Q*bert. A man and his grail... FINISHED !!!

[level42]

And if the decision has been made, it's best to get the job done....so I took the heat gun and fired at will....
This was definitely not one of the hardest to remove CPO's.....it came of relatively easily.

[level42]

First pic: this is when you overheat the CPO (bubbles start).....the paint/CPO seems to bond to the glue....not good.

Second pic....everything gone..........bye-bye !

[level42]

I noticed there was a Q*bert still intact so I cut it out and gave it to my son....even though he's almost 13 now he said" yeaaaaaahhhhh Q*bert) and put it on his Mac mini's monitor
Also saved curly for him

Gottlieb may not have been the most successful arcade videogame company, but they did have some attention to details....this is one, there are no visible bolts around the joystick. The studs are welded to the CP and nicely evened out. I love that. No bolts that peek through the CPO and it is also nice for your hands when playing...more companies should have taken this little extra time IMHO, especially Atari with Centipede's trackball.
Friend of mine actually did the same for my Puckman CP a number of years ago....

Second pic is the under side of the CP which shows some fluid spills and rust.

So that was the easy part.....now I have to get rid of that damn glue on the top of the CP somehow......

[level42]

Still looking for a Q*bert shroud.....or anything that matches.....

[level42]

Last sunday while I had out the heat gun I figured I'd get rid of the old side art too. It came off very easily. I noticed you really need to get a feeling for applying the right amount of heat. Too little and the decal will tear, to much and it will start to get weak so you can't pull it. Job was done quite quickly though.

And I removed the back door. This is a "new" for me in this hobby, removing actual hinges

The more I work on the Q*bert, the more I say I must appreciate Gottlieb's approach on building these cabs.

I like the door....it's a more comfortable solution then what Atari and Midway did IMHO. However Stern's idea with Berzerk-style cabs is still no.1 in my book.

Also, Gottlieb used METRIC bolts and nuts (except for the regular hex screws that hold small stuff), I am STOKED about that, it means I can go out to the DIY store around the corner and buy a couple of minty fresh one's and forget about the old one's instead of painfully having to restore them.

Edit.....should have known better....they're not metric....but I -could- use a metric tool to remove the nuts. However I bought some metric nuts and bolts and they are different, if not so much in sizem definitly in the thread.

[level42]

T-molding removal was also one of the easiest ever. No glue, no staples, they just put in the T-molding and it held out for 32 years In all honesty it was coming loose a bit in the lower bend under the CP on one side.

I checked my parts and it turns out I still need the leathered T-molding for this restore....rats.

Removed all the metal stuff too. There are bolts in place where you wonder why there are bolts but I guess they used them to support it during production in corners.

Removed the fluorescent fixture for a rework.

[joeks]

Good work Andre! Follow this with great interest.

[Etienne MacGyver]

Sweet !

Also, you have a perfect color sample behind the removed sideart 

Look how the rest of the cabinet changed color, or is that just dirt ?

[level42]

Well to be honest I had already pulled off a little bit of the side-art in the earlier pictures where I compared the yellow paint....so that's "fresh from under the original side-art yellow"

Thanks guys.....I feel I'm nicely rolling along with this one

Of course there are always some bumps in the road....

I had removed all parts on the marquee lighting board and cleaned everything, yes including the wire etc.

Installed the tube and figured I'd give it a try. So I hooked it up to the PSU and harness and switched on.

This was what happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ittx4owfgZE      (not my video.....)

I saw the starter glowing pretty bad for a second, then one single flash in the tube and then nothing anymore.....

Tried the starter and tube in the Ms.Pac, tube dead, starter still OK.

Conclusion: shorting ballast ! I think I had a bad ballast before but then it didn't blow up the bulb.....damn...

So I went to the DIY store and picked up one of those goofy cheap fixture/tube/starter/ballast sets that sell for the price of just the tube.....sadly these sets are always the 18W version and the tubes are too large, but I figured I could use the (as I thought) magnetic ballast.....

[level42]

When I had a second look I noticed there wasn't a starter on this......sooooo....

O wow, it's an electronic ballast by the famous brand Yongyao.......it actually has CE and some Tüv approvals but it looks flimsy, just like the rest of the thing.....so I figured I'd test this thing first. Hooked it up to the 230VAC.......nothing !!! DOA !!!

I had so much trouble actually turning around the tube in the holders (piss poor quality) that I decided I actually didn't want this electronic ballast to be in my Q*bert. I'd rather spent a bit more on a good one....

I haven't made up my mind yet. I can get good Philips brand electronic ballast for around 20 euro incl. shipping or I can get some original 110VAC ballasts from TwistyWrist.....the latter option saves me from having to do extra 230VAC wiring.....and I need more stuff from Riptor anyway.....

So I returned this el-cheapo fixture combo to the store for my money back and I also returned the Philips tube......hey miss, I don't know but this thing just didn't work when I installed it ! (note....no lies there !).....Oh yeah sorry, we can't test those tubes here but you can pick up a new one and I will send this one back.......

[level42]

Look how the rest of the cabinet changed color, or is that just dirt ?

It's a bit dirt, but mostly discolored.

Found out today that the carriage bolts are in fact not metric, should have known. however I -could- loosen the nuts with a metric tool and they fit perfectly hence my mistake. I compared them to 5 mm. Carriage bolts (slotbouten we call them) and they are pretty close but the thread is very different. The top is a little bit bigger on the metric one, but I decided that I will buy new metric ones and use these instead The square part of the head is also a tiny bit larger but all are set in the wood (MDF) panels so when tightening them they draw in nicely. Only thing is the nuts are much smaller on metric so I'll also buy some rings.

[level42]

My tech friends......can someone explain this....

It was nice and neat from the designers at Gottlieb to include some LEDs on the power board to indicate if the various voltages are present.

However, how they positioned them in the circuits makes me wonder....

If you look at the schematics......the top section is the +5V section. The LED and its current limiting resistor are the "last" two parts before the voltage goes into the harness towards the main PCB and Sound board.
This makes sense right ? yes it does.

But when you look at the +30V section, they placed the LED and its current limiting resistor BEFORE the section that regulates the 30V. (The Zener and the 2N3055).

Had they put it on the output, like the 5V section, they would only have to use a 1.2k resistor because there is 30V there.....but now they have to bring back the current from a 48V voltage and thus need a bigger resistor which needs to dissipate 18Volts extra.......the result is clear on any Q*bert power supply board.....

ALSO, if the Zener or 2N3055 fail, the LED will still be on, falsely indicating the 30V to be present !

They repeat the same weird set-up on the + and -12V.....

Anyone have a clue why ??

[Etienne MacGyver]

Maybe because the +5V is the most important to get the game running ?

the 30 and 12 volts are not needed to get at least image ?
The 12V and 30 are used for the knocker and sound i presume ?


It is indeed strange to place the LED in front of the circuitry.

Just thinking out loud, i have no idea 

[Laszo]

 

[level42]

?