PinLED WPC Powerdriver Board

[v8racefan]

I'm considering purchasing a spare WPC Powerdriver board to keep my Williams/Bally pins running in the future years, and have been re-searching on the net this arvo.

See link

http://www.pinled.de/shop/product_info.php?cPath=2_12&products_id=28

I'm interested in the PinLED board, and was wondering if any members here have purchased one? Any good/bad feedback on these boards?

Do any of our sponsors currently stock these??

Thanks
 

[humpalot]

Personally I'd stay clear anything that has surface mount chips on it!

[Skybeaux]

Personally I'd stay clear anything that has surface mount chips on it!

Totally agree with you there , i wouldn't go near the thing!

[Homepin]

Thanks for the heads up on Pinled - I just bought one of their display boads for my DE Playboy. Nobody else seems to make them.

[v8racefan]

So if these Pinled power driver boards aren't worth investing in??

What other options do I have?? Most my Williams/Bally pins run the A-12697-3 type boards 

Are secondhand boards easy to find, my guess most collectors are hanging on to these original spare boards these days??

[Skybeaux]

Rottendog also make an aftermarket one , http://www.rottendog.us/WDB089.htm

Can't say if they are any good or not as i've never bought one , but at least they use through-hole components

[v8racefan]

Thanks for the link skybeaux

[Homepin]

I bought the display PCB from Pinled (even though it has surface mounted chips) because (A) nobody else has them
and (B) surface mount chips are fine on a signal board.

I would NEVER even consider using surface mount driver parts/transistors/mosfets for anything I design.

That really is dumb and only suitable for the mass produced market like printers and such that will go in the bin in 2 years.

I like the look of the Rottendog boards a lot and think they have done the right thing using standard parts BUT also upgrading the driver transistors to mosfets (conventional through hole parts) - this really is very clever and will ensure reliability for many years and makes them easily repairable.

So if these Pinled power driver boards aren't worth investing in??

What other options do I have?? Most my Williams/Bally pins run the A-12697-3 type boards 

Are secondhand boards easy to find, my guess most collectors are hanging on to these original spare boards these days??

[v8racefan]

Thanks for your feedback homepin/skybeaux 

Sounds like the rottendog boards are the way to go

Long live PINBALL

[studley67]

rottendog is cheaper aswell,i should have mine this week will report on it when i get it

[v8racefan]

Thanks studley67, looking forward to your report 

Can I ask how much they charged for postage?? 

[johnwartjr]

I've found that at least here in the states, rebuildable originals are not difficult to come by.

Ideally, you want a -1 as your spare, not a -3 - the -1 will work in all games that were made with -1, -3 and -4 boards. The -3 and -4 won't work in a -1 game (basically anything pre-Fliptronics, including t2, funhouse, etc) due to lack of several components that were no longer required after the games started shipping with fliptronics boards.

The rottendog stuff doesn't seem to have a great reputation. Seems there are compatibility issues with some of their boards. I've not heard of any compatibility issues with their driver boards, but I know their CPU won't work in TZ.

[studley67]

postage was $40 us +250 came to $332 aus

[studley67]

WDB089 driver board arrived today  
looks well made
huge diodes replacing those pesky bridge rectifiers
direct plug n play,well at least for my jackbot
nice clip locks on the idc connectors
came with schematics,however small,over two a4 pages

one negative comment is that they have used rivots to secure the transistors to their heat sinks

arrived in 12 days from ordering
price comparison an aussie supplyer,not to be named has them at $419+postage