Atari Pong Coin-Op Repair Question

[jaybird3rd]

I recently became the proud owner of an original Atari Pong coin-op cabinet (serial number AAA-001 in case anyone's interested). I got it at a good price, partially because it's presently not working. The mainboard seems to be getting power because the TV goes blank when I plug it in, but the game never starts.

 

The previous owner had little electrical engineering experience, and only got as far as replacing the large capacitor with a new one before giving up. I'm afraid I'm not much more knowledgeable than he, so I'd like to know if there are any simple things I can try to get it working again. Or, even better, I'm wondering if anyone on these boards is experienced in servicing these units and might be interested in repairing mine (for a reasonable fee, of course).

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

(I originally posted this in "Pong, Etc." but figured more people would see it here).

[jedijeff]

The problem with a lot of old games is that people work on them that have no clue what they are doing. Hopefully the board you have isn't hacked or it might not be repairable. Posting a message on the rec.games.video.arcade newsgroup might be your best bet in finding someone close by to help fix your game.

 

Jeff

[sebastius]

If you have a few hours, after i get some sleep (it's 00:30 am here and i'm tired as hell), i'll type you a little Pong repair 101.

 

In the meantime, i'd like you to take some high res quality photo's of the board, power supply, control panel (inside) and the TV set. Things like modifications, connectors etc are important.