Troubleshooting new-to-me Joust arcade

olePigeon

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Howdy. I just got a Joust arcade and I'd like to get it going.

Currently the video is scrambled and there's no sound. It looks like the game boots up because I can make out the play field and the little demo it plays when the arcade is idle. Those diagonal lines aren't scanning up or down, it's static.

So I think the main board is OK, but something else is screwy. I don't know if it's the analog board, main Joust video board, or the CRT itself or what. Attached is a picture of what's going on.

I think once I get the picture worked out, I can fiddle with the rest of the arcade and get it going.

Any suggestions where I should start? I just replaced all the fuses. One of them was blown.
 

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horizontal hold is a fine place to start. if that doesn't get it then it'll probably be something with the sync wiring. then it gets hairier from there and you'll need an expert's advice.
 
looks like you have 2 issues gong on. First, the sync is off on the monitor. It looks to be displaying the rug pattern which means it's trying to boot up. First thing to check is your voltages from the power supply. If they are low, mainly the +5V it will have issues. Check them at the PS and then at all the boards. The power supplies almost always need to be rebuilt in these games. These games are plagued with issues due to bad connections. Try re-seating all the connectors, especially the ribbon cables. Is this the cab that was in Santa Cruz with no side art? I offered to fix this for the seller.
 
Awesome, thanks guys. I'll fiddle with the sync. I was going to do that yesterday, but the CRT turns off when I take the back panel off and I didn't have anyone to help me. I'll need to borrow my roommate to help me out, looks like I'll need to tape the CRT switch down.

Fortunately I did buy a set of plastic CRT adjustment tools for all the vintage Macs that I fix, so I should be able to safely do adjustments while it's on.

Yes, Kev, it's that machine. I talked him down to $500 because I figured if I put another $500 into it, I could get a really nice fully restored Joust arcade. I know I paid way too much (I'm sure these things go for $200 or something), but the cabinet is in decent condition and the CRT is in impeccable shape. Aside from the possible sync issues, it's really bright and sharp with zero burn in. Those CRTs are getting difficult to find.

It's a damn shame the previous owner painted over the artwork. I can see it just behind the paint. Oh well, I plan to sand & bondo it, then buy one of those stencils and put some fresh artwork on it.

I'm going to take some pictures as I go along. This is my first full restoration.


Also, I have a Defender arcade. From what I've read the parts are interchangeable? Could help me in diagnosing by swapping stuff around, I think.
 
Also, I found inside it a Filipino 25 cent coin from 1966. :)

I also discovered it's missing the coin mechs. :/ No keys hidden inside, either, so I'll have to drill out the cash box lock. Needs quite a bit of work.
 
you can likely pull the interlock switch outward to turn the game on with the back door off. most are 3 position switches.
 
I was gonna say it doesn't look like the game's running :p

there's a multitude of reasons why that could happen though. and I mean TONS.

I encourage you take pictures of _all_ circuit boards mounted inside the machine. need to know if you're on linear or switcher first off.
 
Huzzah! It was the horizontal sync! It was off by a smidge. Picture came right up when I adjusted it.

Game also has sound, the volume knob was all the way down. It boots to "All Systems Go." :D

Second player start button doesn't work, though, but that's probably minor. I was able to play it as one player.

Woohoo! Looks like I dodged a bullet on this one. It's nice when it's just a minor fix. :)

Thanks a ton, guys! I may have some questions in the future, but for now I'm going to hunker down and fix this thing up. I'll fix my Defender while I'm at it, too. I'm up to two arcades, very slowly building. Very exciting.

My ultimate goal is to have a full garage arcade that I can open up to the kids on holidays, especially Halloween. I'd like to put a Candy Crane on free play. Kids make their rounds on the arcades, then grab some candy off the skill crane on their way out. What a hoot! :D
 
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