Some other posts here on Pinside that discuss the exact problem. One of the chips is unobtainable so the boards can't be remade or fixed.

Pinsound is suppose to be working on a solution to this issue.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinsound-wpc95-audiovideo-board-replacement

Yeah, that's MAD Amusements's ebay account.

You can send the board out for repair--there are some people who have parts in stock, as indicated in the last big AV board thread.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wpc-95-av-board-1

There is also another option now--if you install a pinsound board along with a WPC-89 board, those two boards can replace the AV board.

https://www.pinsound.org/wpc95-audiovideo-board-replacement/
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinsound-wpc95-audiovideo-board-replacement/

That was when the original announcement was made.

It appears to be available now:

https://www.pinsound.org/shop/index.php?id_product=20&controller=product&id_lang=1

The pinsound board can also accompany the AV board, and doesn't have to replace it.

You have to have the OG board or you can use a WPC Video board to work with the Pinsound board.

Force, my understanding is that the Pinsound board will not work to fix a bad WPC95 board unless you have the Original Board or you can use a WPC av board as well.

Functional in certain ways, but it doesn't have to be 100% functional. Guys see the link I posted earlier. They talk about the reason you have to keep it in that thread.

If you have a working AV board, the pinsound board can accompany it and you can use the pinsound board for its advanced features or to play a custom sound package.

If you do not have a working AV board, then you can replace the av board with a WPC DMD driver board and the pinsound board.

Yep.

The cheapest functioning one from any WPC game you can find one from.

Or if you can't find one, the rottendog replacement will do the trick.

I have a few working spares that I keep in case I ever need a quick swap, and I would consider selling one but it won't be cheap. I would say $475 plus shipping.

for a WPC95 AV board?

I think his shipping is $2,000, so there's that.

Yes, an A-20516 WPC95 AV board. Shipping is probably $20 or so.

We are working on it, the website and the shop will be shortly updated.
I've spent half of this day finishing the new manuals...
Thanks for your patience and your support!

Absolutely, this is not a new concept.
Welcome to the world of pinball.
In many cases, it might be more akin $8000-10000 today, dependent on the title and condition of the machine.

Although most are probably not aware now, the same problem occurred in the early 2000s with WPC and WPC-S board sets as the they also were unavailable and games were cannibalized from other lesser non-popular titles as they began to fail. The reason that WPC-95 were not an issue is the games were between 4-6 years old. Now the cycle repeats again as they approach the the 20 year mark.

This cycle has existed since the dawn of SS electronics.

The same cycle was repeated for System 11, System 3-7, GTB SS80, GTB System 1, and MPU-35 since 1978, until reproduction boards were made, or parts made available for repair in some cases.
It is already happening presently with Stern WhiteStar games from the 2000s.
Many games are being landfilled or warehoused, due to lack of replacement MPU board sets.
Much to chagrin of Stern, that has no interest in having these games continue functioning, as they make no money from them.

This is a primary advantage of remaining EMs, and they continue to run like tanks for decades after many SS machines falter due to lack of available electronic parts out of obsolescence. So many early SS machines were dumped at of lack of parts in the early 90s it was not funny.

Operators with MMrs are also already being butt $#@%ed recently due to primary LED / controller board failure on the the main playfield.
$299 a replacement, while still available, as most a out of "warranty" quickly. When the board fails, the game goes completely inoperable.

Your best defense and lesson to be advised is to make sure that your boards are never hacked by unqualified repair personnel.
Knowledge is power, and now you are more educated.
Best of fortune.

"Je vois tout."

Sad thing is this board is used in several of the major B/W games. MM, MB, AFM, and SS to name a few.

I just did a PinSound addition to MonsterBash to completely bypass the audio circuit on my WPC95 A/V board, as the caps were going bad and the game started to hum. If the DMD (visuals) are still good on the board, yes, you will still need the board for video. There is an extra harness they sell (separately) that hooks up both boards. Buy it from KSarcade or Bay Area Amusements. KSarcade's website won't let you order the WPC95 option without adding the harness. So feel safe with that option that you will have all the required parts.

Install WILL require you to bolt the little Pinsound board off to the side of the AV board. That is, against the bare wood of the backbox. This isn't well explained by the diagrams, but it will become obvious (by the shortness of the cables) where the board has to go once you get everything unpacked.

I've heard from Mocean that you can use any WPC89 board for the DMD functionality in a WPC95 game as long as you have a PinSound for audio. I trust him. He's good.

No SD card; a flash drive that they include. It stays in the game. Update takes about an hour. You download the original game sounds from their website (if that's the route you want to go).

This looks to be a good "interim" fix to the continuing problem as more WPC 95 A/V boards become unrepairable along with definite sound improvement. It would nice to see an eventual combined product, whether from PinSound or another company. Quite a capital venture in effort and hard work to say the least.

Cool to see someone actually do this. Not exactly a cheap solution but at least it works and you upgrade sound in the process.

Pinsound Wpc89 DMD driver is a great solution for now!

It will never sell and has been listed for over a year at this point, I think. Besides, that's MAD Amusements.

Realistically, a working AV board can fetch anywhere between $350 and $400 depending upon how much someone wants it.

So, get the Pinsound board with WPC95 option and a new Rottendog Williams WPC89/S DMD Controller http://www.rottendog.us/DMD089.html board to completely replace a bad WPC95 A/V board?

Yep.

Yep, I'm glad we have this safety net now.

There is another option--that of doing board repair. Chris Hibler and others (the guy with Boregard! Met him in Texas at TPF) apparently do great work for relatively cheap (if you're talking thousands for replacing the board). I didn't go the board repair route because I'm impatient, but it probably would have cost a little less. That is, assuming you still have the WPC95 A/V board to repair.

Yeah, that's kind of how I felt too... but not because the guys aren't reputable. It was more of a timing thing--I had to get the machine going before a league night and the PinSound option seemed to be the lowest risk.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if it's the sound decoding engine chip on the board that's the issue, you're screwed because nobody has them anymore.

That's what they say.

I don't like to gamble, and I hate having my machines down for months at a time...

That's why I did the PinSound option with MB.

Unless a WPC 95 A/V Board has been hacked by an unskilled individual, the board is normally repairable.

People get in trouble when they think they can replace the capacitors and end up being sloppy.
What ruins this board is damage of tracework and sometimes in rare cases the sound ICs going completely bad, but even then sometimes the board can still brought back to life.

There is never a concern, if you send your board to the dozen or so people that have been doing PCB work for over 25+ years.
The costs are always manageable.
If an individual is impatient, that is generally when things go awry.