My newest aquisition...

elekTRONarcade

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Just went today and picked up a FREE Tempest in really good shape. I was a happy boy when I got her home...

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I was ecstatic as I drove home with it in the back of the truck, anticipating plugging it in, checking it out and hopefully getting it going in one evening....

That is, until I opened it up and discovered this:

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No wonder she was free.



So, my question (if you're still reading at this point) is, would it be better to just replace the monitor, or try tracking down the missing board(s)? The neck board is there at least, but I don't know the specifics of this particular monitor, if this is the WG6100 or another.

Any thoughts/ideas?
 
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So, my question (if you're still reading at this point) is, would it be better to just replace the monitor, or try tracking down the missing board(s)? The neck board is there at least, but I don't know the specifics of this particular monitor, if this is the WG6100 or another.

That is a WG6100. You need to track down a deflection board for it. Finding a complete monitor is very difficult, your best bet is to fix what you have.

A working deflection board is only one piece of the puzzle - you'll need to investigate the HV cage you have and see if it needs repair too. Check for burn marks around the flyback, and replace all the capacitors inside. If the flyback has any burn marks or cracks in it, then you'll need one of those too.

If you're willing to do some electronic work, then you can fix this. Download and read the WG 6100 Monitor FAQ (a pdf file, check google). and the manual for the monitor and do some reading.

Post a WTB in the trading section here for the deflection board.

Is the rest of the game there? In other words, are the game logic boards still there, and the ARII as well? If so, you can test the rest of the game by leaving the monitor plug unhooked (as there's nothing for it to plug in to...) and powering it up. You should be able to coin it up and play, and hear the sounds. If you want to be cautious, you can unplug the game board and check the voltages coming out of the ARII first.

-Ian
 
Is the rest of the game there? In other words, are the game logic boards still there, and the ARII as well? If so, you can test the rest of the game by leaving the monitor plug unhooked (as there's nothing for it to plug in to...) and powering it up. You should be able to coin it up and play, and hear the sounds. If you want to be cautious, you can unplug the game board and check the voltages coming out of the ARII first.

-Ian

Yep Ian, the rest is there. I powered her up and the LED on the board lights, but it has an issue. Weird incoherent sounds come from the speakers and the coin counter keeps clicking, so she's going to need a bit of work. The deflection board is the biggest issue though. Without it I can't even see if signal is coming from the board to the monitor. Thanks a lot for the heads up though.

Here's a link to the photo album of the machine, in case I am missing something

Tempest
 
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On a related note, I *DO* have the vector monitor from my Asteroids Deluxe, at least for a few more days til Raikus comes to get it. Even though its B&W, could I use it to test the machine with?
 
Hmm. That's interesting - it looks like the machine has been worked on fairly recently. The large blue capacitor in the power brick has been replaced, and it looks like the ARII has been rebuilt.

But.. the clicking coin meter and noises you're getting are not right. Start by checking all of your voltages, make sure that they're in line. Test the 10.3v DC line going to the ARII, and see if you have any ripple on the line. Check the other voltages on the ARII as well as the 5v test point on the game board - see if those voltages are OK. Reseat the cable that goes from the main PCB to the smaller daughter board - you might even need to reflow these headers and clean the pins.

It *is* possible to wire Tempest in to a black and white vector monitor, but it's not straightforward. The monitors aren't plug compatible and they don't run on the same voltages. But, you can run clipleads from the X, Y and Z test points on the game board to the appropriate inputs on the monitor. Regardless, you're not going to get a useful picture if the board is doing what you say it's doing. You need to resolve this first. Usually, you want to get a vector game to play blind before you try to connect the monitor, as it's possible to overdrive or otherwise damage a vector monitor if the game board isn't putting out a correct signal.

-Ian
 
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