Operation Wolf

silvereagle

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Hey guys,

I picked up an operation wolf cabinet today and need some pointers on where to start first. Issue is that when I turn on the cabinet, I hear the monitor waking up but no picture, sound or even marquee light comes on. The chap who sold it to me says it was working prior to him moving it to the garage when it stopped working.

Any ideas where I can start? I am somewhat familiar with Taito games in general but this one seems a bit different :)

Thanks in advance.
 
The chap who sold it to me says it was working prior to him moving it to the garage when it stopped working.

They all say that, BTW.

Any ideas where I can start?

Start at the beginning.
-Make sure there is power at the outlet you're using.
-Visually inspect the power cord.
-Check to see if mains power is making it into the cabinet.
-Check for interlocks (little white boxes with a plunger) that cut power if the coin door, back door, etc. are open/off.
-Look for fuses in the cabinet. Don't rely on visually checking them; pull them and test for continuity.
 
Just wanted to update my findings and see what you guys thought.

1) I inspected both white cut off boxes, wiring, harnesses and fuses, all looks solid.

2) monitor turns on and neck glows orange (no picture though)

3) after dismantling the machine, I noticed the speaker was not hooked up and the light tube for the marquee was not properly inserted. Chances are if the monitor works, the marquee light should as well since the share the same AC voltage and circuitry, correct?

4) I checked with my volt meter on the AC, ground and 12v inputs on the switcher and reads 0.00 I'm not the handiest with these meters so I can only assume I am doing it correctly.

So looks like there is no power at the switcher or game board itself so what should be my next step? I brought in the drawer containing the board, switcher etc inside the house to closely inspect it.

Thanks
 
with you meter set to ac you check your line voltage going in to the switcher. Should be 110.Then with your meter set to dc you can check you 5v and 12v
 
Thank you.

To check AC voltage at the switcher, do I put the positive probe of the meter on the AC prong on the switcher and the negative probe to the negative prong on the switcher?

Also, is it worth it for sanity sakes to just replace the switcher with one that works?
 
When measuring AC, polarity doesn't matter. That is, the colors of the leads in your hands (red & black) don't matter.

There should be two AC wires connected to your switcher. They MAY be labeled "L" (for line) and "N" (for neutral). Or they both may just say "AC IN". Or a variety of other things. In any case, it's the two that AREN'T any of these: 5V, 12V, -5V, -12V, or GND.

I woudln't just replace the switcher just yet... if you don't have AC going into it, it may be just fine. If you do find 120VAC going in, but no outputs... THEN it's time to swap it.
 
Thanks Darren. I will test gain tomorrow and report my findings.

Upon further inspection tonight, I found the following connector that seems to be burnt in one spot, it's the one that plugs into the Auxilary PCB. Should I look to replace it or leave it? I believe the harness from Chase HQ and Continental Circuit should be the same but I'll have to see if I even have a spare.

010-1.jpg
 
you can get that connector from many places. Also check for burned or corroded connectors to the plug to the maim pcb. When i had an Operation Wolf that would not turn on sometimes it was the main plug to the pcb burned that way. luis
 
Okay, rechecked the voltages and this is what I have:

AC at the switcher is 116V

DC 12V at the switcher is 0.27.2?? This definitely doesn't sound right.

DC 5V at the switcher is 0.31.

New fuses have also been put in.

So I hear the monitor come on and marquee now lights up. Still no sound or picture. I am really starting to get discouraged

How do I get the volatage closer to 12V? Play with the dial on the switcher?
 
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OK, so you've got power getting TO the switcher. That's good to know.

The rest of the terminals on the switcher are outputs. Not sure exactly what you've got, but there is likely at least a +5V and +12V output. There may also be a -5V and perhaps a -12V, depending on the power supply. ALL of these DC outputs should be measured as follows:

-meter on DC volts mode (20V range, if it's not autoranging)
-black lead on the GND (ground) terminal of the power supply
-red lead on each of the output voltage terminals

Getting the red/black leads mixed up isn't a big deal, it'll just change the sign (+/-) of the reading you see.

Now, the output that matters the most, by far, is the +5VDC output. Many boards will "work" fine with only +5V. They may not have any audio... but they'll boot and generate a display. (In other words, don't worry about the 12V right now.)

So, re-check the +5V output on your power supply and report back what it reads.

EDIT [now that I see your edit...]:

There's a small chance that there's something loading the lines and pulling the voltages down. If you want to be sure, disconnect the ground wire(s) and remeasure. This will ensure there's no load on the power supply. If it's still far from rated outputs (5 & 12), it's certainly toast.

Fixing a switching PS can be done, but it doesn't sound to me like something you're ready to dive into. I agree with That80sGuy... get a replacement.
 
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Sounds like the switcher is bad..replace it.. they are cheap.
 
Thanks again for the help Darren :)

I checked the +5 volt line at the switcher and I get 0.028 but if I switch the range on the meter, I get 0.003 none of these sound right to me.

Man oh man! THis is driving me up the wal!!!!
 
I have a spare working power supply somewhere in my closet and can definitely switch it out but what do I do in terms of the dial at the top of the switcher? Does it not have to be set in a certain position so it doesn't over load things?
 
With the grounds off the switcher, I get 0.017 on the +12V line and 0.010 at the +5 Volt line. Could the switcher be turned too high?
 
Your power supply is dead. No amount of turning that knob is going to raise it all the way up to 5 volts. Swap in your spare, don't worry about the knob, it's just to adjust the 5 volts... Operation Wolf sucks the power so it'll likely need to be turned up once you get it up and running.

The PCB's are horrible about dying in these, btw, they may not work.
 
You need to set your meter to read in the correct range then measure the +5v. While the switcher is on.. use the adjustment knob to dial in the +5v .. it can be a tad higher.. like 5.2v. But given the readings you have posted the power supply in the cab is dead.
 
Well, thanks for all the replies and help. I'll either swap it with the unit I have at home or order a new one. At the same time. maybe a good idea to pick up a working OW PCB as well I guess.
 
I dont think I'm meant to own this game :(

Replaced the power supply, made sure all the wires were in the proper place, turned on the cabinet, smelled something burning and shut it off right away. Never seen any smoke or where it was coming from and still doesn't work.

This sucks!
 
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