The www.HandheldMuseum.com Forum Forum Index
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 
Trying to fix my Adventurvision.

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The www.HandheldMuseum.com Forum Forum Index -> Handheld Games
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
MarbleMad
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Last Visit: 23 Jun 2012
Posts: 33
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:00 pm    Post subject: Trying to fix my Adventurvision. Reply with quote

So I finally got my Adventurevision. Out with the screwdriver, lets take a look.

so the game spins up up the screen is black.
I clean the pins on the defender cart and the socket.

Game now spins up and gets to the point where it tries to draw the defender 'scanner' window, then it hangs.

I notice pin1, top left, in the socket is broken off so I patch that with a wire.

Game now fires up and plays but there are missing lines all over the screen.
I poke about the horrible brittle ribbon cable and do find one broken wire so I just replace the whole thing.

That helped a tiny bit. I recovered a line or 2 at the top of the screen but there are still a whole bunch missing.

I notice it uses 2114 ram chips. They die a lot in my atari games and I read the screen relies on them so they're my next suspect. Going to try swapping 'em out as soon as I can find some replacements.

I'd also have tried to reprogramme a fresh game rom but my programmer won't do 2532s. :/

<edit> managed to create a new rom .. didn't help <edit>

Still, getting there.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Rik
Site Admin


Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
Posts: 1932
Location: California

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:36 pm    Post subject: Re: Trying to fix my Adventurvision. Reply with quote

MarbleMad wrote:
I notice pin1, top left, in the socket is broken off so I patch that with a wire.


You don't need every pin in the socket... Look at the pinout for a 2532, I think there's a write-enable, and maybe one other pin used in programming, so you can sacrifice those to repair broken ones...

MarbleMad wrote:
Game now fires up and plays but there are missing lines all over the screen.
I poke about the horrible brittle ribbon cable and do find one broken wire so I just replace the whole thing.


You might also try just checking that the LEDs are good... I seem to remember that they are basically exposed circuits, if they are touched they can be easily destroyed (like the tiny wires that connect a microchip itself to the metal leads that come out of the chip casing). Take a lead from one of the working rows and touch it to each LED connection just to make sure the LED works...

MarbleMad wrote:

<edit> managed to create a new rom .. didn't help <edit>


How'd you program it? I've realized lately that it's damn hard to find a burner that supports this chip... I suspect making an adapter to make the burning think it's a 2732 would work (never tried), but I was curious if you found a different solution (i.e., a burner that actually supports it..)

Good luck with it! I actually think they are kind of fun machines to work on... Lots of little things to explore, and very satisfying when you get them working again (hopefully you achieve that...)

Rik
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
MarbleMad
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Last Visit: 23 Jun 2012
Posts: 33
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeh but pin one is one you need.

I cross wired some of the led bank pins and managed to get some of the dead leds to light so I hope that's not the problem. Since it's one of the 2 things I can't really fix I'm going to try everything else first Smile

Yeh the 2532 is a pain but you only have to change 3 pins to fool some programmers into thinking it's a 2732. I gave that a go last night and it worked a treat. I made myself a SpaceForce.

http://www.pinballeon.com/truks/etechtips.htm

I wish I'd known this when I was working on my Williams arcade game sound boards.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Rik
Site Admin


Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
Posts: 1932
Location: California

PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarbleMad wrote:
Yeh but pin one is one you need.


Yeah, I was just saying that in case you wanted to use one of the actual socket pins to replace the missing/broken one. You have to remove the socket to do it, but it's doable...

There's a game called 'Monty Plays Scrabble' that has two of these sockets in it (that are usually unused) if you are ever desperate for one.

If you have any leads for the sockets or the plastic thing that the EPROM wraps around, please let me know! I know it's a Molex socket, but I can't seem to find that exact part anymore. And trying to use Google to look for an electronic part is just a complete waste of time now thanks to part spammers that return hits for every component ever made since the 60's...

You'd think it wouldn't be that hard to make an EPROM programmer work with a 2532... I guess I'll make an adapter after all. Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
MarbleMad
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Last Visit: 23 Jun 2012
Posts: 33
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

>I was just saying that in case you wanted to use one of the actual socket pins to replace the missing/broken one.

Oh that's an idea. Thanks.

Was thinking of making the molex plate thingy out of polymorph or maybe even cast a few out of resin.

The rom hack is easy. I didn't even bother with an adaptor i just bent up he 3 odd pins and soldered little jump wires to 'em and fed the wires into the zif.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Rik
Site Admin


Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
Posts: 1932
Location: California

PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarbleMad wrote:

Was thinking of making the molex plate thingy out of polymorph or maybe even cast a few out of resin.


I've tried resin casting it already... It's just hard to get a clean cast with all of the little pointy details on it... I guess you don't need every detail, just enough to keep the chip legs from moving around. I'll have to dremel my casts a bit to make them work good, haven't tried actually using one yet...

I just figure there has to be thousands of these in surplus shops somewhere... Cool It was a standard Molex part for years back in the 80s. I'm sure if I wanted 100s of them Molex would be willing to make them again, but I don't need that many. Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
MarbleMad
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Last Visit: 23 Jun 2012
Posts: 33
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

maybe if everyone who ones an adventurevision ordered 500 that'd be enough.

OK.. so my sound died which gave me an excuse to change the ribon cable on the joystick/sound board too Smile sound's back.

I socketed my 2114 ram because I always suspect that stuff, didn't help..

Then I attached a bog standard LED to my display led board and probed the contacts on the dead lines.

BINGO

I definitely and definitively have about 12 busted LEDs.
ARGH.kind of surprising.
I suppose I'm lucky the resin encased ICs on the board are good.

SO..

do you think i could fit surface mounted LEDs to the thing?
<edit>
I'm thinking KP-1608IT
http://www.rapidonline.com/netalogue/specs/72-8500e.pdf
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
MarbleMad
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Last Visit: 23 Jun 2012
Posts: 33
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I fitted one of those LEDs and it's a bit brighter than the originals but it's not to bad.



the solder job is HORRIBLE.

One down lots to go.


<EDIT>


6 hours later....



Smile Smile Smile

The brightness is actually just about bang on.
the only way to spot the replacement lines really is the spacing sometimes isn't perfect.

I'm pretty pleased with this.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Rik
Site Admin


Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
Posts: 1932
Location: California

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's cool... I'd almost love to replace them all with bright white LEDs to see how that looked (with the red screen plastic, and maybe with clear plastic... Cool ) Maybe with something common like a Mattel Football though...

That's definitely going the extra mile to repair a game! Nice to see it working again!

Rik
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
blanka
Atari Cosmos


Joined: 14 Dec 2010
Last Visit: 13 Oct 2022
Posts: 561
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

White leds have a drop voltage of 3v, where red ones just do 1.5v. Jou should replace the resistors too and check if the current is enough.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The www.HandheldMuseum.com Forum Forum Index -> Handheld Games All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group