Help fixing a Vectrex

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Kumimono
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Help fixing a Vectrex

Post by Kumimono » Tue May 24, 2011 5:56 am

What it says on the tin. I have a nice looking 1983 Vectrex, which unfortunately doesn't work. I've opened it, and nothing seems outright broken. (No leaking caps or signs of burning.) When I plugged it in, I got slight electric hum, so something's going on. :)

If anyone here happens to have experience with these, I'd like to know, if there are any particular weak spots, (as much as near 30 year old machine has strong spots...) usual suspects, and good ways to see what works, before going in with a multimeter... The machine hasn't been powered in months, so I'd wager the voltages in caps and the CRT have dissipated.

Could well be unsalvageable, but still, don't want it become just a lawn ornament, as I don't even have a lawn...

Might later try to make it portable. Heavy straps and car batteries should do the trick. :wink:

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rikitheshadow
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Re: Help fixing a Vectrex

Post by rikitheshadow » Sat May 28, 2011 1:36 am

I've never personally done any work on something like a Vector monitor, let alone a Vectrex. My only suggestion is that if you are doing to work on it, discharge it safely though. Look over the caps closely, make sure there isn't any sign of bursting or any ooze leaking out of them. Be aware though, a lot of companies used some weird colored glues on large caps to hold them in place that can be mistaken for leaks a lot. Also check the bottom for any cold solder joints, reflow any spots that look to have stress or heat damage. Broken solder joints are very common in older tube's, color or vector. If you have a multimeter, check any diodes for shorts (diodes are polarized, line up the white stripe end with the black test probe), check large resistors to ensure they are within tolerance. If it has any large fuses, check them with continuity test on your multimeter. Also check the flyback transformer to ensure it's not cracking or oozing out anything. These are all pretty generic fixes and items you would probably want to check, but how they differ is what you are particularly looking at.

I also heard these things do not have properly shielded speakers, and either that causes interference with picture or audio..........if you can replace the speaker with something shielded, I would do so.

DiscoPanda
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Re: Help fixing a Vectrex

Post by DiscoPanda » Mon May 30, 2011 10:16 am

Humming is normal on a Vectrex.

There's a couple articles on fixing the buzzing at the bottom of this page:
http://www.playvectrex.com/vectech_f.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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thewizdawg
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Re: Help fixing a Vectrex

Post by thewizdawg » Mon May 30, 2011 8:26 pm

Have you tried turning the brightness knob on the back? If that doesn't work you may have a bad CPU.

Ask over here.... http://groups.google.com/group/rec.game ... topics?lnk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's where the Vectrex experts hang out.

Kumimono
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Re: Help fixing a Vectrex

Post by Kumimono » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:04 am

Thank you, all. Now to find time... Ah, summer, just what one needs. :)

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