I personally would look for a newer build one. The earliest builds scare me. That's just me though. Others will know better if they've owned an earlier build.

i have had my personal Emerald City since it was new (11/2013) and have never changed a light board. i am not saying i won't have to, but i have not yet.

are you looking at an Emerald City (wooden apron, direct printed cabinet, green powdercoat, shaker motor, invisiglass), 75th Anniversary (red powdercoat, red tinted backglass, shaker motor, invisiglass, printed manual, extra toys) or a Standard Edition?

if it is a standard edition, honestly i would just buy a new one. Check with PinballSTAR and see if he has any show specials left, otherwise i have a couple that were/are new that were used at the Denver show.

Call JJP and talk to their tech directly... chances are, you'd be 100% fine with this game. And if a problem arose, they have parts and chips to fix.

My 4/2014 Ecle has never had a problem.

The light boards on my WOZECLE (build date of 10/24/2013) have been solid with no issues in 3.5+ years. My game has the first generation of 7.5 volt boards without the daughter buffer board.

The 5 volt light boards were replaced with 7.5 volt light boards for games manufactured in late September of 2013 and later.

Gord

My 2013 ECLE has never had a problem since I've owned it, but it looked like a couple boards have been replaced before.

If you're getting it in the low 7k's, I wouldn't worry too much about the boards. If a few fail and you had to get new ones, it'd still be less money than buying a newer WOZ. Also the ECLE's direct print cabinets and wood aprons make it the best looking of the bunch.

The single led boards are the ones that commonly fail. They run about $28 to replace.

If you do buy a new WOZ I would not hesitate to buy one from KingpinGames. They will take good care of you.

I have the first production game (#12). Like many, had only a few boards go out, very early on. . Once I put in maybe 3 of the buffer boards, never had a problem. I'm so reluctant to post this cause.....don't want to wear out my luck.
In any case, I've read so many posts about early games, but once my issues with typical adjustments and even replacement parts, my game has been solid for years. Oh boy...hope this is not a jinx.

the single led boards (gi) are about $35 each (quantity discount for more), these are the ones that usually go out if any do. you are right though, the larger boards are more expensive

http://store.jerseyjackpinball.com/Parts/Wizard-of-Oz-Parts/General-Illumination-7-5-volt-Wizard-of-Oz.html $35
http://store.jerseyjackpinball.com/Parts/Wizard-of-Oz-Parts/W2-WOZ-7-5V-Tin-Man-RGB-LED.html $266.99
http://store.jerseyjackpinball.com/Parts/Wizard-of-Oz-Parts/W3-WOZ-7-5V-Lion-RGB-LED-Board.html $251.99
http://store.jerseyjackpinball.com/Parts/Wizard-of-Oz-Parts/W4.html $189.99
http://store.jerseyjackpinball.com/Parts/Wizard-of-Oz-Parts/W5-WOZ-7-5V-Haunted-Forest-RGB-LED-Board.html $193.99
http://store.jerseyjackpinball.com/Parts/Wizard-of-Oz-Parts/W6.html $199.99

these are from the JJP Webstore. i would also suggest calling and talking with the guys (frank / victor) in the JJP Service department and see if they have any suggestions.

As long as the game doesn't have the original 5v light boards I would go for it. My ECLE was built late Oct 2013 l, 7v boards, no issues.

I think around Sept 2013 games switched to 7v boards from the original 5v boards.

If a big board fails I believe JJP will do a swap with you at a lower price. I really wouldn't sweat it seems that most problems happen very early, or on games that are sited and on all the time. My only problem was on a board when I first got it, I had mine on location for 9 months and boards are fine.

I've got 5V boards and haven't had any go for quite a few years. One of the early code updates seemed to all but eliminate the issue.

I have a standard made in late 2014... game has been rock solid... no board issues!

Early 2014 I think the buffer was added to the newer gen boards but any of the games built Late October 2013 and on had the 7.5 v boards. I sold my woz after three years or no board issues whatsoever. Static is supposed to be a big issue so be careful if you live in a very dry climate.

Yes. They are silkscreen printed on the circuit boards.

The 2016 model one of our league locations got last year also has ongoing light board problems so even buying a new one isn't a sure-fire way to avoid problems.

I've said this in different forum topics about these light boards. They probably work a lot better in the home environment. Since it doesn't need as much maintenance, also since you don't have to take the glass off that much. On location, this was the pin I had the biggest problems with, it was only mainly due to the light boards. I have an RR WOZ, and have had to replace close to 30 of the smaller light boards. None of the other pins there have had on going issues like this.

I talked to a tech and he suggested Wizard's mist and shine to clean it. He said novus has a tendency to increase static coefficient something or rather. So after that talk, I waited longer between cleaning times and wore a static bracelet anytime I took off the glass. Haven't had any issue's in the last 6 months I had it on location, so I guess he was right. Luckily, the majority of the boards were covered by warranty.

The last board I had to pay for, so I kept it in the hopes of trying to troubleshoot it. So I don't have to keep paying 25 for them. Just wish they didn't make the boards SMD. The crappy thing is if one goes bad the game pretty much becomes unplayable until a tech can either replace that board or take it out of the chain.

Other then the light boards, the quality of the JJP games are solid. I was pretty upset after light board 15 or so went out, but they just kept giving me new ones. They never blamed me like other companies might of. The tech was always extremely helpful every time I called. Wish they came up with new electronics from a different manufacture for WOZ owners that keep having these issues.

I'd suggest you get a brand new standard. It's about the same price and will have the version 2.0 system that fixes the concern even more thoroughly than the 5v to 7v did. Those new WOZ's with the 2.0 they released this past Jan should never have the concern.

Also, it's good for pinball for JJP to keep selling NIB machines. You get a warranty, new system, brand new game, and they get another NIB sale.

I have an early direct print standard bought nib and did a lot of research and found that the 7.5 volt boards go out just as often as the 5 volt,that was not the problem ,jjp just swapped to 7.5 because they did not know what to do and it did not help,what did work was buffered boards 5 volt or 7.5,they are both much better than non buffered,I paid for the entire set of buffered boards and swapped them all,I now have the a very reliable early woz,love the game and it was worth it to me,

I would just except that boards that are not buffered could go any time from static,games on carpet and winter time dryness is worse,the mist n shine may help wth static,I wish jjp could come up with a kit that could buffer existing boards and not have to buy the entire buffered board set

Don't got direct through JJP. Find a distro that just had one on display at a show. Two have been identified in this thread.

Care to share what you paid for the whole set?

I have a few buffered boards (5v) for my May 2013 game and they seemed to have stopped the boards from going out. Fwiw

Wise choice. The light boards are not a big deal. If you do have a board that goes out JJP will do a swap for you, send the old board for new, at a considerably discounted price of what they show in their store.

I don't get why people are so keen to buy NIB. If I lived in the States I would take HUO every time to save a few bucks and get a machine with bugs already sorted out.

I did what you are thinking of doing -- buying an early WoZ with 7.5V boards. It had a couple of single LED boards with LEDs missing a channel. With help from pinside, I found the LEDs and easily replaced them with a hot-air gun: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/where-to-buy-smd-led-for-woz-light-boards

It was easier than replacing transistors on a power driver board. If the condition of the game you are looking at is great, and the price is good, get it.

Man I was thinking used 1st gen woz were like 6500 and was thinking of one. But newer were like 7500+?

Why does it matter? Price they go for today has nothing to do with original price. The market is the market.

Because the general thing is the 1st gen of anything which usually has issues and by now is used more has a lower value then a new game. I've heard of some 1st gen woz selling for around 6500. It was me wanting a deal on a game instead of buying new

I confirm that 5V or 7.5V boards could fail, and the only real fix is the buffered boards.
I have an early ECLE which had some issues with original boards, but after replacing some of them with buffered ones, scattered along the light board daisy chain, everything has been problem-free since more than a year now.

I have to say that I'm totally satisfied with my game !

I believe it was 699.00 and you have to return all your old boards,I also remember asking to be put on the waiting list
Also this program is only for original owner of the woz in question,if you bought you game used I would have no idea but I do know that the board set with out the program is in the thousands