Robby Roto PCB Fix?

calz

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Hi All -

Yeah, I know that most everybody thinks this game stinks, heck I do too, but I got it for $35 of CR and it is in pristine condition... there is no way I am selling it or converting it. Just want to get it working and add to my collection. Finally got around to looking at why it was doing weird loops and sounds when turned out and found that the battery seems to have disintegrated and leaked a bit onto the PCB (pic attached). Question is... the damage does not look bad... thinking I can replace the battery and clean it up a bit... thoughts? and any thoughts on where I can get this part? Thanks in advance.

Thanks,

Chris
 

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Cut the battery off there....NOW. AS far as the damage, its not that bad. My Roto game board was completely ruined by the battery gassing.

Looks like you may get away with a good cleaning and neutralizing of the damaged part, then replacing the 2 chips nearest the battery that took the most of the gas. Careful here, you'll really tear up the board if you try to rush it. The solder gets contaminated by the gas from the battery and won't flow right. I'd just cut the chips out and then remove the pins one by one. That will risk the least damage.

Check all resistors and other components in the damaged area. The potassium hydroxide gas nicad's poot out when they go bad is nasty stuff and can crawl up into components wrecking them.
 
There is some detailed info about repairing battery damage here: http://www.pinrepair.com/sys1/index.htm#battery

It's talking about it on a Gottlieb System 1 pinball board, but much of the same applies for any battery damage (like how to go about cleaning it up). If you can find an old copy of the pinrepair section on Gottlieb System 80 (now offline) it may have had some more information, because those boards had the battery in a position where it tended to cause more damage.

You may have to repair some traces and maybe replace a couple ICs... depends on what you find when you clean it all up.
 
I'll add to what has already been stated.....You do not need to install a new battery. It's only function was to save the high scores. If you still want this function....run some jumper wire from the battery solder points, and mount the battery off (and away) from the motherboard stack.

Also, this hardware platform is plagued with issues. I don't think your battery (and it's surrounding corrosion) is the root of your issues (but still clean it up).

Edward
 
Thanks guys, excellent info. I was not sure what the battery did so this sounds promising. Will take a stab at cleaning this up and resolder then report back. Kind of a shame... this thing looks like it is brand new... must have been stored somewhere for a long time. It would turn on but nothing on the monitor (other than occasional blue boxes) and make some weird static sounds and beeps kind of in a loop. Thanks again.
 
Don't worry about getting the battery back in there UNTIL you get the game working again. You don't need high score saves until you have a working game!

Remove the battery and replace the two chips then retest. You will need a logic probe to see what is working and not working.
 
Don't worry about getting the battery back in there UNTIL you get the game working again. You don't need high score saves until you have a working game!

Remove the battery and replace the two chips then retest. You will need a logic probe to see what is working and not working.


Thanks, I did clip the battery off, cleaned the board up, reinstalled and got the same results... I am going to have to order the chips since I don't have any but going to start on removing the ones that need to be replaced. Yeah, I do need a logic probe... been dodging that for a while so this will give me an excuse to get one.
 
I politely request pics of the entire game.

Sure, note that this game sat in my garage for 3 months and has not been throughly cleaned yet... Check out how clean the monitor chassis is though. Also, don't mind the mess... I am in the process of kicking my kids out of this room and building a bar/game room.

Also note, this is the first time I have seen this blue screen on the monitor until powering it up to take these pics...
 

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