Homepin Gottlieb Sys 80 - Replacement Pop Bumper Board

[The pinballist formally known as Dean Morgan]

Well I was luck enough to be asked by Mike at Homepin to trial their new Gottlieb System 80 Pop Bumper Driver Board Replacement.

It arrived and I have it installed in a system 80 - Rocky.  Attached here are various photos showing the before and after shots.

This photo shows the four original Pop Bumper Boards mounted under the playfield.

This next photo shows a comparison of the new HOMEPIN board on the left and the original GOTTLIEB board on the right.



This third photo is of the board fitted to the underside of the playfield



This photo shows the 5v LED



Images showing all LEDs activated, POWER ON - (RED),  FIRE - (BLUE),  INPUT - (GREEN)



This final photo shows three of the Pop Bumpers, the white illuminated bumper is the one the new HOMEPIN driver is connected to:




This board is operating flawlessly in this machine to date:

I would have no problem recommending this as a replacment for anyone restoring the system 80s.

It features:

• Straight replacement for exisiting, has same board size and mount holes
• Common transistor on board if it ever needs to be replaced
• Test button for testing pop bumper. This is great how many times have I been checking pop bumper contacts and scared the crap out of myself when you push the skirt down and the coil activates.  No more just push the test button to fire the bumper   

• LED indication for 5v, fire and input

• start delay on power up LED blinks 6 times, this allows the machine time to settle on power up GREAT IDEA 

All in all this is highly recommended upgrade for System 80 owners in my opinion.

Contact Mike (who is a member of this site) user name Homepin for more info....and thanks Mike for allowing me this trial.


[/list]

[Pinfan]

Well done Dean for taking it on board.

I'm all for replacement Gottlieb parts...

Is this a kit you need to put together or is it plug and play ?

[ddstoys]

Great idea having the Leds and a test button as a quick indicator of any problems.

[The pinballist formally known as Dean Morgan]

Well done Dean for taking it on board.

I'm all for replacement Gottlieb parts...

Is this a kit you need to put together or is it plug and play ?

Plug and play, so takes about 1 minute to install.    Also has diode protection should a coil diode short etc.  Is a great option for those upgrading/restoring system 80s 

Here is the link to the details http://www.homepin.com/pcbs.html

[The pinballist formally known as Dean Morgan]

Great idea having the Leds and a test button as a quick indicator of any problems.

Your right Daniel, The LEDs make it sooo easy and the test button is a great idea.

[shansta]

Rather pay 40 bucks for this - then shell out for an original!

This will replace the missing one in my Caveman nicely! (Or my "pacman" as Marty calls it!)

Now just need the driver board rebuilt, mpu checked, find the right sound board... (But i DID get it wired to 240v without killing myself or the machine - the GI even works!) 

Glad to know I am not the only one to be bitten by the pop bumpers!  It's even better when you jump up and smack your head on one of the live terminals!

Whats the HV williams board about? I have heard of a replacement HV supply for a DMD display (To bypass a damaged one on the controller board) - is this it?

[Homepin]

Hello Guys,

The Williams HV replacement board project started life about five years ago when I bought a BSD at auction. It was in pretty poor shape with many bits broken and missing and the High Voltage circuit completely trashed - including the common problem of the actual printed circuit board being crisped to the point of crumbling. I had repaired many of these previously but this time the board had become conductive and no matter what I did it was realistically beyond repair.

After getting over the shock of the price of a replacement board I set about investigating the actual circuit and what was involved. It became obvious that the DMD voltage circuitry was actually separate from all of the signal processing circuits and was basically just 'tacked on' to the bottom of the DMD driver board. I made up a circuit at that time in my workshop and the machine has operated with my homemade board perfectly well for five years.

After reading Clays Pinball Repair Guides I became aware of a similar board available from the USA. Clay mentioned that it was a fantastic idea but pointed out that it used 205 sized fuses and also mentions that it could have LEDs to indicate voltages.

I updated  my old design and included a test point for every voltage, LEDs for three of the voltages (technical reasons prevent using LEDs for the two very high voltages) and made sure I used 3AG fuses so that they are the same as all other fuses used in the machine.

I then made a new prototype and once satisfied all was OK I sent the files off to the printed circuit board factory and had the boards professionally made. I have only just this morning finished assembling the first production board. Parts have not yet arrived for the rest so they will be a few weeks away yet.

I fitted it to my machine this morning and it fired straight up. I have designed it using single sided PCB with very 'meaty' pads so that it will be easy for anyone to repair in the future should it ever need to be. The components are also spaced apart better than the factory board and are (in some cases) upgraded in specs so the whole circuit runs cooler. The orginal layout leaves a lot to be desired and frankly is a fire hazard!

Finished boards will be available as soon as the parts arrive. Some pics here showing the test points, assembled board and it operating in my game.

[Homepin]

I forgot to mention there is no soldering required and you don't have to remove any parts or make any modifications to your machine at all. Simply remove the two bottom screws from the DMD driver board and install the new board on top using the hardware provided. Plug the three original connectors straight in to the new board.

Should take two minutes and certainly does not require any technical skill at all.

[Strangeways]

Very impressive - both boards 

I have a few system 80s to restore down the track, so I'm pleased to hear the positive reviews, and to hear that they are being manufactured in Australia.

Keep up the good work !

[shansta]

Ditto to Nino's comment!

I can see the Caveman being closer to "waking up"...

Thanks for the photos BTW Dean - my "warning" label under the playfield is in French, always wondered what it said...

Just gotta get off my backside and get the rest of my boards to Owen for resurrection/comedy value... (I know Owen - Sorry!)

*****
HV Board:

I like the sound of this! My PZ panel has gone to meet god - seems stupid not to do the power supply at the same time and risk stuffing a new panel?

Rough idea of pricing/timing Mike?

[Homepin]

*****
HV Board:

I like the sound of this! My PZ panel has gone to meet god - seems stupid not to do the power supply at the same time and risk stuffing a new panel?

Rough idea of pricing/timing Mike?

Hi - I have updated the website with pics and pricing. I have the blank boards here now but I am waiting for some of the parts to arrive. I expect about another 6 weeks and I will have finished boards. They will be individually tested and run for a minimum of one hour before packing so they will be 100% guaranteed to work out of the box.

Cheers

www.homepin.com/pcbs.html

[shansta]

Thanks Mike!

Mark me down for a HV board - the 3 PB boards for $105 is attractive as well! (Anyone want my 2 old ones?)

Shane.