Repair or replace? MPU-2 Board

[bizzle]

I just picked up a Coney Island machine from someone for $100, but it has a non working MPU board. The battery was removed at one time but acid damage is apparent to much of the bottom left side of the board.

When i first got the board the boot LED didnt blink at all, and after probing around with my O scope it now boots up to 3 blinks. I'm thinking the acid damage is going to lead to alot of intermittent problems unless i strip the damaged board down, clean, and re solder. So i am at the point of asking myself, do I continue trying to debug this board or just buy a replacement for $200+.

So what do you guys think? Will it be worth it to try and clean this board up, or is it doomed to fail anyways?

Thanks!   

[BriMc]

Tough to call, I have 20+ GP machines and I have 7 or 8 working mpu boards. I usually end up having to repair the boards I have once in a while. I think it is great someone is making a replacement board for Gameplan but at 209 + shipping that is steep. You figure you pay 100 bucks for the machine, spend time cleaning it up,replacing bulbs, rubbers and 220 for the board you are now at 350 for a machine that is worth 300. I here that there are at least two other companies working on replacement mpu boards ( one currently makes mpu boards). Another option is sending your board out and having it professionally repaired which cost between 60 to 100 bucks.


-Brian
  The Gameplan nut from Maine 

[bizzle]

Yea, I contacted Echo Lake Pinball and they are out of MPU boards right now. They will only send out to build another batch if they get enough requests. So at this time it looks like I am going to have to repair the one i have. Any idea when these other companies will be coming out with cards? As for the price, I rarely resell machines and i tend to spend more then I should getting them back to their glory. I don't mind spending $200 if I have a dependable machines for years to come.

I started desoldering the board tonight, and it might not be as bad as I thought. I have most of the parts already. Wish me luck!

Thanks for your input also.

[bizzle]

Well here's an update. I decided to try and fix my MPU-2 board. I removed all of the parts in the damaged battery area, neutralized the battery leakage, and cleaned up the board in that area. I found all new parts and put down new IC sockets. I then prayed and plugged in the board.... and it WORKS! In all I spent $20 in parts, and about 7 hours of board rework. I'm happy with it.

Have any of you guys conformal coated your MPU boards to protect them? We use the stuff at work for everything we produce, I'm thinking about spraying mine down to keep them protected.

[earlman]

Send it out to John at flippers dot com. Good job, fair price.