Atari Breakout - Troubleshooting and Repair; Identifying the Trouble Area; Locating the Trouble Cause; Correcting the Trouble Cause

VI.TROUBLESHOOTING
AND
REPAIR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
19
6.1
GENERAL
PROCEDURE
NOTE:
This
section
describes
trouble-
shooting
procedures
in
detail
sufficient
for
a
person
with
moderate
technical
abil-
ity
to
understand.
However,
for
those
in-
terested
in
gaining
more
information
on
video
game
technology,
especially
the
electronics,
we
recommend
reading
the
Video
Game Operator's Handbook,
manual
no.
TM-043. This
book
is
available
from
Atari,
Inc.,
attn.
Customer
Service
Dept.,
2175
Martin
Avenue,
Santa Clara, CA 95050
for
$5.00
each,
or
from
your
distributor.
6.1.1
IDENTIFYING
THE
TROUBLE
AREA:
The
first
troubleshooting
step
should
be
to
note
all
observable
trouble
symptoms.
Examples
of
symptoms
are:
depositing
a
coin
produces
no
game
response,
no
sound
coming
out
of
the
speaker
at
any
time,
no
picture
on
the
TV
screen.
At
the
same
time
also
note
the
game
features
that
still
work.
A
systematic
way
of
checking
game
operation
is
to
per-
form
the
functional
check
given in Section
IV
of
this
manual.
Carefully
train
your
eye
to
pick
up
all
dues;
by
doing
this
an
experienced
troubleshooter
can
often
spot
the
cause
of
a
trouble
even
before
he
opens
the
cabinet.
Keeping
these
observations
in
mind,
use
the
understanding
of
game
operation
gained
from
the
theory
of
operation
(Section
111)
and
the
schematic
drawings
(Section
VII).
Next
narrow
down
the
sus-
pected
cause
of
the
trouble
to
a
specific
area
or
areas
of
the
game:
the
coin
mechanism,
TV
monitor,
harness
an'd
front
panel
components
(switches,
lamps,
speaker),
electronics
tray,
printed
circuit
boards
and
power
cord.
Be
careful
not
to
overlook
possible
trouble
areas
that
may seem
too
obvious:
a
power
cord
plug
that
has
worked
loose
from
the
wall
outlet
and is
no
longer
fully
seated in
the
receptacle,
or
a
rear
panel
access
door
that
is
not
fully
closed
(thus
causing
the
interrupt
switch
to
block
the
AC
power
path
to
the
game).
6.1.2
LOCATING
THE TROUBLE CAUSE:
Once
a
problem
has
been
narrowed
down
to
one
or
more
areas,
the
next
step
is
to
perform
various
tests
and
measu
resments
to
isolate
a
specific
cause
of
the
trouble.
Remember
that
sometimes
a
very
compli-
cated
problem,
such
as
erratic
game
operation,
can
be
traced
to
a
simple
cause-the
printed
circuit
board
not
being
fully
seated
in
its
edge
connector.
Start
with
the
most
suspect area and trace backwards
from
the
point
where
the
trouble
is
first
observable,
using
a
process
of
elimination
to
eventually
locate
the
faulty
component,
connection,
etc.
For
exam-
ple,
if
no
sound
is
audible
during
game
play,
first
check
for
a
signal
at
the
speaker leads.
If
no
signal
is
present
there,
go
back
through
the
wiring
harness
connections
to
the
printed
circuit
board.
If
there
is
still
no
signal,
then
systematically
check
back
through
the
various
components
of
the
sound
gen-
eration
circuit.
Substitution
of
parts
is
a
legitimate
and easy
way
to
isolate
the
cause. For
instance,
if
the
PCB
is
the
suspected
trouble
area,
remove
it
and
substitute
a
known-to-be-good
PCB.
Then
check
for
correct
game
operation.
Similarly,
to
check
the
TV
monitor,
connect
the
game
to
a
known-to-be-good
monitor.
The harness can
often
be
checked
by
substitution
also.
Substitute
both
a
known-to-be-good
PCB
and
TV
monitor.
If
the
trouble
'
still
persists,
the
harness
must
be at
fault.
While
locating
the
trouble
cause, use
the
tech-
nical
descriptions
in
Section
Ill
as
guides
for
correct
circuit-level
operation,
and
the
schematic
drawings
of
Section
VI I
as
road
maps
for
tracing
signal
flow
paths.
The test
equipment
for
use in
troubleshooting
is
discussed
in
paragraph
6.2.
6.1.3
CORRECTING
THE
TROUBLE
CAUSE:
In
practice,
the
steps
required
to
correct
troubles
can
range
from
simple
adjustments
(fully
seating
the
PCB
in its edge
connector,
changing
the
setting
on
a
potentiometer,
adjusting
the
picture
controls
on
the
TV
monitor)
to
repair
of
loose
connections
and
re-
placement
of
defective
parts.
Extreme
care
should
be
exercised
when
removing
integrated
circuit
de-
vices
and
discrete
components.
Use
a
40-watt
sol-
dering
iron
with
a
small
tip
designed
especially
for
IC
work.
To
remove
an IC
device,
follow
this
proce-
dure:
Clip
all leads
and
lift
the
IC package
out,
leaving
two
rows
of
leads.
Then
remove
leads
individually
with
a
soldering
iron
and
needle-nose
pliers.
Finally,
evacuate
the
holes
with
a
solder
sucker.
Afterwards
clean
the
area
thoroughly,
using
an
ap-
proved
PCB
cleaning
solution
to
remove
any traces
of
flux
and
dirt.
Alcohol
will
do
in a
pinch,
if
necessary.
Insert
the
new
IC
device
using
an
IC
insertion
tool,
making
sure
that
the
reference
notch
is
oriented
correctly
and
that
the
device's
leads
are
not
bent
during
insertion
into
the
board.
Afterwards,
be
sure
to
solder
each
lead
on
both
sides
of
the
PCB,
using
as
little
solder
as
possible.
After
soldering,
clean
the
area
thoroughly
to
remove
the
flux.
Observe
the
same
removal
and
insertion
proce-
dures
when
replacing
discrete
components.
Trim
the
leads
as
close
as
possible
and
be
sure
to
orient
diodes
and capacitors
correctly.
6.1.4
VERIFYING CORRECT
GAME
OPERATION:
After
locating
and
correcting
the
cause
of
a
trouble,
re-energize
the
game
and
perform
a
final
check
on
correct
game
operation.
Doing
this
will
verify
that
your
troubleshooting
was
correct.
If
the
game
oper-
ation
is
still
not
correct,
go
back
and
double-check
your
work.
Make
sure
that
any
replaced
com
po-