Open-Up procedure for ASTRO THUNDER & similar....????

[woolfman]

Hello,

first of all - happy to be here...joining the club of 30+

Got the above mentioned game & searched the hhmuseum, but didn´t find a safeway procedure to open this tabletop. I don´t wanna destroy the game, I just wanna know how I could get inside in case there is something to be repaired (which might happen one day...).

Has anyone managed to get the joystick out? This seems to be the main problem, as far as I can see. It seems that it is screwed to the circuit board...or am I missing something here?

Any help would be appreciated.

PS: looking for pix of "Fights of the Titan"...never saw it in action
_________________
Regards,
Wolf

[Rik]

There's nothing special about opening it other than removing LOTS of screws... 4-6 on the bottom to open it, and then I think the joystick assembly is screwed to the top half (I'll have to open one and double check on that).

The only tricky thing is if you want the joystick completely loose, you have to remove the little round sticker on the very top of it. Then you will see a tiny screw that will free the round 'knob' on the joystick so it can be removed from the case...

But if you just want to get to the electronics, you can leave that attached.

Things to remember when opening games: be gentle! If you put too much stress on the wires they will break.

First thing you do when you open a game: Draw a diagram of every wire and were it goes. (or in some way make them all and where they go.) There always going to be the chance that a wire will pop off of a circuit board, and you won't be looking at it when it happens. You will most likely never be able to find out where it went 'by chance'. (You can always ask here, someone will probably be able to help, but it's good practice to document the wires when you open a game, just in case.)

Be VERY gentle putting screws back in (and remember where they go). Check the lengths, one might be a little longer than the other, and in the wrong hole it can start coming through the front of your game. When putting screws back in, they should go in very easily. If you have to force it, you are either stripping out the threads, or using the wrong screw. A good practice is to turn the screw the wrong way until you feel it 'drop' into the hole a little, then it should screw in nicely. And not too tight either...

But for the most part, opening a game isn't something to be scared of (unless it's an Adventurevision... ), just take your time and keep track of everything goes.

Rik

[woolfman]

[Rik]

Yes, assuming we are talking about this game:

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Grandstand/Firefox.htm

(Or one of it's many licensed versions...), the very top of the joystick has a circle in the middle of it. That's actually a little plastic 'sticker' (about the size of a hole punch). You have to take a very sharp needle (like a sewing needle) and very carefully pry up one edge. It comes off easily, it's just getting something under it without messing it up that's hard (that's why I suggest a very sharp needle instead of a knife or something). Hopefully it will come off with no problem, worse case you usually make a tiny nick on the circle, that you can't really see anyway.

Rik

[woolfman]

Hey - that´s it! That´s the missing link....and I thought that there´s a screw hidden somewhere else

Now it´s no problem to lift the top cover off!

Thank you
_________________
Regards,
Wolf