minor Space Invaders Deluxe issues

Jakobud

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I picked up a Space Invaders Deluxe upright the other day for $50. It appears to be in really good shape so far. Graphics and paint are all in excellent shape. Dinged upper front corner, needs bondo repair but nothing major. Only a couple (maybe) minor issues:

(I have the front glass and the tinted bezel removed for the pictures)

1. There are these horizontal lines on the screen that move up and down with the aliens:
IMG_20121115_180631.jpg


2. Invisible first row of aliens? When I fire at the aliens, it's as though there is an invisible first row of them or something. And it seems like I have to hit each invisible alien twice before they "disappear" and then I can shoot what is behind them.
IMG_20121115_180638_1.jpg


3. Aliens rush down to bottom way too soon. The aliens only move left and right about two rows before all the sudden they just ALL start coming down toward me pretty fast. The best I've been able to do is kill 10 of them before they kill me. Is this a game setting or something wrong with a rom chip?
IMG_20121115_180705.jpg

IMG_20121115_180710.jpg


4. The background is barely visible. The blacklight in the back is working fine, but the background behind the mirror is barely visible as you can see in the pictures. Also there is the semi-circle planet between the mirror and the background that I know has some cool graphics on it but its SUPER dark. Is that supposed to be lit up by anything? It's too dark to even see. I can't seem to find any other spots where a light is supposed to go.
IMG_20121115_180604.jpg

IMG_20121115_180559.jpg


5. Speaker has a load buzz/hum. Does it just need replaced?

6. On the power/transformer board, there are three potentiometers. I was trying to find the volume earlier and stupidly turned each one of those pots wondering if it was on the transformer board for some weird reason (it was hidden in plain sight on the rom board). I read in the instruction manual that an operator is not to change those pots. It didn't appear to mess anything up though... So if I wanted to change those pots to their original values, what should I change them to?

other pics:
IMG_20121115_180439.jpg

IMG_20121112_124606.jpg
 
1-3 are all caused by the same problem. The most likey (IMHO) cause of it is a bad connection between the motherboard and daughter board. Remove the daughter board and clean the edge connections. IIRC, the ones involved are near one end. If cleaning the edge connector doesn't do it, it should be a problem with the data shifer circuit or stuck output on a mux on the daughter card... but don't worry about that until you try cleaning the connector.

4. There's should be a black light in there.

5. Could be the speaker, or an amp on the daughter board, or a bad filter cap somewhere
I suppose.

6. The pots on the power supply board adjust the voltages: +5, +12 & -5. Adjust them per this page: http://www.elektronforge.com/TestMdwPS.htm
 
Darren is right about edge connector/bit shifter.

Moon - if the black light is working...yank the mirror and clean the 10lbs of dirt off it :) You can also carefully try to pop off one side of the moon and clean it that way since that mirror I think is hard to get out.

Buzz/hum - could be happening if you cranked one of the voltages up high...do not leave it on until you check those - the voltages are on pins 1,3,and 5 of the connector on the main board, going from bottom up (with board in cab). If voltages are ok and its still humming either the 1000uf cap on the power supply is bad or the daughterboard needs rebuilt or recapped.
 
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There was indeed a ton of dust on the backside of the mirror. I just cleaned it all off from the backside of the cabinet. I can see the background and moon better now. It's tough to see but I think it's as good as it's going to get. I think it was maybe hard to see even when the game first came out. The blacklight is in there and appears to be working fine.

Cleaning the connectors did not seem to make a difference on the picture. There is the main harness that connects to the main PCB. I removed the harness and cleaned the connectors on the board with a clean rag.

I also removed the two harnesses that connected to the daughter board and cleaned them with a clean rag. The lines on the screen are still prominently there. Is there a better or more effective way of cleaning them besides just wiping them down? They feel clean......

Or is there are bigger problem with the screen? If so, how do I go about fixing it?

Something else I noticed about the sound issues: The loud humming only goes on while I'm playing an active game. If it's game over or if I'm at the attract screen, no humming. Once I start a game, the humming turns on until game over. Also, during gameplay, the only game sound effects I hear is when my missile destroys an alien. I don't hear any sound effects from my missiles shooting, or from the aliens shooting or moving or my ship(?) blowing up.
 
Use one of those pink erasers you used in school to clean the connectors (or the eraser on the back of a pencil). Just make sure you clean up the crumbs good.

Chances are the board may need repair, but the connector in question (if it is the problem) is the one between the main board and the daughter board. You can also try re-seating the daughterboard a couple times. The lines are not the screen but an actual board issue.

On the Black light - the moon should be pretty vibrant....it could be faded but also check the black light bulb to see if its dirty too. I know when I first got mine even though the black light was working there was literally NO background, and after cleaning the light, the mirror, monitor, etc it was a "night" and day difference :)

In regards to the hum...thats expected since the board turns the sound amp off and on with the game starting/ending.
 
Cleaning the connectors did not seem to make a difference on the picture. There is the main harness that connects to the main PCB. I removed the harness and cleaned the connectors on the board with a clean rag.

I also removed the two harnesses that connected to the daughter board and cleaned them with a clean rag. The lines on the screen are still prominently there. Is there a better or more effective way of cleaning them besides just wiping them down? They feel clean......

Doesn't sound like you got to the connector I was referring to. The "board set" consists of two boards, mounted perpendicular to one another. There are triangular metal brackets holding them in position, too. You'll need to remove two screws that hold the daughter board in place, then pull it out of the black connector on the motherboard. Then look at the metal connections on the tab that was in the connector. As you hold it up, right the edge connector at the bottom and the tops of the chips on the side you're looking at, the pins on the right end are likely the ones causing the issue. Try the eraser method first, unless there's visible nasty corrosion. Very fine sandpaper or Scotch-Brite may be in order if it's more than light oxidation.
 
Very fine sandpaper or Scotch-Brite may be in order if it's more than light oxidation.

NO no no no no NO NO NO no PLEASE No!!! Eraser only, or fiberglass pencil at worst...these contacts are 30 years old and will file right off! I have boards that people have done exactly that! Also...DO NOT put solder on them either! Of the game is still using the original duo-tyne connectors the solder will bend the contacts and kill em.
 
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NO no no no no NO NO NO no PLEASE No!!! Eraser only, or fiberglass pencil at worst...these contacts are 30 years old and will file right off! I have boards that people have done exactly that! Also...DO NOT put solder on them either! Of the game is still using the original duo-tyne connectors the solder will bend the contacts and kill em.

++1

My father doesn't even like the pink erasers and only advises using alcohol (de natured) :(.
 
The eraser solution solved both the video AND audio problems!!! Woot!!

Two final questions:

1. The power cord has had the ground connection pulled from the end of it. How do I replace the power cord? Soldering required?

2. My moon base background plastic has a big crack in it. Is this available anywhere to buy as a reproduction?
 
Also keep in mind that the black light for the background is actually what they call a "white" black light.

Actually, this type (the "white") is just a plain ole "black light".

The type that has become perhaps more common (the ones that appear dark purple) is properly known as a "black light, blue" and they typically have part numbers ending in "BLB."
 
Actually, this type (the "white") is just a plain ole "black light".

The type that has become perhaps more common (the ones that appear dark purple) is properly known as a "black light, blue" and they typically have part numbers ending in "BLB."

I just wanted to make sure that he didn't go get one of those purple bulbs you see everywhere. That is what most people think of when you say "black light"
 
The Black Light that was in the cabinet when I got it appears to be a normal black light like you are used to seeing. And it doesn't look like it was the original light. Modern Philips logo on it.

I didn't know another kind existed. I will have to get one of those. That is probably why the background stuff is so dark.

So again, anyone know where to get reproduction plastic moon base?
 
The Black Light that was in the cabinet when I got it appears to be a normal black light like you are used to seeing. And it doesn't look like it was the original light. Modern Philips logo on it.

I didn't know another kind existed. I will have to get one of those. That is probably why the background stuff is so dark.

So again, anyone know where to get reproduction plastic moon base?

As far as the moon, I know Rich had them at thisoldgame.com ... seems to be out of stock right now, might be worth sending him an email and seeing if he has an estimated date for getting more in?

For the bulb, I had to get a white tube blacklight for my Tron, ended up ordering in a few spares. Turns out a lot of the early machines used them for accent lights. I got mine from bulbster.com . I ended up using all my spares when I started getting in more machines that needed them (Battle Zone, Space Invaders, Asteroids Deluxe). They make a WORLD of difference over the blue blacklights, everything looks much brighter and nicer.
 
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