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Thread: Arcade cabinet: no video

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    Banana (Level 7) § Gideon §'s Avatar
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    Default Arcade cabinet: no video

    Hi. I'm almost completely ignorant of arcade construction, so I'm hoping someone can help me out:

    The other day, I found a Double Dragon II arcade game in a lobby. It wasn't being used--not even plugged in. So, I give it some juice, and everything works fine... except the video. The CRT doesn't even appear to be getting power.

    I was wondering if this is a common problem with a common solution. If not, where do I start looking? The back of the cabinet is removed, and I can fiddle around as much as I please. If I can find an easy way to fix it, I'll offer to buy it and fix it myself. Otherwise, it'll just get bashed up by some college asses like the busted big-screen TV that sits next to it.

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) FABombjoy's Avatar
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    Basically, you want to look inside & see if the monitor is even plugged in (should be an outlet at the bottom of the cabinet). Crank the brightness control & see if anything appears on screen. If not, check the monitor fuses & see if they're intact.

    I don't know if there are any known issues with DD2 cabs/monitors specifically. It could be like my Mario Bros. was when I got it - fuses blown due to bad monitor capacitors. A $10 kit took care of that problem. YMMV.

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    Yeah, even if the monitor is completely dead you should offer $75 for the cab. Odds are you can fix the monitor, but if you can't, just pop another one in there. They're not too hard to get. Do you get evidence that the pcb is good when you power it up? Does the marquee light up? Sound? If the cabinet is in good condition you should grab it anyway. People with nonworking cabs like that will usually just dump them for whatever they can get.
    Seeking display quality copy of I Want My Mommy for the 2600... if you have one, PM me, I will pay/trade well.

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    Banana (Level 7) § Gideon §'s Avatar
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    Thanks for the know-how, guys. This is an area where I am altogether foreign.

    Quote Originally Posted by chadtower
    Do you get evidence that the pcb is good when you power it up? Does the marquee light up? Sound? If the cabinet is in good condition you should grab it anyway. People with nonworking cabs like that will usually just dump them for whatever they can get.
    Yes, there's sound. But, I thought it was strange that the marquee didn't light up. I'm going to take a good look at it today and take down some information. What does pcb stand for?

    The cabinet is in astonishingly good condition, considering its environment. The only signs of wear appear on the sides, where the decal is scuffed along the edges in a few spots.

    I was messing around with the brightness/contrast controls, but nothing came of it. The neck of the monitor doesn't even light up, so I'm pretty sure that FABombjoy is right about the fuses. How many fuses should I check and where? Thanks.

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    PCB = printed circuit board = essentially the game itself. The motherboard.

    I'd check fuses, then check wiring connections. Since the cab is in such good condition, if you have a way to move it and a place to get it, snag it. It's worth the cabinet at a minimum if you can get it for $75 or under, and since you have sound that shows the pcb at least partially works, you're in business. For the marquee, I'm thinking bulb first, then connection, then fuse, for likeliness of problem. The monitor could be a bunch of things but none of them are overly difficult if you have any other arcade collectors in your area who can help you out. Try rec.games.video.arcade.collecting for some real knowledge, I've just started in this too and those guys have helped me tremendously.
    Seeking display quality copy of I Want My Mommy for the 2600... if you have one, PM me, I will pay/trade well.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) xertcev's Avatar
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    What kind of lobby is this in?
    Talk to the owners and say you will take the TV and the game if they pay you $20.00,
    and you will dispose of them properly and recycle all the parts.
    That might just be their junk pile that they don't know how to get rid of.

    P.S. Don't go poking around that monitor if you don't know what you're doing.
    High Voltage = Danger... You could die. At least read this:
    http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_monitors.shtml

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    Quote Originally Posted by xertcev
    P.S. Don't go poking around that monitor if you don't know what you're doing.
    High Voltage = Danger... You could die. At least read this:
    http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_monitors.shtml
    Yowza! Thanks for the heads up.

    About the lobby, it's just a TV room in a college dorm. I'm not optimistic about getting $20 out of the deal, but I'll hopefully be able to get it for free. If things work out, I'll be extra thankful this Thanksgiving break when I can bring it back home.

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    Quote Originally Posted by xertcev
    P.S. Don't go poking around that monitor if you don't know what you're doing.
    High Voltage = Danger... You could die. At least read this:
    http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_monitors.shtml
    Yes definitely dont be messing around with the monitors because they are crazy bastards. Thank God my Galaxian is all perfect, because i dont want to mess around inside for as long as possible.

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    It's not hard to poke around in back and not get fried. Just don't touch the monitor itself. The inside of a cabinet is like 90% empty space and usually the pcbs are so far from the monitor that you would have to intentionally touch the dangerous parts to get fried...
    Seeking display quality copy of I Want My Mommy for the 2600... if you have one, PM me, I will pay/trade well.

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    Well, there's good and bad news (for me).

    Bad news: the arcade cabinet is only temporarily down. I spoke with someone today who told me that a replacement part has been ordered.

    Good news: once the replacement part comes, play is 5 credits for a quarter. That is, if one is too lazy to unhitch the back.

    Good news: I wanted my first arcade cabinet to be a better game anyways: Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros...

    So, thanks for helping me out. My desire for an arcade game has been increased exponentially by this little ordeal, so I hope to be asking for more advice in the future!

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