Don't use metal tools on solid state
games with the power on!!!
If you learn nothing else from this seminar, this is
the most important! 75% of the boards I repair have been blown up this way!
The coils run at nominal voltages as high as 70V.D.C!!! One careless slip of a
screwdriver sends this voltage up a switch or lamp line right to the control
board!! I've seen the tops blown right off chips!! It takes only seconds to
flip the on-off switch, saving hours of needless board repairs!!
-
A missing shooter tip will ruin a ball! Always replace!
1 1/16" grade 25 steel bearing- any big city bearing supply, under a buck!
The ball is half the game!!! A smooth waxed playfield with a pitted gray ball is much slower! An unpolished ball will also cause playfield "pits"! Look at your balls often! Fondle them! If they are rusted or pitted, just throw them out! If they are just "gray" polish them! Get a high speed bench grinder! A gem shop will have cloth wheels! I like 1" surface 6" dia. with 1/2" hole for my 9600 R.P.M. 1/2 horse Milwaukee! Gem stores also have stainless steel or chrome jewelers rouge! It's the green stuff! Avoid the big brick, get the handy tube! Dope up your cloth wheel often, don't press into the wheel, let the rouge do the work! A better than new mirror surface takes only a couple minutes! Caution! Don't be a blind schmuck with burned lungs and fingers! Wear safety glasses and a dust mask! Cloth or welders gloves keep your fingers safe from the heat!
Spray contact cleaner is
EVIL!
I don't care what your uncle told
you! I don't care that the label says "Safe- leaves no residue"! They are
false! This is a lazy fools fix! it is a chemical solution to a mechanical
problem! 95% of the dirt can be removed by wiping with a soft cloth! This is
all you should do to a digital games gold plated heads! Electro-Mechanical
games and all flipper switches are made of silver or a hard alloy! These
should be filed flat and smooth! While fileing, if the head is loose, replace
the whole blade! After both contacts are clean and/or filed, adjust for self
cleaning by having the 2 overwipe on contact! This lack of overwhiping is why
the contacts got dirty in the first place! A properly adjusted contact should
never get dirty! Also, bakelight spacers dry out, leaving loose switch
stacks! Tighten both screws before adjusting! Forward screws 1st!
Do not use tape to bundle legs
together!
It pulls the paint or
chrome off! Old rubber rings are O.K. for short term storage! I use scrap wire
from old harnesses! Gottlieb legs look like new with "No 7." brand chrome
polish from any auto store! Rinse well, towel dry! New footies are a must! All
the parts houses have 'em! Dab grease into the threads to prevent rust before
you screw 'em in! I also polish the front leg bolts (see
Item #2) to a
mirror finish! Slick! Check the legbolt mounting plates on the inside of the
cabinet! They are held in place only with nails! If they are loose, replace
with screws! If the holes are stripped, don't mess around-- just shitcan and
replace with new ones!
Do not ship your game with the balls in
it!
It will break drop targets,
bumper caps and wear a deep groove in the top arch! Be a high-class hauler!
Pop the ball into a bag with the leg bolts and stash securely in the cash
box!
Don't use water based or abrasive
playfield cleaner!
There are some
pinheads that advocate a one time cleaning with an abrasive cleaner! I do
not and will not agree! Abrasives make the paint look newer by stripping
away the protective hard-coat! It's like pissing your pants in the winter to
keep warm! Short term, everything is great! But long term, you lose! At no
time should any water based cleaner be used! It seeps into the wood and
causes it to swell, pulling the paint apart (cracks)! It also weakens the
adhering of the paint to the wood! All I have ever used for 15 years is
creamy car wax! I like pink Excalibur or KIT-sprint! Handy squeeze
bottles, cheep, available everywhere! Avoid runny wax like turtle wax, too
easy to get it in where it doesn't belong! Paste wax is more work! Any car wax
is ok, as long as it's not "Car Wash"! carnauba is a plus! I also like Johnson
Paste wax!
Don't pry open coin
doors!
If you get a game in with
no keys, pick it open! Most locksmith shops sell pick sets! If not this, drill
out the lock! A good bit goes right up the middle of most extruded brass (Ace)
or Bi-metal (Fort, TuffGuard) and out the other end! Back doors on EM games
can be popped open with a quick stroke of a large screwdriver without much
damage! Reach thru hole in bottom of head with a dime and undo
screw!
Brace score reels when
cleaning!
Gottlieb "Decagon" units
(1967-1979) have a spring-steel blade as a detent pawl (hold in on forward
stroke) that will become bent back and useless if you force plastic dial
backwards during routine cleaning! Clean with one hand, brace with the other!
This is also a good habit to get into with bally, Will, etc dials, all of
which were designed not to be forced in this way! To work fast and true, these
units had to be designed with tolerances of only 1-2 grams! Be gentle! I have
always used creamy car wax on score dials, and never had ink come off! Water
will! Chicago coin dials with translucent plastic reels will be wiped
off with car wax! If cleaning a Chi-Coin game, test a small spot first and
work carefully! When I'm rebuilding a high mileage game, I like to rotate the
highly worn parts from 1 and 10 dials to 100 and 1000 dials! On digital games,
I recommend stocking up now on gas discharge tubes! They will someday stop
making them! Mazzco has 6 digit tubes for $6.00!
Solder lamp sockets shut to stop
dimming!
Lamp sockets are two pieces, a socket and a bracket
that are press fit together! As air works into press fit surfaces over the
years, they corrode! A drop of solder should be melted between the 2! This is
easy and quick if you first prep the metal with liquid solder flux or a small
file! (5% hydrochloric acid) this fixes 90% of dim bulbs! The other 10% is
dirty inner socket surface! Clean with Dremel tool or Steve Young's cleaning
sticks! If the problem is in the bulb, I clean the bulb base with a green pad
and or solder a new tit onto the bottom of the bulb! Finally, wipe the oil
from your fingers off the bulb top, heat will build up there!
Be careful with
solder!!
Do not believe it
is a safe proven product! Work in a well ventilated room! Do not eat while
soldering! Do not smoke! Do not leave beverages near job site! Do not tough
your face while soldering! Even if you are very hungry, do not pick your nose!
Wash your hands as soon as you are done! Do not use a high head (over 700)
Iron! Lead builds up over time in your body! Be careful! To protect your eyes,
wear glasses!
Don't buy cheap
solder!
I can always recommend
"Kester" or other American made 60-40 rosin solder! Radio shack is another
good bet! Avoid "Otey" or any solder from the orient or in an unmarked
container! Expect to pay $6-$10 per lb! Buy 18 A.W.G. for big jobs, and 22
A.W.G. for board work!
Strap a board over backglass
when shipping head!
Luan or
Cheap-o thin plywood could save your backglass! Large rubber bands or cloth
straps will hold in place, don't use tape, it will take the paint off the
cabinet when you pull it off! Use plastic steelband to hold head and body to
shipping pallet! Get to know a carpet guy! He will give you all the scraps you
want! Pad everything! If you have to ship or store a playfield, go to a
bicycle store and get free bicycle boxes, perfect size! When moving heads in
the cold, remember the #1 killer of backglass paint, rapid Temp. Change! Move
outside in stages, inside, porch, outside, truck! Always wait an hour
before turning on a cold from the outside game!
Replace thin-flange flipper
bushings!
Drill #5 hole
(1/8 bit) countersink!
Polish flipper shaft to reduce friction!
(see #2)
Steve Young has 'em Wilco, Mayfair, Mazzco! Even if
your old style bushings look ok, shitcan 'em! New style has a slight buildup
which keeps flipper up away from wood! Don't screw 'em in, bolt them thru!
Shitcan Skanky Feet! Grease Your
Feet!
Old Feet ruins floors &
Carpets! Steal them out of Pac Man machines! All parts houses have 'em! Coat
the threads with a greese to prevent rust! Bally Lube-In-A-Tube (Moly Greese)
Lithium Grease (Sears).
Cheap Super Glue is no
bargain!
I use Super Glue a lot!
The only one worth a shit is Bordens Crazy Glue in the tube! The pen is
worthless! Cyanide glue will hurt your eyes! One time, 2 frat boys passed out
on the back stairs of the arcade! We took off their shoes and superglued their
hands to feet! Much funny! Same goes for tape! Scotch # 33 or 35 is the only
kind to use!
Tempered Glass! Learn it! Love it! Live
It!
Mazzco sells it for $8.00 a
sheet (You pick up, Chicago) Plate Glass is not very strong and breaks very
sharp! On any glass, remember the 10" rule! Lift to your feet, then the floor!
Go to Builders Square and get foam weatherstrip & Beer seal! Look for
Glass mfg. seal of "Float marks" or ping edge of glass with finger and
listen.
Store your games on free
pallets!
If you leave your
machines sitting up on end in a basement, garage, or store-it, you must
put them up on pallets! Many pinheads have tales of sudden broken pipes or
freak floods that left the backs of their games swelled up and useless! Go out
behind auto parts stores, drug store, or supermarkets and get free pallets!
Then it can flood up to 3" and your games stay dry! While out on pallet runs,
also look for old store displays and shelving they are throwing out! All my
parts are stored on old copper-tone displays and movie store
shelves!
Screw 2nd key into game
bottom
New Locks come with 2 keys!
Grab a #6 X 1/4" wood screw and mount the spare to the bottom of the game! I
also screw into the cashbox area, the spare back door key!
Prepare to replace "Fish
Glue"
Pinball cabinets are made
with a low quality organic glue! After about 20 years, at random, some
cabinets just come apart! I love to buy games cheap with sprung cabinets, it's
such an easy fix! All the mitered joints still line up, just smear Elmer's
Yellow Wood Glue in the joint, Pipe Clamp together, wipe excess glue off, and
wait overnight! Good as new! The 2 easiest cab panels to replace just happen
to be the 2 easiest to remake! Bottom light ply sheet and back
panel!
22 Gauge flipper jump wire has gotta
go!
The wires between flipper
End-of-stroke switch and coil are not big enough. 95% of Williams games from
60's and 70's use dinky 22 A.W.G. jump wires! Remember, for each 4 wire gauges
you go up or down, you double or cut in half wire diameter! So if you have
some old 18 gauge heavy duty zip cord around, use that! Also check the wire
going from transformer lug to coil voltage fuse! I always replace it with
double strand of 18 A.W.G (14 A.W.G.) zip cord! Also replace any Bally Fuse
clip they made themselves (mounted on flimsy bakelite) with nice Little-fuse
or Buss fuse holder!
Tighten Coin Door
Hinge!
Operators don't! Check both
where hinge mounts into wood with #8 X 3/8" wood screw and where door shell
mounts to hinge with machine screw! Williams games with Tiwan Coin doors (Taxi
& Forward) are always loose!
Modify Gottlieb Sys 1 Power
Supply!
If -12 Voltage stops, all
the coils in the whole game pull in! Boom! Instant fried board! The jive ass
heat sink arrangement should be replace with the +5 pass transistor being
moved to a small remote heat sink! The -12 reg. legs should be checked for
insulation and all solder joints on headers need to be refloated! Extra
Hint! Gottlieb System 80 Bumper driver boards need a new cap! 90% of
"Flapping" Bumpers, coil burnouts, blown fuses, can be traced to this 47 mfd
Cap!
Playfield Screws!
When rebuilding
playfields, I run #6" Studs through the playfield from the bottom! Then I put
the post and plastic on top of that and firmly nut each! Now I can
endlessly take it apart to change rubber or bulbs and never wear out hole!
Start with a hand held screwdriver with a #5 bit (1/8)! Drill a #5 hole from
the Top Down where the original hole was! Do not use a high speed twist
drill, it will burst out the bottom and chew up a wire bundle! Then use same
hand held screwdriver to feed into #5 hole a 2" #6 bolt from the bottom up!
Place the post on the stud, nut it with an ordinary #6 nut, put the rollover
guide apron or plastic screen card on top, and elastic nut in place! If you
encounter a relay or step unit in the way of your hole, just use a panhead
bolt and countersink so it lays flush with the wood! Try it on one game and
you'll never go back! Buy large quantities of hardware from "Fastener
Supplies" in Yellow Pages or from Electronic Surplus in Dayton for $1.25 a
pound!
6-32 X 2 Newark P.N. 31F2195 $5.76 per 100
6-32 nut Newark P.N.
31F2209 $4.45 per 100
6-32 Acorn nut Newark P.N. 50N^486 $16.95 per 100
A.C. Parts-D.C.
Parts!
Magnet coils on EM games
contain a brass or copper cladding that retains the magnetic field thru the 0
cycle of the A.C. Wave! If this comes loose or wears out, relay will start to
hum! Replace coil! A Phone call to Steve Young or myself can cross 95% of all
coils! D.C. Coils contain no such copper slug, but do have a diode across the
winding! As the magnetic field collapses, a "spike" of reverse voltage comes
out of the coil! The diode suppresses this! Don't ignore this! On most relays,
there is a brass or copper washer between the coil and the relay frame! This,
along with the brass screw keeps the frame isolated magnetically! Important!
As relays on Gottlieb games need only to have coil removed, cleaned,
de-magged and the strike plate wear spot covered with mylar! Do not
attempt to take stepping part of relay apart!
Remove Batteries
Solid state games have batt-trees to hold in memory
overnight! Left alone for long periods they will leak and corrode! Pop 'em out
or break them off and take them to be recycled or hold them, do not throw
batteries in garbage! I use AA Nicads to replace High priced "Data Sentry" or
long Bally Batt-trees!
Prop sticks are Bad!
when working on playfields, don't use the prop stick!
Pull the game to a solid service position! Playfield flex causes paint
cracking!
Don't make fun of Wayne
Newton!
He is a god in Vegas! If
we find you doing this, we will kick your ass!
Coil Siation
Solenoid coils must have a ferrous plunger inside them
or they draw 2-3 times the current! Magnetic field is produced at 20-100% of
siation! If plunger is worn, replace! Plated plungers shed less carbon!
Polished plungers have less friction! New sleeves (nylon) even
less!
Coil
Modification
Bally-Williams and
Chi-coil coils all have the wire gauge and # of turns on the wrapper! Gottlieb
coils only have drawing # but can be crossed with chart in newer parts
manuals! For more power, smaller A.W.G. or less turns! Most coils are measured
with Ohms, but keep in mind that this is for comparison only, inductance is
not measured in Ohms and Ohms law can not be used to figure inductive
loads! The simplest thing to do is lop of 20%, no more, of the wire, bare
paint off the end, and resolder to lug!
Replace flipper links with Nylon or
steel!
Flipper links are made of
bakelite, a soft, cheap, low grade plastic! The factories claimed they used it
due to it's high resistance to heat, but the real reason is was it's
low coast! I buy sheet nylon from a plastic house or use old prop
sticks as steel stock! Shape on bench grinder, coat holes with cyanide glue!
Heat plunger, knock out roll pin with a punch, cradled in a vice! Warning!
Steel links have a different feel than plastic! For true original, use
plastic!
Equalize Grounds!
Digital Gottlieb games were the worst! The grounds all
terminated on a strip in the bottom of the game! Clip off press lugs and
solder them on! Strap the ground of the Gottlieb power supplies to the metal
liner of the cabinet! On all digital games, connect all grounds at all times!
Screw in place all boards! Floating grounds cause many "phantom" problems that
drive you crazy!
Toothbrush your
posts!
Williams posts from late
70's early 80's with deep horizontal ruts and Gottlieb metal posts of mid 60's
are a snap to clean with an old toothbrush! Polish 'em up -
see
#2!
Keep your game out of
sun!
It fades the paint! It melts
the plastic! It weakens adhering of paint to wood! Cover your games with old
sheets! When transporting your game in sunlight, put white butcher paper or
newspaper below glass!
Nice Knockers!
As a kid, I lived
for the sound of the free play knocker! But now, when I get a game in, it
isn't as loud as I remembered! What has happened, the knocker is no longer
being held tightly to the side of the cabinet! Tighten the screws, or even
better yet: Bold it thru! Lop off 20% of the wire (see #30) and it sounds like Detroit on a Saturday night!
Reink bumper caps!
Use a Sharpie or super sharpie!
Beer Seal your glass!
Go to Home Base and buy several widths and thicknesses
of weather stripping and seal out beverages!
Oil Metal Motor
Gears!
When you rebuild a game,
check the motor! If it has no giver gears, drop some light machine oil on all
exposed gears, but not on the armature of the motor! If at any time you
have motor failure, don't waste your time trying to fix it! Take the model #
stamped on the frame and call the mighty motor men at Multi-Products! In 3
days, for $28.00, you will have an exact replacement made new! Total
Coolness!
Coin Lockout Coils!
Are not needed! Remove them and all the linkage parts
on the door! Do not open a common and carefully tape off!
Do not buy 32 Volt fuses! Only Buy 250
Volt fuses!
Voltage rating on
fuses is the highest Voltage fuse will "spring apart" and open! 32 volt fuses
are cheaper but may not spring apart! They might melt into a puddle in the
bottom of the fuse and continue to conduct!
Buy Diodes with much higher P.I.V. than
you need!
R.M.S. Voltages true
peak voltages are 25-40% higher than indicated! Use 1N4007 not 1n 4004 . Use
200 P.I.V. 35 or 50 Amp bridges, not 50 or 100 P.I.V.
IMPORTANT!!
Zener Diodes do not apply to above!!! Buy only listed
voltage Zeners!
Rotate Chime Parts
Turn chime over to avoid wear! Clean black carbon goo
off all metal parts! Replace grommets with new from electronics store! Wrap
old flipper around plunger frame to replace cheep-o foam!
Lower Bulb Voltage
#44 Bulb life at 6.3 VAC= 4000 hrs,
at 7 VAC = 500 hrs, at 5.8 VAC = 10000 hrs. Go to radio shack! Get a 35 amp bridge rectifier! Use 18 AWG
wire to jump + to - and AC to AC! Like Elton John, you are now Bi-Conducting!
Little electrons march into bridge, bounce around, march out about 1 volt
lower! Extra volt is dissipated as heat, so be sure to mount the bridge to
a heat sink or a metal plate!
Note: This is the way that Tim drew the picture. I can't figure out what
"connect here" is pointing to.
Notch flipper links
New Williams flippers (Firepower and up) Gottlieb
flippers with slim bat (Bone Busters and up) should have all new parts
installed when you get these games! As these parts wear, the link will get too
close to the metal bracket holding flipper coil and will bash! use a bench
grinder to cut a 5mm notch allowing more clearance!
Zap Gottlieb Displays back to
life!
Many times Gottlieb "Blue"
displays will get dim! On the schematic, find which pins of the glass tube provide
filament voltage! Look it up every time! There were several suppliers of these
tubes! It will say "4.2 VAC" (Less on small displays). Do not confuse with
offset voltage that is D.C.!
Remove the display from game! Get 2 jump wires! Jump the coin chute lights voltage 6.3 VAC on
the front door to
the filament voltage lines on tube! Turn the game on! Wait about 5 minutes for crud to be
burned off filament! Reinstall in game!
Note 1: I have used a similar but different procedure for doing this, which
was documented by Clay Harrell here:
http://www.marvin3m.com/sys80/index2.htm#display2. Three displays that I
previously thought were dead came back to life. Nice!
Note 2: Clay also makes note of Tim's procedure. After reading Clay's notes, I
think I'll use the coin door 6.3 VAC next time. Note that Clay suggests
leaving the display connected to the 6.3 VAC for 1-2 minutes. I'd try it 1-2
minutes first. If that doesn't work, give it another 1-2 minutes.
Make your own master locks for
free!
Most pinballs feature "Fort"
locks! Take the cylinder out of the lock and with a small file, take metal off
each pin until it is flush with the cylinder! The original key will still work
if you ever sell the game! Move non fort locks to head key locks!
Clean Motor "Home"
On every EM
score motor is a NO contact that runs the
motor back to the "home" position! The relay that started the motor drops out
before the end of each cycle, leaving the motor "home" switch to handle the
extreme voltage spike of the motor's magnetic field collapsing! It is easy to
find, it's the dirty pitted one! If it's really bad, replace it! Clean only
with a small file!