Joust: graphic glitches, NVRAM/CMOS/battery, & switching power supplies

[WadeLanham]

Gotcha. It hadn't been mentioned before. If you've seen several of them and the problem still happens, that's good information.

I can see you've had enough, so thanks for all your help. I saw the PM and didn't understand it, and honestly forgot to reply. Sorry about that, and again, thanks for the help and all the good info.

 

[z0ner]

...I even PMed you the solution for switcher, you didn't even respond...

Can either of you please post this solution for the peeps that have switchers?

 

[HudsonArcade]

from the waybacks. a thorough explanation for what causes the issue.

View attachment 690219

Too bad that's pretty much BS.

The key is in the implementation of the reset circuit -- it just needs 12V (unregulated) to crash before 5V.

 

[WadeLanham]

@z0ner Is yours corrupting the cmos? I'm not sure how often it happens. I've been powering it on and off a lot, and it's been good for several days, but that's only about a dozen cycles. But if it happens like 1 out of 25 or 1 out of 50, it will be just often enough to be annoying. I've had enough problems with this game that I have no faith that scores will stick around long term, really. Most likely, some of these boards will be sent off for repairs at some point sooner than later.

I might just live with it and make sure high scores are put on my scoreboard sign. Some of my other games don't save high scores seemingly ever.

 

[WadeLanham]

Just to follow up with a happy ending (for now)… the game is still booting without errors and plays without graphic issues. Looks good for the time being. Nvram removed, cmos and battery and battery holder replaced, chips reseated (fixed graphics), and an arcadeshop switcher kit with the cap on the adapter. It's not clear if the cap on the arcadeshop adapter prevents the cmos corruption issue, or how often that issue happens when using a switcher.