RE: 6100 LV issues

Okay,

So the question is, should I wait for my original LV section to fail or should
I go ahead and retrofit the LV2000 even though things are running fine now.
The old addage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Or could a failing original LV section take other things out?

L.

--- John Robertson <jrr@flippers.com> wrote:
> Agreed..., going by the logic of keeping things "original" then if the
> manufacturer recommended any modifications, or if upgrades (factory or
> otherwise) were performed after the item was produced, do we then reverse
> the unit back to the condition it came from the factory? Hmmmm. I don't
> think so!
>
> We have been recommending a minor wiring upgrade for a brand of pinball
> that gave nothing but trouble and with the simple jumper wire 90% of the
> problems go away...Same with SEGA Vector games, fixing the ground
> connection problems will protect the GO-8 monitor, as will that same ground
> upgrade cover the Atari Vector monitor failures in many cases.
>
> The problem is if the common (ground) connection deteriorates between the
> power supply, game board and monitor you can get different ground reference
> voltages that will offset the bias on the output transistors, causing them
> to heat up and burn out. Make VERY sure that the common leads are solidly
> connected to avoid this problem.
>
> On Atari games make certain the green common wires are bolted to the
> monitor, board and power supply common tie points, and the nuts are TIGHT!
>
> Sega games require a separate ground wire from the power supply (solder it
> on to the common trace right at the main filter caps), and run it to the
> monitor and logic board and either bolt or solder it to these.
>
> Factory equipment is NEVER perfect, there are many instances of technicians
> catching design errors and it is up to us to incorporate them in or risk
> the peril of the game dying...
>
> John :-#)#
>
> At 06:51 AM 08/02/2002 -0800, Rosenzweig, Joel B wrote:
> >I'm a little confused by the argument. If the claim is: "I want to keep my
> >monitor original, as designed. Therefore I don't want to put in the LV2000
> >board" then you cannot replace Q100/101 or it's related circuitry with any
> >upgrade component or subsystem modification. Which means that all you have
> >allowed yourself to do is to replace any part that fails with the same type
> >part. If you open yourself to "modifying the board for better performance"
> >then there is no intrinsic difference between cutting a trace and/or using
> >beefier transistors than there is to making a daughter card that plugs in to
> >the deflection board that simply replaces a few components and similarly
> >provides increased longevity.
> >
> >I think the reality is that the design of the low voltage power supply for
> >the WG6100, the HV transformer on the Amplifone, and _fires_ from G08's were
> >the root cause of vector monitors having such a bad reputation in the
> >amusement community. These items required constant attention relative to
> >their raster monitor brothers. Keeping them in their original state is
> >certainly not impossible - just time consuming. You can certainly continue
> >to replace the failed components with the originals if that is your goal.
> >Some people enjoy the maintenance, but enjoy playing the games even more.
> >Somewhere you will find that balance that describes your interest in the
> >hobby, and that will help you decide what to do. If you'll look forward to
> >the next time you power up your Tempest and have a dead screen (and be happy
> >about it because of the repair job you now have) then going with original
> >parts is great. If you have that sinking feeling in your stomach every time
> >you power it up wondering "will this be the big one?" :-) then you probably
> >want to go with upgrading the parts. I'm not making a value judgement here
> >- I love the repair work. It gives me a good reason to have all sorts of
> >cool parts and diagnostic electronic equipment in my workshop. Maybe it
> >even gives meaning to my existence! But - I'm not looking for doing the
> >_same_ repairs over and over again, so I opt for the upgrade. I just wish
> >there was a cure all for my Black Knight pinball, then my machines would all
> >work in harmony. (There is some law that at least one machine must be hosed
> >at any time. It's usually BK) I've found that by fixing the monitors with
> >excellent components the first time keeps them running and minimizes repeat
> >repair efforts. That let's me _play_ Star Wars for 5 minutes in an
> >otherwise busy day. :-)
> >
> >Good luck figuring out what you'd like to do.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Joel-
> >
> > > >
> > > > Again, I'm interested to see what everyone has to say about the
> >recurring
> > > > Q100/101 faulure in a 6100.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks
> > > > -Brian
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>
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Received on Fri Feb 8 10:09:45 2002