nintendo uni system monitor (popeye i think)

[delayed]

What is the easiest way to take out the video boards to recap them?  Is it easier to take out the whole monitor cage by taking off the 6 cabinet bolts on the side, or is there an easy way to remove just the 3 pcbs?

Thanks,

[DaveyPocket]

It would be advisable to remove the entire CRT from the cabinet, so it is simpler to remove the boards and work on them. There should be screws attaching the monitor to a bracket on the inside, try removing the screw from the bracket and see if you can pull it out. Be careful when trying to remove the CRT though, those things are a bit heavy.

You can take out the boards from the inside, but it will be challenging. I have never done it like that before, just as a note.

[delayed]

I went ahead and pulled out the boards without removing the monitor.  Bob Robert's site had a step by step guide.  

I did the recap and now I don't have a screen image (I never had an image or game play sound, just grey bars).  But when I pull the bottom connector the screen comes on.  It is just plain grey/white screen with a bit of movement.  Removing the bottom connector also changes the sound of the audio hum and the monitor hum.

Does this mean that the game or pcb is bad?  Would it be safe to put another game on the board?  I have not reseated the daughter card yet.  It seems really difficult to remove.


Any suggestions?

[delayed]

Here is a link to some images of the issue.  I could not see how to directly post an image here without having an external image hosting site.

https://sites.google.com/site/sanyoez20nintendo/

[delayed]

I tested the voltage out of the power box.  It is normal to what it says it should be, 5,5, -5, 12, 12, 24, grounds ect.

I did notice when removing the main pcb that some of the caps in the main cluster are missing.  Is this normal?  It looks strange because on the other boards where a part was not put in the whole was just soldered as normal.  These missing parts seem to have legs of caps as if there where cut out.  I posted some images within the google link. 

Any thoughts if this is normal?

[DaveyPocket]

Removing the daughter cards on Vs. Systems are a bit tricky, the boards are put in there pretty tight! If you can get a few underneath the card, there should be pins going into two sockets. Remove the card by pulling VERTICALLY or wiggling slowly side-to-side (I say vertically because if you pull at an angle with lots of force it may ruin your pins)

As for the missing caps, don't worry that is normal. The only reason capacitors were removed is to allow the Vs. Gun to work with the shooting games. The removal of those capacitors does not harm game play or the operation of the board in any way.

Now, the gray screen. You said that you got no game sound? Is the audio cable plugged in? Volume turned up? speaker plugged into audio board on CRT? The gray(or any solid color) screen usually indicates that there are no game ROMs installed on the motherboard or something is wrong with either the ROMs themselves or the CPU. Which game is installed on the board anyway? (would just like to know) Is the CPU installed in the right place? Is the PPU installed in the right place?

[delayed]

Thanks for the answer about the caps.  I have all the cables plugged in almost certainly.  I don't see any loose ones and I am getting hum through the speaker. 

Now can you tell me if I have the game on the correct side of the board?  It came that way to me.  I think the instructions say it is fine, but looking at the video's John has put he always points to the other side of the board when he talks about which side a single game goes in. 

Also would it be safe to put another game in the slots if I am able to get the daughter board out? 

And it should be Castlevania. 

Again, thank you for the reply.





"Now, the gray screen. You said that you got no game sound? Is the audio cable plugged in? Volume turned up? speaker plugged into audio board on CRT? The gray(or any solid color) screen usually indicates that there are no game ROMs installed on the motherboard or something is wrong with either the ROMs themselves or the CPU. Which game is installed on the board anyway? (would just like to know) Is the CPU installed in the right place? Is the PPU installed in the right place?"

[DaveyPocket]

On my motherboards, the games are installed on the RIGHT SIDE viewing that the EDGE CONNECTORS are ON TOP. Also, just so you know, Castlevania does start off in a grey screen for a few seconds, the game is performing it's ROM check. Try booting the game up and leave it on for at least 20 seconds. After a while it should say "ROM OK" or something like that and continue with the game, if it doesn't, something may be wrong (or as you mentioned, the game is on the wrong side)
It is fine to remove the daughtercard and install a game in the empty slots. Make sure that the CPU and PPU are in the right slots correctly and that all 6 ROMs are in the correct slots in the correct order. You can also try putting the game on the other side if you want to verify that the problem is due to the game being on the wrong side.

One thing to note, I don't remember my motherboards indicating copyright relative to "Western hemisphere". You may have a slightly newer Vs. board, though I'm not sure.

And speaker hum is common due to interference from the CRT and everything else.

[delayed]

I have been messing around with it a bit more and found that the monitor will turn black even if no game is in the pcb.  If I disconnect the bottom pcb connector it will light up grey, or if I disconnect the small connector to the inverter board it will light up grey. 

Any thoughts?

[delayed]

What should a monitor look like if a machine is turned on and no game is in the vs. Nintendo board?

What should a monitor look look like if a machine is turned on without a pcb hooked up?

[DaveyPocket]

Now, when you remove the game, which chips do you remove?
Technically speaking, a GAME consists of just ROMs, the 2A03 CPU and Whatever PPU you are using are part of the system. To create a black screen, leave the CPU and PPU inside the sockets, just no ROMs.

I will post some pictures when I get the chance of what everything should look like

[delayed]

Hey,
I got the games to come up!  I got a known working pcb and they come up fine now.  I wish I knew what was wrong with the pcb so I could fix it. 

Thanks for all the replies and moral support.

[DaveyPocket]

No problem!

[robgest]

Jus my two cents. On my red tent I have mario on one side and castlevania on the other and it worked great. One day I wanted to clean th board and pins. I took everything apart and thn put everything back in exactly how i came out, except I switched the games around. All I got was blank grey screens. Switched i all back around and the games played grat again. Those games can be funny like that.