Where do You draw the line? - repair costs

Dokert

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Messages
12,751
Reaction score
141
Location
Arlington, Washington
Where do You draw the line? - repair costs

I have started to repair some of the many Williams power supplies that I have laying around while waiting for the wire to come.

I have some pretty trashed boards, and picked a couple at random. The cost estimates are rough, but pretty close.

power supply1.jpgpower supply2.jpg
 
Well, once you're done you can market them as high-end, completely rebuilt and tested power supplies. I'd sell them for $50-$55 plus shipping when you're done, and it'll be worth it. Maybe rebuild 3 or 4 of them, then keep them around until you sell them, then rebuild some more. After you've done all that work, they'll be good to go! If I had a really nice Williams game that needed a nice, original power supply, $60 shipped or whatever wouldn't be out of the question.
 
honestly, switchers are $10-15. I prefer to buy any converter (if one is available) for the game not to mess with the harness. It might cost a little more ($45+$15 = $60) but in the future, it takes all of 10 minutes to repair.

As far as game boards - I can't really replace them. So, I guess they get repaired as long as the repair cost isn't more than what I can find a board for on Ebay.
 
I do believe I have set the record...

I ordered $20 in parts from GPE to fix a Data East board. Paid with paypal and got lazy during checkout - thus leaving it on bank withdrawal. Paypal locked up during the transaction and ended up sending my payment twice. I went on vacation and forgot all about it. During vacation, my auto debit house payments came due...I had forgotten all about it in the rush to get ready.

I got hit with an overdraft fee for both of the paypal screwups... $36 a pop each!

Long story short, I paid almost $100 for $20 in parts & shipping...:mad::mad:
 
I think they are worth the repair. They will be rebuilt and rock solid......they should last another 25 years. Well worth the cost of it. If I was rebuilding my machine, this is the route I would take.
-Mark
 
I can't get a switcher for less than $25.....Where are you getting yours? That's a great price.

Edward

I honestly don't remember. I used to work for a guy who built multi-games/etc, and he used to buy them in bulk. I picked a lot up one time for a couple hundred dollars, and got them for a little over $10 a piece. I still have about 4-5 left. I bought them about 3-4 years ago.

I'll have to see what brand they are.
 
Dave, I can't read the text on that 2nd image, but that may be the crappy work computer.

For me, it all depends on what - and who - I'm fixing it for. If I have a customer who just wants it working ASAP, then I'll probably throw a switcher in and be happy that I got it back to him quickly - and got paid. If it's for me (or something I'm selling personally), then I don't think about the repair costs. I rebuild it as I would normally, or if it's for a game I'm selling, I already have a price in mind for the cab, and spending an extra $18 to do it right is better than trying to cut a corner and have to deal with headaches after the sale.

If it's something like a Williams PS board that I may sell later, then I look over the many I have, figure out what price I can sell them for, deduct what parts and time may be, then fix the ones that are worth it (profit-wise) and keep the others as parts boards or projects for personal machines later.

If I have one that will cost quite a bit to fix, and someone wants one really bad, then I'll tell them the price I would have to sell it at for it to be worth doing the repair. If they want to pay it, then I do it and sell it. If they don't, then it goes back into the box...
 
Last edited:
We "all" should know the problems associated with putting a switcher in any Williams game by now.

Replacing the power supply with a switcher is not the question anyway.

The question is... Repair cost, where do "You" draw the line?

Mod, the first pic was something like $18.50 and the second pic was something like $22.50.
 
Some are going to cost more than others, nothing you can do about that. Just think about the average cost to fix many and the numbers will look better :)
 
We "all" should know the problems associated with putting a switcher in any Williams game by now.

There are problems? I ran a switcher in a Joust without issue. Please educate me so I am "in the know".


PS: Not Williams, but I just paid $42.00 + shipping for a rebuilt Spy Hunter PS.
 
Honestly, I would not worry too much about cost other than making it worth your time. If you cater to the cheap bastards you will end up hating what you do and who you are doing it for.
I could care less what a switcher cost, i would pay twice as much to have my original repaired. And once the cheap bastards buy a switcher because it's cheaper and learn the hard way, they will understand and be ready to pay. If they don't like your price, let them get a kit and do it themselves.
 
We "all" should know the problems associated with putting a switcher in any Williams game by now.

Replacing the power supply with a switcher is not the question anyway.

The question is... Repair cost, where do "You" draw the line?

Mod, the first pic was something like $18.50 and the second pic was something like $22.50.

My 2c

i wouldnt draw the line anywhere really. need to keep them ol boards in circulation, so price them individually as some may need more parts than others to reco or repair.

consider the target market for the boards - e.g.
- owners/collectors wanting originality vs raw functionality (switcher),
- owners/collectors wanting a fix for a part they cant do themselves,
- owners/collectors/techs wanting a quick turnaround on a repair,
- owners/collectors/techs wanting that part reco'd.

if you have lots and lots of them maybe a few price brackets eg
- quick fix(only essential parts),
- repair/test (repair and check essential functionality),
- recondition (recap, replace key/commonly failing components, comprehensive testing, feflow solder joints, replace connectors)

on average you/owners know the price is around 20 for parts so no problem quoting that as an average - if it comes in higher add on the extra where needed!

realistically, who's going to quibble over a few extra dollars for an original board if that's what they want or need ?

Cheers!
 
If it's in like new condition, and completely rebuilt that price isn't out of line. If someone repro'ed power supplies, I could just imagine how much they'd charge. Look at what Bob Roberts charges for his drop in power supply kits. I paid $90 for one of his Drop in AC (minus the switcher).
 
There are problems? I ran a switcher in a Joust without issue. Please educate me so I am "in the know".

I'm too lazy to find any of the threads, but the short version is that the original Williams boards (and any close knockoffs, but apparently not the JROK board (unless I've just been real lucky)) rely on the +5V lasting a few milliseconds longer than the +12V. The 6809 CPU has an annoying habit of writing random values to random locations in memory (including the CMOS high score and settings) while it is being powered down (a leftover from the 6800 series). The Williams designers recognized this and added a much larger than necessary capacitor on the +5V to power the CPU and added a circuit that trips the CMOS write protect circuit when the +12V goes down.

Switchers don't have this. Both +5V and +12V go down at the same time and the CPU sprays the memory space. Because it is random, the CMOS may only get hit once in a while or it may get hit every time. The worst case is when the CMOS gets set to funny (but valid) settings and suddenly your game is no longer on freeplay or you start with 0 men (very short games) or you are set to impossibly high levels of difficulty to start.

There is a good reason for rebuilding/replacing your existing linear power supply with an original one, unless you don't mind losing your high scores and settings periodically.

ken

ken

This message is too short????
 
Dok, I'll see your 2 boards and raise you one with soldered in wires in place of the headers, BR2 with a crack, no BR1 or fuses and a missing trace from the main AC to Fuse 5. That one was a mess. I don't even know how much I put into fixing it partwise.

Unless somebody is sitting on a big stash of mint PS boards, I'm afraid the low hanging fruit have been picked. It's going to be hack city from here on out. :(

ken
 
Dok, I'll see your 2 boards and raise you one with soldered in wires in place of the headers, BR2 with a crack, no BR1 or fuses and a missing trace from the main AC to Fuse 5. That one was a mess. I don't even know how much I put into fixing it partwise.

Unless somebody is sitting on a big stash of mint PS boards, I'm afraid the low hanging fruit have been picked. It's going to be hack city from here on out. :(

ken

Ken, these were just a couple I grabbed at random. I have worse ones in my stash, and even have the soldered in place wires too.

I do plan on repairing all of these that I have.
 
Back
Top Bottom