I have a bunch of parts coming tomorrow and Monday. Will probably check it all out then. I have worked with mantis on lots of jobs. Would not mind sending them to him if necessary.

So I am wondering if they perform better than the guide wire we are all used to? And wondering what the game designer was trying to achieve with this style?

The ball only contacts one teeny tiny line on any ball guide.

Did Stern decide to dump them due to cost considerations?

Most likely. I hate the piano wire. Once the holes they are in get worn out, they bend down and cause awful flipper hop.

recapped my sound board and now i can adjust the sound. Does big game have background sound? or just when switches are triggered? if it does have background sound how do you turn on?

Check the manual but I thought the “drum beat” was always there and not adjustable. But yes it has background sound.

Manual's description of background sound on/off is wrong - opposite of what described, unless you have modified software in it, where it is corrected or always on.

well I just figured that out. I got it working now. Makes sense on why I could not get it to work.

got it, nice used one. shoot me your address

I pulled the playfield out today and it was in rougher shape than I thought. I pulled the ball guide off. Both pieces on the end by the flipper have the little screw bracket broke. What is the best way to fix this?

Look at the ends that mount it to the rails. They are different. This playfield had the early stern flipper brackets so they must have only put these on very early games.

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not the best solution but I've used lamp sockets to make replacements and rivet them on.

man those look better than the wire guide, wonder why they aren't common. looks like it will fix the ball hop.

yea, that ball hop does suck

djblouw You think you can make these?

cottonm4 made a good point and wondered how bad the top of that lane would be on the ball? Would it cause the ball to get nicked up easily?

I definitely want to try a set of these though.

Yeah, I think these could be done. Are we thinking just the prototype flap, or the entire ball guide?

If you're going to do it, do the whole guide - the proto 'look' doesn't really matter to me but seems like people want the no hop guide part.

I’d probably do it as a one piece design then—similar to the stop behind the flipper I previously made.

This would be awesome! Thanks so much.

You keep talking about ball hop. My Big Game suffered from ball hop on the right flipper when I brought it home. My hop issue was because the ball guide was dislocated at the factory.

It took me 5 minutes to fix the problem. Let me see some pics of where your ball hop is happening. I might be able to tell you how to fix it.

Mine is from the back guide getting work out from the ball hitting it so much. So the hole the guide goes in allows the guide to sit back causing ball hop. Terrible design.

For four years I have been looking at these ball guides on PBR's website. I did not know what they were until woody came along.

So, I bought them and was going to tell everyone here that PBR has some. Turns out the pair he had and that I bought were his only pair.

I may not install them. If the ball is going to come crashing down into a sharp edge on the outlanes hundreds of time, I'm thinking the ball with turn into a scratched up mess in short order.

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Put up a pic. I"d like to see.

I havre to leave for a haircut

nice score man. I would love to get these made by @djblouw. Your set might be in better shape than mine as far as the bend goes. I can send mine no problem, but with broken brackets and possible bend being off some might cause issues.

My right side is the one that has the ball bounce as well.

Misses to the spinners always mash that guide.

chuckwurt do you have the proper flipper bats on your game - those look like the fatter Bally profile ones - one of the symptoms - flipper hop!

Otherwise pull that guide fill it and drill it then reinstall. Flipper hop is eminently fixable relatively easily.

Sometimes you have to move the flipper mech in the PF which is the most involved it'll end up being, but flipper hop sucks and is worth pursuing fixes.

Bally and stern were different sizes? I always assumed they were the same. Link to the proper stern ones would be great too.

I have some with the notch in the flipper bat rod, but those were too short.

Just checked my parts. Definitely different. Can’t believe I never noticed that before. Haha. Ordering the proper ones now.

I’m definitely still going to have flipper hop, but this will help.

Thanks!

can you post a link to the proper ones

Duh. Sorry.

Type one - pre 80

https://www.pinballlife.com/classic-stern-shoe-and-shaft-flipper-bat-assembly-1977-1980.html

Type 2 - 80 on (big game)

https://www.pinballlife.com/classic-stern-flipper-bat-and-shaft-assembly.html

Mine had the same problem. It is an easy fix. Remove all of parts around your flipper so you have easy access.

1) Get a piece of plastic 1/8" thick. A cheap paint stir stick will work.

2) Drill a hole in the plastic same diameter of the holes in the play field (.093" I think ). You want the hole to be near the edge of the plastic as you do not want a lot of excess material getting in your way.

3) Place the flipper end of the ball guide into the hole you drilled in the plastic. Now slide the plastic to a point to where the ball guide will be located just a little bit above where it meets the flipper. You want the ball just barely dropping off onto the flipper so you get a straight run from the guide to the flipper and on down to the flipper tip.

4) Tape the plastic into position.

5) Remove the guide from the hole you drilled in the plastic.

6) Drill a new hole in your play field at the position of the hole in your plastic (What you made is a drill guide ).

7) Remove the plastic that you taped down.

Install the flipper end of the guide into the new hole you drilled. Your hop is now no more.

Do you need to use the plastic? No. Not really. But the plastic lets you slide the guide into the proper position without having to resort to bending the guide. Your hole will be dead on proper placement every time.

Steve at PBR is fast. I ordered 2 days ago. My order is here.

Here is a pic of the ball guides at the entry point. I'm thinking the rough edges will cut and scratch the ball. Especially when you consider the impact forces when the ball collides on its way to the drain.

I a going to (attempt ) to file the rough edges and try and round them out just like the guide that is already there. To install, I will have to drill 2 holes into the rail. I will also have to drill a hole in my restored play field but the hole will be well hidden so I have no issue with that.

This will be next week's project.

Now, I need to sit down and write a check to PBR. No way do I want to find myself on Steve's slow-pay list

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Do both your brackets that screw into the rail match? mine have different shapes. Just wondering if they are all like that?

The hole for the guide is fine just worn out. It’s in the proper place. I’m going a different route or buying these new guides if people like them. I definitely like the looks of them better.

Mine are a matching pair. L & R opposites.

I installed the left side guide a few minutes ago.

I have played a few games. I don't see any change in inlane performance. So, don't feel cheated performance wise.

By using a small pice of wood for alignment, I set it to exit just above the base circle of the flipper.

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I had filed the front edge to round and smooth it out but that was not needed. I was able to position the new guide in the same place as the old guide and was able to leave that strange little rod in place. So, there is no change in the drain action.

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When installed, it is barely noticeable except for the "T" mounting bracket.

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awesome, can't wait to get mine on.

But you can take two lamp socket straps, but each one to 90 degrees, nest them together with a little JB Weld or some Gorilla Glue. Then drill your holes. Mickey Mouse way of making a bracket? Sure, but everybody has some old 44 lamp sockets laying around. They are great lightweight bracket making material.

Now that I have them I will put the other side on, as. well. They are a strange looking piece. I'm guessing Stern considered them too costly when compared to a piece of wire.

But I was working fine before with the wire. I do not understand Stern's logic with making these.

nice that pin on the top of the out lanes feels like it has more purpose now with those guides in place, i love the extra mirror surfaces on the metal of those

So that’s what the nails are for.

Yeah, but like so many other thing with pinball, when you are playing you don't notice them. What I do see are those big brackets holding the guides to the rails. It is not the best finish on those brackets. I'm thinking that I might try to hide a little with some semi-gloss black paint.

EDIT: I know what I can do. Those brackets should make some excellent spot light mounts.

you could cut off that tab and use a spade bolt where the wire guide hole is. just gotta drill the hole bigger. would look cleaner but that's a lot for some inlanes

I made me some new brackets for the lane guides. My rivet tools are in storage so had to order a new tool and some rivets. Should have my lane guides on next weekend. I will probably go ahead and put on the playfield protector then as well. I finally cleared all the cards once I put the guard that is behind the flippers on. Makes the game so much easier.

Hire him to remove and reset all of the inserts, too.

i would buff those big brackets to a mirror finish, like the rest of it

The brackets are not smooth surfaces. I can polish them but mirror finish is not possible.