Mattel Sub Chase General Maintenance
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Mattel Sub Chase (model 2937) is Mattel Electronics' 1978 submarine-hunting LED game, made in Japan and powered by one 9 V battery.[2][3][1] Mattel published only an instruction leaflet. No schematic, parts list or photograph of an opened Sub Chase has been found, and the game is not in MAME, so the chips inside are not documented.[4][5] What follows covers the parts that are documented: the battery and snap, the controls, the case and its two screw arrangements. Fault-finding is on Mattel Sub Chase Troubleshooting Guide and the capacitors on Mattel Sub Chase Capacitor Replacement Guide.
Parts that need care
[edit | edit source]| Part | What to watch for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 9 V battery snap and its wires | Corrosion from leaked batteries; wires breaking at the snap. A 1976 Mattel Auto Race needed a new snap. | [1][6] |
| Battery cover | Press the centre and slide it out; check it latches again | [1] |
| FIRE button | Stands out from the left-hand side of the case and has its own contact | [7][4] |
| Four ACTION KEY arrows | Dirty contacts | [4] |
| POWER slide switch | Pushed up for ON | [4] |
Before you start
[edit | edit source]- Take the battery out.
- Tools: a screwdriver to fit the case screws (see below), isopropyl alcohol, cotton buds, a soft brush, a multimeter, and a new 9 V snap if the old one is corroded.
- Note whether your case has three screws or five; both versions exist.[2]
Battery, cover and snap
[edit | edit source]- Press down on the centre of the battery cover and slide it out.[1]
- Unclip the battery and look at both press-studs on the snap and the wires where they leave it.
- Clean light deposits from the studs with isopropyl alcohol. Heavy corrosion, or deposits creeping up the wires, means a new snap. See Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage for neutralising leakage.
- If you replace the snap, connect the red lead to the same point as the old one and check the polarity with a meter before closing the case.
- Mattel recommends a 9 V alkaline battery.[1]
Opening the case
[edit | edit source]The Handheld Museum records two versions of the case, held by three screws or by five.[2] No source says which screw heads Sub Chase uses. Mattel's earlier handhelds use unusual ones: the 1977 Football has 2 mm triangular screws, and a 1976 Auto Race was opened with a tri-wing driver.[8][6] Check the heads before choosing a driver.
Once the case is open, photograph the board and the routing of the battery and speaker wires before lifting anything. Note how the FIRE button, which sits in the side of the case, meets its contact, so that it goes back the same way.[7]
Cleaning
[edit | edit source]- Wash the case parts, with the board and battery snap removed, in warm soapy water and dry them fully.
- Clean the round screen overlay with a damp cloth; the rings, crosses and ships on it are printed.[9]
- Clean the contacts of the arrow keys and the FIRE button with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud.
- Work the POWER switch back and forth a few times after cleaning.
Storage
[edit | edit source]- Take the battery out.
- Mattel warns against dropping the game, getting it wet or dirty, and leaving it out in the hot sun.[10]
Preventive maintenance checklist
[edit | edit source]- Remove the battery; inspect and clean the snap and its wires.
- Check the battery cover slides in and latches.
- Clean the arrow keys, the FIRE button and the POWER switch.
- With a fresh battery, switch on: a small dot, the destroyer, should appear, and it should move with each arrow key.[11]
- Steer until the beeping starts and fire; a miss plays a short tune and a hit a fast, steady beep.[11]
- Store with the battery out.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Mattel Sub Chase
- Mattel Sub Chase Troubleshooting Guide
- Mattel Sub Chase Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage
- Recommended Tools
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Mattel, Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920, page 2: "Press down on center of cover. Slide cover out to remove."; "Attach one 9-volt battery to connector. Replace cover. For longer battery life, use a 9-volt alkaline battery."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Handheld Museum, "Mattel Sub Chase" (retrieved 2026-10-19): "Mattel's Sub Chase (1978, LED, 9 Volt, Model# 2937)"; a case variation, one version held together by three screws and the other by five, the earlier of the two not known.
- ↑ Victoria and Albert Museum, "Sub Chase", electronic game, given by Glenn Benson, accessioned 1997 (record retrieved through the museum's public API, 2026-10-19): "made in Japan for Mattel Inc., 1978-1980"; designed in the United States, manufactured in Japan; two shades of blue plastic with orange control pad and power switch; circular screen based on a submarine periscope, with LEDs showing the ships; 160 mm high, 97 mm wide, 38 mm deep; "SUB / CHASE" printed at the top and "MATTEL / ELECTRONICS" at the bottom of the front.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Mattel, Inc., Mattel Electronics Sub Chase Instructions, code 2937-0920, 1978, printed in Japan. Hosted here as File:Mattel Electronics Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920.pdf: page 1 (cover; drawing of the game naming the FIRING BUTTON on the left side, the ON-OFF SWITCH and the DESTROYER CONTROL KEY; code and imprint) and page 4 ("The control keys": FIRE BUTTON, POWER SWITCH pushed up to ON, ACTION KEYS to steer the destroyer up, down, right or left).
- ↑ MAME source, handheld drivers src/mame/handheld (hh_cop400, hh_cops1, hh_hmcs40, hh_pic16, hh_pps41, hh_rw5000, hh_tms1k, hh_ucom4 and others, retrieved and searched 2026-10-19): no driver for Sub Chase.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Slashdot, "Retrocomputing Enthusiast Repairs Mattel's 48-Year-Old Handheld Videogame", 9 November 2024 (retrieved 2026-10-19): a dead Mattel Auto Race opened with a tri-wing screwdriver; after failing to resolder the wires to the old connector, the owner replaced the 9-volt battery connector.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Joe Haupt, "Mattel Electronics Sub Chase, Made in Japan, Circa 1978", Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (retrieved 2026-10-19): the game on a stand, seen from the front left, with the FIRE button standing out from the left-hand side.
- ↑ Hackaday, "Restoring A 45 Year Old Video Game", 30 August 2023 (retrieved 2026-10-19): Mattel's 1977 Football "uses rather uncommon 2mm triangular screws".
- ↑ Joe Haupt, "Sub Chase by Mattel, Model No. 2937-0330, Made in Japan, Copyright 1978", Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (retrieved 2026-10-19), examined at 1,920 pixels wide: blue case, black front panel, round screen overlay with concentric rings, crosses and a ship and submarine at the bottom, purple score window at the top of the screen, POWER slide switch at the left, four orange arrow keys labelled ACTION KEY at the right, orange FIRE button on the left-hand side of the case.
- ↑ Mattel, Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920, pages 6 and 7: "Care of your game" (do not drop it or get it wet or dirty; do not leave it out in the hot sun) and the "Important notice": "Should the display lights begin to malfunction, this is the first sign of battery wear. A NEW battery should solve the problem. For longer battery life use a 9 volt Alkaline battery."
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mattel, Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920, pages 3, 5 and 6: one, two or more players taking turns and keeping their own scores; a small dot is the player's destroyer; 30 depth charges a game; a slow beep means the sub is to one side of the destroyer, a faster beep that it is above, below or under it; a hit on the first try scores 5, the second 3, the third 2, and four or more tries 1; a hit gives a fast, steady beep ("sinking" sound) and a miss a short tune; the cumulative score flashes; a new sub appears at a new place after each sinking; torpedoes are one or two dots moving rapidly across the screen at random, and a torpedo hit ends the game with a short tune; the total score shows at the end; move POWER to OFF and back to ON for a new game.
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