Product Review: Bally/Stern replacement rectifier boards.

John Robertson

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Mar 23, 2013, 7:07:53 PM3/23/13

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(Notice: We carry Pinhead Electronic's rectifier board on
Flippers.com/catalog)

I have now examined three of the various rectifier boards available to
the market and thought I should comment on them for RGP. The three are:

1) Rottendog (RD) - http://rottendog.us/bps018.html @ $55USD

2) Great Plains (GPE) -
http://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=135-105 @ $60USD

3) Pinhead Electronics (PH) - http://www.pinheadelectronics.com/ @ $70USD

All three work with all the Stern/Bally games from the 70s and early 80s.

All three come with instructions and fuses.

All three meet ANSI/IPC-2221 specifications for circuit board design and
construction (other than resistor mounting). Jim (RD) confirmed that his
board meets the standard, he just didn't add that to the web page.

GPE & PH Two come with safety shields to protect your fingers from the
high voltage fuses, and to protect the fuses from errant metal touching
them. RD has no safety shield nor any way to mount it, although it may
be possible to fit the original Bally shield over it if the heat sink
allows. All three would allow modified Bally clip on safety shields if
the shield was cut to allow the heat sinks.

GPE & PH both come with proper test point loops for safe and secure
meter connections, RD has flat pads that you can't clip a meter lead to
for monitoring.

GPE & PH have LED indicators for power: GPE shows if 11.2VDC is present
with a single LED, PH shows all secondary voltages using 5 LEDs, RD has
no indicators.

GPE & PH both have 15W resistors for R1, RD has a 10Watt.

GPE & PH have labels on the top and bottom of the PCB for clarity and
reduce risk of mistakes, RD only has labels on the top side. GPE also
has identification of what each fuse does besides the fuse ID, PH has
the common values used beside each fuse as well as the fuse ID, RD just
has the fuse ID.

GPE & PH both have "DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE" label clearly displayed on the
PCB, RD has no such label.

GPE & PH come with heat sinks for all three bridge rectifiers, RD only
has a heat sink on BR1. Heat sinks aren't really needed on the solenoid
bridge (BR3) or possibly BR2 (5V source), but it doesn't hurt to have
them on all three.

GPE & PH both include three replacement headers, Trifurcon Pins, and zip
ties, enough to rebuild all the connectors. RD does not include the
replacement headers and pins.

In my opinion both GPE and PH build a superior product and either is
quite suitable for repair or restoration work. There are features on
each of these two that allow one to choose between them, but you will be
getting a well designed, and safe product if used with the due care and
attention required for proper installation.

I believe that RD's product, while it works, needs to be improved to
meet the quality of the other two boards.

Two unreviewed rectifier boards (I have not had them in my shop) that I
know of are made by Homepin from Australia, and Tom Calahan.

http://www.homepin.com/rectifierpcb.html (HomePin - $72Australian)

http://pin-logic.com/BALLY%20REPLACEMENT%20POWER%20SUPPLY%20MODULES.htm
(Tom's versions $68 - $108USD, Note: I am not the 'John R.' accolade on
this page)

Picture links:

GPE Front: http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB.jpg
GPE Rear: http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB-rear.jpg

PH Front: http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_top.JPG
PH Rear: http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_rear.JPG

RD Front: http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018.jpg
RD Rear: http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018-rear.jpg

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech enquiries to the newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

Chris Hibler

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Mar 23, 2013, 8:31:25 PM3/23/13

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On Mar 23, 6:07 pm, John Robertson <s...@flippers.com> wrote:
> (Notice: We carry Pinhead Electronic's rectifier board on
> Flippers.com/catalog)
>
> I have now examined three of the various rectifier boards available to
> the market and thought I should comment on them for RGP. The three are:
>

> 1) Rottendog (RD) -http://rottendog.us/bps018.html@ $55USD
>
> 2) Great Plains (GPE) -http://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=135-105@ $60USD
>
> 3) Pinhead Electronics (PH) -http://www.pinheadelectronics.com/@ $70USD

> http://www.homepin.com/rectifierpcb.html(HomePin - $72Australian)

>
> http://pin-logic.com/BALLY%20REPLACEMENT%20POWER%20SUPPLY%20MODULES.htm
> (Tom's versions $68 - $108USD, Note: I am not the 'John R.' accolade on
> this page)
>
> Picture links:
>
> GPE Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB.jpg
> GPE Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB-rear.jpg
>
> PH Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_top.JPG
> PH Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_rear.JPG
>
> RD Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018.jpg
> RD Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018-rear.jpg
>
> John :-#)#
>
> --
> (Please post followups or tech enquiries to the newsgroup)
> John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
> Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
> www.flippers.com
> "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

Nice comparison John. Marco sells yet another variant...
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/AS-2518-18-1
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://www.Team-EM.com
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/index.htm
http://www.PinWiki.com - The new place for pinball repair info

John Robertson

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Mar 23, 2013, 8:49:54 PM3/23/13

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There is a review on that page that suggests Marco needs to improve that
product a bit...

barakandl

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Mar 23, 2013, 9:07:32 PM3/23/13

to sp...@flippers.com

Interesting that Marco's mount the bridges on the solder side? Wonder if they use the original heat sink? Looks like they could be smaller bridges too.

Rectifier boards are cheap enough to replace, but I have yet to find an original one damaged bad enough i wouldn't repair.

Gatecrasher

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Mar 23, 2013, 9:08:31 PM3/23/13

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I've used them all except the Pinhead model and never had any problems
with any of them.

They are all good.

--
Gatecrasher

*Quality Pinball Parts Made In The USA! *
Buy Direct and Save $

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Chaz

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Mar 23, 2013, 9:22:25 PM3/23/13

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On Saturday, March 23, 2013 9:08:31 PM UTC-4, Gatecrasher wrote:
> I've used them all except the Pinhead model and never had any problems
>
> with any of them.
>
>
>
> They are all good.
>
>

> Tom Callanhan Pin Logic ..Great product . Remove the high voltage fuse if you're using LED displays.
Free shipping in U.S. and Canada.
Chaz

LoveF2K

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Mar 23, 2013, 11:20:52 PM3/23/13

to sp...@flippers.com

I used the Marco rectifier board on F2K. The rectifiers that are used are much larger than the oem rectifiers. In fact, once the board is installed, the thickness of the new rectifiers eliminated the need for the heat sink/spacer and the rectifiers can be mounted directly to the mounting bracket. I applied heat transfer compound to the rear of the rectifiers and then added the original spacer bar behind the mounting plate to absorb any extra heat. the original plastic shield goes back on as originally intended. Also once game was finished, there was no back ground noise in attract when the game switched from current score to HSTD like I noticed when a game had huge rectifeirs installed.

Gott Lieb?

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Mar 24, 2013, 7:14:47 AM3/24/13

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I can send you at least two. They are repairable, but I would never
put them in a customer's game. The traces for some of the headers are
pretty jacked up.

I've never used the RD or PH boards, but really like the GPE board.

Jim

Brian Bannon

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Mar 24, 2013, 10:57:13 AM3/24/13

to

On Mar 23, 6:07 pm, John Robertson <s...@flippers.com> wrote:

> (Notice: We carry Pinhead Electronic's rectifier board on
> Flippers.com/catalog)
>
> I have now examined three of the various rectifier boards available to
> the market and thought I should comment on them for RGP. The three are:
>

> 1) Rottendog (RD) -http://rottendog.us/bps018.html@ $55USD
>
> 2) Great Plains (GPE) -http://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=135-105@ $60USD
>
> 3) Pinhead Electronics (PH) -http://www.pinheadelectronics.com/@ $70USD

> http://www.homepin.com/rectifierpcb.html(HomePin - $72Australian)

>
> http://pin-logic.com/BALLY%20REPLACEMENT%20POWER%20SUPPLY%20MODULES.htm
> (Tom's versions $68 - $108USD, Note: I am not the 'John R.' accolade on
> this page)
>
> Picture links:
>
> GPE Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB.jpg
> GPE Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB-rear.jpg
>
> PH Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_top.JPG
> PH Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_rear.JPG
>
> RD Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018.jpg
> RD Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018-rear.jpg
>
> John :-#)#
>
> --
> (Please post followups or tech enquiries to the newsgroup)
> John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
> Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
> www.flippers.com
> "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

Excellent review, thanks John. I use the GPE board exclusively these
days. Before GPE's was available, I used the board from Tom
Callahan.

I don't know how many of the GPE rectifier boards I have installed,
but I'll bet the number is between 15 and 20. Never a problem with
installation or performance dating back to the first one a number of
years ago. I do route some of these classic Bally/Stern games and
they are powered up for over 12 hours at a time six days a week, no
issues.

Brian Bannon

G

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Mar 24, 2013, 11:46:46 AM3/24/13

to

Thanks for sharing this info John.

Evets

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Mar 24, 2013, 3:07:28 PM3/24/13

to

> >http://www.homepin.com/rectifierpcb.html(HomePin- $72Australian)

>
> >http://pin-logic.com/BALLY%20REPLACEMENT%20POWER%20SUPPLY%20MODULES.htm
> > (Tom's versions $68 - $108USD, Note: I am not the 'John R.' accolade on
> > this page)
>
> > Picture links:
>
> > GPE Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB.jpg
> > GPE Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/GPE-RectifierPCB-rear.jpg
>
> > PH Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_top.JPG
> > PH Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/Pinhead_RectifierPCB_rear.JPG
>
> > RD Front:http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018.jpg
> > RD Rear:http://www.flippers.com/images/Rottendog_BPS018-rear.jpg
>
> > John :-#)#
>
> > --
> > (Please post followups or tech enquiries to the newsgroup)
> > John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
> > Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
> > www.flippers.com
> > "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
>

> Nice comparison John. Marco sells yet another variant...http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/AS-2518-18-1
> --
> Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31http://www.Team-EM.comhttp://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/index.htmhttp://www.PinWiki.com- The new place for pinball repair info

I have three early Sterns and they each have a GPE rectifier board.
It's the first thing I do when I'm bulletproofing a new pin. I rebuild
the SDBs and the MPU 200s and the lamp drivers, but I replace/upgrade
the rectifier board and original power cord every time. It may be
unnecessary as a rectifier board rebuild is an easy enough
proposition, but everyone I've had has been damaged in multiple ways.
Love the GPE board.

-Steve