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Paragon occasional reset

Spandangler

Spandangler

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10 Years
Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
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Location
Suffolk
Hi gang

Just this week my Paragon has started resetting very occasionally.

Probably about twice in the hour it's usually on for.
It's only ever been during attract mode, I notice it rebooting when I'm playing other games. It hasn't reset during gameplay.... Yet.

I've reseated connectors etc..

So any of you vintage Bally hounds got any ideas? Common fail components leading to resets etc.. I'm guessing something's on the way out.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Gaz
 
Assuming you've done the sensible things like reseating all the connectors (which you said you've done) and reseating all the MPU chips, then I'd initially turn my attention to the 5V section of the power supply. First suspect in the firing line would be the C23 11,000uF 20V capacitor. If it hasn't been replaced it's now 35 years old. They were designed with an approximate 10-year life-span. Replace it with a good quality 15,000uF 25V snap-in, e.g., Panasonic. Cost around £3-4. Commonly cures most random reset problems because this capacitor is responsible for stabilising the 5V power supply for the microprocessor and logic circuits.
 
Peter, that sounds like a ruddy good starter for ten. I shall order one of those and go from there.
Do they sell those parts you speak of at Morrisons ;)
If not, where might one find one :oops:
 
Gaz Shiells said:
Peter, that sounds like a ruddy good starter for ten. I shall order one of those and go from there.
Do they sell those parts you speak of at Morrisons ;)
If not, where might one find one :oops:
Click to expand...
Whilst you're at it there are several other bits you should do. The other big capacitor for starters. It's responsible for maintaining the 190V supply for the digital displays. There are a couple of other small caps too. Also, there a few custom improvements to the grounding to make on the board. There's a tut on Pinside.com by vid1900 and it's also here too: http://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/ballyss/rep/index1.htm#cap. In fact, read that site top to bottom; it's gold dust for old Bally's.

You can buy the bits from places like CPC Farnell, Mouser or even Maplins at a pinch (but they're expensive). I did all of this for my Paragon; have a look on my shop log for details and photos. I can help you get the right bits too if you get stuck.

Oh... I'm assuming you've got and can use a soldering iron? ;)
 
Cheers Peter. Yeah I've got me self a nice soldering iron. I'll pm ya tomorrow and go from there. Thanks very much
 
Nedreud said:
Eek! Bit pricey! Those are £2.57 on uk.mouser.com. Admittedly you have to break £50 for free postage on Mouser, but there are other places such as CPC Farnell, Farnell Element 14, RS, where you only need £20. CPC Farnell is only £5 min order.
Click to expand...

Also an ebay panasonic might be the real thing, or a 1uf cap in a fake can :P
 
Thanks, @Paul. Sorry, @Carl Spiby, didn't mean to frighten you there! I was just quoting in terms of free delivery. Because most places charge around £4.95 for postage it's well worth topping your order up, especially at CPC, to get free delivery. Mind you, I can't remember the last time I spent less than the free delivery level...? Even when you only need a couple of diodes the order always seems to come to fifty quid... ;)
 
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