I am in love with Mello Yello Q*Bert

[Riptor]

Yep, I have just learned to live with it. If someone came up with a good wiring map to eliminate the filterboard, I think we'd all be in the Gleeful Gondola to Happytown.

Look in the manual at the schematics. If I recall everything is wired straight through on the filter board. I have bypassed a few of them and if my memory serves right everything was lined up. I built the wiring harness for my qbert and opted to build it without a filter board.

 

[parabolic]

Yup, thats what I did as well, I just made "adapters" so I didnt have to cut the harness - in case I ever sold it to a "purist"
I should really go get those pics!

 

[Riptor]

Yup, thats what I did as well, I just made "adapters" so I didnt have to cut the harness - in case I ever sold it to a "purist"
I should really go get those pics!

You can do that BUT it doesnt eliminate the crappy idc connectors so you still have a failure point. The bulletproof method is to eliminate the filter board and the connectors. You are much better off since you dont have the solder joints to worry about and that is typically what fails first. The power terminals on the right side tend to heat up and melt the connectors so at minimum I would wire those straight through or upgrade to a better connector that will handle more current than the .156 header pins will. Trifuricated pins might be the answer if your set on keeping it original.

 

[parabolic]

You can do that BUT it doesnt eliminate the crappy idc connectors so you still have a failure point. The bulletproof method is to eliminate the filter board and the connectors. You are much better off since you dont have the solder joints to worry about and that is typically what fails first. The power terminals on the right side tend to heat up and melt the connectors so at minimum I would wire those straight through or upgrade to a better connector that will handle more current than the .156 header pins will. Trifuricated pins might be the answer if your set on keeping it original.

K - Ill buy that.......
However, arent all of the connectors (most anyhow) the same "crappy idc connectors"? That being said and they are the weak link in the circuitry, then that theory denotes getting rid of them all and soldiering the harness directly to the boards.
But you are right - alot of electrical failures are due to the connectors and terminal tension.
So before I made my bypass adapters I did a pin drag on them to make sure none were excessively loose. If I were to find some I would have just eliminated them as you had mentioned.

 

[parabolic]

Ahh - I see youve edited as I was posting - I guess were on the same lines of thought then.
I hate the fact that edits dont show up in email notification. Now I wrote all that for nothing - lol!

 

[Dave27]

I dont know what you guys are talking about heated pins and all that. Mine has been running solid 100% stock with the filter board ever since I fixed it 8 years ago. I have thought of putting in multi Q-bert or trying different roms but I figure with a track record like that I dont want to screw with it.I know I didnt add much great info just thought I would rib you guys a bit