So I'm a bit of a beginner when it comes to using an oscilloscope, beyond the absolute basics. My comfort zone is digital circuits.
That said, I'm working on troubleshooting a sound board for a pinball machine. The board is producing sounds, but they are incredibly muted and very staticky even with the volume turned all the way up. I pulled the board and connected it up on my workbench to verify that it wasn't something in the game cabinet wiring, and same result. The board uses a 6503 CPU to drive a DAC1408P (Datasheet attached) to produce the sounds. I've attached a partial board schematic that shows how the output of the dac1408 connects to the LM380N amplifier to produce sounds.
I have verified that the amplifier is working properly by lifting the leg of C15 that connects to the junction of R6, R10, & C@, and injected signal first with a signal generator, then audio source. Sound was clear and amplified properly.
This is where my question comes in. How do I look at the output of the DAC with my oscilloscope? So far, all I've been able to see is the +5V offset, even when I trigger the sounds. Can't get the oscilloscope to register anything. Reconnecting C15 to the junction of R10, etc, and lifting the connection to R3 and attaching the oscilloscope probe to that leg of C15 then triggering sounds will show a little bit of movement if I have the gain turned way up, but the signal seems to be only a couple of millivolts above the noise. I wish I had a way to force the board to play a constant tone rather than the game sounds, but unfortunately, I don't have access to the game code, or enough knowledge of 6503 programming to cobble something up.
Now, given the schematic I attached, and the simplified internal schematic of the dac1408 from page 1 of the attached datasheet, my current thinking is that something has gone wrong with the current amplifier in the output stage of the DAC1408. Does this seem likely?