Star Trek - Asteroids Conversion - Help getting her running

JLS2016

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Star Trek - Asteroids Conversion - Help getting her running

Ok, so trying to get this game back running after buying it off a guy who's had it stored for 20 years. I know NOTHING so let's start at 1st checks...

- Plugged in ;)
- Front Power Switch On
- Typical Guts all there
- No sound like it's coming on anywhere
- No hidden shutoff switches I can find
- No neck glow
- Opened my brand new multi-meter and YouTube show to check the 4 typical fuses and they are ok
- Doesn't seem like power is running thru it's veins
- Picture below of a suspicious part I don't know how to test...

Next steps?

Thanks!
 

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replace the BIG blue capacitor there in the bottom suitcase style power supply is the first step

see the brown mark there on the connector ?
that's a problem for step two
probably that board needs rebuilding almost certainly
replace capacitors, replace the connector and the pins inside the connector and see if theres any components that look "fried" or "brown" like the spot on the connector
trace that pin/trace back into the board and test components related to that circuit for a failure

that's where I would start

don't forget there's a saftey switch attached to the coin door too that can inhibit electron flow
pull the switch "out" to enable it. pushing it all the way in also enables it

good luck
 
I was kinda thinking there is a way to trace the path of electricity with the multimeter to see how far it's getting to find the bottleneck? Is that the wrong approach then?

Hmm... not sure where on the coin door that is. The coin door is a mess of crap. Whoever did this conversion I think was sloppy...
 
There is no big blue on a Star Trek (not that I've ever seen).

The connector there has been subject to a good deal of heat. There may be corrosion on the pin or the connector in the socket. Spring tension of the connector in the subject will likely also not be would it should be due to the heat.

You may be able to clean up any burning/corrosion on the pin, and on the connector in the socket, but it should be replaced.

As far as using a multimeter, you have to follow your AC wiring from the wall and into the game.

There is usually at least one safety interlock switch for the back door, but if the asteroids power wiring was completely reused, there is one for the coin door as well. These interlocks have 3 positions, middle (which is off), pressed in (on, but when let go pops back to the middle which is off), and pulled out (stay on). You'll need to trace your power wiring from the cord, through interlocks, and the transformer.

The transformer will then send power to the power supply (where you have the burned connector) and it will produce the power for the game (as clean DC at a few different voltages). The audio amplifier is also built into the Sega power supply.

As you are not getting any neck glow, it does sound like you may have a power problem on the AC mains side.
 
The top block that covers the whole in the cab was ripped off of this so it's full of dust, debris, and cat hair I think. What do you guys do... shop vac or is that too risky at damaging parts?
 
First off, Unplug both the power and signal plugs going to the G08 monitor. Their is no need to try and power up the monitor until you have checked the power supply and made sure it has all the correct DC voltages and you have the game playing blind. In fact I would also unplug the power connector to the board card cage until you have made sure the power supply is working which is located on the bottom of the cage connected to the back pane, the board that the cards plug into. In your picture of the power supply/ audio amp, the plug with the burnt pin is the AC input to the power supply from the big transformer. The plug to the right of it is the DC voltage out going to the boards in the card cage. The 2 plugs to the right of that, not shown in your picture is the input and output to the audio amp. If the kit was installed complete without hacking it into the Asteroids harness it should have a 5 amp fuse in a single fuse holder screwed to the side or bottom of the cabinet. Mine was installed to the left side just above the card cage but because it is a kit it's up to the installer where and how they mount the hardware so each conversion could be different. Just start at the power cord and follow it till you find the fuse. You will likely need to rebuild the power supply or at the very least will have to replace the burnt pins on the connector.
You could replace the power supply with a Vector Labs power supply board which uses a ATX PC type power supply and has the audio amp built in, that's if he still has any for sale. If you haven't already, check out Bill's Classic arcade web site which has info of every part you will need to rebuild both the power supply and monitor.
http://www.biltronix.com/Star_Trek_01.html

Here is a picture of the back of my Star Trek Asteroids conversion which has the Vector Labs Multi game installed. You can see the main 5 amp fuse on the left side.
attachment.php
 

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Did all this but no fuse. The power cord goes direct to an on/off switch on the front and the transformer?


First off, Unplug both the power and signal plugs going to the G08 monitor. Their is no need to try and power up the monitor until you have checked the power supply and made sure it has all the correct DC voltages and you have the game playing blind. In fact I would also unplug the power connector to the board card cage until you have made sure the power supply is working which is located on the bottom of the cage connected to the back pane, the board that the cards plug into. In your picture of the power supply/ audio amp, the plug with the burnt pin is the AC input to the power supply from the big transformer. The plug to the right of it is the DC voltage out going to the boards in the card cage. The 2 plugs to the right of that, not shown in your picture is the input and output to the audio amp. If the kit was installed complete without hacking it into the Asteroids harness it should have a 5 amp fuse in a single fuse holder screwed to the side or bottom of the cabinet. Mine was installed to the left side just above the card cage but because it is a kit it's up to the installer where and how they mount the hardware so each conversion could be different. Just start at the power cord and follow it till you find the fuse. You will likely need to rebuild the power supply or at the very least will have to replace the burnt pins on the connector.
You could replace the power supply with a Vector Labs power supply board which uses a ATX PC type power supply and has the audio amp built in, that's if he still has any for sale. If you haven't already, check out Bill's Classic arcade web site which has info of every part you will need to rebuild both the power supply and monitor.
http://www.biltronix.com/Star_Trek_01.html

Here is a picture of the back of my Star Trek Asteroids conversion which has the Vector Labs Multi game installed. You can see the main 5 amp fuse on the left side.
attachment.php
 
that factory supply is poopoo.

Heres what I would do.

Re-build the connections into and out of the power supply. Replace those single wipe pins with Trifurcons. You dont NEED to replace the housing but it would be a good idea just in case that one is brittle. You may as well cap that bad boy while your at it.

I then add a switching power supply to provide +5 ONLY to the game. I build a small "Y" adapter that plugs into the factory supply and the factory harness. That Y adapter passes all voltages from the factory supply to the CPU except +5!

From there you can see if the game will boot. If not you have another set of problems to work past.

I'll see if I can find a pic of the adapter I build.
 
I don't see one on the coin door? Just a big mess... I think there is a tiny service switch on the top right and then that long shaft thing mounted on the right cab interior (no idea what that is)

Nothing on the back door like many games have...

There is no big blue on a Star Trek (not that I've ever seen).

The connector there has been subject to a good deal of heat. There may be corrosion on the pin or the connector in the socket. Spring tension of the connector in the subject will likely also not be would it should be due to the heat.

You may be able to clean up any burning/corrosion on the pin, and on the connector in the socket, but it should be replaced.

As far as using a multimeter, you have to follow your AC wiring from the wall and into the game.

There is usually at least one safety interlock switch for the back door, but if the asteroids power wiring was completely reused, there is one for the coin door as well. These interlocks have 3 positions, middle (which is off), pressed in (on, but when let go pops back to the middle which is off), and pulled out (stay on). You'll need to trace your power wiring from the cord, through interlocks, and the transformer.

The transformer will then send power to the power supply (where you have the burned connector) and it will produce the power for the game (as clean DC at a few different voltages). The audio amplifier is also built into the Sega power supply.

As you are not getting any neck glow, it does sound like you may have a power problem on the AC mains side.
 

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First off, I'm not ignoring all the switcher etc power supply advise. I might do that to make a game better after the original way is restored. But I'm trying to get my hands a little dirty with learning ways to fix and diagnose the games myself someday. The original parts when at possible.

Attached is a picture of the power supply now that I took it out of the cab. The rebuilding picts on the site linked exarlier in the thread looked pretty complex. Hole drilling etc. Should I be attempting to do something that complex or are we just talking redoing connections. If it is complex then is this a good project to get my toes wet with or is this extreme with a newbie and I should pay someone else?

Thanks
 

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Supply looks ok. Recapping it would be a good idea, however, those caps are pretty large (relatively speaking). If you get your AC supply side resolved, I'd check all your DC outputs on the supply for both the DC voltage (making sure it is correct), and AC voltage, looking for ripple (from aging capacitors). If your AC is 0 or very close to it, you should be good to initially test w/o replacing the capacitors.

My two are both running their original power supplies, and I have not recapped them. Not that that is recommended, but if I suffer a failure, I can repair my own games. It is on my list to get to (both recapping the monitor (which I have the parts for), and the power supply (which I have not procured the parts yet).

if your connections are clean (no burning, no corrosion, good connections, no cracked solder joints), you can replace the pins and connectors later while you get everything tested. But replacing those is good, as you can see enough current is present that if any resistance builds up in the connection, it generates plenty of heat.
 
just figured I would echo everyone else said and link you to my Star Trek Asteroids thread here

unplug monitor and pcb. Fix your power supply first. Make note (pictures, marker) of how everything is plugged in as you can easily plug some things back in wrong.

You picked a hell of a game to get your feet wet with...lots of help here but you will need that and some luck.
 
I have 3 Star Trek's all with original power supply's which I have not rebuilt and still are working. I really should rebuild them but the only thing I have done to them is replace the burnt pins and replaced the harness connectors with trifurcon pins. If the fuses in the power supply are all good then it may be ok and just not getting AC power. Their really should be a 5 amp slow blow fuse between the on/off switch and the EMI filter before it connects to the power transformer. If their's no AC going into the transformer then their can be no AC from the transformer to the AC input of the power supply. If you have AC going in then check your DC out voltages. You need to get a manual or down load one on line. Wile testing be sure to unplug the monitor and boards. When you have +5,-5,+12 and -12 then you can connect the boards and see if the game plays blind. Just take it one step at a time.
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Any videos you guys know of to show me these points to test and how with my meter? I keep coming across switcher videos or parts that don't match up to mine good...
 
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