YAAQ: (Yet Another Asteroids Question) - Weird repetitive explosion

jehuie

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YAAQ: (Yet Another Asteroids Question) - Weird repetitive explosion

When playing single-player, everything plays correctly.

When playing "player two", there is a constant "exploding asteroid" down in the bottom left corner. You don't see the actual asteroid, just the "bits" flying out, over and over and over. Otherwise it plays normally. But then if I clear all the asteroids, the next wave never starts. It just sits with an empty screen with periodic bad-guy ships coming onto the scene and that little explosion constantly going in the corner.

I have re-seated the chips that I can. I'm getting ready to check voltages to be sure they are in range but it seems unlikely to be the problem. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
 
I've tried that now with the same results. I tried flipping the test switch (which was disconnected at first) and it just gives me two beeps (one low and then one really low) and then stops. Nothing displays on the screen. I've tried it multiple times with the same results.

If it ran through the entire sequence of 6 tones then I might trust this to tell me the second ram chip (E2) is bad. But should I trust this since it didn't go through them all? I'm not great at replacing ram chips but I can do it....just always afraid I'll mess something up since they aren't socketed. I might have some spare chips and sockets around here somewhere though....
 
looks like you can just sit there for a week or so and get the world record shooting ships. :O)
 
I've tried that now with the same results. I tried flipping the test switch (which was disconnected at first) and it just gives me two beeps (one low and then one really low) and then stops. Nothing displays on the screen. I've tried it multiple times with the same results.

If it ran through the entire sequence of 6 tones then I might trust this to tell me the second ram chip (E2) is bad. But should I trust this since it didn't go through them all? I'm not great at replacing ram chips but I can do it....just always afraid I'll mess something up since they aren't socketed. I might have some spare chips and sockets around here somewhere though....

I don't know anything about Asteroids, but my Battle Zone would only report up to the bad RAM then stop... IIRC it was 3 short beeps, then a long. Replaced that RAM and everything was dandy.
 
the RAM test stops when it hits a bad chip - trust it

warning : it's not hard to start lifting traces on an Asteroids boards if you apply too much heat
 
warning : it's not hard to start lifting traces on an Asteroids boards if you apply too much heat

confirmation: same with Battle Zone... lifted a trace on mine. I'd probably recommend putting a little clean nail polish around the edges of the traces around the chip you're going to remove... that will atleast minimize any damage from a lifted trace. Hindsight is 20/20... once those traces lift, they'll just keep on running...
 
I'd recommend letting someone experienced at desoldering replace it. The old Atari boards tend to have plenty of solder on both the parts and solder side which makes it more of a challenge........
 
What's a good temp on my soldering iron for safely removing the ram chip? I've done it before with some success. But I've also messed one up before. I'm going to give it a go....any recommendations on temp for this particular kind of work?

I'll go poke around for other tips as well unless anyone wants to share their favorite here. Thanks again.
 
Being extremely careful, I was able to remove 2 ram chips from my Video Pinball with a radio shack solder sucker ( iron w/red bulb) - I couldn't believe how well it came out actually. I made sure not to rub it up against the actual board. Then I used braid on the top side to help clean it up.
 
Ok good to know. I've got a braid and a solder sucker as well. I was thinking about clipping all the legs off and then removing them one by one.
 
Just to close this thread....the braid and solder sucker worked to pull the old ram chip. No clipping was required. Put a new socket in where the old chip was. Stuck the new chip in and fired it up and it plays perfect now. Except for the jumpy monitor issue that I still need to track down. Thanks for the tips guys.
 
Nice - congrats! What kind of monitor jumpiness are you seeing?

I posted about it in another thread but haven't had a chance to dig into it much. It's jumping up and down vertically. Someone suggested adjusting the pots on the game board. I tried that but it didn't help. The pots work...the picture will stretch sideways or vertically. But it still jumps the whole time. Like you are trying to play in Haiti.
 
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