How hard is it to fix this monitor color issue?

[shuyge]

Guys,

I'm looking at a Ms. Pacman / Galaga reunion machine where the picture looks like the following

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/33ormu2tamhmpo9/AABMWy73C6jhyb9MtByex-83a

Sorry, I can't make the img tags work here for some reason..

Anyways,  Is this just a simple degauss issue?  Could I end up adjusting the yoke on this thing if I get it?

Thanks,
Stan

[P-feif]

Hmmm, well, interesting. It certainly looks like a degauss  issue. So is the degauss circuit working or was the picture exposed to a magnetic field? Also the earths magnetic field can mess with it too. Try turning you cabinet in a different direction or putting it in a different location. Otherwise I'd try to manually degauss it.

Also your monitor looks to have some other issues, like screen curl. I'm no expert and I'm still learning this hobby but I would try installing a good cap kit and then take it from there.

John is the monitor king. Maybe he has some other ideas.

[shuyge]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't own this machine yet.  I'm just a little leery of buying something that's going to force me to work directly with a powered up monitor.
I'm very new to the hobby and I'd like to live to enjoy it a while  ;)

I did notice the screen curl and doing a cap kit doesn't scare me at all.  I've already done one where I couldn't remove the neck board because it was glued in place at the factory.
This was from a Dig Dug cocktail machine and I think they did it to ensure that the neck board wouldn't fall off while in service requiring a service call just to plug in the neck board...
I put as much force on the neck board as I dared and then gave up and replaced the one cap on the neck board while it was still attached to the monitor. 
It was a pain in the neck not being able to manipulate the boards as I wanted while doing the cap kit though.

As far as why it looks like it does, I don't know.  I'm pretty sure the current owner doesn't either.


I'm not sure John will reply.  I gave him grief over his Tempest hv rebuild... 

[P-feif]

They are all glued like that. You should be able to see the glue and if it doesn't brake loose you can cut or score it (very carefully) with an exact-o knife or razor.

[Hooligan93]

Don't work on the game till you own it, owner may decide to not sell or jack up the price. You could inadvertently fix it short term pay extra then have it malfunction once you get it home. I would say deguass is disconnected or broken or a large magnetic source nearby. Screen is stretched  vertically(on the monitor, horizontal in real life) and is over-scanning which could cause the curl on the right bottom corner. Do like P-feif says degauss it and change the games orientation in the room.

Could try cycling the monitor a few times to get the attached deguass to work a bit, if you dont have a hand coil or wand you can try a power tool like a drill. Start a few feet away with the drill going full speed and work your way in making medium sized circles with drill till you get to an inch away then smaller circles in the affected area then slowly back away still making circular motions with drill. Power tool should be AC powered for better results.

I wouldn't touch the adjusting rings on the neck unless you have done everything else deguass, change cab orientation, wipe pots, adjust pots, check all conections on chassis. Nothing will ruin your day more them getting 30000 volts and crapping your pants, or being a little ruff on your first time out and cracking the neck.

[shuyge]

Thanks hooligan93.  That sounds like solid advice.
I'm not in 100% yet, but we'll see.

Thanks,
Stan

[BadMonkey]

Wow! That's the worst degaussing issue I have ever seen. I think the others are correct. Degaus may not connected properly. You can also use a magnet from a speaker if you do not have a degaussing tool. And a lot of parts (like neck boards and especially caps) come glued from the factory. Not sure what monitor you are working on. Looks like a 25th Ann bezel but you said it's a cocktail. Uprights (paceman) came with a 4600 monitor in them ( a little more difficult to work on). And I agree with not messing with your rings yet. Your yoke being misaligned could cause a severe color issue. But that is pretty noticeable. You would see it "loose" Make sure you do extensive research on ring and yoke adjustment before you start moving them. And NEVER work on something before you buy it.

[shuyge]

I didn't pick up the machine.  The seller wanted $800.  I tried to negotiate with him by telling him that he was at the top of his price range and before I could even get anymore words out, he was like "ok, bye".

So I'm really torn.  I really want a 20th reunion Ms. Pacman / Galaga machine, it just seems like the price is a bit high on this one.

What do you guys think?

Stan

[P-feif]

If that was his response then just walk away and don't feel bad about it. There will be others. Usually I see them around $800 to $1300 for really cherry games but for a monitor issue like you showed us. Nah! Just walk away. Not sure what the rest of this thing looks like or what other issues if might have but I'm thinking for HIS game not more than $500. If he wants to sell it for a fools price then let him find a fool to buy it. 

[shuyge]

The listing is here:

https://denver.craigslist.org/tag/5994670288.html

It's now a week old.

Stan