Hi n00bs. I used to be a regular here for about 8 years then I left the scene and recently re-emerged like a phoenix or a hernia, so I’m having to relearn all the stuff I’ve forgotten.
I’m fixing up a game ready for sale but have forgotten all my skills so I’m on a very steep learning curve:
Test menu. Hmmm, I remember being good at navigating this, now it’s all a haze. Let’s try this one. No. That one? Also no. Sh_it.
Lamps. Some are out, better replace. But look I can just reverse the wires on these 555s, and some of them are just fine, it’s just the fuc_king bulb holders that lose their grip. Give them a squeeze for now, the next owner can replace them. Flashers. Why do some of these bugg_ers only work when you put them in the right way round like USB sticks?
Clean the damn thing, there’s black dust and ball marks everywhere on top and underneath. Bloody Novus dries leaving white bits everywhere and smears too. Loads of cracks have crap in now, and star posts look messed up. Get that business card out and the brush followed by the hoover. There’s clearly loads more soot under the apron and in that subway, how do I get those off? Seriously? FFS ok I hope it all goes back ok. Oh boll_ocks while cleaning I’ve pulled off two switch levers and dislodged a couple of wires - after cleaning I have more switch and coil issues than before. FFS. Wait, are those dead switches related somehow? What’s this funny switch matrix table all about? I’m sure I remember something about that. Why does this screw not fit, it’s too big for yellow and too small for green. FFS has some chump mixed up metric and imperial?
(EDIT 12H LATER: I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THE GREY DRIVER THAT SITS BETWEEN YELLOW AND GREEN)
Fuc_king fuc_k! Electric shock from the board even though the game was off. Only turned off underneath though, still plugged in at the wall. Lucky I was on a padded chair or I could be dead, 240V is bad for you. Fuc_k, have I now killed the machine? Restart: DMD scrambled; noooooooo! I’ve killed it ….. oh hang on maybe it’s just the ribbon cable I had unseated, let’s put that back properly…. phew! all seems to be fine.
Multimeter. How the boll_ocks do I do that thing to make it beep for a connection? Gotta test all these bloody fuses. There’s about 30 of the bugg_ers and they’re not easy to lever out. Can’t test them without unclipping one end, thankfully this isn’t a DE so all the fuse holders didn’t immediately snap in half. Now how do I test this coil to see if it’s fried, is that resistance, ohms? What’s it supposed to be? And how do I check the voltage at those test points on the boards and at the coils themselves if they’re not firing? Better be careful now, I remember doing damage in the past by touching the wrong metal bit while the game was on. What’s the voltage supposed to be at this motor and at that flasher and at that gizmo? Jesus fuc_k on a bike.
Oh crap now I have to solder these wires together, what’s this rosin stuff and how hot do I want and why isn’t the solder melting properly? It’s all beading up! Damn I need an extra hand or two, I can’t hold the iron, the solder and the wire at the same time. S_hit, that coil is definitely cooked, so I’d better check the transistor to see if that’s blown too. How do I read the fuc_king diagram, where is the transistor? How do I test it? It’s dead, how do I remove it properly and put a new one in without bug_gering up the board?
That connector is a bit brown and dry, look it’s breaking in half, must be the heat over 25 years. No wonder the thing is intermittent, better replace that, now where are those crimper things again? Damn this is fiddly.
I wish I’d taken lots of photos of that assembly before I took it all apart, was that lever behind or in front of the doohickey? Are the coil lugs the right way round now? Is the sleeve the wrong way round, or the diode? That doesn’t look right and where do those bits attach? Sigh. Better check the manual.
Boll_ocks to this. Lucky I had loads of spare bits and pieces. Oh well I suppose it’s actually quite fun in a way……..
I suppose I could just sell the game as is…… but that’s throwing money away. No, clean and fix it first.
I’m fixing up a game ready for sale but have forgotten all my skills so I’m on a very steep learning curve:
Test menu. Hmmm, I remember being good at navigating this, now it’s all a haze. Let’s try this one. No. That one? Also no. Sh_it.
Lamps. Some are out, better replace. But look I can just reverse the wires on these 555s, and some of them are just fine, it’s just the fuc_king bulb holders that lose their grip. Give them a squeeze for now, the next owner can replace them. Flashers. Why do some of these bugg_ers only work when you put them in the right way round like USB sticks?
Clean the damn thing, there’s black dust and ball marks everywhere on top and underneath. Bloody Novus dries leaving white bits everywhere and smears too. Loads of cracks have crap in now, and star posts look messed up. Get that business card out and the brush followed by the hoover. There’s clearly loads more soot under the apron and in that subway, how do I get those off? Seriously? FFS ok I hope it all goes back ok. Oh boll_ocks while cleaning I’ve pulled off two switch levers and dislodged a couple of wires - after cleaning I have more switch and coil issues than before. FFS. Wait, are those dead switches related somehow? What’s this funny switch matrix table all about? I’m sure I remember something about that. Why does this screw not fit, it’s too big for yellow and too small for green. FFS has some chump mixed up metric and imperial?
(EDIT 12H LATER: I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THE GREY DRIVER THAT SITS BETWEEN YELLOW AND GREEN)
Fuc_king fuc_k! Electric shock from the board even though the game was off. Only turned off underneath though, still plugged in at the wall. Lucky I was on a padded chair or I could be dead, 240V is bad for you. Fuc_k, have I now killed the machine? Restart: DMD scrambled; noooooooo! I’ve killed it ….. oh hang on maybe it’s just the ribbon cable I had unseated, let’s put that back properly…. phew! all seems to be fine.
Multimeter. How the boll_ocks do I do that thing to make it beep for a connection? Gotta test all these bloody fuses. There’s about 30 of the bugg_ers and they’re not easy to lever out. Can’t test them without unclipping one end, thankfully this isn’t a DE so all the fuse holders didn’t immediately snap in half. Now how do I test this coil to see if it’s fried, is that resistance, ohms? What’s it supposed to be? And how do I check the voltage at those test points on the boards and at the coils themselves if they’re not firing? Better be careful now, I remember doing damage in the past by touching the wrong metal bit while the game was on. What’s the voltage supposed to be at this motor and at that flasher and at that gizmo? Jesus fuc_k on a bike.
Oh crap now I have to solder these wires together, what’s this rosin stuff and how hot do I want and why isn’t the solder melting properly? It’s all beading up! Damn I need an extra hand or two, I can’t hold the iron, the solder and the wire at the same time. S_hit, that coil is definitely cooked, so I’d better check the transistor to see if that’s blown too. How do I read the fuc_king diagram, where is the transistor? How do I test it? It’s dead, how do I remove it properly and put a new one in without bug_gering up the board?
That connector is a bit brown and dry, look it’s breaking in half, must be the heat over 25 years. No wonder the thing is intermittent, better replace that, now where are those crimper things again? Damn this is fiddly.
I wish I’d taken lots of photos of that assembly before I took it all apart, was that lever behind or in front of the doohickey? Are the coil lugs the right way round now? Is the sleeve the wrong way round, or the diode? That doesn’t look right and where do those bits attach? Sigh. Better check the manual.
Boll_ocks to this. Lucky I had loads of spare bits and pieces. Oh well I suppose it’s actually quite fun in a way……..
I suppose I could just sell the game as is…… but that’s throwing money away. No, clean and fix it first.
Last edited:
