Galaxian... operation 'back to life' ...WIP

[DarthNuno]

Ok, first of all have a look at the 'road trip' done for that  cab' here : https://www.dragonslairfans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=112

Now, let's start from this point :



The monitor doesn't work anymore   Not a big problem, the tube had a lot of burns... for that cab, I want a perfect picture , so it's a good reason to remove it :



That monitor is easy to remove : only few screws...



By the way, I'm checking his serial number : 1691  



Very low number, I like that   The SN is also inside the cab' :



Hey, a fly... escaped from the Galaxian armada  :  :  :    



Here you can see all the screen burns    :



The monitor is ready to be removed... from the monitor support :



...another view before 'the operation'    :



By the way, it's an old Wells-Gardner K4500 19" :



I remove the chassis  :



...an important sticker...



...to keep !   I



The tube is removed... :



...and the monitor support is ready for...



...this TV    :



I got it for something like 60€, second hand of course    Cheapest than a brand new monitor  :idea:  

Let's disassemble it :



...carefull...



Et voilà : all I need is here :



I hope the tube fixations from that TV are the same than the monitor  



Arg... no luck   It doesn' t match the existing holes...



Ok, let's make new holes :



... and this is it : the TV tube is now fixed  



... and the PCB too :



Ok, the idea is to use the real miday's Galaxian pcb on the TV, with a true RGB signal. European TV allows that type of signal, with the RGB scart connector  
So I'm quicly build a test cable :



ARGGGGGGGHHH, it doesn't work... but I'm not sure If it's a problem with my TV, or the cable, or the pcb... so, I'll use my Commodore Amiga monitor to test the PCB  



Ok, I'm sure that the pcb is working :



closer...



Let's check my 'homemade' PCB -> SCART...

Still not ok :



What can It be  :

Well, I guess it's working with the Amiga monitor because it has a separate sycn signal : 1 wire for hor.sycnh and 1 wire for vert.sycn
The TV has one wire on the scart connector for the sycn, so I presume this is the problem  

If it's the case, I need a LM1881n chip, in order to separate the sync.  :



I've ordered it... I'm crossing the fingers  

[arcadefever]

nice stuff boss !!!!

busy as usual.... i hope it work ...

what the plan for the 2nd galaxian ?


just by curiosity, how much cost an old tv like that ?

[DarthNuno]

nice stuff boss !!!!

busy as usual.... i hope it work ...

what the plan for the 2nd galaxian ?


just by curiosity, how much cost an old tv like that ?

Thanks ArcadeFever  

I'll probably sell the second one...

I paid approx 60€ for that TV... I can buy brand new one for approx 120€  

A good replacement for an old arcade monitor.

The picture quality on these TV tube  with an true RGB signal are the same, even better quality    
The advantages on true arcade monitor are all the pot' to set the image geometry and the mounting fixation... but on old TV, there are sometime the pot' too    

[DarthNuno]

...OK, back to work on this one  

On my last attempt to get the pcb working on the TV via an hack RGB scart cable, I had a bad synchro problem  

So I decide to build the famous "separate synchro circuit", feature the well know LM1881N chip  :



I insert it between the Galaxian pcb sync out wire & the TV scart sync in, I power up all the thing and...  



Argh, it's worst      

...check, double check, triple check... my custom made scart cable looks fine, and the separate sync circuit too...  

Well, at this point, I'm not really sure that I need to separate the sync...

Let's remove the circuit :



I think I'm really close to have a correct picture. The picture is not rolling, the vertical sync look good...

So, to understand where can be the problem, I'll test the TV's scart input with a Supergun and a jamma pcb.

I'll use my new Namco collection vol 2 pcb    :





It's working fine, so now I'm sure the scart connexion on that TV is working fine and can understand the sync signal  for an arcade pcb... but what is the difference between the Galaxian pcb and that Namco jamma ocb ?

...after research on the net for info and help ( thanks MAME UNIVERS website ), the issue must be around the horizontal sync. signal  

...have a look closer on the TV pcb and... bingo, a really interesting pot'  :idea:  



...the sync. signal coming for the pcb need a 'micro' adjustment... a turn that pot and  



Yeah Baby Yeah      

Perfect, but need a small focus/contrast  adjustment...easy  



now it's fine   , but the picture is too high... the upper part of the image is out of the screen ( "SCORE", "HISCORE" words are cutted)

I'm lucky, there is also a pot for that, thanks to that old tv pcb  





Stay TuNED  

[arcadefever]

nice !!!!!

one more to go  

[DarthNuno]

I can now clean up the inside the cab.

I remove everything in order to do a clean job.

Before :



After :



The scart cable has to be finished too  

Before :



After :



The ' under bezl' cleaned :



... by Midway :



...and finally a glass bezel, not mind, but it's ok for me  



The image is really great now :



Next step : the control panel & the coins door... to continue  

[DarthNuno]

Arghhh.... ...the original Midway is now dead        I tried to repair it... but no luck... it's worst      

So I got a Galaxian PCB, modified for a Jamma use, but no luck for me... The 'fire' sound is not exaclty the same than the original one, so I'll emulate the PCB  

ARGHHHHHH.... no luck at all... A bad move.. I broke up the TV too                220V into the scart        the TV pcb is DEAD      

All the previous work done... for nothing  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x        

Well, so let's start with an other TV... I got this one for 80€, second hand of course :



It's a 19inch Trinitron Sony  

OK, same operation than the first TV : open it and see how to fit it in the Galax" cab'  



This TV has two pcb : The main one, and the Power supply pcb :



I put some fixations in order to fix the tube in the original Galax' monitor support :



Power on :



Ok, time to put all the thing in the cab... let's go back to the Nuno's Lair  



In the cab now :



The picture quality is amazing ...



Remember : True R G B signal with AdvanceMame dos via a scart on a trinitron tube : the colors are wonderfull, and the black is .. black  





Next step : the cpo...  

[DarthNuno]

OK, let's 'refresh' the control panel  

Removing everything :



Dust  

Ok, let's sand it  



...from this point, I need to sand it more with a smaller sand paper, and paint it in black...

[DarthNuno]

before starting to work on the control panel, I'll sand + paint the marquee bracket :



Finition with sandpaper :



First layer (primer, not the final color of course ;-) ) :

[DarthNuno]

OK, the 'primer' is applied on both side and dry, let's go with the final color (black mate) on the marquee suport :



...sand once again the control panel, and prepare it for the 'primer' :



... 'primer' done on the first side :



Let's wait now...  

[DarthNuno]

OK, the marquee suport is done... and dry :



The 'primer' layer is finished on the control panel, I'm applying now the first mate black paint on it :



Let's wait... fresh paint  

[DarthNuno]

OK, got a great repro from QuaterArcade.com :



I adjust &  fix the right part of the CPO with two buttons... In that way, it won't move when I'll apply it  



...Let's go...



Done :



Let's check the old stuff on the panel :



Ouch ... old dirty buttons.. and the rest    full of rust  



Ok, let's fix that  





The result :





Ouch, the contact of the original two ways stick are not working good  



Let's fix that :



...and it's working PERFECTY now  





Stay TuneD  

[DarthNuno]

OK, now the final step : the coin door  

Here's the original coin door :





  very bad  

I'll paint all that stuff... and I'm luck, I've found the perfect color    :



Sanding the stuff...



...and painting, with ALWAYS a primer layer first...





... even this small item from the door  





...cleaning & rebuilding ...



...and here's the result  



I just need to found a midway coin door logo sticker... but for now...

PLAYING TIME      



     

[arcadefever]

NICE....

that cab look like new

so, you use a pc inside ?

[DarthNuno]

NICE....

that cab look like new

so, you use a pc inside ?

Yeps, an old Pentium II 400Mhz with DOS Advance Mame ... it works like a charm