Price Check: Joust

nerdygrrl

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So I am torn on this and need some advice. I have wanted a Joust since I started collecting and have found them in dribs and drabs here and there. Never complete and never in good shape. I found a 100% original one today in 8 of 10 condition cosmetically, but it's non working.

Everything looks beautiful and the only thing that has been swapped is one button otherwise everything is original with pretty fantastic sideart, no screen burn, etc.

I am not too familiar with the technical side of the Williams games, but I do know their power supplies sucked.

I know a new PS is $39, but I am worried about the board stuff. What do you think a good price is on this cab?

UPDATE: Thanks for the help guys! I picked this beauty up today! It looks like it was barely on the route before it broke. The CP is amazing and the monitor was clean! This has been sitting in an op's warehouse since 83 or 84. Let the diagnosing begin!

Album: http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc399/nerdygrrl/Joust/

Video Walkthrough: http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc399/nerdygrrl/Joust/?action=view&current=MVI_0526.mp4

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Yellowdog is your williams repair guru here
 
i just bought a complete non working joust off ebay, 7/10 condition, 176.50
 
You can rebuild the Joust power supply for $10 from Bob Roberts. I just fixed my buddy's Joust we got at an auction(rebuilt the power supply, fixed a Ram Error, replaced the Rom bd ribbon cable and rebuilt his WG4900). Non-working complete machine? Price wise. My buddy got his for $170 at auction. his is a 9 in condition. 1 small blemish on the CPO. But I would have expected and he was prepared to pay twice that amount.

The linear power supply is really easy to rebuild. I have heard of people having issues running a switcher. And I am all for a machine running it's original boards if possible.
 
Local working sold for $200. Don't know the story. If the cosmetic is good I would say no more than $200. Best of luck.
 
Sold a really nice one for around $675, I suppose if the cosmetics are good, you could do board repair for $150, meaning about $250-300 max nonworking, if I were buying I may offer about $125-175
 
How much are they asking for it.??

A non working Joust is a fairly easy fix. Start with the power supply.. if boards are bad, YellowDog does repairs here. Replacement boards are also plentiful.

Yes, the challenge for me as well has always been trying to find a good looking cab to start with. If you have one available at a fair price, I'd jump on it!!
 
Thanks guys, they are asking $300. Like I have said not too many have come up for sale around here so I don't really have a good grasp on the price point and I have been wanting one for a while so I wanted to make sure I wasn't just throwing my money out the door.

There are scrambled graphics on the screen. So I a guessing power supply, but could be board issue. I will start with the Bob Roberts kit. I have rebuilt many an AR.
 
Thanks guys, they are asking $300. Like I have said not too many have come up for sale around here so I don't really have a good grasp on the price point and I have been wanting one for a while so I wanted to make sure I wasn't just throwing my money out the door.

There are scrambled graphics on the screen. So I a guessing power supply, but could be board issue. I will start with the Bob Roberts kit. I have rebuilt many an AR.

Try and negotiate when there but I think $300 is fair. I will pay a little more sometimes for the right machine or a machine I am tired of looking for. Good luck!
 
I've got ATX Williams ps adapters and ATX ps.. Plus I still have most of the joust parts you traded me.. I've got buttons, sticks, etc. Also owned a few Jousts over the years including the one in my collection now..

Let me know if you need help.
 
If me, I would get it if you like Joust. Try to talk them down some but $300 is not bad for a nice one. To determine what is wrong with a non-working one, start with the power supply. If voltages are good, check power to the boards. If that is good, I have a Joust and a bad 40 pin ribbon cable (the larger one) has resulted in resets, nothing displayed for an error code, an error code that indicates first RAM chip is bad, graphics glitches during gameplay, and at times corrupting the high scores requiring them to be reset at machine startup time by leaving the coin door open.

Yellowdog does a good job repairing power supplies and he sells complete ones too. I have soldered on a new ribbon cable. It is a pain as there are 40 pins and they are small. The original male connector pins on all the boards are generally corroded and are round. I have replaced with new ones which are square and provide better contact. This has made a machine that was flaky at best and sometimes would not power up at all rock solid thus far.
 
I've got ATX Williams ps adapters and ATX ps.. Plus I still have most of the joust parts you traded me.. I've got buttons, sticks, etc. Also owned a few Jousts over the years including the one in my collection now..

Let me know if you need help.

AWESOME!!!!! I am going to have to start direct depositing part of my pay check into your bank account.

I definitely need a PS to start with.
 
Yeah, that's fair. I just didn't want desire to trump logic.

Are you a collector or in business to flip machines? The price is not out of line if it truly is nice and like you said they don't come up often. Even if down the road you lose $50 to $100 you will be ahead because of the enjoyment you had. This of course is just my opinion and everyone has their own perspective.

Go get your Joust! :)
 
Are you a collector or in business to flip machines? The price is not out of line if it truly is nice and like you said they don't come up often. Even if down the road you lose $50 to $100 you will be ahead because of the enjoyment you had. This of course is just my opinion and everyone has their own perspective.

Go get your Joust! :)

A little of both. I try and do my best to only support my hobby through the hobby by selling a few games and parts on the side. However this is going into the collection.
 
Nerdy, $300 is spot on for a nice condition joust. If we could find $150 ones, I'd own more than one :)

I'm actually thinking about selling mine and a few other vids in my collection. It just doesn't get much play anymore. But if I were u, buy the $300 one and I'll get it up and running for u!
 
I guess Jousts go for more where you are. I had a pretty nice, fully working one and I had a hard time getting $300 for it. I'm thinking I ended up selling it for $250. But the game market was pretty depressed here at the time. Still is.
 
It seems like I am not being impulsive or illogical, so I am going to pick up this bad boy later in the week. I am so stoked.
 
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