13 replies to this topic

[boxpressed]

Count me in as a new Vectrex admirer and enthusiast. Even though I grew up playing Channel F, Atari 2600, Odyssey 2, Intellivision, and Colecovision, either at my house or a friend's, I never had a chance to play Vectrex. Well, in the past month or so, I've managed to get three Vectrex units, four controllers, and a bunch of games with a multicart on the way (couldn't pass up good deals on eBay). Of course, none of these units is perfect, so after readings lots of separate threads about various issues, I thought I would create a single thread that I and others could use to ask for help.

Edited by boxpressed, Sat Jul 9, 2011 2:07 PM.

[bennybingo]

Glad to hear there is another new Vectrex owner here. Welcome to the club!

If you use the forum's advanced search feature, you will find most questions have been asked and answered here over the years. Everything has been archived, so a lot of the info is there already for the taking (I have had most of my questions answered that way at least).

Otherwise, do you have anything specific you are currently trying to figure out? If it is not already answered in another thread, there are a whole bunch of Vectrex owners here who should collectively be able to point you in the right direction. Ask away!

[boxpressed]

bennybingo, on Sat Jul 9, 2011 2:47 PM, said:

Glad to hear there is another new Vectrex owner here. Welcome to the club!

If you use the forum's advanced search feature, you will find most questions have been asked and answered here over the years. Everything has been archived, so a lot of the info is there already for the taking (I have had most of my questions answered that way at least).

Otherwise, do you have anything specific you are currently trying to figure out? If it is not already answered in another thread, there are a whole bunch of Vectrex owners here who should collectively be able to point you in the right direction. Ask away!

Thanks for the welcome. I do have some questions and am trying to get them answered by reading the old threads. However, I was hoping to get a diagnosis of one of my units. This unit is a Hong Kong-made Vectrex with a Serial # of 0052344. The vector lines seem to be a little bit "off." It is more pronounced in some games such as Cosmic Chasm and Narzod. Anyway, here are a few pics from Minestorm:

Notice the upper-right part of the ship here.
With the ship turned this way, you can see how the nose of the ship is disjointed as the vectors cross.
Here, check out the enemy (not the triangular mine) and how it is asymmetrical.

I think I read something about adjusting XY pots? But I'm not really sure what that means or even if the fix is that easy. Sorry for the quality of the pics, and any help appreciated.

[boxpressed]

One other question: I've read a lot about being careful when opening the Vectrex because of the potential for being shocked. If I decide to open the back to look for the pots, what danger zones should I be on the lookout for or steer clear of? Thanks again.

[boxpressed]

Well, I took off the back of the case to poke around, and I'm still alive.

Here's a photo of what I think may be the X-Y pots (the two beige wheels on the right side of the photo). It would be great if someone could verify:



Also, a recent auction on eBay had a guy trying to sell a similarly-afflicted Vectrex. He posted this screen shot, and I'm wondering how he accessed it. Does anyone know?



Thanks again!

[Ataritard]

I'm going to say there are four more pots in there that adjust what you need for things to line up right. I did mine with it plugged in and turned on. I don't see how you could do it any other way, just be careful.

[boxpressed]

Ataritard, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:22 AM, said:

I'm going to say there are four more pots in there that adjust what you need for things to line up right. I did mine with it plugged in and turned on. I don't see how you could do it any other way, just be careful.

Thanks for the tip. Any idea where on the Vectrex those pots are?

[jasonbar]

Whoops, I didn't see this thread--I just posted a thread on my Vectrex controller issues--if anybody has a controller they can open up (i.e., the overlay is already cut to reveal the screws or gone altogether) please help--I've almost revived a controller that looks as if it went through a blender!

http://www.atariage....b-not-joystick/



I'm pretty good at repairing & adjusting the consoles. I've gone through quite a few.


Yes, the 2 X-Y adjustment pots are the white-wheeled ones next to the power transformer. You also want to mess with the pot that adjusts the image in the center of the screen, which is the white vertical pot right in the middle of the back of the bottom PCB.

There's a whole adjustment procedure which relies upon your having the test cart. It steps you through all sorts of screens where you can adjust all 3 of those pots, as well as set the brightness properly. Everybody with a Vectrex should download & print the Troubleshooting Guide & Service Manual. THEY'RE AWESOME. http://www.atariage....b-not-joystick/


Other common problems that I've fixed or improved on pretty much every Vectrex is the slanty text or even upside-down text. Page 13 of the Service Manual, as well as pp. 12-17 of the Troubleshooting Guide are full of awesome. I've used these pages so often. When I get a "new" Vectrex, I generally just bust out my soldering iron & reflow the solder on all of the ICs that I can reach without pulling out the Logic Board (which is rather a bit of a pain). Off the top of my head, these chips are IC302, IC303, IC304, & maybe IC301 & IC305. I also like to remove/clean/resocket all of the socketed chips, which solves many problems.

Other problems that I've come across involve reflowing the solder on all of the PCB connector pins & ensuring that their mating pins in the connectors are bent to make good contact.

I've found 2 good (tasteful but not identical) Radio Shack volume knob replacements, too.

Also, don't forget rec.games.vectrex. That's the best resource around for all things Vectrex.


Thanks,
-Jason

[Desfeek]

boxpressed, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 7:52 AM, said:

Well, I took off the back of the case to poke around, and I'm still alive.

Here's a photo of what I think may be the X-Y pots (the two beige wheels on the right side of the photo). It would be great if someone could verify:



Also, a recent auction on eBay had a guy trying to sell a similarly-afflicted Vectrex. He posted this screen shot, and I'm wondering how he accessed it. Does anyone know?



Thanks again!

I used a test program on the Test Cart rev. 4 included on Sean Kelly's multicart. Does anyone have a VecMulti-compatible ROM for this, btw?

Edited by Desfeek, Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:40 PM.

[boxpressed]

jasonbar, on Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:03 AM, said:

Whoops, I didn't see this thread--I just posted a thread on my Vectrex controller issues--if anybody has a controller they can open up (i.e., the overlay is already cut to reveal the screws or gone altogether) please help--I've almost revived a controller that looks as if it went through a blender!

http://www.atariage....b-not-joystick/



I'm pretty good at repairing & adjusting the consoles. I've gone through quite a few.


Yes, the 2 X-Y adjustment pots are the white-wheeled ones next to the power transformer. You also want to mess with the pot that adjusts the image in the center of the screen, which is the white vertical pot right in the middle of the back of the bottom PCB.

There's a whole adjustment procedure which relies upon your having the test cart. It steps you through all sorts of screens where you can adjust all 3 of those pots, as well as set the brightness properly. Everybody with a Vectrex should download & print the Troubleshooting Guide & Service Manual. THEY'RE AWESOME. http://www.atariage....b-not-joystick/


Other common problems that I've fixed or improved on pretty much every Vectrex is the slanty text or even upside-down text. Page 13 of the Service Manual, as well as pp. 12-17 of the Troubleshooting Guide are full of awesome. I've used these pages so often. When I get a "new" Vectrex, I generally just bust out my soldering iron & reflow the solder on all of the ICs that I can reach without pulling out the Logic Board (which is rather a bit of a pain). Off the top of my head, these chips are IC302, IC303, IC304, & maybe IC301 & IC305. I also like to remove/clean/resocket all of the socketed chips, which solves many problems.

Other problems that I've come across involve reflowing the solder on all of the PCB connector pins & ensuring that their mating pins in the connectors are bent to make good contact.

I've found 2 good (tasteful but not identical) Radio Shack volume knob replacements, too.

Also, don't forget rec.games.vectrex. That's the best resource around for all things Vectrex.


Thanks,
-Jason

Thanks, Jason. Great advice. Are the Troubleshooting Guide and the Service Manual the same thing? I have the Service Manual.

One more question: As I'm adjusting all the pots, what part of the machine should I avoid touching so that I'm not shocked. The warnings about killing yourself while servicing your Vectrex have become legendary.

[Richard H.]

Quote

Does anyone have a VecMulti-compatible ROM for this, btw?

Attached Files

•  TestCart.bin   4K   16 downloads

[jasonbar]

Desfeek, on Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:39 PM, said:

I used a test program on the Test Cart rev. 4 included on Sean Kelly's multicart. Does anyone have a VecMulti-compatible ROM for this, btw?

Some games need to be run through a patcher program to work on a multicart. Test is one of them. I see that Richard has already provided the patched Test rom below. I can't remember where I got the patcher program (probably from Richard...), but if you PM me, I'll see if I can send you the patcher program to use for any future ROMs that don't work on a multicart. It's an .EXE file, so I'll probably use my DropBox to transfer it.

Thanks,
-Jason

[jasonbar]

boxpressed, on Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:35 PM, said:

Thanks, Jason. Great advice. Are the Troubleshooting Guide and the Service Manual the same thing? I have the Service Manual.

One more question: As I'm adjusting all the pots, what part of the machine should I avoid touching so that I'm not shocked. The warnings about killing yourself while servicing your Vectrex have become legendary.

Once again, I forgot links... :\


Troubleshooting Guide & Service Manual are available here as PDFs. They're different. Download & print both & keep them by your Vectrex--totally worth it. You'll use them a lot! : )

http://www.playvectr.../shoptalk_f.htm




I'm by no means an expert--I'm just a hack who's picked up info here & there. So, my list of no-go items on the Vectrex should not be considered to be exhaustive! OK, with legal out of the way, avoid the following:

1 - High voltage flyback: the suction cup on the back of the tube & the shielded box connected to that suction cup via a fat, insulated cable.
2 - The transformer: the heavy brick with tons of copper wiring wound around it, next to the X & Y adjustment pots, essentially where the power cable comes in.
3 - Tube neck & neck board: I don't think these are too dangerous per se, but those parts are really fragile & the glass at the neck is thin & it's not hard to break off that neck board & ruin your tube if you're not careful. Also, don't mess with the yolk, the white rings around the tube neck. Those are difficult to adjust & should be done so by an expert only.
4 - Any big capacitor: probably not a danger, but you might get a bit of an unpleasant zap


Back when I collected arcade games, I purchased a set of TV repair/adjustment tools from Radio shack. Essentially, it's a set of simple plastic tools that you can use to adjust pots, turn small screws, poke at items, etc. This way, you distance yourself from any high voltage/high current danger & you also don't risk damaging your electronics by shorting items with your finger or with a metal screwdriver.

Thanks,
-Jason

[Desfeek]

Richard H., on Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:22 AM, said:

Quote

Does anyone have a VecMulti-compatible ROM for this, btw?

PM'd Jason...

Thanks Richard! You thought of everything!