Atari Breakout

[Morty]

Hi, this is to cover my progress on my Atari Breakout fresh from its decade(s) in storage

Here is the starting point:

Who has been standing on my cab????

Nice and clean: (and not MAMEd..)

Unloved:

Converted for new 10p's... so used >1992 ?

Dust and old 10p's.. no dead rats i'm happy to say

After a quick wash:

 

[Morty]

1st was the control panel, the serve button has not survived so i will need to source a LED button and aluminium cone

Stripped down to remove the paint

Corrosion is harder than the aluminium so i'm just trying to decide how to remove it - most likely a DA sander, when i can find it..

So next up i started preparing to power it up. I disconnected the monitor and removed the two wires for 16.5vac from the transformer as the edge connector is damaged and someone has soldered the 16.5vac and gnd connections straight to the pcb

Plugged it in and no fireworks, just the coin door bulb lit. Checked and got just over 7vac (should be 6.3vac). I noticed the voltage block says 220V so i assume this is high due to our uk voltage and is within tolerance??

Next up was plugging in the PCB, i wanted to be sure of what was going on with the 5v just in case some of that nice ac was frying the PCB so i connected it to my scope and plugged in.. yes, nice smooth 5v dc yippie

Monitor time.. plugged it in and got this:

VERY HAPPY

My knowledge of monitors is postage stamp size but that looks like i should be messing with some kind of adjustment?

vert/horz hold? Or is it much worse than that?

 

[Milky]

Who has been standing on my cab????

Will the culprit please stand up

 

[Milky]

Very nice cab though, it's scrubbed up really well

 

[Morty]

thanks Milky, i'm watching your Boot Hill resto with interest

I've got a Gun Fight waiting to be sorted out but i will always be envious of your mirrored playfield, they look really good

 

[Morty]

OK, i decided to adjust the horz hold, just touched it and this happened

 

[Milky]

OK, i decided to adjust the horz hold, just touched it and this happened 

Win! What a result, you must be dead chuffed?

Gun fight is still totally cool too but yeah, the backdrop on BH makes all the difference and is to die for.

Let me know when you start GunFight, I've a whole spare CP for Boot Hill which uses a lot of the same parts (or similar). I can break it for parts if you need anything

 

[smarty]

YES!

Game on. I may be able to help with the cone and button if you need?

 

[forcefulfil]

HAPPY DAYZZZZZZ!!

 

[Morty]

thanks everyone, yes very happy, it could have been a lot worse, a LOT worse!

The game does not coin up and appears to be frozen, i've had a good look on google but there seems to be very little info on repairing breakout pcb's. Some of the old TTL games have loads of info (and even books) on how to fix like gun fight / tank / pong, so i guess its just me and the breakout manual schematics, i'll start by having a good look at those

As far as the monitor is concerned should i just leave it or should it be recapped? If a cap fails will it do more damage? I've got a HV probe to discharge it and i notice arcadeshop and bob roberts do a cap kit but not sure if i dare try such a thing.. monitors make me nervous. This model XM501 seems to have a pcb on connectors so it can be removed easily, not sure if most of the caps (apart from the big ones) are on that pcb so i could post it off to someone who has a clue what they are doing

 

[IDCHAPPY]

That's awesome mate 20 years later she still works

 

[forcefulfil]

P-man does repairs on these,maybe he could help regards thew coin up issue?

I would re-cap the monitor to be safe,its easy to do.

especially if you can get a "kit" just do one at a time,even take pics just so you dont get a cap the wrong way round etc,loadsa advice here if u need it

phil

 

[Alpha1]

I am amazed she has fired up after being in that barn for god knows how many cold UK winters!!!

Really pleased for you mate.

P-man for the pcb, or possibly Iron Giant (not sure if he does TTL only repairs?)

Gunblade or others if you don't fancy capping/servicing the monitoring yourself.

 

[Morty]

They made them tough back in '76, thanks again Oll for your efforts in arranging the raid

I'm 50/50 about doing the monitor, i really should learn as i've got at least 3 more with this model of monitor alone, on the other hand with so many cabs i should admit defeat and get someone to do them. I'll have a few beers and make a decision

I'll have a read of the schematics and try and see if anything 'freezes' the pcb, so much is right with the pcb, the screen looks pretty complete, so much better than just a blank screen!

 

[Alpha1]

Yeah indeed dude. I am really stoked about this one, especially as the poor thing was left. Glad you got it

 

[strykr]

Nice one Morty you must be over the moon

 

[Adrian Purser]

It's great that this has made it's way to Cheltenham. I had an empty van coming back from the barn raid so It's a shame I couldn't have brought it back for you.
I have some Breakout parts including a control panel so maybe worth checking whether it's better than the one you have.

 

[Morty]

Cheers Ade, that would be great if you could dig out any parts and we can do a comparison

The control panel i have is quite corroded and i'm not confident of getting that and the deepest scratches out of it, i think thats why the op sprayed it yellow

 

[cliff_poole]

I have found that a "filler primer", works really well on pitted surfaces left by corrosion. It is a really thick primer that you spray on, and then wet 'n' dry right back until all you can see is the primer filling the pitted bits.

 

[Big Phil]

I'm 50/50 about doing the monitor, (snipped)I'll have a few beers and make a decision

I've found that's actually the best time to start repairs. After a few beers