Missile Command: Monitor and Cabinet Light Dark

VectorGamer

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I have a Missile Command cabinet by Sonic. Something unusual happened one night as it was running fine and then out of nowhere the monitor and marquee went dark.

The monitor is in very nice shape and has never before been problematic. The fact that the monitor _and_ the cabinet light do not work leads me to believe that the monitor is fine (but wouldn't rule it out).

In troubleshooting tonight, I was able to get the cabinet light on once and that was on the first power-up and from there that's all she wrote (the cabinet had been powered off for about a month now).

The monitor sounded like it powered up but it remained dark. On subsequent power-ups the monitor did not sound like it was being powered on. Perhaps that is normal?

I replaced all the fuses (I think there were six if memory serves) regardless of the fact that the fuses that were being replaced passed continuity tests.

So...does this sound familiar? What else needs to be checked?
 
Check your interlock switches. There's one on the back door, don't know if there are any more on Missile Command. I am assuming this is the Atari Missile Command, not some other game (never heard of Sonic).

-Ian
 
Check your interlock switches. There's one on the back door, don't know if there are any more on Missile Command. I am assuming this is the Atari Missile Command, not some other game (never heard of Sonic).

-Ian

The cab was manufactured in Kitchener, Ontario so I'm guessing that it was a licensed version for release in Canada by Sonic...

BTW, everything else works like the coin door lights and the game itself: sound, controls etc.

What exactly should I be checking with the interlock switch?
 
What exactly should I be checking with the interlock switch?

Check to see if it's working. The interlock switch cuts off all power to the game if it's tripped (i.e. if the back door is open). So, if the door isn't pressing it in properly, the game will never work. You can "defeat" the interlock switch by pulling the peg out.

I've also seen interlock switches fail. Check to make sure they are working. Verify that you are getting power to the power supply in the bottom of the game.

Also, some pictures of this beast would be helpful. If it's not the Atari version of Missile Command, then I don't know where everything is located.

-Ian
 
Check to see if it's working. The interlock switch cuts off all power to the game if it's tripped (i.e. if the back door is open). So, if the door isn't pressing it in properly, the game will never work. You can "defeat" the interlock switch by pulling the peg out.

I've also seen interlock switches fail. Check to make sure they are working. Verify that you are getting power to the power supply in the bottom of the game.

Also, some pictures of this beast would be helpful. If it's not the Atari version of Missile Command, then I don't know where everything is located.

-Ian

I'll post some pix of the innards later.

I was troubleshooting by pressing the interlock switch and everything else comes on except for the cabinet light and the monitor.
 
I'll post some pix of the innards later.

I was troubleshooting by pressing the interlock switch and everything else comes on except for the cabinet light and the monitor.

Here are some pics...

Same symptoms this morning: on first power-up the cabinet light comes on and it will not come on again. Still no life to the monitor.
 

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And here are pix of the power supply...the second pic shows a connector without a mate but I cannot find where their partner would be...
 

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OK, so you say that "everything else comes on except for the cabinet light and the monitor" - what is "everything else"? Does the game play, only without any picture on the monitor? i.e. can you hear the game sounds? Do the coin door lights come on?

Check the voltage at the plug going to the monitor - that's a good place to start, to see if the monitor is actually getting power.

The marquee light is just a flourescent light - you could just have a bad bulb or starter.

If the game plays blind, and you're getting power to the monitor, then chances are you have two seperate problems (the monitor and the marquee light). But I was under the impression that the game did nothing at all, hence why I suggested you check the interlock switches. If those aren't working, then absolutely nothing in the game will get power.

-Ian
 
another spanish missile command?

I have a Sonic MC too, I was led to believe they were made in Spain for the European market. I do have the original paper work from the factory that has matching serial numbers the papers are in Spanish and some parts are handwritten. Here is a link to some pics.
http://www.coinopspace.com/forum/topics/el-missile-command-restoration

I have some pics under my profile click on albums. I would like to see more pics of your Sonic MC I am curious if your sideart, marquee and bezel are the exact same or not.

How did you know it was made in Canada?

Also can you look on the very top of the cab to see if a serial number is stamped into the laminate.
Thanks for sharing, and if you need some detailed pics of my wiring or anything let me know.
 
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oh the pinkish wires that has the plug connects to the cooling fan that is mounted on the back door.

My sonic mc has a standard light bulb in a cleat socket for the marquee.
 
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OK, so you say that "everything else comes on except for the cabinet light and the monitor" - what is "everything else"? Does the game play, only without any picture on the monitor? i.e. can you hear the game sounds? Do the coin door lights come on?

Check the voltage at the plug going to the monitor - that's a good place to start, to see if the monitor is actually getting power.

The marquee light is just a flourescent light - you could just have a bad bulb or starter.

If the game plays blind, and you're getting power to the monitor, then chances are you have two seperate problems (the monitor and the marquee light). But I was under the impression that the game did nothing at all, hence why I suggested you check the interlock switches. If those aren't working, then absolutely nothing in the game will get power.

-Ian

Yes, as I stated previously everything else works like coin door lights and the game itself.

It could be two separate problems and I wouldn't rule that out. However, both the cabinet light and the monitor stopped working at the same time. I was on my Galaga cabinet the night it stopped working and looked over to see that the monitor and marquee went dark after being operational that evening for several hours.
 
Your pictures show an Electrohome monitor....and judging by the look of it, an original flyback. Those are known to die....when it dies, your monitor dies. I'd start by investigating the monitor, and making sure 120VAC is being feed to it.

Edward
 
OK, so, first thing's first. The game plays, so it's getting power to the power supply. Check to see if you're getting power at the monitor's power socket. Likewise, check the plug leading to the marquee light.

If you *aren't* getting power to the monitor, then trace the wiring down to the bottom of the cabinet, it should lead to the isolation transformer (may be integrated into the main power transformer), probably through a fuse. Check the fuse and the fuse holder.

If you *are* getting power to the monitor, check to see if the neck of the tube is glowing (might have to turn out the lights in the room).

-Ian
 
OK, so, first thing's first. The game plays, so it's getting power to the power supply. Check to see if you're getting power at the monitor's power socket. Likewise, check the plug leading to the marquee light.

-Ian

I'm a novice so you'll need to step me through.

The power should be the black wire w/connector on the lower left of the pic, right? After breaking that connection, do I just stick the positive and negative probes of the multimeter into the connector of the wire being fed from the power supply? If so, how do I know which wire is positive and the other negative?
 
oh the pinkish wires that has the plug connects to the cooling fan that is mounted on the back door.

That explains it since there's no fan on the back door.

BTW, your Missile Command cab looks nice. I actually like the Sonic's appearance versus the Atari.

And actually the "made in Kitchener, Ontario" was stamped on the monitor. I'll check to see if there are stamps elsewhere within the cabinet...

There are two stamps on the cabinet. One is on the rear top left "8039" and then right above it on the roof of the cabinet is stamped "140." It appears there may have been some kind of plate mounted and then removed right where the "140" stamp is.
 
I'm a novice so you'll need to step me through.

The power should be the black wire w/connector on the lower left of the pic, right? After breaking that connection, do I just stick the positive and negative probes of the multimeter into the connector of the wire being fed from the power supply? If so, how do I know which wire is positive and the other negative?

It's AC - no polarity. You might not even need to unplug the monitor, you can usually stick the probe tips in from the back of the connector far enough to hit the contact. Or, you can test right where the power wires solder onto the monitor's chassis.

You should be getting around 115VAC or so there. It's isolated line current. Remember that word - isolated. The monitors in video games are "hot chassis", and as such MUST be powered through an isolation transformer (like the one in the bottom of the game). Even though they take the same AC voltage as a wall socket provides, you must NOT connect it directly. Doing so will cause smoke and sparks, and WILL damage the monitor electronics.

The monitor you have is the famous Electrohome G07. It's quite possibly the best arcade monitor ever made. It was made in Canada. A very common failure mode of these things is to go completely dead, caused by the flyback transformer failing (large white block with scary red wire), and blowing the small fuse on the chassis, and taking out the horizontal output transistor. This isn't as big a deal as you'd think, and once fixed, they should last another 30 years...

So, if you are getting power to the monitor, then this is probably what happened. Fortunately, the parts are not expensive, and readily available from Bob Roberts. I can walk you through discharging and removing the chassis once you've verified that you are getting power to the monitor at all.

-Ian
 
It's AC - no polarity. You might not even need to unplug the monitor, you can usually stick the probe tips in from the back of the connector far enough to hit the contact. Or, you can test right where the power wires solder onto the monitor's chassis.

-Ian

I appreciate your help, but I'm sorry you lost me. You'll have to be more specific like "stick the positive probe in the connector lined up with wire color A and the negative probe in the connector lined up with wire color B."
 
I appreciate your help, but I'm sorry you lost me. You'll have to be more specific like "stick the positive probe in the connector lined up with wire color A and the negative probe in the connector lined up with wire color B."

There are two power wires leading to the monitor. They are carrying AC voltage. There is no polarity. It doesn't matter which probe goes where.

-Ian
 
That explains it since there's no fan on the back door.

BTW, your Missile Command cab looks nice. I actually like the Sonic's appearance versus the Atari.

And actually the "made in Kitchener, Ontario" was stamped on the monitor. I'll check to see if there are stamps elsewhere within the cabinet...

There are two stamps on the cabinet. One is on the rear top left "8039" and then right above it on the roof of the cabinet is stamped "140." It appears there may have been some kind of plate mounted and then removed right where the "140" stamp is.

The "140" is the S#, That is where my S# 464 is located, it is also stated in the paperwork from the factory the S# is 464.

Im not sure what the "8039" is.

So is your Bezel 1/4" Glass with the wording in spanish?

I would love to see more pics later on when after you get your problems fixed. Good luck!
 
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