Quoted from Pinball_Basement:The new original boards will be the same unless a drop in replacement can offer a better solution for the circuit. The main reason these are being made is to put the hacked boards to rest and have a proven circuit be used in the machine as intended. For example the Sys 3-7 Driver board can have a transistor updated and the high wattage resistors are no longer needed with that update. If I get down to that level of games, I will update the part to solve that issue. Another issue such as the special solenoid circuits should have been fused. I would add inline fuses to this design and make that safer.
If Williams issued a service bulletin to update an aspect of the boards, this would be updated as well.
Circuit board fabrication has come a LONG way in 30 years when all these original boards were first made. Better through hole plating and fabrication processes in general. Yes, the old boards haven't aged well, but I'd like to prove that a new board of the old design just flat out works and will age better than the older boards. When repairs need to be made, the pads won't come up with the trace.
Redesigning boards could be on the table as time goes on, but for now authenticity is my main goal and I just want the board to work without any issues. Too many times i've seen people take out a competitors board and put back an original board to get it working like it should.
6821's are back in production actually... really good timing on my part. I'm really happy that I can produce system 11 boards and not have to worry about second hand chips not lasting.
Who is reproducing the 6821 IC Chips?
