Mistakes you've made while "fixing" a game.

bottlejunkie

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Donor 2011, 2015
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Mistakes you've made while "fixing" a game.

I didnt know nor did i research that your supposed to pull the T-moulding before apply new side art,it was on my AD it came out ok but now i know,you?
 
I always forget to put the heat shrink tubing on BEFORE I make the crimp. Its double annoying when I don't have the extra quarter inch of wire to spare.
 
When I was installing a new JAMMA harness in my first game, the harness must have been some junk import as it was labelled wrong. I ended up plugging a powered line into the speakers because that is how it was labeled. Turned the game on and it sounded like a shotgun went off and it blew the speaker.
 
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I actually installed the CRT in my City Connection upside down rather than electrically turn the image upside down by swapping some wires on the yoke.
 
On a Sanyo 20ez, I accidentally left a test lead clipped to the B+ test post and the other end to the monitor frame to get it out of my way temporarily. Forgot about it being clipped to the frame.

Turned the game on and blew the fuses and the current limiter transistor. Fortunately I was able to change those parts and get the monitor going again.
 
testing some ac chord for a PS holding the two leads apart, I got distracted, they touched and I almost electrocuted myself....That count........Cause it felt it counted! Whole damned wire just melted in my lap.
 
When i was a pup working at an arcade, the 'n on our cruisin usa neon light was flickering. Me, thinking possibly a bad ground went at it with a screw driver. Bam. Blasted clean off my ladder.
 
I bought a non working Atari Football and pulled out the board as soon as I got the game home. I figured out the problem was bent pins on the CPU and was pretty proud of myself for getting it fixed so quickly. As I was putting the board back in, I remember thinking how stupid it was for them to face the components towards the wall of the cab. Yep, I plugged it in backwards and killed the board.
 
I always forget to put the heat shrink tubing on BEFORE I make the crimp. Its double annoying when I don't have the extra quarter inch of wire to spare.
Hah.. I've done that SO many times. I've often soldered up phono and DC power plugs/sockets forgetting to put the cover over the wire first too.
 
epic fail not researching art placement on my tron before installing the phoenixarcade artwork.

Looked ok, but just not in the right spots lmao
 
Let's see .....

lifted solder pads on monitor chasis and game boards
put wrong value cap in a chasis.. yup Pop goes the weasel
zapped my hand reaching in a Space Invaders through the coin door .. got bit
actually had an Asteroids fall on me an pin me down in a narrow entry way.. dumbass moving games by myself
 
Got new DK side art and had to move arcade outside onto uneven driveway for room. Then I used a level to put the art on. Back in the basement noticed was WAY off compared to outside.
 
well I have too many to list I'm sure, but my most recent is awesome!

I read up on an old thread about g07 width issues, basically the game not filling the screen from left to right in a horizonal setting.

So I order the bob roberts width cap kit, and some other parts that I read could help as well.
Namely replacing the diode at D507 and resistor at R525. Well I put the replacement diode in D504. Did that to two chassis and got smoke both times.

The one that smoked the worst and was left on the longest was an easy fix by putting the proper parts in.

The 2nd chassis, was a full rebuild 1 year ago and was running flawlessly ever since. It was only on for 3 seconds, I saw smoke, flipped it off. I have vertical collapse and I can't figure it out. fuck me
 
Picked up a game with a blown monitor, When I installed a spare monitor I somehow forgot I needed an ISO??? Pluged it in and turned it on.... *poof* $@&!.... yep, getting old sucks!

Wait?, WHO are you again???
 
I learned about isolation transformers by plugging a monitor in without one.
 
I've been lucky so far

I had flip flops on walking around the side of my red DK, and the end of the flip flop hit the bottom of the cab and pulled up a big strip of the laminate on the outside. I chipped the other side while moving it from my old house to my new one.

Had allegator clips hooked up to a Sanyo EZ to test B+ over a long period, grabbed the multi-meter to check the reading and the clip slipped off the post and pop, the monitor goes out. Luckily it was a fuse.

Installed CPU backwards on a Vs. board and fried it.

Testing voltages on a Q*Bert PCB, I slipped and the lead hit both +5v and the +30v pins, blu spark, lost the +5. Again, luckily, it was just a fuse.
 
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