Picked up a Williams HUO Robotron 2084 and Joust

enjoyvelvet

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Messages
4,044
Reaction score
87
Location
Mount Rainier, Maryland
So three weeks ago a guy had posted a listing on Craigslist for a working Joust for $800. I emailed him to inquire and made a substantially lower offer (typical KLOVer) and long story short the seller though he would surely get $800 and declined.

Fast forward to Wesnesday of this week...

I get an email from the guy saying if I can pick it up that night then I can have it for my asking price. I drive out to the guys place with my buddy and the machine is in amazing condition. The guy informs me he purchased the machine new back in 1982 from "some Williams Catalog" for $3395. He said it had been moved to 3 houses in its lifetime and that he used to smoke back in the day which why there are a couple of cigarette burns on the CP. The machine is SUPER clean on the inside and the paperwork on the inside of the backdoor is still fresh looking from the factory. There is no coin counter inside the cab so I can't "prove" its HUO but honestly beyond a few minor moving scratches the thing looks awesome!

The story gets better...
In the other room he says he has a non working Robotron 2084 that has the same back story...since it wasn't working he asked if I wanted it for $40.00! done and DONE!

The Robotron has a green wire going from the transformer to a molex connector that goes to a smaller board...the connector has a burn mark and the green wire is loose...I have to try and reinstall it into the molex connector...

I can get sounds when I hit the test button on the sound board but there is no video and no gameplay sounds so I'm assuming this green wire maybe powers the video board???

marquee lights up, coin doors, got sounds, got neck glow, but no video...advice please? I've never had a Williams Cab

Anyways lots of pics at my Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/joebrewer

I included a picture of the burned molex...any advice would be appreciated!

As I stated before, I can't prove they are HUO but I have no reason to doubt it...the guy wasn't an arcade junkie...he just had money to blow back in the day and wanted to hang on to them I think but finally realized they were just taking up space. I'm still not sure whether I'm going to keep them but I think I will be. Pretty nice examples of Williams craftsmanship
 

Attachments

  • robotron.jpg
    robotron.jpg
    38.9 KB · Views: 112
Last edited:
WOW!!!

These things are easy to fix... usually problems are wiring... ribbon cable, power harnesses (burned connectors) and cold solder on PCB headers .... or ps rebuilds...

well I would love for you to stop by and fix it :)
I have cold beer :) I think its just the matter of the green wire
 
Thanks for the reference photos for my restoration!

Nice find.. whoever these ultimately end up with (if you sell) will be happy with them.
 
Damn, that is an amazing deal. Congrats!! They look awesome.

The Robotron has a green wire going from the transformer to a molex connector that goes to a smaller board...the connector has a burn mark and the green wire is loose...I have to try and reinstall it into the molex connector...

I can get sounds when I hit the test button on the sound board but there is no video and no gameplay sounds so I'm assuming this green wire maybe powers the video board???

marquee lights up, coin doors, got sounds, got neck glow, but no video...advice please? I've never had a Williams Cab

I'm pretty sure that green wire comes from the center tap of the 22VAC output of the transformer, which gets rectified, regulated, and ends up as the main +5VDC supply for all the boards. Definitely fix that connection first! :)
 
Holy crap -- great deal man, congrats. Robotron is the best game ever made. Also glad to hear that it is actually possible to get a seller down off an $800 price. I also find it slightly hilarious that once a game ceases to work, the same seller deems it's only worth $40. Classic.
 
Last edited:
Damn, that is an amazing deal. Congrats!! They look awesome.



I'm pretty sure that green wire comes from the center tap of the 22VAC output of the transformer, which gets rectified, regulated, and ends up as the main +5VDC supply for all the boards. Definitely fix that connection first! :)

Ok even though I such at the electronics side I really think this green wire may be my only issue.

Thanks guys! Def pretty thrilled about my pick up.
 
Ok even though I such at the electronics side I really think this green wire may be my only issue.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I see a ton more problems with that game. Looks like a money pit to me. But I'm a nice guy and hate seeing someone stuck with a piece of junk. Therefore, I will double your money and take that headache off your hands!
 
I'm still not sure whether I'm going to keep them

...you should have never told anyone what you paid for them. If you do decide to sell, it will be away from KLOV thats for sure. These heathens will remind you that you got this for $40. Mistake #1 in cheapbastardville is telling what you paid. Come on, rook!

Oh, nice get :D
 
...you should have never told anyone what you paid for them. If you do decide to sell, it will be away from KLOV thats for sure. These heathens will remind you that you got this for $40. Mistake #1 in cheapbastardville is telling what you paid. Come on, rook!

Oh, nice get :D

well you know I realize that but i always inquire about what people paid so I don't mind sharing that i got hooked up and was lucky. Obviously I won't be selling it (if I decide to) unless the price is realistic.
 
Ditto on nice score and the cheapbastardville part. Robotron is a really cool game,but the best game ever me thinks not.
Edit:Sorry for the semi double posting.Damn safari browser on the iphone.....
 
Drool! That's one of the best scores I've seen yet this year!

Grab a couple Williams Power Supply rebuild kits from Bob Roberts and do both power supplies, your RAM will thank you. Be sure to reflow the header pins on the back side, they'll probably be cracked, and replace any burnt pins.

Bob also sells a connector kit for a couple bucks, grab one of those and replace that burnt connector. While you're at it, grab two of his battery conversion kits which have a 2032 button style battery to replace those 3 AA's.

Tech note: the 2N3055 transistor goes on the large separate heatsink and the wires leading to it's socket are orange, blue, and black. Usually there is a Motorola part in there and no cross reference on those numbers, so it's confusing unless you know the wire colors (since there are two TO3 similar transistors next to each other).
 
Drool! That's one of the best scores I've seen yet this year!

Grab a couple Williams Power Supply rebuild kits from Bob Roberts and do both power supplies, your RAM will thank you. Be sure to reflow the header pins on the back side, they'll probably be cracked, and replace any burnt pins.

Bob also sells a connector kit for a couple bucks, grab one of those and replace that burnt connector. While you're at it, grab two of his battery conversion kits which have a 2032 button style battery to replace those 3 AA's.

Tech note: the 2N3055 transistor goes on the large separate heatsink and the wires leading to it's socket are orange, blue, and black. Usually there is a Motorola part in there and no cross reference on those numbers, so it's confusing unless you know the wire colors (since there are two TO3 similar transistors next to each other).

beyond my tech level to perform myself but I'll be sure to get it done. So is the rebuild kit an upgrade or just a replacement to the parts?
 
Back
Top Bottom