Not going to lie...... i like this mod.

That would be this one - indeed a gorgeous example with a lot of nice little touches (blacked out chrome pieces, black flippers with purple rubber, black targets, black pop bumper skirt, and black powder-coated lockdown bar, legs, etc). I played it a lot, and interestingly the wireform across the playfield didn't bother my view.
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any more pics on this mod with the plastics off and more details?

I do like the drop on the left side vs the right. I think i might have to do this to mine.

Think there is a place one could buy that 180 deg bell ramp ? Just trying to possibly find one to buy.

Anyone know a comparable chip that can take the place of this one? I’m spinning my wheels trying to find one. It’s right above the battery to the left, I need to replace it or bypass if possible. The numbers on top of it are /I8223 MM74COON

Battery corrosion hit that ic pretty hard.

Thanks in advance!

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Probably a 74F00? Great plains will probably know

I thought my flippers were in pretty good shape, but after watching the video, I guess not, back to the drawing board.

The installation went pretty well. I didn't clearcoat the pf after sanding. Didn't see the point if its going to have a 3mm thick plastic layer on top.

The alignment wasn't perfect. I had to paint black around some of the inserts otherwise the sanded pf would have been visible. Some of the screw holes didn't line up very well either but neither of these were major issues.

In answer to the question "Why decals?" it's because I f*cked the stencils up. Despite my best prepping the stencils kept lifting the paint when removed. I think it was too cold in the garage and wasn't aware this could be an issue. About £200 down the Swanee Decals are much easier to apply and IMO look just as good.

I have to admit at being slightly disappointed that the hardtop is clearly a scan. The clarity of the text and artwork is not so sharp.

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Thank you for the reply,
After getting home and looking deeper I found the datasheet & went from there. Looks like 74HCT08 is the winner!

Hopefully this fixes my error code 9 & allows me to boot the machine up with my 5101 NVRAM.

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A 74x08 and 74x00 are not logically equivalent and cannot be interchanged; a 7408 is a AND gate and a 7400 is a NAND gate (notice the small circle on the output of each gate in the 7400 that indicates an inverted output).

I had acid damage on my BK, although not as bad as yours, and replaced the part with a 74F00 and it works fine. I think a 74HCT00 would work as well, but can't confirm.

Make sure you remove the battery holder, bad ic, switches and surrounding parts to make sure you can neutralize the alkaline battery damage with an acid (vinegar, ZEP toilet bowl cleaner, etc.) before replacing all the damaged parts.

Funny but I didn't get the impression it was a scan. Maybe I didn't look close enough when I installed mine. I'll have to have a closer look at it and my Space Shuttle hardtop. If that's all they are doing I would imagine that they would be producing them a lot faster than they are...

IC24 is listed as a plain old 7400 on the schematic parts list. 2 of the gates are used to debouce the diagnostic switch. I couldn't find the other 2 gates on the schematic (they may be unused). I think a NAND gate from just about any family would work there.

ebay.com link: LOT 10PCS SN7400N 7400N INTEGRATED CIRCUIT IC USA FAST SELLER BOX 16

You're awesome!

I took the existing IC, & battery out and started the long proccess of getting rid of the corrosion (it was bad.) I neutralized the damage & lightly sanded & tried to repair the traces that I could. I replaced the IC with a socket and tested all the points. Some of the traces were eaten away from the battery damage so i'll have to run small jumpers and confirm continuity, Its upsetting to see such a wonderful game so neglected!

Life Saver,

I'll order these right now. looks like only a few pins are being used like you said, Phew.
I'm one step closer to defeating the Black Knight . This community is amazing, thank you everyone!

Dunno. Maybe I'm just being a bit anal.
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In fairness it looks a lot worse in the close up pictures.

Andy_B - Did you have any issues with the smoothness of the transitions from the base of the ramps and the BK hardtop (as demonstrated in Cary Hardy's BK hardtop installation YouTube video series)? He got the transition smooth with epoxy to raise the ramp bases, shaving/trimming the epoxy, and shims, but with my somewhat limited skills in this area I'm worried about that part of the install if this common. Without making that transition smooth, the ball could hop going up or coming down the ramp, or (if floating slow enough in that area) get caught and stuck there.

Thanks for the pictures! Good to know what people thinking of this restoration option (myself included) can expect.

Not sure how they could get around some of that. Without using spot colors, the printer will always need to blend colors with stippling. Maybe printing at a higher resolution would make it less obvoius? Not sure.

The key-lining around the in-lanes could have been cleaned up before printing, but that is a ton of work and might have raised attention to the other areas being fuzzy.

I guess, hard top truly should be used as a last resort, if theses details would bug a person.

Here's a 4-part series of videos documenting a hardtop install on a Black Knight. The hardtop install I did on my Mata Hari came out fantastic....I think the artwork looks awesome and I'm looking forward to taking the hardtop plunge on my Black Knight soon.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

This wasnt something I considered when installing the hardtop but it is definitely an issue. Occasionally a slow ball does get stuck behind the lip at the bottom of the ramp.

I will have to shim it 0.030" or 0.8mm as we like to call it here in the 21st century

Might be a good suggestion for the hardtop guys that they cut "Ramp shims" out of the waste areas of the hardtop and include them...

I had to shim my ramps with a CPR playfield swap too.

-Hans

I would try to just make a ramp flap. Prevent wear

Or at least mention it in the documentation.

Barring that, I picked up a sheet of this last year for $10 - has come in handy with hardtop and playfield protector installs. Just cut out the shims you need:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015H2UMS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00

I'm hoping that shims alone will take care of the BK ramp transitions. I'll probably take on that hardtop install project later this summer.

This is an original Pf. Looks like my hard top also. I have 2 black knights. Yes the PF is awfully dirty, it's an uncleaned PF as I got it 6 months ago it's awaiting restoration, so forgive the swirls.
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This is my hardtop I installed today.

I’m not seeing a whole lot of difference. Maybe I’m missing what area you are concerned with.

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I followed what a Cory Hardy did and took measurements on my pf. I filled in the cut out where the ramps are with epoxy. The pf is .030” no matter what century you are in (I’m being cheeky). My ramp on left is measuring at .029-0295. When I place it on the hardtop the transition is actually smoother than what my original BK on my other machine is. These Hardtops are a godsend for roached our playfields in my opinion but they are not plug and play. Not dismissing your concerns at all. Just showing what I’m seeing.

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Not sure when you purchased your hardtop but mine came with a 12" or so strip of extra material for such. However, I found that if you fill the cutout with epoxy and then shave it smoothly prior to installation of the hardtop the transition is really nice. I may end up shimming with some paper but for not the transition is pretty spot on, and it's actually smoother than my original.

Mathazar This was my first hardtop also, I didn't find the epoxy fill portion for the ramps to be very challenging, what I man to say is I bet you can do it. I tend to over think processes, but it pretty much went down as Cary shows in Ep3 of the install. I went to ACE Hardware picked up some Loctite (there are other brands as good) 5 min epoxy but it needs to have that tube that mixes it as it dispenses. I slowly filled that cutout area for the ramp. Gave it about 5-10 min maybe? It was still soft but setting and then trimmed up the excess with a new razor scraper. If you wait till it hardens you will be sanding ALOT! My advice is to get a razor scraper that allows the blade to be as parallel to the PF as possible it keeps it from gouging into the epoxy. Mine wasn't and I did, but honestly, it's not a big deal as the overall goal is to just fill the channel. The ramp is just shy of .030, so it looks to me that some heavy card stock or a few pieces of paper can be used for a final shim. In short, I suspect you will do well with this, just move slowly. Oh I did end up block sanding the epoxy a bit with some 100g just to help make sure I had it level then hit it with some 400g.

Good Luck!

Thanx for the encouragement! I do tend to over-think stuff like this - I'll get it in my head that the pin is working 100% great now and worry that I'll ruin it and won't be able to get it all back together after I've taken it all apart. I hit road blocks along the way doing my first hardtop on a Mata Hari and got by them, and looking back it really wasn't so bad. Research and patience, research and patience.

I haven't bought the BK hardtop yet so maybe mine will come with extra pieces. I'll probably buy it later this summer...I'm working on Black Jack project at the moment. Got it functionally working 100% - playfield is a bit faded but not in terrible shape for 40 years old. The big challenge with this project is that it'll be my first cabinet repair and paint.

Mathazar
Mine came with a strip, there is also plenty elsewhere you could trim if need but you won't need to. I believe I read that they now include it in all hardtops with ramps. Believe this may have come out of Cory's video with input to the manufacturer.

Cab will be my late summer project, full strip,
and stencil. I'll have loads more confidence in that project than I did this part.

Pinball Life has gem inserts. I used some on my recent hardtop install. Aside from a number embossed from moulding they are spot on replacements for cracked or faded inserts.

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I've ordered some 0.03" vinyl to cut to size. It was the most convenient material to get next day in the correct thickness but I don't know if it will be hard enough to resist being squashed when the ramp screws are tightened. I will see how that goes.

I am thinking of getting some stainless sheet and cutting it to the profile of the ramp cut-out in the playfield. It might look quite good with the stainless ramps. Or not.

I'm missing the metal plate that stands in the center of the turnaround. Without it, loop shots just bounce around in there and miss the switch most times. I'm in the midst of a playfield swap and full restore, and this is the last piece of the puzzle.

Does anyone know where I can find a replacement plate, or at least a 1-to-1 line drawing/scan I can use to cut one with a laser or waterjet? I'd post a picture of the part, but finding even that online remains a challenge.

"Help me, BK club members, you're my only hope!"

What's a working, player's quality BK going for these days? I have two, only need one. Considering selling it.

Inviting myself into my first club here! Picked this up the other day for dirt cheap. It doesn't currently work, the battery holder has a decent amount of corrosion but the boards 'appear' clean. I pulled the batteries and it boots to test mode, but upon exiting - it will appear 'ready' to start a game, but none of the attract lights work. The game boots to a 2500 03 code in test mode - with no batteries or balls in it. Before I convinced it to get into test mode, it would blow the F2 fuse for solenoid. So in test mode, the flippers work, but none of the solenoids do. I think this will be a fun project and I know NOTHING about pins - so the whole thing will be an in depth learning process!

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You might want to give the contact cleaner a miss.

No. 3 on Tim Arnold's "Things not to do to a Pinball" list

3 - SPRAY CONTACT CLEANER IS EVIL!

I don't care what your uncle told you! I don't care that the label says "Safe - Leaves No Residue"! They are false! This is a lazy fools fix! It's a chemical solution to a mechanical problem! 95% of the dirt can be removed by wiping with a soft cloth! This is all you should do to a digital game's gold plated heads! Electro-mechanical games and all flipper switches are made of silver or a hard alloy. These should be filed flat and smooth! While filing, if the head is loose, replace the whole blade! After both contacts are cleaned and/or filed, adjust for self cleaning by having the two overwipe on contact! This lack of overwiping is why the contacts got dirty in the first place! A properly adjusted contact should NEVER get dirty! Also, bakelite spacers dry out, leaving loose switch stacks! Tighten both screws before adjusting.

I think someone set fire to their pinball machine back in the day when the vapour from the contact cleaner ignited in the cab.

Sounds like the game is booting into audits since the batteries are not installed and the CMOS is not saving settings. Either get NVRAM to replace the 5101 or install a remote battery holder.

You can try and get it to boot by opening the coin door and turning the game off and back on as fast as you can. Sometimes it takes a few tried but that should get you into attract mode.

I assume it is no longer booting with the 0 in the display on the CPU board. That points to other issues.

When I plugged batteries into it - into the corroded holder - it went back to booting to 0. Eventually changed to a 2. I got the batteries back out, and back into the audit mode it went. I do have a new battery holder on order as well as brand new lithium batteries.

Williams System 7 games have numerous quirks that typically need to be worked out to be reliable, including new 40-pin connectors between mpu and driver board, chip sockets often go bad on the mpu, 8a slow-blow fuses need to be added to each of the 2 backbox-mounted bridge rectifiers, new caps and connectors on power supply, etc etc etc. Check out Vid's guide to bulletproofing Williams System 3-7 games, he covers everything in great detail: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-bulletproofing-williams-system-6

Congrats on your BK, it was my first pin and will never leave my collection. Not only for nostalgic reasons, but because it is just an awesome game through and through. The art, the gameplay, the sound of the lit spinner blasting off from a good shot, the magnets, the Knight, and of course the hordes of drop targets! You'll be up and running in no time with the help of the folks here. Good luck!

Well - I am happy to report that a good friend of mine in the area knows a lot more about Pinball than I do, and I brought the machine over to him. We switched to a watch battery, cleaned some chips, and swapped out for a new driver board, and the game fired right up! However, it's only running at 98% as I am getting NO speech sounds!! When I turn the volume on the both the board and the cabinet, I can get scratching in the speaker, but no speech. The roms looked a little crispy, so I wonder if they went bad. I haven't checked voltages yet, but does anyone have any ideaS?!

There’s another adjustment knob on the sound board, which adjusts the levels between sound and speech. A lot of time people think it’s a volume control. Try adjusting that first

Saaaaaaaay what ? What kind of sorcery is this ?