(Topic ID: 35328)

Vid's Guide to Bulletproofing Williams System 3-7

By vid1900

11 years ago


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There are 1,137 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 23.
#151 10 years ago
Quoted from RudeDogg1:

what is the best way to pry them off without damaging the board? Great guide btw

I use an old blunted screwdriver and a little scrap of yogurt lid. Try not to pry directly over any traces (if possible).

If you have a desoldering gun, sucker or station, you don't need to pry the frames off. Just suck out the solder, and the whole frame and pins fall out as a unit.

#152 10 years ago

I've got a desoldering gun so hopefully shouldn't be to hard

#153 10 years ago
Quoted from RudeDogg1:

I've got a desoldering gun so hopefully shouldn't be to hard

Nothing to pry then, easy peasy.

#155 10 years ago

I usually de-solder at 800F. Some folks may suggest a bit lower at times, but I find you need it for the 40pin, particularly the end pins. I'm also a big proponent of using RA flux for desoldering. You can get away without it, but the flux does help.

-Hans

#156 10 years ago

RA flux? Never heard of that

Ignor that I googled it doh

Post edited by RudeDogg1 : Gormless

#157 10 years ago

Usually it's marked something like "Rosin Flux", or "RA type", or "Rosin Activated". Just make sure to clean it off with some isopropyl alcohol when you're done.

#158 10 years ago

Vid1900 this thread is great thanks for posting. Will use the knowledge!!

#159 10 years ago

Flux is quite handy. I recently started using it, after resisting for years. The cleanup is a bit of a PITA, but it provides a much cleaner solder joint and seems to make things desolder easier.

#160 10 years ago

I don't know if what I do is a good idea, but I've found that I can't always get all the solder clear of the pins in my first shot with the soldapullt.

1. Brush on a little bit of flux on the solder side of the board.
2. Heat up the iron so it's between 700F and 800F
3. Work with the board solder side up and desolder all of the pins using my $6 soldapullt. I try to work in a cross-hatch pattern to minimize the risk of over heating the chip, maybe? Top left to bottom right then top right to bottom left and repeat.
4. Flip the board over and inspect the top side, is all of the solder off the pins? Can I easily wiggle the legs with gentle pressure from a toothpick or blunt small flat head screwdriver?
5. If yes, slowly and carefully work the chip out of the board with said screwdriver, making sure not to scrape the traces.
6. If no, I'll mount the board in a vice so it stands vertically, then give it another 5 minutes to cool off.
7. Soldapullt in one hand and iron in the other, I'll put the soldapullt over whatever pin needs more solder removed (solder side) then I'll very briefly touch the top side of that same pin with the iron, making sure to also make contact with the top side through hole, no more than 2 or 3 seconds.
8. Activate the soldapullt and pull the iron off the pin, if done quickly and carefully, to any "stuck" pins, you should be able to literally pull the chip off the board with your fingers with almost no force.

I've had very good luck with this process, that being said, anyone is welcome to chime in and tell me I'm ruining chips and boards, this is just my two cents worth of info.

3 weeks later
#161 10 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

Finally, label all the fuses on the board. This will prevent mistakes and help out the next owner who may not be as knowledgeable as you are.
You should not have to get the manual out, or try to read some faded (or nonexistent) label on the inside of the cab if a fuse blows.
Check carefully that all the fuses are the correct size and type BEFORE returning the board to service.
The F2 fuse installed when this board came in was an insane 30 amp slow blow!

13.jpg 173 KB

How come the last fuse is N/C?

#162 10 years ago
Quoted from RudeDogg1:

How come the last fuse is N/C?

Some games, like Firepower, use it as a 10A flipper fuse.

Post edited by vid1900: Schematic and block diagram did not agree on fuse value

3 months later
#163 9 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

Next we move over to the High Voltage section.
Note that if you are using LED displays (like Xpin or Pinscore), you don't need to update this section at all. The high voltage is only used for the older gas displays; LED displays run on only 5v.
In fact, you can just pull fuse F1 if you are using LED displays. This will kill power to the high voltage section, making the game slightly more reliable (you can't have a component short out or catch fire if it does not have power).

Hey vid was wondering. My Firepower has Rottendog displays. Are these LED do you know? Or can I pull the F1 fuse and if the display's are still powered on then can I assume their LED?
I definitely want to do the power supple board update. Don't really know if previous owner has done it or not.

Jack

#164 9 years ago

Hi Jack,

Yes, the Rottendog displays use LEDs, so you should be able to pull F1 without issues.

-Mark

#165 9 years ago
Quoted from Snux:

Hi Jack,
Yes, the Rottendog displays use LEDs, so you should be able to pull F1 without issues.
-Mark

Thanks for the quick reply Mark.. Appreciate it.

#166 9 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

We need a few parts to make a clean installation:
(2) Chassis Mount Fuse Holders
(4) Female Spade Connectors
(2) 8" Pieces of 16-18 gauge stranded copper wire. One Red, one Blue.
The Fuse Holders you can get from Great Plains or Radio Shack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062257
http://www.greatplainselectronics.com/search.asp?pg=1&stext=354001GY&sprice=&stype=&scat=
The Spade Connectors crimp on. You remove the Plastic Insulator, crimp, then put the Insulator back on. Don't forget to slide the Insulators down the wire BEFORE you crimp the 2nd Spade. Otherwise you won't be able to put them on after.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104091
If you have any dead PC Power Supplies laying around the shop, you can snip off the correct color wires without buying a whole roll at the auto parts store.

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Hey Vid, I got the spade connectors and 2-pack fuse holders from radio shack. Question: You using to sizes of spade connectors? The ones on the fuse holders and the ones on the rectifier seem to be 2 different sizes..
Jack

#167 9 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

Some games, like Firepower, use it as a 4A flipper fuse.

is it 4 amp or 10 amp ? PowerBoard-986.pdfPowerBoard-986.pdf

#168 9 years ago
Quoted from J_Cutler:

Hey Vid, I got the spade connectors and 2-pack fuse holders from radio shack. Question: You using to sizes of spade connectors? The ones on the fuse holders and the ones on the rectifier seem to be 2 different sizes..
Jack

The wire diameter for different sized spade connectors is stamped in tiny letters on the edge.

One size might be 20-22 Gage, another might be 12-14 Gage...... The smaller the number, the larger diameter of the wire.

#169 9 years ago
Quoted from boydsc331:

is it 4 amp or 10 amp ?

The schematic says 4A, but the block diagram for the PS shows 10A SloBlow and 15A SloBlow for dual action (4) flipper games.

I'm inclined to believe 10A SB is correct - nice catch!

#170 9 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

The wire diameter for different sized spade connectors is stamped in tiny letters on the edge.
One size might be 20-22 Gage, another might be 12-14 Gage...... The smaller the number, the larger diameter of the wire.

I got it all taken care of Vid. Thanks for the guide. Got it finished and it looks great. I did have to mount mine on the bottom of the backbox as there really wasn't any room on the back wall on my Firepower.

#171 9 years ago
Quoted from J_Cutler:

I did have to mount mine on the bottom of the backbox as there really wasn't any room on the back wall on my Firepower.

No problem, bottom is an OK place to mount them.

1 week later
#172 9 years ago

hi,firstly let me say thanks for the exellent guide,it's simple to follow with the pictures,and is well laid out,I have one question though,is there a way to bulletproof the driver board transistors for the coils,mine are mostly original except for some which are tip120(is this the correct part?)

thanks in advance

#173 9 years ago

I'd leave the old driver transistors as is, unless the leads are covered in corrosion.

If you think about it, the original transistors have run without a problem for 40 years.

If one ever blows, replace it with a heavier duty TIP102

#174 9 years ago

In regard to the bridge rectifier fuse mod it should be done for ALL Williams solid state pinballs/shuffle alleys made BEFORE F-14 Tomcat (the factory started installing fuses at that point).

#175 9 years ago

Vid, this is really good information. For a given board (driver board, power supply, CPU, etc...) do you recommend that everyone perform each of these mods if there's any doubt at all about its current state? For example, I was pretty sure that the 40-pin interconnect on my Gorgar was just fine. However, the driver board for this Blackout I just acquired looks like it's had some work done, but could use quite a bit more. Same with the power supply. The CPU looks like it has RN sockets, but I don't know how new they are.

I know that most of the time - if it ain't broke don't fix it. But where should I draw "broke" line? If someone who didn't know any better were playing it and looking at it, they'd think it was in fine shape, electronically. But having read this guide, I can see at least five things between the two boards that probably should be done to make it future-proof.

IMG_1038.JPGIMG_1038.JPG
IMG_1041.JPGIMG_1041.JPG

#176 9 years ago

40 pin (unless it is dated, or looks bright white new) always has to go.

40 year old big capacitors always have to go.

All Scanbe sockets have to go.

Rectifiers always have to be fused.

If you can twist any of the chips and make the game reboot or crash, all the sockets should be replaced too.

#177 9 years ago

And the rest is on kind of an "as I feel like it" basis?

#178 9 years ago
Quoted from UvulaBob:

And the rest is on kind of an "as I feel like it" basis?

The rest is bulletproofing for a game you want to keep.

Quoted from vid1900:

40 pin (unless it is dated, or looks bright white new) always has to go.
40 year old big capacitors always have to go.
All Scanbe sockets have to go.
Rectifiers always have to be fused.
If you can twist any of the chips and make the game reboot or crash, all the sockets should be replaced too.

This is just the bare minimum to get the game up and running.

#179 9 years ago

It turns out all the parts for this guide are only going cost me about 20 bucks. Totally worth it - especially if it might have the side effect of fixing some other issues I'm having (such as a flickering and lagging display).

What's your opinion on proactively replacing IDC connectors with Trifurcon crimp-ons? Should I wait until there's a problem, or is it worth the trouble of replacing all ~25 IDCs in my Blackout to prevent any possible further issues?

#180 9 years ago
Quoted from UvulaBob:

What's your opinion on proactively replacing IDC connectors with Trifurcon crimp-ons? Should I wait until there's a problem, or is it worth the trouble of replacing all ~25 IDCs in my Blackout to prevent any possible further issues?

For the 10 cents that each 9pin male costs, I always replace all of those.

The new Molex pins are square, so they have more contact area, and have excellent brand new plating.

http://www.taydaelectronics.com/connectors-sockets/wafer-housing-crimp-terminal.html

#181 9 years ago

As far as the female connectors, I'd look with a magnifying glass and see if any connections are corroded or burnt.

In my experience, the males are more likely to be in need of replacement.

#182 9 years ago

did you ever do the soundboard sect vid900?,im only asking as whilst I was playing gorgar last night,when the ball was in play not touching anything,it just said "me hurt" and has remained silent ever since,I get no sounds when I push the test button,and the connectors/voltages are correct.Ive got a cap kit coming through the post,as I was going to recap it anyway,is there anything else I should check/change out

thanks in advance

#183 9 years ago
Quoted from stevebm1:

did you ever do the soundboard sect

I have not done it yet, sorry.

Check if the 5v is good at the 7805 regulator.

#184 9 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

For the 10 cents that each 9pin male costs, I always replace all of those.

Just out of curiosity - is it OK to put, say, three 5-pin male headers side-by-side to form a 15-pin one? The connector that would plug into them would be a single 15-pin, of course. But does the male side need to be a continuous strip? If so, then the 24-pin ones that Great Plains sell for $1.40 each seems pretty expensive if you're going to just throw all the leftover header pins out instead of combining them elsewhere.

#185 9 years ago
Quoted from UvulaBob:

is it OK to put, say, three 5-pin male headers side-by-side to form a 15-pin one? The connector that would plug into them would be a single 15-pin, of course.

Many connectors are sized on the 1/2 cut, allowing you to use them seamlessly side by side.

I imagine that a single long strip is slightly stronger, but for our application, it does not matter.

#186 9 years ago

I combine partial leftover headers. Never more than 2 at a time on a single connector, and never less than 3 pins a side.

I use an old IDC connector to hold the pins together at the right spacing while I solder them in.

I bought several hundred 15 pin headers in bulk. Almost all are gone, and I'll go back to the 24 pin ones!

#187 9 years ago

I will second the need for sound board info.
My Barracora just started making odd sounds today. Sometimes the spinner would make the correct sound and other times it just had a deep bass sound. Other sounds would be spot on, and then for a moment have a weird tone to them.
I have not had time to get to the board just yet.

#188 9 years ago

The sound board gets it's triggers on the early games from the driver transistors, like a solenoid would.

The 5 bottom driver transistors alone, or in combination, drive up to 32 sounds.

If the transistors are dead, or the 7408 chip is defective, the wrong sounds can be produced.

#189 9 years ago

Thanks for the info.
This has been a great thread.

#190 9 years ago

And if anyone is interested, yes, you can do the TIP42/Resistor -> MosFET/Jumper mod to the Hyperball specific driver board to cut down on a lot of backbox heat and increase reliability.

A before and after shot....

800px-HyperBallSpecificDriverBoard.jpg800px-HyperBallSpecificDriverBoard.jpg
20140522_154826.jpg20140522_154826.jpg

1 week later
#191 9 years ago

For the bridge rectifier safety mod:

I have 18 gauge wire taken from an old PC power supply, and I have the 1/4" quick disconnects from Radio Shack that Vid linked to back on Page 2. However, the disconnects are for 16 gauge wire, which I didn't realize until just now. So now I'm wondering if I should buy some larger gauge wire or smaller gauge disconnects. The wires leading from the transformer into the bridge rectifiers are quite substantial - much more so than this 18 gauge wire I'm using.

Vid, what would you do in my position? Would you buy some larger wire to go with the connectors I have or quick disconnects that fit the smaller wire that I have? I want to make sure I do this right.

#192 9 years ago
Quoted from UvulaBob:

For the bridge rectifier safety mod:
I have 18 gauge wire taken from an old PC power supply, and I have the 1/4" quick disconnects from Radio Shack that Vid linked to back on Page 2. However, the disconnects are for 16 gauge wire, which I didn't realize until just now. So now I'm wondering if I should buy some larger gauge wire or smaller gauge disconnects. The wires leading from the transformer into the bridge rectifiers are quite substantial - much more so than this 18 gauge wire I'm using.
Vid, what would you do in my position? Would you buy some larger wire to go with the connectors I have or quick disconnects that fit the smaller wire that I have? I want to make sure I do this right.

Bob,
I just went to Home Depot and bought a couple feet of 16 ga wire from the bulk spool rack. Was like 20 or 25 cents a foot

#193 9 years ago
Quoted from UvulaBob:

Vid, what would you do in my position? Would you buy some larger wire to go with the connectors I have or quick disconnects that fit the smaller wire that I have? I want to make sure I do this right.

I'd probably just double up the 18 ga. wire - that would give you roughly 16 ga. (probably 15 gauge).

#194 9 years ago

If gold sockets are bad for tin IC pins, what about the inverse?

#195 9 years ago

No - machine pin sockets with gold plated inserts are not bad.
For the most part - there is no inverse. Last gold plated IC legs I have ever seen were from the late 1960's (I have one as a conversation piece).

Machine pin sockets are always gold plated on the inserts where the IC leg makes contact. These typically have three (usually four) tangs that make firm contact on the IC legs, better contact than twin leaf or twin beam sockets and far better than the cheapie single beam sockets. I did some reading up on these awhile back to try to figure out why. It was a combination of the surface tension along with a gas tight connection point that saves these connections from oxidation (not oxidation but I forgot the exact term). Wish I knew what I did with that PDF article....

#196 9 years ago

I have a couple of MC6820 chips that appear to have gold pins. Is it some other metal instead of gold?

#197 9 years ago

... yeah, I forgot about the early CPU and support IC's -- usually the ceramics.

3 months later
#198 9 years ago
Quoted from zippydapinhead:

Here's a pic of how NOT to re-cap a power supply. (and not to do board work late at night)

oops.jpg 44 KB

i think its awesome how you took a picture of your late-night, bird-brain cap job. that is fantastic!!!

#199 9 years ago

On at least one of the connectors on my BK driver board, there's a wire pushed into the IDC connector in such a way that it crosses over the connector on both sides, so essentially a wire leading off in each direction. How would you go about replacing that connector with a crimped trifurcon? Have one lead coming off the Molex and then perhaps a shrink-wrapped joint or a 2 position terminal strip with a crossbar?

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