Williams (Euro) Joust: a close encounter with the Flying Elite

[baritonomarchetto]

Here we are, as promised here : shots from my Euro Joust!
 
Let start with some external view of the machine









It's in very good shape considering it's 30 years old. The biggest damage is in the T molding here and there (and the cut wires, obviously  )  



Let check the identity of this machine:



There are stickers with this number on the external part of the machine and on the monitor:





Different is instead the number on the PCB's







Green label?



As you can see, almost all the cables have been cut  , so it will not be easy to resto the functionality of the machine... anyhow, we are not in a hurry  

Let see the Control Panel: player one side detail



player two side



control panel overview



The Marquee:



Under the marquee; i didnt expect to find a neon but a bulb light system: maybe the previous owner made some modification (in addition to the cables cut  )



Thats all folks for now, now it's time to disassemble as much as possible and cleaning

[Muerto]

looking good!
The sideart is in ok shape!

[level42]

WHY do people cut out wires like that It makes my angry ! Same with my Getaway Pinball....

Try to ask on KLOV forum for a Joust wiring harness....you'll never know....

[Superully]

It's in very good shape considering it's 30 years old. The only damage is in the T molding at the base  

first of all: great score - congrats! second: i wouldn't call the condition VERY GOOD, GOOD is the maximum i would give, but that's just my two cents. nevertheless, great game and a MUST in every arcade collection!

As you can see, almost all the cables have been cut  , so it will not be easy to resto the functionality of the machine... anyhow, we are not in a hurry  

do you know that "dokert" on klov sells wonderful repro harnesses for a lot of williams cabinets - joust included? if i were you, i'd contact him. will probably save you a lot of time and effort.

[level42]

Yes something in my mind said that someone on KLOV was building those new.....but (as so often) i had forgotten who.



Love the marquee.....If only I could have a repro

[gyruss]

Very cool cabinet, wish I had one! good luck with your project.

[baritonomarchetto]

second: i wouldn't call the condition VERY GOOD, GOOD is the maximum i would give, but that's just my two cents.

Well, your experience is much greater than mine, so it must be good

[baritonomarchetto]

Some news:

I gave a check to the monitor yesterday (an Hantarex mtc 900 with ITT tube) connecting it to another cabinet i own. I had arcs from the flyback trasformer, close to the sucker. Even if arching, i had an out of frequency "image", so i suppose the monitor could be reconditioned. Not sure if it will be easy to find such flyback tr (if i remember well mtc 900 are not "standard" as mtc 900/E).

Considering i am not sure that the PCB works and that i need a new harness for the cab, i am going to install a jamma harness, with a 56 pins male-to-male adaptor in witch i will made the connection to the original joust PCB. If my luck will give up, at least i will play that with MAME (only for the time needed to restore the original PCB  )

So, things to do:

- clean the machine as much as possible DONE

- remove the monitor chassis, inspect it and replace the flyback trasformer; DONE, no need to change the Flyback Trasformer

- install a new jamma harness; DONE

- install a new Power Supply Unit (Switching + isolation trasformer); DONE

- check the original PCB DONE


Suggestions are welcome  

[level42]

The HV "suck" cups are total shit on the Hantarex. Not only do they have a weird two wire set-up, they also used a clear (see-through) plastic that turns hard and brittle after so many years. The one's I have ALL have this. Because of this, the cup doesn't close well anymore. Often, operators tried to "glue" it on, or tried other stuff to make it stick. This stuff can contaminate the area around the cup which can make it arc like you describe. Try to have a clean area around the hole in the CRT and around the cup.

About the syncing: did you try the syncing pots ? It could be (and often is !) as easy as adjusting a pot......

Those HVTs are pretty hard to find, but since you get arcs near the cup, it's probably OK. I was lucky to find one new cup and wire set from the UK once....

In general I don't like these Hantarexes. They are way to complicated in their set-up and construction (too many parts !). If you wand/need to do a cap-lit it's a LOT of caps !

[baritonomarchetto]

[...] This stuff can contaminate the area around the cup which can make it arc like you describe. Try to have a clean area around the hole in the CRT and around the cup.

Maybe cleaning the area around the hole will suffice to let it work, but what if someone goes close to the wire? Being very probably the wire plastic cracked, it's not safe, so i will try to find a spare for this   (anyhow, i will check for cracks)

About the syncing: did you try the syncing pots ? It could be (and often is !) as easy as adjusting a pot......

When i saw it arching i only gave a fast eye on the monitor, then shut it down immediately (it wasn't my goal to let it sync). I am confident with the fact that a little trimming will suffice to correct this problem-

Those HVTs are pretty hard to find, but since you get arcs near the cup, it's probably OK. I was lucky to find one new cup and wire set from the UK once....

Do you mean that it could suffice to substitute the wire? Nice tip... is it a complex procedure?

[...] If you wand/need to do a cap-lit it's a LOT of caps !

I know: i had an mtc 900/e completely recapped last year: about 25-30 caps!

[baritonomarchetto]

Andrè, believe it or not, but after a dry cleaning of the area around the cup... i had no arc at all!!  I checked out if there where cracks on the HV cable and suck cup, and they where ok.

The monitor is alive, and still has a great image, i must say!



Thanks for your advices on this!!

If someone know, is there a good way to let that cup firmly adhere to the tube? Can i use some silicon to "glue" it on the tube?

Now, let go for a new (jamma) harness

[baritonomarchetto]

Yesterday a package was delivered to me:



Nothing of special, but a complete (used) jamma harness and a switching with additional -5V 1A output (required for the Joust PCB)



and a couple of coins introductions my joust was missing



Now it's time to install the harness  

[baritonomarchetto]

I had some time today to work on my Joust. I have installed a couple of introductions (the original where missing)



They fit perfectly but, my bad, are too small to let me use the right coins (100 lire)



anyhow, i will keep those untill i found a couple of better intros

I also set a good position for the jamma harness, mapping the inputs, power lines, speakers etc (soldering is still to be done: i am trying to see if i have some good M/F connector to have everithing more organised in the case of maintenance)

Inputs from the jamma connector


inputs from the control panel

[baritonomarchetto]

Hi all,

yesterday i build up the new power supply unit:





I hate using mammuth connector for the 220V, but i had no luck on finding out more "professional" distribution blocks.

I used the original metal base, with only little modifications on the structure (3 holes), but big mods on the electrical part. I kept the old line filter because it looks like impossible to find those blocks here around 

on the back side:


In position, with the switching unit i received some days ago:



Now: smoke test!
No arcs, or rumors or flames  : it looks like everithing is ok. Now, let check the voltages from the switching unit







Oh, no! They are all too high  And the pot that controls the 5V regulation is in the lower position  (in the higher position i had more than 16V!! This is a problem: i dont want to burn my PCBs!

Do you know if there's something easy i am missing to let that switching work correctly (the substitution is an option, of course)

thanks!!

[baritonomarchetto]

I was not sure that substituting the caps of the switching would be sufficinet to recondition it (and no indications came from you dudes  ) so i ordered a switching from arcadeshop.de today.