Oh No.. Please help with video issue!

javelin

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Coin-Op Pros,

I recently inherited a Spyhunter and had it in the garage.. it was MOSTLY working, but had some oddities... I thought it might be better OUT of the VERY HUMID garage, so moved it into the house, but when I fired it back up, the screen is scrolling really fast on the short (vertical) axis... Please see video at:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc_1UEAnB_iMcvScjYWN5B7yIM7R65FQC

I was pretty careful moving it in, but looks like something might have gotten knocked out of whack?? What can I do to fix this? anyone have an idea?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE :)

Best,

Jay
 
Did you try messing with the vertical hold pot on the monitor? I had a centipede that had this issue and just turning that pot fixed it

Best of luck
 
Loose connections caused by moving unit

Unplug your unit and check everything is connected and not loose. Could also be a cold solder on chassis. Be careful, as the flashback is holding a lot of voltage so steer clear of that.
 
Did you try messing with the vertical hold pot on the monitor? I had a centipede that had this issue and just turning that pot fixed it

Yeah, definitely try adjusting your vertical hold pot. It looks like the game is playing just fine, and it looks to be synced horizontally (the monitor is rotated 90 degrees, so the standard "horizontal" is vertical in this cabinet, and vice versa).

IIRC, Spy Hunter uses separate horizontal and vertical sync wires, so you should also check the video wiring connection between the monitor and game PCB to make sure the vertical sync wire didn't come loose. It could also be a bad solder joint... but I'd check the really simple stuff first.

DogP
 
Yeah, definitely try adjusting your vertical hold pot. It looks like the game is playing just fine, and it looks to be synced horizontally (the monitor is rotated 90 degrees, so the standard "horizontal" is vertical in this cabinet, and vice versa).

IIRC, Spy Hunter uses separate horizontal and vertical sync wires, so you should also check the video wiring connection between the monitor and game PCB to make sure the vertical sync wire didn't come loose. It could also be a bad solder joint... but I'd check the really simple stuff first.

DogP

this here. you could have a broken vertical sync wire either at the monitor side or the board side.
 
Thanks, but I'm a newbie...

Thank you all for your replies, but I forgot to mention, I'm new to all of this. While I can solder well, my strengths lay more in the quad-copter world than the arcade game one I'm afraid!

It seems to me that the monitor has been upgraded since the original, and it has a sub-board dangling with wires.. while there are adjustments to the screen there that work, there is no "hold" in either direction... And at the base of the monitor there seem to be other turnable adjustments (are those POTS?), but none are labeled "HOLD" and I want to tread carefully. There do seem to be a number of wires that are not hooked up to ANYTHING (but these were like that when it was mostly working in the garage), so guessing these might not be applicable.

Sub-Board:
http://imgur.com/C1Jr8Le

Where the sub-board connects to:
http://imgur.com/RExeefT

POTS? at the bottom of the screen tube:
http://imgur.com/w4vmhxC

Thanks for any other thoughts.. Anywhere else the HOLD might be?

Thanks,
Jay
 
The sub-board doesn't have the adjustment you need, and the ones on the neckboard (at the end of the tube) are just for adjusting color. In your second pic, I see "-HOLD"... is that V-HOLD or H-HOLD? If V-HOLD, that's the one you want... if H-HOLD, look for a similar one labeled V-HOLD.

Of course, be careful in there... there are lots of dangerous voltages, even when powered off.

DogP
 
The sub-board doesn't have the adjustment you need, and the ones on the neckboard (at the end of the tube) are just for adjusting color. In your second pic, I see "-HOLD"... is that V-HOLD or H-HOLD? If V-HOLD, that's the one you want... if H-HOLD, look for a similar one labeled V-HOLD.

Of course, be careful in there... there are lots of dangerous voltages, even when powered off.

DogP

Yep, I see the (something) hold in the second pic. I'd try slowly turning that one if it's the v hold
 
Almost>..

Dog and English... SO close!

I adjusted the vertical hold, and it's VERY close, but no matter how hard I try, I can't get it to remain still.. Even when its VERY SLOWLY scrolling and I play a game to mess around, the speed of the vertical scroll speeds up and down a bit...

I posted a video.

https://youtu.be/xs2Jf5yLlxs?list=PLc_1UEAnB_iMcvScjYWN5B7yIM7R65FQC

Could it be a bad little dial/Pot thing?

Any advice would be great!
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Did you check the wiring? If vertical sync wire is disconnected, that's exactly what it will do (you can adjust it close, but it never "locks on").

DogP
 
Thank you!!!!

Thanks Dog P,

I found the loose cable plugging into one of the main circuit boards at the bottom of the cabinet! I replugged it and got the screen to stop!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Are you a Spy Hunter specific guru? I have a long way to go :)

Best,

Jay
 
Awesome, glad that worked!

No, I'm not a Spy Hunter guru, but I do have one, as well as several other MCR games (games from Bally/Midway that share a lot of common hardware)... but the rolling screen sync issue is one I've seen quite a few times over the years on lots of different games.

DogP
 
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