New to Vectrex and have display issues

Hi guys

New to this group.

Finally got hold of a Vectrex after all these years. Sooooo excited.
Its in really good condition but does have a display problem.

I have only fired this up today and this is what I've found.

The display will sometimes begin to jerk very quickly and exhibit what
I can only describe as 'lightning' type vectors all over the screen.
It then may calm a bit and then do it again. There doesn't really seem
a pattern to it. All the time the game is still playing.

Occasionally the vectors kind of quickly stretch/blur to the left and
then back. Most noticeable on the score numbers or writing. Again this
can be momentary and then be fine for a while.

Any ideas on what will need looking at ??

I'm new to Vectrex but am happy with board repairs - spend most of my
free time with pinball machines.

A pointer to good Vectrex websites would be good too.

Thanks
Ivan

>The display will sometimes begin to jerk very quickly and exhibit what

Ivan,
Welcome to the Vectrex world!
I was waiting to see if anybody else (with experience of the problem)
would respond. But since no one has, I'll try and give you a little
info, although I have not experienced the above problems myself and
cannot really give a reason as to what you are seeing.
Could you explain the problem more? - there is a certain amount of
flicker and shimmering of graphics on a Vectrex anyway. Is the problem
frequent or does it get worse the longer the Vectrex is on? - do you
see the effect during the Vectrex startup screen - maybe some more
description of the problem might jog someone elses memory...
There could be any number of reasons why you are seeing this problem:

1) It could be that some of the capacitors are getting a bit dry, and
that you need to replace them. There used to be capacitor replacement
kits available. You can search this newsgroup to find a recent topic
on them - also in the Service Manual you can find a list of the
component values if you want to do it yourself. Also see this link for
a step by step guide (http://lukesandel.com/techgallery2/main.php?
g2_itemId=906 ). I would be curious to know though how many Vectrex
owners did this, and what improvements they saw (I am interested
because I want to write a document in the future for users in order to
help diagnose and solve Vectrex related problems).

2) The other possible component that could be faulty is the SY6522
component. There are previous posts in this newsgroup by users who
have stated that faulty 6522s have given them strange display
problems.

3) Might also be worth considering to reheat the solder pads on the
Vectrex PCBs especially the ones at the connectors.

4) If you are experienced with electronics you might want to go
through the Vectrex trouble shooting guide and run a copy of the test
cart bin to verify voltages/signals to try and isolate the problem.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IF ACCESSING THE VECTREX INTERNALS TO DISCHARGE
THE CRT TO AVOID ELECTROCUTION.
(Vectrex trouble shooting guide can be found on www.vectrex.nl under
documentation).


Now an answer to your easier question - the best websites in my
opinion in terms of information are www.vectrex.nl and www.playvectrex.com.

Hoping you get to enjoy the Vectrex graphics as they should be seen.

regards
VectrexMad!
www.vectrex.co.uk