Is there a way to connect an external powered subwoofer? I have a Pinball Pro cabinet sub using the NB2 board on Medusa and Fathom running custom tunes. The cabinet sub is much better than stock, but I wouldn't mind the added umpf of an external sub.

I tried connecting the external sub to the internal sub with wire and alligator clips, and that didn't work. Is there a more elegant solution?

what is everyone replacement choice for the Bally switches capacitors?

https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CCD-0.047uF-100V

yeah that's the one i mostly use, just wondering if others had different preference?

Bally replacement:
( E-587-6 )
OEM on the right side for comparison.
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I use polyester film capacitors on switches - ceramics fail too much for my liking.

Interesting, do you have a link with an example?

Just generic green poly caps.

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Having a tilt mech problem with my Fathom that I would appreciate some insight on.

There are 2 wires that are tied together and detached from the lift tilt mechanism (or whatever it's called, with the ball rolling in the track).

When attached, the ball is not served into play and the flippers don't have power; it is in a Tilt state. When detached, a game can be played as normal, but the Tilt bobber does not activate. When I start a game with the wires detached, but then touch the twisted wires to the tab, it acts as though the tilt bobber activated.

In comparison to my Skateball, I can't tell the wiring differences and it appears the same on both games, the only difference being the detached wires. I've replaced the diode with no improvement. Thoughts?

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These wires were clipped and reattached at some point. The wires attached there appear to belong...but might not?

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Skateball tilt

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1) Cut one leg of the switch capacitor.
if
a) problem goes away, usually it is a bad capaitor.
b) problem stays, check switch stacks for current, continuity short.
b1) switch stacks can have some kind of residue that draws a minute amount of current.

It was a bad capacitor. Easy fix! Thank you!

hmmm i may give those a try, something like those then?
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-2A473J-47000pF-Polyester-Capacitors/dp/B0087YI26K

They'll work. Note they're bigger than the minuscule ceramics being sold these days.

Regarding ceramics, excessive heat damages them so avoid laboring too long with the soldering iron on their leads when installing.

Hoping somebody can point me in the right direction for troubleshooting my Meteor.

Recently, my Meteor constantly resets itself while in attract mode. It has a Rottendog power supply/rectifier board and Rottendog MPU.

Start with the rectifier PCB on the transformer board....check all test points and make sure the voltages are in range. If those check points look good, do the same on the Solenoid Driver Board.

Good references here: https://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern

new connectors on the Rec, SDU and MPU boards? the SDU could also be an issue if that one isn't a repro. Pinwiki as mentioned is your best resource.

I’ll be putting together an order and re-pinning all the connections soon.

The rectifier board voltages are a little high compared to what’s printed on the circuit board. As for the solenoid driver board, I took voltage readings from all 7 test points but I’m not sure what voltage they are supposed to be at. Does anyone know what the voltages should be at the test points on the driver board? I couldn’t find that info on pinwiki. Results below. Thanks!

Rectifier board:
TP1- 6.20v
TP2- 227v
TP3- 14.5v
TP4- 6.7vac
TP5- 46v

Solenoid Driver Board:
TP1- 5.25v
TP2- 193v
TP3- 5.23v
TP4- 252v
TP5- 13.95v
TP6- 5.23v
TP7- 5.23v

Playing Galaxy and Spectrum tonight.
Bottle of Sangria, and Blondie on the Stereo.
Cheers.

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Ok, I found what the voltages should be for the test points. Do these voltages seem ok for the game to function correctly?

Rectifier board:
TP1- 6.20v ---------should be 5.4v
TP2- 227v ---------should be 230v
TP3- 14.5v ---------should be 11.9v
TP4- 6.7vac ---------should be 7.3v
TP5- 46v ---------should be 43v

Solenoid Driver Board:
TP1- 5.25v ---------should be 5v
TP2- 193v ---------should be 185v
TP3- 5.23v ---------should be 5v
TP4- 252v ---------should be 230v
TP5- 13.95v ---------should be 11.9v
TP6- 5.23v ---------should be 5v
TP7- 5.23v ---------should be 5v

Should be fine. Next step I would do is to check the voltage test points on the MPU, making sure those look ok as well. Assuming that checks out ok, I wouldn't go any deeper until you get the connectors re-pinned. I can't tell you how many gremlins have gotten fixed for me after re-pinning all of the connectors.

Also (forgive me, this sounds obvious) but also check and make sure each board in the game isn't missing a ground screw and that they're nice and snug. If there's a screw missing or it's loose, I've seen vibrations (from coils firing) shake a PCB to the point where grounding is compromised and they weird crap happens. Like a machine reset.

I owe you a beer, sir. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to check for mounting screws. The solenoid driver board was only hanging on by 2 of those plastic tabs. (Thanks previous owner!)

I don’t want to jinx it, but the game has been on and playing for about an hour now without resetting after mounting it correctly with the 2 screws.

I finally found a Dolly Parton last month to add to my Harlem. They're both player condition, but with pretty good playfields. The Harlem is full Mylar, and the Dolly has little wear, but some ball swirls.

I had to do quite a bit of little things to the Dolly (shorted switch cap, missing switch diode, adjusted switches, replaced bulb sockets, added Yoppsicle to PF "Dolly" (will do "Parton" next), fixed tilt bob, floated sound board to remove hum, etc....). Need to replace a few lamp driver SCR's and probably re-pin a few molex connectors.

It was either in a basement, or in unconditioned storage at one time, as it has some surface rust in a few places. I'd like to find a Bally apron and shooter gauge to replace the one I have (it didn't clean up very well). I have the stickers from Marco's, so I wouldn't mind repainting one that is a direct replacement.

thanks!
-Kyle

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If it's just surface rust and the apron isn't badly mangled or has dents than can't be smoothed out, one easy thing to do would be have someone local media-blast it for you. Post your need in a pinside for sale/trade type thread local to you to see if any pinsiders offer that service (usually around $20-$30). If that comes up short, call a couple of local autobody repair shops. You can always ship your apron out to have that done but that just adds to the cost....I'm sure you could find someone local.

Once media blasted, you'll have a nice, clean and smooth apron of bare metal ready for a rattle-can paint job and decals.

Many local powder coat shops will also media blast in addition to being able to powder coat it for you. I did my Meteor apron and shooter gauge that way along with the back glass trim for $50 total.

Yep - I did the same thing on my Meteor apron as well....media blast and powder coat by a local guy. He did this, lockdown bar, side rails, backglass lift, and a few other metal doo-dads for $180. Can't find Meteor apron decals, tho, but my artist brother-in-law is visiting us in April and he's going to hand paint them on for me.

I should've wiped my fingerprints off the apron before taking the "after" photo.

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That's a good idea about the media blast and powder coat/painting. I may go that route if I can't find one. For some reason I was thinking about keeping the original apron...well, original.

Also, am I missing something obvious as to why I can't get credits to display? It coins up, and displays the number of credits for #5 in self test. However, it won't display in attract or game play. Also, the credits are limited to 15.

I have dip switch 27 set to "on", which should display credits.

I also have dip switches 25 and 26 set to "on", which should give a maximum of 40 credits.

All five display are PinLED's and I've swapped them out with no change.

Thanks!
-Kyle

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I kept the apron original on my Trident since it was still in pretty good condition. My meteor had some rust on it and needed help.

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>>All five display are PinLED's and I've swapped them out with no change.

Thanks!
-Kyle

Is there a setting through the Coin Door that toggles Credits On / Off? For some reason I am thinking that there might be one in there for that.

Pull the board and make sure the dips work. Meter on each and turn on/off.... they do get dead spots. Maybe turning them on/off a couple cycles. One board that was pretty much hosed anyway (bad corrosion) I just soldered wires for the dips I wanted on and left the rest off (yes, the board was that bad that I didn't want to solder in a new $1 dip switch)

Nope, not on dolly parton.

Thanks slochar! I'll throw a dip switch in my Marco's cart. If I'm going to pull the MPU, I might as well have a dip switch ready to go in. I did cycle the switches about a half dozen times with no change.

-Kyle

Order all 4, if one is bad, they might all be. A very common way they go bad is people wash the boards and moisture gets inside the switch (in theory they are sealed, but in practice... not so much) and they corrode.

Starting on a pair of Mata Hari hardtops and I somehow have.....zero head bolts. I'm sure this is pretty standard across these old Bally games but figured I'd just post here and see what came back. What length are these? I assume they're the same threads as leg bolts, 3/8-16..right?

Thanks,
-Jordan

If I remember right, they are longer.

3"+ is what I'm guessing, but I think the threads are 3/8-16. I'll see what the hardware store has and hopefully get both heads firmly secured before they come crashing down in my shop..

Edit//

3/8-16 x 3" got the job done. Probably could have gone 3-1/2 to catch some more threads and would have still been okay.

Answer: Bally OEM EM style neck backbox bolts are 3½" long.
Note: measure back of pedestal neck the height should be 1½".
----- add thick fender washers to the bolts.
----- I have spot welded two washers together to get the thick style finder washers.

Yep, 3-1/2 would have been better. 3" caught SOME threads, probably solid enough unless someone reeeeeeally gets aggressive with the cab... but yeah. Gotta repair one of these heads, didn't realize it was THIS bad. :/

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picked up a playboy a few months ago. almost done with the restoration. I have over 200 hours (and $4k) into it already. So far i have:

new CPR playfield and backglass
stripped the entire cab for repaint
new posts, rubber, plastic set, drop targets, switches,flippers (rebuilt flipper mechs) LEDs, weebly mpu, alltek lamp driver, xpin rectifier, rebuilt solenoid and sound board, new xpin 7 digit displays, new side rails, coin door skin, bally gray legs, glass

every single nut bolt and screw has either been polished or replaced, all metal has been de-rusted and polished - repainted where necessary.

Another 2 weeks to let the paint dry and i can get to putting it back together. Shes gonna look like i just unboxed her when im done.

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cysnake lools great can you share what you did to polish the coin door I’m about to start that also

So... what's the trick to removing these rails? Pry under and work it upward until it's loose enough to pull off? These things are TIGHT!

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Yep small crowbar and wide putty knife to prevent wood dig in works wonders. I hate those staples they used pita to deal with if you're reusing the pf.

I was able to remove by pulling apart longways by hand...It's not fun...
Sometimes you can pull out the long staple from the bottom playfield with a tool,
it does tear up the bottom OEM playfield.
1) If you have strong hands you can grasp the side rails [ from the one end and work long ways ]
--- and bend the rails slightly out [ left or right ] from sides of the playfield... this should give
--- a small air gap from rail to the playfield.
2) Then pull each side rail up long ways [ like opening an alligator mouth ].

Side Note: I am working on a Bally game also, and the prior person used a screw driver
---------- to remove the soft wood side rails. In turn, damaged/chewed/gnarled each of
---------- the side pieces.
---------- I do not recommend a flat screw driver.

With the screws out (make sure you get all of them), I bend the rails outward like they are falling off the side of the playfield then straighten them up again. You should be able to insert a thing wooden wedge shim that you can put a small pry tool on and then raise the rail further to clear the staples. When you first flex the rail outward it might pop and unstick then it becomes much easier.

Those are good ways to get the staples loose.

After the staple head is up from the surface I lock a pair of Vice grips on. Then I can lever the pliers over a block of wood to pull the long staples all the way out.

a Pinsider asked me to recreate the Molex 03-06-2242 Female side so designed it up and tested it and looks and works well - not the cheapest but better than obsolete.

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Heads up:
Introductory pricing on our Early Solid State Pop Bumper bodies ends tonight at midnight:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lollypop-early-solid-state-bodies-amp-caps#post-6768891

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which spring should i use for that assembly? the "SP-100-374" does not seem to exist?

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