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Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade Maintenance

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Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade opened from the front (Retrofixes)
A Zaxxon with the top shell off: the control board in front, the large tube on the main board, the mirror sheet behind it and the small tube behind the mirror (photo: Retrofixes)

The Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade is a large battery tabletop game whose picture comes from two vacuum fluorescent tubes and a part-reflecting mirror sheet.[1][2] The routine jobs are cleaning the battery contacts, the mirror, the faces of the tubes and the stick and button contacts, and re-fixing lifting decals. Coleco's guide says the game has no serviceable parts inside and gives no service information.[3] Fault finding is on Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade Troubleshooting and work on the tubes on Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade VFD Repair.

Batteries

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Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade battery compartment (instruction guide 96232A)
The battery compartment as drawn in Coleco's guide, with the direction of each D cell

The game takes four D alkaline cells in a compartment under the base. They lie in two columns of two, and the guide's drawing marks the positive end of each cell; the two columns face opposite ways.[3] Coleco warns that weak cells cause an erratic display or erratic play, and that a game which stops after long play usually has flat cells.[3]

  • Switch the game off after use; Coleco's guide gives this as the way to avoid draining the cells.[3]
  • Take the cells out before putting the game away. Mini-Arcade.com warns that corrosion can build up within weeks on VFD tabletops that run on C or D cells if the batteries are left in.[4]
  • Clean corroded contacts with vinegar on cotton buds, and use fine abrasive paper only where the corrosion is heavy. Retrofixes cleaned a Zaxxon's contacts this way.[2] Leakage from alkaline cells that has reached the wiring or the board is covered on Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.

Opening the case

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Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade base and screw positions (Retrofixes)
The six case screws, marked in magenta: two at the left end, two inside the battery compartment and two at the right-hand corners (photo: Retrofixes)
  1. Take out the batteries.
  2. Turn the game over. Remove the six screws in the base: two at the left end, two inside the battery compartment and two at the right-hand corners.[2]
  3. Turn the game upright and lift the top shell away slowly. The mirror sheet stands between the two display boards, is glued in place and breaks easily.[2]
  4. With the shell off, the control board with the stick contacts and fire buttons is at the front of the base, the main board with the large tube is behind it, and the small tube's board sits behind the mirror.[2][5]
  5. Reassemble in the reverse order.[2]

Cleaning the mirror and the tubes

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Dust on the mirror and on the faces of the tubes dulls the picture, and Retrofixes found that cleaning them made a large difference to play.[2]

  1. Clean the mirror sheet with a glass cleaner (Retrofixes used Windex) on a microfibre cloth. Wipe gently; the surface scratches.[2]
  2. Leave the mirror in place if you can. It can be removed, but it is usually glued in and is fragile.[2]
  3. Clean the faces of both tubes the same way.[2]
  4. While the case is open, remove the dust from the boards.[2]

Stick and fire buttons

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Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade joystick leaf contacts (Retrofixes)
The control board: eight leaf contacts round the stick's actuator and the two fire buttons (photo: Retrofixes)

The stick has eight metal leaf contacts, one for each direction, pressed by an eight-armed plastic actuator under the stick. The two fire buttons sit at either end of the same board.[1][2]

  • Clean the leaf contacts and the button contacts with isopropyl alcohol or a contact cleaner on a swab.[2]
  • For contacts that have dulled, Mini-Arcade.com rubs the contact surfaces with a pencil eraser and then cleans them with alcohol.[4]
  • The aircraft-style handle comes off the stick easily. Games turn up with only the short straight shaft, so check that the handle is present and secure.[1]
  • The control board is joined to the main board by a flat ribbon of wires.[2] Avoid bending it sharply when the case is open.

Case and decals

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Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade side decal regluing (Retrofixes)
Paper cement being applied under a lifting side decal (photo: Retrofixes)

Retrofixes re-fixed a Zaxxon's lifting side decals with paper cement:[2]

  1. Apply a thin coat of cement both to the back of the decal and to the plastic.
  2. Let both coats dry before pressing the decal down.
  3. Press the decal into place with a flat-edged tool, working out any trapped air.
  4. Rub off cement that has run beyond the edge once it is dry.

Polish the plastic with a plastic cleaner such as Novus No. 1 on a microfibre cloth, and keep it off the decals.[2] Coleco's care notes ask owners to keep the game away from heat and moisture and not to leave it in a car.[3]

Capacitors

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The main board carries several radial electrolytic capacitors.[5] Coleco published no parts list. What is known about them, and how to record and replace them, is on Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade Capacitor Replacement Guide. See Capacitor Failure Symptoms for what a failed electrolytic looks like.

Checklist

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  1. Fit four fresh D alkaline cells and check the game on both levels.[3]
  2. Run the graphics test by holding the stick while switching on, and check both tubes.[1]
  3. Check that all eight stick directions and both fire buttons work.
  4. Remove the cells before storing the game.[4]
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rik Morgan, Handheld Museum, "Coleco Zaxxon": 1983, two VFDs, four D batteries, model 2396; mirrors and two VFDs give the 3-D effect, with the player's ship appearing to fly over the walls; the planet surface and ground enemies on one VFD and the player's ship and airborne enemies on the VFD reflected off a mirror; a true eight-way joystick with eight metal contacts round the stick; one of the largest games on the site and heavy on four D cells; games seen for sale with the stick handle missing, leaving a short straight stick; holding the fire button while switching on runs a graphics test and then a demonstration, holding the stick runs the graphics test only; the author's game is the Canadian version, photographed boxed and in play. handheldmuseum.com. Collector's notes.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Retrofixes, "Restoring Zaxxon TableTop Mini Arcades", November 2014: two VFDs and a mirror; original price $60, released 1983; six screws on the underside; corroded battery contacts cleaned with vinegar and cotton buds, with light sandpaper for the worst cases; separating the two halves slowly because of the mirror inside; cleaning the tubes makes a large difference to play; one tube reflects off the mirror and the other is seen through it (annotated photograph); cleaning the mirror gently with Windex and a microfibre cloth; the mirror is usually glued in and is fragile; captions saying that one tube "creates the Flying Zaxxon ship" and the other "the background effects and enemy ships"; cleaning the stick and buttons with alcohol or electrical cleaner on a swab; re-fixing peeling decals with paper cement; polishing the case with Novus No. 1 without soaking the decals; 19 photographs. retrofixes.blogspot.com. Owner's restoration report.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Coleco (Canada) Limitée, The Official Zaxxon by Sega: Instructions and Game Rules, guide no. 96232A, model no. 2396, © 1983: cover (model number, features, four D alkaline cells); p. 2 (game description and the labelled drawing of the controls); p. 3 (inserting the batteries, weak batteries, demonstration mode, the stick's eight directions, climbing); p. 4 (diving and banking, either fire button fires, starting a game on Level 1 or Level 2, steps 2 and 3); p. 5 (steps 4 and 5 and the display key); p. 6 (step 6, BEST and the best score, the scoring chart, four fighters and a bonus fighter at 100 points, special information including "do not attempt to open game", care of the game); p. 7 (90-day limited warranty and service policy for Canada); p. 8 (FCC notice, Sega trademarks © 1982 Sega Enterprises, © 1983 Coleco (Canada) Limitée, printed in Japan). Hosted as File:Coleco Zaxxon Mini-Arcade Instructions 96232A.pdf.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Steven Read, Mini-Arcade, "How to fix a handheld game": dirty contacts as the cause of a stick or button that needs hard pressing, moves two or three steps, or hesitates; cleaning contacts with a pencil eraser and alcohol; on VFD tabletops that use C or D cells, corrosion can build up on the terminals within weeks if the batteries are left in; checking for fresh batteries before deciding a game is faulty; looking for cracks or burnt areas on a VFD that does not light. miniarcade.com.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rik Morgan, Handheld Museum, "Game Guts!": photograph of an opened Coleco Zaxxon, captioned "Notice the two VFD displays seperated by a mirror". handheldmuseum.com.


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