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Repair forum?

 
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Singer
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 06 May 2014
Last Visit: 25 Jul 2021
Posts: 39
Location: Medford, Oregon, USA

PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2014 9:29 am    Post subject: Repair forum? Reply with quote

I've recently picked up a couple of games from eBay that were listed as "used/working" and found they were only partially working. I find myself hunting to figure out how to clean or make simple fixes. I have usually found an answer after much searching. It seems all the knowledge is here in these user forums but not all in one place. Is there enough demand to make a forum for how to clean battery corrosion, clean contacts for buttons/joysticks, how to open cases when it's not intuitive, etc.? Maybe per game or per series. Coleco tabletops open differently than Tomy or Epoch, for example. How do you handle an LCD screen without damaging it? Things like this.
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Rik
Site Admin


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

PostPosted: Fri May 30, 2014 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is something I've wanted to do, and have documented and photographed taking several games apart and identifying issues...

The only thing I've put online is for the Coleco arcade games:

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Coleco/ColecoRepair/index.html

People were always asking how to open this without breaking them, since it looks like the hood will snap off from the two 'snaps' on the back (not the case though). So I wrote that up. I also have a lot of photographs of the Adventure Vision being taken apart if you ever need that information. Cool

If you are trying to repair a VFD game, many of the tips on the repair of the circuit board will apply since they all pretty much work the same way.

As for LCD, one important thing to notice when you take them apart is the order and orientation of all the sheets of plastic/paper on both sides of the glass. On some games, there's a clear piece of plastic on top, one on bottom (these are the polarizing filters), maybe one with artwork... If you get any of these out of order, or flipped over wrong, it can prevent the LCD display from being visible.

But just be gentle with the glass, don't get fingerprints all over it, and you won't do any damage to it...
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blanka
Atari Cosmos


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

PostPosted: Fri May 30, 2014 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I''ve written extensive repair instructions with schematics, replacement components and opening instructions for most types of games for my book in progress. Hope to make that available soon.
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Singer
Coleco Pac Man


Joined: 06 May 2014
Last Visit: 25 Jul 2021
Posts: 39
Location: Medford, Oregon, USA

PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rik - I did see your Coleco repair section, that's what got me thinking that something like it would be helpful for every type of game. Some general tips can be gleaned from repairing any game but some might have a different piece that gives you trouble. For example I couldn't figure out how to get the knob off the joystick of my Epoch Astro Command the way you did with Pac-Man.

blanka - I saw your tip on my Epoch Astro Command. I actually couldn't figure out how to get to the joystick screw anyway, I didn't see a removable sticker, the top of the joystick seems to be covered by a plastic plate, maybe it's glued on. I did your trick of just spinning the top cover and got inside with some difficulty. I turned on the game with the cover and joystick section off and when I just touched the pads for the joystick and buttons they worked very well. They weren't dirty that I could see. However when I assembled the game again they are still not very responsive. I have to push the buttons and joystick down pretty hard to make contact. Should I maybe put some kind of spacer in between to shorten the gap?
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Rik
Site Admin


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

PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The little plastic plate, is what he's talking about. It's got adhesive on the other side, so it's just stuck there basically with tape. Problem is, it's very hard to get under it without leaving a mark on the joystick. I have an old one I took apart and used a little pin, and it left a tiny dent on the joystick (and the disc too I think) where I had to basically dig the pin under it.

I'll see if I still have an old one laying around I can look at, might be able to think of why your joystick isn't working well...
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