I really do appreciate how you're not an expert at these and we get to go through your troubleshooting process. It honestly gives me the motivation to try my hand at fixing some older toys I had previously written off when I couldn't right away figure out what their problems were. I definitely need to get myself a little pack of diodes and transistors!
Oh what an inspiring comment 👏 thank you so much! I have a few parts and bits of equipment now but still operate from the hall of my apartment... no "lab" for me! You can definitely get a long way with a cheap multimeter pack of diodes and a few transistors. Thanks again for the feedback I hope you give it a go and if you do pop back and let us know how it goes. Thanks again. Roger
Thankyou so much for making this video. I just bought one of these with the exact same issue and I think you’ve just given me a fighting chance at fixing it!
On closer inspection it looks like the screen seal may have been broken, I didn’t notice three filament wires inside the screen are broken and where yours has that dark mark in the bottom left corner, mine it’s white and burnt looking. So probably well and truly beyond my skill level to fix
You and Dan! @ New Retro Repair do have very, very similar voices/accents. Hard to tell you both apart by voice alone. 🖖 😎 👍🏻 I do enjoy both of you very clear & precise understanding. That multi colour Pen! Wow! I've not seen one of them in many moons.
Hi @Ratchet effect, I wasn't aware of Dan's channel but I checked it out and you are correct we do sound alike (I promise you its not me). Its quite eerie. Glad you enjoyed the vid, and the pen. Got to love retro writing implements! Thanks so much for your comment.
Superb video! I have this game and watch from my childhood, but unfortunately I broke the joystick when I was a child. I still have it at my parent's home, but I've never seen any picture in detail of the joystick part to try to recreate with a 3d printer. Maybe one day...
Hi there glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for your comments and kind words. Sadly I don't have the game anymore so I can't measure the joystick for you. Really good game though. A great pacman clone. Thanks again
Excellent repair, great to see it brought back to life. I love how unsubtle they were in "taking inspiration" from a certain game, even the opening little tune 😂
Hi Skyway, glad that you enjoyed the vid. Hope you are doing well. It might closer even than you think I believe that Pac-Man was named Puck-Man Gakken's home country of Japan. Namco renamed it for export markets for "fear" (I imagine entirely justified) that people would get "creative" with the cabinets and make the P into an F. That could have brought a whole new dynamic to Ms PacMan. Thanks for your continued support to the channel, much appreciate it.
Thanks Kins 74 I do need to do some non-VFD vids soon (and have some coming), but i do have a real soft spot for these games. Pretty affordable to get into and good fun. Glad that you enjoyed the vid. Thanks so much for the comments.
1N400x is just a normal power diode, the laset number is the voltage range 1 being 50V 2 100Volt 3 200Volt and so on - the diode is probably something like a 1N4148 - also a normal diode, but a small signal diode
Brilliant viewing as ever! What's not to like, repairing, VFD retro game, and PacMan! Ooops, I mean some game that has been inspired by a pill popping yellow mouth. :) Yes you could well have saved time in this repair, but you learned something in the process! And passed on some useful interesting information. And entertained! Win! Looking forward to the next one buddy!
Thanks Jase, I'm genuinely touched. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks so much for your very kind and inspiring words and thanks for giving up your own time to feedback. At a time when I'm a bit overwhelmed trying to fit youtube in among work and everyday life, this was great to hear. You couldn't have timed it better. Cheers. Roger
@@RetroTechRepair any time! I genuinely look forward to seeing new content, and am excited to watch it. Right up my street in many ways and I like the way you talk through your process of diagnosis and repairing. I enjoy your vids more than ‘The Repair Shop’ 😄
I just found this video. I have one of these games with exactly the same fault. No display and a hot transistor. This was caused by the dad (Many decades ago) plugging in a power supply (Which was most likely the wrong polarity) to see if he could save money on batteries. I have already replaced the two transistors and that's as far as I got with no luck, I may try replacing that diode (Yeah, unmarked, so no idea what to replace it with..) Note to self, try a 1N4005, a bog standard rectifier diode in that location!
Hi so glad I could help. Thanks also for the input. I had often suspected that the incorrect power supply is what causes this kind of fault but nobody had yet been able to confirm it. I hope you get yours fixed. Please pop back and let us know how it goes. Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated
Hi Roger great job and hope you're well. Enjoyed watching that video as had one of those as a child and thoroughly enjoyed playing it, great memories. Keep up the good work. Mick 👍👏🍻
Thanks Mick. Its a really good game, up there with the CGL frogger as the best arcade to VFD ports IMHO. So glad you enjoyed the video, I wasn't too sure about the vid, but its doing OK. I'm well thanks, hope you are too. Thanks again for your comment.
Another fab troubleshooting and repair video! I have this game, currently it works, but I'll know in future where to start looking if it ever stops ;-)
Thanks MrVectrexUK. It's a great game, hopefully you won't need to fix it but if you ever do the video will be useful. Thanks so much for your kind words. Glad that you enjoyed the video.
Thanks hounddogg33, fond memories of those days where we had one game and played it until we were perfect at it. This is a great pacman clone, I bet you were the envy of your friends. Glad that you enjoyed the video and I was able to bring back some happy memories. Thanks so much for your comment.
Another great repair and helpful for others to diagnose their broken consoles. Wonder why these diodes keep breaking. Maybe the manufacturer used the cheapest possible part that would "work" and didn't consider derating them. Probably didn't consider it would still be being played after 40 years!!
Maybe! I have to admit I have thought about a vid where I repair then try to recreate the failure. I have a lot of VFD games yet to repair so I hope there is some variety in them. You are probably right that the design life wasn't 40 years. Thanks for your comments and continued support. Hope you are well.
@@RetroTechRepair you're going to have a whole arcade of these desktop consoles! Maybe do a video showing your collection. Imagine the racket if you power them all up at the same time! My AstroWars is so loud I have to put tape over the speaker... Volume control mod needed maybe!!
I am not an expert on these games, if it were mine I'd open it up and check to see if the getter is intact (black marks on VFD display). Then I'd check connections on the board and look for cracked tracks or burnt parts. Next id start testing diodes and transistors. Sorry I can't be more help
I have one of these which my sister had from new which appeared dead. With little knowledge, I had a look inside last year for anything obvious and the transformer (I didn't know that's what it was as I couldn't find any repair videos at the time) was broken as the top had come off. Does anyone have any idea if this component exists anywhere as new or is this a repair too far?
Hi Dep I haven't ever seen a transformer for sale and I don't have a spare. But are you 100% that's the problem. I haven't ever seen a failed transformer in a VFD game. The transformer might still be OK if the "top" is just cosmetic
Brilliant Roger, really enjoyed it, especially the reverse engineering part 👍👍👍👍
Thanks Vince and thanks again for all your amazing support for the channel. Hope you are well.
Fancy meeting you here !!
Awesome job, Roger! Clever idea soldering in the jumpers to test multiple components! Great work. 👍
Cheers Stez! Coming from you that is praise indeed!
I really do appreciate how you're not an expert at these and we get to go through your troubleshooting process. It honestly gives me the motivation to try my hand at fixing some older toys I had previously written off when I couldn't right away figure out what their problems were.
I definitely need to get myself a little pack of diodes and transistors!
Oh what an inspiring comment 👏 thank you so much! I have a few parts and bits of equipment now but still operate from the hall of my apartment... no "lab" for me! You can definitely get a long way with a cheap multimeter pack of diodes and a few transistors. Thanks again for the feedback I hope you give it a go and if you do pop back and let us know how it goes. Thanks again. Roger
Thankyou so much for making this video. I just bought one of these with the exact same issue and I think you’ve just given me a fighting chance at fixing it!
That's Great! Thanks so much for your feedback let me know how it goes 😊
On closer inspection it looks like the screen seal may have been broken, I didn’t notice three filament wires inside the screen are broken and where yours has that dark mark in the bottom left corner, mine it’s white and burnt looking. So probably well and truly beyond my skill level to fix
You and Dan! @ New Retro Repair do have very, very similar voices/accents. Hard to tell you both apart by voice alone. 🖖 😎 👍🏻
I do enjoy both of you very clear & precise understanding. That multi colour Pen! Wow! I've not seen one of them in many moons.
Hi @Ratchet effect, I wasn't aware of Dan's channel but I checked it out and you are correct we do sound alike (I promise you its not me). Its quite eerie. Glad you enjoyed the vid, and the pen. Got to love retro writing implements! Thanks so much for your comment.
Dude, you're a talented guy and a great inspiration.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Glad that you enjoyed the video
Superb video! I have this game and watch from my childhood, but unfortunately I broke the joystick when I was a child. I still have it at my parent's home, but I've never seen any picture in detail of the joystick part to try to recreate with a 3d printer. Maybe one day...
Hi there glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for your comments and kind words. Sadly I don't have the game anymore so I can't measure the joystick for you. Really good game though. A great pacman clone. Thanks again
Excellent repair, great to see it brought back to life. I love how unsubtle they were in "taking inspiration" from a certain game, even the opening little tune 😂
Hi Skyway, glad that you enjoyed the vid. Hope you are doing well. It might closer even than you think I believe that Pac-Man was named Puck-Man Gakken's home country of Japan. Namco renamed it for export markets for "fear" (I imagine entirely justified) that people would get "creative" with the cabinets and make the P into an F. That could have brought a whole new dynamic to Ms PacMan. Thanks for your continued support to the channel, much appreciate it.
More VFD goodness, thank you!
Thanks Kins 74 I do need to do some non-VFD vids soon (and have some coming), but i do have a real soft spot for these games. Pretty affordable to get into and good fun. Glad that you enjoyed the vid. Thanks so much for the comments.
1N400x is just a normal power diode, the laset number is the voltage range 1 being 50V 2 100Volt 3 200Volt and so on - the diode is probably something like a 1N4148 - also a normal diode, but a small signal diode
Thanks Dennis, that's great to know thanks so much!
Brilliant viewing as ever! What's not to like, repairing, VFD retro game, and PacMan! Ooops, I mean some game that has been inspired by a pill popping yellow mouth. :)
Yes you could well have saved time in this repair, but you learned something in the process! And passed on some useful interesting information. And entertained! Win!
Looking forward to the next one buddy!
Thanks Jase, I'm genuinely touched. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks so much for your very kind and inspiring words and thanks for giving up your own time to feedback. At a time when I'm a bit overwhelmed trying to fit youtube in among work and everyday life, this was great to hear. You couldn't have timed it better. Cheers. Roger
@@RetroTechRepair any time! I genuinely look forward to seeing new content, and am excited to watch it. Right up my street in many ways and I like the way you talk through your process of diagnosis and repairing. I enjoy your vids more than ‘The Repair Shop’ 😄
Great video and I think the reverse engineering was on point to....cheers!
Thanks Andy... so glad that you enjoyed the vid. Really appreciate the feedback
I just found this video. I have one of these games with exactly the same fault. No display and a hot transistor. This was caused by the dad (Many decades ago) plugging in a power supply (Which was most likely the wrong polarity) to see if he could save money on batteries. I have already replaced the two transistors and that's as far as I got with no luck, I may try replacing that diode (Yeah, unmarked, so no idea what to replace it with..)
Note to self, try a 1N4005, a bog standard rectifier diode in that location!
Hi so glad I could help. Thanks also for the input. I had often suspected that the incorrect power supply is what causes this kind of fault but nobody had yet been able to confirm it. I hope you get yours fixed. Please pop back and let us know how it goes. Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated
Hi Roger great job and hope you're well. Enjoyed watching that video as had one of those as a child and thoroughly enjoyed playing it, great memories. Keep up the good work. Mick 👍👏🍻
Thanks Mick. Its a really good game, up there with the CGL frogger as the best arcade to VFD ports IMHO. So glad you enjoyed the video, I wasn't too sure about the vid, but its doing OK. I'm well thanks, hope you are too. Thanks again for your comment.
I think I might have the same problem with my gekken super cobra.. thanks a lot this episode really help…
Great! Hope you get it sorted!
Another great video, good job on the repair
Thanks Jon. Thanyou for the kind words and for taking the time to feed back. Really pleased that you enjoyed the video.
Hi, I have the same handheld with the same issue. I will give a try. Thanks.
OK great. Good luck.... let me know how it goes.
Another fab troubleshooting and repair video! I have this game, currently it works, but I'll know in future where to start looking if it ever stops ;-)
Thanks MrVectrexUK. It's a great game, hopefully you won't need to fix it but if you ever do the video will be useful. Thanks so much for your kind words. Glad that you enjoyed the video.
Excellent video and repair!
Thanks tomorrowsphere! Always a pleasure to hear from you. Hope that you are doing really well. Thanks so much for your comment.
I had this game as a kid in Germany. I got really good at it and almost always got to 9999 points before the game ends.
Thanks hounddogg33, fond memories of those days where we had one game and played it until we were perfect at it. This is a great pacman clone, I bet you were the envy of your friends. Glad that you enjoyed the video and I was able to bring back some happy memories. Thanks so much for your comment.
@@RetroTechRepair How much do you want for the game?
Hi hounddoggy33 if you are interested in buying the game drop me an email retrotechrepairs@gmail.com Thanks!
Another excellent repair. Well done.
Thanks so much Ghost-retro. Glad that you enjoyed the video.
Another great repair and helpful for others to diagnose their broken consoles. Wonder why these diodes keep breaking. Maybe the manufacturer used the cheapest possible part that would "work" and didn't consider derating them. Probably didn't consider it would still be being played after 40 years!!
Maybe! I have to admit I have thought about a vid where I repair then try to recreate the failure. I have a lot of VFD games yet to repair so I hope there is some variety in them. You are probably right that the design life wasn't 40 years. Thanks for your comments and continued support. Hope you are well.
@@RetroTechRepair you're going to have a whole arcade of these desktop consoles! Maybe do a video showing your collection. Imagine the racket if you power them all up at the same time! My AstroWars is so loud I have to put tape over the speaker... Volume control mod needed maybe!!
Nice repair, another one saved
Thanks Vintage Views. Really appreciate the feedback.
Nice video Sir! I also have one where you hear the sound but can't see anything on the screen. What can it be? Thanks!
I am not an expert on these games, if it were mine I'd open it up and check to see if the getter is intact (black marks on VFD display). Then I'd check connections on the board and look for cracked tracks or burnt parts. Next id start testing diodes and transistors. Sorry I can't be more help
I have one of these which my sister had from new which appeared dead. With little knowledge, I had a look inside last year for anything obvious and the transformer (I didn't know that's what it was as I couldn't find any repair videos at the time) was broken as the top had come off. Does anyone have any idea if this component exists anywhere as new or is this a repair too far?
Hi Dep I haven't ever seen a transformer for sale and I don't have a spare. But are you 100% that's the problem. I haven't ever seen a failed transformer in a VFD game. The transformer might still be OK if the "top" is just cosmetic
pucken hell ,nice repair :P
Lol! I did think when diode worked "well puck me!"