General Arcade Repair Help

[tilt]

I have noticed lately there have been an excess of threads asking for help repairing nintendo arcade games, so I thought I would put a thread here so all of the help given is centralized.  I have helped multiple people here fix various problems with nintendo style games, so if you need help, feel free to ask!  Anybody else can chime in to fix tougher issues as well.

When posting, please describe the issue thoroughly and even post a picture if it applies.  If you can, also say any symptoms the game was having up until its failure.

[thekid25]

 I've had problems with my donkey kong arcade machine. It starts out normal than the picture ends up going to lines.  I've attached a pic.  Also you can still hear the sound in the background.  Any info would be appreciated.

[Shnypz]

Looks like H-Hold needs adjusting. VR451 pot on the layout below. Use a very small screwdriver to gently adjust it.

Do this while the machine is off 

http://home.comcast.net/~mtpacifico/_KLOV/SanyoBoardControls.jpg

[Jonesy]

Agree, the H-hold needs adjusting but the machine doesn't have to be off on this one. That's only when you're adjusting the horizontal width coil (L453) as it's made of ferrite.

[thekid25]

Thank You very much for the info.  Works like a charm.

[Jonesy]

Nice work - there's a kill screen coming up....... 

[Shnypz]

Awesome, happy it worked.

[tilt]

argh!  Missed helping somebody in my own thread!  Glad you got your monitor working man!

[thekid25]

I do have a question for ya,  I have a donkey jr, board. Is converting it to a double kong board just a matter of getting the donkey kong rom chips and installing?  If so is it the same as plugging them in like to high score save kit or is soldering involved?

[nitty]

Hi,

I just received a Donkey Kong cocktail. This is my first arcade. One issue I cant figure out is that the image seems to be squeezed together only on the left side. i have attached a pic. i messed with the H & V adjustments and doesn't seem to fix. Do you think this needs a cap kit? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[fishookred]

Ignoring the bad picture from the monitor, can anyone help me figure out whats wrong with my PCB for Dk Jr. based on this picture? I just ordered a new rom set so hopefully that helps

[Shnypz]

nitty - perhaps the adjustment pots are bad/not working. I'm not an expert but I don't think it's a cap kit type problem. Outside of the screen adjustment, the picture looks ok to me. If there was fold over, jail bars, or some other type of graphical problem, then it's probably caps.

I actually have something for the thread

I've been casually looking for a replacement/backup DK board. My board works ok but I'm starting to get some girder splitting in the lower right. Not a huge deal but it drive me nuts sometimes. I also occasionally get this > http://www.hitbox.tv/video/286389 . Seems to occur when I strongly move left or right...or in this case quickly moving left/right to try to get the fireboxes down the ladder. Seems board related, right?

Thinking it's time to start aggressively looking for a new board. There are a bunch on the bay right now for $180. I can probably keep waiting and hope to score one in the 150-160 range but for DK, I'm ok spending the extra $$.

[nitty]

Shnypz - Thanks for your response. I have tried every pot and the all do something which lead me to believe they work. I will try to link a video later. Thanks again for the reply.