Need help getting the Tempest going...

NERDtendo

Well-known member

Donor 2011
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
4,672
Reaction score
357
Location
Republic, Washington
Picked up a Tempest a couple weeks ago. Unknown working condition as it didn't have a power cord. Ordered new power cord from Bob Roberts. Checked all of the fuses with my digital multimeter and the 7A was blown. The power cord arrived and I hunted down the 7A fuse. Put the new fuse in and installed the power cord. Fired up the machine and this is where I am at...

LED lit on both of the Tempest game boards...
Solid 5.04V going to the boardset...
Monitor chassis LED lit...
Neck glow is visible...
Player 1 and Player 2 Start buttons flashing on control panel...
Pressing Player 1 or Player 2 Start button causes the light to stay on instead of blink...
Sound is present when game is on...

Basically the game is playing blind.

Where do I go from here???
 
Now you need another one so you can figure out if its the monitor or the game PCB :)

I would bet it's something wrong on the 6100 deflection board. Do you know how to unsolder and test transistors?
 
Do you know how to unsolder and test transistors?

No. I have very lackluster soldering skills. I have a bunch of crap PCBs I got for the purposes of being solder fodder. I have worked on electronics for a little while yet I feel dumb as I still don't understand how much of anything works. As far as I am concerned it's magic and gnomes making the machines work. I am trying to change that little by little.

Also, I have this thread in the wrong section. It probably should be in the monitor section. If a mod sees this and can move it I would appreciate it.
 
I wouldn't move it quite yet. You may have a PCB problem, or get lucky and have both! That spot killer LED on the monitor will come on if the signals from the PCB are missing as well.
 
Picked up a Tempest a couple weeks ago. Unknown working condition as it didn't have a power cord. Ordered new power cord from Bob Roberts. Checked all of the fuses with my digital multimeter and the 7A was blown. The power cord arrived and I hunted down the 7A fuse. Put the new fuse in and installed the power cord. Fired up the machine and this is where I am at...

LED lit on both of the Tempest game boards...
Solid 5.04V going to the boardset...
Monitor chassis LED lit...
Neck glow is visible...
Player 1 and Player 2 Start buttons flashing on control panel...
Pressing Player 1 or Player 2 Start button causes the light to stay on instead of blink...
Sound is present when game is on...

Basically the game is playing blind.

Where do I go from here???

Which monitor LED is lit? The spotkiller is on the deflection board, and when it's on it means that the monitor has no signal. There's also a led on the HV board which I believe indicates that it is powered up.

The first thing I would do is reflow all the header pins in the monitor. Might also check continuity from the PCB to the monitor to see if the connection is good.

Next up would be to make sure the frame-mounted bottlecap transistors on the 6100 aren't shorting to the frame — just check continuity from the transistor case to the metal frame. There should be no continuity; if there is, replace the transistors and insulators and make sure they're isolated before powering back up.

If that doesn't get you up and running, you're likely going to need to rebuild the monitor. You might also swap the board into a working machine to eliminate the game PCB as a source of issues. Or you may be able to probe the video output lines to see if they're generating any signal.
 
Need to test Tempest PCB and see if its putting out video signal or test in somebodys Tempest. Are any of the fuses popped on the monitors deflection board?

Andrew
 
I wouldn't move it quite yet. You may have a PCB problem, or get lucky and have both! That spot killer LED on the monitor will come on if the signals from the PCB are missing as well.

In both of the last 2 vector games I've had, it had been a problem with the video output section from the board. Both boards played blind and the spotkiller LED for the monitor was on. I would find a way to test the board first (in another machine) or send it out for test/repair before ripping the monitor apart.

Personally, I would opt to make sure the board is working before trying to fix what could be compounding problems. If you can verify the power supply is working properly (which it sounds like it is), I would have the board checked. If the board comes back OK or repaired and you STILL have problems, then you know it is a monitor issue.

Just my thoughts....
 
You can turn up the brightness all the way on the HV cage to see if you have any kind of image on the screen. Don't leave it this way too long or else you could burn the phosphorous on the tube. This way you can tell if one or more of the deflection transistors has gone out. Then it is just a matter of replacing the bad transistors and testing the game again.
 
Do we know if the board is putting out correct signals? Have you put a scope on it. Have you measured the AC volts on X and Y out.

AC volts should read around 3VAC on both outputs. It will vary it shouldn't be 0 or maxed at 15 or -15

Have you checked the +15 -15 6.8v and the 5v Dac voltages?


Picked up a Tempest a couple weeks ago. Unknown working condition as it didn't have a power cord. Ordered new power cord from Bob Roberts. Checked all of the fuses with my digital multimeter and the 7A was blown. The power cord arrived and I hunted down the 7A fuse. Put the new fuse in and installed the power cord. Fired up the machine and this is where I am at...

LED lit on both of the Tempest game boards...
Solid 5.04V going to the boardset...
Monitor chassis LED lit...
Neck glow is visible...
Player 1 and Player 2 Start buttons flashing on control panel...
Pressing Player 1 or Player 2 Start button causes the light to stay on instead of blink...
Sound is present when game is on...

Basically the game is playing blind.

Where do I go from here???
 
PCB Woes

I wouldn't move it quite yet. You may have a PCB problem, or get lucky and have both! That spot killer LED on the monitor will come on if the signals from the PCB are missing as well.

Ditto on this. The tempest I just aquired was said ot have monitor problems; played blind. Brought it home borrowed a scope and have collapsed video. Talon isn't answering pms so gonna build myself and order from Bob and dive in shortly.
 
Checked into some voltages today and here's what I got...

PCB...
X Out: 0.87 - 1.9 swing
Y Out: 2.5 - 3.2 swing
+15: 15.25
-15: -21.7
6.8: 6.82
5: 5.04
(I did check the X Out and Y Out for DC and there was a swing in DC present on both...perhaps the Big Blue needs replaced)

ARII...
+22: 23.3
-22: -23.4
10.8: 11.45
36VAC: 17.8 (I may only be getting half the reading...read that could happen somewhere)
 
Checked into some voltages today and here's what I got...

PCB...
X Out: 0.87 - 1.9 swing
Y Out: 2.5 - 3.2 swing
+15: 15.25
-15: -21.7
6.8: 6.82
5: 5.04
(I did check the X Out and Y Out for DC and there was a swing in DC present on both...perhaps the Big Blue needs replaced)

ARII...
+22: 23.3
-22: -23.4
10.8: 11.45
36VAC: 17.8 (I may only be getting half the reading...read that could happen somewhere)

Seems mostly okay. You're correct that the 36VAC lines should measure ~18v individually. 17.8 is a little low, but probably fine.

Swinging X/Y voltages indicate PCB is generating some kind of signal. Lit LED on your deflection board indicates that it is not receiving any signal. Verify PCB -> monitor continuity and go from there. Reflow all the header pins. This should result in the spotkiller LED going out and some sort of picture showing up.
 
Checked into some voltages today and here's what I got...

PCB...
X Out: 0.87 - 1.9 swing
Y Out: 2.5 - 3.2 swing
+15: 15.25
-15: -21.7
6.8: 6.82
5: 5.04
(I did check the X Out and Y Out for DC and there was a swing in DC present on both...perhaps the Big Blue needs replaced)

ARII...
+22: 23.3
-22: -23.4
10.8: 11.45
36VAC: 17.8 (I may only be getting half the reading...read that could happen somewhere)

That -21 on the -15 is a bit high. The open amps should handle it, but your picture will be bad. So it needs replaced.

Best way to tell if big blue needs to be replaced is to measure the AC volts across the cap. If its higher than .0?? Say like .3 volts its on its way out.

X and y voltages seem normal for AC, I'm betting if you put it in DC mode you will find those low to negative. Still should have some sorta picture. So without a scope to be sure, I would say the monitor.

But you do need to replace the -15 reg.
 
You really need to try and isolate the problem by verifying if the montor is actually functioning.

Try and find someone near you (likely another KLOV member) that owns either a Tempest, Star Wars, Black Widow, Major Havoc, Quantum etc... If they'd let you swap your monitor in to diagnose, you'll know right away where your problem lies.
 
Tempest problems

Sorry to post this in your thread. Do not have ability to start new thread. I have a tempest machine acting up, the buttons are not working have continuity to board spinner works. Coin switches work and plyr 1/2 buttons light up. But you cannot start game and none of the buttons work in test mode. Plus sometimes the graphics mess up, outer lines and screen do not show up. Thanks for any help
 
Back
Top Bottom