Help with a 691-PCB1-03B motherboard

Rod Stewart posted a document here with pictures and pinouts of various TMCC motherboards.  

691-PCB1-11E Rev A looks similar, but you will want verification from someone with more knowledge as to whether it can be substituted.

Bob

You'd really have to check the pinouts of the two boards to be sure.  Does your board have pin ID labels on the backside?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You'd really have to check the pinouts of the two boards to be sure.  Does your board have pin ID labels on the backside?

Hmmm.... I already responded to this question, using my iPhone ... but I don't see it here???

Anywho, the answer is NO, no labels of any kind on the back side, just a couple of silkscreened numbers that are likely bare-board numbers of some sort.

George

@gunrunnerjohn, any chance you would know a part number for the 24 pin headers? If I have to, I'll cut them off close to the plastic thingy, and desolder them one by one. Tedious, but doable as opposed to trying to reposition the existing headers - that's a non-starter for me!

George

PS looks like 2.5mm pin spacing

George, have you considered using a desoldering gun?  If you don't have one perhaps a friend may have one you could borrow.  I have successfully desoldered a 10x2 header to re-align it on a motherboard.  Takes a little patience and you may have to reheat some of the pins more than once, but eventually the header will come loose. FWIW those look like 2.54 mm pins.  bd

@GeoPeg posted:

@gunrunnerjohn, any chance you would know a part number for the 24 pin headers? If I have to, I'll cut them off close to the plastic thingy, and desolder them one by one. Tedious, but doable as opposed to trying to reposition the existing headers - that's a non-starter for me!

George

PS looks like 2.5mm pin spacing

Actually, using a hot air tool, you could fairly easily reposition those headers.  For removal/replacement, I cut something like that flush with the board on both sides, then remove the remaining stub and clear the holes.  That's fairly tedious and if you're not careful, you can easily wreck the PCB.  BTW, they're 2.54mm spacing, or 0.1".  The 90 degree header stock is readily available, you just trim to size.

Truthfully, I'd probably put the effort into finding a similar motherboard and adapting it.  I'm guessing the one that Bob pointed out may be a close to exact match.  All the connector numbers are the same size and number of pins, not to mention being in the exact same positions.

Don't make this harder than it has to be.

Unfortunately, when I retired and moved from OH to TN, I lost my connection to some really good rework techs who could have straightened this out for me in less than 5 minutes! Also unfortunate, I don't have a hot air gun and possibly the skills needed to do this without melting the heck out of everything! I did order a few 24 pin, dual row headers to possibly recover the original board, but that can wait

On the bright side, I found that original motherboard is still showing as available at Lionel! I didn't see it on my first look because of the usual goof I make - I put dashes in the part number, and Lionel's website is not smart enough to figure out what I wanted. My 2nd attempt was indeed without dashes, and I quickly found the board for $28.00. I also checked the 692-PCB1-11E that Bob was kind of enough to point out, and it costs $32.00 and is out of stock - I believe it may have worked, but since Lionel actually has the original in stock, I'm done!

Thanks for all your help and insights. I'm looking forward to getting my newly acquired Phantom II on the tracks and running again - it is in absolutely pristine condition!!

Sure hope the mb I get from Lionel doesn't look just like this one!

George