pole pos for $100 near me. HALP

Well IMO, because they truly are a PITA most of the time, I would adivise you to get it only if you really enjoy playing the game. I have had a few and always keep one around because I truly like the challenge of the tracks, especially on PP II; but I am constantly messing with it..
 
I paid $50 for my non working PP. All it took was a new monitor and reseating the connector and I guess you could say I lucked out and got a working boardset. I would love to pick up another non-working one for $50 anyday.
 
No better way to initiate your self into the wonderful world of video game collecting. If you don't have at least one troublesome cabinet, ya aint collecting yet.

I bought one cheap, fixed it for free. and then it REALLY crapped out on me. Bad edge connector drove the ARII boards to send lots of voltage to the PCB's. A new set from Millikan and now I only have to occasionally reseat ROMS to get rid of errors.

Once in a while, I turn it on and my high scores have even been saved. Woo-hoo!
 
I sent him a message about my interest, but withdrew my offer. If down the road he still needs to get rid of it I will get it from him.

Also the wife is a bit bummed about how I scrounge money to buy games. She would rather I save up a fund for such things. She pretty much said the next one I get is the last one till I replace one. I have limited space. I do look forward to flipping some project pins in the future, but not sure if this is one I want to jump on. Would rather have the cash to find a decent pin I can repair and make a bit off of than a problematic cab I might have to sink $ into.
 
Last edited:
I would ask him if its an upright or cockpit model (or just ask for mandatory photos like I always do). Either way, I've also heard the "be prepared for maintenance headaches" line over and over again. Ive only owned one and it didnt take much to get it going, but I didnt own it for long.
 
Thanks for the info. I am planning on passing on this one. The $100 price made me giddy, but finally came to my senses.

Best part is that the wife got pissed and we had a long talk and it seems I am in better shape now than before. As long as I do not jump on stupid crap and be responsible she is fine with whatever.

Still had to watch a chick flick yesterday though :(
 
i have a pole position the was working fine great picture! but i moved it and broke the cabinet. havent even tried pluggin in lol
 
I LOVE classic vids, but I really dont care for Pole Position at all. From what I understand, the boards are very unreliable.
 
No doubt PP is a fun game, and PP II is even more fun. But there is a price to pay for having one, and it's not the initial cost... lol
 
No doubt PP is a fun game, and PP II is even more fun. But there is a price to pay for having one, and it's not the initial cost... lol
Of all the games that deserve (yes, I use that word specifically) a modern, replacement PCB, it's PP/PP2. PP and PP2 are really fun, great games. Their hardware is just not up to the tasks these days.

Scott C.
 
Last edited:
Bah.... PP/PPII boards can be bulletproofed rather easily. The biggest issue with PP/PPII boards is +5 voltage and the edge connector. The first and foremost problem is that there just wasn't enough +5 pins for either the mainboard or the video board IMHO. What results is the edge connectors get weak or a trace burns and the AR power supply "senses" the resulting lower voltage and adjusts to compensate... which causes more burning which causes the AR to send even more voltage until one day SOMETHING burns out be it the edge connector, the +5 traces or the AR sends so much voltage it burns something out in the +5 circuit on the boardset.

Simply solution: Remove the +5 pins from the edge connector (or clip them off). Then solder wires from each +5 test point on each board separately. Do the same with the GND points. Do so for both the main board and the video board. You end up with 2 +5 wires and 2 GND wires. Wire them to a molex connector (or something similar) and then wire in a switching power supply. Run some wire from the +5 and GND of the switcher to the other end of a molex. Just make sure to remove all +5 wires from the edge connector (you can leave GND wires as they're not going to hurt)... Ta-da... you're done. Both my PP and PPII boardsets work great using this method. I took the idea off a Dick Millken(sp?) repaired boardset (well, he had the wire loop going back to the edge connector... but I took it one step further with the advice of another KLOVian about the switcher idea).

Here is a picture of my PP boardset sitting in it's drawer... it sure looks hacked like a mo-fo, but it's effective... and changing out boardsets is as easy as 2 edge connectors and a single molex...

PP_PP1PCB.jpg
 
Bah.... PP/PPII boards can be bulletproofed rather easily. The biggest issue with PP/PPII boards is +5 voltage and the edge connector. The first and foremost problem is that there just wasn't enough +5 pins for either the mainboard or the video board IMHO. What results is the edge connectors get weak or a trace burns and the AR power supply "senses" the resulting lower voltage and adjusts to compensate... which causes more burning which causes the AR to send even more voltage until one day SOMETHING burns out be it the edge connector, the +5 traces or the AR sends so much voltage it burns something out in the +5 circuit on the boardset.

Simply solution: Remove the +5 pins from the edge connector (or clip them off). Then solder wires from each +5 test point on each board separately. Do the same with the GND points. Do so for both the main board and the video board. You end up with 2 +5 wires and 2 GND wires. Wire them to a molex connector (or something similar) and then wire in a switching power supply. Run some wire from the +5 and GND of the switcher to the other end of a molex. Just make sure to remove all +5 wires from the edge connector (you can leave GND wires as they're not going to hurt)... Ta-da... you're done. Both my PP and PPII boardsets work great using this method. I took the idea off a Dick Millken(sp?) repaired boardset (well, he had the wire loop going back to the edge connector... but I took it one step further with the advice of another KLOVian about the switcher idea).

Here is a picture of my PP boardset sitting in it's drawer... it sure looks hacked like a mo-fo, but it's effective... and changing out boardsets is as easy as 2 edge connectors and a single molex...

PP_PP1PCB.jpg
Thanks for the info and tip. Yeh, it looks goofy, but at the end of the day the game actually plays and that is what is important!

Scott C.
 
Back
Top Bottom