Please help bring Galaga to life.

[mitchschaft]

Ha, guess they were desperate. I want to order that galaga renew kit, but the guy is too busy right now.
I guess I need to learn how to trace the traces and see what's what to and from each chip. I dunno.

 

[Alpha-tron]

Galaga renew Kit?

you mean something like this ?


http://cgi.ebay.com/GALAGA-CPU-BOAR...575?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53db234de7

 

[mitchschaft]

Nah, I already put a cap kit in it. There's a guy here that sells all new sockets and resistor packs for it for $18.

I found the link:
http://www.arcadecomponents.com/catalog/item/6799687/7841050.htm

Some folks say don't bother and it could make things worse, but I don't think that's too possible here.

 

[Alpha-tron]

I downloaded the instruction to the renew kit.
and the bottom of the page I found these website.


http://www.arcadeshop.com/galaga/galaga.htm
http://www.arcadeshop.com/gal-tips.htm
http://www.mikesarcade.com/arcade/repairs/galaga.html

http://www.newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=153.0

 

[mitchschaft]

Thanks. I've been all over those already . Hoping he contacts me about a renewal kit soon. Otherwise, I'm hoping atleast I can get Mappy working next week.

 

[Alpha-tron]

So what kind or resister packs do you have on yours?

 

[mitchschaft]

The old, flat crummy kind. I know one of them had a cracked connection from the pin to the resistor. I dropped some solder on it to see if that would fix it. No idea if that's a way to fix 'em, though.

 

[Alpha-tron]

I never found that adding solder to those resistor packs fixes them.
Once those legs start to to come off. It's time to replace them.

 

[mitchschaft]

Cool, that's actually good news to hear. Gives me something to work on.


*edit*
Here's something I read in a thread

TIP: Use the ohmmeter part of the DMM to test if the signal makes it from the pin on the underside of the circuit board under the socket all the way up to the hip of the pin just before it enters the chip. If it reports any more than .3 ohm resistance (especially infinite) then you need to fix that pin and/or socket position.

That's something else for me to use. This place is full of info. Thanks, PacFan, circa 2006.

 

[Alpha-tron]

I tend to build my own resister packs becuase of fragile pins and substrates I have run across during the years And I hate waiting for shipping. laughs

 

[mitchschaft]

I've seen pics of those. I'd rather wait on shipping, lol. Can you recommend a good logic probe? I have an oscope, but no logic probe.

 

[Alpha-tron]

Why don't you just use your scope as a logic probe?

 

[mitchschaft]

That was my plan. But, I was reading something about an oscope not being digital, yada yada. Forgot exactly what I read.

 

[Alpha-tron]

yes, most scopes are not ditigial but you can see if there is a signal there or not. Which should be good enough to use as a Logic probe. You might have sync issues but you should be able to detect the rise and falls of the logic gates.

 

[delroy666]

A scope can work just fine as a logic probe. It's just not quite as convenient for signals that are pulsing, since you need to keep adjusting the ms/div knob for different frequencies. It'll show you more information about the signal though, like the actual frequency (good for debugging clock circuits) and the actual voltage levels, for example if a TTL output is only toggling between 0-3V.

I have the B&K DP21 logic probe: http://www.bkprecision.com/products/model/DP 21/dp21-digital-logic-probe.html I'm sure there are better ones out there, as this one feels kind of cheap and the leads are a bit short, but it does the job.

 

[SuperGunGuru]

Nah, I already put a cap kit in it. There's a guy here that sells all new sockets and resistor packs for it for $18.

I found the link:
http://www.arcadecomponents.com/catalog/item/6799687/7841050.htm

Some folks say don't bother and it could make things worse, but I don't think that's too possible here.

I'm pretty sure that's Channelmanic's website. It's cool that he sells a kit like that to replace the most troublesome parts.

 

[mitchschaft]

Yeah, that's him. He's been busy with work this month from what I hear. Can't wait to play around with this oscope later on.

 

[cdjump]

I just picked up one of these -
http://cgi.ebay.com/LOGIC-PROBE-AUD...188?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4153448af4

I'll let ya know how it works. I've got an older Realistic logic probe that i use currently. I really like the audio on it. Makes it much faster for me to probe with, as i can tell without having to glance up at the leds.
Incidentally, i've got an o'scope sitting right over my bench. I rarely use it unless i suspect a power issue, or want to verify a clean clock signal. The logic probe is just easier to work with.

 

[Ghostnuke]

I wish Channelmanic was done moving/clearing backlog. I've got a non-working board too. : /

 

[mitchschaft]

Awesome. That probe is cheap enough. Have you drowned yet? Supposed to rain 'til tomorrow afternoon.