Well done!

Does anyone have a source for head/backbox hinges? I have the bottoms, but I need the tops (or a complete set)

Rixzilla has some "bent" ones, I was looking for "flat" ones for Flash Gordon without success.

Sorry, it's Flash Gordon. I had no idea there were different versions of the hinges.

Ah, good to know I'll need to look for the "flat" ones. Thanks!

So true!

i'm officialy in

its now monthes (even year i think) that i'm looking for a nice item '80 to put in my desk, more as an eye catcher & by pure nostalgia (another "playing" pin will be in the garage, SW just gone, more likely next one will be Hotwheels or Iron Man)

the wait is now over, with this NGS showing a nice job of restoration (tanx to Thierry), including :
cab sanded+repainted+clearcoated
playfield restored+clearcoated
new CPR backglass
new CPR plastics
metal parts polished

IMG_20210901_202831_138 (resized).jpg

talking about Nitro GS, someone with a good/better quality manual (than the one on IPDB) ?
tanx in advance

Hi all,
I have a NGS but it’s missing the spinner hardware (spinner and contact pin) Does anyone have one or know where I can get one? Macro used to have them in stock but I can’t get it from there any longer. Thanks in advance. Part# AS-2250-58

Wanted to call your attention to some limited stock I have of alternative replacement for the VJ248 bridge rectifier used in the power / transformer module in these games.

These are not spec for spec compatible to the original VJ248 rectifiers; but are game compatible because they are 100V vs 200V. Neither are available as new parts; however, I was able to procure a small number of the VJ148s which are pin-to-pin and physically compatible to the original rectifier. The lower working voltage should not be a problem for any AS-2518-18 power supplies at the highest voltage being 49VAC (BR3) for the Solenoid Voltage.

You can find more details here:
http://pinball-mods.com/url/vj248_alt

vj248 alternative

Hi all,
I have a random question:
I was thinking as a multi year project to build a Mata Hari from scratch as I get funds and time to do it. I looked if all the parts are available and the electronics and power in the back box and such is all readily available as are coils for slingshots, flippers and such things as well as plastics and the whole playfield from CPR.
I looked in the manual and when I punch the parts numbers into Google for the two 4 drop target banks, nothing comes up. Is there a newer part number or anything equivalent that I can use? I didn't see an assembly at Marco's either. Or is it a 5 drop bank and you just use 4 of them?

Also, not quite sure if I should get a cabinet a) made by a pro, b) build one myself (need plans for that), or c) try to find a donor machine for cheap and hope to salvage it. In either of those cases I would need the stencil kit anyway.

Thanks for all your insight!

Not sure why you'd want to build a Mata Hari from scratch? Usually, the "from scratch" projects are more geared towards pins that are low in production numbers whereas there were more than 16,000 Mata Hari's produced - that means they're plentiful and usually easy to acquire. If you want a Mata Hari with "everything new", you're probably better off buying a beater/incomplete project and replacing everything you can over your multi-year schedule. You're unlikely to find the necessary wire harnesses being sold on their own, too, so you'll likely have to buy a beater/project anyway to get them (unless you're going to make your own, somehow). No one I know makes an aftermarket Mata Hari wire harness set for that production reason - too many are out there to be bought. But they usually are priced to include a pin with it.

As an FYI, this company makes classic Stern cabinets if whatever cabinet you get is too far gone for you to recover. I have no experience with this company, but they look pretty interesting. Most of it would likely work for a classic SS Bally except perhaps the size of the cut out for the coin door.

http://www.ezpinball.com

How much are the cabs? Didnt see any pricing info on the site but I'm also not very observant.

No pricing info on the site so you didn't miss anything.

They do have a Pinside thread (flat packed is $795 and pre-assembled is $1,295).

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/reproduction-classic-stern-cabinets-now-available

Oh i know that they are out there, i figure it's just a fun project, and honestly don't mind building the wire harness even - that's not too difficult, just tedious I presume.
I really like the pin and i just want something to work on over time, and it's probably one of the easier ones, not too many complex mechs in it.
If i can't get all pieces, i guess I'll have to go the road you suggested, and buy one and start replacing pieces one by one.

will be hard to do "better", but there's still a very small room ...

211010 (resized).jpg

I don’t think I could handle having a non-working machine in my possession for that long. I tend to turn around my project machines in about 2 months from full tear down to back together.

I’m also with everyone else. Why not save one from the scrap yard rather than make a new one? You’ll also save tons of money and time. You’ll be up and playing it sooner. I don’t see a down side. You can take those couple of years working on a machine and either work on 10 other machines, or work on your pinball playing skills.

Hi all. I picked up a Paragon project that I'm trying to get working. I've got it flipping -- which is good since when I got it, none of the coils were working -- and the switches and sounds seem to work. The controlled lights are frozen, however. I have a spare light driver board from my Flash Gordon that I can try to see if it's a board issue. Before I do, I was hoping someone could answer a few questions:

1. When I got it, I tested all the voltages at the test points on the rectifier board and solenoid driver board. All were fine, except TP3 on the rectifier read 16.25 volts when it should be 11.9. And, the 12 volt test point on the solenoid driver board also read 16 volts. Is this an issue, and if so, could it be related to my light problem? If not related to the lights, what does it affect, as other components seem to be working?

2. I checked all connectors to the back box to make sure they were wired and hooked up correctly. (This is how I fixed my coils since one was not correct.) All are now correct, except the wire for pin 13 on J3 of the rectifier appears to be missing. It is a white yellow wire that is supposed to go to the sol. buss.

3. Finally, on my solenoid driver board, there is a brown green wire jumping pins 13 and 25 on connector J3. Is that correct? Both pins show a brown green wire in the manual; I just wasn't sure if it should be the same wire.

Thanks in advance for the help!

1. TP3 on the rectifier board will read 11.9VDC only when the solenoid driver board is NOT connected. The filter capacitor at C23 on the solenoid driver board stores energy which raises the DC voltage. 16.25V is in typical range.

2. The schematic has that as a left over from earlier chime games which had the knocker in the head. The knocker in Paragon is in the cabinet and is powered by the green wire from the rectifier boards J2 pin 2. J3 pin 13 should be empty.

3. Yes it's correct. The wire just loops those pins and is a mechanism to disconnect 5V power between the power-supply section and the solenoid pre-drive circuit. One of the redundancy mods for the solenoid driver board is to permanently connect those two points together on the back of the board.

Awesome! Thanks as always!

Glad to hear that everything is normal. And, I’m always happy to learn. I’ll now swap light driver boards and see if that fixes things.

Swapping the light driver boards did not help with my insert lights. I then measured voltage on the power braid and got a consistent five plus volts. I then jumped one of the controlled lamps to see if I could get it to light and wasn’t able to do so. On a whim, I replaced one of the bulbs, and … it lit! I replaced another and same thing. Could it be? I think yes. Every single bulb in my game appears to be out. Sometimes it’s the simple things.

Keeping my fingers crossed that there aren’t any other major issues.

There may have been a power surge that blew every bulb.
It does happen; but admittedly more than a little weird.

Well, one of the connectors on the rectifier board was off by one causing all coils not to work and the slo blow fuse under the playfield to blow. That was the first thing I fixed. But, two of the bulbs under the playfield are actually working and all the lights in the back box are working, so I’m not sure that was it. It may just be really really really old.

This will also happen when resistor R2 (25 ohm) on the rectifier board breaks or gets loose.
That will surge the 6.5VDC and burnout all the switched illumination bulbs.
I've seen it happen twice already.
The general illumination will keep on working just fine, because it is a seperate circuit.

Interesting. Thanks for the tip.

R2 looks intact on my board and measures 25 ohms as it should.

As I mentioned, connector J1 was misconnected and off by one pin. I wonder whether that could have caused this.

It is very well possible.
It could be that the solenoid power (bus) was on the switched illumination power (bus).
Option B would blow all the switched lamps possibly.

Option A would blow all the general illumination lamps.

Bally (resized).jpg

Oh, yeah. That’s it. The connector part for pin 7 was actually on pin 6. So, I guess 43 volts may have gone through the switched lights.

Pic from a facebook for sale ad for Eight Ball. Look at this: A knocker (correct) and an early sound board, not connected to a speaker, in the backbox. I'm not knocking it, just never seen that before.

eight_ball_backbox (resized).jpeg

Wonder if it's the chime version of the sound board. Hard to tell if the serial number on the sound board is the same as the solenoid driver board.

It also needs a different PROM on the sound board at U3 "E-725-22". I haven't come across the PROM data yet.

From the same for sale ad.

eight_ball_cabinet (resized).jpeg

Would not an very early solid state have an "EM" cabinet? We have certainly seen Bally in particular recycle cabinets to save money or get pins out the door.

My Eight Ball cabinet is just like that photo, in the head there is just a space where that sound card is. Why would the chimes still be there I wonder?

What makes that an EM cabinet besides the chimes? My Paragon cabinet looks like that sans the chimes. It’s also splitting at the seams, and I’ll need to address that soon.

Picked up a $6 million man. The sound is just a monotonous tone for each target/switch hit. I have replaced all the caps on the sound board and reflowed the header pins. Also tried all the combinations of S8 and S32 on the MPU, no change. Any ideas on how to get the board to produce the other sounds?

IMG_1355 (resized).JPG

Wow.. This must be "Help with my Bally soundboard" Thursday.

Patient: Future Spa
Issue: No sounds with any setting. (there is the electrical sound of the cycling displays and controlled lighting)
The U1 chip gets insanely hot.
History: Bought machine as a non-working project with unknown condition of PCBs.
Actions taken: Tried all setting combinations. New cap kit installed. Reflowed/checked all solder connections. Tested U2 and U3 on other later sound boards and verified working. Bought new U1 (AY3891) and the new chip does not get hot. Swapped the 1k pot on the PCB. ...still no sound.
I'm curious if it's as simple as a bad U4 sound ROM, but no way to test here and if it comes down to buying a replacement- I'll just buy a NVRAM.WEEBLY replacement on eBay for $100.
Voltages:
TP1 13.9vdc (+12v)
TP2 5.15vdc (+5v)
TP3 .040vdc (GND)
TP4 .057vdc
TP5 2.55vdc
TP6 .040vdc

Any advice much appreciated!
Steveo

FutureSpa Sound (resized).JPG

Paragon, Space Invaders, xenon, Nine Ball, Centaur, Galaxy, Spectrum, Vector.

I'm Gonzo73, and I have a Bally/Stern problem.

With a side addiction of Williams.
Admitting the problem is half the battle.

Nothing to worry about, but we will have to work on the side addiction thing though..

Is see inserts or just the holes for mounting the lower relay board.

Oh. I’m not sure I have that. Will check. Thanks.

Okay, I see it now! The bolt holes for the bottom relay board. Missed that.

I've seen this symptom on several of those boards when U3 (the PROM) is bad.

Yeah figures. The one time you want those crappy corroded Bally light sockets to not make a good connection, they do.

Thanks for the explanation. I take it back. I don't have an EM cabinet.

Here's my attempt to nine him out. No fake (glass installed) but must admit I tilted him.
IMG_20181225_145836 (resized).jpg

By the way, I hereby officially declare that I join this club. 8 of the 9 pinball machines I own (plus the only one that ever left me) fit the requirements, so I guess my presence may be allowed here.

IMG_20181130_192305 (resized).jpg