BTW... it appears that WOZ machines built after december of 2016 (so basically this years WOz build) will be including an all new light system (v2.0) based on their current lighting boards which should be even more reliable than the buffered boards.

That being said, I wouldn't really worry about the buffered boards either. I have an ECLE that was built with them and they are perfectly fine. I think the biggest plus to V2.0 is the lights are no longer daisy chained so if one goes out it doesn't knock out everything downstream.

Lots of details about WOZ 2.0 lighting starts in section E7 of the new manual on JJP's site.

I think that would be a question for Hobbit owners as the WOZ 2.0 system is basically the Hobbit system adapted for WOZ. I have not heard of any major issues with the Hobbit system and I'm assuming they are sticking with it for Dialed In as well so should be golden.

Bring the outlanes in, set a ball saver, add some additional extra ball opportunities and WOZ is very friendly to an average player. The nice thing is as you get more skilled you have plenty of room to adjust the difficulty up.

Nearly a year in and still love it. There are lots of lower level objectives that are very satisfying to reach such as the mini wizard modes and Battle the Wicked Witch (most awesome mode ever).

Speaking of all this board stuff... I have 3 boards (7.5v buffered GI mini boards) I need to order tomorrow. One is pretty much dead and the other two are flaky. At least I'm still under warranty .

Would I buy an upgrade kit? Depends on price. It's certainly not a project that at all intimiades me, in fact I think it would be fun to install. For me, at this point in time it wouldn't because I feel like it's in any way needed on my machine as other than a few of my GI boards all has been peachy... just would be fun.

I seem to recall that the WOZ 1.x boards use an RGB controller that has been discontinued, which even today could make building more 1.x boards more of a challenge (or maybe there still a warehouse in china with a billion of them in bins). Anyway, I'm assuming/hoping that the 2.0 boards have replaced that component with a part that is currently being actively manufactured. Further I hope that when they do get discontinued (as what seems to happen with greater frequency these days), there be a direct replacement made available.

The problem is that in todays world of putting disposable electronics in just about everything, I don't know if any of these manufactures would have any incintive to continue making these components for our pins after everyone starts using the next latest greatest RGB chip in their color changing ice cubes, cotton candy sticks and whatever else. Conversly if it was a part manufactured just for pinball instead of something that gets put into just about everything, they would cost a fortune.

I'm not thinking the sky is falling or faulting JJP... in fact the opposite. My feeling is that thats the state of electronics today and if we were not to go with it out ligts would cost a fortune.

If I were to switch out lights it would be for fun, not necessity.

Also just pondering that the chip availability may be part of the reasoning behind the redesign and I applaud JJP for recognizing that and not leaving WOZ behind.

As far as thr mobo goes thats not even a concern in the slightest...
If my woz mobo someday fails (doubtful) I'll have two options: If USB is no longer a standard (also doubtful) find something on ebay.. or if USB and Intel are still around (more likely) buy whatever new $25 mobo is available. Software doesn't scare me.

Yeah... I love my WOZ but it ain't no snowflake, its meant to be played and enjoyed and thats what it gets almost daily.

I didn't get the impression from anyone that parts or chips are drying up today.

They of course are not. However I would speculate that part of 2.0 is a recognition that the supply is in fact finite and preparation for the future.

My thought is that to think existing supply is infinite is not a smart assessment given the current state of technology manufacturing.

It is an amazingly awesome thing that JJP is bringing WOZ along so that when that supply does edventually run out (thinking in scale of decades here not weeks or even years), there will be options to keep these amazing feats or art and engineering in their full glory.

Further 1.x is not toxic, I would not hesitate to buy a 1.x machine... Inhavr a 1.x machine and its the best game I have ever owned... however if I were shopping for new anyway I would demand a 2.x. Further being a realist about tech I would like an upgrade path for 1.x should it ever be needed....

However maybe it is all premature... by the time we can no longer maintain 1.x perhaps it would be an upgrade path to 4.x that would be needed.

I would do it because it would be a fun project, no other reason. Yeah its all speculation, nobody has any clue what they would sell for because JJP is not selling them.

I'm absolutely certain it is JJP's intent to service these for eternity... however at some point (far far beyond warranty) it will become more cost effective to upgrade to whatever latest system is available at that time. That is the reality of tech. We shouldn't burry our heads in the sand about it, we should acknowledge it, address it and move on.

It's only going to keep getting better as new stuff comes out lets leverage that (and I think that JJP is doing just that)

Personally I'm waiting for the light boards linked through a wireless mesh network.

I think a lot of the concern is simply a natural part of a technology transition. We have moved from universally available bulbs available anywhere by a number of manufacturers to a specific proprietary board with (currently) a single source. Not that its a bad thing as there are lots of fantastic benifits gained from going this route.

Warranted or not, thats going to make some people uncomfortable as they see shifts in the design of those propetary boards.

It also goes to show how much people love and care about their WOZ's that they are looking forward to something that *might* break 10-20 years from now.

Edit:
Full Disclaimer: I'm in no way worried about the current or future state of my WOZ... i just think its an interesting convergence between tech trends and pinball.

LOL... yeah I was wondering that too. Quite the derailment.

Congrats! Approaching a year and still playing mine regularly. Its the one pin that I always come back to... damn near pinperfection.

If nobody has suggested it yet; get a cliffy for the munchkin playfield. Since you already like to tinker it should be a breze for you to install and an opportunity to get more familiar with the assembly's.