John's Arcade Forum - Classic Arcade and Pinball Collecting and Restoring Discussion Forum - RETRO MAME - Nintendo Vs Forum

I've read and heard bits here and there but never thought to write any of it down. Nor can I remember what videos I heard John mention various parts and things he uses.

John: can you help us out with a list of gear you regularly use? You know, specific models, brands?

1. Video camera
2. Solder station
3. Wire stripper
4. Solder sucker
5. Multi-meter
6. any other especially cool tools worth mentioning?

Oh and finally.. Where did you source all those stinkin' spare monitors and chassis you've shown in your garage? Did they come individually? From craigslist, friends? From cabs you purchased then junked?

1. Video camera - Sony HDR-PJ710 - I edit the video in iMovie. The intro was done in After Effects. The music is by me.

2. Solder station - Weller WTCPT http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004W463/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2.1 Solder - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KRAB0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2.2 Soldering iron tip - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002BSP3G/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2.3 Tip Cleaner - http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-599B-02-Solder-Cleaning-Holder/dp/B00FZPGDLA

3. Wire stripper - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3932546&utm_source=GooglePLA&utm_medium=pla&utm_term=6400083&gclid=CPagh-_D7bwCFedlOgodIxgAvQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

4. Solder sucker - http://www.amazon.com/Edsyn-Deluxe-Soldapullt-Heavy-Vacuum/dp/B006GOKVKI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393546290&sr=8-1&keywords=soldapullt

5. Multi-meter - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O3LUEI/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

6. any other especially cool tools worth mentioning:

My two favorite tools in the whole world: http://www.amazon.com/Xcelite-S2K-2-Piece-Shearcutter-Pliers/dp/B001R1UEPW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393546375&sr=8-3&keywords=xcelite

I got a lot of the monitors from warehouse raids and here and there from friends, cabinets that were trashed (not many), etc

Great topic. Thanks for the info. I'm just getting into vids started with pins. Now that I'm redoing my basement. Half of it will be and arcade and some vids will be a must! After watching your PAC cabirett restore and seeing your Tempest and centipede ones. Now I want them in the cabiretts. So thanks a lot!!  ;D

Yeah, those cabarets can be pretty cool! :)

I really think every person should learn how to use one of these
http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronics-LP-560-Logic-Probe/dp/B000Z9HAP4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393552396&sr=8-1&keywords=logic+probe

You can fix a lot of dead PCB's with just one of those and a soldering iron.

The only reason I have never invested in one of those is because I don't have a PCB test bench. I need to really build something soon.

do you have an amiga monitor?

My test bench is just a standard switching PSU, a standard jamma harness, an arcade to LCD converter and a PC.

I have a bunch of edge connectors and jamma finger boards that i wiring up adapters for the games i fix.
I have that exact logic probe and this logic analyzer http://www.saleae.com/logic16
I have a really cheap USB oscilloscope that works most of the time.
I usually print out schematics or if i have to, i probe random things trying to find something that doesnt make sense.
I actually learned a bit on how to fix arcade games from your buddy adam's youtube channel. The stuff I fix at work is modern things which in some ways is much easier to fix stuff.

Wow John thanks for the info!

I got some imitation crab meat in my freezer. If you're ever passing through you can totally have some.

John you really should do a tech video and lay out the tools of your hobby on a table and point out what they do and what you use those for.

Is there a website or a step by step how to on using one of these?I'd love to by a scrap board and start playing.

well the gist of it is you plug the probe into power and touch the end of the probe onto pins while the board is powered. Depending on the beeps you can figure out if something is shorted out or not behaving correctly. it just a faster way to find dead chips. you still need to know how to read schematics or understand how the chips are suppose to work.


This is john's friend adam's youtube channel, he has a lot of videos showing how he fixes games, it should give you an idea what you have to do to get started.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Bzak63p0W4bL1mp8txEVA

Awesome, thank you. This is a field that I never got into but always enjoyed.

what a cool idea john (lol)  now the video ha

Wish I had this dude as a repair tech..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlmwzGpen40

Im gonna be picking through over 100 pcb's soon and this dude would make enough off me
to pay his rent for a month lol.

That's my friend Adam. He has been in a few of my videos.

I wish Adam would post more videos... I watched them all. Mesmerizing. The intelligence level of that guy, wow. So cool to watch.

By the way John, I went to an arcade museum and tonight played a Budweiser tapper with the nice color side art. U Jelly bro? hehe

Jealous? No. :) normal tapper plays the same. :D

my friend bill has a tapper , not with the color side art but its still very nice.

I had to mention Tapper because I had no awareness of it before seeing your videos. Last night was the first time I played it. I was shocked at how great the game was. Then I realized If I ever get a chance to buy a tapper I would not think twice about buying it and definitely never sell it.

TAPPER RULES!!!

Tapper is on my must get list.  I've only come across two.  One Beat one for 1k and a nice one for 1500.

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john, for flux you should use a flux pen, the paste is old school and only useful for wires not PCB's

http://www.amazon.com/SRA-No-Clean-Soldering-Flux-refills/dp/B008QPT4MG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1394465837&sr=8-6&keywords=solder+flux+pen

Interesting. Everyone that I know uses the paste! Even my EE friends. :)

i'm telling you, way way easier and way less mess. especially since you use a flux screw driver lol!

Again, I knew I was gonna get called on it! :) LOL! I like my screwdriver!

Vodka and Orange Juice.

Ian if you have a board that needs fixing I would and Im sure others would love to see how this tool could be used to save us a little money and fix things ourselves. Please make a video and show us the way.

This is a great thread don't know how I missed this. I will have to admit I have copied most of John's equipment just so I can look at his how to's and be able to know I have the right tools.

Gotta point of advice here, right now if anyone is in the market for a new wire stripper/cutter I just picked up the one John has from Radio Shack today on 4/6/2014 for $15. Normally it's $20.

Make sure you got that hi tech flux apply tool that john uses :D

Thought I'd add to the gear list;

good solder station, variable temp; Hakko 888D
desolder gun (shits all over soldapullit); Hakko 808
bench top psu, I recommend something like the GW Instek GPS-2303, dual outputs of 30V/5A or something lower end like the Mastech HY3005D (aka KORAD KA3005D, Tekpower HY1803D, etc)

ratcheting molex crimper;

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JLN93S

its the bomb!

I never understood all the fuss about flux. I just add a little new solder to get old soldering running, a trick I got taught at electronics school LOOOOOONG time ago. I did order one of those pens and never use it, way too messy for my taste.

Another tool you sorely miss is an ESR meter John....these leave no doubts wether caps are OK or not....

Today you can get these very cheap multi-tester tools from China for insane prices. I just ordered this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=121296374687&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

It tests transistors, (zener) diodes, caps (not just electrolytic ones !) pots, resistors, thyristors even coils !
It also shows the connections what is what.
 
For the caps it also shows ESR value. I will run some comparing tests with my current ESR tester once it arrives.

Whoa that thing is COOL!!! Let me know how it works.

My Fluke DMM tests capacitance. I use it every now and then.

Since its come up, rom burner / reader

Genius G840, has external power supply so you can burn the high voltage drinking roms.
(Dont get a rom burner that only runs off usb, they dont have enough voltatge for some roms).

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GZFXWAO

I need to get in here tonight and update the first post. We've got an excellent tool suggestions going on here.

I use this type of tool to remove solder - it's an iron, and it heats up. Makes for cleaner removal IMO
Cheap at Radio Shack, too

(http://rayshobby.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IMG_0577.jpg)

I really have no problem with the Soldapullt. Why you guys need that fancy stuff for cap kits?!?

you know how different it was going from pliers to a real ratcheting crimper? 
Thats the difference when you go to the hakko 808 to desolder stuff.

Don't forget his awesome new tweezers  ;D ;) ;D

(http://img.alibaba.com/img/pb/332/786/819/819786332_567.jpg)

http://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Wholesale-Retail-Make-Up-Led-Light-Eyelash-Eyebrow-Hair-Removal-Tweezer-Free-Shipping-7-orders/1399735933.html


I agree that the soldapullt works ok, but ever since i have my Pace desoldering station, my soldapullt is collecting dust  :D

(http://www.opdenkelder.com/pics/keyboard/7.jpg)

One thing you might find useful is a circular polarizing filter for your video camera. It will reduce / remove the glare that you're seeing when in the garage (and most other places). You simply screw it into the video camera (I looked up yours -- 37mm) and then it has a secondary lens that rotates. Just twist it until you see the glare go away and thats it. Pretty simple photographer trick. Here's a good one that fits your camera and costs nothing. I'd mail you an extra one if I had it!

http://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Optics-Circular-Polarizer-Filter/dp/B003USTMHG

This should be your next soldering iron John  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Ben's Wearable Solder Gauntlet Part 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_J2_uI8kyE)

Ben's Wearable Solder Gauntlet Part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSWzYG6eigA)

I watched that last night. Love Ben Heck!

^^^^^
This is the tool for recapping monitors. It really saves a lot of time because it melts and removes solder with one hand. The Soldapullt requires two hands: the soldering iron and Soldapullt. Then you need to put down your soldering iron to cock the Soldapullt for each capacitor leg. Plus both tools are the same price, $15 so you might as well get the desoldering iron.

Another tool worth mentioning from Johns videos is the Molex HTR2445A ratcheting crimping tool.  Reference Pacman restore part 4 video.

Tighe gave me one of these and I hate it. I prefer the Soldapullt. :)

Thanks for the info John. I picked up the multimeter and a few other things from your list. That Fluke multimeter rocks.

dewalt protective goggles, $10 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RKQ1NI/ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RKQ1NI/)
3m respirator, $10, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FTEDMM/ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FTEDMM/)

you can use vapour carts for really strong chemicals, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XBKLLE/ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XBKLLE/)

and for sanding + painting you can use the cheap pads

3m filter pads http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013Z0TV6/ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013Z0TV6/)
the pads require the two attachment pieces http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009POHIRK/ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009POHIRK/) and this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00065UJ0U/ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00065UJ0U/)

most of my body tools came off a snap on truck.
For the hell of it I keep hounding my local electrical tool shop for a solder station with a desoldering wand

How about a hand truck?


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I've seen several of John's videos where he discharges an arcade monitor. He uses what I believe he said is a homemade tool to do the job that looks like an old long flat-bladed screwdriver with a wire electrical taped to it that has an alligator clip on the other end of the wire. I was wondering if we could get a more accurate description of how to specifically build this tool? I also wonder if there is an actual "real" produced tool to do this job properly.
I gotta admit, being relatively new to the idea of fixing up games and possessing no proper electronics training, fooling with a potentially dangerous electricity source like a monitor kinda intimidates me. I'm a firm believer in having the right tool for the job and I'm also a big fan of continuing to live a bit longer.  ;D

THere is a proper tool for it and john owns it as well.
Its called a HV probe. something with 40KV rating is what you need.


If you want to make something yourself what you should do is take a big long screw driver and solder some wire as best as you can to it. or at least wrap it very tightly around it. Wrap the whole thing in tape. Now with the wire end you will want to solder together a ton of 100k resistors in series, like 10 of them. wrap that in tape or shrink tubing. finally another piece of wire to the end of the resistors and into an alligator clip.

Something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-80K-40-High-Voltage-Probe/dp/B000LDQ672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437160357&sr=8-1&keywords=hv+probe

Or this?

http://www.amazon.com/Precision-HV44A-Voltage-Probe-Meter/dp/B000LDFNF8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1437160357&sr=8-3&keywords=hv+probe

yeah pretty much, the fluke is nicer but the B&K is fine. They go on ebay for less than half that.

Hello
i have audi q5 need to replace gear mecatronic unit inside AT
what tool can programe the new unit i have vaspc but it need pass abritus ans X431  but i dont know which tool can do this job corectely
Best regads

LOL to each there own, even if I had that Hakko like John got I'd probably still use this more as it's so simple and light. If I had the desoldering station is probably use it more. That Hakko is just so big.

Hey John,
I'm a super-fan of Atari Vector games and was starting to get into repairing them, etc.

Where did you get that giant red grounding rod probe you use on the WG's, etc?  I figure I'm going to need one of those. :)

EDIT:  Doh, NM.. otifrank linked it above.. I should read more carefully. :)
https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-80K-40-High-Voltage-Probe/dp/B000LDQ672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437160357&sr=8-1&keywords=hv+probe

(http://www.alliancetesteq.com/sites/default/files/test-equipment/80k-40.jpg)

Yes, but you can get them waaaay cheaper on ebay.