Very Newbie questions

bradp56

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First I want to say this forum is awesome. I am new to owning an arcade machine as I just bought a Donkey Kong machine that still works and has most of the original parts.

First question, the guy told me that he hasnt had any issues with it just that if it has been off for a day or two that when you power it on the screen will looked scrambled but it will fix itself in a few minutes. Now this happened to me today after a few minutes I restarted it again and it came up fine. My question is, is this an early sign of something or is this just part of owning an almost 30 year old game?

Second question, I have it in the basement right now where it will get cold and I want to know is this a bad thing or will be ok once it warms itself up?

Final question, should I leaved it plugged in and connected to a power strip or should I unplug it when not using it. There is a switch on the bottom of the machine.

Thank you and I am sorry to ask soo much.
 
Welcome! And dont be sorry!

First of all, congrats on the DK! My first game was a DK also! It is quite possible that you might have a few loose chips that just need to be plugged in more firmly, or that maybe your voltage on the power supply is dropping. Either way, youve come to the right place for tech support!

Second, you can store the game in sub zero temps, as long as it is NOT turned on. You can safely play the game in the 40+ degree range

And lastly, a switch is a switch. Whether you plug it straight into the wall or use a surge protector makes virtually no difference. HOWEVER, I would suggest using a surge protector in case you get a power surge or spike. That way, you will blow out your $15 surge protector rather than your Donkey Kong.

Hope this helps!
 
The cold should be OK as long as it doesn"t get to freezing temps.
There are guys here in cold weather paces that will chime in about that.
It is normal for the screen to be scrambled at start up for about 5-10 seconds.
It should be plugged into a surge protector strip at all times.
Welcome to the Arcade madness.
 
Thanks for the help, yea its in pretty good condition you could tell he took care of it. When it happened I was a little nervous that it may be hosed but took a couple minutes then I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it came up fine its weird how it seems to fix itself.

The only thing I worry about is I know something will eventually go up on it and I wont know what to do. Is there a common piece that will go up first?
 
First off - WELCOME!

1st Question:
Try reseating the chips and make the pins are clean. Then also check the voltage on your power supply.

2nd Question:
It depends on how cold. If it gets below 40 degrees were it is freezing it is bad on older electronics as it can cause heat stress from switch from cold to hot and so on. We've seen our share of that. Typically you wouldn't have to worry about that though if you keep your basement warm. Although we have had games in storage units and pulled them out of the cold and plugged them right in with no problems. Older electronics can be fussy though.

3rd Question:
It really doesn't matter either way. Leaving it on a power strip would be more convenient though.
 
Wow I cant believe how fast of a response I got. I must say it feels awesome finally owning a DK machine. I feel better about the cold now because my basement is finished and it wont get colder than 60 degrees.
 
Welcome! It is damn cold in my garage in the winter here in Pittsburgh- my guess would be about 35-40 degrees. I've had games on with no problems at those temps.
 
Wow I cant believe how fast of a response I got. I must say it feels awesome finally owning a DK machine. I feel better about the cold now because my basement is finished and it wont get colder than 60 degrees.

Yeah these guys are quick on here! It is a nice game to have. With your basement finished you will be just fine.
 
The Nintendo's have a Sanyo EZ20 monitor in it. These things are notorious for their H Hold pots to be teetering between a good and scrambled picture. I'm guess that as the monitor warms up it crosses that H Hold threshhold.

So more than likely you need to adjust the H Hold pot. It is in a bad spot right in middle of the monitor board. You can see where it is on page 5 of the EZ20 manual. I would turn the game off, and move it just slightly and turn the game back on. You will have to do this probably 1-5 times until it is were you want it, if that adjustment is off. You can find the Sanyo EZ20 manual available for download many places on the internet, or can you can send me your email address and I will email it to you.
 
Thanks for the help, yea its in pretty good condition you could tell he took care of it. When it happened I was a little nervous that it may be hosed but took a couple minutes then I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it came up fine its weird how it seems to fix itself.

The only thing I worry about is I know something will eventually go up on it and I wont know what to do. Is there a common piece that will go up first?

Donkey Kongs are pretty reliable. I bought mine for $50 dead as a doornail. I put a new fuse in it (it was broken, not blown) and then the monitor needed a rebuild something awful. This is what happens over time, the electrolytic capacitors on the monitor get old after time. After rebuilding the monitor, it has been running flawlessly for a whole year. So if anything should go first, I would say the monitor might need a nice rebuild eventually. If anything else goes wrong, then like I said, we are all here to help. I dont know where I would be without the extensive knowledge of moddessit, Frizzle, Ken Layton, and everybody else on this forum. We will make a tech out of you! :D

I turned my DK from this to this with the help of this forum:
 

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Making a tech out of me would be great lol. I cant believe how nice everyone is being some forums you go to everyone treats you like you are stupid. If there is anything I need to know or look for to keep it working I would love to know. What suprised me is how good the picture looks there is no image burn or anything and I got it on ebay I couldnt believe it.
 
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