Qbert Restore Advice and Help Needed

gcpowers

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I have a Qbert that that I am attempting to restore that had been converted to another game. The serial number is 0231 so its a pretty early release. Does anyone happen to know when Gottlieb added the filter board to the circuit? Also I have the back door but all the PCB mounting board and pieces are missing. I believe the early versions did not have the filter board. If anyone has pictures of how the wiring is routed and how the game, power and sound PCBs are mounted to the door, that would really be helpful!
 
Fairly good QBert page (more pics there too) -> http://www.thebasementarcade.com/mygamesqbert.htm

qbertrestoration6.jpg


The filter board can be problematic, so including it is your decision.
(though, yes, I do have on mine)
 
Interesting, the manual shows a different layout without a filter board.

What material is that PCB mount made from? Is it like a fiberboard something like pegboard? Around 1/8 inch thick? Is it simply bolted to the door at the 4 corners or how is it attached to the door?

Lots of questions but trying to get the restore correct. Many thanks!
 

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Interesting, the manual shows a different layout without a filter board.



What material is that PCB mount made from? Is it like a fiberboard something like pegboard? Around 1/8 inch thick? Is it simply bolted to the door at the 4 corners or how is it attached to the door?



Lots of questions but trying to get the restore correct. Many thanks!



It is hardboard. 1/8 is prob close. You can get it at home creepot. It is bolted to door. Great Plains Electronics has the appropriate Gottlieb pcb standoffs for it.

On top of the hardboard is a thin cardboard sheet with a foil like backer. It is for heat and looks. Mainly a piece of shit.

I would skip the backer. Rebuild the og power supply - unless you want a limp dick knocker, then roll the arcadeshop switcher. It is a poor design, but works.

twistywrist is a good shop for og qbert parts.
 
Interesting, the manual shows a different layout without a filter board.

What material is that PCB mount made from? Is it like a fiberboard something like pegboard? Around 1/8 inch thick? Is it simply bolted to the door at the 4 corners or how is it attached to the door?

Lots of questions but trying to get the restore correct. Many thanks!

Yes, the early QBerts had a different layout for the mounting of the PCB's. From other Gottlieb documentation, I believe this configuration was used all the way up to and including Serial 00935, so your machine should have been the early non-filter board setup originally.

Here's a quick picture of how the boards are mounted. The back board is a thin MDF sheet that is mounted to the door with carriage bolts. I can get you the exact measurements later if you like. The PCBs are mounted to this board via nylon snap-in spacers that get mounted to the board with screws. I have those part numbers as well once you get to that step. McMaster-Carr still sells the exact same ones that Gottlieb originally used.

I've recreated this exact style harness in the past for a friend, so if you're in need of a low voltage harness, just let me know and I'll work one in to my upcoming schedule.

Hope that helps.
 

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Awesome! This will be a huge help. exact measurements would even be better. I do have the original back door so the carriage bolt holes should help line it up.

One of the really quirky things about this cabinet is whoever jammatized it left the 60 pin edge connector and majority of the wiring harness and just re-positioned the pins to JAMMA. Seems like a lot of work for an operator instead of buying a jamma harness. But it worked out well for me. Im just using the schematics to pin it back properly.

Im guessing that at some point in its life as Qbert, a switching power supply was adapted to the original harness. Later when it was converted to a jamma game, they left all the switching power supply wiring alone and moved the pins on the edge connector. just a guess on my part.

Another oddity is it still has the original swearing marque in place. Whoever did the conversion didn't bother to update the marque either!
 
I am doing almost the exact same currently. Damn, putting one of these back together from a bad conversion has got a lot more pricy and time consuming than I expected. I was just about to mount straight to the back door with the foil on it but now I think that I may do the mdf as well. It is a good thing that I checked on here first. If there is anyway I could also get that measurement and standoff part number I would be very greatful. Also let me know how your harness goes or if you have any suggestions. Luckily I have the pcb wiring harnesses but I am missing most of the cabinet harness. Thank you and good luck
 
The circuit boards are mounted on 1/4" hardboard (masonite). You can get the 1/4 sheet from Home Depot (as mentioned). The exact dimensions of my original board are 30 1/16" tall and 18 7/16" wide.

The attached pic shows the mounting of the panel to the door, but this is for the later version with the filter board. Four carriage bolts come through from the outside of the door. The 1/4" hardboard PCB panel goes over these and then a washer and nut holds it together. You can see four mounting bolts in the picture.

Depending on what you are after, a full accurate restoration or just making it functional, you can decide about the foil panel. The foil panel between the door and PCB panel is an EMI shield. There are a couple bolts visible in the picture that are there to accept the grounding straps (one from the cabinet, another from the PCB harness. I can't find the picture now, but there is a pic out there showing the foil panel completely surrounding the circuit boards. You don't see them this way very often (ever). My guess is it was there to meet FCC regs, but then operators removed them to prevent overheating.
 

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Following this, will be my next one thought I may go jamma and mystalar board

My Q bert board is a bootleg with no sounds
 
Following this, will be my next one thought I may go jamma and mystalar board

My Q bert board is a bootleg with no sounds

Do it!

I converted my Qbert to a switching ps/mylstar board/jamma adapter and never looked back.

I got tired of wasting time and money troubleshooting my Qbert ps and pcb.
 
Many thanks for taking the time to measure and post! It is much appreciated.

The circuit boards are mounted on 1/4" hardboard (masonite). You can get the 1/4 sheet from Home Depot (as mentioned). The exact dimensions of my original board are 30 1/16" tall and 18 7/16" wide.

The attached pic shows the mounting of the panel to the door, but this is for the later version with the filter board. Four carriage bolts come through from the outside of the door. The 1/4" hardboard PCB panel goes over these and then a washer and nut holds it together. You can see four mounting bolts in the picture.

Depending on what you are after, a full accurate restoration or just making it functional, you can decide about the foil panel. The foil panel between the door and PCB panel is an EMI shield. There are a couple bolts visible in the picture that are there to accept the grounding straps (one from the cabinet, another from the PCB harness. I can't find the picture now, but there is a pic out there showing the foil panel completely surrounding the circuit boards. You don't see them this way very often (ever). My guess is it was there to meet FCC regs, but then operators removed them to prevent overheating.
 
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