Help with Pole Position

CossackWarrior

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Working Namco version PPII pcb set, checked and repaired by mikerk, ARII's checked and reworked by Bill, coin lights, marquee lights, and monitor work.

However, I am not getting any voltage into the ARII's, and thus to the pcb.....

Was working a while ago.

Checked all the fuses, and they are good too.

Has new big blues.

Power brick somewhere has an issue?

Bad big blues?

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Replace the 25 amp bridge rectifier with a 35 amp bridge as these fail and also if the didn't solder the wires directly to it then most likely it's burned those conections..Its inside the bottom power brick with the big blue cap right next to it..
 
Replace the 25 amp bridge rectifier with a 35 amp bridge as these fail and also if the didn't solder the wires directly to it then most likely it's burned those conections..Its inside the bottom power brick with the big blue cap right next to it..

So a failed bridge rectifier will still voltage to the marquee light, coin door, monitor, but not to the ARII's?

Where can you buy this type of 35 amp bridge rectifier?

or the fuse holder is not making good or any contact with the fuse

Checked both sides for continuity touching the wires, not the fuses, and all tested ok.
 
So a failed bridge rectifier will still voltage to the marquee light, coin door, monitor, but not to the ARII's?

Where can you buy this type of 35 amp bridge rectifier?



Checked both sides for continuity touching the wires, not the fuses, and all tested ok.
I'm sure you could get the bridge on eBay even and yes everything else will be on as it supplys the DC volts that the AR2 boards need to make the 5 volts!
 
So a failed bridge rectifier will still voltage to the marquee light, coin door, monitor, but not to the ARII's?

Where can you buy this type of 35 amp bridge rectifier?



Checked both sides for continuity touching the wires, not the fuses, and all tested ok.
Take fuse OUT to check it..You might be getting false readings and better to be sure..
 
So a failed bridge rectifier will still voltage to the marquee light, coin door, monitor, but not to the ARII's?

Where can you buy this type of 35 amp bridge rectifier?



Checked both sides for continuity touching the wires, not the fuses, and all tested ok.

The bridge rectifier is part of the unreg 10.3VDC circuit. If its bad or a wire is broken on it you wont get that voltage. The other voltages coming from the brick will be fine.

heres an auction with those rectifiers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-Phas...109079?hash=item43e7c2c0d7:g:WkcAAOSw7ThUhMj8

Check the large fuse on that brick too. They often burn the connections open.
 
Take fuse OUT to check it..You might be getting false readings and better to be sure..

I will check each out of the holder tonight for sure. Good idea.

The bridge rectifier is part of the unreg 10.3VDC circuit. If its bad or a wire is broken on it you wont get that voltage. The other voltages coming from the brick will be fine.

heres an auction with those rectifiers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-Phas...109079?hash=item43e7c2c0d7:g:WkcAAOSw7ThUhMj8

Check the large fuse on that brick too. They often burn the connections open.

Great info, and thank you for the link. I am removing the brick tonight to check for broken wires, etc.
 
I will check each out of the holder tonight for sure. Good idea.



Great info, and thank you for the link. I am removing the brick tonight to check for broken wires, etc.
The 25 amp fuse will often burn a end where you can't see it..I normally put 2 fuse holders in place of the one and use a 15 amp and 10 amp slow blow fuses...25 amps will always burn ONE fuse holder..What was Atari thinking!!?!!
 
Take fuse OUT to check it..You might be getting false readings and better to be sure..

Holy cr@p pacman, IT WAS THE 20 amp SLOW BLO FUSE!!!!!!!!!!

Tested fine for continuity IN the fuse block, but bad when I took it out!!!!

I will never check fuses in the fuse block again.

Awesome, awesome, awesome.
 
Holy cr@p pacman, IT WAS THE 20 amp SLOW BLO FUSE!!!!!!!!!!

Tested fine for continuity IN the fuse block, but bad when I took it out!!!!

I will never check fuses in the fuse block again.

Awesome, awesome, awesome.
See?! Haha Put a 25 amp slow blow but most likely the fuse holder is burnt and if so it will heat up the fuse again and kill it...I have had too many Pole Positions in my time haha
 
See?! Haha Put a 25 amp slow blow but most likely the fuse holder is burnt and if so it will heat up the fuse again and kill it...I have had too many Pole Positions in my time haha

I still cant believe it. Who would have thought tested good inside, bad outside. Thats tricky.

Scratch built cabinet?

Yeah, markrl built it for me and I imported it. Art is all from TOG. The original Atari PP cab I had was almost mush and beyond saving.

As you can see I have a Namco version pcb in the cabinet. The original cab was VERY interesting as it was made in Cali at the North American plant, but inside from the factory, it had a factory custom harness to fit the Atari version North American PP cabinet, but Namco pcbs. The steering pcb and main pcb were Namco versions.

The original cab was almost like it was an early test cabinet Atari used to see how PPII would do in the North American market. I never heard of another like it.

The only problem with the new cabinet was that the pcb mounting wood blocks were made by markrl for a North American version pcb with cage, and the original cabinet I had implemented different wood pcb mounts for the Namco version PP pcb which was never in a cage and much different in design. I saved the inner wood pcb supports from the other cabinet, but in the end I just mounted this Namco version PP pcb to the wood supports that were in the new cabinet as they were screwed and glued to the cabinet so well, that if I tried to remove them, it would destroy the cabinet.
 
I still cant believe it. Who would have thought tested good inside, bad outside. Thats tricky.

Might be because of impedance through the transformer although the other side of that fuse goes to a bridge rectifier.

Hmm... Strange indeed.
 
This may rub some of you the wrong way but keeping poles factory with ARII's is a waste of time and energy. You do need them for amplification but I always install a switcher to drive +5 in those games.

I dont hack the harness though. I'll either build adapters that break the +5 out of the harness or do the test point mod and remove the wires from the sockets on the ARII's.

That 25 amp fuse will never be a problem again. :)
 
I still cant believe it. Who would have thought tested good inside, bad outside. Thats tricky.



Yeah, markrl built it for me and I imported it. Art is all from TOG. The original Atari PP cab I had was almost mush and beyond saving.

As you can see I have a Namco version pcb in the cabinet. The original cab was VERY interesting as it was made in Cali at the North American plant, but inside from the factory, it had a factory custom harness to fit the Atari version North American PP cabinet, but Namco pcbs. The steering pcb and main pcb were Namco versions.

The original cab was almost like it was an early test cabinet Atari used to see how PPII would do in the North American market. I never heard of another like it.

The only problem with the new cabinet was that the pcb mounting wood blocks were made by markrl for a North American version pcb with cage, and the original cabinet I had implemented different wood pcb mounts for the Namco version PP pcb which was never in a cage and much different in design. I saved the inner wood pcb supports from the other cabinet, but in the end I just mounted this Namco version PP pcb to the wood supports that were in the new cabinet as they were screwed and glued to the cabinet so well, that if I tried to remove them, it would destroy the cabinet.

Maybe it was a Canadian thing, Here is Namco version that I had. It also had the Atari PP1 ROMs but an unreleased version.

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=344119
 
Maybe it was a Canadian thing, Here is Namco version that I had. It also had the Atari PP1 ROMs but an unreleased version.

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=344119

And was your PP also in a US style Atari PP cabinet as well?

What was different about the game that you noticed compared the regular Atari PP1 roms?

I have a Namco PP1 pcb as a backup spare that has Japanese writing for the "Prepare to Qualify" title..... unreleased as well?
 
And was your PP also in a US style Atari PP cabinet as well?

What was different about the game that you noticed compared the regular Atari PP1 roms?

I have a Namco PP1 pcb as a backup spare that has Japanese writing for the "Prepare to Qualify" title..... unreleased as well?

Yes, the one I had was the US style PP cabinet. The Atari PP1 roms were very different. Prepare to Qualify was in English in the title but the graphics were different. They were very poorly done especially the advertising signs while you were driving, awful graphics actually. Anyways the gentleman that I sold the board to did upload the roms to MAME as they were unique at that time.
 
Ok, that is super cool.

I have to post a video of my Pole Position gameplay. I wonder if I have those same roms, or even another different version.
 
This may rub some of you the wrong way but keeping poles factory with ARII's is a waste of time and energy. You do need them for amplification but I always install a switcher to drive +5 in those games.

I dont hack the harness though. I'll either build adapters that break the +5 out of the harness or do the test point mod and remove the wires from the sockets on the ARII's.

That 25 amp fuse will never be a problem again. :)

Is this documented here somewhere, that mod mean?

Do you need both AR2 if you're only going to use them to amplify sound? I ask because I've just picked one up that's mostly empty, I'm wondering if Ic ouldn't forgo the ARII completely, use switchers for +5V and some type of AMP for sound. Thoughts? I've only started looking at the manuals this morning.
 
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