I've got an In Circuit Chiptester which itself is an antique computer (made in '87) which I use for these types of tests. That thing makes short work out of testing these boards. What I don't have is that Fluke CPU pod thingy. Where you can just replace the CPU and take control of the entire machine. I have a bunch of boards where I can't get any further - like every single chip works and the board still doesn't want to work and there are no signals floating that should not be floating. We got a stash full of NOS 74xx logic chips from around that time. The oldest I've seen was '69, the newest '85, the majority however around '72-'75. When I fix boards this old, I try using those as replacements. C'mon, they've been waiting for 50 years for someone to use them. Of course, you gotta test them. But you gotta wiggle them if they fail because the legs are oxidized. Only few of them tested bad after wiggling. (and then comes the fun of the burn-in, although so far the few I've used held up OK)
These golden age games are disappearing, the simplicity of the gameplay is what makes them fun even today!
great repair, Glad I sat down to watch this one.
I've got an In Circuit Chiptester which itself is an antique computer (made in '87) which I use for these types of tests.
That thing makes short work out of testing these boards.
What I don't have is that Fluke CPU pod thingy. Where you can just replace the CPU and take control of the entire machine. I have a bunch of boards where I can't get any further - like every single chip works and the board still doesn't want to work and there are no signals floating that should not be floating.
We got a stash full of NOS 74xx logic chips from around that time. The oldest I've seen was '69, the newest '85, the majority however around '72-'75. When I fix boards this old, I try using those as replacements. C'mon, they've been waiting for 50 years for someone to use them.
Of course, you gotta test them. But you gotta wiggle them if they fail because the legs are oxidized. Only few of them tested bad after wiggling.
(and then comes the fun of the burn-in, although so far the few I've used held up OK)