Star Wars Cockpit

OutrunDream

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I just got extremely lucky and grabbed a Star Wars Cockpit for cheap. I am trying to figure out what is wrong with the game though. The monitor has neck glow, and all 5 leds on the board come on for a second, then 3 go out. I was trying to read the schematics and I cannot figure it out. The game sometimes coins up and I hear the voices and sometimes does not. No picture on the monitor. Where should I be checking for what voltages? Any other tips? Thinking maybe a power problem? Thank you for your help.
 
There is probably a procedure for this

What I would do . . .

If you are OK with a voltmeter (IE: not going to zap yourself) you can remove the Game board edge connectors and test your voltages

There are many to check
10VDC at the Power brick across the Big Blue capacitor
5V to the game board from the AR2
18/0/18VAC to the game board from the power brick
25/0/25VAC to the monitor (This is likely to be OK as you have neck glow)

See here
http://www.dsbelec.iinet.net.au/StarWarsFullHugeSchematic-Horiz-DB.jpg

Please, be careful of the 20,000VDC coming from the monitor anode cup
and the focus wire (5000VDC)

Sorry if you already know these warning facts

Also, what does the game boards 2 x edge connectors look like (Male and female) If any pins are burnt, do not run the Game board until fixed
 
What kind of monitor is in it? If it's the original 25" Amplifone, then the flyback is likely dead (they almost always are) if it's still the original red one. If it's been swapped for a 19" K6100, then there are plenty of other problems that it could be, but the flyback is less likely.

Of course you should check the voltages and connectors as well, and if they check out, then carefully reseat the chips on the boards.

Regarding PCB component failures... from my personal experience, the AVG chip is a common failure, as are the mathbox proms.

DogP
 
Yes it is the 25 inch. Thank you for the advise and I will try these out as soon as I get sometime. Is there a diagram that shows the edge connector layout for checking power? The on i think is correct in the Book is confusing or I just do not understand. Thanks for your help.
 
I would suggest you find another more experienced Wichita collector to assist you. Sounds like you might be in over your head
 
I'll go ahead and ask what other people are probably wondering: how "cheap" was your find for your cockpit?

Just curious since it's pretty rare to ever find a cockpit - converted or original - for cheap, but then again I suppose that's a pretty subjective term. ;-)

Either way, congrats on your find and good luck on the repair. I agree with the above post about possibly being in over your head. Vector games in and of themselves are a lot more complicated than raster machines IMO, and even though I've been tinkering with these things for a long time I usually go for help whenever something goes wrong with my own SW cockpit, so be careful. You don't want to inadvertently make the problem worse.
 
Unplug the monitor, and don't worry about getting it running until you can get the game playing blind, as you probably have multiple layers of issues, and you will need to attack this in stages.

You also will want to determine which monitor you have, and read the appropriate FAQ on it. (Google Amplifone monitor FAQ and 6100 monitor FAQ). But again, don't worry about the monitor until you know the game board is OK, as plugging a good monitor into a bad game board can easily blow the monitor.

Also, read up on how to test Atari systems that use AR power supplies, to first make sure your voltages are ok. See my post #4 in the thread below, which walks you most of the way though it, as most vector games are the same. Just add measuring +12V and -5V on the AR to step #3 in the thread, as SW has additional voltages that Tempest doesn't:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=417525


Also, if you do find you have a 6100, you'll want my 6100 guide when it comes time to work on the monitor. See here:

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=404600

It's also very likely you have deeper issues with your monitor and game boards, and unless you want to get into vector PCB repair, you may want to consider finding someone to repair them for you. (Hint, see my sig.)
 
The monitor has neck glow, and all 5 leds on the board come on for a second, then 3 go out. I was trying to read the schematics and I cannot figure it out. The game sometimes coins up and I hear the voices and sometimes does not. No picture on the monitor.

The three LEDs all in a row are diagnostic LEDs on the main game board. They are supposed to light up briefly and then go out once the game code starts running. The other LED on the main board indicates power and should stay lit. The fifth LED is on the smaller stacked board (the sound board) and is another power indicator and so should stay on. There is a sixth LED... it is on the second large PCB (the AVG) in the stack and it, too, indicates power and should stay on.

You will only hear voices when you start a game, so that relies on either coining up or having it set to free play.

But there is one more LED to look for: it's the spot killer LED on the Amplifone deflection board - the square one with the black finned heat sink mounted on the coin door side of the inside of the cab. If it turns off when the three diagnostic LEDs turn off, then your game boards might be working and it could be just the HV board (mounted below the deflection board) and the prime candidate is the original red transformer.

But if the LED on the deflection board stays lit then your game boards are not sending valid information to the monitor. The prime candidate would be the 40 pin AVG chip on the AVG board. Replace that and see if it gets you video.
 
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