Space Invaders/Deluxe Getting nothing here

DackR

New member

Donor 2012
Joined
Jun 3, 2012
Messages
421
Reaction score
1
Location
Dayton, Ohio
Okay. I've not had the best luck with purchases lately, it seems. I got this space invaders deluxe cabinet about a month ago. It was missing the Boardset and I was told that the monitor works.

Here's what is happening:

I just got a tested good SI Boardset and a space invaders deluxe motherboard. I moved the audio board from the space invaders over to the deluxe mobo.

I hooked up the Boardset and turned it on and... Lights turn on, but not getting anything else. I've tried inserting coins, and adjusting volume to see if I'm able to play blind... but nothing is happening. It seems that the lights only stay on when the back panel is off. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

I've got neck glow on the monitor.

The cabinet lights up.

Not sure where to start. Pretty frustrated so not thinking clearly. ;)

Thanks guys.
 
Okay... I took a look at the power board, and it looks like I may have some bad caps. I would upload pics, but it doesn't appear to be working. Sound about right? -_-'
 
Replaced caps, verified voltages coming off the board. +5, -5, 12 all pretty close.

Now, looking at my monitor I noticed it looks red, white(I guess yellowish-brown), and blue. It's not even turned on, so that's weird...

I also noticed that the wall plug was missing ground so I replaced the plug.

I checked out the pinout according to the manual, and it looks to me like my wiring harness is missing wires... Any ideas?

Damn thing won't let me upload pictures... I guess I'll post them when I get home.

Any ideas? Anyone???
 
Are the colors your seeing on the monitor the colored velum used to tint the black and white monitor? They require very little voltage to operate.
 
Ah... That must be it. I'm not extremely familiar with this cab yet, so I'm still learning what is what. Thanks for letting me know. :)
 
Alright picture uploading is working. Here's some wiring harness pictures:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1358082690.743070.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1358082708.312654.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1358082753.149440.jpg

Am I missing something?

And for reference, here are some shots of the monitor. Apparently, the colors on the screen's surface are just the colored film on the screen.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1358082873.244709.jpg

And a shot with the power off:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1358083062.773971.jpg

To recap: not getting any response from the game when it's turned on.
Checked fuses, and the power coming off the regulator board.
I'm getting monitor neck glow, but no picture.
Tried adjusting the knobs in the front of the cab for the monitor, no response.
Tried adjusting the volume on the sound board and it doesn't seem to be playing blind. I will try cleaning and reseating connectors, but the harness doesn't seem to match this pinout: http://www.classicgaming.cc/classics/spaceinvaders/manuals/MidwaySI_SIdelux_Pinouts.pdf

I would appreciate any first steps anyone who is experienced with troubleshooting this game could give me. As I've said, I'm not too experienced with it yet.
 
I have an SI and an SI Deluxe and they are both a bear to maintain. The wiring and connectors seem to be the most fragile. If you haven't already clean all of the edge connectors, including the daughter card joint and check for continuity on all the wires, especially power.

Ill have to look at my monitor but you should have a screen control on it. When you turn it up do you get anything on the monitor? Also, check the wire connections on the neck of the monitor. These are the video source if I remember correctly. I had a case where one had become disconnected and had no video. Easily solved.
 
Also, I might have a couple extra boards for you to test out but from what you describe I suspect it's wiring or power that is your prob. Power especially has been trouble for me.
 
man, I never realized the wiring harnesses had .156 plugs. my SID ran pretty well.. is it strongly encouraged to replace those connectors like the old Williams cabs does anyone know? cause I have a great crimp tool and plenty of the parts still.

what kind of voltages should I be looking at on the power supply? if I remember right each voltage rail has a pot to adjust. I recapped my power supply board but haven't tested the game yet with it.

can you run the power supply board without the game hooked up even for just a little bit to get some readings?
 
what kind of voltages should I be looking at on the power supply? if I remember right each voltage rail has a pot to adjust. I recapped my power supply board but haven't tested the game yet with it.

can you run the power supply board without the game hooked up even for just a little bit to get some readings?

Yes.

http://www.elektronforge.com/TestMdwPS.htm
 
Also, I might have a couple extra boards for you to test out but from what you describe I suspect it's wiring or power that is your prob. Power especially has been trouble for me.

Thanks for the tips. Didn't get a chance over the weekend, but maybe I'll test some more today. :)
 
Okay. A couple things. My +18v line tests at +16v. Would this cause the audio board not to play sounds? Also, what do I test/replace on the board to fix the audio? I didn't see any tips on that website, and I haven't had much of a chance to go through the schematic. Tips?

I believe the game may be playing blind and that the monitor chassis needs repair (possible bad flyback) because coining up while the machine is powered on causes the coin counter to increment. Is this sound logic? ;)

Is it worth it to repair a WG-V1001? It's got a little screen burn-in, but not terrible. It looks a bit pricey to get parts...
 
I must have scared everyone away with my talk of the WG-V1001... Nobody's into helping with space invaders, it seems.
 
I must have scared everyone away with my talk of the WG-V1001... Nobody's into helping with space invaders, it seems.

I've been recommended to find an old small b/w tv with composite input to test with, sounds like a good idea (i'm working on a Sea Wolf, similar boardset) but i havent found one yet

I dont know anything about the v1001 really, sorry, but in my experience almost any monitor is worth recapping and get working before deciding the picture cant get good enough

Edit: did you check the edge connector for continuity? you should be able to get screen garbage or bars without ROMs or a running CPU, but you need that edge connector to be making good connection between boards

Next probe the CPU sync pin (19 i think) to see if the cpu is running...

These are after verifying you can get a picture on that or another monitor first...
 
Last edited:
Those harness edge connectors (AMP) are not so good after digging into the board traces... First thing if you think the PS is putting out good voltages would be to check power on the main board, at the least on the board traces near the AMP connector (pins 1,3,and 5 i think, with GND on like 14 maybe? (look it up)) and preferably on the other side of the board, like the CPU input voltages, or on the RAM, etc...

And i've been told to be above +5 always, i guess these arent forgiving enough for 4.9?
 
Odd question...
Have you tried cranking up the brightness and see if you have a screen of garbage?

I just turned up brightness and contrast all the way and getting nothing. Not even a flicker. I'll may just send this to get repaired seeing how just the flyback for this monitor is over 100 bucks and repair is around 150... Then again-- anyone know of a suitable replacement?
 
Back
Top Bottom