I'm so ashamed.. I spent the night with TRON..

vintagegamer

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Tonight my wife did not have to work, and my TRON has been acting up so, I took the night to spend with TRON and get it back up and running. With help from a doc that cleverlyj sent me, I was able to do some voltage testing and, discover some causes as to why my TRON has been acting up. The biggest issue is, the power supply is basically hosed. I don't know if I should move to a switcher with this game or not- everything works fine when it's working, so I should probably just get another supply with a lithium batt conversion. The only thing I could not get working (which has not worked since I got it in November 2007) are the blasted lights on the coin door. I can get them to flicker, but that's about it. I've checked the molex connectors, checked the harness, all looks fine. I traced the orange wire with red stripes (12V main wire) back to the power supply and, upon putting the meter on it, it's only reading around 9.8 volts. I tried adjusting the 12V pot to help it, but it didn't make any change. I want those lights to stay on so bad!!!

Even though I couldn't get the lights on the coin door to stay on, I did get over a major hurdle with the game tonight: as I mentioned, I've had it since November 2007.. I loved playing the game, as I'd never played TRON before owning it. I then went to the video game expo in Philly in 2008 and noticed something on the TRON there that I never noticed before.. LINES!!! There were lines on the lightcycle board that did not show on mine, as well as a cross-hatch pattern on the spider board that I could not see on mine either.. As soon as I saw that, I knew I HAD to get mine configured the same way!!! Well, that was a year ago.. Tonight, while I had everything apart, I decided to see if I could get mine to finally look the same way. After about 45 minutes of futzing with the black adjust and the brightness knobs, I am proud to say that my game now displays exactly like the one did at the VGE!! The funny thing is, it made the fun factor go up even more for me now, to the point where I even got a new high score tonight! It's 30K which is probably nothing compared to you TRON pro's out there, but for me it was a real leap forward. My uh, "date" with TRON tonight couldn't have gone much better! :D

Now if only I can get the damm coin lights to stay on!!!! :(
 
I'll get flamed for this but...a switcher will be easier to maintain.

I keep thinking the same Droler.. I even have 2 already, would just need to get the mo bob that connects from the switcher to the molex connectors-
 
Tonight my wife did not have to work, and my TRON has been acting up so, I took the night to spend with TRON and get it back up and running. With help from a doc that cleverlyj sent me, I was able to do some voltage testing and, discover some causes as to why my TRON has been acting up. The biggest issue is, the power supply is basically hosed. I don't know if I should move to a switcher with this game or not- everything works fine when it's working, so I should probably just get another supply with a lithium batt conversion. The only thing I could not get working (which has not worked since I got it in November 2007) are the blasted lights on the coin door. I can get them to flicker, but that's about it. I've checked the molex connectors, checked the harness, all looks fine. I traced the orange wire with red stripes (12V main wire) back to the power supply and, upon putting the meter on it, it's only reading around 9.8 volts. I tried adjusting the 12V pot to help it, but it didn't make any change. I want those lights to stay on so bad!!!

Even though I couldn't get the lights on the coin door to stay on, I did get over a major hurdle with the game tonight: as I mentioned, I've had it since November 2007.. I loved playing the game, as I'd never played TRON before owning it. I then went to the video game expo in Philly in 2008 and noticed something on the TRON there that I never noticed before.. LINES!!! There were lines on the lightcycle board that did not show on mine, as well as a cross-hatch pattern on the spider board that I could not see on mine either.. As soon as I saw that, I knew I HAD to get mine configured the same way!!! Well, that was a year ago.. Tonight, while I had everything apart, I decided to see if I could get mine to finally look the same way. After about 45 minutes of futzing with the black adjust and the brightness knobs, I am proud to say that my game now displays exactly like the one did at the VGE!! The funny thing is, it made the fun factor go up even more for me now, to the point where I even got a new high score tonight! It's 30K which is probably nothing compared to you TRON pro's out there, but for me it was a real leap forward. My uh, "date" with TRON tonight couldn't have gone much better! :D

Now if only I can get the damm coin lights to stay on!!!! :(

^^^Gay for spending the night with Tron.

I'll get flamed for this but...a switcher will be easier to maintain.

^^^^^^Gayer for saying expecting to get "flamed"

:D
 
you know, i enjoy the switcher, and it's a really clean setup, however had i not gotten a really killer (read free) deal on it, due to the cost of the whole thing, i would've gotten the bob roberts shotgun kit and rebuilt the p/s. not that the switcher is bad, i do like it and it works well.
 
and jim, the +12 off the p/s board controls the audio. i think it's 12v coming straight off the transformer brick that controls the coin door lights.
 
and jim, the +12 off the p/s board controls the audio. i think it's 12v coming straight off the transformer brick that controls the coin door lights.

Hmm, I will have to go back and check, but thanks for the feedback. There is a molex connector inside the coin door, and it has an orange wire with red stripes on it that I thought I traced all the way back to the PS rather than the brick, but will look again tonight if I can.
 
you know, i enjoy the switcher, and it's a really clean setup, however had i not gotten a really killer (read free) deal on it, due to the cost of the whole thing, i would've gotten the bob roberts shotgun kit and rebuilt the p/s. not that the switcher is bad, i do like it and it works well.


I know, it's 45 beans just for the adapter. It also requires the switcher, but I have 2 sitting at home waiting to be used for something so, I might just take the hit and do it.
 
Yeah, it's $45 or so for the adapter board... but a few month agos I was working on a Tron and got the PS rebuild kit... installed it, and the PS STILL didn't work right... was putting out dirty juice and the board didn't like it. So, in the end, we still had to get the switching PS adapter and the board works now. No hum either.
 
I have a working PS and still moved to a switcher on my Tron...I didn't want to bother putting in a new battery to save my high scores and I'd already bought it before I heard about the "humming". Is there a slight hum when I'm not playing...yes, but I can't hear it when I start playing. It's not more than the hum from a fluorescent light.
 
I know, it's 45 beans just for the adapter. It also requires the switcher, but I have 2 sitting at home waiting to be used for something so, I might just take the hit and do it.

yeah, with the cost of the p/s rebuild kit, if you already have switchers, why not. cost wise it's almost the same.
 
Tron (I had two over time - a UR and cabaret - and man do I miss the cabaret) is as everyone already knows notoriously bad for dirty wiring and bad parts. You're going to end up having to replace something original with a modern alternative at some point (ribbon cables being among the worst, PS being right second) and a switcher at least is a known variable...

My ribbon cables looked like (in both MCR boardsets) someone had fabricated them with cellophane, chalk, and aluminum foil.
 
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