Multicade screen issue - help!

[brasstenor]

I have had a Multicade arcade machine in my home for over 8 years. I purchased it brand new and have not had any issues with it – until yesterday. The screen is completely on the fritz. I took a video of the machine in its present state. I plug the machine in and record everything starting from the bootup. At 1:15, the iCade home screen comes on, and I start a game of Ms. Pac Man. You will see that everything is fuzzy and distorted:

http://youtu.be/j8Qzlr4XVLs

Does anyone know exactly what is wrong here? If so, is this a repair I can do on my own or will I need to get someone to fix it for me? Any idea what parts are being affected and the estimated cost of those parts? Thanks in advance for your help!

[yocke]

Looks like it's time for a capkit!
I'll think that should help!
First it looked like a sync error! But when the game start, it's a cap that's gone bad!!

Is my thought!

[brasstenor]

How much does a capkit cost?  Is this something I can replace myself or should I get someone to do it?

[tombutler]

Multi games are EVIL

[iankellogg]

Its not impossible for the caps to be on their way out but that looks like a sync issue. If you want a cap kit just open the back of the game up and try to take a photo of the monitor's PCB and post it, I can tell you what monitor it is and which kit you need. Cap kits are usually $6-10 but require a soldering iron and some patiences to install.

While you are back there, turn the game on. and try to find a pot labeled vsync and adjusting it very slightly and see if you can get it to lock into the image. It looks like there is a complete loss of vertical sync which depending on the monitor could be caused by a bad cap or just an old pot.