Space Duel to Major Havoc conversion/restoration

mnrocketry

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Today, I started on yet another project. This involves taking a complete but unrestored Space Duel and turning it into Major Havoc. Back in the winter of 2008, I acquired a Major Havoc kit for use in a Space Duel cabinet. This included the game pcb, adapter pcb, control panel, and marquee. The control panel has an Archer MacLean reproduction overlay on it, and is actually the exact one depicted at
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/archuk/mh_cpo.html

Then, in the fall of 2008, I acquired a mostly-working, unrestored Space Duel locally from Craigslist. (I already owned a Space Duel, but, since it's in near-mint condition, I didn't want to convert that one.) Fast forward to now, and I've finally attacked this project.

The cabinet was obviously once someplace a little damp. This is mostly evident in some slight bumpiness at the very bottom of the cabinet sides and in some light surface rust on the coin door. Otherwise, everything is solid. There is an annoying hasp on the lower coin door, so I'll have holes to fill after removing it. The left-side art is in good shape; the right side has some fairly big scratches in it.

My SOP for vector restorations is pretty much to start by gutting the cabinet. I remove: game pcb, A/R-II pcb, transformer assembly, control panel, bezels, monitor, marquee & marquee brackets, marquee light assembly, coin door & coin box enclosure (in roughly that order). As shown in the pic, about all that's left is the wiring harness and speakers.

I did have to drill the lower coin door lock. (Coin box yield - 2 quarters, a couple pennies, and a token.) As you can see, the hasp went away, too. From the mismatched serial numbers and slight Tempest burn-in, the WG K6100 monitor was obviously not original to this cabinet.

Once I have an empty cabinet, I thoroughly vacuum the inside. I also did a first pass at wiping the grime from the sides and top using Mean Green and paper towels. I'll do a thorough cleaning job on the entire cabinet later.

After taking the second photo, I decided to go ahead and remove the t-molding. I'll install new stuff later in the restoration.

Since the cabinet won't get any lighter than it is now, I laid it down on its back to deal with the leg levelers. The rusty ol' levelers came off and went in the trash. The dumb Atari blind nuts and staples also went in the trash. I installed all new leg leveler mounting plates (from Bob Roberts) with #8 x 3/4" flathead screws. Then, all new leg levelers (also from Bob). Tip - put a dab of anti-seize compound on the threads of the new levelers before you install them.

That's all for now. I'll scrub up the cabinet and install new t-molding next, then start rebuilding all the various components. I'll do my best to remember to take photos and keep this thread updated as I go.

Alan
 

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Well, I fired up the air compressor and used compressed air and a soft-bristle brush to remove the loose dust & dirt from all the parts that I removed from the game.

After that, it was time to start cleaning things up. The coin box and the ventilation grill from the top of the game both got scrubbed up. The A/R-II board was just a little dusty; a little wiping with a rag did the trick. The service panel was a bit grungy, so it got some Mean Green, rag and hot water. The transformer panel assembly was quite grungy, so it got Mean Green, scrubbed with a rag and old toothbrush, and hot water.

Next, the assembly for the top speakers and marquee light. (see pics) I had removed the bulb when I pulled the assembly from the game. It gave every appearance of being the factory original. This assembly was just a little dusty, so it was easily cleaned up. After that, I installed a new ballast, new starter, and new bulb. The speakers look to be in good condition, so I'll leave them alone.

Next up - rebuilding the transformer panel assembly and the A/R-II board.
 

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Rebuilding the A/R-II board:

I heartily recommend Bob Roberts' "Atari A/R II-02 to -06 Repair Kit (Caps+Q2/3/8/9+R30)" for $12. In this case, I have a -04 version board, so a few parts in Bob's kit won't be used.

After cleaning up the board, I went ahead and replaced all the electrolytic capacitors. Even if they aren't burnt, I always replace R29 and R30 with 10 ohm 1/2 watt resistors. I also replace the +5v adjustment pot at R8. This is a 1K ohm trim pot; I replace it with a 3352W.

This is a good time to mark the positive end of C1 as being a good place to check the +5v at the A/R-II board.

Two transistors get replaced with new ones. The TIP32 at Q2 and the 2N3055 at Q3. Bob includes a 2N6107 to replace the TIP32. As always, be sure to use new insulators and heat sink compound.

Finally, it's time to resolder all the connector pins...
 

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Going through the transformer block assembly:

I recommend Bob Roberts' "Atari AC Power Supply Repair Kit + 8' Line Cord" for $27.

First off, I replaced the "big blue" filter capacitor with the new one. I always mark one set of wires to make darn sure that I keep the polarity correct. I also clean off all the ring terminals before screwing them onto the new capacitor. I write the date on the top of the new "big blue" with black sharpie.

Next, I replaced the bridge rectifier on the underside of the assembly. Nice and straightforward; just make sure that the AC and DC wires get hooked up correctly. Sometimes you'll want to replace the quick disconnects, too.

Typical of most of these assemblies, there's an empty hole above the connector for the marquee light. I always populate this spot with a new molex connector, duplicating the existing one. This gives me a spot to plug in an AC cooling fan later. You just need the Molex connector, pins, wire, and some connectors.

Next, I replaced the entire fuse block with a new one, installing new quick disconnects as I go. Bob's kit comes with a new set of fuses (with typical values), so in those go, too. In this case, I had to swap out one of them for another of a different value.

This assembly does have some light surface corrosion in the cadmium plating. I decided to leave it as it is. Some restorers will completely strip everything from the metal frame, clean it up, and then paint it to roughly match the original appearance. A more correct approach would be to have a new cadmium plating job done on it. However, I understand that cadmium plating isn't done much anymore. You could have a colorized zinc plating job done on something like this that would match the original color.
 

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Cleaning, starting to reinstall parts, and misc:

First, I installed new t-molding on the cabinet. Because it goes completely around on both sides, it takes quite a lot of it!

After that, I scrubbed up the cabinet, inside and out. I use Mean Green to take the grime off. Then, I use an Armor All spray cleaner and a scrubbing sponge to clean up the sideart.

I glued a 1/4" long chunk of wooden dowel into those two bolt holes underneath the coin door. Later, I'll use some glazing putty to fill the holes flush, and then touch up with some black acrylic paint.

The vent louver on the top of the cabinet was reinstalled using new black-oxide screws. The rebuilt marquee light/speaker assembly was reinstalled. I replaced the AC power switch with a new one. The rebuilt transformer assembly and A/R-II board were reinstalled along with a new AC power cord..

After that came the tedious task of replacing both edge connectors on the wiring harness with new ones. Sometimes, I'll pull the wiring harness entirely out of the game to do this. In this case, I was able to get by with pulling it partially out of the game.

I cleaned the two marquee brackets, lightly scuffed them with a scotchbrite pad, then painted them using Rustoleum semi-gloss black spray paint.

To finish out the afternoon, I started cleaning up the monitor. (I forgot to take a "before" pic of it. Doh!) Removed the HV cage, deflection board, and neck board. Cleaned up the monitor frame and tube. Cleaned the circuit boards with Mean Green and hot water, blasted them with some compressed air, and now have them sitting in front of a fan to make sure that they dry out completely.

Next step - install full Bob Roberts cap kits, a LV6100, and basically bring the monitor up to snuff.
 

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Looks great so far! Keep us updated on the progress.

I've spent the past week working on the monitor and the coin door. The monitor is (hopefully) done; I'll be connecting it to my Space Duel tomorrow so that I can test it and adjust the HV. I disassembled the coin door, bead blasted the lower door, and got it painted today. I'll let it cure for a few days before putting it back together and reinstalling.

I also need to dig a ton of stuff out of the closet so that I can find my Major Havoc pcb & control panel.

Will post an "official" update tomorrow.
 
WG K6100 monitor - high voltage cage:

Basically, this consists of installing the appropriate parts from Bob Roberts K6100 cap & transistor kit and his K6100 additional parts kit. The WG 6100 FAQ is your friend, too, as far as guidance, information & recommendations.

I won't go through all the parts, but there a bunch of caps, resistors, diodes, and transistors to replace. For the first time, I also decided to replace the HV adjustment pot (be sure to follow the FAQ and pre-adjust it before firing up the monitor). Some resistors are changed to a different value; many are changed to higher wattage.

Note that Bob's kit comes with 100uf x 50v caps for C901 & C902. However, the FAQ recommends 200uf x 50v caps, so I went with the FAQ and installed the larger caps (bought from Digi-Key). C904 didn't look very healthy, so I replaced it with a new 0.1uf x 100v cap. Also, R920 looked like it had gotten hot. It tested okay, but I went ahead and replaced it with a new 1.5K ohm, one watt resistor.

Remember to resolder the header pins and the flyback pins; look for any other questionable solder joints too. Also, there are two transistors mounted to the outside of the cage frame. Take the time to pull them off, clean away all the ancient heatsink compound, and reinstall them with new heatsink compound and new mylar insulators. They'll run much cooler. (Thanks to Clay Cowgill for that tip!)
 

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WG K6100 monitor - neck board:

I'm not going to bother with any photos. There's only one cap that you change out on the neck board. Again, resolder the connector pins and look for any bad solder joints. Check the various wires that run directly to the board; I've seen them come loose.
 
WG K6100 - deflection board:

Phew, here's where the most work is... This particular monitor has a P314 deflection board with the "input protection circuit" daughtercard on "stilts".

Again, Bob's kit has various resistors, caps, and diodes in it for you to install. In this case, a bunch of Bob's parts for the low voltage section of the board went unused. That's because I removed all the original parts and installed one of Mark Spaeth's LV6100 boards in that area. (front, left corner of the board).

Check the fuse holders, and then install four new fuses. Look for any poor solder joints to fix. Again, check all the wires that are running straight to the board.

I go the extra step with these and replace all the 0.156" header pins with new ones. Because the new pins are square and the old ones are round, this requires that each hole be very slightly and carefully enlarged using a 1/16" drill bit. (old ones were white, new ones are black)

For this particular setup, Atari recommended that one of the stilts on the IPC board be replaced with a resistor. Since there were two caps to replace on the IPC board, I removed it entirely, put on the resistor and changed the caps, then reinstalled it.

Sorry, I forgot to take the "after" pic before I installed the board back in the monitor.
 

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WG K6100 - wrap up and smoke test

Next, it's time to change out all of the transistors mounted to the monitor frame. Bob's kit comes with all six. You'll also need some new mylar insulators and heatsink compound. If you can't read the old transistors, the FAQ has a diagram of which type are in which positions. After installing the new ones, do a continuity check between the transistor and frame to make sure that there aren't any shorts.

For the first time, I decided to change out all the crappy red IDC connectors for nice new Molex connectors with trifurcon pins.

Then, reinstall the HV, deflection, and neck boards. Label all the connectors. Make sure that everything is plugged into the correct spot.

After double-checking everything, I decided to use my Space Duel (my other one, not the one that is becoming Major Havoc) to test and adjust the monitor. So, pull out the game, pull off the back door, unplug the monitor, remove a few screws so that the harness can reach out to the rebuilt monitor placed on a stand behind the game...

Because I need to check and adjust the high voltage first, I pulled both connectors off the game board so there would be no signal going to the monitor. I got set up with adjustment tool and high voltage probe... and powered up the game. No smoke! Over the course of about 10 minutes, I watched the high voltage and adjusted it to 19.5kV.

Turning power off, I plugged the game boards back in, then powered it up... Moment of truth... No smoke... Hey, it works! :)

After about 15 minutes of warm up time, I put Space Duel into self test mode. I advanced to the "color bar" screen. First, adjusted brightness and focus. The colors were a bit off, so I adjusted all the drive & bias pots on the neck board (procedure is in the manual and/or FAQ). Hey, looks pretty good! Going through the color cross hatch screens shows that convergence is off a little in the upper left quadrant. I HATE trying to re-converge these color vector monitors, so I may just leave well enough alone... (I'll recheck all of this again later when I have the Major running.)

Left everything up and running for a couple hours test time with no problems. Woohoo!
 

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Another two weeks have flown by... Been really busy, but have gotten a little more done on this project.

Repairing the bolt holes in the lower coin door:

At some point in this cabinet's past, a padlock hasp had been installed on the lower coin door. Once removed, it left two holes in the door. After cleaning up the door and deburring the holes with a dremel, I cut a small piece of stainless steel sheet metal large enough to cover the two holes. I roughed up this patch with a scotchbrite pad and cleaned it and the door with alcohol. Mixing up some 15-minute epoxy, I epoxied the patch onto the back side of the door, covering both holes. On the front side, I had covered both holes with a piece of masking tape. I used two strong magnets to clamp the patch in place while the epoxy cured (with a piece of wax paper so I didn't epoxy the magnets, too). Afterwords, I removed the tape, magnets and wax paper. The epoxy had partially filled the holes. A couple applications of Bondo spot filler putty and a little sanding filled them flush.

I've also used this same method for filling extraneous bolt holes in control panels.

Later, I realized that I could have spot-welded the patch in place at work... I'll have to try that next time.
 

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That's alot of work for a coin door Alan. You should have just asked me for one, I've tossed a shitload of those things over the past few weeks.
 
Finishing the coin door:

First, I completely disassembled the door. The upper lip on one of the lower coin return bezels had been bent up and partially cracked-off. I bent it back into place and wicked some super glue into the crack to stabilize it. All the coin door parts were cleaned-up with hot water & Mean Green.

I took the coin door parts to work with me so that I could use the bead blasting cabinet on them. The lower door had a good bit of surface corrosion on it. The corrosion and paint in that area came off easily. Not so for anyplace else. This door had a very tough finish on it. While I took the entire front of the lower door down to the bare metal, on all the other parts & surfaces, I ended up just doing spots that showed any loose paint or corrosion.

After cleaning up all the parts, I primed them all with Rustoleum primer. I then put on two light coats of Rustoleum textured finish black spray paint on the front side of the pieces. Then, several coats of Rustoleum semi-gloss black spray paint on all the parts - doors, frame, and trim pieces.

After letting that cure for several days, I looked at the area where the two holes had been in the lower door. If I look closely and carefully, I can just see where they were.

Reassembly started by installing new locks. Then, the repainted trim pieces on the upper door. On the back side, I started reassembling the brackets for the coin mechanisms. This is a Coin Controls door - made in England, so all the screws are metric. Since most of the heads were stripped out, I had stopped at the hardware store to pick up new ones. The screws that hold the hinge to the frame are 3x6mm; the screws that hold the brackets to the upper door are 3x8mm.

This door also had a missing coin return spring. I found and purchased two similar springs at the hardware store to install.

The mechanisms for the coin lock-out were missing, so I left one connector off of each coil. No need to waste power on them.

I had already cleaned up the wiring. Some of the wiring to the coin switches had been snipped, so I soldered on some extensions and new quick disconnects. I also put in new 555 bulbs. The quarter coin mechs both worked fine, so I cleaned and reinstalled them. Then, I tidied up the wiring with some zip ties.

Finally, I reinstalled both doors in the frame. Ready to go back in the game!

It turned out looking okay. I'm not super happy with the finish on the upper door. In hindsight, I should have spent the extra half an hour to bead blast the front of the top door completely clean like the bottom one.
 

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Here are before & after pics of the coin door.
 

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That's alot of work for a coin door Alan. You should have just asked me for one, I've tossed a shitload of those things over the past few weeks.

When feasible, I prefer to restore and reuse the original coin door in a cabinet. I have sometimes swapped them out if they're really bent, dented, or heavily corroded. Filling the holes in this one wasn't actually much work.

That said, I could use a couple of CoinCo and/or Coin Controls over/under coin doors to have something to scavenge for parts. Let me know if you want to get rid of some in the future.

Alan
 
Recent activity -

Installed refinished coin door in cabinet. Along the way, a wire to one of the lights broke off, so I had to fix that. Installed coin box enclosure and service panel. Later found that some yahoo had cut off one of the wires to the service credit switch, so I had to fix that.

Started applications of glazing putty to finish filling those two former bolt holes below the coin door.

Pulled out the marquee translite and glass from storage. Cleaned them up and installed them with the repainted brackets and new screws. There's an annoying strip at both sides where the light shines through, so I'll have to do something about that.

Dug into the closet and pulled out the Major Havoc pcb, Space Duel adapter pcb, and control panel. Replaced the electrolytic caps on the two pcb's, looked them over, and cleaned the edge connectors. Installed the control panel on the cabinet. Installed the pcb's in the cabinet. Hooked up the monitor outside of the cabinet.

Moment of truth... it works! :)

Adjusted the A/R board for a good +5V at the game pcb. Adjusted the brightness, then linearity, size, bip, etc.

Hmmm, there's a lot of pincushioning... That leads off to another thread:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=108693
Short story - I fixed it by undoing the mistake that Atari made at the factory.

I went ahead and installed the monitor in the cabinet and gave it a few hours of burn-in time.

Left to do: Install the cardboard bezel and smoked glass. Do final monitor adjustments. Install cooling fan in cabinet. Convince it to reset the high score table. Playtest. <grin>

I'm hoping to wrap up this project this weekend. I'll get more pics up when I have a chance.
 
The Major is now finished and in my gameroom. As soon as I get time, I'll do a couple posts to wrap things up and put up some photos.
 
Time to bring things up to date and wrap up this saga!

The attached pic shows the Major Havoc marquee and control panel installed in the cabinet. All that these needed were a light cleaning to remove a little dust. The marquee is an Archer Maclean reproduction. The control panel was restored by Archer and the previous owner, so it was ready to go right into the game with no work required. The overlay is also an Archer Maclean reproduction.

You can just see the two brown spots below the lower coin door. That's where I was using glazing putty to finish filling those bolt holes flush with the surface. Once that was ready, I used some acrylic semi-gloss black hobby paint to touch up that area.

This is, obviously, before I installed the black cardboard bezel and smoked glass bezel. The glass bezel just needed cleaning. The cardboard bezel needed cleaning, and I reinforced some areas with clear duct tape on the back side.

On the back door, I decided to install a cooling fan in the position that Atari specified in the Major Havoc conversion instructions. This is a 120mm, 120vac fan that's low noise, low rpm and low current draw. IIRC, it's rated at about 37cfm. This provides plenty of cooling without the "wind tunnel howl" of many other 120mm fans. The fan is blowing into the cabinet, essentially right on the deflection board area of the monitor. I also installed an aluminum dust filter on the outside of the fan opening that I cut into the door. You can see the wiring that runs down the door and plugs into the transformer block. There's plenty of slack to allow the door to be removed and set to the side.

An original Major Havoc back door sheet was the finishing touch there.

The other two pics show everything in its final installation in the cabinet.
 

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Here it is - done!
 

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