i have a superman pin.....it was my first pin.......i do have some spare parts.....some to keep.......some i may sell
let me know what is needed

Someone needs to repro the center drop target bank plastic,
as those are always broken or chipped.

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Wishing I could find a Superman. Hope it's ok I watch this group!

I wish the left side shot back to the top
(Fortress of Solitude)
was worth more
maybe have the star rollover near the top exit to
maybe spot a letter in Superman.

I'm in. I actually have two--a HUO that needs some work, and a great player that I had restored (best Superman I've ever played, but the restorer did a crappy job clearing it and the paint is peeling off around the pops--still a gem and works flawlessly).

Mine had this issue when I got it, but it was also exhibiting other strange behavior (losing track of which ball it was on most notably). In my case, the fuse block was the problem, and while it appeared the fuses were in tightly they actually did not have good connection and so there was some intermittent behavior. All the scoring/tracking issues resolved when they were tightened up. My other thought would be the batteries (in my case we'd already changed to an external holder and were still having issues).

Only part that has frustrated me in terms of acquisition are the white octagon stand-up targets. I have a broken one that I'd like to replace but they seem mostly out of stock (at least in that color). I think I saw a place in Canada with them, but since mine still works (just doesn't look great) I've held off.

I really lucked out on Superman; the person I got it from said he got it from another home owner in 1981 and had kept it in his basement ever since. The wear on it suggested it was on location at some point before then, but I was surprised at how nice it looked given what I was expecting when I was told it didn't work right (it was free, so I really expected a total train wreck).

My high score is 542,980. I believe I have special set as a 60,000 point award. Extra balls were enabled.

Have you tried searching for these targets from a Gen 1 machine? A set of 3 white stand up targets just sold on eBay for $4.50+shipping a few days ago. They were from a Gen 1 machine but some of those parts will work on Superman.

Thanks to Casinorun for starting this group

Yes, I almost went for it but while the photo was of 3 the narrative indicated only one target. Sold before I learned which count was accurate.

I've been contemplating this but saw that LEDs won't work on the entire machine. I believe only the GI, correct? Thanks for the before and after.

I put LEDs in the GI and backbox. Just white ones I had leftover from other projects. I like the games brighter for playing in the dark. Never tried the inserts (I know Gen 1 Atari used warming current so LEDs are a no-go, I saw a few of those in the backbox on Superman, despite being Gen 2 I guess they used it sometimes, and didn't want to mess with trying to get the inserts going since I have nothing around non-ghosting and the GI was what I really wanted brighter).

Is the flicker on the inserts any worse than the regular bulb flicker? I've got an issue with the GI fuse blowing so I might swap with LEDs when I get around to troubleshooting that. Any recommendations for LEDs? What brand did you guys use?

I used Comet brand. All frosted. I try to use warm white under the warmer colors (reds, yellows) and cool white under the cooler colors (blues, greens). Their sunlight white option works good under everything (I've used those exclusively on some other backglass swaps I've done), but honestly I think any shade of white is safe. I think cool white throws light the farthest, and I know others who always use it for GI for that reason, regardless of the color of the plastic above.

Any white will look clean. No clown puke risks.

lock bar receiver, apron, head hinge and start button for sale......see link
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/patz-2017-official-pinball-at-the-zoo-thread-april-20-21-22/page/3#post-3696929

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Ha! The top one is mine. The others were from an eBay listing that was immaculate. I saved them for reference/motivation.

Is the mirroring there or could they not do it? I am asking because I was going to have a new one made myself.

Wow, how could that be?

Really? It can't be that easy. After all this time and discussions about warming circuit for bulbs and not getting past the design...you flip a dip switch and
I gotta try this!
-Mike

The PinWiki guide on Atari machines does talk about this. I'll put the link below, but the warming circuit issue was a Generation 1 trait that couldn't be circumvented (well, without changing how you power the lights). Since Superman is Generation 2, they can be done (it mentions the dip switch):
http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Atari_Repair#LEDs

I've been meaning to get around to doing the rest of the playfield, I only did the backbox and GI (I was a bit short on LEDs at the time).

Thinking about picking up a Suoerman. Wonder what things to look at/for when I go view. What would any current owners suggest? Should I be worried about the lack of available parts?

Doesn’t get much love on the Pinside ratings list and I have never played it but it looks fine from the layout.

In my experiences of owning one for 3 years, I'd say the parts not available notion is somewhat of a myth. You're not going to be able to go on Marcos and order everything you need right away but they come up on eBay from time to time. Some can be expensive as well but they are out there, you've just got to ask around. I'd bet that people on this thread could provide a lot of the parts you'd be looking for. That's where most of the parts I needed came from.

If you need board work, there's someone in Houston area I believe that does repairs. I think they also offer the service on eBay. Some connectors might need replaced but that's common with older games like this.

Also, keep in mind that aside from the game specific pieces, boards and some of the other playfield mechanics, most of the pieces used are the same from an Atari System 1. I grabbed a few common pieces, siderails and a lockdown bar from an old Airbourne Avengers that was infested with mice.

Good luck in your hunt

Do it. But, be prepared to haggle hard. Week flipper, pay less. Green faded on back glass, pay less. Cracked center plastic-pay less. If it's going to need board work, pay less-you'll probably need to send it to Johns Jukes for work, unless you know an Atari expert.

If you get it up an running and playing well, it's a killer game. All the crappy reviews are from poorly maintained machines with weak flippers and poorly maintained pf's. Clean it up and get the flippers fixed, and it's a tremendous game.

It can take some scavenging to find Atari parts. Some are available, a few have been remade (such as coils), and some pop up on ebay occasionally.

If boards are missing or in rough shape, you will have to look long and hard for replacements. The backglass is unavailable, but I think bgresto.com remakes it (but without the mirroring). Cabinet stencils are available from pinballpimp.com.

Lighting & Score Display Problems on Atari Superman.

This past June I purchased ea non-working Superman machine that sat for a few years but looked in great shape. I got it home, put it back together and to my surprise it worked just fine. After some restorative cleaning, new rubbers, play field repairs and bulbs it was 100%. What a great find and a lot of fun to play. BUT...... And there’s always a but; right?

Out of the blue, after a hour of play today, I sprayed the coin mechanisms with “quick drying Electronic Cleaner Spray”. (Did I mention that I’m NEW to this hobby?) Immediately after I sprayed, I noticed the following:
- on the back glass; all four player score displays went dark but the back glass illumination bulbs stayed on.
- under the play field; all lights went dark.
- above the play field; all of the lights stayed on.
- the “test button” behind the coin door does not put the machine in test mode.

So... I have no idea what happened.
I checked the continuity on fuses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
I didn’t smell anything burning.

If anyone has any basic suggestions to help me debug this problem I would love to hear from you.
Thanks in advance....

I did some more looking and reading and found that if the game is not going into test mode, then to check my LED lights on the PCB board. (See picture below of service manual page 1-7).
Of L1, L2, L3 and L4 lights; when I pressed the self-test button on the inside of the coin door;
—- L1 is ON,
—- L2 is off,
—- L3 is flashing,
—- L4 is flashing.

If I understand what I’m reading (I’m new at this), that’s telling me that my J6 and K6 RAM are bad.
Hmmmmmm. Anybody think I should go ahead with replacing those as a first step, or am I missing the boat here?

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Why?

Did you spray it with the game powered up?

Did anything else get misted or sprayed?

Check all the wiring for the coin door (and anywhere else that might have been sprayed) and make sure there is no residue that was left behind.

Yikes. Thanks for the reply. It’s nice to know that this forum is responsive. Thank you!
Well here’s an update on my dilemma.
- actually sprayed it with the power “OFF”. But I turned it on only a minute or so after that. Why I sprayed it... The wiring looked dusty (newbie mistake).
- do you think the spraying might be a red herring? Or do it think it may be the cause?
- nothing else, other than the coin mechanism got sprayed.
———-
Update on the red LED test lights on the PCB board.... I read the lights backwards. They are actually numbered right-to-left.
So:
- L1 is flashing
- L2 is flashing
- L3 is off
- L4 is on steady
Which is saying that RAM H6 and J6 is bad.
———-

I’ll do a thorough cleaning of the coindoor wiring and let you know what changes.
Thank you for the suggestions.

Ive just acquired a SUPERMAN and have a non booting CPU board. As you all know, information on these is scant.
The 4 LED's on the lower part of CPU give an indication of what may be wrong but can someone please clarify for me what these are supposed to do on initial start:
Briefly flash and stay off..

or..

Not flash and stay off.

Many thanks..

ForceFlow —- I did a thorough cleaning of the coin door wires and connections. Nothing Changed.
I did try to bypass the RAM test (holding the test button and credit button at the same time) but nothing changed. However, the 4 LEDs showed this during the bypass attempt: L1, L2 and L3 all go dark and L4 flashes. ☹️

Retro pin —- When I get my machine up and running again, I’ll be sure to look at the normal condition of the four LEDs and report back to you.

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I'm starting to work on this pin next, so if nobody sends one by then, I can. I'm also scanning the building plastic over the center drop bank, and might do a run of a few of them on the laser printer.