Repairing The Legendary 1981 Williams DEFENDER Arcade Game 

People today have NO idea what it was like walking into an arcade in the early 80s and hearing game after game after game all doing their best to make the coolest attract sounds. Williams games created a desire to play them like a hungry man looking at a steak on the grill.

The Defender sound IS the sound of 80's arcades to me. Love it.

After 40 years the game still makes people happy when they play it. Epic.

Watching how you are able to repair these machines is a kind of magic. The sound of Defender and Space Invaders is the sound of my youth. Thanks for sharing this video.

"I think I'm getting better!" - yes, that's exactly how they got you - and your quarters - at those arcades. Nowadays with all the phone games the young ones probably laugh at this, but when we were kids, this was MAGIC!

OMG!!! Used to love playing this way back in 1980. Damn I'm old!!!

LOVE Defender! One of my favorite 80's arcade games, A tough game, but hours of fun for someone who gets really good at it. I'm a musician... and we were playing at a location in Georgia for New Years Eve one year, and a guy was playing Defender when we arrived at the club. We played the entire night (4 sets), had the countdown at midnight for the New Year, played our last set and finished for the night. The guy was still playing Defender, there was a crowd gathered around watching, and he flipped the game over... I think the score went to 1 million points from what I can remember. The guy did this on 1 quarter... it was amazing watching this guy play this more-busy-and-complicated-as-the-levels-increase game like it was nothing for him. I sank a lot of quarters into this game, but never played on one quarter more than around 20-30 minutes. I wish I had one of these games. Hey... do one on Robotron. Robotron had the same kind of awesome sounds Defender has... but some of the sounds were even better and richer-sounding. Robotron is another game from the same era that rocks. Another all-time favorite of mine. If you have a Robotron, doing a vid like this would be great, If not, then BUY ONE so you can do a vid for us! 😛😛😛 Thanks for the vid. 👍

This game still looks and sounds terrific.

I was at Apple in those days. Woz owned a Defender and brought it in to the break room for everyone to play. I learned watching him play, he was amazing. The key to the game is understanding the goals. The game starts with 10 people on the ground. Your job is to defend them, get it? The little ships flying around will pick each one up and slowly carry it up to the top of the screen where two bad things happen. The person dies, and the ship turns into a mutant. Mutants move fast and are supper hard to kill. The strategy is not to let mutants form, and the best way to do that was to get rid of all but one person. You could run around and shoot people or you could wait until they were being carried up and then shoot them or the ship carrying them. If all the people are killed everything turns into mutants, bad. So on round one you kill all but one person, then you let him get picked up, shoot the ship without hitting the person and catch him as he falls to earth. Within a little time you can be carrying the only person and no mutants can form. Run around and kill the rest of the ships. When the next level starts you will have to find the one person and capture him again but no mutants. Continue. At some point the game is programmed to give you all 10 people back after a certain number of levels. The longer that takes the better. When it happens scramble to kill 9 and carry one.

A classic Defender was one of the greats of the golden era thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend

Wow! That game brings back some pretty good memories! Around 1981/'82 I worked at a huge arcade/mini-golf range in SoCal called _Castle Park._ I was 18 or 19 and it was the perfect job for a teenager! Back then the place had about 300 arcade and pinball games in it. Haha, I especially loved opening when we turned on the power to the arcade in the morning causing the place to be FILLED with the sounds of each game's "attraction" sequence.

I used to be able to "clock" it in the arcade. Score wraps at 1 million if I remember . And as a reward, everything you shoot in the last 10,000 gives you an extra life. Good old days

I grew up in the UK in the 70's when video arcades started popping up all over the place... dude, did I spend a lot of money and time in them! But of all the machines I've played, Defender has to be my all-time favourite. 😘👌🏼

I fell in love with Defender on holiday in France on a camping holiday as a kid. The French version gave you 10 credits for a 10 franc coin, which were much the same size as an 2p coin, so I played it a lot in those 2 weeks. Absolutely my favourite arcade game of all time. Thank you very much.

That "oooh!" when you spot the problem. We've all been there!!!

As a former arcade repairman myself (now casino repair), it’s interesting how board problems have changed. Back then, the higher chip count created power (current) issues, and now, boards have higher density chips, lower chip count, BUT EVERYTHING IS FREAKING BUCK CONVERTERS, which generally suck. When you jack up the power on these old linear regulators, what you’re doing is either; 1. Overcoming the voltage drop across the power connector caused by corrosion and the high current pulled by these game boards. 2. Compensating for the tolerance drift in the components on the power supply over time.

I Played Defender Back in The Day and Still Play This Today !!! Shout Out to Stargate !!!

Defender has always been super hard. It's great to see people enjoying the game though, especially on the original hardware.

Oh Defender, what memories. I sucked at the game but my best friend was amazing at it. We would go to the arcade in the early 80s and he's put a token in and play for at least 30 minutes. He'd have a huge collection of extra lives and would get 10-15 people crowd around watching him play. He's eventually just get tired of it and give the game up saying "Anybody want to play? I'm done." Then just walk away while people rushed trying to take over the controls.

I remember Defender while waiting for my bus to school in England, that was back in 1982 there was always a que to play it. Best retro game out.

I was the king of Defender in my town, I could play for 4 hrs. on one quarter!

Joe's is a real magician of electronics williams ... this wonderful sound. it's my favorite game since I was 17... oops I'm 56 and my machine has been broken for quite a few years but I don't despair of seeing it working again one day. I watched the video twice :-)

This game was ahead of it's time.

I've got to admit it. Hearing that startup sound just makes me smile!

Nothing sounds like an arcade until you hear defender. Wow!

Im not the guy who grew up with all this stuff, but old technology has always fascinated me

i had the high score on one of these games for three years in a local pizza place when i was in high school in the 80's. one of my favorite video games ever!

I love these old pieces of gaming hardware...Every single one of them has a story to tell about their particular history...kind of like a classic car that's been repaired and modified over the years...always great to see you guys breathe new life into one of my favorite shooters back in the days! ❤️💯

My best friend was the best at this game he just passed away a few weeks ago, R. I. P. Robby!

Oh my, I went to live in Trinidad from England there was a games arcade which was air conditioned with thick luscious carpets with large tinted windows so there was no glare it was beautiful you have brought back so many awesome memories of hanging out with great friends having a fabulous time thank you

As a seasoned Arcade technician and former Arcade distributor service manager. I would put off buying home consoles when I could play the real thing. If I had that specimen I would mark those boards and connectors so they couldn't be mistaken again. I would probably rewire them correctly to. I though about using one of those sound boards as a doorbell with. That reminds me of when I repaired a Williams pinball sound board by making my own addressing circuitry to test all sound locations on the bench. When you don't have a machine to test it in then you get creative if you know how. I found a bad Yamaha chip that way. I would note that a person can use any EPROM as long as the image on it is correct and the pin jumpers are compatible with it, but that might screw up the next person if notes aren't left stating what was done.

Nice! Just got my Star Gate working. The sounds are the best on these.

Thanks for bringing a classic back online :)

Watching you play Defender brings back memories of what happened when I tried to play defender. :(

Wow!! Beyond helpful! Just brought home a Defender game that has a new power supply connected to the service outlet. Also the power to the coin door isn't hooked up. Halfway through this video and I've already learned how to fix everything that I've (so far) found wrong with this. Thanks !!!!!

I still love space invaders it's got that distinctive sound great memories ...

This video brings back childhood memories and Arcade Game Halls. It is nice to watch you working and troubleshooting!

Im 57 years old, defender was my game back in the day.

Nice to see something that is not pinball again. Thanks for the content as always.

I remember fixing arcade games and pinballs in the early 90’s as a tech at CA Robinson. Fun job.

Back in high school, during lunch, I used to watch my friend play this game every day. He was quite good at it. It was very cool to see the guts of this thing and learn a bit how it works. Thank you!

“We done did it!” Great video showing common sense repair tips. I’d be lost, but back in the day, I turned that game over 7 times. Thanks Ronnie!

Another game we played for hours in the arcade 80s awesome video

When I heard that startup sound, my arcade PTSD kicked in. Love it.

Love the sounds, brings back some great memories of being in an arcade. Don't worry Ron, I know first hand that you're not the only one who's ever had trouble playing this game. I just enjoy picking up tips from a master trouble shooter.

One of my favorite for sure, I remember you could tell if someone was rocking a game by the sound, we would all flock around, fun days

Ron - awesome video and thank you. This game caused an obsession for me back in the day as it was located in a drug store that I ended up working for in high school. Can't recall how many rolls of quarters got dumped into my obsession but it was fun. Today I am very fortunate to live near a 'retro' arcade and am one of the few who can play and high score on Defender. Even my hard-core Xbox Live addict kids admitted years ago "that's a hard game Dad..."

i was never good at it either but loved to watch people play it back in the day

“Intergalactic Planetary!!!” You crack me up Ron. Great video. I used to love this game.

I've been playing defender for years - it's my favourite arcade game. I'm still rubbish at it. You're quite good at it, Ron. 👍

You are the Defender of the Earth. Protecting our memories one saved Arcade Machine @ a time. TY so much. And I so miss the old arcade stuffs.

My friend's Father bought him the Defender game cartridge on his Commodore vic-20 for home office. We played it for hours, it was such a thrill. Start out easy- it's very discouraging to constantly lose, and work your way up as your coordination gets faster. Thank you for the memories.

When you've put enough quarters into the Defender machine to actually own one, your play will be pretty good.

I played Defender for 27 hours straight on one quarter in 1981 LOL when the score gets to 999999 every object you hit gets you a free man

I was shit at Defender too but damned if that wasn’t the most popular game everywhere it was installed. And you were right…those old sounds took me back! Cool video.

Just the sound takes me back to the 80s as a little boy playing this for hours in Bronx New York!! Man I miss those days. This is a classic . Thank you for sharing 👍🏻

This is one of my favorites in my collection. Asteroids and Space Invaders are right up there too.

that is in amazing condition from the start! I think this has to be the most demanding arcade game in terms of player accuracy.

Loved seeing old games I played as a child brought back to life. Keep up the good work!

I loved playing Defender! A very cool way to "freak out" the game was to catch all 10 humanoids, raise the ship to the top of the screen, stop the ship, and then drop the ship to the ground and place all 10 humanoids in one spot. The ship would pass completely through the ground and come out of the top of the screen! Some of the astronauts would land on the ground, but some would travel with the ship and then hang suspended in the air. The game would "freeze" until the CPU could process what just happened. The game would eventually continue to play on from whatever point in the game you happened to be. Another strategy is as you gather the astronauts, place them in one small area. It is much easier to defend the astronauts from the landers if they are collected in one spot. Then you have few to no mutants to deal with.

Pinball was my main love but I could always be lured away by a good flying game in the early 80s. Defender was one of the best along with Xevious, Time Pilot 84, Gyruss, Sinistar, and Juno First (my favorite).

You’re much better than myself at Defender! Very cool to see the thought process on this one.

All those sounds bring back so many memories.

Watching from Berlin, Germany. Enjoying it very much. Thanks for these videos. :)

When I first saw this video up I thought " I haven't seen this one on a video before ", and then you confirmed it. The broken wires on the amp chip are likely because the heatsink was loose and this has been moved around so much. All the vibrations of going overseas and coming back likely caused it work harden over time and eventually just snap. I know people like switching power supplies, but I prefer the originals in these machines and to repair at component level. The switching power supplies tend to introduce a lot of noise these machines were not designed to handle or filter. I know they generally work well. It's just my personal feelings. Why fix what ain't broke lol :). Love your work Ron. You always have great, down to earth and easy to follow videos that help even the biggest dumbass fix their machines :).

Great job. Now, if I could only have all my coins back from when I was a kid, I’d be worth $$$$$ ! ; )

Awesome job troubleshooting the problems! I have that same game, but it never has worked, so thank you so much for giving me some direction to go in, because it didnt have any paperwork or anything. Thank you very much for the info, and video!

This brings back to a very nice time and great memories. Thank you!

I remember back then that I had considered the game too complex at the time to play due to how many buttons there were for the game (I was 9). :D

You know I just realized something I've been watching you guys since day one and Ron I have never seen what you look like.... Plus the legs and the heat sink probably broke on that thing from all the transporting that he's done with it bouncing around and fiddling with it and blah blah blah "it was that pothole in Atlanta"😵💥😫

I used to play this back in the day in the game room at the university where I got my undergraduate degree. I remember it being a very challenging game and one of my friends, a graduate physics student, who was a master of this game. The things he would do on it were amazing, none of us could match him. Good memories.

duuuuuuude We've had this arcade game out our house twice growing up. Both times they needed to be restored. my dad sold them 😢 I need to find one!!

“Tin roof rusted”. So that’s what she says in “Love Shack” !

Pizza Hut, Pepsi, and Defender….loved the 80s. Thanks for bringing back the past.

Wow thank you for the video guys,these were always such bold cabinets back in the day,the sounds literally summoned you into an arcade when you heard it being played from a distance in the 80s,very hard game play and a complicated control panel kept you coming back for more..This game,along with Asteroids would be an all time game changer in my opinion. :) x

Could never play this game as good as I wanted but I've always just loved listening to the different sound effects it had

Thanks for bringing back my childhood. Great video!!!!

OMG, I remember playing that back in 1981. I was 20 years old. I would get a blister on my finger playing so hard. I called the condition Defender finger.

Greatest Game in the WORLD! Thanks for saving it from the scrapyard!

I loved 'Defender' and still do. The gameplay and graphics are awesome but what struck me as crazy cool were the sound effects. They really did a good job with that. You're right Ron, goose bumps for the sound. Dang, I need to buy a Mister FPGA so I can upgrade my tabletop arcade cabinet.

"Verdified" is a good word. You own that. I like it! I have to say I enjoy watching you work because I like the logical way you think when tracking down a problem. It's more fun than a video game! That sound is great! It's like phasing with echo. Great stuff!

nice troubleshooting steps, thanks for going through it

Joe your videos are invaluable. I'm picking up a dead-as-nails defender cocktail this afternoon and I can't wait to get my hands dirty. Wish me luck!

Boy didn't that take me back!!! Believe I was a freshman in high school when this came out. The first time that soundboard worked I swear I went back in time for just a second!!!! You Kids won't understand the thrill of walking into a little country store and hearing those sounds for the first time! God,to be 14 again. Anyway thank a million my man,made my day

I enjoyed the fake-out you did with the price of the amp. Like you set it up to where it was this rare priceless treasure to replace, and then you hit us with the actual price of ten cents. lol.

I spent days...weeks playing this beauty. Damned, i'm old

Hi there Guys, I just found your channel by accident, it's the Best. I love all these old Machines, I still remember going out with my Dad to the Pub, He would give me 5 x 20cent coins and said go try that noise box over there. Space Invaders was that game, and when you only get 5 games you soon become very good or very board, LOL. Soon after that I started playing any Arcade Machine I could find, I Loved Defender, yes the sounds, but at that time the Graphics were very cool. Although my Favourite was Donkey Kong, Crush Roller and Moon Patrol. Since then, I made my own Bar Top Machines and my Grandchildren asked me where I got all these new games from. They love them also. So I can't wait to watch some more. Good Luck, and Thanks for Sharing. Regards, Gordon - Australia

Great job diagnosing and repairing!👍🏾

Oh man, after looking at what you found on that button switch, having both wires soldered to one leg, it was evident what was wrong?! Lol Great descriptive video as always! You are a genius Ronnie!

Wow! You are an incredible troubleshooter with a ton of knowledge!

Great job resurrecting the game. I always sucked at Defender but I'd still pump quarters into it until I was broke.

Great video to a classic game! One of my favourite early arcade games.

Once again, love what you do and that you share it with us. 1980 was a great year. The year I was born. Although this game is of my time, by the time I got into games my favorite goes to Street Fighter II.

Back in the 80s me and my brother would sneak out of the house at night and go up to the open all night convenient store/gas station and play this game while drinking soda and eating hostess cakes. 😀

It's great to see a real Defender machine. One thing that surprised me - having never looked inside such a machine - is .. wow, how many boards? Tons - all jam-packed with ICs! Incredible. Although I love Defender, I'm terrible at it and always have been. I pride myself in having never achieved a score over 20,000.

Great instructional video. Thank you for doing that one! One of my favorite all time games. Always wanted an inside tour of this game. Never got the opportunity to work on one. Thank you!

I used to be real good at that game when I was in HS. Then I went to electronics school, they had a Star Castle video game in the break room. Ran that machine up 1 million points and quit playing games forever, went and got a JOB fixing business electronics, computers.

The sound on this game is just awesome.

These videos are great, they should be used in teaching electronic troubleshooting techniques in tech college.