How do I fix my games?

One thing I cannot emphasise enough, that I think I’ve also said elsewhere in this guide- is that it is VERY important not to overestimate your own abilities when it comes to working on PCB’s. Never mistake enthusiasm with competence, I have many games bought as untested as proof of this… Don’t get me wrong here, enthusiasm is a large requirement to learn, but it is possible to learn first before damaging PCB’s with ignorance.

I didn’t intend this to be a very large section as encouraging people to fix their own PCB’s is digging my own grave for numerous emails of “I’ve got this broken PCB…” This is more intended to be a general ’tips guide’ than a full blown repair how-to. This guide assumes a certain few things first:

That your test rig/cab is not faulty. That your TV/test monitor is not faulty… That you’re using the correct loom for non-JAMMA games. That you’ve correctly identified that 28 way does NOT always mean its JAMMA…
POP!!! Here’s a couple of good tips for beginners:

Probes on multimeters and logic probes are made of metal… That may sound like an obvious thing to say but don’t forget I said this after you blown a chip by touching two pins on an IC together and your partly working game is suddenly dead… When removing socketed IC’s with a screwdriver be careful not to damage the tracks underneath. When replacing a socketed IC be extra careful that all the pins go into the holes and that none are misaligned. They bend quite easily or may accidentally be left hanging outside of the socket. Those pins are quite thin and it doesn’t take much abuse to break them.