ATM Machines, Condoms, and PCBs, oh my…

Little further investigation into the switch issues turned up this…

For those of you who are like.. what the hell am I looking at?  There’s 8 wires coming into that connector up top, they run into that yellow-ish looking thing which is a bank of resistors, then down to the black things (transistors), then to a line of standard resistors (colorful little tootsie rolls), and finally back into another yellow resistor bank before heading on into chipland.  Zzzzzzzzzzz.. I know… stick with me.

So back to how many wires? 8?  Then the resistor bank is scorched.. then there’s only 7 transistors (Q11 is missing entirely), then only 7 standard resistors (R126 is missing), and the last resistor bank looks okay.

So now we know why so many of the switches don’t work.  Something caught on fire!  Then someone yanked out some stuff and didn’t replace it.  I’m not sure why someone would yank out a.. stop asking why, just fix it you say.  Okay.

But first we need to do a parts order because I don’t have any of those crazy yellow bus resistors.. now if I just order what’s in this picture.. it’ll run me maybe $3 from Great Plains Electronics but then I’ll pay another $3-$6 in shipping.. that’s no good.  Time to go electronic component shopping and stock up.

I think I’ll pull all the boards tomorrow and see if anything else is hacked up and keep adding to this list… then wait three days for the inevitable “Oh crap I forgot this 10 cent part!” to subside.. then make the order.

The parts list thus far:

2N3904	Transistor, NPN	$0.10		$2.00
RCF1/4-1.5K	Resistor, 1.5K Ohm, 1/4W, 5%	$0.05		$1.00
4610X-101-102	Resistor Network, 1K x 9, 10 Pin Bussed	$0.35		$1.05
4610X-101-472	Resistor Network, 4.7K x 9, 10 Pin Bussed	$0.35		$1.05
26-48-1245	Connector, 0.156″ Header, 24 Pin	$1.30		$3.90
09-50-8021	Connector, 0.156″ Plug, 2 Pin	$0.12		$0.24
09-50-8091	Connector, 0.156″ Plug, 9 Pin	$0.54		$5.40
15-04-0297	Keying Plug, 0.156″ Small	$0.12		$2.40
03-09-1022	Connector, Receptacle, 2-Pin, 0.093″	$0.25		$0.25
03-09-2022	Connector, Plug, 2-Pin, 0.093″	$0.25		$0.25
02-09-1119	Crimp Contact, 0.093″, Socket	$0.10		$1.00
02-09-1104	Crimp Contact, 0.093″, Socket	$0.12		$1.20
02-09-2118	Crimp Contact, 0.093″, Pin	$0.10		$1.00
02-09-2103	Crimp Contact, 0.093″, Pin	$0.12		$1.20
TIP122	Transistor, NPN Darlington	$0.50		$5.00
2N6427	Transistor, NPN Darlington

Holy crap Matt, this is boring as hell.  I know, right?  Hey did you see Vandy lose against South Carolina tonight?

What’s the difference between an Alabama fan and a Tennessee fan both wearing their respective schools T-shirts?  The Tennessee fan went to the University of Tennessee.  The Alabama fan went to Wal-Mart.

Seriously though, they took the BCS trophy on tour to a Wal-Mart.. classy.

On to some pictures that normal people can appreciate.  Might as well start tearing the playfield down..

Wow, this thing is as dirty as a an ATM machine.. no really, read this article.  Next time I make a withdrawal I’m wearing a condom.

And finally, how I get through it all… the trifecta of goodness..

Pinball, Miller Lite, and Roman Candles…

Chicken Fried Chicken

So the cabinet corner on Comet is fixed.. still looks crappy but we’ll get to putting on the lipstick later. Much like a drunk ex-girlfriend I once had, we’re just trying to get her to the toilet before she projectile vomits on our leather couch, let’s not hinder her with things like high heels at this point. We’ll get to that later when we want to show her off to our friends.

But anyway, it’s solid and once the new legs get here should be plenty stable.

So let’s open up this backbox and see what we got going on. Holy crap.. what the hell is that? Yeah, I smell chicken fried chicken too. That connector there, the one that’s a lot “whiter” than the others under all that black crap, burnt up probably a number of years ago and was replaced. Johnny fix-it apparently knows how to replace header pins and crimp trifurcon connectors.. good job Johnny. But he was obviously hungover for the “don’t use wirenuts in a pinball machine… ever..”-class. Honestly I have no idea how you can go through the trouble of pulling the board, desoldering header pins, reinstalling them, cleaning it up, probably fixing traces, and then wirenut the wires together.. it’s just bush league. My guess is he sent the entire board off to get repaired and cleaned up and the actual tech crimped the wires for the molex connector and left them dangling there so Johnny could connect them to the existing.

“Hell, I’ll use me some wirenuts I gots from The DeePo last weekend! Joe the Electrician uses em on ma house and it’s still standing.. more or less!”

Have you ever seen a wirenut in a desktop computer? Do you wirenut your shoelaces together before leaving for work? There’s a time and place for wirenuts and this is not it. Notice how one is missing on that white wire.. that’s why you don’t, apparently Joe is better at wirenutting things than you. So here’s the cool part, that connector is for the insert lights, and they ALL work! Way to go Johnny! But I’ll end up replacing the whole connector anyway. On to the next FUBAR.

Another wirenut? Really? Johnny loves the nuts. Except this time it wasn’t quite as lasting a repair. All those yellow wires used to run through that one 4-pin connector you see in the background. Someone stripped part of the insulation off one of the wires and soldered a new wire directly to it and then used a wirenut.. jesus.. just buy a new connector, it’s actually LESS work. Oh and those wires control all of the General Illumination, which does not work.

Alright so that’s the obvious stuff under the hood, so the next step is to see how she runs, what actually works in-game. Below is a list of items that don’t function. At this point I haven’t checked to see if it’s the solenoid itself or the switch on some of these items so bear with me here and we’ll get it all fixed.

Flippers (obviously, hell one of them is missing entirely, the other one the coil is burnt to a crisp, and the fuse on the flipper board is blown)

Switches 19, 25, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41 & 50. That’s a lot of switches…

Solenoids for the left pop bumper and Cycle Jump kickout.

So it looks like some shorted solenoid driver transistors and/or some switch matrix issues. Wheee! I like to get all the electrical and board work sorted out before tearing apart the playfield, makes it easier to tell later if it’s something *I* did, or was an existing problem. The good news is the MPU test returns a 0 (zero, that’s good), and the sound test plays all the sounds so the sound board is good too. And I’m waiting on parts anyway so.. Miller Lite time.

;

;

And apparently I’m a carpenter now too..

Got some pipe clamps latched on the old Comet to straighten out that corner issue. Not only is it separating but it’s also lifting up on the right side. So in theory, I really need three clamps but I only have two.. so let’s make do shall we.

The glass has an issue sliding off, in fact you have to lift the glass up to get over the lip created by the front of the cabinet being raised too high on the right side, so let’s push that sucker back square. You need some pipe clamps, some pipe, and some wood glue (and personally, I’d recommend two people cuz this job sucks with one person, I speak from experience). And make sure you’re laying down enough pipe… personally, I lay a little extra pipe.

So it’s all clamped down tonight and we’ll see how it looks when I take them off tomorrow morning. I’ve got some newer-style leg brackets which go on the inside of the cabinet being shipped which should add some much needed support as well, all the ladies need new leg brackets, it’s the hottest thing and cheaper than a $5000 trip to the.. but I digress.

While she was clamped down I couldn’t really do much to the playfield so I cleaned up what I could in the cabinet, some of the wiring, the coin mechs, the shooter housing, replaced one of the flipper buttons and cleaned the other.

And finally replaced a few lamps. I have a bunch of extra “retro” LEDs which were too bright to go in a past project (Earthshaker) so I thought, how would these look under white inserts.. well, they look great, but much like sunsets and nuclear explosions, photography just never seems to capture the essence.

And below is my tried and true method of LED color matching and lamp counting.. shut up.. it’s a damn scientific process so if you don’t like it do it your own way.

New shop job… 1985 Williams Comet

Someone dropped off this dirty whore of a pinball machine earlier today.  It’s been sitting in a laundromat for quite some time.. probably since 1985.  Apparently washing clothes is allowed, but washing the pinballs is forbidden.  This game claims to be the first solid state game with a million point shot, and this particular version also comes with chewed up gum underneath the cabinet.  Awesome sauce.

You know back in the day operators didn’t really have time to order parts and if they were away from the shop and out in the field all anyone wanted was the games to be working again so they could earn.  Here’s a fine example of this theory in action, a key used as part of the drop target mechanism.  The surprising part.. it works really well.

Also on the fun list of things to do.. CABINET REPAIR. Everyone loves cabinet repair.  This thing is busting at the seams.  You see that big freakin’ crack at the corner, that’s not supposed to be like that.  Nothing a little wood glue and some giant clamps won’t fix.

And here are a few fine examples of the sheer amount of dirt.. enjoy the following initial cleanup pictures and just be happy you weren’t there.  Note the gloves.. I think I need to get a HEPA filter mask as well for this one.  Also note that pile of rags is dirt from only the outside of the machine.

And finally, my scientific method of retaining a parts list (subject to change based on further recon):

You can see more pictures here.. updated whenever I post again..

Elvira is finished

Wrapped up the Elvira today.

Got the small lamp PCB for the Monster Slide in the mail from a friend.  Installed some clear red flipper buttons and wired two red super flex LEDs and 44 sockets off the coin door insert lights.  Left flipper kept inching up so I finally got around to looking at it.  Had to take a 10″ mini-hacksaw to the flipper pawl and saw it off since the pawl nut was stripped.  Luckily I had an extra.

Of course now that I’m looking at the pictures I realize that there never were any capacitors on the EOS switches for the flippers.  And that means there’s nothing absorbing the large electrical spike which occurs when the EOS switch is hit by the flipper pawl.  And that means the EOS switch will wear out prematurely.  So I think I’ll open it back up again tonight, look at both flippers and make sure they have capacitors and if not I’ll wire them in there.

So other than that.. it’s done.  Waxed, new balls, glass cleaned and back on.  Next up is a Comet being dropped off tomorrow when the Elvira gets picked up.  Whirlwind and the Funhouse Playfield on the backburner for now.

Lighted Flipper Mod Needed Items (minus the red super flex LEDs)

Playfield

Rebuilt Flipper (Note: without a capacitor… doh)

Old Flipper Pawl (removed)

Monster Slide Lamp PCB (cant buy this anywhere anymore..)

Old Flipper Bushing

Some New Custom Instruction Cards and Free Play Cards (before lamination)

Elvira back in the cab again

Got a little help from my buddy Zane and the Elvira playfield is back in the cabinet.  Hooked up all the connectors and prayed a little.. everything works perfectly.  Couple minor things left to do before it goes back to the arcade by this weekend:

• Adjust the flippers a little bit
• Replace a few coil sleeves
• Clean the underside of the inserts
• Waiting on a lamp PCB for the monster slide plastic
• Wax playfield
• Lit flipper button LED mod
• Print and laminate some custom instruction cards

And she’ll be done.