Asterock your baby !

[level42]

I have already a new tube here, but I will install it only when I re-assemble the entire cab.

On to the CP !

Removed all the buttons and wiring to clean it and of course SCAN it ! (Still with my old scanner Etienne)



Some detail shots:








Some usual wear and damage. Not so much that I definitely want to replace it, but it's also not ruled out

Here you see where the ashes fell down, so it's pretty dirty here, this cleaned up nicely though.

[level42]

The famous cigarette holders. I've had ashtrays on cabs before, but this is the first (and AFAIK the only) cab that has them as STANDARD factory equipment



Some Magic Eraser and they cleaned up very nice. Of course doesn't remove those heavy scratches... (coins?)





Clear to see the differences between the buttons:

[level42]

Now, something really interesting ! I already mentioned that the P1 and P2 buttons were different. Well here's the proof:



That button on the left is (much like) the one Atari used. The one on the right is actually the Hyperspace button (so without LED built-in). Instead, is has a spring in there to make it work a little smoother I guess.
The one with the LED has terminals on the + and - signs.

Of course the most striking thing is that those things also seem to be HOME-MADE by Sidam. I haven't seen those before. As you can see, you can't open them, and I don't think I will risk it !

I must say, they do not operate as smoothly as the Atari one's. But still, if someone can find some NOS in Italy, there could be a market for these


(Uncleaned pic) As mentioned before, the lenses are somewhat rounder on the top, which feels a bit nicer.

I think I will put another Atari (like) button in the P1 position so they are at least equal. I first thought about moving the Hyperspace to P1 but since it doesn't have a LED, that's not possible.

A close-up of the cone. They are identical on P1 and P2 and look much like the originals. They are pretty beat up, I think I still have some repro's left..

[level42]

Forgot to post this detail shot of the edge of the CP....mmmmm....




Here is Sidam's equivalent of Atari's AR-2:


OK, they used an external heat-sink for the 2N3055 (the 5V section is not identical though, but it does also use a 5V sense feedback) but the Italian engineers sure showed Atari how to do an efficient PCB lay-out !

The pot on the top-right (with thumb-wheel) regulates the volume, the one in the middle-left regulates the +5V.

[Superully]

nice work you're doing here, andré, i especially favor your hi-res macro shots - keep 'em coming!

[Q*ris]

nice work you're doing here, andré, i especially favor your hi-res macro shots - keep 'em coming!

+1!

[Etienne MacGyver]

Removed all the buttons and wiring to clean it and of course SCAN it ! (Still with my old scanner Etienne)

Why scan it if there is already a vector at zorg's vectorlib ?

http://vectorlib.free.fr/Asterock/

[level42]

Because......I didn't know !! 

[Etienne MacGyver]

Ah 

[level42]

"I wanna Aste-rock with you......all night.....dance you in to the sun-light....."




Another sunny day, but a bit windy, but let's get on....

One of the "grips" was broken. I still had the "hard plastic" glue around from fixint the Eagle of my Judge Dredd pinball, and it worked great on that, so...


Wanted to have a look at the most indecent spot of a cab so I carefully put her on her side....easy when empty, she felt light like a feather


You gotta hand it to the Italians: They've got STYLE !!! A very nice looking wood-grain (that is, if you like wood-grain) on the bottom of the machine.

OK, on the front, it's pretty clear that drinks or cleaning the floors, have left some residue...




Ah, that's better. You don't want to know what kept coming out of the bottom vents....
I like that it has wooden "slides", no need for leg leveling

But uhm what's in that right slide ??


Mmm, weird place for spare parts !?!? (In fact this was one of the reasons why I wanted to have a look, I could hear the cab "scratching" my tiles when I shifted it around....my own fault, because those screws used to be on my SW yoke......

[level42]

Of course, there are new screws like that in my yoke now....anyway...

After doing the final cleaning (bottom and harness) I started to rebuild the machine, great feeling !

Installing the "new" speaker, another original Atari part entering the bootleg

I had to turn the speaker 90 degr. of course, because else I couldn't fix the speaker cover. I could use one original bolt (through the original hole), the others I fixed with some screws....



Another new tube bought at the local DIY, they most wonder why I buy so "many" of them. I can't stand the fact that the one's I bought for the Berzerk machine that came over from the US were cheaper for TWO SHIPPED....oh well....10000 hrs. of light....who cares about a few pennies extra


Yeah, yeah.....gotta post it:


Fixture mounted back in and installed the tube...


Look, decent venting for the fluorescent set-up.....pretty rare to see that, again excellent work and another +1 for the bootleg !

[level42]

Turns out I forgot to take some essential pics, but I'll do later...

Anyway I installed the PSU, PCB's back, harness back in place.

Then I noticed this:


Two identical plugs. One comes from the "AR2" board and runs to the game PCB carrying -5V and +12V for the 2708 ROMs, the other hooks the 2N3055 power transistor (the one on the heat-sink) to that same "AR2" board.
As you can see, they ARE interchangeble !! Soooooo, maybe someone mixed them up at one point in time, and doing so blew up the 7905 ?? Not sure, but it could very well be. Mmm, a first -1 for the Italian engineers here....

Hey, I also found the serial nr. in the top of the machine:


and it matches the handwritten nr. on the back panel:


Sorry Etienne, no fancy serial stickers !

[level42]

Well, I decided that I would clean the monitor while doing the cap-kit (which it's very likely going to need, more about that later) and would also replace the Sidam cone button when I would do the rest of the buttons too (Another BR order coming up....)

So....here are some "in the gameroom" shots...




(The letters are not as "wooly" as on this picture.



Now about the monitor: I can see that things aren't totally steady. There's some movement, and you can see it especially when you reach the "enter your name" screen (which took a while to reach, getting 10000 is pretty hard with the small saucer worth only 500 points instead of 1000).

I hope and assume that's a cap problem. A good "subject" for my ESR meter to see what we find !!

Anyway the focus is still very nice. Of course the tube has the obvious black spot in the center. Luckily it's not TOO big, and when playing it's barely noticeable. I know there are new tubes available in the US, but shipping would probably kill the fun...

There MUST be NOS CRT's in Europe, but WHERE ?!?!?

When objects move around the screen, I can also see that lines sometimes differ. I'm not sure what it is, it looks a bit like burn-in, but then, not exactly....

So.....of course I had to play a LOT of games and I found it VERY hard to quite playing to post this.....

I'm telling you, one of the most beautiful sights in classic arcade gaming, is the bright "glowing" bullets of Asteroids (rock)...you HAVE to see this in person to understand....and no, NOTHING can even come close !

I'm uploading a video....be patient

[level42]

Mmmmmm, one last thing, I was about to leave the gameroom and the Asterock was still running, was looking at it (admiring it ) and suddenly I hear some credits being added to the coin counter....I though WTF, is there an animal or something in there so I want to switch on the main light and before I can do that "POP". Everything is dark.....not only my gameroom, the entire house !

That could only mean one thing: earth-leak triggered....and indeed. Turned it back on, and the machine came back on nicely again....

Just to make sure I connected the Ground wire to the coin-door. I haven't done the coin-door yet either and it's now laying in the coin-box area so I can credit the machine...

I'm really thinking about how to make an adapter so I can hook up my original Asteroids PCB. One challenge is that the original expects 36VAC and it creates 22V DC from that, but I have already 22VDC coming from the "AR2".
The other challenge is that crediting the Asterock doesn't work by closing a switch to Ground, but instead closing it to +5V !!!!

Another reason for needing the still to be released 3-in-1 board, if I can set it to free-play there's no more worries about that....

Good night...video later...

[level42]

Mmmm, I sense you guys are all looking in sheer bewilderment....


SO here are some pics I forgot to upload earlier ....

One of the leaf switches.....someone once wrote:
DO NOT BURNISH GOLD LEAF CONTACTS.....someone else didn't read it I guess...



OK, A little cleaning with Magic Sponge...but of course it doesn't bring the contact back......guess I'll add those to the BR order...


The bolts and rings that hold the marquee retainers need a bit of black spray paint:


Marquee retainers (they are identical) and the bezel retainer:


A bit dirty:


Cleaned:


Another stylish touch from the Italians: The retainers are covered in vinyl instead of painted. Excellent idea: no rust, no re-painting needed.
Here you can see the vinyl being "overlapped" over the edge: