Seeing all these repair vids again motivated me to tackle a bad PCB I've had laying around for years, and I just managed to fix it! Not as quickly as luke does but hey, I'm still stoked to have it up and running.
OH WOW!! That is great! what board was it?? Id love to see what was done but the fact that you got motivated to fix it and actually did do that is really impressive. Congrats!
@@lukemorse1 it was just a soccer game (Tecmo World Cup) - i know you're not into sports games, but i like it, haha. It was showing a picture but had no sound. I took a really good look around and pressed on the chips to see if it made a difference - and I found a small green thing (like a flat square capacitor?) was wobbling when you touch it, because one of the legs had broken and wasn't making any contact with the board. So i put a blob of solder on that. Another couple of bits looked sketchy so I resoldered them as well. And whatever it was, the sound now works! Thank you for showing us that sometimes you just need to give the board a really good look and you might find something!
i've watched all most all your videos ever since HappyConsoleGamer did his new game stuff episode 1, i just started high school at the time, i don't think i've ever said how much your content has meant to me over the years or have even left comments on what ever account i was using at the time, i always find it comforting in a way when you upload a new video. probably the beer talking but it does feel nice to final type that. cheers Luke
I really appreciate the support and not leaving a comment is no problem at all. I am very humbled by people like yourself who have stuck on over the years and continue to watch these low budget videos lol. At least you know that what you see is what you will get. Thank you for taking the time to comment here and even if it is the beer talking, Im happy to hear that. Thanks again and take care.
Another board revived, maybe this just needs a potentiometer paddle for LR. Great job Luke 👍. Eagle eyed spotting those dodgy traces and that solder bridge. 🤠 👍
Loved the shocked and excitement when it suddenly turned on. Great repair. You and GadgetUK164 inspired me to give things a go. I've fixed a couple of mega drives and a C64, nothing on your scale though.
You and me both! I always get excited to see these boards jump back to life, such a cool feeling. GadgetUK is a great guy for sure :) He has got the Amiga and C64 stuff down well. Thanks a lot
These boards have some of the strangest things that will cause them to stop. It is mind blowing at times. Thanks as always and Ill have more here soon :)
Greetings, thank you Sir, fault finding and troubleshooting can be so tedious but once you find and fix the culprit every hour spent is so worth it watching these vintage arcade boards come back to life and start working again Cheers!
Thank you so much. I hope that some of the time that Ive used on fixing these boards and making these videos may help others fix their boards in half the time. Just trying to give back a little for the help Ive received. I also hope that Ken can use some of these videos to fix some of his other boards he has laying around. Thanks as always.
Freaking Awesome Luke. Great Job dude. Yes Track ball. Whenever I watch anyone repairing anything and they get stumped I am like dude, if Luke were there he would be so useful and probably find what's wrong. I always think, What would Luke do when it comes to my arcade stuff. Great Job!
Thanks a million my friend. Haha, I can find the problem with the board but not the controls lol. Need to check that stuff out ahead of time but whats the fun in that right? Anyway, I appreciate the kind words as always :) Take care
You won't be able to control this game without a spinner (an optical spinner, if I'm not mistaken). Exactly how you need to wire one up to one of these, though, I don't really know. Maybe it's through the left/right inputs on the JAMMA edge (something I should look into as well as I'm sitting on two Arkanoid Revenge of Doh boards, one of which has graphical errors that I can't identify the cause)?
Thank you for the info, I appreciate it. The first thing I would recommend is looking for broken traces and swapping the socketed chips from one board to the other. (put markings on one set from one board so you know which one you took it off of). by doing the swapping back and forth, you might be able to make one working one :) try it out and see what happens
What is going on with your spiderman board? is it a sound issue or other? Maybe using some of these videos, you might be able to get it running. Nevertheless, thanks a lot and more to come here soon hopefully
Great to hear from you as always there man. I need to get ahold of these things and check that stuff out before I take these boards off the stack for a vid lol. Hope you are doing well
Good old Arkanoid. I used to play it on the NES using the Arkanoid Controller. Arkanoid Return Of Doh was released for Famincon and it also has a Arkanoid Controller yes you can play it with a normal Controller but with Arkanoid Controller makes a lot easier to play. By the way at 25:22 to tell you right away Arkanoid requires a paddle to play if you notice any of the Arkanoid arcade cabinets all they use paddles so that's why it doesn't move with the joystick so you have to someway to make a Controller paddle to play the game just to heads up.
Thanks a lot for the information. I should have known better as I have this game on the Famicom and the paddle with it but yeah, just before picking these boards up off the pile and trying to get them running I should check that out lol. Thanks again
I remember playing the first Arkanoid game on the NES years and years ago. I never played the sequels but I've played an Arkanoid game on the Nintendo DS called Arkanoid DS.
Me too! I have the famicom version and the controller (which I totally forgot about) but never played this at the arcades. New experiences for both of us Juan lol
This game plays with a spinner. You're a pro. I'm an amateur. I would first: 1 put the voltage to 5.0 2 mark where that pot is and rotate it to see if that does anything 3 checkk that connector that apparantly dridges 2 pairs of pins 4 make sure the dip switches are correct 5 see if all ic's, chips are seated properly in the sockets by pressing down on each one 6 see if slightly bending the pcb does anything 7 clean the pcb 8 compare the board for missing parts with other pcb pictures online 9 google for known issue with this pcb type Great to see a pro in action!
Nah, I wouldnt say Im and pro and I definitely wouldnt say you are an Amature. I would say there are a lot of different ways of tackling the board and some use what they have learned from other repairs but there are multiple possibilities. Most boards will run with anywhere from 4.75 to 5v unless they are some power hungry ones like the IT or Midway ones. The Pot on the board is for volume :) The pin that bridges the two pins is for audio/stereo. Checking the dip switches is good and especially usually switches 1, 8, or the first and last ones on a pcb which can be for freeze screen. Checking all the chips for seating is a good idea. Taking them out and cleaning/inspecting them for bent legs is also recommended. Flexing the PCB is a good way to check for some issues, usually works best with surface mounted qfp's. Cleaning the pcb is a good idea for sure. Looking online is a great way to compare what chips may be missing and I do this as well. Googling is a good way to find common problems and fixes I agree but sometimes the information is quite dense and can be all over the place. Making a video showing what is done can sometimes be easier to see and understand. From one "pro" to another ;)
sweet! another board saved. IDK if there was ever a joystick version of arkanoid I always remembered it having a dial/spinner control similar to tempest or something like that. love seeing the end result of a successful repair it's always satisfying!!
Thanks again DT! After checking the comments and looking around you are right indeed. I will have to see what I can find in the future and hopefully be able to make a vid on it!
COOL and you're right finding these shorts and broken traces are very difficult, I would use an oscilloscope if I see some sync issue, just checking if the signal(s) looks right. Although in this case it wouldn't helped much I think... still very cool job dude!
I really dig watching these repairs as someone with no knowledge of electronic repairs with a growing interest in learning it. Now that you got a signal out of it, Luke, what do you suppose you could do to make it work on the "normal" output you had no luck fixing? Or is this a matter of simply needing the converter to run correctly? Thanks again for the vid!
I really appreciate that thank you. For some of these boards you can change the video sync by adding a 10k ohm resistor in line or you can build a simple sync circuit with a 74ls04. Many of the arcade manuals also list these options for monitors that dont sync up.
@@lukemorse1 Got ya! Glad you got this one revived the best that it can run now. Also appreciate the detailed reply. You helped me fix a lost cause of a NeoGeo CD years ago and have been a mainstay RU-vid stop ever since. =]
Usually if the board is putting out a correct picture without any issues, it will display on the converter. If it isnt putting out an image it may keep refreshing or repeating until it gets a clean signal. Once the board was working correctly again, the sync and image were displayed on the converter.
@@lukemorse1 But what was causing the refreshing and repeating issue because the board wasn't outputting a correct picture? It seems like arcade board just started working without changing any parts not sure what was the problem
07:24 Arrrrggghh!!! After pointing out how hard it is to notice some problems by visual inspection you decide to sand the chip legs clean - over the top of the board itself? Admittedly the chances of flaking off a whisker of metal or conductive corrosion and it landing in a awkward spot is low but given how hard it would be spot later, why take the risk?
@@lukemorse1 So was needing a trackball the only thing left that this patient required? Or were there still things that needed to be checked out? Because by the end it seemed he was already doing well 😊
@@lukemorse1 Arkanoid spinner is really iconic. You would know it's Arkanoid even before you see the screen or the marquee :). It has a fat silver knob with a purple top. I highly recommend you find one of these, even if it's more expensive. Btw, please make a video when you get it ;).
Happy that you got the board back to a playable condition (assuming controls work). Unfortunately your repair technique is the electronic equivalent of poking the board with a stick. It worked in this instance but is not good general practice. Try to get some systematic methodology - start with a thorough visual inspection. If you *think* traces may be cut/bridged TEST them with a multimeter in continuity mode. Check electrolytic capacitors for leakage and tantalum capacitors for shorts. Then hook the board up and check voltages on the power rails at multiple points including Vcc to the major IC's. Then check clock signals and reset/watchdog activity. If there is a video issue test the signals with an oscilloscope. Using a video converter just adds another potential problem in the chain - does it work? How does it behave when input signals are wrong? You could end up trying to troubleshoot the video converter instead of the board. Using sandpaper on the IC legs removes the surface plating and promotes rapid oxidation. Better to use a chemical deoxidizer and/or buffing tool. Finally, please DON'T use a screwdriver to lift IC's - use a proper tool. They are very cheap and avoid the risk of damaging the sockets or underlying boards. Feel free to flame/delete this comment if you wish but maybe it has some good advice? 👍
Thank you for the comment. To cover the points you mentioned, I will explain. For starters, there are some things that are not listed in the video that are done off camera. Shorts are checked between GND and +5v to make sure there aren't any bridges beforehand. These can be caused by blown caps or bad amplifiers and I make sure of this before plugging in any board. This was not shown in this video but I have mentioned this in other ones. Next, the traces that looked cut, WERE tested for continuity before adding wire. I realized going back and watching the video that I said "they looked bad so I fixed them" but they were tested and found to be broken traces. I agree with measuring voltage on the IC's, this is true and I didn't check several places on this board, only a few points as you could see. Using an oscilloscope and being able to check what each component on the board is doing, attaching a logic comparitor, running the roms through ROMIDENT, checking the address lines and data lines for floating or pins held low, testing components out of circuit to verify internal shorts etc are all great examples of things that can done to perfectly troubleshoot a board. This is not what I'm focusing on with these videos however. I am trying to show those who have limited resources some things they can easily try or do to possibly get their boards up and running again. Time and time again I've see videos that are confusing, strung out intentionally to add extra unnecessary content, too difficult to follow, or just not usable. In a perfect world, these boards would never be left outside, stored in damp places, they would have anti static guards on the bottom of them, heatsinks on the IC's that get too hot and be encased to protect them from getting gouged when stored on a shelf but alas, they aren't and as you can see here, these boards have seen better days. In terms of using a converter or not, this has worked for me with many of the boards I have so to each is own. Adding a 10k resistor inline on SYNC or in some cases correcting positive/negative sync issues using a 74ls04 simple circuit can rectify sync issues but once again, the cga to vga converter has worked for me so I keep it around. As for using sandpaper on the pins, I mentioned this in the video, yes some of the plating can be removed but Eproms and maskroms (especially ones left outside)also get rusted legs which takes off the plating and destroys them. The finer the sandpaper, the less it removes. The sandpaper I'm using in this video is extremely worn down and although it sounds rough on camera, it is quite smooth. I also mention that using some kind of cleaning solution is best if you have it. In terms of screwdrivers, I have mentioned this in several videos but I have never ripped out a trace with one ever. The key is to not wrench down on the board or dig into the board when you pry up. There is honestly no problem at all using them as long as you know where to apply pressure, how much, and very dependent on how stuck they are in the socket. IC tools aren't necessary to remove these chips but for those who like to use them great. All in all, I understand where you are coming from and that what you say would be an excellent way to repair these boards and I am aware of this. For those who are interested in the more in depth correct and thorough method, I would totally recommend going to other channels that provide that information.
