December was a slow month for arcade repairs given everything else going on, but I did make some progress. In particular, I was able to finally install the Scramble multi-game chip on my spare Scramble board and install it in Super Cobra. This means that game has free play, high score saves, and several extra games like Frogger, Amidar, and more. The one weird thing with this chip set is the opening music doesn’t play all the way through, which I find odd given it does on my Super Cobra board—small sacrifice I guess.
Main Scramble board used for multi-game kit
That project took a bit longer than expected because I had to get chip E6 on the main board socketed to make sure the multi-game kit worked correctly, but that is all done now.
Chip E6 socketed in preparation for multi-game kit
The other piece for Super Cobra was getting the original Stern power supply fixed so that it has both the original and the switching power supply.
Original Stern power supply for Super Cobra
Resistor R8 blew a while back, well before my time with the game, and replacing that got the power supply working again.
Resistor R8 burnt-out
The one issue is that using the original power supply results in artificating at the top of the screen. It is relatively minor, but this does not happen with the switching power supply, so definitely an issue somewhere with the original unit. The struggle is real!
Minor yellow artifacts appear at top of screen from original power supply even after fix
Luckily the switching power supply works perfectly, so hopefully going to put the work on Super Cobra to rest for a long while.
Inline fuse in Venture that kept blowing given short in chassis AC line
Another small project was re-wiring the AC input for the monitor chassis on Venture given it kept shorting out and blowing an inline fuse that I didn’t even know existed. That was confusing. This was my first time working with an inline fuse, and once I figured it out it was a simple fix. It pushed me to clean-up all those ugly electrical tape hacks that many of these machines have. One of my to-do list items below is to clean up the rest of the wiring in Venture given it’s one of the worst offenders.
That’s it for work done, but I’m using this new year bavacade update to list some outstanding game issues/projects that I’d like to tackle in the next couple of months. Here’s to hoping!
- Switch Robotron 1P and 2P button
- Fix Millipede’s extra Matsushita chassis
- Fix Make Trax yoke connector
- Check chassis power plugs and clean-up any electrical tape monstrosities
- Take apart Cheyenne and Pole Position and get them both on wheels
- Investigate issues with either power board or inline power brick for Stargate
- Check and clean-up wiring for Venture
- Fix back-up Hanterex 20″ Polo chassis
- Fix K4600 backup interface and main chassis boards
- Fix wheels on Dig Dug and Bagman
- Try 440 Exidy kit on non-working Crossbow board for Cheyenne
- Test non-working Super Cobra board with game roms from working board
