Today's CL pickup - Space Duel

Gov

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Today I picked up a VERY nice condition Space Duel from CL. It is in just about mint condition considering its age. The side art is flawless. The only blemishes are a few nicks on the t-molding, some chipping on top near the back of the cab and some cracking to the CP laminate. The inside is clean as well and apart from some dust looks right out of the factory. The game however does not work and I bought it knowing this. It doesn't play blind or do anything but hum from the speakers. There is a glow on the neck of the tube and there are red LEDs glowing on the main pcb and on the monitor chassis. I haven't really had a chance to check voltages yet as I had to leave it in my dads shop until the weekend.

Where is a good place to start looking? This is only my 3rd cab and first non working. I picked it up mainly because it is a favorite of mine and one of my favorite cabs ever from an artwork perspective. For $100 I thought it was worth it even not working. I would like to find out if the monitor is any good or not. It has a lot of burn in, but I don't know how much that affects vector monitors.

The family I bought it from got it for a song at an auction not working thinking it would be an easy fix....... They figured out they were in over their heads when they opened it up and saw the giant pcb ;)

Oh and it's serial number is 00039 fwiw.

The first 3 posts will have 1 picture each as I can only do one per post on my iPad :-/
 

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If you decide you don't want it then I would probably be willing to trade you multiple projects for it.
 
Well I do want the game it is going to be a project of mine to get it going. If after sometime it looks hopeless for me I will re-evaluate my options. Gotta learn to fix stuff sometime ;)
 
$100 thats a steal great pick up.. Awesome serial number...:cool: The burn should be fine under the dark glass bezel....
 
Zero in on the monitor and do the bullet proofing, standard repairs that you'll read about.

And then honestly, I would mail off the PCB to be repaired (sounds like you have a problem, there too -- one easy check is to look for the flashing player 1/ player 2 cone buttons). The vector PCBs aren't the best to learn on.

Oh, also do the standard power supply repairs -- that alone could solve all your problems.
 
The cone buttons did light up but I don't think they were flashing. Thanks for the info. I know it isn't the best to learn with but it was too good of a deal to pass up for a game I actually wanted.

Who does PCB repair on these?
 
The cone buttons did light up but I don't think they were flashing. Thanks for the info. I know it isn't the best to learn with but it was too good of a deal to pass up for a game I actually wanted.

Who does PCB repair on these?


The cones wont flash unless the game is set on free play, or coined up.. Test the voltages on the board.. Test points are clearly marked on the board..
 
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I did trip the coin switch and didn't notice any change. I do know that I am going to have to change the mechs as it is set for tokens only right now.
 
If the buttons are solid "on" the game either isnt booting or is watchdogging. Try test mode.
You will get beeps if Rams or bad. Also pull the pokeys and see if the game will boot without them.

Andrew
 
IF it is a board problem, more likely than not it is the AVG chip. If it is NOT a board problem... it will be the AVG chip eventually. Buy an AVG replacement before you try any "deep" troubleshooting.
 
Check voltages at the board. Go ahead and re-pin the edge connector, the ground and power pins. Rebuild the AR2 at some point.

Nice score, beautiful game..
 
I'm working on a Space Duel PCB right now. Thread is in the repair forum, and gets pretty in depth. Presently awaiting parts to rebuild the POR circuit which has several bad and/or suspect components. Hopefully it'll be a useful thread for folks looking to learn, who aren't Atari pros.
 
If the buttons are solid "on" the game either isnt booting or is watchdogging. Try test mode.
You will get beeps if Rams or bad. Also pull the pokeys and see if the game will boot without them.

Andrew

I tried test mode and still nothing. I am not hip to all of the terminology yet, what are 'the pokeys'?

Thanks for the tips guys, it is much appreciated. I have a lot to go over, that is for sure.
 
Totally off subject here but... I hadn't really looked at a Space Duel cab in a long time until seeing the pics in this forum. It really is one heck of a beautiful shape. Possibly the quintessence of the "classic" cab (yes, I know that perhaps it would be considered somewhat "immediate post-classic" by some; either way it's pretty much the great Asteroids cab nicely 'sexied-up')... I'm thinking that CNC'd Space Duel cabs might be the absolute perfect media for multi's. It's lines are classy but not boring; it has the 2 speakers in your face just waiting for thump-stereo; the control panel is plenty big enough to support a lot of hardware.

Anyone know what's the largest monitor this cab will fitfully allow?

Great score. Get it working. You've got the support you need here. You can get it done. I'm going to be checking with some dudes who do CNC cabinets...
 
They are the 20 40 pin chips right next to each other near the CPU (another 40 pin chip marked 6502).

Check the voltages first. Make sure you have 5v on DC and 0v on AC.

Also get the manual from:

http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Atari_Kee/Space_Duel/

Also try reseating all the roms. Sometimes that will help.

In test mode, if your monitor is dead, you of course wont see anything...press buttons and see if you get any tones. If you have tones, then the board is running.
 
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