San Ramon, CA
I'm hoping to join your club soon.
Robert
(Topic ID: 101269)
Linked Games
No Good Gofers
Williams, 1997
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2 weeks later
The game I just bought is stuck in SoCal...shipping via UShip and the guy I chose is not very prompt.
Latest estimate is maybe Monday.
Robert
I can't seem to get the spot lights to work, any suggestions? Are they part of the GI?
Robert
Newton ball fell of during shipping...back on now.
Color DMD is out of my X-Men LE I just sold. Kept the DMD and put it in NGG.
Robert
Quoted from TheLaw:Also have the incorrect yellow rubber/post sleeve on the post next to the right orbit, but of course this has to be the most common incorrect rubber ever.
Yes, and the game is really dirty. A lot of posts/rubbers that are the least bit hard to get, looks like they haven't been changed in a long time.
Everything works now, except for the right gopher down solenoid. I believe the solenoid is getting power, the gopher just doesn't drop.
Any hints as to how to best refurb that mech? It appears that I might have to remove the entire assembly. I'd rather not if I don't have to.
Robert
Well, I took the whole assembly apart and cleaned it and put in new sleeves. But the right gopher still doesn't retract, unless I hit him.
I know the coil is getting power as I switched the right harness to the left gopher and it operated correctly. Also, the gopher giggles a few times as if it's getting ready to drop, but doesn't.
Kink of stumped. The right mech moves much easier than the left, but just won't drop.
I suppose it could be the coil, but that seems unlikely.
Robert
Quoted from mattmarr:Do you have the brass washer (part 21, 4700-00013-00) shown in the assembly drawing?
I'll check, thanks.
Robert
Quoted from gliebig:Check this piece isn't broken. It's supposed to hook around that pin. That's what was causing mine not to go back down...
As far as I can tell, that part is ok.
The gopher drops if I manually actuate the armature of the drop coil, so I believe that everything is good mechanically. It may just take a little more energy than the coil can provide.
So, not sure if it's the coil output or a binding drop mech.
It's probably something simple, I just haven't found it yet.
Robert
7 months later
Quoted from JoshinDC:Anyone have a part number for the flap on the left (jackpot) ramp? Mines a little bent upwards and seems to be slowing the shot from the plunger.
I believe it's: 01-14745.1
But I've never seen one for sale. I suggest you measure the one you have and go to Marco and see if you can find something workable.
You may need to modify one from Marco or buy some flap material and make your own.
Robert
Quoted from JoshinDC:Where do people get the thin spring steel to make one?
Marco, Pinbits and probably Amazon.
Robert
1 week later
My no-good Gofers occasionally Auto launches the first ball as soon as I start a game anyone else have this happen and know what a possible solution is?
Is this possibly a trough opto issue?
Robert
2 months later
I've been working thru a few issues with my NGG, and in the process I have now somehow screwed up the 2 lower EOS switches. The upper right still tests OK, but the lower 2 don't.
I can't find any broken wires and I don't think I shorted anything out.
Any ideas on how to troubleshoot?
Robert
Quoted from MrSanRamon:I've been working thru a few issues with my NGG, and in the process I have now somehow screwed up the 2 lower EOS switches. The upper right still tests OK, but the lower 2 don't.
I finally found a broken orange wire in the wiring harness...WTF...how does this crap happen? So the EOS are registering now, great.
Still getting random activations of the right popper during a game, probably going to give up as I've trouble-shot this for hours and got nowhere, except a broken orange wire in the harness that I had to fix too. I've replaced opto's, inspected the opto board, looked at a bunch of switches and diodes and inspected the harnesses...with really no affect. I suppose I could replace the opto board, but those things are difficult to find and a bit pricey to just buy-to-test.
Robert
1 month later
Quoted from PinballCoug:Does anyone know when the red dome above the upper flipper is supposed to illuminate?
It illuminates at various times, but I believe that it is tied to the right spinner insert flasher (not the spinner insert GI light).
Robert
2 months later
1 month later
Quoted from dudah:While I cruise through this club's archive, here are my questions:
Marco has the ramp, the posts, protectors, float ramp guide and the decal.
If you are willing, you can take your game to Home Depot or a paint store and have them do a paint match for the yellow under the slam ramp. It's a bit of work but that way you'll have a really good match.
Robert
Quoted from Robl45:The odds of the paint matching under that ramp going to home depot to have them match it are less than zero
Not really...
The paint match may not be exact, but it will be very close and give someone a place to start at least.
Another way is to use Pantone color matching, borrow a pantone color chart from a paint store and see if you can find a match that way, or at least get close.
A couple links to playfield matching:
https://havepinwilltravel.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/starting-paint-matching-and-touch-up/
Robert
Quoted from evh347:sometimes its only 2 'dong' sounds in a row
That means there is an issue...it also shows up on the DMD as a dot, called a "credit dot" (the dot next to "free play").
Credit dots also appear if a switch hasn't been triggered in 30 balls...meaning you're not that good a player.
Open the coin door and push the "begin test" button and this will display the full test report of the issue.
Robert
1 week later
Quoted from Robl45:This is why this hobby is really getting to the point that I'm ready to give up. If no one is making parts that wear out, the games are useless.
There are way more replacement parts (for out of production machines) available today than at any time in the last 25 years. In the "old days" most of the replacement parts were from operators/collectors that had a squirreled away parts over the years. Almost nobody was remaking parts.
So today, most of the parts that need to be remade are either covered by intellectual property rights or are difficult to remake...like Bud and Buzz, which need a mold to be manufactured.
I believe that the consolidation of rights by Planetary Pinball is a great thing, now parts can be remade without issues with getting permission from multiple sources. If course, one owner/supplier leads to bottlenecks and cost benefit analysis on what to make.
Say it costs $5000 each to make an injection mold for Bud or Buzz and it costs $5 to mold each one and it costs $10 to finish and paint each one...if you were going to make a small run of say 100 each. So the cost would be 5000/100 + 5 + 10 = $65 each.
So the question is, would 100 be enough or too many. if you made 200 each, the cost would then probably be something like $40 each. So the major cost driver is the making of the mold and it's amortized cost.
In order to get them at a reasonable sale price of $30 each, you'd probably have to make something like 1000 each. That's a lot of gofers to sell, and your upfront cost would be $5000 + $5000 + $10 x 1000 + $10 x 1000= $30,000. At $10 per unit cost, you'd make $20 each, but you'd have to sell 1000 to get your money back...and then you turn a profit.
Assuming that you could make Bud & Buzz without needing any permissions, which in itself if questionable, you have to be able to upfront the costs of making the mold and buying the parts and warehousing them...then selling them a few at a time.
So the difficult parts like Bud & Buzz will probably only be made by Planetary Pinball as they likely have the original molds, but still the number of gofers needed to be made is limited. 458 Pinsiders have NGG listed as owned, so that tells you how many gofers might be needed.
Robert
Quoted from Robl45:This is nothing against you, but a consumer that has a machine that doesn't have gofers or big shots or whatever part isn't concerned about how much it costs the business to make it. They just know their 2000+ dollar machine is not very useful without the parts.
Yes, I understand that completely, I have been in his situation.
My post wasn't about anyone or their opinion, but another view as to why some parts are scarce and others available...demand and cost to meet that demand.
The best advice for Gofers right now is this, as new ones seem to be not readily available:
Quoted from djblouw:I highly suggest taking them out of the machine and sending them to Modfather for custom repaint.
PPS may remake them in the future and going to their website and asking them about future availability (of any unavailable Williams/Bally part) will at least let them know what people want.
Robert
I have been told that PPS will be remaking Bud & Buzz "soon"...not sure what timeframe that is, but at least the news is good.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:Still getting the 45 rgt popper and 46 right popper error.
Look at the manual, page 2-41 item 16. This is the right popper.
Look at page 2-48 items 45 & 46. These are the 2 optos that are in the right popper.
When you go to switch test, put you finger or a piece of paper or other item to break the opto beam. Does that show up as a switch activation?
Also, are the wires still attached to the optos?
Is the connector that is attached to the opto wiring (a bit downstream) connected?
You'll have to take out all the balls and raise the playfield straight up to be able to access the right popper area.
Report back your findings.
Robert
Switch Matrix (resized).jpgQuoted from Schamattack:If I go below the play-field can I access the switches?
Yes, you need to take out the balls and raise the playfield, resting it on the backbox to access the right popper optos, wiring and connector.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:When i hit the left cart ramp/spinner the game kicks another ball out
In switch test, when you spin the spinner does it show up as switch 61 left spinner?
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:Buds teeth are pretty worn from ball impact, can I paint his teeth with a white paint pen and then put some polyurethane on over
Check this out:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-to-paint-your-gofers
Robert
Sure as s***!!!! Reversed the wires to match the right spinner and now when I test it just left spinner 61 activates!!! No more Trought eject. This is normal now correct?</blockquote
Yes...play a game as see what happens.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:Is it that uncommon to activate the right gofer ball stealing?
I think exactly what it takes to steal a ball depends on your settings.
So with the glass off, start a game and with the ball and your hand do what you need to do to get the left gofer to steal the ball.
Then do the same to the right gofer and see if that works.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:I found the Lift ramp catch bracket is gone along with the spring.
Well, good find, I didn't think of that being the issue. You may be able to get a new spring at the hardware store, if not Marco is probably the cheapest with shipping...which is 6x the price of the part.
Maybe the spring is in the bottom of the cabinet, or stuck to the speaker magnet.
If you have to buy the spring, probably should order a few other things so it doesn't hurt so much.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:have to send him an email.
Yes, that's the way he operates...via email.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:I just purchased a set through Bill (passionforpinball). From what I can tell my left gofer lock is also having issues, might as well replace both. He said he just ran a set last week so he has more available if anyone is interested. I found the spring on ebay for $1!! Just $3 more to ship
Cliffy owns and runs "Passion for Pinball". Good deal on the spring.
Robert
1 month later
Quoted from dudah:Anyone have some scans of plastics?
I may be able to scan that plastic, just give me a day or so.
Robert
2 weeks later
Quoted from dudah:Anybody have an extra plastic that covers the captive ball?
Let me know if you still want a scan of that plastic.
Robert
1 month later
Quoted from dudah:Curious if I need to readjust where the slam ramp mounts on the mech to accomadate the extra thickness to preserve the protector.
I haven't used one of these, but they are about 20 mils thick, so you probably don't need to do too many adjustments.
You can check how much free-play you have currently with the slam ramp to playfield. As long as the bottom is padded and there is a little space under the ramp when it's in the down position (when you lift it), you should be OK.
After you install it, I'd check all of the roll over type switches, to see if they are actuated properly with the ball. You may need to bend the wire arms on a couple so that they are actuated.
Robert
Quoted from Schamattack:I cant even break 50 million... I have hit 18 holes once and my score was only 35 million... 2 multi-balls and 5 hole in ones. What gives lol. All my settings are default. I am also playing 6 balls though vs factory 3
Just making the "holes" isn't the best way to get points.
Robert
A rule sheet I made, not sure if a pdf works here...
1 week later
Quoted from Schamattack:Any one have issues getting the ball to shoot up the side ramp? I think my spring is weak on the plunger. I adjusted it to make sure it was straight. The auto launcher gets up no problem and if I smash the knob is launches up no problem, only if I pull the plunger back and release it struggles to get up the ramp. Any input would be appreciated.
My auto launch doesn't hit the ball hard enough to get it up the left ramp, don't think it's supposed to.
You might want to check the manual and your auto launch coil to see that the correct one is installed.
As for the manual shot making it up the left ramp, I bought a stronger spring. The standard spring (10-148-1) wasn't strong enough, so I put in a red 10-148-2 spring.
Robert
Quoted from allsportdvd:My Gofers are a bit trashed, anyone have a lead on a new pair for sale?
People usually repaint or have them repainted these days.
The gophers are very easy to remove and paint. If you want to repaint:
Try Testors red, white, black and make tan by mixing brown & white.
Spray them w/ a coat of polyurethane after they dry.
Let them cure a couple of days before you play a game with them.
Robert
3 months later
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