Troubleshooting guide

Cinematronics Vector Monitor Repair Guide v.1.0
Page 2 of 53
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. Please read through this entire document before
working on your malfunctioning monitor, and make sure you have a set of schematics on-hand.
Also, in order to properly test your Cinematronics monitor, it is imperative that you have a known-
working game board and power supply to provide a good input signal to the monitor. A bad game
board and not the monitor can actually cause some of the symptoms of a ‘bad’ monitor. It is also
important to say that an oscilloscope is a piece of test equipment that is necessary to work on
Cinematronic vector monitors. Without a scope, you will find it almost impossible to solve your
problem(s).
DISCLAIMER
CAUTION!!! LETHAL VOLTAGES ARE PRESENT IN ARCADE MONITORS.
SUITABLE PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO
SERVICE YOUR MONITOR. REMEMBER, NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, ARE GIVEN. USE THIS INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT
RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY OCCUR TO YOUR PERSON OR
PROPERTY.
Acknowledgements
The following people have contributed to the development of this document (knowingly or
otherwise): Gary Akins Jr.; Rodger Boots; David Fish; David Haynes; John Hermann; Mike
Inglem; Mark Jenison; Al Kossow; Rich Marquette; Matt McCullar; Zonn Moore; John Robertson;
Matt Rossiter; Mike Saul; Mark Shostak; Sam Verlander; Joe Welser; Simon Whittam; and Gregg
Woodcock (let me know if you want to see your name here – or don’t want to!)
The Cinematronics design was created by one man - Larry Rosenthal. It is very elegant, and
astounding that Larry’s design could do so much with so little.
Cinematronics – related patents
 4,053,740 (Video game system) Rosenthal
 4,027,148 (Vector generator) Rosenthal