Kee (Atari) Drag Race Restoration (ongoing)

TDA-1004A chips are available in small lots on Ebay but it appears to be a slightly different chip than the TDA-1004 based on the diagram below, which is the only information I've found. I've spent exactly zero brain cycles determining if they're interchangeable on this board and I'm not even sure the chips on there aren't 1004A's since the image below suggests the 1004A expected a heatsink.

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In the mean time these things tend to blow up in use which is the best reason I can think of for NOT using them in the restore.

Options I'm considering are:
- Replace with donor chips and mount heatsinks larger than the OEM (preferred)
- Replace the audio section with a modern, PCB-mounted equivalent wired onto the DR PCB
- Replace the audio section with a stand-alone amp inside the cab but external to the PCB
Here's a pic of the Star Wars B-Wing erm, I mean the TDA-1004 heat sinks. Big suckers!
 

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Ah, so definitely west coast.

There's been a delay on this project on my end. A several-hour micro burst storm with a weird wind pattern flooded my basement a week or so back. I had to tear up flooring, which meant dismantling my workshop, which means no work for a bit. While waiting on the new flooring Im cleaning and reorganizing the space. It was built up by accretion over the last eight years and needed a back burn anyway. Since I'll need to get a dumpster for trashed flooring anyway now's the time.

Should be back on track with this soon enough.
 
Coin door and box are back from the powder coater.

The door on my DR was pretty banged up and my whacking it with a ball pein hammer didn't make it look much better so I sourced another. This one was arguably in worse condition but the key thing is it's flat.

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Powder coating was worth it just to have someone else do the prep work. I may still paint or matte clear coat it, TBD.

The marks on the 'after' pic are my thumb and palm prints all over.
 
Looks much improved!! But too glossy. Maybe it's the camera flash. Maybe the shop lights. But I'm guessing that's real.
I wouldn't bother repainting. But the matt clear coat is a good thought.

Next time, consider using tex black for the powder coat.
I don't have any _good_ photos, but here's my Breakout cocktail door after reassembly. That's the naked powder coat.
On the backside photo you can see a reflection on the coin vault from the chandalier directly above it.
It's very muted and diffused and it looks fantastic!

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Looks fucking great. I've always powdercoated mine in that same finish and they've worked out perfectly. I've done probably 25+ doors. Stopped powdercoating when it became astronomically expensive to do so. Now I'm back to using satin black rustoleum.
 
I tested out the monitor today. The chassis is unusually clean, I'm used to having to do a hose down to get crud off monitors this age. Checked the fuses and slowly brought it up to 120 volts: Tube glow but no image at all. None of the controls made a difference.

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I've learned a lot about monitors but I also happen to have a great local repair tech near me, Sergei at ArcadeMonitorRepair.com. They're a 10 minute drive and Sergei seems to find something to yell about every time I bring something in so it's a no-brainer to drop it off there. I don't think he has a lot of TEC monitor parts available though so I dropped off an M7000 as well, if the TEC cant be fixed he can swap the tube with DR burn into that chassis.
 
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I tested out the monitor today. The chassis is unusually clean, I'm used to having to do a hose down to get crud off monitors this age. Checked the fuses and slowly brought it up to 120 volts: Tube glow but no image at all. None of the controls made a difference.

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I've learned a lot about monitors but I also happen to have a great local repair tech near me, Sergei at ArcadeMonitorRepair.com. They're a 10 minute drive and Sergei seems to find something to yell about every time I bring something in so it's a no-brainer to drop it off there. I don't think he has a lot of TEC monitor parts available though so I dropped off an M7000 as well, if the TEC cant be fixed he can swap the tube with DR burn into that chassis.

It was rebuilt by Sharp Image in 2023 Las Vegas. They also clean the chassis' before working on them..
 
That explains it. They did a god job, the cardboard is intact and doesn't look like it ever got wet.

Sergei is gonna tell me it was one of the fuses, just know it. If it was already serviced it's likely I failed to turn up the brightness or something else stupid.
 
@greedycrisp are you planning on having the side art printed? For that matter, does anyone even have the files? I'd be interested in a set just for the imagery alone.
 
Does anyone reproduce the cardboard surrounding the monitor or the monitor overlay?
 
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