Another set fresh from my workbench and burned in. This is a nice set. I have been repairing these for over a year now and learned where many of the reliability issues that caused these boards to get a bad reputation lie and methods to make them much more reliable – some from my own experience and others from the wealth of knowledge found on KLOV, etc.
Three of the most common failure points have been addressed for improved reliability and X-Y centering adjustment potentiometers were added:
1) All eight of the 24 pin ROM sockets on the Vector Generator Board have been replaced with quality dual wipe IC sockets. Even with a high score save kit you still need the two vector roms in place – those sockets are just as likely to fail and need to be replaced at a minimum.
2) Both of the 24 position interconnect headers on the AUX and AVG PCBs (J17 and J19) have been replaced with brand new ones. If you just reflow the old oxidized ones it may work for awhile but it just delays the inevitable. If after you reflow the old ones and the game works for awhile but you have to reseat the connectors in order to get the boardset working again, these need to be replaced.
3) Heat sinks added to the four 2901s on the aux board. They get very hot and this helps keep them at a cooler operating temperature.
4) X and Y centering potentiometers added. Atari dialed in the design so when the boardsets were new they centered very easily. As the boardset ages and component values change, it becomes more difficult if not impossible to get everything centered. Repopulating the centering circuits really helps centering the image with your cardboard background, especially that radar circle.
The repaired boardset goes through a number of tests then runs in an actual BZ cabinet for several days and play tested (BZ is one of my favorites) before it is declared ready for sale.
$250 Shipped.
Save yourself time and aggravation. If you have a cabaret, let me know as a few component adjustments need to be made to accommodate the smaller monitor.
Thank You,
Bill
Three of the most common failure points have been addressed for improved reliability and X-Y centering adjustment potentiometers were added:
1) All eight of the 24 pin ROM sockets on the Vector Generator Board have been replaced with quality dual wipe IC sockets. Even with a high score save kit you still need the two vector roms in place – those sockets are just as likely to fail and need to be replaced at a minimum.
2) Both of the 24 position interconnect headers on the AUX and AVG PCBs (J17 and J19) have been replaced with brand new ones. If you just reflow the old oxidized ones it may work for awhile but it just delays the inevitable. If after you reflow the old ones and the game works for awhile but you have to reseat the connectors in order to get the boardset working again, these need to be replaced.
3) Heat sinks added to the four 2901s on the aux board. They get very hot and this helps keep them at a cooler operating temperature.
4) X and Y centering potentiometers added. Atari dialed in the design so when the boardsets were new they centered very easily. As the boardset ages and component values change, it becomes more difficult if not impossible to get everything centered. Repopulating the centering circuits really helps centering the image with your cardboard background, especially that radar circle.
The repaired boardset goes through a number of tests then runs in an actual BZ cabinet for several days and play tested (BZ is one of my favorites) before it is declared ready for sale.
$250 Shipped.
Save yourself time and aggravation. If you have a cabaret, let me know as a few component adjustments need to be made to accommodate the smaller monitor.
Thank You,
Bill
