Preventative Maintenance

D_Harris

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I was just going over some of my Atari games and contemplating everything that can and does go wrong with these machine. I was wondering how far do most go with fixing what isn't broken.

For instance I have Pole Position, Star Wars, Asteroids, and Millipede cabinets as well as several other Atari boardsets.(Dig Dug, Centipede, Indiana Jones).

Would it be a good idea to install repair kits on the A/R II PCBs as a preventative measure? And how about repair kits for the Atari power supplies? (Even if everything works).

And though it is understandable for Pole Position, how far does one go when undertaking preventative board work for most other games?

Or is it generally recommended to wait for something to go wrong and then deal with it?

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
For me, when I restore a game, I do it all, even if there are no issues. I look at it like this, most of this stuff is 30 years old or going on it. And most have been used daily making money, until now. CAPS and POTS for example can cause all kinds of weird issues.

Example, I'm getting ready to put all new caps in my 1994 Corvette pinball machine. That makes all the original caps 17 years old now, but it was on route making money and of course got hot all day long for many years. After I recap it, I will not even think about it, as its done and dependable! Already capped my 1987 pinball.

I over maintain my vehicles too and because of this, they've never left me stranded. I have to depend on them, thus I maintain them to a high degree and do all the work myself.

Just my 2 cents...
 
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I know Pole Position is notoriously unreliable so I'd definately look into modding it, I know there's one involving jumpering the power connections around the board to take the strain off the edge connector, search the threads and I'm sure you'll find it.
 
I am very much in the 'don't fix what ain't broke' crowd.

But that's for a few reasons:


  • I'm cheap, so I only fix what needs fixing.
  • I don't have enough time to fix what's broke, let alone what's not
  • I'm not confident enough in my skills yet to believe that I won't do more damage than good.
 
I'm the same way.

My Pole Position is modded though.

Then there are the monitors. Particularly those vectors. My biggest concern is doing and paying a little now vs. having to do and pay a lot later.

It's easier to work up the motivation to put effort into something after it breaks, because you have no choice if you want the game to be playable again. :D

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
I like to rebuild power supplies if they haven't been done and that's the case with most of my ARII boards. If I know it's already been worked on previously that's a different story. :)
 
Connectors, connectors, connectors
Cold solder joints
Caps in power supply
Rebuild monitor chassis
Re-pin edge connectors, if needed
Replace bulb, starter, ballast with new

I have no desire to move a game against a wall without doing a lot of the above, just to have some 30yr old part, long overdue to fail, go out.
 
My motto is "If it ain't broke, break it, and learn how to fix it". I do preventive maintenance on all my games:
-Monitor cap kits
-Power supply rebuilds
-Big blues
-Adjust the convergence
-Move batteries off PCBs
-If there's an upgrade, I want to do it!

I have developed tremendous skills and understanding by taking components out of working games and familiarizing myself with them by replacing caps, etc.
 
Since I actually have fun upgrading my games and/or doing various preventative maintenance items, I have done quite a bit through the years to most of my collection:

LV2000 kits in all my vectors
Cap kits for all of my monitors
Rebuild kits for all of my Atari A/R boards
New "Big Blues" and cords for all of my Ataris
Switching power supplies in all of my Williams games and a few others
Some complete rebuilds done for about 1/2 of my WG6100s
Rebuild for my Sega vector Power supply
Solder reflows on most edge connectors and molex pins
Lithium battery kits or other upgrades to get those AAs away from my boardsets

Probably some other stuff here and there :) ...

And I have to say...I think my work has paid off as my games have continued to run quite well through the years. Sure, I have a failure here and there...we all do...but overall, I like to think my work help keeps these to a minimum :D ...

Jon
 
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