The fact that it was working when you bought it and not when you got it home screams "bad connections". And as you have already mentioned, system 80 games are known for having poorly constructed harness/pins/connectors. One of the easiest/quickest/cheapest steps you can take to make these connections better is to clean the finger board contacts (edge of pcb where connector attaches) with a fiber glass eraser. This is constantly an issue as they become tarnished, resistance builds up and signals are lost or floating. Don't use sand paper, don't use an eraser, get a fiber glass eraser and clean them properly.

From there you want to remove and physically look at each connectors pins and determine if they are tarnished, bent down, broken or loose. Pins that are not inline with the majority of others are probably worn/bent down and need to be removed, either using a pin remover tool or bobby pin, paper clip, exc. and then cleaned/bent back to their original position so they can make firm contact with the board edge contacts. If they don't feel springy or look rough they may need to be replaced. Specifically the power and ground pins are your main culprits. Most of the other logic signals are low voltage lines that probably have little to no damage on the pins. Confirm continuity with your meter on every pin or connection that is suspect.

Do these steps first before repinning every connector. Pack a lunch if thats your plan as it will take a while.

For your sound board, its good that its outputting in test as that means the amp is good. I don't have time to look at a schematic right now but I'm curious if the input signals during a game are not getting through to the board. Maybe a bad buffer on the CPU?

For your drop targets, do they ever reset? During the start of a game? Or are they down 100% of the time? If down all the time check your reset coil for both power, ohm, and leads. Make sure the leads from the windings or the wire harness leads are not broke off the lugs. If all good then confirm/test associated driver board power and pre driver transistor.

I think the shotgun replacements were totally unnecessary. Go get the original MPU and slap it back in there. If it worked when you bought it and it didn’t sit for a year, then it’s most likely bad connectors. My caveman acts up sometimes if I let it sit for a few months without playing it. Fiberglass eraser on the finger boards is a smart idea. You’d be surprised how rock solid the Gottlieb sys80 is after ensuring the connectors are clean. Rottendog boards are a headache waiting to happen. Yes they’re fine and dandy if your game MPU is totally destroyed. The originals are still superior IMO.

Where did you get pins? The pins that these finger-board connectors use are discontinued and very expensive now. It's recommended to only replace the worst ones, then clean and reinsert the ones that are merely tarnished.

Some folks defend Rottendog and they've saved many machines, however their redesigns have strange bugs and issues of their own that when it comes time to troubleshoot will make things difficult. As previously mentioned, if your original MPU is toast, they're far better than junking the game. However, the original hardware has lasted this long, and it is well documented! There are decades of threads and owner clubs to dig through for issues. Rottendogs are sorta like reinventing the wheel at times.

Be sure to get the proper tool to pop out the connectors and treat them like fine china! They're only getting harder to find and the supply is finite. Good luck! I truly love my Caveman. The video portion is a blast, and the playfield layout is decent. It's definitely pinball first with a little arcade game, unlike the Bally Vid-pins that were arcade games with a side of pinball! I still enjoy my Baby Pac more, but having all 3 of the pinball/arcade hybrids I find them each to be enjoyable and challenging and they get far too much hate! Caveman also has the best sounds out of all of them! The deep bass is awesome.
Good luck and keep us updated with your progress.

Don't use a fiberglass eraser or sandpaper. It thins the material. Instead, use a pink rubber eraser. That cleans off the grime without harming the contacts.

Edge connector pins won't fit in the interconnect harness. The interconnect harness only takes the NLA bifrucated pins.

I only repin those when absolutely necessary when the pins are beyond saving. Otherwise, cleaning works fine.

Fiberglass erasers are used on IC pins everyday. They are NOT like sandpaper. And do a better job then any eraser in 1/10 the time.

I’ll add that whenever your cleaning any contacts (legs on ICs, edge contacts (finger board), pins in a harness, pins on a board) spray deoxit on the cleaned area afterwards. Specifically with ICs if you insert the IC into the socket it cleans the female pins of the sockets.

This is the best way to clean pins and contacts and decreases resistance as well. Always wait to power up until dry. Blow it out with some canned air if in doubt.

No they aren't. There are a few people who really like using them, but they are abrasive and really shouldn't be used on thin materials such as edge connector contacts. You're just putting additional wear on the material for no reason.

An eraser does a fine job. A couple rubs, and the grime is gone and no harm is done to the material.

No, detoxit is unnecessary. It's pretty much just naphtha.

If you really have some gunk that can't be wiped away, isopropyl alcohol is fine.

Deoxit doesn't offer any magical protection or whatnot.

Disagree.

There is an industry of technicians/repairman using fiberglass erasers and have been for decades. The goal is to remove oxidation not the plating. Fiberglass erasers work great for that. If someone continues to use it on one contact well after removing the oxidation then they might need to understand better what it is they are trying to accomplish. If that’s what your referring to when you say “grime” then again I disagree and highly recommend swapping out the #2 pencil for the proper tool to do the job.

Deoxit is great for its cleaning ability. Not magic. But helpful in tight spots like sockets. Spray on the IC legs after cleaning and insert into socket. Remove and let dry/blow out then resocket. If connections are still poor swap in new sockets as they are more then dirty. Wiping down finger contacts after cleaning mechanically provides further cleaning.

ForceFlow

Missed your T2 this year at the Saratoga pinball show.

You make it to pintastic this year?

I'm not talking about a pencil eraser nub. Something like this:

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If the contacts are corroded sure, you'll need to use more aggressive measures. However for most games I've encountered, the contacts are usually just a dirty, and maybe lightly tarnished.

I used to have a before & after photo I would post demonstrating this, but I can't seem to locate it. I'm sure I've posted before on the forums somewhere.

Sure, it's a solvent. Almost entirely naphtha. I have a can of it, though I think I've only ever used it once or twice. It wasn't that useful to me.

I don't normally clean sockets, but that's an interesting approach I hadn't heard of before. I usually just replace sockets if they're being troublesome, especially the poor quality ones that are well known for being problematic.

For chip legs, normally I use a rubber eraser as well, unless they're pretty gnarly. Then I may attack them with a fiberglass eraser. If they're too far gone (like some problematic 80s Bally chips), then I'll just replace.

Just don't do it with your breath. All the Nintendo groups warn about this with game cartridges. That tends to accelerate oxidation.

I brought it to the silverball show this past summer. Still plays great

Just on Friday--I had other events happening on Saturday. So, I didn't end up bringing a game this year.

30 years ago when I was active in repairing TV sets we used the rubber erasors all the time - especially in the infamous Philips K12 series which were known about their edge connector problems. It was an effective way of cleaning contacts.

I must have missed it. Loved playing it in past years. Nicest T2 I’ve seen/played.

We went Saturday. Although nowhere near as many pins in the free play room as years past, still plenty to do and enjoy.

Merry Christmas

Thanks

Yeah, participation and attendance were down a bit both at pinfest and pintastic. Still fun, though

You too