http://melchman.net/arcade/index.htmlCentipedeenjim@melchman.netCopyright 2006 Jim2005-04-25T17:54:01-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:48:05 -0500jim@melchman.netPole Position2005-04-25T17:54:01-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/16c53da5aa77f03879343df47e8ba45a-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/16c53da5aa77f03879343df47e8ba45a-4.html#unique-entry-id-4ItemCostCommentCabinet$150 New Monitor$275 Working PCB$167 Paint$40 Power Supply$30 PCB Repair$150 Labor40+ hoursEducational Expense!Shroud$30 Shifter$0 Sold($200) ]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2005-04-23T17:49:37-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/2df2703f1a63ea4ff601d61344ca83ff-43.html#unique-entry-id-43http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/2df2703f1a63ea4ff601d61344ca83ff-43.html#unique-entry-id-43jim@melchman.netPole Position2005-04-05T17:49:00-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/253cbba27d8d8e1de0b7011e0249fdc4-42.html#unique-entry-id-42http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/253cbba27d8d8e1de0b7011e0249fdc4-42.html#unique-entry-id-42jim@melchman.netPole Position2005-03-24T17:48:22-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/b0b89c6994eddaa6e836a0bdcc0cea89-41.html#unique-entry-id-41http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/b0b89c6994eddaa6e836a0bdcc0cea89-41.html#unique-entry-id-41jim@melchman.netPole Position2004-12-20T17:47:23-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/05f2e164f53bd3a012ea579c1a18ee94-40.html#unique-entry-id-40http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/05f2e164f53bd3a012ea579c1a18ee94-40.html#unique-entry-id-40jim@melchman.netPole Position2004-01-24T17:46:40-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/3921ac7a1637139ac64ea7b3f6c299b5-39.html#unique-entry-id-39http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/3921ac7a1637139ac64ea7b3f6c299b5-39.html#unique-entry-id-39jim@melchman.netPole Position2004-01-07T17:45:11-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/c5891934fcd1f18c9ee6488fca0197a4-38.html#unique-entry-id-38http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/c5891934fcd1f18c9ee6488fca0197a4-38.html#unique-entry-id-38Eldorado route. I sent both boardsets and a check for the repairs (2 x $125) and return shipping ($14).]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-09-20T17:44:50-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/81b4cc553304de589cc9e0d9e65eb493-37.html#unique-entry-id-37http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/81b4cc553304de589cc9e0d9e65eb493-37.html#unique-entry-id-37jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-09-17T17:43:31-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/711fbbcd60e09344346ff9b2c96b77c9-36.html#unique-entry-id-36http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/711fbbcd60e09344346ff9b2c96b77c9-36.html#unique-entry-id-36
The monitor shroud is sagging and water damaged. I could not find a replacement because the monitor glass and the monitor are not parallel. Rick got handy with the xacto knife and we have a beautiful shroud.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-09-16T17:42:51-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/cb599f6ef126afe96dc48cfc8c2fbbcf-35.html#unique-entry-id-35http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/cb599f6ef126afe96dc48cfc8c2fbbcf-35.html#unique-entry-id-35jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-09-10T17:40:49-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/89397e600f9eaaa6fcec39d4f0046094-34.html#unique-entry-id-34http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/89397e600f9eaaa6fcec39d4f0046094-34.html#unique-entry-id-34
I separated the pedal from the floorplate. I painted the floor plate and achieved a really nice finish. The pedal is black underneath and I clear coated the pedal to prevent future rust damage. I am going to get some grip tape from my skateboarding brother in law to replace the old grip tape that was nearly worn off.

I removed the control panel, then removed the steering wheel. I sanded the back of the panel and the ring around the steering wheel.

I carefully taped around the steering wheel hole, covering all the artwork and painted it black to prevent more rust.

Same deal with the wheel itself. I masked the chrome and black plastic, removed the PCB and gears then painted the remaining metal. I cleaned and repalced the gears, brushed the PCB and mounted the wheel back on the panel.

I removed the bezel and marquee. They are both is excellent condition. The metal brackets are another story. They need to be sanded and painted.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-09-02T07:50:47-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/e67416dea5343485bc731c4f8ef20994-27.html#unique-entry-id-27http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/e67416dea5343485bc731c4f8ef20994-27.html#unique-entry-id-27
The coinbox came out very nice. The controls were difficult to remove. I had to discover some new tools to get them removed. Once they were off I scrubbed them with the toothbrush to remove the worst of the dirt. The plastic knob on the volume controls took a bath in dish soap and water. The remaining metal panel was sanded and painted. The overall change was a dramatic improvement.

The coin doors are in bad shape. I had to completely disassemble them and sand everything, twice. I even cleaned the plastic coin return buttons.

The bottom door is bent, probably from an attempted theft or angry driver. After everything was sanded, I tried to correct the bottom door with my mallet. It turned out pretty well. You can still see it was bent on close inspection, but overall is is pretty flat now.

I tried to achieve a similar gloss to the original paint. Not so successful here. It looks fine, but not original.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-09-01T07:56:03-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/0fe733a3e2ae9681988e5205b2be4ec8-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/0fe733a3e2ae9681988e5205b2be4ec8-28.html#unique-entry-id-28
I found a working Pole Position power supply on eBay. $30 includes shipping.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-05-30T07:57:13-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/883062b8e5f431f81b0f89e64f969588-29.html#unique-entry-id-29http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/883062b8e5f431f81b0f89e64f969588-29.html#unique-entry-id-29
The last remaining failure point is the power supply itself. It is a newer switching power supply which should probably never fail, but I will swap it out with the power supply in the Pole Position to test it.

Qix is now working beautifully. It was the power supply all along. Great, Pole Position has only the origianl power supply. I assume it is not working and that's why the previous owner installed the newer switching power supply.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-05-24T07:58:03-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/12452a4826025052592a54de286dc597-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/12452a4826025052592a54de286dc597-30.html#unique-entry-id-30
Except the shifter is soldered. The game boards are soldered at the power connection mentioned earlier. One of the Audio boards has a ground wire soldered to it.

Next I removed the fan and cardboard shroud over the board cage. I am not sure this was original equipment. If it was, it was not very effective as the back door has no ventilation holes. I need to consider moving the fan or drilling a vent into the back door.

Now I pull out the board cage. It is extremely rusted. I pulled the boards out and they seem in good condition. Perhaps they will still get that trip to El Dorado and off to eBay.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-05-16T07:58:36-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/666e933d84ffb84b6739698f37ed9ac1-31.html#unique-entry-id-31http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/666e933d84ffb84b6739698f37ed9ac1-31.html#unique-entry-id-31
The harness in my machine was hacked up to work around a burnt edge connector. Apparently most pole positions suffer a power problem at some point in their life and this burns the power connections on the game boards. Last owner did some soldering and bypassed the edge connector wiring directly to the boards.

The harness was hacked again to modify it for the replacement power supply. The original power supply is in the cabinet, but I am assuming it doesn't work beyond the transformer.

The boards slide into an "electromagnetic field protection cage" for safe error free operation. Apparently the board cage was not designed to protect the game from water damage. It is rusted severely in spots. I hope the new cage is in much better shape.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-04-30T07:59:43-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/9329ed1338c7be8a8f2922a1ae642307-32.html#unique-entry-id-32http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/9329ed1338c7be8a8f2922a1ae642307-32.html#unique-entry-id-32
I checked it out on line. El Dorado games will fix the Pole Position boards for $150. It's kind of a cool service. You ship them your broken board and the money and they ship back a fixed board from their inventory.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-04-26T08:00:58-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/bd1c91aba578156bd390c98c0c77de42-33.html#unique-entry-id-33http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/bd1c91aba578156bd390c98c0c77de42-33.html#unique-entry-id-33
It is an odd PCB. Someone has placed an Electrohome G07CA0, not the normal G07CBO in this cabinet. I asked around and no one remembers the Electrohome being used in the Pole Position cabinets. This is probably a replacement monitor. I plan to test some of my spare G07CBO boards in this cabinet. If none of them work I will pick the best of the lot and recap it.

I broke down and bought a new Wells Gardner for this machine. It's expensive but beautiful to behold.]]>jim@melchman.netPole Position2002-04-24T08:39:00-07:00http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/41cc6fdfe6f8c33b19f1769b864488e6-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://melchman.net/arcade/History/PPCK/log/log_files/41cc6fdfe6f8c33b19f1769b864488e6-0.html#unique-entry-id-0r.g.v.a.c in the middle of the state. I took the trip and looked it over.

I was hoping the monitor or game PCBs worked. It turns out neither worked. The cabinet is solid (A) and the artwork is good (B-). I paid $150 for the machine and carted it home. It was too much for this machine, but it was local and I was sick of paying shipping charges.]]>