Robotron Help Needed

SilverCoin

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I have some questions.. and some noob questions. My first Williams game ya know..

When my machine finally came up I got a Rom Error 10?

The Digit display had a 0 on it, that was all, nothing blinked.

The display talked about factory settings and turning the machine on and off. I think the batteries are dead, can I just replace them?

Also I researched for Robotron help and found this nugget of knowledge:

The connector that has the orange wire in pin number 1 is where you want to take your voltage readings.
pin 1 -5vdc
pin 2 key
pin 3 +12vdc
pin 4 -12vdc
pin 5 +12vdc
pin 6 +12vdc
pin 7 ground
pin 8 ground
pin 9 ground
pin 10 ground
pin 11 no connection
pin 12 +5vdc
pin 13 +5vdc
pin 14 +5vdc
pin 15 +5vdc


My question on that is do I read it on the connector itself? or while its attached to the board. If so where do my leads go? I have a multi meter and used it in the past. Just not in a case like this.

The screen had a scrambled pattern for 5-10 minutes then booted to the rom error, then to the factory screen warning. The reset button on the inner upper board of the cab played a tune then explosions when I hit the plunger button. Sound test?

My guess is that my p/s isn't working till it warms up, and I need new roms burned. Also checked all my connectors and none of them are torched in anyway, very clean inside the cab.

thanks in advance!
 
1) You may just need to reseat ROM 10 if it starts working after the error, or you could just need that ROM replaced.

2) Yes, you would measure the voltages at the connector while it is plugged in to get accurate readings under load. You should have 3 LED's lit on the power supply board if all three voltages (+5, +12, -5) are present.

3) The Factory Settings Restored error does mean battery failure. Replace them with new AA batteries. Inspect the battery holder and the surrounding board area for corrosion from leaking batteries.

4) You should not get the rug pattern for 5-10 minutes. Might be a good idea to pull all socketed chips, clean the legs, then put them back in (on all boards) to see if that helps.
 
I do get all three lights lit while the machine is on!

Also no corrosion around the battery holder.

I'll replace the battery's and reset the chip!

It wasn't the standard rug pattern, more of a garbled white screen with broken up purple lines.. very 2600 looking..
 
You can get garbled video if the ribbon cable from the MPU board to the CPU board is not making solid connections on all of the wires. It may just need to be recrimped.

During the boot-up there should be some numbers flashing on the ROM board 7 segment LED. These can give clues as to what is messed up.

The sequence of digits is three numbers then pause then repeat. RAM errors have a 1 as the first digit, ROM errors have a 2 as the first digit, CMOS errors have a 3 as the first digit. This first digit is followed by the chip location.

So a sequece of 1-2-3 would indicate a RAM error in chip 23 (bank 2, chip3).

A sequence of 2-0-4 would indicate a ROM error in ROM chip 4.

Watch the LED during bootup for some clues about what the system thinks is wrong.

ken
 
Led on boot up shows a 0.

Screen on bootup says Rom error 10. I'll reseat the rom later tonight. Very nice and sharp image on screen watching the demo go by.

I also now got the game to boot all the way, replaced the batteries.

Sound is very very quiet. The vol. pot turned up and its a hush.

Something is also going on with the start buttons, I can coin up but not start a game? Maybe part of the rom problem.

Also, are the 1 & 2 player buttons supposed to be lit from below? there are sockets but no lamps?
 
Coin up is on the ROM board, game start is on the I/O board. Most likely this is a grounding issue.

Saltbreez

Led on boot up shows a 0.

Screen on bootup says Rom error 10. I'll reseat the rom later tonight. Very nice and sharp image on screen watching the demo go by.

I also now got the game to boot all the way, replaced the batteries.

Sound is very very quiet. The vol. pot turned up and its a hush.

Something is also going on with the start buttons, I can coin up but not start a game? Maybe part of the rom problem.

Also, are the 1 & 2 player buttons supposed to be lit from below? there are sockets but no lamps?
 
Thanks much, 44s, got every other bulb it seems.. gonna have to order these.

Ok reseated chip 10. Now when the machine boots, I get a flashing 2 10 error, indicating that the chip is bad.

My chips have red stripe marker on them, I would assume this to be the red version?

What does the interlock switch do by the coin door? Mine does nothing that I know of.

Unhooked and reconnected the harness for the joysticks and buttons, plugged it back in. When I go into the self test I get no response from the control panel. Nothing. Could this be due to chip 10 being bad? if not what do I look for next? the grounds all seem connected except for one black wire on the fire joystick leaf switch. I doubt that one wire would knock out the entire panel.

ok, so who do I goto to get one chip programmed?

Thanks

Dan
 
reseat both ribbon cables on the big cpu board. pull them off and put them back on. the little one goes to the widget (I/O board) and comes off of the cpu. the big one goes to the ROM board and comes off at the ROM board.
 
Went down and tried the cable on the I/O.

It Plays! and I realize I suck @ Robotron! lol

Well I got a 2 player game going, the 1p button a no go. I figure the loose ground must attach to the 1p leaf somewhere? The joystick shot in all directions so that might not be it.

So apart from rom 10, I still have a very quiet sound level to deal with. the pot is up all the way.

Any Ideas?
 
So apart from rom 10, I still have a very quiet sound level to deal with. the pot is up all the way.

Any Ideas?

Pull the connector for the volume pot off the sound board, and jumper pins 1 and 2 - this will give the sound board full volume (note, they can be pretty loud). There are pics of this test and other useful info here:
http://www.arcadesolution.com/sound.html

Edit - There's also a sound board troubleshooting guide here:
http://www.vidpin.com/tech_videorecap.asp
 
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