I may have posted about this various times in the past but the lines on
my vectrex don't intersect properly and the problem has become much
worse over the years to the point that some games are completely
unplayable (Gravitrex being the worst). I replaced the capacitors a few
years ago with new ones; and even replaced all the socketed ICs once the problem began just to rule it out.

Years back, John D. thought it may be the I/O chip or the RAM. I think
it's probably the RAM and looks to be the least painful to replace.

Will this 2114 work? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NATIONAL-MM2114N-2L-1024-X-4-STATIC-RAM-Qty-2-NEW-/201470016162?hash=item2ee88c7aa2:g:geQAAOSwnGJWTkGM

Has anyone else had this problem and rectified it in the past?

Frank

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Frank H. Sapone <fhsapone@windstream.net> wrote:

I may have posted about this various times in the past but the lines on
my vectrex don't intersect properly and the problem has become much
worse over the years to the point that some games are completely
unplayable (Gravitrex being the worst). I replaced the capacitors a few years ago with new ones; and even replaced all the socketed ICs once the problem began just to rule it out.

Years back, John D. thought it may be the I/O chip or the RAM. I think
it's probably the RAM and looks to be the least painful to replace.

Will this 2114 work? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NATIONAL-MM2114N-2L-1024-X-4-STATIC-RAM-Qty-2-NEW-/201470016162?hash=item2ee88c7aa2:g:geQAAOSwnGJWTkGM

Has anyone else had this problem and rectified it in the past?

I believe those RAM chips should work as replacements, though unless
you're Vectrex also hangs or produces other unexpected behaviour
besides the misaligned graphics, I am inclined to suggest that
the RAM isn't the problem. If it were, other symptoms would be
very likely.

Have you replaced the 4066B and LF347 ICs in the X Y and Z
deflection output circuit (see schematic in Vectrex Service
Manual pg. 31 (PDF page 34), "XV. Logic Board Schematic")?
It could also be another component in this part of the
circuit. Or one in the power board schematic two pages
earlier in the manual.

Have you checked that all the voltages are correct (make
sure to take precautions against the high voltages in
the monitor circuits when checking)?

Are lines still drawn to the full area of the screen?
Are they being "condensed" towards the center of the
display? This could indicate a voltage problem in the
monitor circuit, among other things.

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--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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Forgot to mention that I am also interested in adding sockets to the
RAM. I never had to research my own sockets; so if someone knows a part
number from mouser (or similar reputable distributor) or how to research
it myself this would be appreciated.

Frank

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Frank H. Sapone <fhsapone@windstream.net> wrote:

Forgot to mention that I am also interested in adding sockets to the
RAM. I never had to research my own sockets; so if someone knows a part number from mouser (or similar reputable distributor) or how to research
it myself this would be appreciated.

Any generic 18pin DIP socket will be OK. There's no particular part number
you need to look for as the pin alignment is well standardised.

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#_ < |\| |< _#

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 11/22/2015 4:26 PM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

Frank H. Sapone <fhsapone@windstream.net> wrote:

I may have posted about this various times in the past but the lines on
my vectrex don't intersect properly and the problem has become much
worse over the years to the point that some games are completely
unplayable (Gravitrex being the worst). I replaced the capacitors a few
years ago with new ones; and even replaced all the socketed ICs once the
problem began just to rule it out.

Years back, John D. thought it may be the I/O chip or the RAM. I think
it's probably the RAM and looks to be the least painful to replace.

Will this 2114 work?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NATIONAL-MM2114N-2L-1024-X-4-STATIC-RAM-Qty-2-NEW-/201470016162?hash=item2ee88c7aa2:g:geQAAOSwnGJWTkGM

Has anyone else had this problem and rectified it in the past?

I believe those RAM chips should work as replacements, though unless
you're Vectrex also hangs or produces other unexpected behaviour
besides the misaligned graphics, I am inclined to suggest that
the RAM isn't the problem. If it were, other symptoms would be
very likely.

Have you replaced the 4066B and LF347 ICs in the X Y and Z
deflection output circuit (see schematic in Vectrex Service
Manual pg. 31 (PDF page 34), "XV. Logic Board Schematic")?
It could also be another component in this part of the
circuit. Or one in the power board schematic two pages
earlier in the manual.

Have you checked that all the voltages are correct (make
sure to take precautions against the high voltages in
the monitor circuits when checking)?

Are lines still drawn to the full area of the screen?
Are they being "condensed" towards the center of the
display? This could indicate a voltage problem in the
monitor circuit, among other things.

If the 4066B is socketed (which I believe it is) then that has been
replaced. It's been a couple of years since I played with it to find
out why.

I haven't measured any voltages, but if you know of good places to start
I can try this.

The games play fine with no lockups. Now, there was some oddness too if
you run the test cartridge on the first screen with the grid on the
second half of the screen one of the lines produces a double line.

Frank

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No words of wisdom here? I really want to get back to playing this
system again, but I'm just about ready to go off and buy another machine.

Frank

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 11/26/2015 5:13 PM, Frank H. Sapone wrote:

No words of wisdom here? I really want to get back to playing this
system again, but I'm just about ready to go off and buy another machine.

Frank

In case anyone is curious it ended up being those poly caps on the logic
board. And I now own 3 vectrex systems and each one does indeed fail
that test on the test cartridge with double lines in the center and that
some lines fail to fully intersect perfectly on the distortion tests,
and always in the same exact places.

Frank

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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