No idea. There were four frayed wires right against the coin chute. I relocated the guide about an inch back and wrapped the bad wires. I guess crazy stuff like that happens with any cabinet swap.

Edit: Now that I think about it, the coin chute part against the wires is semi-sharp, almost a hook. It’s possible that months of lifting the playfield to work on stuff frayed the wires over time like a pendulum. That’s why the issue was intermittent.

i wonder if someone looked into wholesale buying of those common #44/47 1lead insert lamp socket? After buying 100's of them every year for pinball rebuild, i was curious if there was option out there than our usual pinball wesite?
https://www.pinballlife.com/miniature-bayonet-base-1-lead-socket-with-long-mounting-bracket.html

Replay levels and hstd are the same across all the bally stern games.... 01-02-03 is the replay levels 1-3 and 4 is the hstd.

The custom roms I've made can be different farther up as are the bally ones that have the settables (eight ball deluxe era and up).... but those are usually all 16-19 and you set them all to 03 at least that's what I do.

Now, dip switches, for sure are different. There's supposed to be a tech chart in every games' head for easy reference though.... lots of times these are missing. I've printed out a sheet with the settings for each game in particular and left it in the cash box for reference (and to record audits before parties, shows, etc.)

I should get back to doing that I moved and kind of left all those sheets somewhere else.

Hello,

I'm putting an eight ball deluxe project back together and ran into a CPU problem I haven't seen so wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions where to look.

Game arrived non-working with rectifier and SDB rebuilt now. I have 30+ feature lights out with my -35 CPU that work in lamp test with my test CPU (Centaur ROMs). It appears to have the original ROMS so 2 questions I could use help with

1 Can this be ROM related and if so who do you use to burn 2532 game ROMs ? I want to try EBD /32 from Oliver. I can burn 2732 but this board is clean so want to try 2532.

2 Anything else while I wait for ROMS to check out, I probed all the lamp lines at the CPU and lamp board input and cant find any obvious dead pins. Also same lamps are out with a known working Weebly lamp board. Any suggestions to try?

Thanks for any help,

Kenny

I often have to flip through a bally manual a couple times looking for dip or audit settings. They really could have used a cheat sheet laid in in order of the audit and dip switch steps instead of reading through a bunch of text looking for what your want. I think stern did this with the dip switches.

it is never the ROM chips when there are problems like this. They check the ROM at power on so 99.9% of the time ROMs are all or nothing. Extremely rare you end up with the same checksum yet the data is corrupt

MPU J1 connector is a likely cause if it is related to the MPU. Maybe MPU U10 but you would probably have display and switch issues at the same time.

Focus on the lamp data and lamp address. With a logic probe I would check all four lamp data and all four lamp address on the lamp board during lamp test. Then I would probe at MPU J1. Then I would probe at MPU PIA U10. Find where the signal drops out at.

Looking at what lamps are not working you can work backward. Say if all lamps connected to one chip are out. OR lamps 9 to 16 are out on each 4514. Then look at the CD4514 datasheet truth table and you can get a good idea of what is wrong.

Thanks, this was it. I put the CPU back in to test displays and more lights worked. Since I had not removed the lamp board connectors. I just replaced the J1 male pins since I had already re-pinned the female connector. So far so good 100% of lamps working now.

Also glad for the advice on the ROMs, Good point on the test during the flash sequence. Didn't think about that.

Hi fellow bally enthusiasts!
I’m in need of some parts to bring an Embryon that was parted out back to life

Can you guys please help me source some parts to buy?

Backbox Lamp/display panel (with or without harness)
Backbox harness
4 popbumper mechs
(1x) 3 bank drop target mech
(1x) 1 bank drop target mech
Plastic Posts, screws, mini posts
Yellow and red targets

Thank you for any help

Bally's Emdryon is such a rare game. Sad to here about the condition.

Go check out Marco Specialties. And pinball life.

Thank you, if you know where I can find these in those stores please post their links here, maybe you know a special secret I do not, thank you

Did you contact Pinball Resource and give them the part numbers? They often have old Bally parts. You have to call or email to check.

Excellent suggestion, thank you

XPABLO is a member here and has helped me locate parts before.
Great guy and although he is in Argentina, I trust his packing more than just about anyone.

Thank you, I sourced almost all of those parts with fellas in the USA , I’ll grab more from him when the time comes, thank you for the lead

I’m down to needing some harnesses and display panels

Both for Viking and Embryon

Any help with these?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wtb-bally-parts-wiring-harness-etc

Embryon fans!

Mikonos has agreed to reproduce an apron graphic overlay, but he needs a scan of the apron to do so, can anyone help him out to get this done ?

(Not mine, photo for reference)

8F2E0FBC-13DE-4D53-A831-147FC1D51F25 (resized).jpeg

Fellas, my apron is rusty and is in desperate need of this graphic and restoration, I know I’m not the only one that could benefit, help a brother out, scan this booger for mikonos, we deserve it, you deserve it

Question: On my Stern Lightning I've always gotten some noticeable buzz-zz-bzzz noises in the sound during attract, like the noise is in sync with all the lamps flashing. In test modes where the lamps aren't flashing, I don't get any of that noise. Only noticeable during attract. Should I just recap the sound board or is there anything else I should check first? Thanks!

Not unusual on the Bally/Stern platform noise from displays. Making sure all grounds are 100% can help.

Sometimes floating the sound board can also help.

The 1000uF 12v filter cap on the SB-300 is just barley good enough to eat up noise. When I was building new boards with Panasonic ECA-M caps it sounded fine, no hum. I switched to a UVR nichicon 1000uF, nothing else changed, and now it hummed. Upgraded that 12v filter cap to 2200uF and it cleared up the noise. If you do re-cap it consider upgrading that capacitor to 2200uF and 4700uF or at least spec good quality cap with ripple specs at least as good as a panasoic ECA-M.

Make sure the grounds are good going into the sound board. One ground goes to the rectifier board and one goes to the driver board. Can get some ground loop hum when the connectors have resistance. I have fixed at least one just be repin the sb 9pin power plug and twisting the grounds together there.

this one already floats up off the backbox ground from the factory.

Which one? There's three original 1000ufs on my board - and they are all rated 25v not 12v (?)

C7

Not many options for Axial caps electrolytic caps anymore. Nichicon discontinued them a couple years ago. Kemet, CDE and a few others still making them.

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cornell-Dubilier-CDE/478TTA025M?qs=3tP%252BN51vMXf4XPyiX2UJXw%3D%3D

I'll have to order some, I have a whole kit of radial 1000ufs I use for radios and tvs but they are only 16v, naturally.

For the buzzing in sound: I found I had some 2200 uf 50v caps for fixing radios so I put one in C7 and replaced the 470uf for starters, then reinstalled to check progress and now the CPU just locks up up at power on. One blink and it just sits there. Is there a way I can disconnect connectors if that would help me determine where the issue is, or maybe it's even the cpu? I swear to god this happens to me every time I try to fix boards anymore.

**Ok game does work with the sound board completely disconnected, but not when it's connected. I made sure the right cable from the mpu goes to the right socket on the sound board too. Damn.

***Sound works now, so I think I also have a connector issue regarding that board that poked up from unplugging it. Whew okay will keep recapping, so far no effect on buzz. I am ordering some .156 pins for the two lower connectors and am also replacing ones on the ps board in the cabinet that are shot, to start with.

There’s a diode on the sound board that prevents voltage leaking back to the rectifier board. If that goes, then the game won’t boot. But you’ll still get six out of seven flashes on the MPU, not just one.

Hello, all! New Centaur owner here, and have a broken triac, so no GI. Have seen a couple threads around that talk about potential replacement triacs, but I’m not quite clear on if there is a definitive replacement that people have verified to work.

Anyone have any recommendations for known working replacements for the triac in Centaur?

They are SCRs not triacs.
2N5060 are still available:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/central-semiconductor-corp/2N5060-PBFREE/4806901
but appear to be in short supply.

MCR106s are still available in what appears to be healthy supply:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/thyristors-scrs/281?s=N4IgTCBcDaIAQFkDCAlAtARgAwDY4gF0BfIA

I’m referring to the lone component that is isolated and bolted through the metal plate in the bottom of the cabinet, next to the transformer and the A2 board. The one that (I gather) controls the ability for the GI to flicker off and on, and is comprised (outwardly) of a circular metal case with two prongs coming out of the top, and a bolt on bottom. I’d take a picture but I’m not near the machine at the moment!

Am I mistaken on what that is?

You are correct.

Cool, thanks for confirming!

Aaaand now I’ve got too much voltage at TP1 on the power module (~10V) and the game won’t turn on at all.

UPDATE: reseated connectors on the MPU, and it turns on…prior to, when it wasn’t turning on, the green LED wasn’t doing anything, so it was stopped before it even began. The connectors look absolutely fine from the top of the board and like they’d been replaced at some point, but looks like it’s time to take the board out (again? Can’t remember at this point whether I’ve looked under this board yet) and inspect closer.

Think I may need to get a new A2, though; that newly too-high voltage at TP1 seems indicative of a failure…does it indeed start down that at board and then make its way upstream to the MPU? Would love to understand what’s happening. Too much voltage would make sense for the game not booting, but then why would reseating connectors upstream make a difference and all of a sudden turn the game on? Or do I have the flow backwards, and the MPU is sending, not receiving from A2?

I’ve also seen inserts flickering when they shouldn’t (faintly) while playing a game before, then I turned it off and that’s when it wouldn’t turn back on. I’ve tried measuring BR1 (which is connected to TP1) but it seems like it’s reading fine; values of .4ish all around. I’ve also occasionally heard audio cues at the wrong times, though that’s been very infrequent (but wondering if that could be symptomatic or something failing - there is an Squawk and Talk replacement sound board in this game, btw).

Can anyone give some insight as to what direction things are going and why I might be seeing what I’m seeing? Im guessing this is a fairly common set of symptoms/problems, and would love to learn!

I don't know anything about Centaur. I didn't even realize it was a 2518 board set.

That said; you are going to have to provide a real part number for the TRIAC as I don't have the schematics nor do I want to try to find them in the mess of copyright takedown notices and what not.

TRIACs are just to parallels SCRs in opposite configurations so they can conduct in both directions. It shouldn't be hard to find an alternate but may be hard to find a drop-in physical replacement.

I wish I owned one of these games that used the TRIAC GI blinker. Could probably come up with something to replace them.

The originals are in a mostly obsolete funny package (RD-91?) and they clamp I think the transformer assembly if I remember right. I think some games might have a triac driver board that looks like a solenoid expander board (pretty much same drive circuit).

Looking at Digikey and LCSC there are for sure some parts that would work, but they are not the same package/physical shape as the original so they won't mount right and you may need a different heat sink. Perhaps you could just bolt a tab'd style package one to the transformer bracket and insulate the leads with shrink tube well. Digikey even has some 'marketplace' items that might be drop in right, kind of pricey though, I think one was $20ea.

I wonder if a new style 3 quadrant triggering triac would work. I think they run cooler, but only trigger in three of the four quadrants, not sure if that matters here. Found an application guide to read later....

http://datasheet.datasheetarchive.com/originals/distributors/Datasheets-NXP/DSANXP0100024.pdf

They just attached to the large plate the transformer is bolted too, nothing fancy.

283d534f8ef61004275879a2a8bb477120961104 (resized).jpg

From some responses elsewhere, I’ve got one of these on the way to try (NTE5673):

https://www.amazon.com/NTE-Electronics-NTE5673-Triac-Package/dp/B011OZLTJ0

Hopefully it’ll be sufficient?

Have also got a replacement for the AS-2518-54 power module on the way from Marco

A couple flipper questions for Lost World . I need to order new batts, and would like to put in yellow (maybe even purple). Besides logos, can I use batts from a more modern era?

During flipper rebuilds, are there any upgrades recommended (e.g., springs, linkage, etc) or just keep it factory.

Thanks!

Does anyone know of someone who can test an AS-2518-107 Solenoid/Lamp Driver Combo board? It only works in Baby PacMan and Granny and the Gators as it does not have a high voltage section. Particularly in the Mid-Atlantic area.

Thanks,

Alan

You can swap in bats from a Hercules, and BAM! Ball never drains down the middle! LOL

I used modern aluminum flipper bats on star trek the mirror universe... But I also used new flipper mechs under the pf.
Having modern bats seems to work ok .

test in you need debugging? Or test in validate 100% functionality?

Lots of ways to bench test boards - you just need the appropriate harnesses for the various boards.

Confused. I could make connectors for all the headers on the board, but where do they go? I have tested all the transistors and SCRs but I would like to pit this up for sale as, "Tested, working 100%". I don't think that I can do that without have it tested in an actual game.

There are multiple test board solutions out there from people to test light and driver circuits.

But your situation is looking for validation under load… a different beast and why i asked the question to distinguish

Does anyone have used 1-1/8 red ribbed posts in their parts stash they want to part with?

(https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/C-952-7)

I need about a dozen, and new ones will stick out on the machine. PM me!

I'm replacing a lot of female pins in some of the connectors involving the rectifier board and the SB-300 sound board on my Lightning.

Q: On the SB-300, J2 pins 5 & 6 (11.7v) are tied together directly on the board itself, but two wires are connected at pin 5, pin 6 wasn't used. Should I add a pin for pin 6 and then split the two wires between the two pins? Thanks!

You should leave the two connected as one to maintain the voltage chain if you take the connector off for some reason.