Upgright Battlezone troubleshooting

DaddyCool1984

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I bought my first dead game yesterday, a upright battlezone for $175. I probably paid too much, but the outside condition is very good. The owner said it worked fine and some point just stopped.

I am totally new to this hobby and started reading the how to repair PCBs and feel that is quite a commitment to work through.

When its turned on, all the lights externally and internally come on, lights on PCBs, bezel, even see monitor power at back of tube, but no sound or picture.

Can anyone walk me through what they would check on this before I would get to the point of fixing PCBs?

1. Fuses, checked.
2. Power regulator, checked.
3. reseat all connectors?
 
...and after that, read the entirety of Atari's original owner's manual: http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Atari_Kee/Battlezone/Battlezone_TM-156_3rd_Printing.pdf

I don't think you necessarily overpaid. I paid $160 for mine, dead. But then again, I felt sure I wouldn't have to pay anyone else to fix anything wrong with it :p

You've bitten off a fair bit here, esp if you don't have any other vector display (including a scope) to help determine if you've got monitor or PCB issues.

A few of the things you'll find if you search for BZ repair threads:
-verify your power brick outputs
-verify your ARII outputs (including ripple on the +5VDC line)
-check your edge connectors (power, ground & sense lines) and ARII (sense resistors) for burns
-check your interconnect wiring and headers (between the main PCB and the AUX board)
-suspect your IC sockets; some folks (me included) just install the Braze HS Save kit, which replaces all of the game code EPROMs on the PCB with its onboard EPROM (not the vector EPROMs, though).
 
Good points so far; personally I won't even trouble-shoot a Battlezone without first reflowing the solder on the interconnect cable header pins. Those ALWAYS have cracked solder joints on the solder side of the PCB.

The same goes for the deflection board and HV board in the XY monitor.

Also- reseating chips is a must; Battlezone seems to suffer from "chip creep" more-so than others.

Always cover the basics first; then move up from there.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I am in Arizona. Apparently we have great weather here for keeping stuff in good condition.

I have printed out the original service manual and schematics and the PCB repair post. I will also record your recommendations above.

I do have a working Asteroids upright. I seem to get the impression that I can maybe use it to test various parts on BZ?

I know it seems like a bit of work, but I am looking forward to it. I like the challenge of making a classic piece of art (I consider it art) get back in working condition.

The challenge now is to find the time.

Working with the monitor scares the shit out of me because I keep reading that it can kill you if you are not careful.

How much money do you think I will need to invest in tools to trouble shoot all the various parts?

Can a average dude pick this up and succeed or do I need to goto electronics school? I am fairly smart (Computer Engineer) so I am hoping I can work through this with a little guidance from you experienced pro's.

I don't have a multimeter, but I hear they are cheap. I have a solder gun and can solder, but I consider soldering a bit of a art in itself, I could easily see myself seriousy f*kn up the original board "trying" to resolder various parts.
 
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Is it safe to assume that when the game is powered and the monitor appears to be powered that if the monitor was not functioning that the rest of the game would work? I mean be able to start a game and hear sounds come out of it?

If yes, then that would point to PS, PCBs...
 
I do have a working Asteroids upright. I seem to get the impression that I can maybe use it to test various parts on BZ?

Yes, a working Asteroids can be very helpful. Its monitor can be interchanged with BZ to help isolate problems. (It may or may not require a simple Molex plug adapter, depending on the exact monitor models in question).

Working with the monitor scares the shit out of me because I keep reading that it can kill you if you are not careful.

Mostly urban myth. Don't work on it with any AC power connected, and it can't kill you (only thoroughly piss you off).

How much money do you think I will need to invest in tools to trouble shoot all the various parts?

That's a loaded question. Depends on how clever you are with cheap tools, how patient you are, and how certain you wish to be before replacing a given component. You could easily spend a couple thou, buying a scope, logic analyzer, high-end DMM, setting up a test bench, etc. But I think, since you've already got a working vector monitor, you could likely get by with just a good DMM, a logic probe, and the diagnostic tool between your ears.

Can a average dude pick this up and succeed or do I need to goto electronics school? I am fairly smart (Computer Engineer) so I am hoping I can work through this with a little guidance

If you took a course in basic electronics, and understand AC & DC, ohm's law, and basically how diodes & transistors function, then you're pretty much set with regard to background education.

I don't have a multimeter, but I hear they are cheap. I have a solder gun and can solder, but I consider soldering a bit of a art in itself, I could easily see myself seriousy f*kn up the original board "trying" to resolder various parts.

A multimeter is the most fundamental tool. There are lenghty threads on the topic, but I chose to spend a bit more here for a quality DMM.

If you have an actual soldering "gun", vice a soldering iron, it's not appropriate for PCB work.

Here's another reading recommendation on basic tools and techniques: http://www.pinrepair.com/begin/index.htm

But we're jumping ahead, talking about soldering. All of the initial stuff is done with your eyes, hands, and a DMM. We have to identify a bad (or likely bad) component before breaking out a soldering iron.
 
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