New Life Games LLC
**Reel Slots** Gaming Machines => Universal Reel/Video Games => Topic started by: jtwine on November 27, 2015, 09:44:47 PM
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Note: not asking for help... Yet. :)
So I happened upon a (Super) Magnificent 7 that is completely dead as far as the game itself goes. No outer LED activity and none on the board either.
Pulling the board I immediately see signs of battery corrosion (I have worked on older Williams arcade games that used to use AAs for CMOS backup), and battery is completely dead, of course.
After pulling all socketed chips (some have nasty pins, too, gonna have to do the sockets as well, I bet) and some vinegar, soap, water and time in a 200 degree oven gets me something to work on. Traces near the (clipped) battery show signs of actual damage, which is confirmed by my meter. The two smaller tactile switches are fulblungered as well.
Some quick patch work restores continuity on the bad traces I find. Also replaced the two wonky switches.
My replacement battery does not have pigtails and I could not find a holder for it, so I am trying some circuit-writer stuff on the ends of it and waiting for it dry before replacing chips and soldering it back to the board.
Other parts of the board are really dirty, but look salvagable.
Bottoms of rocketed chips' legs are relatively clean, so I might try the existing sockets first.
Will also have a look at the power supply to see if it needs any work (caps, etc.) before powering up the repaired board.
Do not think I am gonna get it running perfectly the first time out, but maybe I will get some signs of life...
I will post pics of the board and repairs(?) and update this thread with progress, JIC anyone is interested.
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Pics of repairs so far. Wiring is "prototype," and likely to get better in the future.
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Oh, yeah. Forgot to attach an image of the crud on the (socketed) chips.
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Be sure to clean the board pins and spray the backplane pin sockets when your ready to give it a try. The weakest point on these machines is the board to backplane connection.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Jim
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Be sure to clean the board pins and spray the backplane pin sockets when your ready to give it a try. The weakest point on these machines is the board to backplane connection.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Jim
Thanks. Will do the ole spray-insert-remove-insert-remove-and-let-dry routine a few times when I try the board again today. Surprisingly, those header pins have the least amount of corrosion on them.
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Well, also had a look at the power supply and cleaned it a bit and replaced a few caps. Board is still dead - No LED activity on the board. Tried the clear switches with a power cycle a couple times as well. No dice.
Does anyone know exactly how much functionality needs to be working in order to get some LED activity? Just trying to gauge of it is worth trying to get running or just part it out to some people that can use it.
I gather from older posts that there are no manuals for the Ultras. Is there an otherwise central collection of shared knowledge other that this forum/topic?
Gonna sniff around for what the various test points are used for, might help diagnose the next step, if any.
Edit: well, that was an easy find: http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=14751.0 (http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=14751.0)
Might have to pull PS, Backplane and PCB like you (uniman) did to troubleshoot further... If worth it to do so.
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So, my board does not have test "bead" #4, oddly enough. Not sure if you are familiar with the different board style(s). Picture attached.
Anyway, it seems I have no discernible voltages present at any pf test points, regardless of how I connect to them. Even the coin comparitor has no voltage present between pins 6 & 1, regardless of whether the MPU board is inserted and or connected at the front connector.
Starting to sound like a power supply issue to me, eh? Does anyone have pinouts for the power supply brick itself? It would make it easier to get power to it and test outputs without tracing lines (although it did not look that hard when I first had it opened).
The power supply design (at first blush) looks like one board that does the initial rectification and another that further filters/buffers/cleans the resulting outputs. Could be totally wrong here - did not study the power supply that well.
Anyway...
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Well, it seems that the first "stage" of the PSU is busted. By removing the cage and disconnecting the larger cable between the two boards, I am not getting any voltages present on the connector.
The large filter cap on the "input" board is charging up to close to 180V, so it seems that initial rectification is working, so something between that and the stepping down of voltages?
My power supply experience is limited to simpler SMPS like those in arcade games, so this one might be a challenge.
Also a bit of a PITA to have to have the damn thing in the game to get power to it...
Anyone got any ideas on this PS to suggest a starting point or known failures with it?
Peace!
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So, my board does not have test "bead" #4, oddly enough. Not sure if you are familiar with the different board style(s). Picture attached.
Anyway, it seems I have no discernible voltages present at any pf test points, regardless of how I connect to them. Even the coin comparitor has no voltage present between pins 6 & 1, regardless of whether the MPU board is inserted and or connected at the front connector.
Starting to sound like a power supply issue to me, eh? Does anyone have pinouts for the power supply brick itself? It would make it easier to get power to it and test outputs without tracing lines (although it did not look that hard when I first had it opened).
The power supply design (at first blush) looks like one board that does the initial rectification and another that further filters/buffers/cleans the resulting outputs. Could be totally wrong here - did not study the power supply that well.
Anyway...
Green ground, yellow 5 v red 12v and orange 30 v. Rev 4 board dropped the black bead which is also ground.
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Green ground, yellow 5 v red 12v and orange 30 v. Rev 4 board dropped the black bead which is also ground.
Thanks. I was able to confirm that the PS was dead when an anonymous benefactor helped me obtain a working power supply. Once I had that, the game booted with no LED activity on the board and would eventually display a 15 1 error and would ignore any attempts to perform RAM/ALL clears (the switches were being ignored), and the game would make random sounds.
Flexing the board around the sound CPU would effect the random sounds being emitted and flexing the board near the switches and DP RAM caused the occasional LED to light up on the board. I reflowed the [size=78%]the pins on the DP RAM and firmly reseated the Sound EPROM. After that the game performed the All Clear correctly and the game came to life. [/size]
It had a problem with the handle unlocking inconsistently which I explained in a more recent post and the hopper needed lubrication. Aside from that and a lot of blown bulbs, it was working pretty well.
However, it has had the occasion to slip back into making random sounds and generate the 15 1 error again. Again, flexing the board changes this, so I am going to replace all sockets this weekend. After pulling all socketed items and removing the existing sockets and the battery, I am also going to send the board through the dishwasher and a drying cycle in the oven, just to make sure the board is crud free.
Once dry, I will replace the sockets, reinstall all items, and see how the board does. I know someone with a SMD rework station with a hot air tool, and I might have to use that to more accurately reflow the pins on that RAM chip if the board continues to give me trouble.
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So, doing the sockets took a lot longer than I thought. Some unconnected pins were a bitch to get out of the board, and I slightly damaged (cosmetically) the board in some places. But I eventually got them out and got the board washed and dried.
New sockets and machine pin SIP strips (did not have 28-pin sockets) in, and chips replaced. Game would either not boot or boot to 15 1 errors, and pressing on the DP RAM chip would get the RAM clear to work, but would boot with a 71 error every now and then.
Had a friend resolder the DP RAM with a SMD rework station and now it boots perfectly, and no sign of the sound issues.
Learned two things: 1: a 71 error can be caused by a poorly connecting DP RAM chip, and 2: I need to invest in a hot air rework station!
Now, onto those tower light colors...
Peace!