Pac Man Flood Restoration

jlpmauldin

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Donor 5 years: 2017-2021
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Location
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I got a non-working Pac-Man in poor condition a few months ago. I've been working on it and thought it might make for a decent thread. Hopefully, the info I put in here will be useful to someone else fixing an old Pac-Man or something similar.

This game was everywhere when I was a kid. Even these days, everybody knows about Pac-Man. Still, It had been awhile since I had seen an original cabinet before I got this one.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z9ez-TQbc3pwf9HGygkqv6woac8wux8z/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/12-a932zJn1Yrcsl3r_nW5y9R6KHruwPP/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tqCpXYGNX9UE4X3uuTQpV11kIZT9EXk5/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pUz8araJWra_0GNxaLbZLvvYSX9s-n6V/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kTwJyMIt4gVL1zSkWtURDnMimnXAk60p/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V37p4Qi13BYWXx8zA91f82tyXLKdpnzM/view?usp=sharing
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It was completely submerged by creek floodwater while in basement storage. Mud on everything. Bad mildew smell. A sad sight.

On the other hand, it appeared to be original and complete. This would look great alongside my Super Pac-Man if I could get it working.

I wanted to preserve/fix everything I could on this project. Even the beat up side art if possible. I see a fair number of Pac-Man reproductions running 60 in 1 boards that get the details of the original design wrong. Hoping to keep this one authentic.
 
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Well at least it still has the RF board! Lol! I've actually never seen one of those myself, you should keep it somewhere in the cab just to have it, but definitely do not use it. My turbo was In a seriously nasty condition as well. I pulled all the parts and took simple green and a garden hose to them all. Then I blew as much water off as I could with my leaf blower and then soaked it all with isopropyl alcohol which displaced all the water and helped it dry rather quickly. Your going to need some bleach for the inside of that thing as well...
 
More Images

Yeah, every post I've seen on the subject mentions the RF board is unnecessary. I want to keep and use everything I can on this project. But, if it becomes a problem, I'll take your suggestion and just stow it in the cab.

A few more pictures:

The marquee is actually in good shape!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pt8o_zU8WZnzPaDq9WQHUvFLn5jq3gy1/view?usp=sharing
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As is the control panel. Just dirty.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h4tHikv4Q-aHVKZCuOSCSVrVb7P1PJ2Q/view?usp=sharing
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Back door is a complete loss. As is, sadly, the glass bezel art. The print was just blowing off the glass with the slightest breeze. Zero adhesion.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kNKPtAyupIPF7FgK1iM6fMVg05dTlgAr/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QCCfqad-yizio5elnip0XIkxQuT5aKn0/view?usp=sharing
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More pics:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zwzy8O3MWawsu8sUfTpE8pmokFBQaWUl/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/17tJykCzEusMRu_GBxT9GB3uttRMT5xVR/view?usp=sharing
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The stamped serial# on the top matches the label inside. No surprise I suppose, but I think its pretty cool.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SLOnXbze67UcFhVt8iEb-s9XK5eYYC5I/view?usp=sharing
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The bottom of this cabinet cannot be saved. It is just a nasty, swollen, rotten mess. Also, the delamination of the plywood on the bottom sides is severe.

I think its funny that the back and coin door keys are still present. 2 things that won't need replacement.
 
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Component Removal

This cabinet was stinking up my garage. The first step in the restoration was component removal. Not many major components in this game:

- Marquee, glass bezel, plastic bezel, screen filter
- Marquee Lights
- Speaker
- CRT
- Control panel
- Power distribution panel
- PCBs
- Coin door

I decided to leave the marquee bulb sockets (took old incandescent bulbs out) and speaker in place for now. I also left the coin door in since it wouldn't keep me from cleaning the interior (Not to mention I'm running out of shelf space around here).

Early on, I wanted to remove the CRT to avoid accidentally breaking the neck. Some burn visible of course:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XalpIziBgwXlYQtjNITbLpcXRVqWHZ3m/view?usp=sharing
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Power distribution panel. This includes all the wire harnesses. I didn't have to cut any wires. Nice to see the original labels still in place:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y7Rs4fuScETYK3psKgquHs1ToMc35saH/view?usp=sharing
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The infamous RF board:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-64hUjc51V8iZeq7hxfJL19d6hUI0C6X/view?usp=sharing
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Main PCB:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aviTh246q6zZE5mNzRDqDYvQB2zNkfnS/view?usp=sharing
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Bottom decay:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rqRIUPJazGg1D0ltlJfLM6xwO-z-vVWh/view?usp=sharing
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I've seen some crazy restoration saves using bondo, wood hardener, and bleach. But, the bottom of this Pac cabinet was just too far gone. I cut the bottom out being careful not to damage the levelers:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18oken3tzkI5SAZShx4lUKycdg-15X-KP/view?usp=sharing
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ROoh2D1AcHqjSmKOWTP5e8itvXkGAN6S/view?usp=sharing
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A lot more nails than I expected. I put all the loose hardware in an old coffee can.

Deterioration of bottom sides:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SeOW2EZWQRT18LCdD3dpv4h5aJcYsEtj/view?usp=sharing
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Nice to get that nastiness out of my house.

Looking at the decay, I was pretty sure I would have to cut a few inches off the bottom sides too. Ugh.
 
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... whatever happened to this dude?

I remember watching those videos. Seems like the updates stopped after the cabinet work was done.

IIRC, he is from the coastal area of my state and the killer flood was from a hurricane. I wonder if the salt water did more damage to the electronics than fresh water would?
 
PCB Pre-Wash

I wanted to focus my efforts on the cabinet wood work. Partly because the project was taking up prime real estate in my garage, partly because I was kind of dreading it and wanted it done.

I was just going to put the boards somewhere safe for awhile. Since they were so dirty tho, I felt I should at least do some preliminary cleaning.

There are only 3 boards to clean: Main PCB, RF board, and G07 chassis.

On the main PCB, I noticed the plating on some of the chip leads was coming off. I figured it wasn't all that surprising on such an old board:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XLTIcjS3fNjqybBPsWYy-rT84LGp8Tch/view?usp=sharing
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My cleaning approach was: Simple Green (1:1 dilution) + toothbrush + tap water. I tried using rubbing alcohol, but it always seemed to leave a film after it dried. The Simple Green was more aggressive. I was careful to wash it off before it lingered too long.

This technique certainly brightened up the boards. Happy to see the edge connectors are in great shape.

The use of tap water is not ideal. It would've been (technically) better for me to do a final rinse with alcohol or maybe distilled water. For the time being, I figured tap water residue was way better than creek water residue. The municipal water in my area is pretty good.

Yeah, I should've finished doing the dishes before I washed these boards.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hcU9ZWwcgk91fGkkDpQG39_ZpWY8PWcE/view?usp=sharing
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I used the same cleaning approach for the G07 chassis. I used an end-on horsehair shop type brush along with the toothbrush to get in between the tall components more effectively:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SBsET4QATeKWSS4QKxeUX1M1n2n0pIzp/view?usp=sharing
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There was a rather potent chemical smell coming off this board during cleaning. I'm not sure what it was. Guessing it was electrolyte residue from leaky capacitors. The flyback is visually OK. The plastic in the width coil is cracked. This chassis will be rebuilt later.

This picture shows the lead plating deterioration I noticed before. You can see it on 1N and 1L:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ss2QjqHI6Wf2cg_7b6nfrQXgARcqibDG/view?usp=sharing
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This may not have been caused by the flood. It may just be normal for old chips. This board will need more cleaning later regardless.

Lastly, I took out all the socketed chips and daughter cards and carefully stored them in a piece of foam. No broken pins thankfully. A bad pin on any of these would've been an (unnecessary) pain.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KG82DNY_XvgJIJlUROsQ6VE0c7JzGpd5/view?usp=sharing
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After dabbing off with a paper towel, I left these boards leaned up to allow the water to drain off (like the dishes I should've finished first). A gentle hair dryer would've done OK too I guess. I stored the boards in a safe place the next morning after they dried.
 
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I'm pretty sure the discoloration your seeing on the legs of the chips is just the standard oxidation that all chips seem to get. I always carefully sand as much of that off as I can on the socketed chips before I reseat them with 400 or 800 grit wet/dry sand paper. I then rinse the oxides from the sand paper off with isopropyl alcohol and I like to rise out the sockets as well and reseat them when they are still wet. I seem to have a bit of an easier time putting them back in that way.
 
Cabinet Rebuild Part 1

I'm going to start combining pictures into collages for efficiency.

I figured the rotten wood on the bottom sides had to be replaced. My plan was to cut away the bottom 3.5" and join in a piece of 1" X 4". I also wanted to cut away 3.5" from the bottom 9" of the back and make a new back piece. Basically, cut a big "L" out of the bottom and replace it with a "L" made out of pieces of 1" X 4" solid planks.

The area I would be cutting away is largely decayed. Also, there is no side art in this area on the sides or back. Just weathered yellow with blue spray dots.

I would also make a new bottom piece.

I would preserve the front panel completely. I'm going to clean it off and try to stabilize it with glue best I can. I do not want to cut into the art work. I think the beat up original art work will look alot better than anything new I would paint on.

The images below detail my process for cutting away the side panels and joining the new wood.

Cut out the first "L"
1- Mark off 3.5" across the bottom. Make sure it matches the width of the new plank.
2- Clamp a guide piece on and get the circular saw (make sure to clamp the guide on in at least 2 places for stability, if the guide moves and the cut drifts, ALL IS LOST). To minimize damage to the front panel, adjust the cut depth to just barely go through the side. I used a plywood blade (7 1/4", 142 teeth).
3- Cut across the entire bottom, being careful to stay against the guide piece. I had to stop a few times to move the clamps around as the saw made its way across. I was happy with the cut and to see fresh wood with no decay.
4- Use a vibrating multi-function tool with the cutting blade to cut the vertical section (9" from the bottom. So, 5.5" above the previous cut line). Use clamped in guide pieces to keep the cuts straight.
5- All cuts completed for this side.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bhz3uEF9Dzsh8gvs1ufjyzxfF3_20DBQ/view?usp=sharing
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Flip the cab over and repeat the procedure:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10LKnDVAWw7cIUfFH22V_hR023pOgU2TK/view?usp=sharing
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Making the "L"
1- Cut the 1" X 4" pieces to size and join them using two 3/8" dowels (3" long). Glue the assembly together, place it on a flat surface, put something heavy on top, and wait a day for the glue to dry.
2- Route the grooves in the new piece. The image below is incomplete, and is of a piece that was thrown away because I messed up on the route channels (sorry I didn't have a better pic). The new piece would eventually need 3 channels routed in to accommodate the front, bottom, and back pieces. It also needs a T-molding channel in front and along the bottom. Also also, the front bottom corner will need to be rounded off.
Make two of these (mirror images on each other).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uW1Aggg-SJA6jMW-LzIUpgiQWe3jRLQV/view?usp=sharing
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Joining the pieces
1- Cut 3" lengths of 3/8" dowel. I used 8 per side.
2- Drill into the cabinet in 8 places across its width. I used a self-centering doweling jig. Insert the dowel pieces to make sure they go in far enough.

Now, remove all the dowel pieces, place center markers in the two outermost holes, line up the new piece and gently mallet it against the markers to locate the holes on the new piece. Drill out the new holes and put dowels in. Move the center markers to the next 2 holes working inward. mallet the new piece against the markers to mark the next 2 holes.

3- Continue this way until all dowels are installed. Mallet the new piece on with the dowels in place to be sure all fits. It was hard to remove even without glue! I may have overdone it a bit with 8 dowels.
4- Glue everything
5- Mallet together
6- Done! Not too bad.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cD-0DjEZkroNBF_N0nKbxnRi23rgabcU/view?usp=sharing
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Repeat dowel fitting for other side
1,2- Drill 8 holes in cabinet
3- Drill holes in new piece and dry fit
4- Glue glue glue
5- Pound into place
6- Both sides done
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kAzlaxFoSESH61JUYB9W1q4G6JTJJg-G/view?usp=sharing
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Putting new bottom in and front stabilization
1- I made a new bottom out of 3/4" MDF (plywood may have been a better choice here. I had a piece of MDF laying around so I used it). This needed to be routed in the front and sides to fit in the 3/8" cabinet slots.
2- The new piece meets up to the front piece well enough.

I will not finalize the bottom installation until I have made the new back piece. I was tired at this point so I quit the woodworking for this session.

3- I put glue in between the layers of the old front panel and clamped them together hoping to stabilize the piece.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e9KUS78od_hZURIapJLX6S_zp6Xhp15n/view?usp=sharing
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So, that was alot of work. Obviously, I'm not a pro wood worker. I don't own a biscuit joiner. I feel the dowels will do well tho. This felt like a solid repair.
 
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PCB Repair

Just in case I haven't stated it enough so far, a great deal of this resto was scrubbing off grime. Pretty much every surface:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WkTjGQbQqAO7t4v03auF46kYUszKGovN/view?usp=sharing
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I did not scrub the artwork too heavily. It seemed very fragile. One side was barely sticking on. I may just clear poly over the art to stabilize it after I paint the new wood that's been added. I like the old, worn out look of this cabinet.

I went back to work on the main PCB. While all the socketed chips were removed, I attempted to read the 6 ROMS: 5E, 5F, 6E, 6F, 6H, and 6J.

6E would not read. The software gave a pin contact error.

All the other ROMS read OK and checked out when I checked them at romident.coinopflorida.com

6H came up as "pacmod: Pac-Man (Midway, harder)". I think this is a later version of the game where the patterns don't work.

I decided to hedge my bets by putting all the old ROMS back in (I hoped 6E just had a dirty pin and would clear up) AND ALSO getting new 2532 EPROMS and writing known good images to them. If the game didn't boot up, I would just replace the old chips.

I also removed all the large axial leaded caps and large wattage resistors from the board for measurements: C2, C3, C7, C8, C10, C29, C51, R52, and R53.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eiNZaxaCSjgUKHZrpuYJApPDMgtOjyGF/view?usp=sharing
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I did not remove/check any of the orange disc capacitors. I've never seen one of these fail.

All the caps and resistors were good! C7 looked a little sketchy, so I decided to replace C7 and C8 with new 10,000µF, 16V caps after all board cleaning was done.

Next, I lifted Q6 off its heat sink and removed it (the heat sink, not Q6) for cleaning:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L50IYno7FeKlUXBoSNerWO11yzHhU7Rx/view?usp=sharing
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Now I could very thoroughly clean the board. I used the Simple Green-toothbrush-water approach again. I made sure to brush every chip and every socket. Every surface.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dCD1mvZvR76ZZHoFpYt9KD7A-rorWqGg/view?usp=sharing
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The heat sinks on chips 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D had fallen off. Thankfully, I found them all rattling around in the cabinet. I used double-sided heat sink tape to put them back on after I cleaned them:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14hurmWTrwYrtoSbWRCTE5plbYLYnxQpm/view?usp=sharing
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I made sure to put new heat sink compound between Q6 and the big heat sink during re-assembly.

Here it is all put back together:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jAClpN4jlfLNGw23cynNHpE0wWhaZbuT/view?usp=sharing
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Looks alot better! Cleaning for these boards is complete. This is probably the cleanest they've been since the 80's.
 
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More Cab Repair

Throughout the PCB cleaning, I was using wood glue to stabilize the delam on the front piece. After several days of gluing and clamping, the front was much stronger.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14sZy5Lzf8tZakeuGXshm9GX_ns_phLNu/view?usp=sharing
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The new back piece required routing on each side and a channel on top for the new back door to rest in. There is also a small cut out for the power cord.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1maEncMQamiyafo3Cq47JDXSNNcWApYZ-/view?usp=sharing
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I retained the leg leveler bases when I removed the old bottom piece:
1,2- They were attached to the old wood using small kinda threaded nails. too rusty to save. Just had to pry them out. I'm going to use screws when I re-install these.
3- Each piece was very rusty.
4- I guess there are lots of ways to remove rust. For big flat pieces, I just use my wire brush drill attachment. There was a great deal of pitting from the rust. No big deal since these are usually underneath out of sight.
5- My painting process for these: Acetone wash -> Primer -> Metallic paint
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pfD9Y0P-4TL9wM8Izd6Tdgn1HWwmbl1p/view?usp=sharing
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New bottom piece:
1,2- Just to make sure the new bottom was strong enough, I cut wood triangles to lend additional heft above the leveler bases. I also cut 3/4" ribs to go along the sides of the bottom.
3- Gluing the wood supports to the bottom piece. Also used screws to strengthen attachment.
4.5- Final assembly. More screws and glue. and then overnight to dry.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CAnaXPGX4-tv68rePvuECuzG3346Bi_h/view?usp=sharing
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I decided to put some cheap casters on. Not original, but it makes it alot easier to push the game around. The 5" leg levelers I used are long enough to extend below the wheels to keep the machine from rolling when necessary.

Much cleaner inside the cabinet now.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hX-TZIKXTsMZ5eCvaRjiztEiYSW-2CFi/view?usp=sharing
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Finally get to stand the cabinet back up. Nice to see it upright again! Still need to paint. Also, there is still more dried mud in the top interior area. Good progress tho.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J2ZRYwfq9mUt6ikDUfz8RdI9Jef2r3oc/view?usp=sharing
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Power Panel and Wire Harness

Thanks to everyone for the interest and helpful comments.

The more time I spend with this cabinet, the more I don't want to mess with the art; even though its weathered and dirty. I feel like sanding it off would be losing something. Good to know I'm not the only person who feels this way about old games.

I also have little confidence that I could reproduce the art properly. Better to just leave it alone for now. Its getting too cold outside to paint anyway.

Since the cabinet was upright and not so much of an obstacle in my garage, I decided to spend some time with the power panel and wire harness.

The first step was just to scrub the mud off. I did this by putting the panel next to my sink and spraying every inch of wiring with Simple Green and scrubbing with the toothbrush. I think I scrubbed all the wires and plugs 3 times before I was satisfied it was clean. I draped it up to dry overnight. I kept water away from the transformers.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GY-gJLqFUlg4BLWZzoYEs2rYNTDUqk6H/view?usp=sharing
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Next, I wanted to remove the components from the base to clean it. This meant taking off both transformers, 2 terminal strips with diodes, 2 fuse blocks, the EMI filter, the paper cover over one of the fuse blocks, and the labels.

I was able to remove the labels without destroying them. I want to staple them back on after cleaning. I noticed there were actually two 7V/12V labels stapled on top of each other. Both of these will go back on after cleaning.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1we488JmQNPS_4ZWJIQsMcOVQeewpeIVj/view?usp=sharing
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The panel wood base had cool burn marks under the transformers. I wanted to save this piece, but it was completely delaminating. Falling apart. It also smelled bad.

I figured what the heck. I put a ton of glue stabilizer between all the layers; and, using pretty much all my clamps, pressed it together and let it sit to dry. I imagine this may seem a little ridiculous. I really wanted to preserve every original bit of this machine I could.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12IbhQ1HBiJTsqL85C5o-YA6D-7Bozrrr/view?usp=sharing
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Transformers:
1- Before I cleaned the rest of the wires, I labeled the connections and took the transfomers out. Both of these need restoration.
2- Here are the pre-cleaned transformers. I felt it was best to keep these from additional moisture. So, I just brushed them clean with a dry brush.
3- Using and wire brush and my Dremel with a wire brush attachment, I cleaned the rust off.
4- I decided to put a layer of paint on the freshly cleaned surface. I masked off all the areas I didn't want to paint.
5- I had an old can of high heat grill paint on my shelf. This produced a very dull, flat finish, but it was still better than the old rusty look.
6- I also wire brushed the rust off the legs while they were removed.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19gER5eqkrl6TyR2S0JCE3u5tIGa24J5o/view?usp=sharing
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Here they are after painting. I re-attached the transformer labels before putting the legs back on.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jP4Mx8ML-tVtgHVEMO4go7e-swTNPn-t/view?usp=sharing
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While they were disconnected from the transformers, I cleaned the rest of the wires, the terminal strips, the EMI filter, and the fuse blocks.

The fuse blocks cleaned up great. Also, all the fuses were good. I realize the fuses are are big problem on old Pac-Man machines, but these seemed fine and OK to re-install. There was very little contact resistance across the fuse connections. I re-soldered the transformers back in and re-attached everything.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TDpR5viAfdRwx5-6RS6zHI0Upf-TEe_C/view?usp=sharing
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I should also note that the PCB edge connector was in really good shape. The gold on the contacts was very shiny. No bent contacts. No signs of heat damage.

Electrical Testing:
1- Even though the old power cord seemed OK, someone had cut the ground lug off the plug. Had to put a new plug on. Sorry I didn't get a picture of the new plug.

This power panel does not produce any DC voltage. All AC output. All DC voltages needed are produced on the PCB itself.

I decided to check the transformer outputs. I was looking for 12VAC and 7VAC from the multi-tap transformer; and 120VAC from the monitor isolation transformer.

This was the first time I got to plug this thing in. The main switch and the door switch both worked.

2,3- The outputs from the multi-tap transformer were working fine.
4- Output from the isolation transformer was fine too.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GSdR49oVlorjtGEQOAsRgq-RFy1hJaXh/view?usp=sharing
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Pretty much done with the power panel now. 100% working! I noticed the crimped plug receptacles that went to the door switch were frayed. So, that was the only thing left to do with this piece.

Merry Christmas to everyone at KLOV!
 
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