Voxel

Thanks for the interview. That was a well deserved article for the man and the chip that brought a lot of good times to so many people.

That's a nice pong table. I'd rather not bother you for any parts as I'm in the UK... postage... customs... OMG!

That's the IC that TPI referred to above It's not like an E/E/P/ROM so its' not recoverable if it goes bad, as it contains actual electronics inside and not a memory matrix - but that should be rare. Looking at the box it indicates moisture damage, which makes me suspect some oxidisation may have occured. TPI's suggestion of repeated button pressing often clears built up oxide, which could stop function, so worth a good few tries. A drop of contact cleaner in the switches could also be of benefit here. I had a slightly similar issue on a pong clone - power, sound, but missing display elements. I cleaned the unit first, then removed the IC, cleaned the pins with a contact cleaner - a thin oil will also work (removes the oxide), wiped off the oil residue and re-inserted the IC back in the socket (a few times). It was just like you would do on a VCS cart in-out a few times to scratch off the oxide. Really had to push it home into the socket for the contacts to make as I only cleaned the pins on the IC, and not the socket connectors. Much like yours, the pins were a nice silver, but still the display was out. My Sears Pong Sports IV, has the same IC model as yours (my Pong is in pieces as it's awaiting work). The IC is in a fiddly location even with the shielding off, you may want to get a proper IC remover tool, as I would really not want to see a unit trashed by jiggling around with a flathead screw driver and slipping, causing some damage. Haste makes waste. Youtube some videos on proper IC removal, just to be safe. I don't want to give any bad advice that may result in damage. If it's not the IC the next culprit(s), would be the capacitors. I usually check for discolouration of components/swelling poor solder joints as well. Every Pong/clone that has a working main IC is recoverable, as the other components around it can be substituted. However "when" the main IC fails, you've got spare parts... Good luck!