Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Talk about electro-mechanical pinball machines
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Pindude152
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Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

I started dabbling in pinball machines back when I was 17. But I got really serious about what I would call deep repairs in EM pinball machines 4 years ago. Eventually I might feel like writing down the whole back story of me falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of EM debugging but a good chunk of it can be picked out from my Sea Island repair adventure. I will also add that it involved a basket case of a Bally EM slot machine.

For a few months now, pretty much every second weekend, I spend in Montréal doing some pinball repair work for the North Star. It allows me to get out of the house, break the regular routine and acclimatize myself to the Métropole. Most Importantly it allows me to hang out with friends that are as much into pinball as I am, and it gives me the chance to work on nice and rare games that get operated at the North Star. It allows me to see what kind of problems pop up in 50 year old Bally’s (and even 38 year old Inteflips) when they get many, many plays per week. It allows me to be faced to a number of new and challenging problems I probably wouldn’t get in my own game room.

For a long time now, it’s been a dream of mine of seeing EM games being operated on location and myself repairing them. These bimonthly trips to Montréal allow me to get as close to that dream as possible without quitting my day job.

Every time I’m there for the Saturday morning lineup check I always bring my regular tool case and a second pelican case that contains useful supporting equipment to tackle the bigger problems.

This second big case barely fits in Rob’s Volvo (aka pinball repair staff car). I know It’s been a minor pain lugging it around up and down St-Laurent st. From the Fishstore, to Longueil, to Montreal North, to Ville Lasalle to the Plateau… your get the picture. But I think Rob and other partners in crime finally understood why I carry all this stuff during my last two repair trips.
the big case
the big case
Last weekend It was when I repaired a bunch if burnt wires in the Wiggler, I had my old dependable soldering console with me. I’ve had this old thing for at least 13 years, I’m used to it and I wouldn’t have been able to repair so many wires in such a short period of time if I didn’t have it.
Quoth the raven...
Quoth the raven...
...burnt wires
...burnt wires

This weekend it was on Capersville. The game had developed a problem a few weeks back. When a ball was in the 4 deep captive ball elevator, the machine got all confused with the ball count. When the ball would drain, the ball count would not step up.

Multiball EM’s are challenging to repair. The circuitry related to keeping track of the balls in play can seem pretty complicated. Being able to read and interpret schematics is essential. Furthermore, depending on the problem, the balls need to stay in place where the problem occurs (captive ball saucers and ball trough) so lifting the playfield and poking around the relays to figure out the problem isn’t an option because the balls fall out.

So I’m at the North Star and I need Capersville’s schematics. The only problem is that they don’t have the schematics for it. Since it’s 2016 and I have a smartphone, I download the schematics from IPDB.

I have a look at the diagram on my tiny phone screen. I start tackling this problem by making an educated guess by forcing the player reset relay to actuated position (closed (or energized)). I drain the free ball and the ball count unit steps up. Hmm? So now I know the culprit, player reset relay did not energize when it was supposed to so I have to work my way up to find out why.

I look at the schematics. I ask for a pen and paper and start scribbling cryptic notes.
I Should've been a doctor
I Should've been a doctor
For payer reset to be energized ball return relay has to be energized. How do I verify if ball return energizes when it’s supposed to: I use my old Triplet analog multimeter (Everyone there Saturday morning were “amused” by my big old meter). It’s a big bulky black block of bakelite with a big dial with a fine needle. Using alligator clips I put the meter to the ball return really coil and let the ball drain. If the coil energizes, the needle should jump… Nothing happens. Again I work my way up.
Section of schematics, downloaded from IPDB
Section of schematics, downloaded from IPDB
capersville section.jpg (41.68 KiB) Viewed 2161 times
For the ball return relay to energize, Outhole relay has to close, captive ball interlock relay has to be in actuated position and #1 through has to be closed.

OK… start with the outhole relay. I use again the old Triplet meter, check, the needle jumps. Outhole relay is not the problem.

Then I have a look at the through switches, they look fine. I clean them for safe measure then I go to the captive ball relay.

I find the switch with the Green-Yellow and Yellow-Black wire (38-1 and 43-1 in the schematics). The switch looks closed? Is it really closed? I put my other modern crappy tire meter on it, I check continuity through the switch…Nothing. There’s the problem. I clean and re-gap the switch. Close everything up. Give the game a try and BINGO! the game works like it should. Beethoven’s Ode to Joy starts playing in my head (I think I even whistled a few bars from it)

The afternoon at the North Star’s workshop was fairly uneventful, but very productive. Did some more work the get the Wiggler ready for rotation. We assembled a few other games to get them ready also. Robert and I had the passation of the Richelieu. The drive back home was fast and uneventful.


When I repair games, my mantra is “The problem is alway inside the box, I just have to find it”. The box isn’t that big either. My main tool is patience, all the other tools I carry with me.

Late Saturday afternoon, riding around with Rob in the North Star Van (yes, van with a capital “V”) we were chatting on how we could write about this weekend (there’s always a ton of interesting stuff we could write about each weekend repair adventure but we just don’t have the time or the energy to do it) and how neat it was that the Capersville was repaired with the help of both my smartphone and my old multimeter, two technologies 50 years apart and yet, for this particular problem I absolutely needed both to get the job done. So here is an honest go at telling this pinball repair tale.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
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I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by cait001 »

I love posts like this, thanks so much for sharing, and for keeping things humming at North Star!

I have to make it out there at some point.
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Fifty »

cait001 wrote:I love posts like this, thanks so much for sharing, and for keeping things humming at North Star!

I have to make it out there at some point.
x 1000. It's posts like this that I love to share and love to read about. Adventures in pinball! Thank you!

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by rccanuck »

Ditto!!! This is what I like reading about.

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by WARLOCK »

Excellent story and post.
Thank you for sharing.

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by cait001 »

What was the cause if the burnt wires in Wiggler?
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by R.A.B. »

cait001 wrote:What was the cause if the burnt wires in Wiggler?
I will let our resident multi-ball EM expert confirm this, but the cause of the "toasty" wires on the score relays seems to have been a burnt (or about to burn) 75 ohm used GTB resistor across the lock relay coil and the hold in contact. The transformer being on high tap with the extra three volts or so it provides was probably not the real culprit.

Thank you again Pindude for your excellent post, I think you may be on to something, so glad to be part of these life and repair experiences.

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

The mysterious burnt wires are still under investigation. So far I suspect it's Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the billiard room.

No seriously! I've never seen nothing like it.

The wires are burnt but the coils are A1? Note to self (and Rob) Fiber actuator has to be changed on 1 point relay.

The wires started burning from the soldering lug and out and then stopped? I suspect the BFR's doing their job, or the game being turned off in the nick of time.

There was at one point some complaint that the games was acting weird. I wasn't there and it was before I joined this motley repair crew. So very little clues there.

I suspect something like a switch stuck closed that has to do with the wiggle alley gate and the 1 point relay. Since that's where the damage is.

I changed the dodgy resistor to one of the correct value. Now the game is under monitored testing.
Last edited by Pindude152 on Mon Apr 11, 2016 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by sylvain »

Pindude152 wrote:The mysterious burnt wires are still under investigation. So far I suspect it's Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the billiard room
Hehe, good one :)

Good work JF.

From the picture, I wonder if these wires did not actually burn, but instead served as 'fast emergency food fix' for an earlier hungry mouse rodent inhabitant? Or if the original cotton dried-up and fell-off ? Would not be the first time I see this...

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

sylvain wrote:
Pindude152 wrote:The mysterious burnt wires are still under investigation. So far I suspect it's Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the billiard room
Hehe, good one :)

Good work JF.

From the picture, I wonder if these wires did not actually burn, but instead served as 'fast emergency food fix' for an earlier hungry mouse rodent inhabitant? Or if the original cotton dried-up and fell-off ? Would not be the first time I see this...

Cheers,
- Sylvain.
Thanks Sylvain. I can confirm the wires burnt, the sheathing turned to carbon. The copper wires in the burnt section turned stiff.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by hyann »

Super compte-rendue!

Ça donne le goût de recommencer à faire des réparations. Les EM sont spéciales.

Thanks!! We need more !!!
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by JamesSchid »

In brief: thanks Pindude152 / J-F for posting this great stuff to read!

In long: It's true that the interweb is full of crap, but as Sturgeon's Law says, "90% of everything is crap"*. However, posts like this are part of the 10% that aren't.

The interweb definitely needs more of this sort of thing, but it depends on the generosity and a certain amount of courage for someone to invest the time and thought to post something into the web/aether, which can often appear to be a black hole.

How many times have we found answers or inspiration on the interweb due to finding someone's post, and we give no feedback because it's not possible or practical to? So, it surely follows that someone, somewhere, sometime, will find an answer or a clue or inspiration in stumbling upon posts like these. And it's the nature of this virtual wwweb that most of those people will be lurkers, and its author will never know. No, it's not a black hole, but a vast chaotic web-like heap.

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* The great science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon in response to critics claiming that 90% of sci-fi writing is crap. A.K.A. Sturgeon's Revelation.

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Mike@PinballMedics »

JamesSchid wrote:In brief: thanks Pindude152 / J-F for posting this great stuff to read!

In long: It's true that the interweb is full of crap, but as Sturgeon's Law says, "90% of everything is crap"*. However, posts like this are part of the 10% that aren't.

The interweb definitely needs more of this sort of thing, but it depends on the generosity and a certain amount of courage for someone to invest the time and thought to post something into the web/aether, which can often appear to be a black hole.

How many times have we found answers or inspiration on the interweb due to finding someone's post, and we give no feedback because it's not possible or practical to? So, it surely follows that someone, somewhere, sometime, will find an answer or a clue or inspiration in stumbling upon posts like these. And it's the nature of this virtual wwweb that most of those people will be lurkers, and its author will never know. No, it's not a black hole, but a vast chaotic web-like heap.

.:James:.
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* The great science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon in response to critics claiming that 90% of sci-fi writing is crap. A.K.A. Sturgeon's Revelation.
That's a pile of insight for so few words, couldn't agree more with all of it!

I would qualify that in so far as my accounting of the crap percentages in Sturgeon's Law. While I agree it was no doubt in fact quite accurate at the time, I would submit that the existence and content of said interweb has altered the figures somewhat, which by my calculations puts this post more accurately in the top 0.1% that "aren't".
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Fifty »

JamesSchid wrote:In brief: thanks Pindude152 / J-F for posting this great stuff to read!

In long: It's true that the interweb is full of crap, but as Sturgeon's Law says, "90% of everything is crap"*. However, posts like this are part of the 10% that aren't.

The interweb definitely needs more of this sort of thing, but it depends on the generosity and a certain amount of courage for someone to invest the time and thought to post something into the web/aether, which can often appear to be a black hole.

How many times have we found answers or inspiration on the interweb due to finding someone's post, and we give no feedback because it's not possible or practical to? So, it surely follows that someone, somewhere, sometime, will find an answer or a clue or inspiration in stumbling upon posts like these. And it's the nature of this virtual wwweb that most of those people will be lurkers, and its author will never know. No, it's not a black hole, but a vast chaotic web-like heap.

.:James:.
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* The great science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon in response to critics claiming that 90% of sci-fi writing is crap. A.K.A. Sturgeon's Revelation.
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

Driving, Fixing, Fixing, Driving. Repeat

I've realised that I don't care much about the title of the machine anymore. I just care about the problem I have to solve.

A passage from Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes to mind:

"A victim of the Drug Explosion. A natural street freak, just eating whatever came by."

Except in my case, it goes more like this:

A victim of the pinball obsession. A natural EM freak, just fixing whatever came by.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

I decided to hide the Four Corners project on this thread. I have no schematics for this game and it's the first time I'm working on a game of this type so I will definitely be chasing bugs.

As I write these words the Four Corners is sitting cozy in my office.
four corners BG.jpg
First, a bit of background information:

Four Corners was released by Williams in October 1952.
Billboard November 29 1952 p. 133
Billboard November 29 1952 p. 133
Around the same period, Williams released 4 bingo / flipper pinball hybrids:
2 games with a 3 X 5 card: Hong Kong & Disk Jockey
2 games with a 4 x 4 card: Four Corners & Starlite

The flippers are impulse type and are both driven by the same coil so you can play this game one handed and play holding your beer!
2 bats 1 coil.jpg
Four Corners has a replay meter that goes up to 45 and it has a knock off button. A hidden button under the game that resets the credits down to zero when pushed.
So for 1 nickel per play, you could win up to $2.25. You could buy a very decent meal at the restaurant for that price back then. In today's money with inflation considered it would amount to about 20 bucks.

In comparison, Bally bingo machines of that era have a replay counter that goes up to 899 replays!

You can win 1 replay for a 3 in line, 3 replays for a 4 in line or 10 replays for all four corners.
four corners PF.jpg
The Project:

The game was completely repainted in Grey. It looks like cement floor paint! It actually has 3 layers of paint added: Grey, Beige and Green.
four corners body.jpg
I experimented stripping the paint off one leg using various solvents and paint strippers.
assortment of chemicals.jpg
The Grey and Beige come off easily using Goof Off but the Green is a whole other can of worms.
multi layered leg.jpg
Only the super remover can take off the Green but it's pretty strong stuff and I fear it will take off the original art under.

So I don't picture myself stripping the whole game and repainting it is out of the question. I can't be bothered. I won't risk it looking worse.

Next step is to assemble the game in the workshop once the repair bay is empty and get the game working. Can't wait to play this thing!
Here is a shot of the backbox insert. As you can see, the bells are missing :FP:
four corners head guts.jpg
To be continued...
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by cait001 »

Exciting! What's it look like under the playfield? Any nests?
backglasses wanted: Star-Jet, Fairy, Star Trek (1971 Gottlieb)
marquees wanted: Roller Aces, Quiz Dragon, Strider, Varkon, Dark Planet, R-Type (w/ship), Quantum, Ninja (Sega)
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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

cait001 wrote:Exciting! What's it look like under the playfield? Any nests?
I will have some pictures of the PF underside next major post. Other than 100's of tiny dead spiders stuck in webs, the inside is fairly clean and complete. No rodent nests no rat damage. Yay!
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

The Four Corners is now assembled. I know I previously wrote that I would set it up in the workshop... But the workshop will always be busy. So it's up in the upstairs dining / living room area.
Four corners assembled. Dont worry! I have the coin door.
Four corners assembled. Dont worry! I have the coin door.
_________________________________________________________

Before I plunge into the interesting Electromechanical details I would like to recount the drive back and unloading of the game:

Picking up the Four Corners was really memorable. It's been a very long time since I've felt this excited about a new game.
Again, I have Caitlyn to thank for making this possible.
Going back home with the game in the back of the truck, I drove more carefully than if I had a newborn in the back.
A barrage of text messages were coming in on my phone in reaction to the picture Cait posted on the what did you do today in the hobby thread.
Notable people everywhere were getting excited about the game. I had my GF manage the text messages as I was driving.

Once home, I felt like I needed some appropriate unloading music to get the Four Corners inside the house. For some reason, in the moment, I felt like the right song for the job should be "Watch that Man" by Bowie. So I put on my Aladdin Sane LP loud on the stereo.

Shortly after unloading the game, I got a text message from R.A.B. Even he got excited by the Four Corners. Last time the Old Pirate saw one of these was back in '88.

All in all, It was a very special day!

_________________________________________________________

Now back to the interesting details:

The first thing most people would do after assembling the game would be to put the power on it and see what happens.
I have a more cautious approach. I go over the whole game first. Inspect everything, starting with the electrical plug and the fuses.

The line cord is bad. The white wire has become brittle. The game was grossly overfused. The line cord and fuses will be changed.
Crispy white wire
Crispy white wire
Transformer and fuse clips
Transformer and fuse clips
Here are shots of the underside of the PF and cabinet bottom. The trip bank in this thing is huge! First issues to be taken care of is the grease that was used for the trip bank reset mechanism. The grease has solidified over the years and the mechanism operates with great difficulty. The old grease will be cleaned off with 99% isopropyl and new Lubriplate Aero will be applied where necessary.

A few solenoids are sluggish due to grease. Solenoid plungers should NEVER be lubricated. I will have take care of those too.
Bottom of the Four Corners cabinet
Bottom of the Four Corners cabinet
Full view of under the PF
Full view of under the PF
Cloesup of a section of the trip bank
Cloesup of a section of the trip bank
Details of the lift underside of the PF
Details of the lift underside of the PF
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by cait001 »

Can't wait until you turn it on and get your first proper game on it!
backglasses wanted: Star-Jet, Fairy, Star Trek (1971 Gottlieb)
marquees wanted: Roller Aces, Quiz Dragon, Strider, Varkon, Dark Planet, R-Type (w/ship), Quantum, Ninja (Sega)
blog -- collection -- want list -- Pinball Women Ottawa -- Ottawa Pinball Map -- ratings

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

Next installment. I'll turn on the juice.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

Turning on the juice on the Williams four corners

Here is a quick and dirty rundown of the problems I encountered on the Four corners once I got it fired up. I'm a bit low on inspiration, my usual prose is on strike.
20160615_134057.jpg
20160615_134030.jpg
Game would lock up Immediately after pressing the start button.

This was caused by the 100 000 unit that would not reset back to its zero position. I cleaned and lubed the mechanics. I use a small amount of lubriplate aero on the shaft of the ratchet gear and a tiny amount PBR contact disc grease on the wired disc.

500 000 point would not register properly.

That was caused by the step up coil on the 100 000 unit that was literally falling apart. I replaced it with a stepper unit coil I had on a parts score motor board from a WMS top hat.
100000 unit.jpg
One hole would spot multiple numbers

This is a small problem I had for holes 9 and 13 or 7 and 14. Say when a ball landed in #13 it would spot 13 and 9, but the reverse wasn't true, when a ball landed in #9 it would only spot 9. Very weird at first glance.

On the Four Corners, Make Make switches are used for the trap holes to register scores and spot numbers. Common wires go from one trap hole switch stack to another. If a switch blade is out of adjustment an adjacent trap hole could trip the number with the misadjusted switch stack. When the stack is properly adjusted, none of the blades are touching when there is no ball in the trap hole. When there is a ball, all 3 blades are closed together.

I went over every switch stack, checked the adjustment and at the same time cleaned the contacts with a flexstone. On some stacks I had to redo the adjustments more than once, some switch blades would migrate back to their maladjusted position.
make make sws.jpg

Some numbers would remain spotted at the start of a new game / weak trip bank reset.


At the start of a new game, some spotted numbers from the previous game would remain spotted, despite the trip bank resetting. This was caused by the trip bank coil not energising powerfully enough. This was caused by dirty switches on the score motor and the start relay. Gave the switches a good cleaning. Some switch blade points were badly pitted. In those cases I had to file the surface of the point to remove the pit.
Score motor
Score motor
I also cleaned all the switches on the score motor. Took out the motor itself and re-oiled the felts.

#13 trip would not reset properly at the start of a new game

That was purely a mechanical problem the armature plate of the #13 trip was slightly too long, the bar for the trip rest would not reset far enough for the armature plate to engage and block the actuator in un-tripped position. I filed off about half a millimeter at the end of the armature plate and fixed the problem.
trip bank closup
trip bank closup
Over pay on four corners.

When I would get the four corners the game would over pay in an inconsistent way. To remedy I cleaned the rivers on the wired disc for the replay unit.
Replay unit
Replay unit
Start button not working, Knock off meter unresponsive, no flippers

This was caused by a dirty jones plug at the bottom of the cabinet. I had to thoroughly clean the male and female part or the connector.

Knock off button not working

The Four corners has 3 mode adjustments by way of a jones plug. I got the game on adjustment 2, for the knock off button to be operational it has to be on setting 1.

Meter Jack Adj. Card
Meter Jack Adj. Card

Here are a few interesting bits:

The replay adjustment card
Inline score adjustment card
Inline score adjustment card
Weird wear
20160520_123416.jpg
Last edited by Pindude152 on Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by R.A.B. »

What a great post J.F. which will surely educate a bunch of people here as to the pre "for amusement only" era of pinball machines. Well, come to think about it, I reckon that the "for amusement only" phrase was a faint suggestion at best in most cases back then huh ?

Imagine hitting the four corners at the most generous setting in 1952 and having that pinball rack up 30 credits at the end of the game.

"Hey Delmar, I just made a buck and a half with my last nickel on this game, let's go to town."

Love it !
http://www.montrealpinball.com
https://amusement.evolvo.com/

Bally 1936 "Bumper" - North Star 1949 "Sea Breeze" - North Star 1950 "Richelieu" - Universal 1950 "Feature Bell" - Gottlieb 1952 "Queen of Hearts" - Williams 1960 "Ten Spot" - Gottlieb 1971 "Challenger" - Williams 1973 "OXO" - Bally 1976 "Bonanza"

Maxed out at 10 machines, no more. Un max de 10 machines, pas plus.
Une règle suivi guéri de tout. A rule respected can cure anything.

A philosophy of doing shall rule until the days when I can no longer "do" arrive. Because when I am too old to adjust an AX relay or relieve a woman friend from sighing, there will only be memories to fill my time. So, the task at hand is to build that RRSP of memories in order to joyfully cushion the later stages of life.

Personally prefer the exceptional qualities lurking beneath any normal state of affairs. Alas, our day to day is being promoted as extraordinary via a world wide web largely fueled by the new dumb & followed closely by the latest breed of unscrupulous scoundrels & judas goats. So, god bless the fool hearted, the crazed, and the railroaded all in good measure for they will likely inherit what is left of the earth after the screwheads are done with it. God damn darwinian primates, why do they refuse to evolve, even after all we should have learned from being dumb savages for so long.

"I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you, to be just like them. " - Zimmy

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

R.A.B. wrote:Well, come to think about it, I reckon that the "for amusement only" phrase was a faint suggestion at best in most cases back then huh ?
Yeah. Definitely tongue in cheek.
But, at that time, pretty much all the games had a knock off button, that's just what pinball was back then. A form of light gambling.

It's no coincidence pinball boomed during the great depression, people got entertainment out of the games and they had the chance, or the skill to win a bit of coin. That's on top of competitive wagering or bar betting.

To think about it, contemporary redemptions are like that too, except it's with tickets or tokens or whatever.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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Re: Chasing bugs or The quest for ever more difficult EM problems

Post by Pindude152 »

As I write these words, the Four Corners is pretty stable. It's at the play / stress test phase.
I haven't put on the top glass on yet. Pinball repair adaptation of Murphy's law dictates something will assuredly fail as soon as I close up the game. and put on the playfield glass :?

On the cosmetic side of things I completely re-lamped the game, (47's behind the backglass and 51's in the bumpers) cleaned and waxed the playfield. New Rubbers.
One pop bumper body was broken so I changed it.
A before picture of the broken body.
A before picture of the broken body.
I applied triple thick the backglass to seal in the art.
Although the ink was still properly bonded to the glass, it looked all cracked, like a spider's web, when backlit. It looked as fragile as paper lace found in the wreck of the Erebus! I didn't want to take the risk of having the BG peel off.
I have a project I'm working on right now for someone else and the BG is totally cactus. It's really sad to have to pick up Roy Parker art with a broom and a dust pan. :-(

Something really weird about the Four Corners was how devoid of the usual coin-op flotsam the cabinet was.
Usually in an old pinball cabinet there's an old empty matchbook, burnt fuses, misc. fasteners, dried up rubbers, burnt bulbs, half a swizzle stick, an old post it note with the word "broken" scribbled across it, broken stitch blades, the occasional coin, etc.

In the Four Corners? Nothing. just two rat turds and a bunch of tiny dried up spiders. Very strange.

Opening up this game for the first time was like opening up Tutankhamun tomb if king Tut was an ascetic teenager that grew up in the suburbs!

All in all, it was fun to bring this game back to life but it wasn't much of a challenge, these old machines are pretty simple and straightforward. I can repair them by instinct, a bit like that song about about the kid that played pinball, except in my case it's the dude that repairs old pinball machines.

Playing it is pretty fun in a 1952 kind of way, with impulse flippers you can't cradle the ball. Ball control is minimal. The flippers actuate momentarily. You really have to time your hit but it's quite satisfying when you hit the ball just right and send it all the way up the playfield.
Wanted: Bally 20 hole Bingo machine: Orient, London, Safari, Super 7, Bonus 7 or Hawaii.
Bally: Mad World
Williams: Pot 'O' gold, Beat the clock
Rally Play Company of Nice France: Any Flip Tronic(s) era machine produced between 1966 and 1969


"It's heavy. What is it? ... The, uh, stuff dreams are made of"
-The Maltese Falcon

"Every ball for me's another game.For you this always looks the same [...]
I know for you this doesn't look a lot. For me this is the only thing I got"
-Yello - Pinball Cha Cha

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"
-Homer Simpson


Check out my blog at http://pindude152.blogspot.ca/ for quality content about electromechanical amusement
http://www.pinballowners.com/pindude152

Too far gone... beyond time, space and pinball stages

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