Missle Command help!

[Captain Wrong]

Hey, my Missle Command cabaret decided to stop working tonight. I'm new to trying to fix one of these, so I'll try to be as detailed as possible.

It was working fine, but when I turned it on tonight all the lights (marquee and player 1/2) light up, the monitor comes on, but the screen is a solid yellow. I've tried hitting the test switch and nothing changes. Checked the fuses, they look fine. Everything in the back looks as it should.

So, the $64,000 question, where do I start?

[Arcade Antics]

Does the game "coin up?" That is, if you put credits on it and start a game, can you hear the game playing?

Monitor appears to be getting power, that's a good sign. :)

You'll want to grab a voltmeter and check the -5, +5 and +12 on the board. Also use the continuity setting to check all the fuses, sometimes they look good but they aren't.

Has the game been moved recently? Could be a chip on the mobo needs to be resocketed. Also take a really good look at everything insidea nd see if there are any obvious loose connections, etc. A really thorough visual inspection is always the best place to start in any case. :)

[Captain Wrong]

Does the game "coin up?" That is, if you put credits on it and start a game, can you hear the game playing?

No I get nothing. the player 1 and 2 lights don't flash like they should either. Just solid.

I haven't moved it, but I'll have a look at the chips as something may have gotted dislodged in the inital move. Plus I really need to clean the inside. It's a bit dusty.l

[Anotherfluke]

my Missle Command cabaret decided to stop working tonight.
Is your cabaret unionized? They might be picketing for you to stop using real missiles in your encore.

[Captain Wrong]

my Missle Command cabaret decided to stop working tonight.
Is your cabaret unionized? They might be picketing for you to stop using real missiles in your encore.

*rimshot*

:D

[Arcade Antics]

Dumb question -- does the red LED on the mobo light up when the game's powered up?

[Arcade Antics]

So, I'ma gonna piggyback onto this one for a sec, 's long as we're talking Missile Command. :)

While examining my MC for stuff to contribute to Cap's problem, I discovered that the trakball isn't working properly. Took it apart, cleaned everything, etc.

It's not a roller issue, although the rollers and bearings need to be replaced, but that's not contributing to this problem. The vertical axis is AOK, but the horizontal axis will only move to the left or sometimes just act completely goofy. Ocasionally, it works fine, but only for a second or two.

I swapped the connections to troubleshoot the roller boards - it appears that both boards are fine, because when the connectors were swapped, the horizontal axis worked properly. So I'm thinking it's either a wiring issue or a board issue...

Anyone else encounter this kind of trakball problem? Any ideas?

[Captain Wrong]

Oh man, I hope I didn't start a Missle Command epidemic.

Anyway, I get the red light on the PCB. The fuses check out, chips all in place. Everything checks out.

Hmm...where to go next?

[Arcade Antics]

Oh man, I hope I didn't start a Missle Command epidemic.
Nah, I think it may have been slowly going screwy over the last several years. :) It's just finally unplayable now, which is a drag.


Anyway, I get the red light on the PCB. The fuses check out, chips all in place. Everything checks out.

Hmm...where to go next?
Did you pull out and reseat all the ROMs or just do a quick visual? Sometimes reseating fixes the problem, but you'll need to be careful pulling them out and reseating them, the pins can get bent easily.

Might hold off on that for the time being though, if it wasn't given a good jostle, seems less likely that that's the issue.

[Captain Wrong]

Did you pull out and reseat all the ROMs or just do a quick visual? Sometimes reseating fixes the problem, but you'll need to be careful pulling them out and reseating them, the pins can get bent easily.

Might hold off on that for the time being though, if it wasn't given a good jostle, seems less likely that that's the issue.

Haven't tried that yet. I might give it a shot even though I haven't moved it.

[Captain Wrong]

OK, I checked the power on the board. I think there may be a problem in the -5 line as it was showing up on the meter significantly lower than the other two. I guess this means checking the -5 line?

[Arcade Antics]

Here's where I start to be of even less help... :) You might test the Regulator / Audio II board and see what it says.

Plus, this thread deserves a good ol' bumpity, 'cause it's a great topic, and I want to see your MC machine working, consarnit! :D

[Captain Wrong]

I think I've thrown in the towel because I just don't have the time right now to do this myself. I'm planning on sending the board off to be fixed soon.

I'm sure it's somthing stupid and easy but I've just been too busy to put the time in. Plus it's been awhile since I've worked on electronics and I don't wanna make it worse.

[Arcade Antics]

I'm planning on sending the board off to be fixed soon.
Only catch-22 there is that the problem might not be the board. If you do wind up sending the board off for repair, you might as well send the ARII board off too at the same time. I've got a bad ARII board in a different machine that's causing the thing to shut down.

Whatever the road you take, good luck, and keep us posted on the progress of your MC. :)

[Captain Wrong]

Well, I'm pleased to say I'm up and running again. Rather than fussing with repair, I just bought a new board. I probably spent more than I should have ($130) but the thing that tipped me over the edge (aside from the fact that the board was verified working and clean as a whistle) was the fact that this board has the Super Missile Attack ROMs on it! I was really interested in having that added some time down the road, so I figured why not celebrate my new job and kill two birds with one PayPal transaction?

Pretty cool. There's a toggle switch so I don't have to futz with the dips to go from one to the other. SMA is a pretty neat addition. I highly reccommend it for any MC owners, plus it's a neat bit of arcade history as the guys that did later created Ms. Pac Man and became GCC who programmed a ton of Atari stuff rather than getting sued over this hack.

I'm happy. It's great to have MC back up and running rather than having the cabinet taunting me with it's guts spilled out all over the floor. Now I just gotta figure out what I'm going to do with my old non-working board.