Casing your old PCBs?

[vib_ribbon]

...this may be a daft question, but here goes.

like the average man, i can only ever afford the room in the flat for 1 cab, so i'm always having to swap PCBs in and out of it. All that handling of the PCBs, plugging and unplugging can't be good.

i'm also big on retro games, and the boards tend to come as this massive 3 tier stack of circuitry, 30 years old.

if only everything is like capcom's cps2 or taito's f3... PCB cased in a plastic shell.

the question is, does anyone make generic plastic shells for older/ bare PCBs? i know the old boards come in all sorts of different sizes, but if someone made these at an affordable price, i for one would be very interested in investing such protection for my boards...

thoughts?

chun

[nobody]

not sure but i think if you look on the net you can get fairly cheap kits to cast your own easily out of resin

[pcb]

You can use just about any container to store your boards.  Just make sure you slip them in a Anti-static bag first. and maybe some bubble wrap to keep them form being bumped around.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, I know a lot of folks who use Priority Mail boxes... just put the box in the cab and connect it.

[vib_ribbon]

is it safe to keep the board in an anti static bag, wrapped in bubble wrap stuffed inside a box when it's connected and running in a cab?

kinda reminds me of an ex-colleague who put together an external harddrive in a cardboard box for his laptop.

[AlanS17]

Anti-static bags are fine for storing electronics, but they shouldn't be anywhere near the thing while its actually got electricity running through it.

[ChadTower]

Nor should you enclose something like that in a bag, it would fail from heat.

[traknfieldSUPAstar]

Does it have to be totaly enclosed? I was thinking maybe you could mount the pcb to a piece of square acrylic/plastic/etc. Then use some spacers and bolts/screws to attach a matching square on top (sort of like a "pcb" sandwich)

[AlanS17]

Well game PCB's come in all sizes and alot have multiples boards. It might be tricky to find an all-in-one solution unless it was just really big.

[AlanS17]

How many boards are we talking about, anyways? If it's just a few you could get a multi-JAMMA and just leave them all plugged in all the time and just switch between them.

After you factor in the cost of materials and labor for a casing solution, the multi-JAMMA starts to look pretty darn good.

[vib_ribbon]

this may have been bad practice, but i never use to screw my pcbs to the wooden board to keep it in place, the pcb would just rest against it (the cab's heavy, it wasn't like i can knock it and it would fall over).

i might have a couple of goes on 1 game then i'd unplug it and plug in another game. i did have a JAMMA splitter but even then when you have mates round, i'd be constantly switching between boards during the course of the day.

i think i broke a game just doing that once, luckily, it wasn't a hard to find/ expensive game so i didnt lose sleep over it. still, it was 35pounds down the drain when i re-sold it as parts for a 5er.

it's those games that are 3 layers thick and need an adapter that worries me the most...

[AmericanDemon]

If you are really worried, you could mount all of your PCBs in a box.  Then just move the Jamma connector.  Everything is solidly mounted so the board doesnt move at all. 

[pcb]

Yeah, I know a lot of folks who use Priority Mail boxes... just put the box in the cab and connect it.

Ack!  No!  I was under the impression he wanted to know how to store his boards while not in use!

If your looking for a way to mount them for playing them, you can get a universal board mount from Happ Controls that screws to the inside of the cab, and can adjust to many different pcb sizes.

Maybe we need a clarification on what you mean by 'casing'.

[vib_ribbon]

pcb,

sorry for the confusion...

but having read everyone's feedback on this subject, i think for some of my older boards, i might "make" some sort of a non-enclosed wooden box/ bracket for them so that they can't be flexed easily and that there is a some protective cover for its top and bottom. they will be mounted to these boxes permanently in and out of a cab.

does that make sense and would that be dangerous... eg, potentially not enough room to breathe and overheat in the cab?

[thetered]

I hope you find something you want, but do you have a mame cab by anychance, then you could play them and keep the origonals safe.  But I know for some it's never an acceptable solution.  But otherwise like you are talking about make kind of like a shelf that will fit in the cab and slide them all in, kind of like they do with networking and servers where they have them all stacked in shelves.

[pcb]

pcb,

... i might "make" some sort of a non-enclosed wooden box/ bracket for them so that they can't be flexed easily and that there is a some protective cover for its top and bottom. they will be mounted to these boxes permanently in and out of a cab.

A bracket or backplane would be OK, but I wouldn't surround or enclose the board,
except for storage.

You could mount each one to some type of board with mounting feet (Giving an inch or so between the backplate and the board).  Then 'store' them in some type of box when not in use.  Maybe make a standard sized mount for them in your cab, and mount different-sized boards on same-sized backplates.  But we are talking a bunch of work.  I have hundreds of boards and store them in boxes and if possible in static bags, but I remove them for powering them up.

Heat could very well be an issue if you fully enclose them so there is no air flow.

[Kusanagi-sama]

...this may be a daft question, but here goes.

like the average man, i can only ever afford the room in the flat for 1 cab, so i'm always having to swap PCBs in and out of it. All that handling of the PCBs, plugging and unplugging can't be good.

i'm also big on retro games, and the boards tend to come as this massive 3 tier stack of circuitry, 30 years old.

if only everything is like capcom's cps2 or taito's f3... PCB cased in a plastic shell.

the question is, does anyone make generic plastic shells for older/ bare PCBs? i know the old boards come in all sorts of different sizes, but if someone made these at an affordable price, i for one would be very interested in investing such protection for my boards...

thoughts?

chun

I am having the same problems with my CPS3 boards...I wish they came with an official cover.

[ChadTower]

this may have been bad practice, but i never use to screw my pcbs to the wooden board to keep it in place, the pcb would just rest against it (the cab's heavy, it wasn't like i can knock it and it would fall over).

Yes, that is bad practice.  Think about the weight of the board resting on 20+ year old solder joints.  The PCB mounting legs are there to prevent the solder joints on the board from having to bear weight, if you lay them down you're asking for broken solder joints.

[AlanS17]

I've just got 2 words for you...

"pizza box"

If that doesn't work, I really like the adjustable pcb holder mentioned above.

[Kilgore]

Bob Roberts provides a good suggestion.

[vib_ribbon]

kilgore,

pretty much what i had in mind but with another piece of plywood that goes over the top of the pcb. my main concern is actual physical contact with the board.

as explained previously, i swap boards so often that (i know it's wrong) i don't secure them to the wooden board inside the cab. so when it comes to plugging and unplugging the pcb from the JAMMA connector, i have to somehow hold/ lever the connector from the board.

if i make a 4 sided wooden case/ bracket for these pcbs, then the pcbs will be permanently screwed to the inside of the case and i don't have to make any contact with the actual pcb when i plug/ unplug the connector.

sounds like a plan?

[koa68]

My cabinets have a false floor in them,  all my PCB's are attached to their own MDF board.  I just slide the boards in and out of the cabinets sitting them on this false floor.  Again for storage I've made large storage boxes for them these are made so that the PCB with the MDF board just slide in and out of the storage boxes, just like a rack. The MDF that the PCB's are attached to also have a handle cut into them makes everything easy.

[paigeoliver]

I always stored my boards in priority boxes and left them in the boxes when I would plug them in.

[vib_ribbon]

My cabinets have a false floor in them,

[ChadTower]

I always stored my boards in priority boxes and left them in the boxes when I would plug them in.

I've seen a lot of people do that, and as mentioned, I do it myself.  Works well and is free.

[koa68]

Sorry can't take a photo at the momment, don't have a working digital camera  If you need help with something like I've done PM me.

[pcb]

I've just got 2 words for you...

"pizza box"

If that doesn't work, I really like the adjustable pcb holder mentioned above.

http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/acesor/49045100.htm

If folks want these, I can order 'em.  Same price, of course, plus shipping.

[pcb]

I always stored my boards in priority boxes and left them in the boxes when I would plug them in.

Say it ain't so!

[vib_ribbon]

I've just got 2 words for you...

"pizza box"

If that doesn't work, I really like the adjustable pcb holder mentioned above.

http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/acesor/49045100.htm

If folks want these, I can order 'em.