Interestingly, a couple days ago on his Facebook page, he posted pictures of his hundreds of boards available for sale.
I have chosen to send my new broken board off to a tech that will try to repair (resolder the transistors and cooling fins that are loose and falling off). Then test it to see if it will actually work.
Interested to hear from anybody that got similar issues or got a working board.
I got an WPC-89 MPU recently. Lots of poor soldering joints, a few bridged connections, lots of tiny solder balls stuck to the board. It is not plug & play ready in that condition.
I just looked at it, shook my head, and set it aside as a project for another day.
He said before he went dark that he had 200 wpc boards ready to go.
At this point i will repair the board i have and wait for anoher vendor
I too have had trouble with components not being soldered and bridged connections. Given the lack of response to others with similar issues, I just fixed it all myself. I think he may have tried to do too many projects at once is hemorrhaging cash and is in too deep, doesn’t want to deal with customers and goes dark.
I say this as a buddy of mine was talking to him about a proto pin he said he bought it to use for advertising new products but may be for sale at some point. So after a while he contacts my friend and gives him a price; my friend thinks great and asked for a few more good pictures before committing to buy it as it was not cheap & got no response then the game gets listed for nearly $10k more than what he ask for initially!
I saw we all start bashing PPS until the parent straightens out their child. The child is making dad look bad to his friends. 
He has been in touch with me. Placed an order for some boards a week or so ago. Sounds like he is behind a bit. Well see how it goes and report back.
Quoted from pinballplusMN:He has been in touch with me. Placed an order for some boards a week or so ago. Sounds like he is behind a bit. Well see how it goes and report back.
For some reason his business model is to create a shipping label and tracking. Then doesn't ship it for 5-8 weeks.
Please update.
I ordered an WPC 89 MPU Board with a NVRAM installed on 9/22. It came today, less than 3 weeks total time . Examined the board when it arrived, looked good saw no signs of the problems people have mentioned here. Installed the board without a problem and it works just fine.
Quoted from minishark:I ordered an WPC 89 MPU Board with a NVRAM installed on 9/22. It came today, less than 3 weeks total time . Examined the board when it arrived, looked good saw no signs of the problems people have mentioned here. Installed the board without a problem and it works just fine.
Happy to hear that your board worked. My powerboard has been repaired of the loose cooling fins and transistors by a tech. He then tested it and found the 5volts was running high and adjusted it down to spec. I guess I got a rush job. But never again.
Update to previous post. I received my repaired WPC89 Powerboard, that was resoldered on the transistors and cooling fins from my tech. Only took a couple weeks, including shipping time. The good news is that it is functioning correctly in my game finally, like it should have the first time or the second time.
244894263_4822242324466678_2860716719600679733_n (resized).jpgDSCF2524 (resized).JPGI ordered two WPC 89 CPU boards from Charlie about a year ago, when he first started making them. They are amazing! Very high quality and they are just like the original boards they replaced (only Charlie's boards work great). I wish he would remove those battery holders.... Anyway, I always had great contact with him and the boards took less than a week to reach me. I actually came back here because I want to order another one! I think he must be very busy. Good luck to everyone and I hope everything works out for all of you!
Wish I had the same luck as you on the wpc89 mpu's. First one I received coils 1-8 high voltage coils did not work sent back. Second one received the mpu locks up in a minute or so. My original wpc 89 board has alkaline damage and ordered from him because this board will eventually fail. But so far the original works and the replacements from Charlie dont. Said he was going to send new one but have not seen it and he is advertising he has them ready for black friday sale. Very frustrating. Game is williams fishtales. Charlie if you see this please respond to my messages.
Quoted from Kawasakiltd:Wish I had the same luck as you on the wpc89 mpu's. First one I received coils 1-8 high voltage coils did not work sent back. Second one received the mpu locks up in a minute or so. My original wpc 89 board has alkaline damage and ordered from him because this board will eventually fail. But so far the original works and the replacements from Charlie dont. Said he was going to send new one but have not seen it and he is advertising he has them ready for black friday sale. Very frustrating. Game is williams fishtales. Charlie if you see this please respond to my messages.
Sounds familiar to my story but with 2 WPC89 Power Boards. I had enough and took the board to another shop tech, who fixed the multiple problems on the board. Very glad I did not order an MPU and took a chance that it would work or not.
I heard he deactivated his account here, but is advertising on Facebook account.
Hey all, I'm setting up a new email going forward. I'll post the email and get everyone settled with any exchanges or concerns.
Quoted from Tophervette:Sounds familiar to my story but with 2 WPC89 Power Boards. I had enough and took the board to another shop tech, who fixed the multiple problems on the board. Very glad I did not order an MPU and took a chance that it would work or not.
I heard he deactivated his account here, but is advertising on Facebook account.
If you refer to my previous post. It explains the deactivation and the plans moving forward.
Quoted from Kawasakiltd:Wish I had the same luck as you on the wpc89 mpu's. First one I received coils 1-8 high voltage coils did not work sent back. Second one received the mpu locks up in a minute or so. My original wpc 89 board has alkaline damage and ordered from him because this board will eventually fail. But so far the original works and the replacements from Charlie dont. Said he was going to send new one but have not seen it and he is advertising he has them ready for black friday sale. Very frustrating. Game is williams fishtales. Charlie if you see this please respond to my messages.
Dave, your replacement board is ready. Getting you a shipping number once the new business credit card comes in, hopefully today or tomorrow.
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:For some reason his business model is to create a shipping label and tracking. Then doesn't ship it for 5-8 weeks.
Please update.
Going forward with new products everything will only be available on the site if it's tested and ready to go.
Quoted from pinzrfun:Damn did this thread turn into a nightmare. Glad I went w the weebly board, ordered it last Monday and popped it into the game last Thursday.
That is your choice, choose who to support with your purchases.
I may be going to an distribution only model so I can better control cash flow and inventory.
Quoted from Pinsrgrt:I too have had trouble with components not being soldered and bridged connections. Given the lack of response to others with similar issues, I just fixed it all myself. I think he may have tried to do too many projects at once is hemorrhaging cash and is in too deep, doesn’t want to deal with customers and goes dark.
I say this as a buddy of mine was talking to him about a proto pin he said he bought it to use for advertising new products but may be for sale at some point. So after a while he contacts my friend and gives him a price; my friend thinks great and asked for a few more good pictures before committing to buy it as it was not cheap & got no response then the game gets listed for nearly $10k more than what he ask for initially!
I didnt think you or your friend were serious buyers, it's yours for the 15 or 16k as I told your friend in the last message I sent him.
Quoted from Gundam_Pilot_:I saw we all start bashing PPS until the parent straightens out their child. The child is making dad look bad to his friends.
I don't think you understand the relationship I have with PPS. Two separate entities, no direct control over my business.
Message me at the new customer support email that I'm setting up and we can figure out any issues.
Quoted from ForceFlow:I got an WPC-89 MPU recently. Lots of poor soldering joints, a few bridged connections, lots of tiny solder balls stuck to the board. It is not plug & play ready in that condition.
I just looked at it, shook my head, and set it aside as a project for another day.
The solder joints have been mentioned a few times. If you're comparing my boards to industrial manufacturers, I do not have the high end equipment to have the solder flow up through the board onto the higher part of the ic legs.
Before shaking your head and rolling your eyes, please test the board before making faces.
Quoted from Tophervette:Interestingly, a couple days ago on his Facebook page, he posted pictures of his hundreds of boards available for sale.
I have chosen to send my new broken board off to a tech that will try to repair (resolder the transistors and cooling fins that are loose and falling off). Then test it to see if it will actually work.
Interested to hear from anybody that got similar issues or got a working board.
Going forward I have a new checklist and test procedure to catch any potential issues caused by shipping problems. Each board is tested and components were attached when shipped.
Quoted from bepositive:Business is easy thing to conceptionlise , difficult to run . Hope the pause allows the back orders get resolved soon for those awaiting their parts .
Guess he will have backlog messages and email when returns ( mine are sitting as well ).
Shane
Backlog of messages will be addressed, new way of stocking and shipping is being addressed.
Quoted from chad:Perhaps a DMD driver board for the Large dot matrix games IE, BayWatch etc...
That is on the way, borrowing a board from John Wart.
Quoted from Crash:Just keep the board and solder in the missing components if you can. Will be a lot easier than shipping a return, which could easily be damaged in transit back to him anyway.
This is one thing I have learned. I need to a better box/shipping method to prevent damage as a lot of customers do.not have the ability to do minor Soldering, nor should they have to.
As with any small company, there are growing pains and issues to resolve as more sales are made and more products are created.
Going forward I'd advise everyone to who is unsure of my boards to hold off and wait for better feedback. I am taking most of the feedback here and making changes to the business to avoid these issues.
My gameplan boards will will be in a couple weeks, first batch will be 10 boards. If those boards are given positive feedback, I'll do a run of 50 and then a final run of 250.
Awsome. Keep it up as these boards will need to be replaced due to age and other reasons. I know you are up grading your email my only frustration is the communication as the boards I received look great but just did not work correctly. I will not hesitate to buy from you in the future as your systems will get better.
Thanks.
Quoted from Kawasakiltd:Awsome. Keep it up as these boards will need to be replaced due to age and other reasons. I know you are up grading your email my only frustration is the communication as the boards I received look great but just did not work correctly. I will not hesitate to buy from you in the future as your systems will get better.
Thanks.
There was one major difference on the wpc89 vs wpc95 boards at the board level that i'll be expanding to all products. Very small changes in sizing of settings on my end will help create less defects, faster production and fewer doa boards.
I'll hit you up once I get the new email set up and figure out what needs to be replaced.
Ordered 10 PCBs in February, Label created in April, wasn't actually handed over to USPS until mid July.
Out of that order Charlie shorted me 7 PCBs and only sent me 3.
Since August I have been begging for my order to be completed.
October a label was created but this has not been picked up by USPS yet.
Charlie has ceased contact.
I have a very, very extensive thread coming on all details of this saga. But as of December, my full order that was paid for back in Feb has not arrived.
It makes me very upset when I see his Facebook post Black Friday sales and pictures of boards going out, yet I am ignored over and over again.
I do understand that small businesses have teething issues, but this is something else entirely.
More details to follow.
Quoted from Terranigma:Ordered 10 PCBs in February, Label created in April, wasn't actually handed over to USPS until mid July.
Out of that order Charlie shorted me 7 PCBs and only sent me 3.
Since August I have been begging for my order to be completed.
October a label was created but this has not been picked up by USPS yet.
Charlie has ceased contact.
I have a very, very extensive thread coming on all details of this saga. But as of December, my full order that was paid for back in Feb has not arrived.
It makes me very upset when I see his Facebook post Black Friday sales and pictures of boards going out, yet I am ignored over and over again.
I do understand that small businesses have teething issues, but this is something else entirely.
More details to follow.
I'm a bit confused, can you send me another email so I can look into it?
Edit: Nevermind, pretty poor salesmanship on my end. I have your MPU's done. I keep dragging my feet on the dmd drivers. Will finish those off today.
Hello all. Has anyone had any luck getting in touch with Charlie? I touched base with him 3 weeks ago, via pinside, regarding a defective MPU89 board that I purchased from him. He said I could get it swapped out and I sent him a direct email with details as he requested, but have not heard back at all. I cannot get back in touch with him to arrange for a replacement. Any assistance with getting in touch with him would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Mike
He posted a picture of several dozen Mpu boards on his Facebook account a few days ago. As you have probably already read, I gave up on his products and had a tech fix my board after months of issues.
I ordered something off his web site on the 17th, still don’t know shipping status he will not return / respond to any of my messages, I guess I will give it a few more days.
If he doesn't reply just issue a credit card chargeback and use a real proven product like DumbAss's boards.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dumbass-test-and-reproduction-pcbs
Wow what a train wreck! When I first read about Charlie and his endeavours, it was pleasing to see original boards for many games would once again be available. Whilst it appears he enjoys what he does, there seems to be a lot of disgruntled customers out there. Doesn't seem like a recipe for success. Hopefully Charlie can lift his game or stop accepting payment until he has assembled, tested, ready to ship product that he can package well.
Quoted from Tophervette:Interestingly, a couple days ago on his Facebook page, he posted pictures of his hundreds of boards available for sale.
I have chosen to send my new broken board off to a tech that will try to repair (resolder the transistors and cooling fins that are loose and falling off). Then test it to see if it will actually work.
Interested to hear from anybody that got similar issues or got a working board.
WPC board here.
I had to do rework on a new WPC CPU board.
Symptom one: no dmd display.
After scoping the board, I found a broken trace to one of the pads.
(Here I had to scrape the coating off to make connection.)
IMG_0001[1] (resized).JPG
Symptom two: lamps and coils erratic operation.
I changed a buffer IC and had no results...
I found out it was many cold solder joints to the output connector.
IMG_0002[1] (resized).JPG
The test game kind of worked but went haywire...
I had to reflow the solder to the CPU,RAM,EPROM, and ASIC and a few resistors.
Finally, got the board to function.
Quoted from Crash:What untested junk this guy is selling!
Board was fully tested before shipment. I would have exchanged the board if contacted.
Quoted from Pinball_Basement:Board was fully tested before shipment. I would have exchanged the board if contacted.
Can you prove that?
Quoted from Crash:Can you prove that?
I can record me testing 100 boards if you like?
vec-tor's reputation is impeccable.
If he stated he did what he did it was done for good reason not because he was making things up.
Quoted from Crash:I mean, I can see several solder joints with poor or no connection:
[quoted image][quoted image]
[quoted image]
Look up what a via is, and that will help with the first picture.
The through holes are plated through holes, my manufacturing process is not able to send the solder up through to the topside as much as you would see in a commercial environrment.
I am working with the pcb company to better tent/plug the vias so no more solder gets into or near those holes.
Also, in order to support orders better I am disabling the pinside messaging system and engaging orders directly through a new customer service specific email.
Sending a message thru email and the next email thru pinside without name, email, and order number only adds to the confusion on my end.
I would not be harsh on @Pinball_Basement; Nobody is perfect.
It was just a repair I got stuck doing...
The board came from a game that got smoked from to many
Like connectors that got switched around...
At first, I did not know if the severe board shorts blew up the new CPU; It did not.
It was just a bunch of little mishaps that I thought I would share.
In all, with this one repair, I really blame Williams electronics for having to many
like pinned connectors close to one another that allowed this stupid mishap to happen.
There's nothing like a game that comes into a repair shop with gremlins...
Each game has it's own personality, and traumatic life history.
Quoted from vec-tor:I would not be harsh on pinball Basement; Nobody is perfect.
It was just a repair I got stuck doing...
The board came from a game that got smoked from to many
Like connectors that got switched around...
At first, I did not know if the severe board shorts blew up the new CPU; It did not.
It was just a bunch of little mishaps that I thought I would share.
In all, with this one repair, I really blame Williams electronics for having to many
like pinned connectors close to one another that allowed this stupid mishap to happen.
There's nothing like a game that comes into a repair shop with gremlins...
Each game has it's own personality, and traumatic life history.
Very true. That's why home service calls can be a Pain in the ass sometimes
Pinball Basement seems pretty good. I'm sure if an issue exists Charlie will take care of you.
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