NBA Jam TE - screen is darker than expected

[mathewbeall]

Hi Folks,

Does NBA JAM TE run dark normally? I am trying to get it to work on some screens, and i really have to crank the brightness up all the way to get it mostly visible, but it still seems too dark to me. I looked at the board and I see some capacitors that look like resistors - so not the normal electrolytic that I would look to see if I need to replace them.

I have tried a few monitors with the same general result.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Matt

 

[9999 Damage]

FWIW my NBA Jam is not abnormally dark, and AFAIK it only differs from TE in the PLCC chip and the ROMs.

 

[Starcade]

Have you cleaned the edge connector (preferably and gently with a fibre glass pen)? I’ve had image problems due to that before - assuming the jamma harness is good with other PCBs.

Are those ‘capacitors’ Mylar types? They usually underperform but can’t tell without a photo.

 

[mathewbeall]

An example of the capacitors on the boarrd.

I will get a fiberglass pen and clean the edge connectors - see if that helps!

 

[mecha]

An example of the capacitors on the boarrd.

I will get a fiberglass pen and clean the edge connectors - see if that helps!

yep those Philips caps unfortunately are getting very bad. Williams used these on their WPC pinball games also and the conventional wisdom within that circle is the Philips caps should be replaced, but the iC caps are fine. the latter were used more on Y-unit games, T-unit is when they made the switch to the blue Philips caps possibly exclusively.

otherwise to answer your first question, NBA Jam doesn't run darker than other games. your board was probably just stored in a bad place for a long time. environmental conditions make a difference with this stuff unfortunately.

 

[mathewbeall]

Ok - more than happy to replace these cap! Just sent a note to console5 to see if they can build a recap kit.

Matt

 

[Asure]

I've had this issue w/ a dirty Jamma edge connector several times on NBA Jam/TE boards.

 

[Starcade]

An example of the capacitors on the boarrd.

I will get a fiberglass pen and clean the edge connectors - see if that helps!

Those definitely need a clean, that could be the cause of your problems. You don’t really need a fibre glass pen, but it’s the best thing I use. I have used erasers, nail files, fine sand paper, etc. you just need something slightly abrasive that will remove the dirt and not scratch the plastic or remove the chrome coating on the contacts. You just need to go carefully.

 

[mathewbeall]

Use the fiberglass pen, and then I pulled out some deoxit and spent about 10 minutes with some papertowels getting off the black residue - its not perfect, but better than before, but alas - when I boot it up - same dark picture.

I am working with console5 to see if they can get me a cap kit.

Matt