I do believe I'm over my head...
David Brady
* First the fun part...
I was driving to a co-worker's house-warming party and noticed a garage
sale.
Well, I didn't actually notice the garage sale - I noticed the huge
arcade game
sitting out front with a for-sale sign on it.
Turns out it was a nearly mint condition Gravitar with two extra boards.
One is
a Major Havoc and the other, I believe, is a Quantum(sp?). (You'll see
in a
moment why I'm not sure.)
The controls were stock except for the nicely installed track-ball in an
unused
portion of the panel.
The machine also included full schematics and manuals for Gravitar and
Major
Havoc. In addition, there were schematics for Quantum, Black Widow, and
Space
Duel. Also had the keys for the coin doors.
The price? Well, an incredible thirty dollars.
I'm incredibly happy with my purchase and I let the original owner know
that
his machine found a good home. He seemed happy to hear it.
* The not so fun part...
Problem 1: I don't have a key to open up the back of the machine. What
would be
the best/cheapest way to get this thing open? Call a locksmith? Find a
hacksaw
and cut through the bits of wood that form the 'hinge' at the bottom?
Use a
crowbar? (Just kidding?) Once I open the thing up I'll be able to
figure out
(I hope) what the two extra boards are - amongst many other things. (Why
do I think one is a Quantum? One of the schematics had a list of
edge connector numbers with a columns labeled G, MH, and Q.)
Problem 2: Of course, when you see a price of $30 on the for-sale sign
you know
something is probably wrong with it. I asked why it was so cheap before I
paid my
money and was told: The monitor doesn't work. (I've been reading this
newsgroup
for awhile and I figured that it was probably fixable and, even at $30 I
couldn't really loose.) I grabbed the vector monitor FAQ, read it and
decided
I need some friends who know electronics. For example, I don't feel
entirely comfortable with a soldering iron and discharging billions of
volts
from tubes. Is it possible to easily get some minimum knowledge on how to
do this stuff without getting an EE degree? (On the other hand I'd love
to play my game as soon as possible!!!) I'm guessing that a good basic
meter is a requirement. I'm also guessing that knowing how to use a good
basic meter is another requirement... (FYI - I do know how to solder
things at least.)
Problem 2.5: Not so much a problem, but a statement... the game powers
up just fine... I hear nice video game noises when it starts up and I
can get the thing in test mode by pressing the appropriate button. I
do see that there is a bright red LED shining away in the
depths of the cabinet. I'd imagine that is the fabeled spot killer.
Problem 3: The audio is incredibly muddled and doesn't get very loud
at all. Any ideas? I looked around wiretap for hints, but couldn't
find anything.
Thanks for all help offered! I'll probably be bugging this group with
questions for a little while so please be patient...
DavidB
David Brady
[Apologies if you saw the previous version of this - it suffered
from a horrible word-wrap accident on the way to the server...]
David Holcomb
: * The not so fun part...
: Problem 1: I don't have a key to open up the back of the
: machine. What would be the best/cheapest way to get this thing
: open? Call a locksmith? Find a hacksaw and cut through the bits
: of wood that form the 'hinge' at the bottom? Use a crowbar?
: (Just kidding?) Once I open the thing up I'll be able to figure
: out (I hope) what the two extra boards are - amongst many other
: things.
If you can take the marquee off and/or the monitor plexiglass
on the front of the machine, you may be able to get to the
lock from the front. I don't know if this is true for all
these locks, but they sometimes have flathead screw in the
center that, if you can unscrew it from the inside, will allow
the locking arm to just fall off.
You will probably need a long arm and a long screwdriver to
unscrew it.
If the cabinet is in pretty nice condition, I wouldn't do
anything to mangle it.
--Dave H.
Steve Hawley
> - Drill the lock out. Just be sure to check where the metal filings
> from the drilling may have landed.
Don't do this if you can avoid it. The lock on the BACK of the case should
have a nice sturdy metal bezel around it. Grab that with Vise Grips and
rotate the whole lock 90 degrees. This is akin to unlocking it. You
should now be able to open the back. You can reach through to the front
and remove the screw that holds the tongue onto the coin door lock. Now
you have full access to the machine, no troubles, no metal filings.
> 4) Muddled Audio
> - Not sure on this one; could be a loose wire, could be something
> with the power supply and the audio/reg board. Once you've got
> the cabinet open, you can check the test points on the various
> boards with a multimeter, which should give you a good start at
> understanding where the problem lies.
My asteroids has this problem - it is a bad volume pot. Your mileage may vary.
BTW - congrats on the deal - it's worth it for the Quantum alone.
--
Steve Hawley
haw...@adobe.com
--
"Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I
have no grasp of it whatsoever." -Baron Munchausen
mrb...@inferno.com
David, I get the impression that you are in the bay area. If you need
help in getting the game fixed, you can give me a call at
408-259-6061. Later, Bill
Alan Jordan
> As to your problems:
>
> 1) Not having a key:
> - Drill the lock out. Just be sure to check where the metal filings
> from the drilling may have landed.
>
Most standard locks on video games are crap, a big solid screwdriver
inserted into the lock with a wrench gripped to the end will often do the
trick, but go gently, the existing lock will break but if you try too
hard you may damage the cabinet.
ALAN