Guess what? Its about Tempest!

jonathan1138

Active member
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
Messages
1,648
Reaction score
7
Location
Whitestone, New York
Love the game but man, lots of threads about issues and heres mine. Help is appreciated.

Fortunately, the game works now. Just an oddity i want to take action against.

So, the game was left on overnight by mistake (had a friend over and left the room in haste). I did install a fan by the way(below the WG monitor, blowingup).

When i came home today and saw my err, The left side of the monitor was blank - only the right side showed. Turned the game off, pulled it out of its slot, opened up the back, waited an hour. Turned it on again - still no left side. I can move the guy to the left side but dont see it. Turned it off, checked the soldering on the back neck with Continuity tester - get buzzes (thats good). Really have no idea what i am looking for at this point.

Turned the game on, and it works now, as i expected - at some point i figured the heat would subside returning the game to normal. So the heat affected something - but where? I would like to fix it (bad solder joint somewhere?). Which board would control the left side from being amiss?

-- The neck board?
-- The larger board to the right of the WG monitor (whats it called?)
-- The smaller board above the larger board, hidden away in a metal cage?

Or am i off track - could it be the main PCB (or AR2)?

Once you help me identify the culprit board, should i just take it out / buzz around looking for bad solder joints?

Thanks KLOV!
 
Sounds like bad connections on the deflection board, re-flow all the headers on the the monitor boards, and check connections on the frame mounted transistors. Loosing those will cause half the screen not to be drawn. Not sure which ones control which quads off hand.

Most likely it's a bad solder joint, but heat can cause those transistors problems. Since they appear to be working for now, I would at the very least remove them, clean them, and lay down a new coat of thermal grease and check the mica insulators for cracks.
 
Sounds like bad connections on the deflection board, re-flow all the headers on the the monitor boards, and check connections on the frame mounted transistors. Losing those will cause half the screen not to be drawn. Not sure which ones control which quads off hand.

Yeah, I've had one wire or another break off those transistors sockets on the side, or be barely hanging on, and cause a loss of half a screen. And moving the cab could cause it to come and go.

But check the solder to the connectors, too...
 
Ok - is the deflection board the larger one / to the right of the monitor (where the LV 2000 is)?

Thanks guys. Will pull the board this week, reflow the heads, and The transistor advice is solid, but, lots of research on my part will be needed (and mica insulators - not to familiar with these).
 
If you get the full picture at any time, then your transistors (and insulators) are fine. Check the wiring to them, and the solder at the connectors...
 
Had the same deal with out Tempest.

It was a bad connection on one of the can transistors on the side of the chassis. IF it happens again, get a mirror and hold it in front of the machine while you're behind it. Gently flick the wires going up to the cans and find out which is causing the issue.
 
Back
Top Bottom