Voltage/Electrical question

Sbeehive

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Hello all,


The other day I was playing my DK/DK Jr./Mario Bros. unit and noticed the colors were flashing. At first I thought it was just some normal monitor burn in- but than the colors began to flash more erratically and throughout the entire screen. I tried using a different plug and the flashing went away- almost completely. Also the sound became much louder. I'm guessing the outlet I went through was just not ideal for the machine. My question is for a standard arcade machine do you need to do anything electrical other than a really good surge protector to give the game optimum voltage? Or are there things I should get installed to protect the machine.

Thanks,

SBeehive
 
Sounds like the outlet was worn and not providing good connection at the plug. Also, look at the tag on the back and see how much each game draws. Don't overload a 15a circuit with too many games. Figure as a ballpark 3a per game (videos) and 8a for pins.
 
Hello all,


The other day I was playing my DK/DK Jr./Mario Bros. unit and noticed the colors were flashing. At first I thought it was just some normal monitor burn in- but than the colors began to flash more erratically and throughout the entire screen. I tried using a different plug and the flashing went away- almost completely. Also the sound became much louder. I'm guessing the outlet I went through was just not ideal for the machine. My question is for a standard arcade machine do you need to do anything electrical other than a really good surge protector to give the game optimum voltage? Or are there things I should get installed to protect the machine.

Thanks,

SBeehive

Sounds like you could have either had: low voltage, bad connection, flaky ground even possibly.

The games don't need anything special electrically....just a solid connection at not less than about 110V. (technically it can go lower, but that depends on the game/power supply design specifics). It's always good to make sure you have a solid ground.

Scott
 
Hey all. So I tried the plug I thought was good again and after a certain amount of time the same thing happens. This odd screen tearing and static-ish effect overtakes the sprites. Not to the point where its unplayable- it just gives them a wierd washed over look and statics in and out of existence. Is this something voltage can cause or does it sound like I need to direct my questions to the monitor section?

Thanks
 
Hey all. So I tried the plug I thought was good again and after a certain amount of time the same thing happens. This odd screen tearing and static-ish effect overtakes the sprites. Not to the point where its unplayable- it just gives them a wierd washed over look and statics in and out of existence. Is this something voltage can cause or does it sound like I need to direct my questions to the monitor section?

Thanks

More than likely a monitor issue.
 
It's not going to be a monitor issue if it only affects the sprites. Of course if we had a picture we could tell you what the problem is.
 
Hey all. So I tried the plug I thought was good again and after a certain amount of time the same thing happens. This odd screen tearing and static-ish effect overtakes the sprites. Not to the point where its unplayable- it just gives them a wierd washed over look and statics in and out of existence. Is this something voltage can cause or does it sound like I need to direct my questions to the monitor section?

Thanks

Like Hewitson said, if we had a pic we can help u more better. Then we can tell you if it is a monitor problem or not....
 
Thanks for the input guys. Same issues still ongoing and quite random. I'm trying to get it captured on video and some screens to put up for comparison. Crappy time to lose the connector cable for my digital camera.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Same issues still ongoing and quite random. I'm trying to get it captured on video and some screens to put up for comparison. Crappy time to lose the connector cable for my digital camera.

Leave the game on for about 1/2 hour, the issue should get worse if it is what I am thinking. Then you should have a good pic of the issue. Use that 1/2 hour to find the camera cable.
 
Sorry for the long delay. So after moving the machine literally 2 inches to the right to get to the power cord something odd happened. The distortions that happened are gone- I do have a video that lightly shows some odd flashing on the donkey kong jr logo in game. Last night the game was making a buzzing noise (from the speakers) after I left it on for 2 hours to see if I could replicate the other distortions (that were constant before I moved the machine).

Of course after unplugging and plugging the machine back in I can't get that to happen again either. Today the game didn't want to power on at all- after a few tries it did. Its been on for 2 hours now with no issues distortions or whatever.

The machine was moved recently (pretty huge move- in a Uhaul and than up 3 flights) the only thing I can think of is some loose connections in there. Unfortunately I'm no expert and have no idea where to begin on that one.

Here is a link to what it was doing- Its only clear in the first 10 seconds when I zoom into the Donkey Kong JR logo- you can see the yellow sprites flashing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD5BxA6HVeY&feature=youtu.be

The pictures I took don't add anything unfortunately. Right now I'm leaving the machine on to see what happens.
 
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Scratch that, at about the 2 hour mark it happens again. Got a better video this time but youtube is taking its time with the upload.
 
Bust a cap?

Whatever electrical issue you experienced caused the capacitors to start leaking electrolyte fluid on your board.

Your strangely inconsistent issues are caused by changing conditions within these components and possibly the fluid coming into contact with other components on the board.

If you clean the board, the issues may disappear temporarily, but it's likely that you will ultimately need to clean the board and replace the faulty capacitors.

Test the caps, and you will know for sure.

This is just my opinion. Others feel free to voice your opinion.
 
It is kind of hard to see the issue, it kind of looks like there is some slight 'line' noise getting to the monitor/pcb. I would say don't move the game :). We will look at newer video when it comes available.
 
Thanks DackR, sorry I got a little greedy and continued it in a different thread with the new info I got.
 
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