New Bally Professional Arcade owner. Tips?

[+wongojack]

My order came in from Console5 and since this is my "Any Tips" thread, I thought I'd post pictures.

For larger pictures, visit my gallery.

I ordered a "Cap Kit," 2 thermal compound syringes (only needed one), and 3 Heat Sinks. Very inexpensive.

Since I spent so much money on the console and the UltiMulit cartridge, my thought is that any inexpensive prevention should help keep it running.

 

This fan is from a MacMini. I mounted it over the ram chips with a few dots of 1min epoxy. It pulls from the top (most probably coming in from the cart area) and blows left where the power components and the custom data chip get the hottest.

 

 

The aluminium heat sink is applied with white thermal paste [and a dot of 1 min epoxy - on the far right side] of the custom data chip (that excessive heat seems to damage first).

These other two chips, custom I/O and custom Address, get hot also, so I put a heat sink on them.

 

The +5 power was taken off the back of the Lite Pen hookup pin, and the ground below.

 

 

This blue original capacitor seemed to have some green corrosion on one end, so I replaced it. The replacement is a different type, so after connecting the positive to the top trace, I ran the ground negative lead thru an existing hole close by and soldered to the ground. Since the original was this direction, the new smaller one fits good if installed on its side.

 

 

Here shows the cap's new ground connection and the old connection.

 

How has it been running with those modifications?

[iesposta]

 

How has it been running with those modifications?

It still runs well, although I haven't had any long gaming sessions.

It still has beautiful RF output (if you do not use the switch box).

[Rob Mitchell]

I need to do this to my Astrocade .. Thanks for posting this ..

 

Also some time ago I made an adapter which allows me to use my Astrocade controller with Atari systems. Just the joystick functions ..

Edited June 13, 2015 by Rob Mitchell

[CatPix]

Ordered heatsink from Console5. It's weird that a once common form factor chip (it's the same size for the standard Z80 chip and the Bally ones) is not hard to come by.

 

As I was at it, I ordered 5, 4 for the 4 larges chips in the bally, and one for my Intellivision, as it tend to overheat over time (but thanksfully, it doesn't seem to damage it...yet)

 

While looking in for measuring, I noticed that the metal slab into the console wasn't even covering all the chip. Maybe only a part of the chip overheat, but this is still a poor decision since it mean that the heat doesn't spread as much.

 

Still gotta fix or replace the 10 000uF capa that have a leg snapped.