Arcade & Retro Repairs & Mods, all new recipe, with no added MSG...

Dr Bob · 23-10-2012 12:40pm

Steve SI wrote: »

Well, after a little bit of soldering and cleaning of the internals I now have that faulty Astro Wars back together and working fine.
It's been in pieces on my workbench for the last week and a bit but I decided that it needed to be put back together tonight(gotta stop putting stuff off ).

Anyway, I'll do up some sort of tutorial and stick it over on retrovia at some stage as I have a feeling most "non working" Astro Wars you see online can be fixed the same way I did it. It's dead easy and only requires the most basic of soldering skills and you're done. I took all the parts out and cleaned them (including the various layers of transparent plastic) but that bit is entirely optional.
So for .99p and some cheap(ish) postage(would of been free if I'd used Parcel Motel) I have a nice working Astro Wars (it's actually up for trade at the moment).

So if you see a non working one knocking around ebay or elsewhere grab it as it might just be a 2 min fix to get it up and running.

Double the fun
clickable

90% of the time I've had a non working VFD game , using a dremel/multitool to sand off corroded battery acid off the contacts has had it working within minutes.
Astro Wars is great (sold my one off a while back

)

Steve X2 · 23-10-2012 12:50pm

Dr Bob wrote: »

90% of the time I've had a non working VFD game , using a dremel/multitool to sand off corroded battery acid off the contacts has had it working within minutes.
Astro Wars is great (sold my one off a while back )

Yeah, that was the first thing I checked as I could power it via a PSU but not batteries. But it was an internal issue that was easy to fix.

Dale Parish · 28-10-2012 9:40pm

My arcade machine's screen, the lamp above it and the speakers... "flicker" at random but frequent times, anyone have any idea what could cause this?

Myrddin · 28-10-2012 9:41pm

Dale Parish wrote: »

My arcade machine's screen, the lamp above it and the speakers... "flicker" at random but frequent times, anyone have any idea what could cause this?

Common item would be the PSU?

Dale Parish · 28-10-2012 10:48pm

Yeah I swapped that with another I bought from Mitch and that doesn't fix it

Optimus Prime · 01-11-2012 10:32am

Steve SI wrote: »

Yeah, that was the first thing I checked as I could power it via a PSU but not batteries. But it was an internal issue that was easy to fix.

So whats the fix!

I have a broken one here, it powers on for a second, makes a weird sound then dies.

Dale Parish · 01-11-2012 11:42pm

Anyone have any idea why my Spectrum +2 PSU (rated 9v) is outputting 12v...?
Smoke has emitted from the +2...... (having said that, I just bought it and it probably hasn't been turned on in many many years...)

The Last Bandit · 02-11-2012 10:41am

If its an unregulated power supply then you need a load across it before you can measure the actually voltage being supplied.

Not sure if these supplies are regulated or not though but considering its Amstrad you can be certain that every expense was spared...

That said, smoke is always bad...

Dale Parish · 13-11-2012 1:41am

Hi guys working on a pcb and I removed a cap I suspected was damaged. There's no visible sign of explosion but it's leaking a bit from underneath and smells a bit funny... Is this normal or does it need to be replaced?

MrVestek · 13-11-2012 12:25pm

Dale Parish wrote: »

Hi guys working on a pcb and I removed a cap I suspected was damaged. There's no visible sign of explosion but it's leaking a bit from underneath and smells a bit funny... Is this normal or does it need to be replaced?

Caps emitting a smell is usually a bad sign that either it's about to pop soon or has previously popped.

The Last Bandit · 13-11-2012 12:26pm

Anything that leaks a bit and smells funny is usually a bit sign - including old relations.

Myrddin · 13-11-2012 12:29pm

It can also be resin on the board burning away

Dale Parish · 13-11-2012 2:25pm

Hmm that's also a possibility.. Seems that the leakage is coming from within the cap though, strange... Is there a way to test caps? 50v 1000uF

Myrddin · 13-11-2012 2:28pm

Dale Parish wrote: »

Hmm that's also a possibility.. Seems that the leakage is coming from within the cap though, strange... Is there a way to test caps? 50v 1000uF

If its coming from the cap, just replace it...once you see signs of leakage you should replace immediately before any damage is done

Dale Parish · 13-11-2012 3:41pm

EnterNow wrote: »

If its coming from the cap, just replace it...once you see signs of leakage you should replace immediately before any damage is done

Yeah I'll fly down to Maplin now and get a few spares.. Waiting on those spare resistors from radionics so thanks for that!

I'v ordered some alcohol (by it's chemical name... iso-something-or-other) to clean off the burn

MrVestek · 13-11-2012 5:07pm

Dale Parish wrote: »

Yeah I'll fly down to Maplin now and get a few spares.. Waiting on those spare resistors from radionics so thanks for that!

I'v ordered some alcohol (by it's chemical name... iso-something-or-other) to clean off the burn

Isopropinol?

Myrddin · 13-11-2012 5:08pm

Methylamine?

Dale Parish · 13-11-2012 5:16pm

Achilles wrote: »

Isopropinol?

Yeah that stuff!
I just hope it's burn and not burned PCB

The Last Bandit · 13-11-2012 5:19pm

Carlsberg ?

Dale Parish · 14-11-2012 5:27pm

The closest thing I can get to 1000uF at 50v is 1000uF at 63v... Will this make a significant difference? I'd rather not put it in if there's a chance of damaging ICs...

The Last Bandit · 14-11-2012 5:39pm

Dale Parish wrote: »

The closest thing I can get to 1000uF at 50v is 1000uF at 63v... Will this make a significant difference? I'd rather not put it in if there's a chance of damaging ICs...

Using a higher voltage rating electrolytic cap is fine (within reason). The 63v should be about the same size as the older 50v one as well.

Myrddin · 14-11-2012 5:42pm

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Using a higher voltage rating electrolytic cap is fine (within reason). The 63v should be about the same size as the older 50v one as well.

Agreed, its fine. I done two cap kits on my arcade monitor chassis' & sometimes they give you a higher rated one if the exact one isn't available

richie_os · 30-11-2012 8:47pm

Hey, not sure if this is the right thread or not but could anyone tell me the best place to get a power supply for a megadrive?

Myrddin · 20-01-2013 9:36pm

Has anyone got a proven Retrobrite recipe they're willing to share?

Edit - actually I forgot you really need a UV lamp setup for it to work. Can anyone give a console of mine the retrobrite treatment instead??

MrVestek · 21-01-2013 1:30pm

EnterNow wrote: »

Has anyone got a proven Retrobrite recipe they're willing to share?

Edit - actually I forgot you really need a UV lamp setup for it to work. Can anyone give a console of mine the retrobrite treatment instead??

Isn't leaving it out in sunlight supposed to work?

Maragenie · 21-01-2013 1:42pm

How's things.

This mightn't be the best place to ask this question but at this point I'm desperate. I have this old NSM jukebox that I bought off Ebay there going back a few years, Jukebox was working perfect when I received it but soon after mounting it on the wall it started to smoke out and hasn't worked since.

I'm getting power and all that but the CD starts up and spin the wrong way, then they stop and I get an error message.

Does anyone know where or who I might talk to in terms of getting it repaired?

All the best

Mara :P

Myrddin · 21-01-2013 2:03pm

Achilles wrote: »

Isn't leaving it out in sunlight supposed to work?

Have you looked outside lately?

MrVestek · 21-01-2013 2:05pm

EnterNow wrote: »

Have you looked outside lately?

What is this outside of which you speak?

Steve X2 · 21-01-2013 2:07pm

I've tried a few different mixes of retr0brite. Not made one up in a while now but the standard mix works well in my experience (depending on what you're cleaning up that is).
I've a UV lamp thing I use for the job that you can borrow if you like Enternow.

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel

Myrddin · 21-01-2013 2:27pm

Steve SI wrote: »

I've tried a few different mixes of retr0brite. Not made one up in a while now but the standard mix works well in my experience (depending on what you're cleaning up that is).
I've a UV lamp thing I use for the job that you can borrow if you like Enternow.

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel

Cool, will have a look into the process & procuring the ingredients. Cheers for the offer of the lamp too man

Arcade & Retro Repairs & Mods, all new recipe, with no added MSG...

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