Pole Position PCB Mods

FrizzleFried

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I've had a few people ask me to take photos of my Pole Position PCB and to describe what I've done to mod my Pole Position PCBs. Please note that (A) I didn't discover/invent the modification... I found one mod (the power distribution mod) already done to my Pole Position PCB... and the board was marked as being fixed by Dick M... I am not sure if he did the mod or if someone after him... that is just how I found it. As for the switcher mod, I read about it online somewhere.

I have no idea if these mods help keep PP PCB's stable or not... I just know that I've modded both mine and I have had ZERO trouble with both PCB's in the year and a half or so since I've had them.

Anyway, here is what I did:

POLEPOSITIONMODS1.jpg


The YELLOW circles indicate GND test points on each board. The BLUE circles indicate +5 test points on each board. Note that there are 3 test points on the front board and 1 on the back... I used RED wire for the power on the front board and YELLOW wire for the power on the back and GND is black on both boards. The word on the street is that this mod distributes power more evenly than just using the edge connector...

Now it comes to a point where you have options. Option (1) would be to solder the +5 and GND wires to their perspective pins using the edge connector... or option (2) is what I chose to go with... which is to wire in a switcher power supply to deal with the +5..

What I did was I used a standard 4-pin molex connector... I wired 2 positions for ground and 2 positions for +5 for both the board side and the switcher side. I then removed all existing +5 power coming from the original linear power supplies in the cab... though some have said that is unnecessary... I did it anyway.

So the original power supplies still pump out the +12 and whatever other voltages are necessary... but the switcher supplies the +5 via the molex connector...

Pretty simple and straight forward... and like I said, my cab has been running this way with ZERO issues for about a year and half now.
 
High current is only an issue at dirty connectors... the actual traces on the board have plenty of ampacity to power the board.

That looks hideous and is a huge waste of time =-P

I do recommend jumpering the +5/GND off the harness to the test points with spade connectors though.
 
to add to his post, I am one of the people who asked for an example.

I took 2 non working pcb's 1 was PP the other PP2, and with this modification I had both boards 100% functional. I since sold the PP2 to a buddy on here, and kept the PP.

For 6+ months I have had it running, several hours a day without any hint of a problem.


edit: now that I see mark's post, I am certain he is very efficient and knows what he is talking about. I think it looks ok though, lol.
worked for me.
 
Ugly? I suppose so. Does it work? Yup. That is all I know... that said, spade connectors would work great too. I just like the smell of solder... ;)
 
i simply put in a switcher to run the +5v's and grounds. 1 +5v on each side and one ground on each side using spade connectors like mark said. i cut the connections from the harness and mine has been solid since. running all those wires is over kill but works the same.
 
This is what I did to my PPII board and I didn't have any problems for 3.5 years

Andrew

High current is only an issue at dirty connectors... the actual traces on the board have plenty of ampacity to power the board.

That looks hideous and is a huge waste of time =-P

I do recommend jumpering the +5/GND off the harness to the test points with spade connectors though.
 
Frizz, let me start with a big thank-you for digging out your snowed in shed and taking the time to photograph and bring your modded PP PCB to light in more detail so that those of us that asked might have a chance to examine it more closely.

It seems to have worked for multiple people so there is obviously something to it. Perhaps it is sloppy and could be executed in a more streamlined matter but it seems to accomplish the desired result, a more reliable PP game. I think it should definitely be explored and improved upon for us lesser educated hobbyists by those with more understanding in the arts of just how this actually works.

In short,you seem to be onto something here that not everyone is completely understanding but it would seem that hudsonarcade grasps what is actually being accomplished to a much greater degree, if not completely... I do not know hudsonarcade but I have developed a fond respect for his obvious knowledge and willingness to let everyone know that he knows exactly what he is doing! I also think I catch about 60% of his dry humor! What I think I see absent is the willingness of hobbyists that come under the scrutiny of his knowledge to reply and take the chance of being picked apart before the collecting community. I for one am definitely intimidated by brilliance but only because it shows me just how little I know. I know alot of stuff but I have very little expertise in most of the things that really interest me. One quality I have is that I am always willing to be taught. I am not very opinionated and perhaps that makes it easier for me to listen to others. No one knows everything and the moment you think you do you are more lost than you could ever guess. Anyways, I digress...

So, I guess my point is that I would love to hear more from hudsonarcade on this in more detail. Tell us about the flaws that are obvious to you but please continue and tell us what we should do about them. Would you be willing to educate us that are willing to progress in this hobby and let us know what we should be doing to accomplish things like this mod that frizz is sharing?? I have complete confidence in your abilities and am only disappointed that you do not engage us more. You can still give us a plain and exacting view, even make us laugh at ourselves for missing the obvious, but it would be very cool if you took just a little more time to show us exactly what we do not know!

Sorry for the long post, just blame it on enthusiasm and Pabst Blue Ribbon!!!
 
A quick summary of Mark's post (hudsonarcade)...

It's his opinion (and likely fact) that it's overkill and unnecessary to run the wires from test point to test point. He simply suggests running a dedicated power and ground line from the supply (be it the linear PS or an additional switcher) to a test point on the front and back boards (one +5 and one GND per board). The test points are designed to accommodate a spade connector so you could eliminate all the wire and the molex connector by just wiring to 4 spade connectors (again, 2 +5 and 2 GND) and plugging them directly to the test points on the boards.

Now as for my opinion... I don't care how ugly it is... so the extra wire doesn't bother me... even if there is a .0001% chance it helps keep the board stable and running... it's worth it IMHO...

:D
 
I did a hybrid of several of these methods. I used the quick disconnects on a couple of the test points for each board but I wired them to a molex connector. And then wired the molex connector to the original matched AR-II board. I did not remove the +5 and ground wires from the harness either.

Mitch
 
Ugly? I suppose so. Does it work? Yup. That is all I know... that said, spade connectors would work great too. I just like the smell of solder... ;)



You were asked what you did, you showed, and people that were interested benefitted.
Forget the peanut gallery, too many haters on this board at times.
Looks good IMO, as long as it works and keeps working.
As notorious as PP boards are, I did the same as you and mine works fine too.
 
Frizz, How did you integrate the switcher?
I'm going to try the mod on my PPII but I am undecided about adding the switcher...how did you do it??
 
bolt switcher in
take 120v line that runs monitor and connect to switcher
take monitor power line from chassis and connect to switcher
make 2 +5v lines and run to each side of board to test points
make 2 gnd lines and run to each side of board to test points
cut lines that run the +5's from the harness.

done.
 
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bolt switcher in
take 120v line that runs monitor and connect to switcher
take monitor power line from chassis and connect to switcher
make 2 +5v lines and run to each side of board to test points
make 2 gnd lines and run to each side of board to test points
cut lines that run the +5's from the harness.

done.

A monitor that needs an isolation transformer should NEVER have anything else connected to the monitor power.
 
its been running fine for a couple months? only thing running off the switcher is the monitor and the +5v

i guess i'll just take the monitor off the switcher and run another line from the transformer to the monitor.
 
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its been running fine for a couple months? only thing running off the switcher is the monitor and the +5v

i guess i'll just take the monitor off the switcher and run another line from the transformer to the monitor.

Are you using a newer monitor that does not require an isolation transformer?
 
nope, its a old kortex k12vo......it was connected to the transformer before i put the switcher in....so now that line runs to the switcher to power it and i connected the power for the monitor to those same switcher terminals...120v...
 
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