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Vertical hold / Sync issue on Sky Shark

Question from Christian: Hello Arcade Repair Tips! Let me start by saying you have already been a significant help in getting my cab running and have served as a very valuable resource in achieving my dream, so thank you very much for what you do. It appears that after hours of hard work, I have only one thing keeping me from playing my game. The game is a Sky Shark JAMMA board being ran inside of a Midway/Namco cab. I’m not sure what the cab was originally. The monitor is mounted vertically so the adjustments on V is for H and vice versa. When I refer to V hold in this letter, I am referring to the label on the potentiometer. The problem is this: the vertical hold absolutely refuses to stay put despite near constant fiddling with the potentiometers. What makes this especially odd is that the screen stays held much longer (perhaps permanently) when there is little action on screen. Less than a minute into playing a game, however, the screen hold starts moving to the left. The potentiometers are of little help, because both the vertical hold and the vertical position cause the screen to “spin” at varying speeds making it very difficult to find a “sweet spot.” Even if I do manage to find that “sweet spot,” however, it doesn’t stay long. Lastly, as far as I can tell, vertical hold and vertical position have somehow switched functions, as the vertical hold seems to both cause “screen spinning” and move the screen about where as the V position seems to only assist in slowing or speeding up the “spin.” Also notable is that both potentiometers are insanely sensitive but the one labeled V hold is much more so. I have checked the wiring and everything looks fine as far as that goes. If you can assist me in any way, your help would be very greatly appreciated. As I’ve said, you’ve already been a tremendous help in many ways. Hope to hear back soon. Christian

1 answer

Jonathan Leung Jonathan Leung Staff June 11, 2015
Public

Response from Jonathan: Christian,
 
First off, thank you for the kind words. We’re glad our content has helped you out.
 

As for your question, you might try touching up the solder on the potentiometers for the vertical hold and position to see if it helps. If not, you might try replacing those potentiometer altogether. Sometimes potentiometers will have trouble holding their value over time due to age (this could be why they are so sensitive). In other words, it could be that these potentiometers are just not working correctly. Replace them and see if it helps the issue. As far as the mix up between the two, it could be that they are just mislabeled on your monitor chassis. I wouldn’t worry too much about that.
 
Hope that helps. Thank you for your question and good luck with your repair.

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