dig into mine.

good luck
 
You know, I never thought of what coin British games would have taken in the 80s. The ten pence piece was pretty standard, I assume?

Good luck with your Gauntlet - and yes, definitely post updates on how your progress has gone!
 
Make sure you use a multimeter to check the voltages on the power supply. It will be obvious if the power supply connected is good or if they in fact meant to put the other in. May have already changed it. If voltages aren't right the pcb wont boot properly.

As far as the monitor goes, have you checked the fuse on the monitor pcb. There are probably fuses in the cabinet somewhere connected to the white and black power wires going to the pcb. If you find that there are blown fuses, you probably have a faulty monitor board. If the flyback goes out you will keep blowing fuses.

Take and post pictures!!! It will help others diagnose your problems.
 
Hello and welcome,

As stated in another post, you should post pictures with your post. Pictures make it much easier to get started and see what you are up against. Try and make your pictures show detail. If you have more than 5 pics, just add another post.

Here is a link for text manuals. If it is dedicated cabinet, you should get a description of all the connections and parts. Plus it will go over how you get into test mode and change settings.

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/ARCADE/
 
thanks guys......

Make sure you use a multimeter to check the voltages on the power supply. It will be obvious if the power supply connected is good or if they in fact meant to put the other in. May have already changed it. If voltages aren't right the pcb wont boot properly.

>>>>> should it be 5v going to the board?? thing is, there is nothing attached to the 5v+ or 5v- out from the switching power supply <<<<<<


As far as the monitor goes, have you checked the fuse on the monitor pcb.

>>>>>>> Yes... all visible fuses I have checked and ALL seem fine. Remember... Im getting NO power TO the monitor in the first place!!! NOTHING coming up through the wires going to the monitor (im starting to doubt the transformer)


If the flyback goes out you will keep blowing fuses.

>>>>>>>>>> whats the flyback??? u mean the ground??


photos coming shortly.... !!!
m
 
With your monitor you are saying that you are not getting any power coming from the transformer to the monitor. The transformer might not be dead I would first check to see you have power going into the transformer to begin with.

the 5pin female connector near the monitor could possibly be the video cable to the monitor (red, green, blue, ground, sync) check and see if the chasis on the monitor has 5 pins with no connector on them

Great game, I hope it is an easy fix. oh ya and we need pics :)
 
Here are some initial pics...
3rd pic is the extra Switching Power Supply that was in the back of the cabinet loose and unconnected...

next set of more detailed photos coming up.......

m
 

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Here are images detailing some interior shots....

Unscrewed the Transformer Plate (where the fuses are mounted also) and lifted it up - all looks nice and clean under there (see photo).... checked for power coming in (using a beeping 200v volt detector) and there is power going all the way to transformer (im assuming no detection of power in cables coming out of transformer because they have been stepped down in voltage....

and now the embarrasing fact that my multi-meter skills (beyond checking continuity) are minimal... I want to check that the terminal block (in the picture, the terminal is in the lower left of upturned panel (you cant see it because of all the wires going to it!) remember we are looking at the underside) is being fed power from the Transformer. (This terminal passes current up to the wires, two of which go up to the monitor. - A friend of mine checked the ends of those wires (which link via plastic block to the monitor board) and said no power was evident)

To get the readings I need to proceed with fault finding, I imagine taking off the top of terminal block and putting one probe from multimeter onto the relevant point which goes to monitor and the other probe to a ground point when the game is powered ON.... BUT what setting do I put multimeter on??? I dont know what voltage the monitor requires and so unsure of which sensitivity to select also... darn I need education!!! BUT im so eager....

Other pictures...

the rear of monitor (yes the fuse on its board checks continuity)

Also, the Gaming PCB.... notice that for the most part the PCB is in great condition...

however, im wondering why someone stuck a white sticker with unreadable writing on a rectangle of ICs (notice white patch just south west of centre PCB) and then peeled it half-heartedly off again...??? will this cause them to overheat?? Should i attempt to remove?

Also... notice the tarnished (perhaps even a lil rusty?) resistors and capacitors... I have detailed the worse of these but up the board a bit (not yet photographed) a few IC pins seem a little tarnished too...
 

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Very brief update....

had an intensive learning session with a multimeter...

I have checked two of the pins (the ones which feed power to the monitor) of the 15pin terminal block on the main chassis of the transformer and fuse array... and there is very tiny fluctuating .03 / .06 reading when multimeter is set to 20v sensitivity.... so NO POWER being sent to monitor!!!

hmmm/...

strange because the game pcb IS receiving power (the red led comes on) which comes via the same terminal block!!!

and so the quest continues.... enough for today,... but i will post pics of the stray wires and their surroundings soon///

I suppose that ultimately i will have to track everything based on the schematics!! im scared!!!!

m 8)
 
ok... I am due to work more avidly over the coming weekend on this... for now, here are a few more pics to show what we are up against here!!! (calling all miracle workers!!!)

1 - notice the wires that seem to be cut but dont have an obvious place where they should go (perhaps into a terminal...) (arrg.... i got to learn the schematics!!)
gauntlet_4_TerminalAudio1PurpleOut_.jpg


2 - here is a block connector near the audio pcb... what the.... notice the two black wires that seem cut close to the block.... ??
gauntlet_4_TerminalAudioToCoinArea_.jpg


3 - mounted on the audio pcb itself... a terminal that has 2 x Orange wires and 1 x yellow wire (look harder you can see it) that have also been snipped....
gauntlet_4_TerminalAudioPCB_Orangex.jpg



ooooh dear me thinks!!!!

mulch 8)
 
Where is the picture of the little sound amplifier board behind the coin ops? It sits horizontally.

I had a similar problem with mine. I'll tell you what I did to fix it. if your are stll here? it's not the monitor.
 
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