Advice on a possible buy.

[Masco73]

I recently come across a guy selling some arcade games in my area. He has a few, but the only one I am interested in is a Joust machine. The problem is it is not working. He says the coin door lights power up, but thats it, but claims cosmetically it is in really nice shape. He gave me a price of $300, which I think is a bit steep for a non-working game.

My questions are: Does it sound like an easy fix or no way to tell??

What's a fair price to offer??


I have no knowledge on fixing these games, but am willing to try if its not too complicated. Normally I would not try on something non-working, but Joust is one of my favorites.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

[98PaceCar]

The two main things that fail on the Williams boards are ram and power supply. I've fixed many of these by just replacing both.

The price seems pretty good if it's complete and in overall good condition.

[Joe West]

there's 2 many out there forsale, for that price, wait and find one working........

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm no expert by any means ... but I can tell you that replacement monitors aren't cheap.

If you can't confirm that that's fully working, I'd stay away at that price.

Or throw a low ball offer at him with that justification.

[Peale]

I'm no expert by any means ... but I can tell you that replacement monitors aren't cheap.

Joust machines hold their value pretty well. $300 in complete, good shape but not working isn't too far of a stretch.

4164 RAM upgrade with a converter is a cheap fix. I'd do it on a machine that's NOT broken for the reliability.

As for the monitor, unless it's totally borked, fixing them isn't usually terribly bad. And replacements can be had for as little as $139 on sale from places like Betson.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Well, there you go. I guess it's reasonable if you're willing to do some minor repair/replacement work.

Does the guy have any photos of the cosmetic shape of the thing for us to evaluate?

[Masco73]

He said the lowest he will go is $250. I am going to look at it Saturday and make sure it is in good shape . If so, I probably buy it right there. He also mentiond that the neck would also glow when powered up. Do you guys have a good place to buy a power supply?? I looked around a little and mostly found some kind of rebuild kits?? I don't know if I have the skills to do that. I was thinking replace the PS first. Is that a good place to start??

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ksid=p3907.m29

that looks reasonable, the experts here can probably elaborate as to whether or not that's what you need.

[Peale]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ksid=p3907.m29

that looks reasonable, the experts here can probably elaborate as to whether or not that's what you need.

Only if that's what's broken. Even if it is, they're not hard to fix.

If it still has the original RAM it's possible some of them have burned out. 4116 RAM in classic Williams machines is eaten like popcorn.

[Masco73]

Just got back from looking at the Joust. First of all it was covered it dust/dirt. It was in storage for years. The guy said it worked before it was put in storage.
Anyway, I would say overall cosmetically it is about an 8 out of 10. The wood parts of the cab are in good shape with dings here and there. The bottom and edges are intact with minor damage from moving, but nothing major. The control panel has cigarette burns, so that needs to go. Side art is nice and original.
The guts of the machine looked real clean. No damage at the battery holder. When turned on, the coin door lights up, red lights on the board turn on and I could see a faint glow on the monitor neck. The monitor makes a pop sound when turned off like you would expect. I will get pics when I can.

I ended up buying it for $250. The guy even delivered it to my house for an extra $15 bucks for gas.

Well, any suggestions on what to fix first?? Does it sound like an easy fix or no way to tell??

[Peale]

First I'd verify that the monitor is actually working. You could be chasing "gremlins" all day long, but if you can't see what's going on, you can't properly repair.

Next, verify your voltages are good.

Joust also has a diagnostic util on board, IIRC. I think there's an LED digital readout on the ROM board that may help you figure out what's wrong.

[Masco73]

I won't be able to check the led thing until Monday, but how exactly will I be able to verify the monitor is working?? Also, I read somewhere there are 3 red lights on the board and I think only 2 were lit. Does that mean anything??
One more thing, I saw a sticker on the back of the monitor that said RCA. It struck me as wierd because I never hear that brand when talking about arcade monitors.

Thanks.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I won't be able to check the led thing until Monday, but how exactly will I be able to verify the monitor is working?? Also, I read somewhere there are 3 red lights on the board and I think only 2 were lit. Does that mean anything??
One more thing, I saw a sticker on the back of the monitor that said RCA. It struck me as wierd because I never hear that brand when talking about arcade monitors.

Thanks.

I believe the monitor in my Dig-Dug cabinet was an RCA.

Those may have been stock standard for original cabinet builds for that time.

[Peale]

RCA makes *tubes*.

As for how to see if your monitor is working, if you don't have another game to test it on, turn your screen control all the way up (on the flyback). If you have a white screen with lines through it, likely it's okay. There are occasions you can do this and it won't be, but those issues are rare.

[Peale]

I won't be able to check the led thing until Monday, but how exactly will I be able to verify the monitor is working?? Also, I read somewhere there are 3 red lights on the board and I think only 2 were lit. Does that mean anything??

Yes it does. Consult the manual for the LED readings.

[Masco73]

Well I was only able to fiddle with the machine for only 30 minutes or so, but found out a few things. As per Peale's instructions,(thanks by the way for your help) ,I turned one of the knobs on the monitor like instructed and I got the white lines like you stated. I am hoping that means the monitor is good.
Also, I was lucky enough to get all the original paperwork, warranty card, drawing set and even the original sticker sheet, etc... I also found 5 quarters, a couple microchips, fuses and a light bulb in the bottom of the machine so far.
I will take pics of this stuff eventually when I get time. I would like to do a before and after of the machine. The outside is layerd with dirt & dust. Anyway, with the drawing set I found out that the top red LED light that was out is the +5 voltage.
My question is what to do next? Would it be fuses, 4116 chips or the Supply??

Thanks again.

[Peale]

I'd do the power supply. Make sure it's working well first, otherwise you're chasing ghosts that aren't there.

Sounds like your monitor is working...thats' good.

Those "chips" you found are probably RAM chips. When they go bad someone pulled out the old ones and installed new ones, but left the old ones in the bottom.

[Masco73]

OK I am going to start with the PS. One problem, which frikin thing is it?? I have been looking around and I have seen 3 different things that people are saying are power supplies for the Joust. There is the thing that sits in the very bottom of the cab with the big copper wound wires, I don't think thats it. There is a stand alone box that sits on top of the coin collection box and the one shown for sale on ebay earlier in this thread. I found the stand alone box on Bob Roberts website, so I am assuming that is the one. Please confirm as this if confusing. Be gentle it's my first upright. Thanks.

[Peale]

I'd have to see a picture to be sure. The wirewound-thing sounds like your isolation transformer. The original power supply should be a board with a couple fairly large caps on it and a bridge rectifier, and mounted on the side. I have no idea about the "stand-alone box" but it kind of sounds like a Peter Chou style power supply.

Again, pictures are worth 1,000 words !

[Masco73]

This is the stand alone box on sale at Bob Roberts: