time to add the ground braiding

Find the proper height for the playfield and drill the holes for the carriage bolts, and after you confirm,then take out the playfield ,populate it ,test it outside the cabinet that everything is working ,and when everything is confirmed then you put it back to the cabinet and populate the top side.
Confirm all switches ,coils,lamps .

Everything is installed and tested on the rotisserie before the playfield is put into the game.

Of course you test the fit of the playfield blank before its populated.

Drill the side holes, mount the hangers on the playfield blank.

Mount the backboard onto the playfield. See if it fits level and properly.

This way you know it fits later, when you install it populated into the cabinet.

So, get the cabinet complete first.

Ground braid
Wiring harness
Transformer
Flipper switches
Start button
Coin door interface board
Cabinet speaker
Power switch box with thermistor, mov and a/c line filter etc.

Most of this was done for you at virtuapin.

Get the cabinet 100% complete.

Plug it into the wall, check voltages on the transformer and the connector.

Mount the circuit boards in the backbox.

Mount the power harness, plug it into the cabinet harness. Plug the connectors onto the driver board.

Plug in all of the cabinet connectors, switches, interface board, buttons etc.

Mount the speaker panel.
Wire up the speakers and display.

Install the ribbon cables one by one on the circuit boards turning off the game each time.

Check voltages at the fuses and test points as you go.

Leave the cpu one for last.

The game should boot.

You will have errors due to the missing playfield, but it should boot.

Service buttons should work.

You can go thru the menus and test the sound system.

Basically you have a working game with no playfield.

When all of the cabinet is done and working, and the game boots, continue on the playfield.

You can plug in the lighting and switch connectors and test them as you go, as you have a working game.

Same goes for all the mechs, you do them last.

I like to see my game come alive before i do the playfield.

Its how i do it.

Ground braid:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1041-third-coast-pinball/00473-ground-braid

Speakers:

https://flipperfidelity.com/williams-bally-complete-replacement-speaker-system-for-wpc89-machines/

Pinball pro speakers are cheaper and sound good, but i prefer flipper fidelity on high end builds.

The flippers are opto boards on later fliptronics II TAF.

The power box has to be built from parts off the BOM or get a used one. Lots of info on rebuilding one if you search a bit.

Its not a difficult build.

Coin door interconnect boards come and go. Snag one if you find one.

The game is WPC style for TAF.
Some WPC89 parts overlap.

Start buttons are generic as well as the add-a-ball button for gold TAF roms, if you install them.

You have original artwork so i would be inclined to omit the add a ball and use the latest regular roms.

Pinwoofer has a nice bass speaker system.

I wouldn't go there unless you go pinsound.

I highly recommend pinsound plus.

They have shakers pre-programmed now.

You can get the shaker motor from them and flipper fidelity has a matching speaker system with stereo cable for pinsound.

Sound boards for TAF are difficult to get and can be as expensive as pinsound.

If it were me i would get the pinsound plus complete setup with motion control shaker.

Its turn key, easy to install etc.

But i like flipper fidelity speakers better than theirs.

<<<low key changed vote from "insane" to "ambitious">>>

For the speaker panel you need speakers, a display and a thing light board. As well as the speaker panel plastic artwork.

Get the thing light board while you can.
One of the modders here on pinside is making them right now.

For the display,

I prefer the colorDMD LED version over the LCD version. Its way easier to install, brighter and has a retro look that i think matches the game better.

But others like the smooth look of the LCD.

Both are really good.

At this point i strongly recommend getting the cabinet completely populated and finished.

You will have a working game that you can play with.

And it lights up!

One additional thing that might not have been mentioned.

You are doing a complete LED lighting system.

You need to install

LEDOCD and GIOCD boards in the backbox.

You can do this after the game is complete to avoid confusion.

So save it for last, after the game is up and playing.

I’ll second the recommendation for the LED color DMD. It’s so much easier to install because of the “Thing” light panel is in the way of the LCD one.

I've got a bunch of these in various colors and bases and also a bunch of these in white bright.

https://www.cometpinball.com/products/2smd-bulbs

I also have a bunch of LED flashers I won't be using.

If you can use any, let me know.

I have these available if needed.

wpc-coin-door.jpg

Pinsound is typically around $350. Used (untested or damaged) WPC pre-DCS boards can be had for $150-$200 on auction sites - when available. Used (working) WPC pre-DCS boards are often between $200-$250 from what I've seen.

I also have these available if needed.

wpc-pre-dcs.jpg

Thing light panel:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-the-addams-family-club-tafmembers-fans-welcome/page/70#post-5422346

Since this is a very high end build id get the pinsound so you can add the shaker, it aleady has an amp and sub boost.

Pinsound plus:

https://www.pinsound.org/pinsound-plus/

Speakers for pinsound :

https://flipperfidelity.com/williams-bally-complete-replacement-speaker-system-for-wpc89-machines-with-pinsound-audio-boards/

Speaker panel plastic (unobtanium)

Id get this now.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/used-addams-family-speaker-panel-plastic

You will also need 2 speaker grills

If you dont have it already. Id get a speaker panel plastic.

The old ones that can be buffed out are better than any of ghe repros.

$20 from a pinsider is a no brainer.

If you dont want it ill buy it.
I have a TAF restoration coming up.

Looks like ministry of pinball might have a new repro speaker panel display cover:

https://www.ministryofpinball.com/en/addams-family-speaker-panel.html

FWIW, I ordered a couple on July 15th. Tracking shows they're in the US at customs.

"Delivery moment still unknown."

TAF Speaker Panels
https://classic-arcades.com/shop?keywords=addams&olsPage=products%2Faddams-family-speaker-panel

Wally

Thanks for the heads up!

A month or more sounds about right these days for shipping., unfortunately.

I have a bunch of IJ items from ministry ordered, probably be a couple months to get them.

My funhouse parts from pinball spare parts took 7 weeks to get.

I would only buy from them if the product is in my hands where I could inspect it. They are a hit or miss on their repo stuff.

I heard the same thing.

Screws/t nuts

Id get the new backglass much later in the build, maybe after the game is playable. It gets in the way and you just have to store it.

The transformer is the last part to install when finishing the cabinet.
You can mount the t-nuts for it and drill the holes if they are not there, and get the cabinet ready for it though.

Ground braid has to go to under at least one screw leg.

I think that the t-nuts are 1/4-20, someone else can confirm this.

The transformer adds a lot of weight and there are a lot of things to do beforehand.

So it just gets in the way.

There's literally no point of this speaker system in Addams. I actually bought my TAF from the owner of one of the speaker suppliers here and he told me not to waste the money. He could've made made money but chose to be honest.

I absolutely agree.
Upgraded speakers are a waste unless you have Pinsound or Pinsound+

On Pinsound, the upgraded speakers really shine.
My DW and IJ with pinsound+ is amazing, and with the free pinsound upgraded sound packages, and added shakers it really rocks!

Plus I really like the way I can change the mix at the turn of a knob, pinsound is amazing if there are high end orchestrations. TAF is one of them.

That said, if there are just original orchestrations, and no upgraded ones, the difference is nominal.
It really depends on the game whether to go pinsound or not.

But for a regular sound system on a regular game, any $10 speakers are better than the originals.

Since Shredder has to buy a sound card, I say go Pinsound to get all the features and goodies it has.

I think you will have more fun with a working game!

There's a whole community that builds virtual pinball machines like that. I agree with pinballinreno that virtual pinball isn't at all the same as the real thing, but it can be a lot of fun on its own terms, and it makes a really good DIY project. So you might enjoy looking into it as your next project after you finish your TAF. The degree of difficulty is probably a bit less than what you're doing here, but it gets pretty complex if you add all the bells and whistles. And as you say, you get many machines in the space of one.

I have to say that I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I started reading it a few days ago. Reading post after post about this and that. Felt like a story unfolding. I am extremely happy that you powered on in the begining with all the nay sayers telling you that you shouldn't do it.

When you broke the brand new back glass I felt something in me break. I literally gasped when I saw that picture. I believe we all heard that break when we saw that.

I just want to say thank you and this has been entertaining. I'm looking forward to the coming months of watching you get this together and playable. Props to you for getting this far and good luck on the rest of the project. I agree with one of the posts earlier to wait for the back glass until later so you don't have to move it around and risk it getting broke...again lol Sorry had to say it. Personally though I most likely wouldn't wait because I would want to see that glass in the cabinet if not just to step back and say "Damn that looks good!"

Save the quarter, set your game to "free play"
Following!