Warlords control problems...

pookdolie

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Sometimes the selected controller after coin-up won't move the shield at all, no matter what knob it is. Sometimes it'll work, but the shield won't rotate around the castle all the way, and will be jittery without touching the knob.

This happens with two different boardsets (meaning I swap in two diff. ones and get the same issues). What's making my controls mess up?
 
Sometimes the selected controller after coin-up won't move the shield at all, no matter what knob it is. Sometimes it'll work, but the shield won't rotate around the castle all the way, and will be jittery without touching the knob.

This happens with two different boardsets (meaning I swap in two diff. ones and get the same issues). What's making my controls mess up?

Bad pot? Wiring issue? Power supply possibly? just guessing but any could be possibilities.
 
(BTW, all the ideas in here are very helpful. I'm gonna futz with this thing on Saturday...)
 
There really isn't much to these assemblies and since you're having the same issue with two different boards, i'd focus on the pot or wiring associated with the controls.
 
Update:

When coining up for 1-player play:

*Left and right player dials on the coin slot side work perfectly individually.

*Left player on non-coin slot side doesn't move the shield at all.

*Right player on non-coin slot side moves shield erratically.


When coining up for 4-player play:

*Left and right player dials on the coin slot side work perfectly individually.

*Both dials on the non-coin slot side moves both shields on that side at the same time, and shields jump a bit.

So...control panel wiring is suspect on one side? Could this be the cause?
 
Try reseating the ground on that control panel. Use a wire brush or something to clean up the connection. Also check the ground return path to the main board.
 
Try reseating the ground on that control panel. Use a wire brush or something to clean up the connection. Also check the ground return path to the main board.

This is a very good idea. I know that Atari ground wires can get brittle with age, like they have in my Missile Command cabaret.
 
Okay - messed with the grounds by the power block a bit = got a little bit better control. Then did a good cleaning of the grounds = back to square one.

Where's the "ground return path to the main board"?

Also, I notice that my 3rd prong (ground) on my plug is very loose. Might I see improvement if I cut off the old plug and install a new one?
 
Where's the "ground return path to the main board"?

Also, I notice that my 3rd prong (ground) on my plug is very loose. Might I see improvement if I cut off the old plug and install a new one?

Any input on these two questions? :D
 
Any input on these two questions? :D

If you haven't did a rebuild of your AR2 power supply, I would start with that. I had a Warlords upright years ago where the pots were very erratic. Rebuilding the power supply fixed it.

If that doesn't do the trick, I would replace those pots. My Warlords cocktail was recently doing the same thing where 3 of the 4 pots were erratic. My AR2 board was rebuilt also. I tried spraying them with tuner cleaner but it didn't help. I replaced the pots and they all worked great.

These are just 5k pots. Radio Shack sells them for cheap but you will have to cut them down as they are too long. Dave @ RAM Controls sells exact replacements (look in the Star Wars yoke parts sections).

Good luck.

Rodney
 
Did some more investigation of this. Narrowed down the symptoms, and here they are:

P1 & P2 = fine under all circumstances.

Player 3: shield usually only travels a little initially. If you turn Player 4 dial a bit, and then go back to Player 3 dial, shield will either not move anymore, or move smoothly all the way around the wall, just as it should.

Player 4: same thing. Shield usually only travels a little initially. If you turn Player 3 dial a bit, and then go back to Player 4 dial, shield will either not move anymore, or move smoothly all the way around the wall, just as it should.

And I was just able to play a one-player game on the shield by Player 3 with BOTH the Player 3 and Player 4 dials (both dials moved that shield equally well).

Um...WTF??
 
The fact that both boards do the same thing points to your wiring / connectors. I would re-check the wiring to the player 3/4 panel and also check along the way for shorts / opens (maybe two wires are occasionally touching?). Also you could try swapping the player 1/2 cp harness with the player 3/4 cp harness and see what happens - could help rule out the cp harness as the culprit.

I would also try by-passing the player 3 / 4 harness and tacking in the player three and player 4 pots directly to the PCB with a couple of wires. If they function properly, them you know it's in the harness for sure.

I just rebuilt two hacked warlords harnesses - one was missing half of the wires and both were missing the two CP harnesses. Remind me not to do that again. Dokert gets my harness business (and respect for doing them) for sure.

Bill
 
Okay - I'm narrowing this down. It's either 2 flukey Warlords boardsets, or a bad connection point where the harness plugs into the PCBs.

Between pressing the chips in firmly and bending / re-fitting the connectors on the PCB from the harness, I now have 4 working shields...
 
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