Broken connector pins and rust. I have questions! (Stargate project)

[mitchschaft]

I noticed that one, but he's asking for trades . I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask. I need that wiring harness, too.

Whoa, I just noticed some of his pics have a lady friend in it, lol.

 

[andykmv]

Aha! Hopefully he is open to purchase.

Harness could possibly be obtained from Dokert as he has manufactured repro harnesses in the past. Worth asking the question! He does both the AC harness and the game harness, and can iirc an ac switcher harness too ?

if not, others can supply switcher PSU kits, like Bob Roberts.

 

[ELutz]

That rust looks REALLY embedded into that pan. One thing I've used in really ugly situations is muriatic acid. Be warned....this is not legal in all cities....it's got serious restrictions.....and it's some major nasty stuff. You have to use this outside, the fumes will knock you out (literally). As soon as it touches metal, a pretty violent reaction starts.....the stuff starts to boil and bubble, foaming and hissing, fumes pluming off it. Be careful, don't let any splatter on your flesh. It's funny, the vapors seem to attract flies and gnats....as soon as the fly into the vapor, they drop dead. It's dangerous stuff, but it eats rust like nothing I've ever seen. Some Home Depots and Lowe's by me sell it. It's by the mineral spirits, paint thinner, etc.

Edward

 

[mitchschaft]

Bah, he changed his mind and his keeping the parts. Back to square one.

Somebody has a Robotron plate, though. I have no way of knowing if that's the same or not. I know a robotron harness is different.

That acid sounds hardcore, lol. I don't know if I'd want to risk that.

 

[mitchschaft]

What do you guys think of the power supply? lol

Is it cleanable? I know I need to atleast replace the wood panel everything sits on.

Besides that, I have a new PCB plate and a wiring harness on the way!

 

[Arcadenut]

What do you guys think of the power supply? lol

Is it cleanable? I know I need to atleast replace the wood panel everything sits on.

Besides that, I have a new PCB plate and a wiring harness on the way!

You might as well replace everything else too.

Bob Roberts has all the parts you need.

 

[mitchschaft]

Everything including the tranformer? I was just on Bob's site and he has a lot of Williams parts.

 

[Arcadenut]

Everything including the tranformer? I was just on Bob's site and he has a lot of Williams parts.

Might as well. It will look better

 

[mitchschaft]

His site is hard to find stuff. I think I'll have to email him. All I found was that link for "Williams Parts" and just some cap and connector kits.

 

[RetroHacker]

Why replace the transformer? It's rusty, but I doubt it's bad.

Are you going with the original power supply, or a modern switcher? If you're going with a switcher, you don't need the original transformer, just a standard ISO. But if you're using the original power supply, you need an original transformer. Honestly, even if you want to use a switcher, I'd hang on to the transformer. If the rust bothers you, you can always sand and paint the top and sides.

-Ian

 

[mitchschaft]

I'm going original for sure. I guess some surface rust shouldn't keep it from working, but I don't know. I'll try to sand and paint like I've seen others do so it's nice and perty in it's brand new cab.

It just looks so nasty that I couldn't tell what parts where on it. I see a fuser/holder, a receptical for god knows what, and a cleaner for a.m. signals (whatever it's called), a transformer and wires. It's nothing more than that, right?

I think I'll just replace everything but the transformer since I would love to have all original parts. Or maybe just replace the fuser holder.

Where do you guys buy your replacement power chords? Mine is cut and gone.

 

[RetroHacker]

I'm going original for sure. I guess some surface rust shouldn't keep it from working, but I don't know. I'll try to sand and paint like I've seen others do so it's nice and perty in it's brand new cab.

Yeah, a transformer is little more than a block of iron plates with coils of copper wire - it'll take more than a little surface rust to stop it from working. Just as long as you don't damage the windings of wire, it'll be fine. You can paint the exposed metal sides.

It just looks so nasty that I couldn't tell what parts where on it. I see a fuser/holder, a receptical for god knows what, and a cleaner for a.m. signals (whatever it's called), a transformer and wires. It's nothing more than that, right?

That power socket there is not switched - just connected to the incoming power. It's a service outlet - so you have some place to plug in your soldering iron. The "cleaner" is called a line filter. It's there to reduce noise in the power, to make the game less susceptible to interference.

I think I'll just replace everything but the transformer since I would love to have all original parts. Or maybe just replace the fuser holder.

Yeah, definitely replace the fuse holder. You can get nice shiny new ones at Radio Shack. The original fuse holders in most of these games were junk anyway.

Where do you guys buy your replacement power chords? Mine is cut and gone.

Well, Bob Roberts has them, or you can buy them at the hardware store for somewhat more. If you don't care about the color, you can buy an inexpensive outdoor extension cord from Wal-Mart and cut the end off, and if you don't care about it being short, you can just use a PC power cable and cut the end off. That's usually what I do - and the cords shipped with larger equipment (servers, big printers) tend to be heavier gauge and longer and look more like the original ones used on some games. You can also buy plain black rubber insulated wire at the hardware store and put a plug on yourself.

-Ian

 

[mitchschaft]

Awesome, thanks. I just realized I've been on your site a number of times through google searches.

I'm gonna talk to bob about getting the power cable, fuser holder for the PS if he has any, new connectors for all the boards and a couple cap kits. Just to get everything at one spot and give him some business.

 

[Veeb0rg]

There is always this way to deal with that rusty pcb holder

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tools/Electrolysis.htm

 

[mitchschaft]

Wow, I think I will try that out since almost every part has rust on it (namely, hinges and screws). I just need some rebar and a battery charger. I bet my dad has both.

 

[mitchschaft]

Alright, sandpaper wasn't cutting it for the corrosion/rust on the boards. So I had to break out the dremel! I guess I'll drop some vinegar on it just to be safe. I don't see anymore corrosion.

 

[mitchschaft]

Should I use anything to cover up that exposed copper or just leave it? I'm pulling out each chip and cleaning the legs and replaced the headers on the main PCB so far.

I also sanded a lot of the rust off the power supply. It looks a lot better but I need to do more or just paint over what's on it.

 

[andykmv]

Should I use anything to cover up that exposed copper or just leave it? I'm pulling out each chip and cleaning the legs and replaced the headers on the main PCB so far.

I also sanded a lot of the rust off the power supply. It looks a lot better but I need to do more or just paint over what's on it.

you can get green conformal coating pens from a number of sources to recoat the bare areas. will look as good as new! try digikey. lmk if no luck there i have some links saved somewhere for suppliers - BEST is one supplier

 

[Alpha-tron]

PCB conformal coating comes in pens and in bottles. Pens are good for tight places. Bottle are good for wide areas.
If you out of the middle of no where finger nail polish will work in a pinch.

 

[mitchschaft]

Cool, I'll check it out. Digikey and Mouser doesn't have any.