Arcadeshop Gorf ps or keep original?

jumpman

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I may need to replace a gorf ps. Should I buy an arcadeshop ps $40 plus ship or buy a tested working original ps? How much do original ps go for? Besides wrecking the original gorf set up what are the pros/ cons between original ps and the arcadeshop ps?
 
What's wrong with your existing power supply? Is it missing? They're really, really easy to repair - if you have a broken one, fixing it is by far cheaper than buying a replacement.

A switcher will work fine with GORF, just, you know, not original :) You don't need to buy the Arcadeshop thing, you can make your own easily enough too.

-Ian
 
What's wrong with your existing power supply? Is it missing? They're really, really easy to repair - if you have a broken one, fixing it is by far cheaper than buying a replacement.

A switcher will work fine with GORF, just, you know, not original :) You don't need to buy the Arcadeshop thing, you can make your own easily enough too.

-Ian

I am uncertain if ps works or not, at this point I have no experience in board repair. I have a soldering station on order and will learn how to repair, but for right now I will feel more comfortable buying a tested working ps that way I can then attempt to repair my original ps and have a back up. If a new ps is not that Much more reliable or better I will weigh the price difference between a tested original and the AS ps. I will post a wtb or if anyone reads this and has one for sale shoot me a pm.
 
I am uncertain if ps works or not, at this point I have no experience in board repair. I have a soldering station on order and will learn how to repair, but for right now I will feel more comfortable buying a tested working ps that way I can then attempt to repair my original ps and have a back up. If a new ps is not that Much more reliable or better I will weigh the price difference between a tested original and the AS ps. I will post a wtb or if anyone reads this and has one for sale shoot me a pm.

Contact Elutz on the forums. He does a bang up job on most every Midway power supply I've thrown at him (even ones I've screwed up trying to 'fix').
 
An original, rebuilt supply will be very reliable - an original "as-is" supply may or may not be :) Overall, they were pretty decent power supplies. Very simple, straightforward.

How are you not sure if your supply works? Have you not tried it, or have you not gotten the game yet? If you've seen the game, how do the connectors on the PS board look? A very common problem is where one of the pins (center tap on the transformer) burns up. There are actually two pins with the same function, joined together on the PS board, but the factory harness only has a wire going to one of them. So, when I fix them I usually put in two pins in the mating connector, and join them together in the harness too - spread the load out over two pins instead of one. That way it doesn't burn up again.

The "Arcadeshop" supply is nothing special. It's just a normal arcade switcher and a trivial adapter board to allow the GORF harness to plug in. It will be exactly as reliable as the switcher itself.

You don't have to modify the harness to use the Arcadeshop supply - it just plugs in... but I still prefer to just use the original power supply if possible.

-Ian
 
I may need to replace a gorf ps. Should I buy an arcadeshop ps $40 plus ship or buy a tested working original ps? How much do original ps go for? Besides wrecking the original gorf set up what are the pros/ cons between original ps and the arcadeshop ps?

I don't want to sound like an ass, but.......I do not like these power supply conversion that have become very popular over the years. Now, first, let me state.....I don't have a problem with switchers. My problem is more in the "application". These conversion kits were made......so someone who doesn't have a clue what they're doing......can do it. (I truely mean no disrespect by that). On paper, that looks like a good idea.....

You asked for pros and cons.......here you go:D
Pros.....very easy to install---that's all I got
Cons....

01)---I do not like those 120V inline splicers....It doesn't take an engineer to see that this might not be the best idea. One tiny metal blade cutting (literally) into a 120 volt AC supply wire, while bridging it onto (and cutting into) another wire.
02)-----I do not like the way the adaptor board "hooks up" to the switcher. The thin plating (and actual circuit board) is mounted under the screw lugs of the switcher. It would be very easy to break the actual circuit board with mounting like this.....a nice bump, or maybe overtightening a screw lug. The other issue with this type of "hook up"......not all switchers are pinned out the same. Some have one ground lug, some have two ground lugs, some are AC input on the "right", some are AC input on the "left". This could make switcher replacement, not "user easy".......especially if you already arn't sure what you're doing. People have pluggged these in wrong when trying to replace their bad switcher.
03)---If the output connector on you harness is burnt/weak/etc.....this isn't going to fix your problem (of course, this will still be a problem with an original power supply).

Edward
 
I was told to look for a burnt connector to ps where 2 wires were combined into 1 pin. Where specifically is this connector? Either I just don't see it or these 2 wires were already spread out before I had this gorf.
I've decided to stick with the original ps since I have a solder station on order and want to start repairing my own stuff. I'm gonna do a bob Roberts order and get a ps rebuild kit and get molex connectors, pins, crimpers.
 
I was told to look for a burnt connector to ps where 2 wires were combined into 1 pin. Where specifically is this connector? Either I just don't see it or these 2 wires were already spread out before I had this gorf.

It's not two wires - that's the problem. It's one wire going to one pin. IIRC it's the bottom pin of the top connector - yellow wire. But the pin right above it is connected to the first on the circuit board, and it's unused. It's the center tap of the transformer. Usually the pin (and the end of the connector) is all burnt, so I have to replace it. When I do, I'll install two pins, and connect them both to the same wire in the harness. The single pin is the weak link, and by using two pins, you prevent it from cooking again.

If it's not burnt, and the connector is OK, I wouldn't worry about it - just something to remember.

-Ian
 
Also, if you have any dark/discolored/burnt pins, and you typically will with these power supplies, you need to replace both the male header on the power supply PCB AND the .156 molex pins in the connector. Any oxidation/burn, etc.. will make it act like a resistor which = heat..the whole vicious cycle..it will burn again. Even if you put a switcher/adaptor in there, you still need to replace the connector pins. The headers and pins are dirt cheap, just take some time to replace.
 
I may need to replace a gorf ps. Should I buy an arcadeshop ps $40 plus ship or buy a tested working original ps? How much do original ps go for? Besides wrecking the original gorf set up what are the pros/ cons between original ps and the arcadeshop ps?

I'd go with a rebuilt power supply. In fact I'd go with the one mentioned in reply #5 in this thread:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=188762&highlight=recapped

Then again, I might be a little biased. ;):D:)
 
I would also recommend rebuilding the original power supply - or buying a rebuilt one if you don't want to tackle it yourself. Bob Roberts sells a kit to rebuild these and it's very easy. I rebuilt the one in my Gorf awhile back and have had zero problems.

Also, if you do install a switching power supply kit for Gorf, you will need to put in different bulbs for the rankings as the original bulbs will be extremely dim (they require a higher voltage than what the switcher can provide).
 
The only time I'll go with a switcher is when I get a game in that already has one installed, things are working perfectly, and something major is missing from the linear PS - like the main xformer.

Even then I'd prefer to get back to the original linear and someday will do that with these games that have a switcher in them now.
 
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