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

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694432#Comment_119694432

I'd say it's just coincidence to be honest, these monitors are all OLD and have components in them that just give out at any stage. Horizontal collapse isn't an unusual issue on crts. See here - https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/blast-city-nanao-ms2931-potential-collapse-issue.429923/

Your best bet might be to get in touch with Grantspain/Gunblade, and arrange to ship the chassis to him for diagnosis and repair. Someone on here has gone through him recently, they might be able to advise.

MrVestek

So I haven't slept all night as it's honestly been bothering me that much.

Through the research that I've done it appears that it's likely that my Horizontal Output Transistor has failed. I'm going to build a discharge wand out of an old screwdriver and take the monitor out of the machine.

If I disconnect the chassis and take a look at the board myself I should easily be able to tell if the HOT is gone... all I have to do is test continuity on the middle pin of the hot. If there's continuity to ground then it's fried.

Replacing the hot should be cheap enough. I want to avoid costly measures of having to ship the entire thing over to the UK and back if it can be avoided... I don't have that kind of money. Ideally I'd just buy a new chassis and be done with it but they seem impossible to come by at this stage sadly.

Ohh also when I mentioned horizontal collapse the entire image did just kinda... collapse into one line.

Steve X2

I have an arcade monitor chassis packed and ready to send over to Grant in the UK to be fixed. He's pretty much the best guy to repair these things and has done a few things for me over the years.

A few years back I had what sounds like the same issue as you with my Ridge Racer cab. Sent the chassis over to him and he fixed it up no problem.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694624#Comment_119694624

Luckily with the likes of Grantspain around, these things aren't the end of the world. I nearly had a heart attack a few years back when the monitor in my Pony went on the fritz. Stuck the chassis in a box and sent it off to Grantspain and that was it, problem solved.

See it as a good opportunity to give it an overall service and future proof it too. The picture quality will more than likely look a lot better when you get it back aswell.

Steve X2

It's a pain in the ar$e when these things happen. But like @o1s1n says, its a good chance to get the chassis refreshed, fully recapped and serviced.

I remember when I got my Egret 3 (Jesus, 11 years ago!), I had loads of trouble with the screen and was really pi$$ed off about it. It took months, 3 chassis and 3 arcade monitors (1 direct from Japan)before it was all sorted. So a dodgy chassis is a pain, but a relatively easy to fix one with Grant around.

Edit:

By the way, the cost to repair the chassis and do a full recap and general service is between about €90-€120 depending on what's needed. That doesn't include postage costs, and I haven't done this since Brexit so not sure how that will work out.

CathalDublin

If I was strapped for cash I’d do the HOT myself and I have done in a few monitors with various failure and success stories, they usually blow for a reason. Donberg usually sell the parts but seem to be charging crazy shipping rates lately.

Grant is the best bet and I’d personally prefer get your chassis fully refurbed now than take a chance on a second hand one with no history, I think those weiya ones in the blast cabs are known to give issues.

The Last Bandit

If you plan on sending in off then don't tinker with it. He doesn’t take repair attempts anymore.

Steve X2

Was chatting to Grant a couple hours ago. He said he's very selective in repair jobs he takes from Ireland now due to Brexit and all the shipping nonsense. So not guaranteed he will take a job on. No harm in asking him though.

KeRbDoG

If its the return shipping back to Ireland, folks could use AddressPal maybe?

MrVestek

I have a friend living up in NI which is still within the same customs area as the UK so if worst comes to the worst I'd literally just head up there, spend the night with her and then ship the thing off from there.

He can always send it back to her and then I'll pay her to post it back to me. Should make it easier for Grant at least.

I'm stuck now between whether I should send it over to him or try to attempt the repair myself.

Steve X2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119697772#Comment_119697772

I used addresspal a good few times for straightforward stuff. What do they do if a parcel arrives that doesn't have all the details they want on it I wonder? If it lands in Ireland it gets sent back to sender, would they do the same in the UK addresspal depot?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119697874#Comment_119697874

Just remember, as soon as you attempt the fix yourself Grant wont touch it. It might be difficult to get him to do the job even as is if you haven't dealt with him in the past.

MrVestek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119697936#Comment_119697936

I've sent him a message over on UKVac anyway. Let's see what he says.

MrVestek

@dav09 I don't suppose you fancy donating the chassis from your other Sega Blast City to me? :-P

I stopped using Addresspal for UK stuff for this reason...90% of the time they just return it to the the sender without even letting you know, I had one package returned 3 times before I got it sent to a friend to forward to me. Each time they claimed the 'paperwork' wasnt correct despite being told by royal mail it was fine. Couldn't be bothered anymore with them post brexit. Use a courier instead more expensive but less hassle

MrVestek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119698085#Comment_119698085

Yeah. I'll use An Post registered post to send the chassis board over to Grant but I'm asking him to send it back to my friend in NI via Royal Mail then I'll just get her to forward it on to me. Seems less hassle that way.

geotrig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119698116#Comment_119698116

iirc I think early on grant got stung on customs charge for a chassis sent to him hence he was reluctant to take jobs work from outside uk.Maybe square it with him to pay that upfront and any overpayment can be taken off the repair fee or prepay it if possible , inco term DDP or that

MrVestek

He seems fine to accept it in this case anyway. I'll make sure when I'm sending it to mark it as non commercial or a product sample or gift or whatever. If he does get stung then I'll happily pay the cost.

KeRbDoG

AddressPal, my limited use of it I found they opened up the package to see whatever paper work to work out what it was and its value. I might have been very lucky though

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119698748#Comment_119698748

I think it's the right call, the chap is as good as they get and you'll get your chassis back in tip top condition.

geotrig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119698876#Comment_119698876

They do I had an item a few months back with a "low value" on the label outside but was missed at a guess ,the real value was on the invoice inside ,suffice to say they went with the higher value !😥

dav09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119698026#Comment_119698026

That chassis is still in need of repair itself since before you got that one lol, issue is I'm not sure who repairs them (I think they're Makvision). I might have something though as a replacement maybe I'll have a look

MrVestek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119699209#Comment_119699209

Makvision branded Ya Wei chassis... which apparently have an awful reputation.

If you have something that would drive a THOMSON A68ELA011X121 tube though at 31Khz (that's what's in the cab) that'd be great!

MrVestek

I've sent you on a DM there @dav09 I hope you don't mind.

MrVestek

If nobody hears from me by Saturday just assume that I've accidentally killed myself.

This discharge wand that I've just made should do the job... Right?

o1s1n

Remember to keep your left hand out of the cabinet and behind your back.

Chances are it'll all be an anti climax and the monitor discharged itself already but best to be safe.

Ground the anode cap by touching the metal clip inside at the center of it off the frame a few times once it's out just to be sure.

o1s1n

Also take a photo every time you remove a cable from the chassis so you know where it goes when you're putting it back together!

MrVestek

Cheers for the tips! When you say touch the metal inside the anode cap you mean after I've poked at it with the screwdriver?

As in literally touch it off of a ground point a few times?

It's not dangerous doing that free handed no?

Well I'll be wearing gloves and big soled shoes just to be on the safe side.

o1s1n

Yeah so the first thing you'll do (after clipping the probe wire to a ground somewhere) is slide the screwdriver in under the cap and touch it off the metal clip in the centre of the anode. See if there's a crack/pop. (more then likely won't be) but wiggle the screwdriver around a good bit to make sure you're definitely making contact with the clip.

You might be able to pop the anode off the tube with the screwdriver or you might have to pull it off with your hand once it's been discharged.

Either way there'll be a point where you've to touch the anode cap so yeah, in the centre of it there's a metal clip - so just touch that off the monitor frame for a bit of extra grounding.

MrVestek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711070#Comment_119711070

Gotcha! I'll let you all know how I get on... or not! :-P

Colonel Panic

Test the probe for continuity between what you’ve grounded it to and the tip. Hand behind back. Probably won’t see a flash.