Q*Bert #2811

The Vinyl Countdown

I appreciate the good discussion regarding the joystick micro switches. I've borrowed a force gauge for a few weeks. I'm hoping to get a few measurements of the switches, the joystick, and maybe other types of joysticks I have as well:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bjP1pqD3xlMEza6kKr6iR6WTNVIXw0R2/view?usp=sharing

Restoration:
All the metal pieces of this cab were rusted and/or corroded. I just sand blasted all of them. The nice shiny plating was removed, but I felt this was my best option to clean them up. I aplied a thin layer of Fluid Film after blasting for rust protection:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bq_A8uiuHOx-8Ri5kgPziKf-JgZyfoAL/view?usp=sharing

All bolts were de-rusted with a wire wheel on my dremel. The bolts that go through the yellow sides were left unpainted. The bolts through all black areas were painted black. This spray paint is not very durable, but these bolts do not get much wear:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15fNlma-UJSjPIACH-spy16BhG-ZdA4f2/view?usp=sharing

Front control panel art. I found it very tricky to get this applied around the bend:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tL_FiouUqvgfIJc5Wjfpeo9cuXy33Q3s/view?usp=sharing

Side art. It took me a long time get the art lined up straight before application. I would not have been able to get through this step without Rapid Tac and a squeegee. I also found it very helpful to lay the cab down on its side:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uXQfWkFC_QKQW4EZWFVgt1xtjkO7zd-e/view?usp=sharing

No bubbles or creases. Straight with respect to the cabinet sides. I think I positioned them on a little too close to the front though:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iF2YtHbO6DUI7vSTmp1oDtICnAhqsLRf/view?usp=sharing

Starting to take shape finally:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1REkUS4Gq6vglEXvcDYxUrtXbjCM0vEos/view?usp=sharing

This picture also shows the old t-molding back on (after cleaning and shining up with a generic car vinyl protectant).

I must've taken this pic before I populated the CP. Lots of parallel work going on with this project.
 
Coin Door

The coin door was rusted and beat up as usual for old cabs like this. At least it doesn't have any hasp holes in it. Its a Coin Controls door rather than the Gottlieb door. Not sure if its original to the cab or not. It seems to have the original harness. I think some Q*Berts left the factory with these doors.

The coin mech parts were rusty/corroded too. One of the locks was missing:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1phjdzRPHGfXjeL2FFbZgi8lCYAwzuxJ-/view?usp=sharing

I used this Jasco stripper to loosen the paint initially:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Jasco-16-o...yd-and-Chalk-Paints-Stripper-Spray/1001079544

It usually gets 60-70% of the paint off by itself. I used a wire wheel to remove the rest and all the rust that had spread underneath:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PTgAwNmnO7UVfiLuAhfRPJOOJ3kZkECP/view?usp=sharing

I also wire wheeled the mech internals. The mech parts got a thin layer of fluid film applied:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AAAwJhkEVv8K8dQfN0eE3qN18W7nniUj/view?usp=sharing

All the other parts were painted. The small parts and frame were just cleaned and sprayed with Rusto satin black. For the doors, I sprayed Rusto hammered onto the metal without primer, then satin:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dh778L10pr2_aO39cnHFyHLDufjO6r6s/view?usp=sharing

This is the first time I didn't prime first. I think the texture works better with priming. Its very subtle on this door. Good enough.

Final result:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VPNj-Ha77NJueGzcbvg13JjK8BGMugEo/view?usp=sharing

uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f50KxpNPhxPC-EcxSaAXgTM08bl07wOL/view?usp=sharing

Nothing special. Just another coin door. Rust free and fully functional now.
 
Inside Job

With all the external stuff done, I could finally start working on the inside.

One last scrub of the inner surfaces and power harness:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LTqz-XNjsbXVZn3Di3tWjdo4ayFE0yzi/view?usp=sharing

Much cleaner:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wQ8iz870RvSXu-8eU8tgTfsHZrLE0fLT/view?usp=sharing

Transformer brick re-installed:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W5XMb38J2OH1l2lfVkQkkb1aIMHiN5mb/view?usp=sharing

5V power supply, JROK board, and new knocker installed. This placement made the most sense to me. It minimizes wire lengths and is still relatively out of the way:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gm7YGIxXwUv7loYMXkZESb9S3WglxGR6/view?usp=sharing

Starting the wiring. Still a bit of a mess in this pic. The extra switched 110V connector I installed during the brick refurb worked great to power the DC supply.
I'm using a pre-made jamma harness from ArcadeShop. I also wired up the Hsync, Vsync header on the board to use with the K4900 monitor:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WqOg90xo1eR6hlu6_n0nwfxHJHDEraji/view?usp=sharing

Since it was so easy, I went ahead and finished the monitor wiring and re-installed the display. It came right up no problem. The screen was upside down, but that's just a setup option change:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/134fMXgr2Ihi_pgNxQTSMZVuMtkmUEJ0T/view?usp=sharing

The JROK board is gonna be great. Its nice when stuff just works. I'll probably never have any problems with this game.
 
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Looking awesome. I'm just getting started on my Q*Bert rebuild myself. Do you happen to know the size of the carriage bolts for the control panel? That's about the only thing I'm missing.
 
Looking awesome. I'm just getting started on my Q*Bert rebuild myself. Do you happen to know the size of the carriage bolts for the control panel? That's about the only thing I'm missing.

I'm using these 10-32 carriage bolts with wing nuts:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-32-Stai...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I do not know the size of the originals, but these 10-32s fit in the holes no problem.

I bought these for another project. Can't remember the exact length (will check tonight, like 1.5" or something). You don't need that much length for this panel, but being longer can be helpful when you're threading the nut on blindly up through the coin door.
 
I'm using these 10-32 carriage bolts with wing nuts:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-32-Stai...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I do not know the size of the originals, but these 10-32s fit in the holes no problem.

I bought these for another project. Can't remember the exact length (will check tonight, like 1.5" or something). You don't need that much length for this panel, but being longer can be helpful when you're threading the nut on blindly up through the coin door.

Awesome. I appreciate the info. I'll grab 10-32s tomorrow and some wing nuts.
 
The ones I have are 1 1/4" long. Longer than needed, but work fine.
 

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Service Panel and Knocker

The service panel was still in the cab when I got it, but only the coin counter was left. It looks as though it was not hooked up when Time Soldiers was installed, so this Q*Bert got about 57k plays:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O5SBmFMuuEyi5xvjivcgPbHYSH6vRMXv/view?usp=sharing

As with the control panel, I wired up the service panel according to the schematics. This panel should work with any original Q*Bert. The JROK board has on-board volume control, so the volume pot here will not be used. I decided to install one anyway to make the repair complete:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iQvYS0xkQEUU3dDPFWjkZQ2cwQYm_-hL/view?usp=sharing

Panel in place:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O5x-UWm-yWXh8U9ZdEAS_35-qn1983SU/view?usp=sharing

Knocker wiring. The plug I used is not compatible with the original Q*Bert harness. But, its a 12V knocker so it wouldn't work anyway:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N7Wl0ch1KzhiEWHtPzqIBUrZUHD5fmrt/view?usp=sharing

This schematic shows how I wired it up. I tapped into the 12V on plug A12-J5. This is unregulated DC, but the knocker and coin counter work fine with it.

The original schematics show the coin counter on a 20V line. The counter itself has a label rating of 12V. The 12V from A12 operates it no problem. I decided to put a freewheel diode across the counter, just in case it didn't have one internally (and if it does, having another wouldn't hurt anything).

Everything else was wired to the appropriate jamma pins:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SCeLsiWLdhHrpVmROMw2fTPc1baTvLzc/view?usp=sharing

New diode for coin counter wiring:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zTj1odk1N9h6Oon2SVJraLdO0fR7dj-K/view?usp=sharing

New plug at A12-J5:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BJSxK6twlFQ3QTBBO1aihcP9ze-uBLKr/view?usp=sharing

Using the 12V from the brick simplified the wiring. I only needed to add a 5V supply to power the JROK.
 

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Behind the Marquee

The vent grills, speaker board, and light fixture all needed attention before re-assembly.

The external vent grill was somewhat degraded from years of exposure (see pic on page 1). I thought about just swapping the better looking internal grill to the outside. But, I sat down and started scrubbing it with scotch brite and was surprised to see it cleaning up well. Here it is all shined up:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uO8g2PchtyngxtlzposWICKqBNCFvF9P/view?usp=sharing

Next was the speaker shelf. Q*Bert cabs have a removable speaker shelf. This one was moisture-swollen and dirty:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KBbaM-OtcDzG_qVTMILpmym39ieF0HVV/view?usp=sharing

I sanded both sides. It cleaned up the inside nicely. The black side was still a little bumpy, but I'm not too concerned with appearance here. Its hardly visible once installed. I just primed and sprayed with canned paint.
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PTu-gbZklNuzVFwOu_oOJR6HOAbwiWqX/view?usp=sharing

The speaker was in good shape just dirty. I gave it a spray paint spruce up. I also sprayed black on the grill and wire-wheeled the metal clamps:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S1GhpyP1LcUjdbnyh_RPaDvvQ1DowHpy/view?usp=sharing

I think it looks about right for an old speaker shelf:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U8-k78r8_-pcYBchmuFjMnKnZwGUMUqy/view?usp=sharing

The light fixture was last. I didn't do much here, just sprayed the rusty transformer:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gRiPLRenQxtiiuG-FBfU25mW2XJ9MB5m/view?usp=sharing

When I was paining the cab, I noticed an area in front of the marquee slot that was not painted. It did not appear to have ever been painted. So, I left it bare. It would've made sense to paint it black like everything else, but I didn't want to mess up an original feature of the cab:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rqkogHvfXoqfkNoQjplABszm31F9nyAr/view?usp=sharing

Do any other Q*Bert owners have cabs with this area unpainted?
 
Q*Bert of Theseus

First off, I did a few force measurements with this nifty gauge:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N3Q1RIEUNzF-3efm-DxWd5C6YLasvG3I/view?usp=sharing

For all these measurements, I put the game into switch test and pushed the stick with the gauge until it registered. Here are the results for my Q*Bert joystick with the new red V-15-1C25 switches:

Down-Left: 2.2 lbs
Down-Right: 1.8 lbs
Up-Right: 1.6 lbs
Up-Left: 1.8 lbs

Since these are a fair bit more than a lb. above the rated operating force for the switches, I'm assuming most of the resistance is in the grommet.

Here are a few other measurements from other games:

Gaplus (all directions): 0.5 lbs
Donkey Kong (all directions): 0.5 lbs
Robotron (all directions): 0.6 lbs

Its interesting that the Q*Bert stick takes so much more force than other games. FWIW, I think the play action is perfectly fine.

Finishing it all up...

Coin door and control panel plugs shown below. I decided to wire up the extra plug needed to play Mad Planets. It may be a cool stealth option for this cab:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JttoEx0fG8zcOI6ElBuqE-ceiBiP3jmv/view?usp=sharing

Inside wiring. I think it came out reasonably tidy:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r0mLy8_2QMcNnTtqI-mYhTHcRkFRFJE9/view?usp=sharing

Before/After:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_j1GHIAYD2JDpLxE22LSiSOgyntE2XOp/view?usp=sharing

Given that this was a deconversion, I'm glad I was able to get as many actual Q*Bert parts as I did. Besides the JROK board, jamma harness, paint, and repro art, its an old Q*Bert.

I'm happy to have this classic in the line-up:
uc

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-xgvrUqtwTdOYhML91RCGxSPmyBb-vKk/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for looking! See you in the next restore thread.
 
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I think I found the correct source for the Honeywell Micro Switches. I'll report back when confirmed.
 
Yes, please post what you find. Thanks!

I bought replacement microswitches for my Q*Bert (Qbert) and they appear to be the correct, Honeywell Brand, microswitch. They still appear to be in production!

Here's a link to what I found:
https://www.jameco.com/shop/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=10001&productId=2076244

In case the link goes down look for Honeywell part V3-23-D8. The style is "Pin Plunger Single Pole Single Throw 5 Amp-125 Volt AC .183 Inch QC Terminals"

I can't vouch that this is 100% accurate, but if it's not, it's very very very close. I looked for several hours to try to find the right switch. There is no info in the manual so I had to go by pictures of original sticks. The key functional things to look for are:

1. No lever to activate the microswitch, only a plunger
2. The Plunger should be red
3. There are only two terminal connectors, one that "L"s off the bottom side and one that comes straight off of the side.
4. The front of the switch should be solid red, and the back should be black.


If you're looking at used switches on eBay or something, part numbers can get pretty confusing because they appear to change a little as far as the exact coding is concerned. As far as I can tell, the correct ones all seem to start with "V3", have "23" somewhere in the middle number (potentially with other numbers) and end with "D8". If the number is something like "V3L" that indicates a lever version and you don't want that type.

The main thing that looks a little different between the ones I just got than the vintage, "stock" switches is the branding on the top of the switch. Honeywell appears to have altered the fonts over the years. Originals tend to say "Micro Switch" on them but the newer versions just say "Micro". Because my joystick did not have the original switches I wasn't able to verify the terminal size or the other various details but they look to be correct.

I tested the stick out and they work.
 
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