I am curious... I have seen many posts over the years where people spend an insane amount of time diagnosing and fixing boards that are 30+ years old, when replacement boards are available.
For example, Rottendog offers a board that replaces both System 3-6 MPU and driver boards. The board is 260$. But again, with the original boardset, chances are you will replace the 40-pin connector, the scanbe sockets and a lot of pins. and even then, most components are 30+ years old.
Gottliebs... try to find RIOT chips, or get a new PI or Ni-Wumpf board...
Ballys... battery-acid-chewed -35 MPU, or Alltek?
I would like to see what people think... do you spend countless hours to repair, or just replace at a larger cost?
Same here, I much prefer to fix old boards and keep it all original.
In rare cases however, I would look for a replacement board (original if possible) when the board is: - too corroded - has bad prior hacks that cannot be removed - has serious burns with conductive carbon (or hole) that cannot be removed - has a faulty part no longer available (e.g. spider chip on Gottlieb Sys1 MPU) - has every chip blown (by someone using a screwdriver and shorting something with power on)
I prefer original where possible... Plus, when properly fixed, those old boards are reliable... And, often cheaper to fix than to replace !
Cheers, - Sylvain.
Looking for 1966 Bally Capersville, 1967 Bally The Wiggler, 1981 Stern Viper, 1986 Pinstar Gamatron, 1986 Williams Grand Lizard, 1991 Williams Bride of Pinbot, and a few others. Cash or some trades available. Could also repair a machine of yours +/-$ if needed, in exchange for one machine on my want list, non-working/unshopped welcome!
I would like to find a boardless Sys 1 or Sys 80 and throw one of Pascal's 'P' boards in. It'd be awesome to have the added skill shots and high score save!
http://www.pinballowners.com/ottogd Pins: Congo - High Speed - Cue Ball Wizard - Spirit - Eye of the Tiger - Quintette - Spectrum - Guys Dolls - Catacomb - Road Kings - Police Force - Cyclone - TX-Sector Vids: Asteroids - Centipede - Galaga - Joust - Ms Pacman - Super Sprint - Atari Cocktail (60-in-1) - Vectrex EM shooter: Midway Gang Busters EM Pitch & Bat: Upper Deck Slot: IGT 'M' Progressive ('86)
Screw the time. It's a hobby. Nothing better than a 25 cent component getting a $325 board to run again.
That was an awesome feeling for me!! I was totally bummed when my JP went down... got walked through it by Grauwulf, and $2 later it was working like new again ($2 'cause I had to buy a 10-pack of transistors.. )
Own Magic, Star Gazer, Batman Forever, STTNG, Mystery Castle (project)
Gone Fairy, Secret Service, Meteor x3, Title Fight, Eight Ball Deluxe, Bone Busters Inc., Seawitch, Starship Troopers, Strange Science, Arena, Hook, Pin*Bot x2, Time Warp, Motordome, Robocop, Black hole, Jurassic Park , Wipe-Out, Pinball Pro: Challenger I, Swords of Fury, Stargate, Party Zone
New boards for players & clients when deemed necessary, & original refurbished boards for purists & collectors. That's the way I see it.
Strange, I couldn't find any boards at all in any of the machines in my collection, must be a reason. EM's are so much more democratic in their functionality & design than their fascist half-brother the SS, where everything is finally & essentially controlled by the CPU. But at least when things seriously break down in a fascist system, you know who is responsible and where to find them.
Hannah Montana rules !! (whoever the heck she is) Name sounds like some kind of corporate a** clown if you ask me, but what the hell do I know, I'm French!
Toujours à la recherche de vos histoires liant Montréal et les machines à boules. Always looking for your Montreal based pinball stories.
They aren't definitive choices. I mean I would put keeping the old boards for value on par with fixing the old boards. In fact I was equally drawn to the Hanna Montana option.
I would like to find a boardless Sys 1 or Sys 80 and throw one of Pascal's 'P' boards in. It'd be awesome to have the added skill shots and high score save!
Buy my Genie...I got the pascal board sets, but haven't had time to diagnose the power issue (no power is getting to the boards).
"My power comes from my boundless rage"
** Getting Out **All that's left: (Vids) Bubbles**MAKE AN OFFER!**
I also like fixing the old boards. My knowledge is limited in fixing boards but once researching the problem and then fixing it is incredibly rewarding. I dont worry about the time spent either cause it is a hobby and I have fun with it.
I would kind if feed pretty bad (acutally dumb) going out an buying a replacement board having studied Electronics for so long and still having all the tools to get them going,
fee sable? not always frustrating? Yes,sometimes time consuming? its a hobby rewarding ??? YES!!!, Got to love seeing a board come back from the dead !!!
14 pins Ahhhhh!,2 jukes,mame,table arcade,vendo39,gun game and ROBOTRON ---NO VACANCY!!!--- the Inn is full!
Keep groovin' to 80's pinball machines! Complete MAACA-Wacko!
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Apart from Terry's dilemma....
.. I would say fix 'em.... except that the Pascal solution is awesome "thinking out of the box" and not to be ignored... and more power to the replacement display and board makers... they are needed.
(and sorry again for the elipses, and multiple posts)
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($2 'cause I had to buy a 10-pack of transistors.. 
)
, Wipe-Out, Pinball Pro: Challenger I, Swords of Fury, Stargate, Party Zone
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