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Notches Missing From Pac-Man and Ghost Graphics
Repair Case Summary
This page documents a firsthand Notches Missing From Pac-Man and Ghost Graphics repair case.
It is intended for technicians and collectors troubleshooting original Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man arcade PCB hardware.
Date: 2017-04-07
Board: Original Pac-Man PCB
Category: Graphics / character ROMs
Symptoms:
Pac-Man had a notch missing on the side opposite his mouth.
All ghosts had a notch missing from the tops of their heads.
Diagnostic observations / tests:
Original masked ROMs were in use.
Swapping the suspect ROMs removed the problem.
Components / locations investigated: 5E, 5F
Root cause: Bad 5E/5F masked ROMs.
Repair: Replaced the original masked ROMs at 5E/5F with known-good ROMs.
Result: Pac-Man and ghost graphics returned to normal.
Search terms: Pac-Man notch; ghost head notch; missing sprite pixels; 5E; 5F; masked ROM; character graphics
This is a firsthand physical repair case. The same symptom on another Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man PCB can have a different electrical cause. Use the documented diagnostic observations and tests to guide troubleshooting rather than replacing a component solely because it repaired this board.