Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 The Cinematronics Vector Monitor FAQ and Repair Guide by McClintock Version 0.96 February 28, 2003 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 2 THEORY OF OPERATION ...................................................................... 4 MONITOR TYPES AND DIFFERENCES ............................................. 15 VARIABLE INTENSITIES .................................................
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 INTRODUCTION Note: Very little, if any, of this document is my own work. Information in this document has been taken from official factory manuals, technical updates, practical experience by others, etc. In many instances I have paraphrased or omitted information from the original documents for readability and/or clarity purposes. I thought it would be helpful, not only to myself, but to others having trouble with their Cinematronic vector monitors.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 THEORY OF OPERATION To understand what goes on inside the Cinematronics monitor, we will first examine large general groups of circuits. This will help avoid confusion and aid in a basic, concrete, knowledge of what makes up the Cinematronics vector monitor. Having a good understanding of how the monitor operates will greatly assist the reader in diagnosing and repairing their problems.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 DEFLECTION AMPLIFIER CIRCUIT The deflection amplifier circuit can be further divided into two identical channels: one for the horizontal deflection (“X”) and one for the vertical deflection (“Y”). Because both channels are identical, we will only discuss the horizontal channel in this document. The deflection circuit receives digital numbers from the logic board that represent the coordinates for the beginning and end points of each line segment.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Analog Switch From the DAC-80 the analog signal is then sent to a high-speed analog switch, ICl. The analog switch has two parallel inputs for the display signal, and two controlling inputs, which select one of two outputs from the switch. The LF133310 analog switch at location IC1 is the most active component on the monitor.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 R/C Network The voltage across a resistance-capacitance (“R/C”) network, found at the outputs of the analog switch IC1, is used to draw screen vectors. The R/C network is responsible for drawing smooth, straight and precisely positioned vectors. The voltage across the R/C network, at any given time, determines the actual position of the CRT trace at that time. As the capacitor charges, and the voltage changes, the CRT trace follows, and the vector is drawn.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Edge Gain Amplifier It is a property of the CRT that, near the edges of the screen, the amount of current needed to move the beam, say, an inch, is less than the amount required to deflect the beam an inch off center. Therefore, less gain is required near the edges of the CRT. The edge gain amplifier is the final stage before the voltage-to-current conversion process.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Deflection Amplifier The deflection amplifier converts the pick off voltages from the size pot (R109) into a current that drives the deflection yoke winding. The input is a differential stage consisting of transistors Q101, Q103 and Q102. Q101 is an emitter coupled with Q103 to provide a degenerative feedback loop from the yoke. Q102 is a reference current source to both emitters and a fixed amount of current always flows through it.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 incorporate R122, as it was only required to compensate for non-linearity in the early production yokes. Monitors in Space Wars games utilized R122. If there is a problem with the upper half of the picture, it is with the circuit elements connected to the –25 volt line in the deflection amplifier. If, say, the lower half of the picture is missing, suspect the elements connected to the +25 volt side of the horizontal deflection amplifier.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY The high voltage and cathode circuitry is the second section of the Cinematronics monitor. This section also contains the necessary voltage regulation to power the ICs located on the display board.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 just R9 and R11 to ground, thus lowering the voltage at the anode of D4 even more because of the lower resistance, than with normal intensity. Q2 is used as a switch to enable Q1 and Q3. Q2’s purpose is to shut off the beam when the power is turned off. Q7 is a beam “on” delay to prevent phosphor burns if someone was to unplug and plug in the machine rapidly.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Spot Killer Protection Circuitry Transistor Q2 can be considered as the master intensity control switch. When it is deprived of its base drive, the collector-emitter junction opens and eliminates the ground path for the intensity channels, cutting off the beam. The game logic board can fail in such a way as to cause the beam to remain on continuously, burning the CRT phosphor. R25 and C24 form an R/C time constant of about 6.8ms.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 High Voltage Oscillator (early discrete monitor only) The HV Oscillator only appears in the discrete HV Cinematronics monitors (all monitors prior to Rev.G). This circuit is incorporated into the Keltron HV box for later monitors. The integral elements of the HV oscillator section are IC9, IC5, Q4 and flyback transformer T1. The +/-18V regulators IC9 and IC5 deliver +36 volts across C18.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 MONITOR TYPES AND DIFFERENCES Now that we have discussed the operating theory of the Cinematronics monitor, we need to note the different types. There are several revisions of the Cinematronics ‘vectorbeam’ monitor. However, there are two distinct versions – the “discrete” HV version and the “Keltron” version. The table below outlines the different revisions that are detailed in each schematic package.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Analog Joystick Interface [need better description] The reading of a Joystick is nearly the same as Vectrex. A value is placed in the shared Y axis DAC, a reading from a comparator is taken and returned as a single Hi/Lo bit, it’s up to the software to do whatever type of binary search it takes to determine the joysticks value. The joystick shares the DAC.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 VARIABLE INTENSITIES Two Cinematronics games utilized variable intensities – Sundance and Solar Quest. Essentially, these games are able to reproduce continuous fades (in or out) instead of just Normal and Hi intensities. Very cool effect. You can play any variable intensity game (i.e., Sundance or Solar Quest) on a two intensity (Hi/Lo) monitor by changing a jumper on the game CPU board.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 The SPOT KILLER is connected in SERIES with Q2. The 13K resistor in series with the brightness pot is ONLY used if the picture tube is an AMPEREX type. The 9-pin connector needed is a Molex 03-09-1093 and the connections are outlined below. Pin Pin 1 Pin 3 Pin 4 Pin 8 Pin 9 Connection Male Female Female Female Female Wire Color Violet White Yellow Black Orange Length 11" 11" 11" 12" 15" Notes Pin 1 connects to the non-banded end of D4.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY The Cinematronics monitor was manufactured with two slightly different HV designs. The first design – the ‘discrete’ design for lack of a better description - was used on all games up to Star Castle (Rev. A to F). The discrete HV monitor utilizes the right half of the monitor PCB for HV generation.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 HV Replacement By David Fish This should be of interest to anyone who has a Cinematronics B/W X-Y monitor (Vectorbeam) that has either died or is dying due to the failure of its Hi-Voltage supply. The supply MUST be the 'offboard' type such as the Keltron HP160124A. This cannot be done (at least not easily) with the Hi-V supply that is part of the big monitor pc board.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Connecting the Electrohome supply to the Vectorbeam monitor is trivial. The drawback is that new mounting holes will need to be drilled in the monitor's metal side panel. The new cable needed is simple enough to show below. The only caution here is that the wire for the +400V connection MUST have insulation rated for 600 Volts or greater.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 HV ‘Upgrade’ If you have the discrete HV monitor it should be possible to fix it unless it’s a fault of the HV transformer itself. I’ve never had to repair one of the ‘old’ style displays. The Keltron supply is the gold box that is mounted on the side of the chassis, Keltron was the manufacturer. There is no write-up on how to retrofit a Keltron box into the older style chassis although it is do-able.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 TUBE AND YOKE Cinematronics utilized both a Sylvania 19VARP4 and an AMPEREX M50-102W picture tube in it’s games. New replacement 19” Black & White tubes are available from Richardson Electronics for about $115 each (www.rell.com). There were two different yoke designs on the Cine monitors. The earlier design used on Space Wars required an extra set of 1.2k resistors across the yoke windings noted as R122 and R222 on the schematics.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 MONITOR ADJUSTMENTS Cinematronics Monitor PCB All picture adjustments for a Cinematronics game are made on the monitor itself. There are no adjustments possible on the CCPU. The graphic above details the adjustment types and locations. There exists a test pattern in most games that is enabled by dipswitch 7, located at position E2 of the main CCPU board. The test pattern is for alignment purposes and should be adjusted to fill the playfield.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 X and Y Gain Adjustment Adjust potentiometers R102 and R202 so that all vectors (line segments) neatly intersect. R102 adjusts the length of all vertical lines. R202 controls horizontal line lengths. (a) Turn the X gain trimpot R202, and adjust the X (horizontal) lines until the two outer ends of each X line segments are ¼ inch from the edge of the TV monitor screen.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 FACTORY SERVICE UPGRADES The following are a list of the recommended factory service upgrades that Cinematronics sent out to all distributors, and operators who sent in their warranty cards. It is safe to assume that not all games had these modifications made and you should verify each one as it relates to your game.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 IC3, the +18 volt regulator, may be replaced by a +15 volt regulator, 7815. IC5, the –18 volt regulator, may be replaced by a –15 volt regulator, 7915. There will be a 20% decrease in overall output levels that does not degrade game performance. Potentiometers R102 and R209 may be adjusted to compensate for increased screen size. Verify that resistors R12 and R13 are rated at 4 watts as there will be a 20% increase in power dissipation.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 RECOMMENDED MONITOR UPGRADES It is often suggested that the very first thing one does when repairing a Cinematronics monitor is to remove and replace all the tantalum capacitors without question. There is some validity to this. As power supply filter caps, tantalums are generally superior to electrolytics. They are generally smaller for a given capacitance.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 • Make all Factory Upgrades, including the LF13331 modification above. General Monitor Repair That Should Always Be Performed • There are 4 neck wires (Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue) with white "things" inline with each wire. Inside the ‘things’ are 1K ½ watt resistors. The resistor wires will break at some point. You can either replace them, or cut them off and splice around them.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 TROUBLESHOOTING AND TEST PROCEEDURES The basic methodology in troubleshooting a Cinematronics monitor is to assume NOTHING. If your monitor is not working properly, take the following steps. 1. Disconnect the monitor from both video and power. Always remove the ribbon cable first before you remove power. 2. Disconnect the CCPU and sound board from power. WHEN DISCONNECTING RIBBON CABLES, BE SURE TO NOTE CONNECTOR LOCATIONS AND ORIENTATIONS. 3.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 converters on the monitor board. These undefined values may (and usually will!) cause the deflection circuits to drive very hard and burn out components. • Be careful with the orientation of the ribbon cables used to attach the CCPU board to the video board. On many games, the connectors are not keyed, and if you install the cable incorrectly, damage to the video board and/or the CCPU board can result. This is a very common problem.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 4. Output of each TL081 (pin 6) You can see the output from each stage as the signal goes through and you can usually spot which stage has a bad component in it this way. Make certain you have disconnected the yoke when you check the signal path. If you try running the monitor with the yoke connected and the chassis mounted output transistors plugged in, you will blow something.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Test Procedures Deflection Circuit Test Procedure. To test each DAC-80, you must first verify proper power on pins 13, 14 and 22. Remove the LF13331 analog switch at IC1. A DC meter should read approximately 0 volts at pin 15 of the DAC. Check pins 1 through 12 with a logic probe, most of the lines should be pulsing. Analog Switch Test Procedure. The LF13331 at IC1 should produce a charging waveform centered about 0 volts on the switch output pins.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Intensity Circuit Test Procedures. To isolate a no display condition to the intensity circuit, probe the yellow cathode wire at the CRT plug, turn the brightness full clockwise and observe a +90 volt base with pulses at +40 volts. If pulses are missing, jumper Q2 collector to emitter. If the picture returns, check F1 in the power supply and replace Q2 (2N3904). Observe +2.75 volt pulses at pin 4 of IC7.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 SYMPTOM DIAGNOSIS The following symptoms and diagnosis come from various people and sources. I cannot verify any of these will work for you. Symptom: Monitor trips breaker. • • Check transistor Q211 (2N5876) Check diodes D107-D111 if there is a loss of Y (or X) deflection just before breaker trips. Here is a systematic guide to trouble shooting a monitor that blows breakers. Monitor must be connected to a good CPU. Check for burned components.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 If you have a bad ROM image, the breakers will almost always pop. Is this bad for the game? YES! The breakers pop because the beam was deflected clear off the screen. This is VERY hard on output transistors in the deflection circuits. Lets say you have a monitor popping breakers. Some would suggest that you disconnect the power transistor and see if everything runs ok without them.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 unplug the yoke, leaving the HORZ and VERT transistors plugged in, and use a light bulb as a load to determine what axis are blowing breakers. Symptom: No Picture. CCPU board is known good. Power Supply tests good. First, check for visibly damaged components. Replace as necessary. Listen for audible “clatter” from the deflection yoke on the CRT neck. If the clatter is present, deflection circuitry is working and the problem is in the intensity circuit.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 • Check resistors R116, R216. An example. If the picture would start out OK, but after a few minutes the Y heat sink would get super hot and this would cause the weaker of the two TO-3 transistors to fail, which then caused a loss of -Y deflection followed shortly thereafter by both breakers tripping. Feel the heat sinks.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Symptom: Picture on the right side of the screen only. Game plays, but some of the vectors are a little ‘off’. Vectors seem correct horizontally but zigzag vertically downwards from the drawn object. This can be caused by a few things: bad connections between the monitor and the ribbon cable that runs between the game board and the monitor, bad transistors in the deflection circuit. Try wiggling the ribbon cable at both the CCPU end and the monitor end.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Symptom: Vectors do not line up straight. Vectors at the screen edge are bigger. It is unlikely the DACs are bad. Things are drawn pretty dramatically wrong, when they go. • • • Start by adjusting the line length pots on the monitor – R102 and R202. Check the feed back diodes on the monitor (near the TL081). Step through the edge-gain amplifier section of the monitor looking for bad components. Symptom: Strange graphics when my ship moves horizontally.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 pulses dropping down to a 40-volt level. If no pulses, probe IC7 pin 4 with a scope and observe data pulses. If the pulses are present on IC7, check Q2 & Q3 with an ohmmeter or transistor checker. • Check the cathode of diode D5 for a full wave rectified, unfiltered voltage signal floating at +25 volts. • Check seating of CRT plug. Remove and probe with scope to verify presence of proper signals. • Check the neck of the CRT for a glowing filament.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Then I took voltage measurements during running and changed any part where a reading was different from the other side. That wasn't helping. Finally, I took out my logic probe (from Radio Shack, makes nice beeping noises :-)) and decided to trace the input from the DAC side to the deflection side. I followed it through the 2N5210s and I could actually hear through my logic probe, the deflection "chatter".
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Appendix A: Operator's Guide To Troubleshooting (taken from the Cinematronics Star Castle manual) O.K. - this is where we get technical on you - but don't panic! We'll keep this as simple as possible so you can figure out which board to send out for repair. For some of the steps in this section you will need a simple VOM [multi-meter], and know how to use it.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 If breakers trip: Problem is in coin meter circuit or call factory for help. If breakers don’t trip: Repair audio board. POWER OFF, reconnect molex plug to monitor. Turn power on to see if there is a good picture. If the picture is bad, problem is probably in the monitor. If breakers trip: Check LED and +5 volt supply. If LED and + 5 volts is O.K., problem is probably in monitor. Symptom: No Audio. Check for open speaker coil.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Symptom: Player Control Button(s) Inoperative. Refer to player control schematic in APPENDIX. Verify with ohmmeter proper closure of player control leaf blade switches. Remove J3 connector. Measure +5 volts on D4 - 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14, and 15. If missing, replace D4. Replace pull up resistor pack D2. Measure +5 volts on C4 - 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14, and 15. If missing, replace C4. Replace pull up resistor pack C2.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Appendix B: Replacement Parts While the majority of the Cinematronics monitors are comprised of TTL and other discrete components, there are a few items that are difficult to find or exceedingly expensive to replace. Hopefully the following list of replacements will give you some options. LF13331 Replacement By Rodger Boots Yup, it’s an obsolete part. It’s getting hard to find.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 DAC80s The Burr-Brown DAC80 used in the Cinematronics monitor comes in two "flavors"; the DAC-80CBI-V "voltage output", and the DAC-80-CBI-I "current output" type. All Cinematronics monitors used the voltage version - the DAC-80-CBI-V.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Appendix D: Testing Transistors Most of the failures in the Cinematronics Vectorbeam monitor (as is the case with most electronic devices) are semiconductor failures, specifically, the transistors. All transistors discussed in this document can be tested in the same way; it does not matter if they are the large chassis-mounted transistors or the tiny PCB-mounted transistors.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 TESTING TRANSISTORS WITH A DIGITAL MULTI-METER Set your meter to the diode test. Connect the red meter lead to the base of the transistor. Connect the black meter lead to the emitter. A good NPN transistor will read a JUNCTION DROP voltage of between 0.45v and 0.9v. A good PNP transistor will read OPEN. Leave the red meter lead on the base and move the black lead to the collector. The reading should be the same as the previous test.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Appendix F: Installing A Cap Kit Time and heat have "dried out" the electrolytic capacitors in your monitor reducing their capacitance values. Without the capacitors doing their job you get problems like wavy picture, smearing, warping, etc. The other problem that occurs is that over the years the solder joints at connectors develop little cracks in the solder.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Location Q110; Q210 Q111; Q211 Deflection Parts Part Number Upgrade? 2N3716 Yes 2N3792 Yes Notes Original was 2N5878 Original was 2N5876 Important: These transistors must be replaced in pairs. After replacing the above transistors, use your DMM set to Ohms and check the continuity between the metal monitor chassis and the metal case of the above transistors.
Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0 Cinematronics Monitor PCB - Rev.
