pole position: preventative maintenance?

TheShanMan

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Got my PP2 cockpit up and running this weekend. Given that that alone seems to be a minor miracle given the reputation, I'm wondering if there are any things I should do to make it more likely to give me years of trouble free service. Any mods that increase reliability or any parts that tend to be problematic that I should just replace?
 
Got my PP2 cockpit up and running this weekend. Given that that alone seems to be a minor miracle given the reputation, I'm wondering if there are any things I should do to make it more likely to give me years of trouble free service. Any mods that increase reliability or any parts that tend to be problematic that I should just replace?

Cut the power plug off and throw the cord in the back otherwise, cross your fingers.
 
There was a thread on here not too long ago with a similar query. Someone posted a photo of an original PCB with a rats nest of wiring hacked in. I think it was running on a switcher as well. Anyway he "claimed" that was the best way to bullet proof a PP.
 
Remove the HS battery on the PCB and clean corrosion. Also reseat and clean the interconnects and the socketed ROM/IC legs CAREFULLY. Clean all the dust out of the machine, rebuild the ARIIs, maybe throw in a couple new big blues on the power supply also.

As for the monitor, if its a MatsuSHITa, enjoy what little life it has left. As soon as it goes kaput, replace it with a rebuilt G07 monitor and in the end, you should have one rock solid PP.
 
This game really needs a modern plug and play replacement PCB. I'm all for being original but I make exception here/
 
This game really needs a modern plug and play replacement PCB. I'm all for being original but I make exception here/

Someone is supposed to be working on a PP1/PP2 multi-kit (JAMMA iirc)... Last I read the project was on hold though, but that was something like 5 months ago.

As much as I'd LOVE to get my PP1 boardsets repaired, and bullet-proofed... only one of those is partially possible. They can be "repaired"... but never bulletproofed, IMO. Even the repairs won't last forever if I had to take a guess... and by forever, I mean a few years.

I'm not a huge fan of non-original hardware, but for things like this (and Tron handles/MCR interconnect cables) I'll gladly make an exception.
 
Screw the ARII's in PP... cut the 5v lines off the original harness... you can leave the ground if you want. Solder wires from each of the test lugs for both +5v and GND on both boardsets... you should end up with 4 wires... one +5, one GND for the mainboard, one +5 and one GND for the video board... each soldered to their respective lugs throughout each board. Attach any type of connector you want... I used a standard 4 pin molex. Get a switcher... wire the other end of the connector to the switcher (+5 and GND (both if there is more than one)). There you go. The ARI's still provide +12, etc... but the switcher provides the +5...

If you absolutely MUST keep just the ARII's... rebuild them, then do the same wire mod to all the test lugs but then solder them directly to the +5 and GND pins. The problem with PP/PPII is that the +5/GND lines are insufficient... one side of the board may bet getting +5, the other side may be as low as +4... then the sense circuit kicks in and pumps up the +5 to compensate for the low voltage... eventually either (A) burning out the PS or even worse (B) burning out the +5 circuit on the PP/PP2 boards.

EDIT: I also too recommend removing the batteries... and even remote batteries suck IMHO... get some NVRAM and you're rocking.
 
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Appreciate the advice guys. I lean towards the "rebuild the original PS" camp rather than the "throw a switcher in it" camp so my preference would be to rebuild them and do the sense mod (thanks for that link) but I am definitely interested in investigating the insufficient voltage problem so I appreciate that advice Frizz. Assuming I see the problem you describe I'll make that mod.

And on a different note, the 4 channel sound in the cockpit absolutely rocks. Initially I was down to 1 channel because the PO cut the wires and tied them into the only channel that worked, but turns out the volume pots were the problem and a little electronics cleaner spray is all it took to solve that problem! :)
 
Hey Jeff, I got your PM, but haven't had time to even get down to that machine. You had an extensive list of interior stuff you needed pics of. You still need them all? As for the switcher thing, my upright has it and it is nice. I actually mounted a switcher in my cockpit, but it is just there as a back-up, I haven't even hooked it up to the gameboard. It's gonna be running my custom LED lighting I am adding to the cab, for now.
 
No problem Phet. I would still like 'em if you don't mind, but I wasn't expecting a quick response, and for that matter I'd understand if it was too much of a pain for you to bother with. At least PP has casters though. :)
 
No problem Phet. I would still like 'em if you don't mind, but I wasn't expecting a quick response, and for that matter I'd understand if it was too much of a pain for you to bother with. At least PP has casters though. :)

That it does, that it does, but though they roll fine, they don't swivel worth a shit. I do have the curved plexi in mine, I think a replacement could be achieved with lexan pretty easily, just add holes and heat for the bend.
 
Hey, it's better than my spy hunter cockpits that have 2 UR style wheels on the main body and that's it. Yeah, like that's useful! :mad:
 
Awesome machine. Mine's timeline in pictures:
SSL10700.jpg

IMG_0136.jpg

SSL11522.jpg

SSL11520.jpg


And here is a pic of the inside of the back door for you:
poleback001.jpg
 
Is that a factory door? It's the 3rd style of ventilation that I've seen so far. And looks like yours is also missing the cage cover for the end? I wonder if those things were just commonly tossed back in the day.
 
ShanMan, I'm glad to hear you got it running. You should know that Ground Kontrol doesn't have one anymore, so don't be surprised if us local collectors start begging to come over and play it.
Jayme
 
Is that a factory door? It's the 3rd style of ventilation that I've seen so far. And looks like yours is also missing the cage cover for the end? I wonder if those things were just commonly tossed back in the day.

Nope, my factory door was a swelled up, mildew-riddled pile of crumbling crap. That was my CNC and routerless attempt at a replacement, using 2 ft wide melamine shelving. I used the factory door as a pattern, so it's pretty close to spec. Now that I have a router, I'm gonna try again at a later date.

poleback002.jpg
 
Racer, they might just have it in the back for repair. The pedal never worked when I tried it. I would hope it's not permanently gone.

Phet, I'm pretty sure mine is factory because I've seen another door that has identical vent/fan holes yet it doesn't look like yours. Plus the cab I got my guts from had a different venting scheme, but that one may not be factory for all I know. So I'm thinking the factory had at least 2 schemes they used. The mounting scheme for the boards seems to be identical on all 3 though.

My top and back door are both water logged so I will probably replace them too.
 
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