Thanks Vince, I think I'll spend a bit more time looking over the board next time! Really appreciate your support. Thanks looking forward to watching your amstrad repair... always wanted to do one of those.

Thanks Dave C. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Perhaps I was a bit hard on myself with my voice over. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!

Thanks Skyway73. Really appreciate your comments and support. I think F7 makes amazing use of VFD tech. If I happen across another one cheap I'll send one your way. Glad you enjoyed the video. It's not doing great with views 😕 but I was quite happy with it.

Thanks Wnlocktvdx I love the VFD games. I have a few more awaiting repair yet that I haven't featured before. A lot seem to have the same fault though and I don't want to bore people. Astrowars remains a favourite of mine and the one I remember best from my youth. Thanks agin for your comments

Thanks Michael... I LOVE my desolder tool. Speeds things up so much. Mine is a cheaper one (duratool) from CPC FARNELL. Firefox like most of these games often fail because of the D882 transistor which you can get on ebay (and maybe from CPC too). Thanks the kind words and feedback. Good luck with the repair

Thanks Mike, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for your comments.

That's great like you say almost exactly the opposite! I got the socket idea from a comment on another video of mine. It worked fine but I did solder the chip back in in the end. The sockets I have are cheap and didn't hold up well. But I'm sure a good quality one would make a huge difference. Thanks again for your comments and support. Hope you are well

Thanks Dan, really appreciate the feedback. I had similar feedback on this video from elsewhere and I understand on some devices the music was especially intrusive on this vid. I don't plan to use music anymore except in some specific cases. Thanks so much for your comments. Feedback like this really helps me improve the channel

Thanks 8bits I appreciate the feedback especially from someone with such a good channel as your own. I have had a few questions about how I find stuff cheaply on ebay, I think its just persistence and good luck. I don't have any special search terms I just browse for hours!

Hi there! Welcome along I've been fixing stuff a couple of years it does get easier with time and it's a rewarding hobby. Retro is easier than new tech to fix, those games like astro wars are a food place to start I have lots of videos on those types of games

@@RetroTechRepair there are stuff in my area where they sell non working lsi video games. like em but kinda xpensiv , dunno if its worth it. do u hav like a boundary when it comes to buying non working ?

Hi @@boysopas5951 I don't do this for profit, I just pick stuff that I think is interesting to bring to the channel. I don't therefore have a price in mind when I buy things. I aim not to lose money after fees, but I often do. Sorry I can't be more help.

Thank you Stuart. I am glad that you enjoyed it. So far the video has bombed (shame I think it turned out ok) so I am especially grateful for your comments. Cheers!

Hi Tomorrowsphere! How are you? Sorry I have been away so long, been super busy with work. I was wondering where you had got to. I gave you a shoutout in on of my more recent vids... thought I'd scared you off! Glad you are still with us and thanks SO much for your kind words and comments. I really really do appreciate the help and support.

Hi Scott. I use quite a few different terms when searching eBay, too many to list but "electronic game" and "vintage computer" are among my favourites. I also search for common misspellings. generally though I just browse the categories of interest. I run my iron about 350 for through-hole, which is on the hotter end I think, but its a cheap solder station and I am not sure its very accurate. Astro Wars remains a favourite of mine and the one I remember best from my youth. I have never had an MSX, I wish I had bought one a few years ago but prices recently are high. Thanks again for your comments

Thanks Jason. Thanks for the feedback

Thanks Nathaniel. I love my F7 / X6 I too wondered if it left the factory that way. I suspect not, but who knows. These things were made to a cost so perhaps the odd one sneaked through. I would be suspicious of solder joints to the piezo sounders but have learned to be careful with soldering iron temps on those as a hot iron damages them. Anyway I am glad you enjoyed the video, it's great to have another US viewer. Thanks for the comment.

Oh wow that is weird. I have repaired a lot of these games but haven't ever seen that. I have seen cleaned contacts still not work due to carbon pill wearing off the button so if you havent done so id double check that pressing select is closing the contact. I've also seen hairline cracks at the pcb pads of the IC, where the pressure from the meter overcomes thr crack so they buzz out ok but don't work in use. So I'd inspect under magnification and maybe reflow the joints to they extend onto the track a little. It could be partial IC failure though I haven't seen this myself. Good luck. Let us know how it goes. Thanks so much for your question

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comments

Hi Phil, if you are getting sound but no display after the D882 replacement and the transistor is hot and current draw high. My guess is you also have a diode failure somewhere. Perhaps take a look at my astrowars videos or my puck monster video for this type of fault. Thanks for you comments? Glad you found the video useful. Stop back and let us know how it goes and thanks for the comments

@@RetroTechRepair Thanks for your reply. I pulled a leg from each diode, one at a time, checking for a change after each one. 8 in total. The system is still taking 0.8A. I'll watch those videos now.

@@PhilipBryden happy to help... interesting result with the diodes. Sometimes they are hidden behind the vfd etc but or could be something completely different. Thanks for reporting back I love these game so I'm interested to see what the problem is.

@@RetroTechRepair I did pull the ones behind the screen too. The smaller C945 tests ok too (out of circuit). I have emailed a link to a short video about this board

@@RetroTechRepair Do you have any info on the pinouts of TX-30. If pin 1 is on the arrow, then pin 1, 7 and 10 go to ground. 7 seems correct but there are diodes on [ins 1 and 10, so that doesn't seem right to me.

Glad you enjoyed the video. Great youtube name ByteGeist

@@RetroTechRepair I always enjoy your videos and have gained an appreciation for the old tabletop games. I have just restored Astrowars and have a Space Turbo - requiring a new joystick. To 3d print or sacrifice a discwasher vintage joystick ho hum lol. Thanks for the content, you have been missed. The Oneirophagic Geists of Egregore salute you. Yessss👻

@@ByteGeist Brilliant. Good luck with the repairs and thanks so much for your kind words and support.

I don't know of anyone making replacements so if the joystick has snapped your choices are probably to repair what you have or try to find parts from a scrap game. If the joystick isn't working but is physically intact, there could be many reasons it's not working. In that case I'd start by careful dissemble and gently cleaning the contacts and carbon pills. This is not advice, just what I would do if it were my game. Thanks for your question.

@@RetroTechRepair thanks heaps. The functionality of the joystick is still fine, it’s just snapped off and therefore needing a new one. I’ve had no luck finding a replacement however

Hi Renata. Sorry its been so long. Hope you are well and that you enjoyed the video