Haunted House
Gottlieb, 1982Good to know. Thanks Vid. As long as it wasn't because it's got some sort of water based substance I wasn't aware of and will make the wood swell from the single application used.
That blitz paste looks like it's top notch stuff. Not cheap, but worth it.
One thing I learned from my trip to meet Steve young at PBR and what I thought was really interesting, was his advice on not buying new parts if I absolutely don't have to. He said that these Gottlieb games were built conservatively and used better quality parts than they had to and they trump anything that is reproduced now. He said even today's lamps don't add up to those from the past, so if I'm staying with incandescents, and a #313 or #455 bulb isn't out, don't replace it just to get fresh stuff. The newer bulbs of today won't last as long and are much lower quality.
Not only was this valuable information for my future orders, I just loved the fact that he would rather have his customer base be well informed than to make a sale. He is a straight shooter and a nice guy overall.
Quick question: I removed the old pop bumper non-adhesive mylar platters from each PB, and I purchased 4 new clear platters from PBR. Should I install those new ones or is it better to leave them off? I swore I read somewhere on the threads that it's best to avoid using them since dirt gets trapped under the platters and could release particles onto the PF in the future. Because I might have come across this information at some point, I'd like to double check with you all before I go about taking these guys apart and installing the new ones.
Thanks!
What I do is repair any pop bumper to playfield wear and then install a adhesive mylar ring that's the same size as one of those platters there. Sometimes, I install one of those loose platters on top of it so it looks original. I'm sneaky that way. 
Steve
Ok, so in the end you use something there to protect it from the action of the ball being ricocheting off the PB. I don't have the skills right now to repair any paint damage around the PB's and so I think i'll just get the non adhesives on to get me another step closer to actually firing this game up and enjoying it for a little while. I eventually want to get the PF's touched up but that may be down the road. Despite wanting to get playing this thing, I have a few other purchases I need to invest in to get me finished here.
Another question related to the PB's. I am pretty much set on getting a Pascal PI-80 board for this game, but was thinking I might order 5 PB driver boards as well to deck this thing out in Pascal boards all around. I know people say you can't go wrong with the PI-80, but what about the PB boards? Is that overkill if say my PB boards can be repaired or modded to be bulletproof? I believe I had one or two of the PB's weren't responding but haven't truly traced everything to see why. And I say 5 PB boards because I would use one for the VUK mod later, unless it's smarter to use one of the old boards for the mod.
I can't say too much since I like to keep all the original boards in my games if possible. It's the easiest for me since I know how to fix them and have the parts needed on hand.
Steve
System 80, not just a job, it's an adventure
If you have the drive and skills to repair and mod your existing PB boards then that will be the most cost effective method and they should be bullet proof too. For me when i factored in the component and shipping costs to repair and mod my existing PB boards as well as my time to do it, it just didnt seem worth it. I used a new PB board for the VUK mod and it works mint.
The pop bumper board is a simple circuit and easy to work on. If you're comfortable soldering, I'd just keep the originals. If not then it's a great way to learn, and I'd still keep the originals.
I buy the originals (broken or not) off eBay when I see them cheap. You can pick them up for like 4 for $8. I have a dozen or so extras. You can use them in System80, but they're also useful if you want to mod an older game (ie, System1) to have snappier pops. The board operates independently of the MPU, so it's a neat little part.
Yeah, for right now I think Pascal everything would be overkill if my PB boards seem to be just fine. Not 100% sure yet that they are, but that is my next step to investigate. Saving $100+ is definitely something I could use these days. I am going to do the PB board mods myself once my solder, iron and braid come in. I'm going to purchase a Weller 40 watt solder iron tonight sometime, along with Kester 60/40 solder.
Besides the CR7 looking a little burnt on my power supply, I do feel that all of my boards are in generally good shape and no battery corrosion. I would love to look at the game and say that everything is nearly all original, I really do like that sort of thing, but even though the boards seem to be good, I kind of want the Pascal PI-80 to ensure reliability for years to come. Still teetering on the fence regarding that decision. I still have a lot to do before I could even plug in the boards and try to set my new high score!
Hey guys, I have a couple questions about fuses. I've tested a few of them with my multimeter and one or two are definitely blown. I'm going to do a more thorough investigation on those after a couple more to-do's on the machine house cleaning front. But I was sort of interested in finding a package of all the fuses needed in the game for not only backups, but to ensure there are all new and reliable fuses in the game.
I have a link here from Marco showing a kit of fuses needed for around $20 with shipping. You get 5 of each of the eight values needed. Anyone ever purchase this kit or know of a better way to obtain fuses?
Also, should I just replace all fuses in the game regardless if the old ones test correctly? Or does it really not matter and a good fuse is a good fuse regardless if it is old and simply replace what is blown.
Thanks again for all of the help!
I would replace all the fuses anyway, sometimes its hard to read the value and you want to ensure the correct values are used.
If your boards are all working and you dont want any of the features you gain with pascals boards like multiball, ball save, 5 high score names, coil locked on protection, then I would just use what you have. If one board dies in the future in a way you cant fix and dont want to send out for repair then buy pascal board at that time.
Honestly Petey, I'm not really all that interested in those features. I want this to run as original as possible and was even concerned a little about the scrolling text and features that wouldn't make it feel early 80's old school to me. Personally, I think it's cooler having one high score to go after for whoever steps up to the machine.
I even reached out to Pascal about it and asked him if the original board behaviors can be preserved with his board and he confirmed they can be. I was merely buying them for straight up rock solid reliable performance. If I do go with it, I'm hoping there is a PI-80 feature where you can literally have none of the new stuff appear even upon powering up. The only part that peaked my interest was the new attract modes you can get with them.
Still 50/50 on this decision.
Well that makes it simple then. Do your best to fix up original boards and buy Pascal board as last resort. As Pascal suggested you can indeed turn off the extra features in the software, im not positive anout all of them but most of them. If it comes to it you could always download the manual and it has all features listed.
Yeah that's the best bet. Work on the game to bulletproof status as is and if I hit a dead end with original boards, pascal board is a solid last resort.
Sorry to double ask this question, but I'm going to be making some purchases tonight and want to be sure this is money well spent. How do you guys feel about this fuse kit from Marco? Any reason to stay away from this? Should I buy fuses from a different vendor?
I like that it's giving me everything I'll need for the game, or so it says...
Thanks guys!
It's fuses. If you need thoses fuse sizes they're fine. If you work on many machines it's more cost effective to by larger packs of common sizes or "fuse breakers", but sounds like that's not you. Yet!
You seem like me where you fuss over getting "the right things". Just focus on getting your addiction firmly cemented and upgrade things later. 
Quoted from radium:You seem like me where you fuss over getting "the right things". Just focus on getting your addiction firmly cemented and upgrade things later.
Haha I love this. I do fuss over things like this and will upgrade these later on when I'm ready for it. Probably one of the last things I do since I wouldn't want to blow new fuses if things aren't exactly tidy in the circuitry portion of my game yet. Thanks Radium!
UPDATE: Cleaned up PF's
As I might have stated before, the game is living at my folks house since I'm in the middle of moving and my current place is just too small for the pin let alone having all the tools and parts I need to restore this spread out and organized. The next house is surely going to have a game room and once I'm done here, there will be enough room for this game's brother, Black Hole, to come and join the party. I am trying to get to the game as much as possible and always itching to progress it.
Here are the three PF's and I am very happy with how they cleaned up. There is some planking and dirt lines I just can't remove, but overall I like the look and they feel clean to me. Here are some before and after shots. Again, I used GoJo original blend on the PF's and it did a great job with no damage to the paint or wood. No abrasives either.
All of the metal parts received a good yet careful wipe down with some brasso and a medium scotch pad to shine them up. The dirt is pretty much gone and they look good. The clear posts were stained and dirty, but I soaked them in simple green for about 24 hours and they came out crystal clear.
Next steps from here regarding the PF's is to install all posts, screws, rubbers and plastics. Then give it a good wax when I'm ready to start playing games.
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UPDATE: Cleaned up metal parts, coin door, reinstalled metal parts
I removed most of the interior metal parts that showed signs of grime and rust, as well as any PF metal parts that needed a good cleaning. I did do a bath of Evapo-rust for all of the screws and a few interior cabinet parts and it did a good job. Some of the parts were showing a sign of the rust coming back and so I tried Naval Jelly which came highly recommended to me. The jelly really left them with a nice vibrant shine. Following this, I gave them all a rub down of carnaaba wax then wiped clean.
The cabinet's interior parts were cleaned up, polished a little and put back in. Some of the metal parts had some pitting and scars remaining from the rust but I think it's good enough now. Not a professional mirror shine, but looks a lot better than it did dirty and rust.IMG_2469.jpg
The coin door was really beat up. It appears at some point in this games life someone broke into the coin door with a screw driver or something. The frame is banged up and there was destroyed metal inside the frame. I basically bent that broken metal piece off since it's really sharp and not serving any purpose anymore. The door and frame are starting to look nice and I might give it a little more elbow grease to polish them up. For some reason, the door is sitting on a slight angle and I can't figure out how to tighten that.
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UPDATE: Removed battery from board
So I finally ordered my soldering iron (weller 25w) and a sucker, and set off on removing that battery. As stated before, I have soldering experience from about 15 years ago at school I took a few electronics classes but thats it. That solder smell and the way it flowed and interacted was just like I remembered it. Actually brought back memories believe it or now. Anyways, I removed the battery and it appears everything is pretty good, except one of the feet of the battery does appear to have leaked or burnt the circuitry lines around it or something.
Does the board appear fine and is that area I referenced part of leaking damage?
IMG_2626.jpgIMG_2625.jpgIMG_2624.jpgIMG_2636.jpgIMG_2629.jpgIMG_2630.jpgIMG_2632.jpg
Also, what is the most preferred mod for the battery? I've seen both the remote battery pack with AA's, as well as the round coin cell batteries installed as well.
Thanks everyone for all of the help thus far.
Yeah, battery leaked. You can see in the third-last picture where the alkaline has seeped over towards the reset section. See the dull green legs on the resistors? Still minor, so that's good.
Needs to be cleaned up, BUT do your homework first. It's easy to spread the alkaline while attempting to clean it.
Ok good to know. Thanks for diagnosing that for me.
Personally, I made a decision and said if the battery is corroded at all, I buy the Pascal PI-80. If the battery was not corroded then I stick with everything original and count my lucky stars I get it all right. Since the corrosion occurred, I'm going to own up to my coin flip so to speak and buy the Pascal board tonight. The more I wait the more I debate the decision and make it harder.
Since I'm going with the Pascal, do I still need to clean the corrosion off the board? I'm just going to keep the originals inside to stick with the game for it's life.
Screw it, I went ahead and ordered all Pascal equipment for the game. Now everything will match internally board wise. I didn’t want to spend that much but I really wanted this to be super reliable and kind of itching to get playing it already. I coud have cleaned things up, modded everything but who knows how long that would take me and honestly this being my #1 first game ever, why not treat it to the finest gear.
I also ordered 4 Pascal PBDB's to go with it. I probably could have figured out the issues with a few of the PB’s that are not working and did the mods, but just felt the $94 difference was worth it to get it done. Plus, if I get frustrated and decide later to order these PB boards, I don't have to pay that $20 shipping and $13 paypal fee for a second order.
This investment puts me right around $1900 for the rebuild and restoring of this game considering all of the travel costs, products, tools, etc. Even though a lot of the cleaning products and soldering tools will be kept for future projects.
Here is my cost breakdown to date.
Total investment: $1,922.32 (as of 7/23/15)
COSTS
Game - $1,000
PayPal Fee - $14.80
Bulbs, Rubbers, Balls, Lock - $44.43
Travel Pickup - $146
Cleaners and hardware - $32
Plastic piece from TNT - $34.98
Window and Secret Passage Protector - $62.99
Silverball Retro LED test - $12.00
PBR Resource Order #1 - $93.67
HH key ring = $9.87
Soldering tools - $33.55
Pascal boards = $438.03
Too bad you had the corrosion but I'm sure you will be very happy with the Pascal boards. This also gives you many technology upgrades and is the start point if you decide to do some mods, I know you don't want to now but you never know what the future holds 
PF's look much better, you could do some black touch-up around some of the inserts that would be pretty easy and really improve the look. I am attaching some images that can be used for printing water slide decals to cover the wear areas if you are so inclined. Not saying you should do it, just wanted to provide the option if you are interested. It does increase the work as you would then need to protect the decals with a clear coat or other alternative but that would also preserve the game for many years to come. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks Petey! These are amazing assets to have when the PF touch up time comes. I might get everything back on the game, get it running 100%, and then go back to touching up the paint. You are the man!
Despite being anxious to play, I really don't mind putting in the work overall, but I just didn't know how far down the board repair rabbit hole I would have to go with these old boards since i'm new to all of this. It makes me feel better knowing I not only have the most advanced top notch boards in the game, but I also have the technical support from Pascal if something needs to be fixed.
A part of me does feel guilty and that I 'took the easy route' or copped out of getting my hands dirty modding the original boards by purchasing all new. I desired to have the game be 'all original' from the parts to the boards, and I wanted to learn to be an experienced pin tech through the process of board work so my future collection is in good hands. I'll get over it quick when the game is alive and well, but I do have a little of that guilt.
After I get all of these posts, screws, rubbers, plastics, etc. back on to the game, I have to replace the orange capacitors, resolder some wires that are hanging off from under the PF's, replace all fuses and replace a couple coils that look to be burned.
That board damage is so minor, it would be a real shame to put it away as-is and let the damage spread. If you don't plan on cleaning it, you might want to sell it so it can be repaired and do someone some good.
My MPU board was corroded much worse than that and has been rock solid for over two years now.
Ok, good to know. I'll be sure to get this cleaned up so it doesn't do further damage. I may sell them, and in the event I do, what would be a fair price for me (seller) and a potential buyer? What are some fair prices for all of the boards cleaned up in package deal (everything + 4 pop bumper driver boards) minus the sound board since I'll need that still... And what would be a fair price if I sold them all with the little damage thats currently present? If anyone has any insight as to what each board could be worth I would very much appreciate it.
I was also thinking that since I absolutely love the system 80 collection, and strive to collect pretty much nothing but those for now with Black Hole next on my radar then eventually save up for Spirit (if I can find one), I can always transfer the Pascal boards I just bought over to those games if needed and with more knowledge down the line bulletproof these original Haunted House boards.
Here are some pictures of the boards...
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Also, several times I've read the saying from reputable pin repair guides and experts "if YOU cannot repair the boards yourself, simply replace them". Thats sort of the notion I was following when pulling the trigger on the Pascal.
Thanks again to everyone for all of your help!!!! I am getting very excited this is all coming back together and being so close to being ready to play.
Looks like you have your hands full, but what a great game to dig deep on. You'll enjoy the fruits of your labor when it's all together.
As for the boards, well...
From experience, the cpu can be iffy. I have had a very reputable guy repair one I had, only for it to still have problems down the road, and this was a very clean board. Probably not the repair guys fault, but more the board can be touchy.
I have had good experiences with the original driver boards and they are fairly easy to fix yourself.
The biggest problem with repair on these older boards, is the traces are fragile, so you have to be careful, and the eproms are not cheap to get if you need them. I love the Rottendog cpu, as it's a simple dip switch away, but pascal makes great stuff too, as well as niwumpf.
I've had a lot of system 80 pins and have found the connectors are the fault for a lot of problems. If you start with known good or re-pinned connectors, the troubleshooting becomes far more easier. That, and a good/new power supply
Do not agree that the traces are fragile. They're wide enough you can walk your dog on them. Connectors and bad grounding are much more problematic. Best thing I did was repin all my connectors.
Anyways, the problem you have selling them is they are pretty nice but still "as-is, untested". If you can tell a buyer they work 100% then you can get a lot more for them. Look at sold items on eBay and here for price ideas. I pickup "as-is" power supplies for $10 or so, driver boards for $20, MPUs are more variable. Clean with no hacks like yours should get $25+. I'd bid on these guys if I saw em.
Very good to know, thanks again Radium. I'm going to clean up the corrosion and start there. Then I will evaluate more heavily if I'm going to throw these up on Ebay.
I just gave a deeper look through the Menu Operations sheet Pascal has available for the board and it definitely got me more excited about the investment. I do like the thought of checking out the stats of the game (# of games played, # of high scores, etc.) as well as all of the tests to help me keep on top of the game. Should be a lot of fun even though I plan on keeping the basic characteristics of the game's play as original as possible.
Just placed my second order with PBR and coming my way are all new fuses, more #47 lamps, printed manual with updates, green condoms to test on the #313 bulbs and instructional score card covers.
Quoted from radium:Do not agree that the traces are fragile.
Let me rephrase. More so than other boards, and much more to someone inexperienced with board repair.
Something I wanted to share...
I'm not looking to paint too much right now, because i'm considering preserving as much original paint on the cabinet and PF's as possible. May change my mind in the future, but for now, i'll let this thing show it's age. But, just to have it in my available resources I wanted to research what paint types and codes work best for the HH. Here are a few that others have said work great and look to be pretty spot on.
If anyone has any input on the paint they've used to touch up their HH cabinet and PF's please share!
http://www.amazon.com/Testors-Enamel-Bottle-Gloss-Black/dp/B0035LN9CC
Screen Shot 2015-07-24 at 11.01.45 AM.pngScreen Shot 2015-07-24 at 11.02.22 AM.pngScreen Shot 2015-07-24 at 11.02.34 AM.png
Quoted from vid1900:Testors Enamel paints bleed like crazy into the clearcoat.
Don't use them for touch ups, or you will be very sorry.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/2#post-629391
Great to know! Thanks Vid. Luckily, I didn't rush to buy any of these and just wanted to throw it out to the group. I'll look into that thread for sure to find the right materials to have on hand.
Ok, quick update here and a question for anyone why may know... This weekend I was able to put some time into the game and was able to get all of the metal parts, clear posts, and new rubbers on the game. Now everything I ever pulled off to polish and clean is off the floor and on the game where it should be. It feels really good to make this progress. Now I'm simply waiting on a PBR order to come in with the remaining lamps I need before putting the plastics back on. This is coming together great and I'm a few steps closer to the finish line!!!!
But, I do have a question.
1.) regarding the clear posts, I noticed there are two of the extra tall clear posts, picture shown here of the one I knew for sure. But I guess I didn't notice the second one when pulling them off. Anyone know where this other one goes? See the picture of the post top center above the welcome!
Thanks guys!!! I should be receiving a nice
package from France later this week or early next!!!!!
That clear post I am looking to find out where it belongs is actually the 1-3/16" post as shown above connected to the wire gate.
Hey Petey, thanks again for dropping in with some help. But I don't see the second one... Where would it be in relation to the one I have placed, which is right above the E ! in "welcome!".
Oh sorry i thought u were talking about the other post in that picture. I will poke around tomorrow and see if i can find it. I also have the manual that i think lists the plastic parts. Come to think of it have u looked in the manual, i think i saw u have one.
I checked the manual and for some reason it doesn't list these taller clear posts anywhere. Unless I missed it.
Attached is a photo of the main PF parts page of the manual and it only lists the 1" clear posts at #12. It calls for (25) of them. What is weird is the location of this taller clear post isn't identified, which would be on the very top wire gate shield.
Thanks Mike. It looks like it could be based on that shot, but its hard to tell. The manual lists that particular post as a normal 1". It very well could be a taller one because the one tall post I know for sure goes to the top position of the wire gate shield and is directly across from a white siamese double posts, same as what your picture is showing. Perhaps these taller posts need to match those doubles for the gate and the rubber to sit right.
Thanks for the input.
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