(Topic ID: 198141)

WOZ 7.5 buffer boards

By apinballwiz

6 years ago


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  • Latest reply 4 years ago by LTG
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#51 5 years ago

So roughly $800 and a bunch of time to install and the light issues are totally gone?

#53 5 years ago
Quoted from LTG:

Actually pretty easy. I'm at the bottom of the food chain. You'd need more awesome than me.
LTG : )

They don't come anymore awesome than you!!!

#54 5 years ago
Quoted from GorillaBiscuits:

Great idea, but at $800 a pop (pricey as that is) I don’t think they are profiting and may even be taking a slight loss considering all that is in the kit. There have been rumors price may go up over time, but regardless, I feel like this is a good will gesture on JJP’s part and am happy they offer it.

Can someone like LTG confirm that price? I understood it being double that cost. Thanks.

#56 5 years ago

I paid $800 plus shipping back in November 2018.

#57 5 years ago

Price is $800 right now, and moves to $1200 at some unknown cutoff point. I spoke at great length with their service manager...let me see if I can find the explanation he sent to me and I will post it. The holes to drill are just small holes for screws to start into the playfield. It's very easy, and they give you instructions on how to do it correctly. The main thing is just to take your time....it's not a hard job, just time consuming.

#58 5 years ago

Part of my conversation with Jersey Jack Service folks...I hope it is OK to post this part as he does a great job of explaining the reason for the new boards. Sorry for the length of the post.

The original LED boards (regardless of which actual version of LED boards you have, as long as it is not 2.0) are all daisy chained together like Christmas lights and therefore when one fails, you lose the other ones downstream (I don't mean that they are damaged, I mean they go out or start getting corrupted data and acting all different crazy ways). At that point you have to identify the bad board, bypass it using the data cables, and then eventually turn that board off in the settings or replace the board and put the new one back into the chain in the settings, or both, and so on. This can be a hassle, and while it isn't too much of a big deal if you have one board fail, it can be a pain if you have more than one go bad or have one fail now and then another in the very near future and so on. The one concern that should not avoid being mentioned is that the chips that are mounted on the LED boards (there are 31 small boards and 10 big boards in the chain, and they all feed each other) are at the end of their life cycle so while we have lots of them around right now, in the future this could be a concern (you said you plan on keeping the game for a long time) as they become more scarce. Note that the 31 "GI" boards (small individual boards) are all the same other than the metal mounting bracket orientation so it's not as bad as thinking "what happens if I can't find a GI #28" - you can use any of your version LED boards and just turn the metal bracket around by carefully cutting the tape that holds the bracket to the LED board. In addition, if the big boards fail, they are not interchangeable in the same way and they can be fairly expensive. Looking at it from that perspective, the 2.0 LED kit becomes a very good idea and a cost-effective alternative long term.

The 2.0 system LEDs are NOT daisy chained, that's one big advantage, so if you were to have one go out, not too big a deal as you would only lose that light if it was a single board, which many of the boards are. The 2.0 system is based on the lighting system used in our Hobbit machine, although if you want to be entirely accurate, its more akin to the DI and Pirates game setup and has been shown to be very solid and reliable. Eventually this system was put into production Wizard of Oz games but the question remained "what about the thousands of WOZ games out there with the earlier LED board setup?" So development began on the 2.0 LED kit which WOZ owners could, if they wished, install in their games and then have the peace of mind that comes from not having the lights chained together and also having a system where the replacement single boards, should any be needed (and the failure rate for the 2.0 style boards has been VERY low), are much less expensive and don't have the concern about the driver chips becoming obsolete soon and so on. The 2.0 kit is much more involved than just replacing the individual boards with new ones (Shannan said she sent you the instructions so you can get an idea what is involved). The system is different so if you are going to change your game over, you have to do the entire lighting system, removing not only the old LED boards but all the cabling and you have to add a power supply and the BAG board (which basically runs the new system) and another board plus all of the new single GI boards are much lower profile so it involves drilling some holes to mount the new boards (which go much closer to the playfield wood). There is all new harnessing too so you remove all of your existing lighting harnessing at the same time. Everything comes in the kit along with the instructions. It's not so much that installing the new kit is incredibly difficult, it's more that it is time consuming and requires lots of tedious work. That said, it's been seen as a blessing by lots of WOZ owners so far and something that they have been clamoring for ever since word got out that the 2.0 LED system was going into production games. The kit took a long time to get developed and then price reduced (the initial estimates I was hearing were similar to "a kit like that would have to sell for $2000 if we made one" and all kinds of things awhile back. Thankfully (although I'm fully aware that spending $800 on a game you already own is definitely nothing to sneeze at, believe me), the thing was developed and tested and is able to be sold at $799 still (we assume that a price increase of some amount is coming at some point, but for now it's still at the introductory price and has been since it was finally released months ago). So I guess the long and the short of it is that you are absolutely 100 percent NOT required to buy and install the upgrade kit but It is in a lot of ways a good idea and that's why lots of folks have been ordering it as word has gotten out of its availability.

#59 5 years ago
Quoted from Manimal:

Part of my conversation with Jersey Jack Service folks...I hope it is OK to post this part as he does a great job of explaining the reason for the new boards. Sorry for the length of the post.
The original LED boards (regardless of which actual version of LED boards you have, as long as it is not 2.0) are all daisy chained together like Christmas lights and therefore when one fails, you lose the other ones downstream (I don't mean that they are damaged, I mean they go out or start getting corrupted data and acting all different crazy ways). At that point you have to identify the bad board, bypass it using the data cables, and then eventually turn that board off in the settings or replace the board and put the new one back into the chain in the settings, or both, and so on. This can be a hassle, and while it isn't too much of a big deal if you have one board fail, it can be a pain if you have more than one go bad or have one fail now and then another in the very near future and so on. The one concern that should not avoid being mentioned is that the chips that are mounted on the LED boards (there are 31 small boards and 10 big boards in the chain, and they all feed each other) are at the end of their life cycle so while we have lots of them around right now, in the future this could be a concern (you said you plan on keeping the game for a long time) as they become more scarce. Note that the 31 "GI" boards (small individual boards) are all the same other than the metal mounting bracket orientation so it's not as bad as thinking "what happens if I can't find a GI #28" - you can use any of your version LED boards and just turn the metal bracket around by carefully cutting the tape that holds the bracket to the LED board. In addition, if the big boards fail, they are not interchangeable in the same way and they can be fairly expensive. Looking at it from that perspective, the 2.0 LED kit becomes a very good idea and a cost-effective alternative long term.
The 2.0 system LEDs are NOT daisy chained, that's one big advantage, so if you were to have one go out, not too big a deal as you would only lose that light if it was a single board, which many of the boards are. The 2.0 system is based on the lighting system used in our Hobbit machine, although if you want to be entirely accurate, its more akin to the DI and Pirates game setup and has been shown to be very solid and reliable. Eventually this system was put into production Wizard of Oz games but the question remained "what about the thousands of WOZ games out there with the earlier LED board setup?" So development began on the 2.0 LED kit which WOZ owners could, if they wished, install in their games and then have the peace of mind that comes from not having the lights chained together and also having a system where the replacement single boards, should any be needed (and the failure rate for the 2.0 style boards has been VERY low), are much less expensive and don't have the concern about the driver chips becoming obsolete soon and so on. The 2.0 kit is much more involved than just replacing the individual boards with new ones (Shannan said she sent you the instructions so you can get an idea what is involved). The system is different so if you are going to change your game over, you have to do the entire lighting system, removing not only the old LED boards but all the cabling and you have to add a power supply and the BAG board (which basically runs the new system) and another board plus all of the new single GI boards are much lower profile so it involves drilling some holes to mount the new boards (which go much closer to the playfield wood). There is all new harnessing too so you remove all of your existing lighting harnessing at the same time. Everything comes in the kit along with the instructions. It's not so much that installing the new kit is incredibly difficult, it's more that it is time consuming and requires lots of tedious work. That said, it's been seen as a blessing by lots of WOZ owners so far and something that they have been clamoring for ever since word got out that the 2.0 LED system was going into production games. The kit took a long time to get developed and then price reduced (the initial estimates I was hearing were similar to "a kit like that would have to sell for $2000 if we made one" and all kinds of things awhile back. Thankfully (although I'm fully aware that spending $800 on a game you already own is definitely nothing to sneeze at, believe me), the thing was developed and tested and is able to be sold at $799 still (we assume that a price increase of some amount is coming at some point, but for now it's still at the introductory price and has been since it was finally released months ago). So I guess the long and the short of it is that you are absolutely 100 percent NOT required to buy and install the upgrade kit but It is in a lot of ways a good idea and that's why lots of folks have been ordering it as word has gotten out of its availability.

Really appreciate the feedback and detail. While not cheap I was under the impression (forum rumor) that this kit cost 1200. As I have the 75th anniversary game with the 7.5 boards anyone have advice on do or not do on this? I am thinking of placing an order this week unless others think its a waste. Yet another project for my list.....

#60 5 years ago

Man this seems like a huge pain to upgrade to 2.0. Kinda makes me want to just buy a machine that already has 2.0. So many horror stories about dead boards.

#61 5 years ago

I have an ECLE with 7.5 buffered. Only have had one problem with the fish board... I ordered the 2.0 kit for piece of mind and to avoid a potential price increase.

The kit will stay in the box until I have an issue or decide to sell the game... at which point I’ll install it. I may end up doing it sooner, but for now I’d rather spend the 12 hours or whatever it takes to install playing pinball

#62 5 years ago
Quoted from f3honda4me:

Man this seems like a huge pain to upgrade to 2.0. Kinda makes me want to just buy a machine that already has 2.0. So many horror stories about dead boards.

Games with 5.0 unbuffered boards are those that have been prone to issues. Those games were built from May of 2013 to around Sept of 2013.

A vast majority of owners of games with 5.5v buffered, and 7.5v unbuffered / buffered have thankfully never had an issue. My WOZ ECLE has 7.5 unbuffered boards and I've never had an issue (Oct 2013 build) in over 5 years of owning the game.

#63 5 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Games with 5.0 unbuffered boards are those that have been prone to issues. A vast majority of owners of games with 5.5v buffered, and 7.5v unbuffered / buffered have thankfully never had an issue. My WOZ ECLE has 7.5 unbuffered boards and I've never had an issue in over 5 years of owning the game.

I’ve seen enough people with 7.5 or even buffered boards though that had problems to worry me. I’m even considering buying a used one that has a bad board. Not looking forward to the time sink of an upgrade though. Hmm

#64 5 years ago
Quoted from Yelobird:

Can someone like LTG confirm that price? I understood it being double that cost. Thanks.

That's the cost, but it will be going up sometime in the future. This is an update all WoZ with 1.0 light systems should have done. It eliminates the lighting issues from the original faulty design that WILL fail at some point in all the machines with it.

#65 5 years ago
Quoted from f3honda4me:

I’ve seen enough people with 7.5 or even buffered boards though that had problems to worry me. I’m even considering buying a used one that has a bad board. Not looking forward to the time sink of an upgrade though. Hmm

It really isn't that hard, just a bit time-consuming. TOTALLY WORTH the effort, though.

#66 5 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Games with 5.0 unbuffered boards are those that have been prone to issues. Those games were built from May of 2013 to around Sept of 2013.
A vast majority of owners of games with 5.5v buffered, and 7.5v unbuffered / buffered have thankfully never had an issue. My WOZ ECLE has 7.5 unbuffered boards and I've never had an issue (Oct 2013 build) in over 5 years of owning the game.

All the 1.0 board designs have the same flaw - the voltage and buffering changes were band-aids. The 2.0 system is the way to go for ALL older machines regardless of which 1.0 boards they have in them.

#67 5 years ago
Quoted from Yelobird:

Really appreciate the feedback and detail. While not cheap I was under the impression (forum rumor) that this kit cost 1200. As I have the 75th anniversary game with the 7.5 boards anyone have advice on do or not do on this? I am thinking of placing an order this week unless others think its a waste. Yet another project for my list.....

I have the same board set as you do. With the exception of 2 GI boards going bad (one questionable) my game has been rock solid over the years. However I did purchase a set of old working boards from another 75th from an awesome pinsider after his conversion just for piece of mind since I don't think my game is going anywhere (I do hear Pirates calling my name though ). Installing a 2.0 kit for me would be an extreme challenge due to medical issues, otherwise I too after saving up would have purchased the kit and keep it as a back-up. I'd be a little nervous hearing that some of the boards are coming DOA, but I'm sure JJP would have taken care of me if I ran into a problem.

Bottom line - if you feel you can handle the task of installing the 2.0 kit if needed you should get the kit and keep it on stand by. If not consider the route I took and get a set of good buffered boards. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing. Hopefully we won't ever need either!

#68 5 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Games with 5.0 unbuffered boards are those that have been prone to issues. Those games were built from May of 2013 to around Sept of 2013.
A vast majority of owners of games with 5.5v buffered, and 7.5v unbuffered / buffered have thankfully never had an issue. My WOZ ECLE has 7.5 unbuffered boards and I've never had an issue (Oct 2013 build) in over 5 years of owning the game.

Thanks I value your input though its difficult with the other certain opinions like Vireland and 1.0 boards I really have no idea what those are. To say never had an issue makes me feel a bit more comfortable with the 7.5 setup as I have not had any issues and parking $800 in a drawer for "what if" seems like a poor investment.

#69 5 years ago
Quoted from Manimal:

Part of my conversation with Jersey Jack Service folks...I hope it is OK to post this part as he does a great job of explaining the reason for the new boards. Sorry for the length of the post.
The original LED boards (regardless of which actual version of LED boards you have, as long as it is not 2.0) are all daisy chained together like Christmas lights and therefore when one fails, you lose the other ones downstream (I don't mean that they are damaged, I mean they go out or start getting corrupted data and acting all different crazy ways). At that point you have to identify the bad board, bypass it using the data cables, and then eventually turn that board off in the settings or replace the board and put the new one back into the chain in the settings, or both, and so on. This can be a hassle, and while it isn't too much of a big deal if you have one board fail, it can be a pain if you have more than one go bad or have one fail now and then another in the very near future and so on. The one concern that should not avoid being mentioned is that the chips that are mounted on the LED boards (there are 31 small boards and 10 big boards in the chain, and they all feed each other) are at the end of their life cycle so while we have lots of them around right now, in the future this could be a concern (you said you plan on keeping the game for a long time) as they become more scarce. Note that the 31 "GI" boards (small individual boards) are all the same other than the metal mounting bracket orientation so it's not as bad as thinking "what happens if I can't find a GI #28" - you can use any of your version LED boards and just turn the metal bracket around by carefully cutting the tape that holds the bracket to the LED board. In addition, if the big boards fail, they are not interchangeable in the same way and they can be fairly expensive. Looking at it from that perspective, the 2.0 LED kit becomes a very good idea and a cost-effective alternative long term.
The 2.0 system LEDs are NOT daisy chained, that's one big advantage, so if you were to have one go out, not too big a deal as you would only lose that light if it was a single board, which many of the boards are. The 2.0 system is based on the lighting system used in our Hobbit machine, although if you want to be entirely accurate, its more akin to the DI and Pirates game setup and has been shown to be very solid and reliable. Eventually this system was put into production Wizard of Oz games but the question remained "what about the thousands of WOZ games out there with the earlier LED board setup?" So development began on the 2.0 LED kit which WOZ owners could, if they wished, install in their games and then have the peace of mind that comes from not having the lights chained together and also having a system where the replacement single boards, should any be needed (and the failure rate for the 2.0 style boards has been VERY low), are much less expensive and don't have the concern about the driver chips becoming obsolete soon and so on. The 2.0 kit is much more involved than just replacing the individual boards with new ones (Shannan said she sent you the instructions so you can get an idea what is involved). The system is different so if you are going to change your game over, you have to do the entire lighting system, removing not only the old LED boards but all the cabling and you have to add a power supply and the BAG board (which basically runs the new system) and another board plus all of the new single GI boards are much lower profile so it involves drilling some holes to mount the new boards (which go much closer to the playfield wood). There is all new harnessing too so you remove all of your existing lighting harnessing at the same time. Everything comes in the kit along with the instructions. It's not so much that installing the new kit is incredibly difficult, it's more that it is time consuming and requires lots of tedious work. That said, it's been seen as a blessing by lots of WOZ owners so far and something that they have been clamoring for ever since word got out that the 2.0 LED system was going into production games. The kit took a long time to get developed and then price reduced (the initial estimates I was hearing were similar to "a kit like that would have to sell for $2000 if we made one" and all kinds of things awhile back. Thankfully (although I'm fully aware that spending $800 on a game you already own is definitely nothing to sneeze at, believe me), the thing was developed and tested and is able to be sold at $799 still (we assume that a price increase of some amount is coming at some point, but for now it's still at the introductory price and has been since it was finally released months ago). So I guess the long and the short of it is that you are absolutely 100 percent NOT required to buy and install the upgrade kit but It is in a lot of ways a good idea and that's why lots of folks have been ordering it as word has gotten out of its availability.

THANK YOU! This is exactly the detailed, informed clarity I have been looking for. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a thorough response.

#70 5 years ago
Quoted from pinheadpierre:

THANK YOU! This is exactly the detailed, informed clarity I have been looking for. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a thorough response.

Actually, I didn't write it....it was a cut and paste from the email I received from Jersey Jack. I would disagree with the above post about which boards have failures and which do not. I have talked to a ton of owners (don't take spending $800 lightly) and I can tell you I personally spoke with several folks who had late 7.5V builds who also had board failures. Some of those folks had multiple failures in a row. It seems like once you see it, then it keeps coming back. But let's be real....ANY board can fail, even the 2.0 versions. The advantage to the 2.0 is less cost and hopefully longer availability. Worth mentioning, the board kit also includes it's own power supply, so that is also a plus in my books.

I thought about doing what GB above is doing, but I am glad I didn't leave the boards in the box until I needed them. My Fish board was DOA due to a bad capacitor mount. Not sure what the time frame would be for replacement, but I wouldn't want to pay twice for the same board.

#71 5 years ago
Quoted from Manimal:

Actually, I didn't write it....it was a cut and paste from the email I received from Jersey Jack. I would disagree with the above post about which boards have failures and which do not. I have talked to a ton of owners (don't take spending $800 lightly) and I can tell you I personally spoke with several folks who had late 7.5V builds who also had board failures. Some of those folks had multiple failures in a row. It seems like once you see it, then it keeps coming back.

This was my experience. Rock solid...until it wasn't. Then once the boards started failing, it was non-stop replacements. Get it all fixed and then a month or two later another 1-3 boards are out. Eventually I had replaced them all and the failure cycle was still happening. It's been like 8 months since the 2.0 board change and zero failures. The 2.0 actual DESIGN of how it drives the lighting is substantially different. The original design is flawed and will fail due to how hard it is on the components. It's just a bad design.

#72 5 years ago

I have newer 7.5 boards (some with the daughter board, some integrated) and I can tell you first hand they will fail. I have replace 7-8 of them since I bought the game new in 2015? I just bought five for the discount with the intention of keeping two as spares but I ended up having to use them all. Ironically I seem to lose boards right at an update, every single time. Lucky for me so far all failed boards have been the smaller ones but as soon as a larger board goes I'm out on this older system.

#73 5 years ago
Quoted from pinstyle:

I have newer 7.5 boards (some with the daughter board, some integrated) and I can tell you first hand they will fail. I have replace 7-8 of them since I bought the game new in 2015? I just bought five for the discount with the intension of keeping two as spares but I ended up having to use them all. Ironically I seem to lose boards right at an update, every single time. Lucky for me so far all failed boards have been the smaller ones but as soon as a larger board goes I'm out on this older system.

It seems that once one fails that one or other boards will continue failing. Doesn’t stop until you upgrade to 2.0. The non 2.0 buffered can work solid for a long time, until they don’t. Then it’s just downhill it seems.

#74 5 years ago

I think I replaced a board within the first year I owned it and it has been one here and there ever since. I have to say though, other than the light board issue the game has been rock solid over the years and my pins get played.

4 months later
#75 4 years ago
Quoted from Yelobird:

Thanks I value your input though its difficult with the other certain opinions like Vireland and 1.0 boards I really have no idea what those are. To say never had an issue makes me feel a bit more comfortable with the 7.5 setup as I have not had any issues and parking $800 in a drawer for "what if" seems like a poor investment.

It isn’t that the 7.5v boards are any better then 5v. Whether 5v or 7.5v the important thing is that they are buffered. 2.0 replaces the daisy chain wiring setup which is there whether the boards are 5vbor 7,5v.

#76 4 years ago
Quoted from f3honda4me:

It seems that once one fails that one or other boards will continue failing. Doesn’t stop until you upgrade to 2.0. The non 2.0 buffered can work solid for a long time, until they don’t. Then it’s just downhill it seems.

Not necessarily. I had a small one fail last November and nothing else has failed since. My game has the 5v buffered boards.

#77 4 years ago

Has there EVER been any details on how/why the old boards fail? I wasn't around enough when this was a HUGE topic to see what causation was. I do know that JJP said they can repair them, so it seems the death isn't spectacular. They aren't absurdly complicated. I believe there are schematics in the manual. I was going to start messing with mine to see if I could figure out what is failing but I was able to swap up to a 2.0 RR and buy a spare set of boards for very little to include with my SE (and replace the dead ones before I listed it for sale) and the timing worked out that I didn't need to. I'm quite a bit more comfortable now with PCB repair than I was when I started having issues or I probably would have looked in to it more. I felt like I would have read by now if someone had posted about this, so I'm curious.

Here's even more so why... I tried to replace my own Crystal Ball screen. I sourced the screen from the manufacturer. I was able to identify (because I luckily had two WOZ at the time) that it was, in fact, the screen and not the SD card or the IO board, which the screen plugs in to. It turns out, these specific device families have executable code on them which runs the IO for the board to queue the video clips which are stored on the SD card. The program should be, from what I can tell, fairly simple. JJP won't release this code and there is no way to pull it from the screen (I asked the manufacturer and bought their programming cable). So, in essence, there is no practical way to possibly replace this screen on your own. You could read the commands being sent from the IO board, interpret them, read the RAW card video files, and write code to program the screen to display the right video based on the right IO input but this far from practical for even the most experienced techie. So, without JJP programming the screens you can't replace it. This means, in other words, that I can't repair my own device. I'm not happy about that. On top of that, the JJP part is considerably more than the cost from a reseller of these parts. Releasing this code would harm them in no way EXCEPT allow the very narrowest set of people to replace their own screen. It would only just be the right thing to do. "Right to repair" isn't just some popular topic in today's lexicon, it's a stance for a reason.

#78 4 years ago
Quoted from harryhoudini:

Releasing this code would harm them in no way EXCEPT allow the very narrowest set of people to replace their own screen. It would only just be the right thing to do. "Right to repair" isn't just some popular topic in today's lexicon, it's a stance for a reason.

I think you have to look at it as proprietary. I'm one of those people that like to cut out the middle man, go directly to the source for anything, plumbing, electrical, etc. But is this case I wouldn't expect the company that makes the wire rolls used to make the wire form ramps to stock a JJP wire ramp. I know JJP paid someone to write the code and test it out. I'm sure it wasn't just an hour long thing, probably weeks or more to make sure it was integrated and working perfectly. So now with that investment would you expect them to give it away? Would you if you paid someone working for you. In my old business I did the same thing so people would have to come back to me since I was the one that designed it.

#79 4 years ago
Quoted from avspin:

I think you have to look at it as proprietary. I'm one of those people that like to cut out the middle man, go directly to the source for anything, plumbing, electrical, etc. But is this case I wouldn't expect the company that makes the wire rolls used to make the wire form ramps to stock a JJP wire ramp. I know JJP paid someone to write the code and test it out. I'm sure it wasn't just an hour long thing, probably weeks or more to make sure it was integrated and working perfectly. So now with that investment would you expect them to give it away? Would you if you paid someone working for you. In my old business I did the same thing so people would have to come back to me since I was the one that designed it.

But I already paid for it once.

I have to pay for the code each time the screen breaks?

Does that sound right?

#80 4 years ago
Quoted from harryhoudini:

Here's even more so why... I tried to replace my own Crystal Ball screen. I sourced the screen from the manufacturer. I was able to identify (because I luckily had two WOZ at the time) that it was, in fact, the screen and not the SD card or the IO board, which the screen plugs in to. It turns out, these specific device families have executable code on them which runs the IO for the board to queue the video clips which are stored on the SD card. The program should be, from what I can tell, fairly simple. JJP won't release this code and there is no way to pull it from the screen (I asked the manufacturer and bought their programming cable). So, in essence, there is no practical way to possibly replace this screen on your own. You could read the commands being sent from the IO board, interpret them, read the RAW card video files, and write code to program the screen to display the right video based on the right IO input but this far from practical for even the most experienced techie. So, without JJP programming the screens you can't replace it. This means, in other words, that I can't repair my own device. I'm not happy about that. On top of that, the JJP part is considerably more than the cost from a reseller of these parts. Releasing this code would harm them in no way EXCEPT allow the very narrowest set of people to replace their own screen. It would only just be the right thing to do. "Right to repair" isn't just some popular topic in today's lexicon, it's a stance for a reason.

Sounds awesome and self-reliant, but repairing (or replacing) on your own when IP is involved in the device has become a pretty outdated idea in many markets. Farmers can't even fix their own John Deere tractors because of DCMA restrictions.

#81 4 years ago
Quoted from PinMonk:

Sounds awesome and self-reliant, but repairing (or replacing) on your own when IP is involved in the device has become a pretty outdated idea in many markets. Farmers can't even fix their own John Deere tractors because of DCMA restrictions.

Exactly what I was thinking about and apple phones.

4 months later
#82 4 years ago

hi guys,
i am considering acquiring a WOZ ECLE with build date 5/2013. the owner says it has "buffered boards" and a new power supply, and that it is a late number (greater than 850) so JJP had a chance to address the light board issues that late into production of the ECLE models.

do you think this is a safe proposition considering the light board problems and possibility that i may be required to buy and install the new 2.0 boards?

thanks to ALL!!!

#83 4 years ago
Quoted from HEAD_boss_HOG:

hi guys,
i am considering acquiring a WOZ ECLE with build date 5/2013. the owner says it has "buffered boards" and a new power supply, and that it is a late number (greater than 850) so JJP had a chance to address the light board issues that late into production of the ECLE models.
do you think this is a safe proposition considering the light board problems and possibility that i may be required to buy and install the new 2.0 boards?
thanks to ALL!!!

All non-2.0 lighting will fail. 7.5v boards are more stable, but they will fail, too. The original 1.xx design (all flavors) was flawed, period.

I'd get some consideration towards buying a 2.0 lighting kit, since you'll likely be doing that in the future. It's a GREAT game. I wouldn't let a lighting conversion that isn't hard to do turn you off of it.

#84 4 years ago
Quoted from PinMonk:

All non-2.0 lighting will fail. 7.5v boards are more stable, but they will fail, too. The original 1.xx design (all flavors) was flawed, period.
I'd get some consideration towards buying a 2.0 lighting kit, since you'll likely be doing that in the future. It's a GREAT game. I wouldn't let a lighting conversion that isn't hard to do turn you off of it.

thanks buddy,

i will seriously consider that for the deal!!!

#85 4 years ago

I've got 7.5 v1.1 boards. I've been playing lately and it seems like they flicker out a bit when I got the flippers during multiballs or when it's chaotic. Does this sound like a loose wire or is this a sign of board failure?

#86 4 years ago
Quoted from konghusker:

I've got 7.5 v1.1 boards. I've been playing lately and it seems like they flicker out a bit when I got the flippers during multiballs or when it's chaotic. Does this sound like a loose wire or is this a sign of board failure?

Maybe just a loose wire. Is it all of them or just some? If you can isolate which boards, you can try reseating the cables on the upstream most board and see if that helps.

#87 4 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

Maybe just a loose wire. Is it all of them or just some? If you can isolate which boards, you can try reseating the cables on the upstream most board and see if that helps.

I think it's just the boards in middle mostly. Everything is on and put, but flickers at times of chaos. I did look at the wires, but I'll go back through again. I assume bad boards stop working all together? Thanks

#88 4 years ago
Quoted from konghusker:

I think it's just the boards in middle mostly. Everything is on and put, but flickers at times of chaos. I did look at the wires, but I'll go back through again. I assume bad boards stop working all together? Thanks

Could be a solder joint on the boards themselves, a loose connection at the pins for the connectors, or the data cables themselves.

Most issues with bad boards I've had are wrong color LEDs or LEDs that lock on.

#89 4 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

Could be a solder joint on the boards themselves, a loose connection at the pins for the connectors, or the data cables themselves.
Most issues with bad boards I've had are wrong color LEDs or LEDs that lock on.

Mine usually started with intermittent very quick flickering on whites. That's when I knew a board or boards were going to fail soon.

#90 4 years ago
Quoted from PinMonk:

Mine usually started with intermittent very quick flickering on whites. That's when I knew a board or boards were going to fail soon.

Interesting. I never noticed that. I just had incorrect or locked on colors as I said. It always happened in cold months when the static would build up.

#91 4 years ago
Quoted from konghusker:

I've got 7.5 v1.1 boards. I've been playing lately and it seems like they flicker out a bit when I got the flippers during multiballs or when it's chaotic. Does this sound like a loose wire or is this a sign of board failure?

Sounds like an LED board to close to a flipper base plate and vibration sets it off. Check the lower right one first.

LTG : )

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