Moon Cresta

Boots up, and plays, but incorrect sprites – most noticeable little bug changes into ‘END’ at one point. Check 74ls138 at 8n, controlling graphics banking, and pins strobing. Replace chip and now uses correct sprites.

Quiet missile sound and explosion sound. Both of these effects use the op-amp chip, LM324 at 7T. Replace this chip and noises better, but very noticeable hum all the time. Check voltages on chip – GND floating at 2v, follow trace and there was no connection to ground at any point. Adding a strap to the nearby ground trace and sound was back to normal.

Similar Posts

  • Gallag

    Ran through self test OK, came up with chequer board screen and then reset most of the time. Occasionally would start game, but with credit noise continually playing and credits rapidly counting upwards. This is caused by CPU 4 (E5) not running properly. checked the eprom and ram (C5,D5 and E5) and ram was faulty….

  • Lady Bug

    Board ID 8016 : Falcon version ? Static graphics on screen, dead – pin 24 low on Z80, /WAIT signal. Trace signal on board to 74LS74 at E7. Signal incorrect for inputs. Replace with new one, board fixed.

  • Carnival

    Carnival on a Gremlin / Sega Vic Dual PCB. Just had blue bars on screen, although probing the Z80 showed it was trying to run code. Using a logic probe I discovered that the /WRITE signal of the ram chips was always high. This signal comes from a 74LS10 at U77. Checked this chip and…

  • Rainbow Island

    On power up – black screen, no sign of life at all. I removed the 68000 CPU and fitted a socket, so I could use the Fluke on it. This revealed that the main program ram ($10C000-$10FFFF) was totally dead. Replacing the two ram chips IC25 and IC26 solved this problem. Board now started up,…

  • Hantarex MTC9000/A

    No picture, Hole blown through LOPT. Had problems tracking down replacement – little tip given to me by Hantarex engineer – you can use the LOPT from an MTC9000 as long as you cut pin 2 off. (If you leave it connected, you will get a direct short to GND)

  • Namco Time Crisis 2 Gun

    One of the guns on a Time Crisis 2 was no longer registering shots on the screen. Following checks on wiring, cleaning lens, etc. it appeared that the optical sensor (opto) was dead. This is a small PCB in the gun, 2421961100, pictured above. I couldn’t find any schematics or information about the parts used,…