Ah cool - I guess I have to wait till the LED OCD is back in stock for that one. The GI is there though.

I have a game play question. I was reading my rule set on Willy Wonk and it mentioned a shot on that game is like TZ. I had no idea on TZ one shot is to shoot clean through the bumpers from the right flipper, as the ball loops around to the top right flipper you try to hit a combo. Are you trying to hit the train shot or the ramp?

thanks in advance and I am sure it is in here somewhere, but I can't find it.

From memory, I feel sure it's the ramp. I say that because the train shot would end the sequence, whereas the ramp shoot delivers to the small left flipper, allowing you to continue the combo, which then ends if you hit the graveyard shot at the right scoop. I think I recall getting that sequence a few times and getting the combo award. But I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Correct.

My son shocked me with a 4 way combo

Ramp
Return to flippers
Through graveyard upper right flipper to the side ramp

Lower left flipper in the swamp

Super proud !!

Yup. Nice. And it's a short but very gratifying video and audio callout, as I recall.

Thanks I am going to practice this!

Awesome

I think I manged this 5 way combo a few times...
it'll be through the graveyard to the upper right flipper to the left ramp to the thing flipper to the swamp kick out from the scoop up the bear ramp and then back to the scoop

The ball really gets moving
It may not be an actual official 5 way

I guess I am not technically “in the club” yet because I am building one. Here is some playfield porn after laying some clear on the base of my project.

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Looks good. Scratch build? Is that an original playfield or repro?

Thank you. Yep scratch build. Its a mirco

I’m eying the Micro - did you say you had to add another layer of clear on it? I thought those were good out of the box?

I have been reading a lot about the clear chipping. They use ceramic clear and it seemed super hard (brittle). I gave it a tap on the edge and it chipped too easily in my opinion. So I sanded as much as I could off and put something I’m more familiar with on it. I wanted to flatten out some of the inserts too.

I also didn’t like the fact that they clear these and then route out the holes. Leaving a raw sharp edge. I wanted to get some clear over the edges of all the holes to maybe stop it from chipping in the future.
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This is before my clear, you can see this clear seems almost like its brushed on and not completely flat. The insert is not completely level with the playfield either.
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And the same insert after clear

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Oh interesting … scares me away from attempting my first playfield swap! Haha

I can confirm that Mirco playfields will chip easily at those sharp edges. My first PF swap ended up with a 1/4" x 3/8" chip at a saucer where the ball impacted the corner left when they routed the holes. Only took a few games on the new playfield before the damage happened.

So did you sand yours down too? Or put another layer of clear over it?

No I did not.

I just installed a pindorabox.com 7 opto board.

Excellent "over then top" build quality, it even has air flow holes under the resisters.

If you are shopping for a new board, this is the one you want.

That's the opposite of what you want. Check out the VID thread on playfield restoration. You'll want to remove clear at the edge of holes, certainly any that screws go in to, or wire guides, otherwise the pressure from the hardware will cause chips and lifting of the clear. Other holes with clearance, like posts that go through and are held in by a nut under the playfield, should be ok.

I understand, I meant the holes like scoops where the ball will be going in and out of.

Thats what cliffy's are for.

Yep, getting those too!

Is a countersink drill the best way to do this? I experienced damage on a Mirco playfield by the sharp edges left when he routed the PF after clearcoating, and now I'm just starting the topside populating on a CPR pf. Should I pre-drill and then countersink all holes?

With my restore, I've first been using brad-tipped drill bits to cut the clear around holes. I select one that's just larger than the the hole size I need or if a screw is going in the hole then just larger than the screw's thread diameter, and slowly run in reverse to cut away the clear. Brad tipped bits have a center point, which keeps things centered around the hole, and outer points, which cut away the clear for me. My PF is CPR and with a few exceptions, most holes are pilot holes rather than finished size. So once I've cut the clear with the brad tip, I'm comfortable pre-drilling screw holes to the spec for screw sizes. I did do a small counter sink on holes for screws, but not for through holes for posts. The exception to this process was for the spiral-fin screw things for pops, which live in counter sunk holes. Brad tip was no use here, so I used a regular drill bit in reverse, very slowly, to grind away the clear.

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Great info. Thanks! Glad I haven't progressed too far on my ES topside build so I'll implement these processes as I'm reassembling.

Another option is using kruzman clear kit. He includes several dremel bits to fit the application you're working on. I use it even on new playfields that he hasn't done. Pick the right bit and open the hole slightly larger. Then use the glue will lock the edges of the clear down so there's less of a chance to have it chip off when screwing in or down the road. I've had good luck with the drill bits backwards as Evan mentions too. I often use a hand countersink tool too. I have documented it elsewhere. LMK if you need more info.

More on Ron's kit here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/kruzman-monthly-playfield-thread/page/35#post-6769789

I mean, this is just cool. Found it, wanted it, got it … Now where in the game should I put it … ???

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I just reread and editted my post slightly. For holes that a screw is going in to, I actually select the brad tip to be slightly larger than the screw thread outer diameter, not the hole. Otherwise the threads will be pushing against the edges of the clear as the screw is driven in, risking chipping.

Question for TAF historians:

I'm helping a buddy fix up his re-import (with a 7 digit serial #) that has some things different from mine (USA 6 digit #). His knocker is on the lower left of the cabinet, had an extra post in the rubbers at the swamp kickout that interferes with the ball, all the flipper coils look to be European but original looking at the solder work for starters.

Any thoughts?

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If anyone is looking for a new TAF "Train Wreck" plastic I have one listed in the Marketplace.

Parts - For Sale

Bally Addams Family Archived

New (selling multiple, business) - “Bally The Addams Family Left ramp "Train Wreck" Plastic NOS Buyer pays shipping”

2022-07-30

Suffield, CT

qbass187

25

Archived after: 48 days

Viewed: 183 times

Status: Not sold

Questions, working on my friend’s TAF.

The topper lights don’t work, none of them.
Fuse maybe? Or is there another possibility to look into?

I also found this random metal shim on the bottom of the cabinet and am at a loss for what it does.

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Its a bookcase shim.

Yeah, def. bookcase shim.

Regarding the topper lamps, I don't think there's a fuse. You'd have to check the transistor. Maybe just a dry solder at each board or connection from lamp holder to board? I think there's only 1 wire from each if you trace them to two different headers. Maybe one's off or pulled out?

FYI if anyone needs a new TAF playfield with the volume up to 11, Ron has one about ready for someone. Having seen and swapped one in person, it’s like a Mustang factory paint job vs a show quality one.

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Oh dang, that is pretty tempting …

I think its great you are trying to get this board back into its original game! As a TAFG original owner myself, that means alot to me!

Does anyone know where this connector goes? It’s hanging between the fliptronics board and sound board. It looks like there might be a spot on the FL board for it but that spot has a keyed spot and this one has wires in all 4 pins. If it is original dmd related might not need but I doubt it as that board is on the other side. I don’t recall it hanging like that in the past

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Looks like one of the four that go on the bottom lower left corner of the driver board.

Check the manual for connector and wire color info.

LTG : )

The manual knows all. Read it. Read it again. Then read it again.

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Thank you. Perhaps it’s not needed then as it has a rotten dog fliptronics and everything is labeled as a 900 number. I also do not see a spot for it to go and flippers are functioning

Yes, aftermarket fliptronics 1 and 2 combo boards leave that connector off.

Its for an original fliptronics 1 board only.

I have a different opinion. I find that most games benefit subtly from the OCD boards. I like the OCD board for switched lamps, but can live without it. I think my TAF looks great during game play. During the attract mode, when the lights are rapidly flashing on and off, I have a friend who does not like it, but that is only during the attract mode. The only game where I had to do OCD with LOTR, which is, of course, a completely different system.

I cannot figure out why the GI OCD is needed, but I understand why some do. The GI's are not on DC, but on 60 Hz AC and there is a flicker that can been seen as the ball moves through the playfield. Some people are quite sensitive to it and bothered. Others are not. I think it depends on how bright your room lights are and even maybe if those are LEDs too.

I have wondered about converting the GIs to DC. I did that in some early Bally pins by just moving the GI's to the same DC power supply as used by the switched lamps. It is possible to do that because the DC lamp supply was designed to power incandescent bulbs and the combined switched and GI LEDs use less than the switched alone.

But in WPC, the GI's are controlled by triac's and I do not know how they would react if I put DC through a triac vs. DC. In most games the GI control via the CPU is minimal and rarely used except to dim the GI's between games. That is NOT true in TAF, when, prior to multiball, the GI's are switched on and off.

So my answer to your question is, are you bothered by LED GI flicker? If so, get the OCD for the GI's. If not, save your money.

LED OCD and GIOCD give you control over the illumination and flash rate.

The settings out of the box are pretty good, but in some cases I had to do some tweaking to get it just exactly right.

The software to do this is pretty straight forward and its very easy to make adjustments, but you need a windows laptop and a USB cable.

I dont particularly like the very high flash rate of LEDS. They looks wrong in the older games, especially in attract mode.

For me, uncontrolled LEDS look harsh and out of place.

New games with RGB lighting systems are highly controlled.

LED OCD and GIOCD solves this very real problem.

I think its a mandatory setup.

I just finished a playfield transfer to a new CPR playfield - one of the last ones made with the print method that leads to true TAF playfield colors. From here on, they say the new ones will be inkjet and the bright orange in the center will not be as true. We shall see.

But anyway, I scarfed this one up, as there were only three left.

I rebuilt every mechanical, cleaned and adjusted all the switches, new coil sleeves, replaced a few targets and put new foam into the ones that were reusable.

But what I proudest of is my 'roll-your-own' playfield lighting. I looked at several pictures to see what others have done and played around to see what I could do.

For The Thing, I put lights on the left and right of where the hand comes out. One is a spot underneath the ramp and the other is in the middle of the plastic to the right of The Thing. I purchased a DC to DC power supply and connected it to the 12V for The Thing motor, so when The Thing turns on, these lights come on. I selected orange as to highlight the skin color of The Thing.
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I also put a spot on the right side to light up The Bookcase.
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I have a green light back below the plastic to the left of The Thing ramp.
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I put a purple lamp below the Swamp solenoid and a second purple light between the layers of plastic by the swamp to light it up.
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I have two lights below the chair - one is red and one is yellow. They come on with the chair red and yellow lamps. I would like to have a third lamp on, that goes out when either of the red or yellow come on, but have not yet figured out how to do that.
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To brighten up the back the of the playfield, I put a LED strip on the cabinet below the backbox. It is controllable and I have it set to dim white with a purple hue. For some reason, it looks fully purple in the photo, but is much more subtle in person.

I had replaced the cabinet speaker with one from Parts Express and a low pass filter. And I have a PinShakers shaker installed.

The new playfield plays far faster than the original. And not having a Cliffy in the scoop makes it easier to get the the ball in, like it was factory new.

I got this pin in 2006 and have moved it across the US twice. Nice to have it finally restored.

I have converted: LOTR, FH, HS2, EBD, S&S, Silverball, Tommy, Gorgar, Hurricane, Junk Yard, Kings of Steel, and Firepower. I have WH2O on my list for a complete overhaul. I have also done a bunch at the Roanoke Pinball Museum.

The guy who runs RPM, pretty much agrees with you. But IMHO, there is nothing 'mandatory' about this option.

The only one I found that was intolerable was LOTR. The flashing was just 'off' and annoying. The OCD board made all the difference. FH would be nice as when the ball runs up the ramp, the lamps flash too harshly.

On the others, it looks fine TO ME - and I realize your opinion is different. I have never had a player complain about any of my other games. And, in no case have I ever noticed a problem with the GI's.

The one exception was Tommy, when leading up to multiball, the relay flickers the lights - it is nauseating. A quick unplug of the connection to that relay fixed that problem.

I did Silverball early on in the LED lamp revolution. Those LEDs are DC only. On the GI's, the flickering was terrible, so I converted that to DC. But on my other pins, including EMs Play Ball and Grand Prix, the 'AC' LEDs are fine.

The OCD boards are great products. But switched lamp boards for WPC pins run at $140, not an insignificant expense. If you want one (they are sold out right now at the OCD website), go for it. For me, to convert my current collection, that would run just short of $3K just for the switched lamp boards.

Thanks, I will pass. I would go for color DMDs or PinSound first. And maybe another playfield swap.

Thanks for the follow up on this! I’ve had an Addams before, and there was some ghosting but overall I didn’t mind the look. I thought it would just make the dimming more subtle to make going into multiball and seance look better, but might not be the case though huh?

And right, to have both it does seem to cost a lot and the boards are OOS anyway. Maybe I just keep rolling without it as I fix up this one.

… I am thinking about putting a new playfield on it. Reading up now on CPR vs the other one.

With LEDs in the GI, you need GI OCD for Seance mode to look right.

Yep, I always do a 100% LED setup on my restorations, LEDOCD, GIOCD if needed, pinsound with motion control ans shaker, flipper fidelity speakers, colorDMD, CPR backglass, amongst all of the other meaningful add-ons.

Cost is never the object, but I highly scrutinize everything I put in.

But it has to be meaningful or have a higher degree of utility or durability.

For instance, Im now putting in flipper opto switches on any non-gold TAF that comes in for a restoration.

It adds another $85 to the $6500 parts list, but they dont require any serious maintenance or adjustment compared to the old mechanical contacts.

"In for a penny, In for a pound", the way I see it.

Games dont do a ground up restoration very often, I try to do the very best one can do while they are in my shop.

I installed a GI OCD yesterday in my WH2O and it makes a major difference (lots of dimming). I added leds a long time ago and don't remember this amount of dimming with conventional bulbs. It dims between balls and during multi-ball and maybe some other times.