I missed that. Forgot all about it. My humble apologies.

Hello Club Members,

I am going to pick up a Catacomb tonight and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on packing and moving the machine. I have moved many pinball machines, but never a classic stern. I am aware of all the basics like removing the balls and I guess also the bagatelle ball and protecting the backglass, but I don't know if the game folds down on the playfield glass or if the head needs to be removed. I moved a Silverball Mania in that way, which wasn't too bad. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

It would be like moving a Bally on of the same era. The back box is not hinged and needs to be removed.

Hi guys. I have a sound issue. Or at least I think I do. The sound during gameplay will get louder and softer randomly. I'm trying to figure out if this is normal or how the sound is actually supposed to work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

I had this issue, too. I replaced the 5101s with new RAM chips; a guy with a similar Stern had the same issue on RGP. It cleared up the issue.

...Then I installed a NVRam and the issue came back. I replaced the RAM sockets but the issue persists.

Do you have any more information on this? Any idea how the problem went away and then returned. I did head one of the 5101s with a heat gun and then cool it with an upside down air can. In doing that I was able to specify exactly what chip is causing the problem. The problem is that I cannot find a new chip anywhere.

After a couple weeks of work, I finally have everything cleaned up and working mummy Catacomb. The last problem I have is the gate in the bagatelle. I have attempted. to make 4 different versions of this gate.

http://s622.photobucket.com/user/pinball_faz/library/Catacomb%20Ball%20Gate?sort=3&page=1

None of the gates I have made seem to work very well. They either slow the ball down too much or do not come down correctly. Has anyone had any success with this gate or does anyone know where to buy one?

Those are simplified? I really can’t figure out how to score well on this game. Also, the bagatelle seems to be on for an arbitrary amount of time, after the first ball you can flip it for easily 20 seconds, each ball after that is fewer flips.

You just have to make one. The gates you have made look really good.
Maybe someday the engineering drawings will show up.
I still have to make mine: not looking forward to it.

THe bagatelle does have some sort of time limit. I guess you could call it a "hurry up" function. It is not much different than a DMD game in video mode which is also a timed function.

The rules are easier to understand then they are to explain. When you start a game the "A" in left drop target assembly lights up. Knock down those 3 drops and then the next Drop "B" light up. Then "C". Then "D" when you do all four drops in rotation like that the "Extra Ball" in the outlanes lights up and you can try for extra ball. But you do not have to shoot the drops in A-B-C-D rotation to light up lights in the bonus section.

To get all of the lights lit in the bonus section you have to knock down the drops in each assembly four times at a minimum. You don't really start getting many points until you get all 16 lights in the Bonus section lit up.

I think it would be easier for you to understand if you pulled your play field glass and manipulated the drops by hand. Start a game but do not shoot the ball.

Start at Drop Target "A" and activate the targets by hand. Pay attention to how the four lighted numbers 1-6-9-14 rotate their lights as you activate the drop targets. And watch how the lights in the bonus section light up while you are messing with the drop targets. Once you get all of the "A" lights lit up you will notice that 1-6-9-14 lights start rotating very fast; This signals to you that all four lights in the Bonus section are lit. Then move to "B" drop target and repeat. Then "C". Then "D". Pretend you are the super player and do this with just one ball-no drains.

Once you get all 16 lights lit up then shoot the ball and let it drain. And watch points roll up.

Do this and then play a few games. Suffer through the bagatelle part. And then come back and I will try to explain the bagatelle. The bagatelle is not complicated but it takes some skill. Yeah, I said that. While the bagatelle is mostly a crapshoot if you a skilled with flipper techniques you can shift the odds in your favor a little bit. And yes, as you get more lights lit in the bonus section the bagatelle will become more difficult to play.

Pull your play field glass and learn how those lights work. Then come back and we will work through the bagatelle function.

Catacomb is a cool game. If you like fast playing pinball machines it is worth learning.

So, John Greatwich made a backglass for Catacomb. The next question is, when will other parts be made? A playfield and plastic set would be nice! Instead of Star Gazer, or Sea Witch, Catacomb deserves the attention! I have a friend who can make a playfield and backbox decal, but I would prefer to have screenprinted.

GKW In the Quiksilver club they are gathering a list of people to buy Quiksilver plastic sets. If enough people sign up for them then Lee at Pinball Rescue will make Quiksilver plastic sets. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/quicksilver-club-all-welcome

AlexSMendes had a source for plastics. but they were pretty expensive. Don't count on a playfield anytime soon. don't think there are enough catacombs left to justify the cost for a mass produce.

I thought about getting a BG from john at one point. Not sure if he'll do one offs, but would be nice as mine is decent but, wouldn't mind getting a new one if I had the cash handy.

All my glass is done on demand. Seawitch, Star Gazer, Catacomb, Nine Ball, Lightning, & Iron Maiden. I'm waiting on new tempered glass blanks, so new glass in April.

Interesting. Not enough interest in Catacomb to justify making the plastics and playfield, but the back glass was a go? It was good of John to reproduce the back glass, but why not the other stuff? If you look at what CPR has done, I don't think that all of their reproductions were based on pins with huge runs (Solar Fire comes to mind). Kerry Stair wouldn't make some Banzai Run parts for me, because he said that BR did not have a large run and he doubted that many machines were left! Then why would CPR reproduce the upper back glass, plastic set, and (soon, I hope) the playfield?

If enough people are willing to commit to ordering Catacomb plastic sets, then I'm sure that we can convince Lee at Pinball Rescue to make some for us.

I have gathered 9 people (10 if I can count you) so far that expressed interest in getting catacomb plastics and have provided the list to Pinball Rescue. There response was that Catacomb is a larger set with the backbox plastics required as well. So, He would probably need to see closer to 20 people demand these, plus he needs a nice donor set to copy.

I have also spoke with AlexSMendes about fulfilling the demand. His issue is shipping to multiple address gets very expensive. The best bet for this to happen is to have marcospecialties to invest in the inventory so he can ship to one location and they can distribute.

If it makes a difference, you can count me in. Maybe CPR will see fit to reproduce the entire Catacomb project, one day. If I were reproducing stuff, I would go with the safe bet anyway, since there is no license restriction on old Stern stuff (to include Chicago Coin assets bought by Stern back in the day).

I'm looking for a Catacomb if anyone is selling, the nicer the better! Thanks!

Any of you guys check out the PAPA TV live stream of Catacomb on YouTube?

Great! Thanks for the link!

"The 1st guy, blew it up. think my highest is 740k, right around there."

Edit. Ok I was way off. played this morning and my high score was 2.1 mil on the backglass. lol, wi'm better that I remember.

Catacomb has made into the Top 100 at #99.

Does anyone have a wire color code guide? I bought a project Catacomb and I've already had to change wire positions (thanks for the pictures, Faz!) on the rectifier board. I'm having display issues and I've found a couple of hacks on a couple of the connectors on the CPU. The schematic is garbage! Can someone take a picture of the connectors on their boards and displays? The only picture on IPDB is too far away to distinguish colors and does not show the right side of the SD board. Thanks for any assistance!

I may be interested in selling my Catacomb. I have been trying to get it working 100%, but it has some issues that I can't resolve and I have too many more projects that I need to start. So far, just to get the obvious fixed, I have replaced the following with new boards: MPU, Solenoid Driver, Rectifier, All Displays, and Sound. I have re-pinned all of the MPU connectors, Rectifier connectors, and the .156 connectors on the Solenoid Driver board. Also, I had to put a new backglass into it. Unfortunately the playfield had some wear and it needs to be shopped. The upper playfield is in good shape and the bagatelle gate is present. I also have the original ball for the upper playfield. I will take $2500, if anyone is interested.

pm me with what you need and I can take pics.

I need to order the “ball trap thing” (I have no idea what it’s technical name is) that stops the ball from bouncing back into the shooter lane on the bagatelle. Does anyone: (a) know what I call that item so I can stop saying “ball trap thing”, and (b) know the size I need assuming it comes in different sizes?

Thanks in advance.

The Catacomb manual, page 16, lists it under ball guides and roll-overs. part number is: W2-6A-308. Under misc. Parts and Assemblies, there is a Bottom Gate Bracket p/n 1A-1031 and a Top Gate Bracket p/n 1B-1032. So, I guess you could call it a gate which is what it is---a one way gate.

It is a piece of wire that is bent in all sorts of directions like a pretzel. Actually, it is quite an intricate piece of wire. One size only.

See post #102

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/catacomb-club/page/3#post-2593644

Do you or anyone else know if the ralph guy got this wireform made? I'm thinking of buying one of the wire bending tools from Marco and giving this try. I never know when I might need an extra.

I did make 3 , 2 were fine and I sent one to Alexsmendes. see post 109 . Dothedoo posted the measurements on here for me to work from ,
I used the wire bending jig from Marco's. And the kit will come in handy for you in the future i'm sure .
good luck , if you need any extra measurements , just call out
Ralph.

Thanks for replying. My Catacomb has a good wireform and I thought I might to make one or two up. And then sell one for a small fortune to Tigerlaw

What kind of wire did you use and where my I buy some of it?

Thanks.

No probs mate , I used the wire supplied in the kit from Marco's , its the smallest size , but you should be able to buy the wire also from model shops , usually called 'piano wire' I also got a couple of wire bundle kits from PBR , he sells these and they contain various sizes

Hardware and big box stores carry piano wire.

The game finally makes sense to me. I agree with cotton, the rules are easier to understand than to explain. The bagatelle rules are pretty great also.

Do you see why I call the bonus/bagatelle/ toast section a crutch, or helper, for weaker players? Can you imagine trying to score big points without that bagatelle function?

Hands down. That bagatelle is absolutely key to good scores, for me right now anyway. The game is so much more fun when you understand how it works.

Damn!
This game is so cool!
I need a new project pin.
I'm so bummed I'll never get one!

My serial #

93136047-55EF-4E17-A14C-CE3473F8E542 (resized).jpeg

1BE55073-1235-440E-BB95-017E38D86532 (resized).jpeg

Cool!

I need to rank it. I won my first ever IFPA event on Friday night thanks to Catacomb. I was dubious about the game before but now I absolutely love it!!