Centaur
Bally, 1981
Centaur II
Bally, 1983You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider MtnFrost.
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Hello fellow Centaur owners. I thought I'd officially add myself here. My Centaur is the original, and will be going through restoration once our new home is finished in about 6 months. I love Bally 78-82, and have owned Fathom, Medusa, Frontier, Flash Gordon, Voltan, and Strikes and Spares. And of course Centaur.
I am always on the lookout for a better Centaur playfield and an apron. I will have scans cleaned up in AI of an apron in a few weeks.
Quoted from jibmums:While I can't speak for everybody, I'm still sure I speak for just about everybody when I say that the first version with the full-size backglass is preferred. Just like the original Eight Ball Deluxe with the full backglass is preferred.
Yes, I'll add my voice as well. The Centaur II is hideous.
Side note, I was able to grab a silver Centaur CPR playfield, thank you!
So I needed a Centaur Apron, and couldn't find one. So I took scans from a pinside member and converted them to vector art in Illustrator. I'll probably have this either printed on vinyl for my apron or have a set of stencils made, since I have all channels separated. I'm officially putting my shingle out here at Pinside for anyone needing some vector art created. Call it a way to earn a little pinball money. Here's a medium resolution jpeg image of the Centaur result:
I am still looking for a Centaur Apron, if anyone has one, maybe after they've upgraded. I'm using the wrong apron as a placeholder. Thanks
Hey all - working on my Centaur restoration - does anyone have a photo of the queen's chamber with the plastic off? I need to know what hardware should be there.
Second question - my playfield is missing the cover in the shooter lane where multiball is launched. What exactly is it, and is there a place to get a new one?
Ignore the horrendous playfield. I have a PBR replacement ready to go. Thanks!!!
IMG_6481 (resized).JPGIMG_6482 (resized).JPGPerfect, thank you! Yeah, I have the plastics set and I see now that I have those. Any idea what size posts those are? I'll see if I can find them on Marco.
I'm restoring a Centaur that came to me without upper playfield parts. I'm almost done, but I need the three wire gate assemblies and the upper right ball gate assembly.
Just thought I'd ask if anyone here has any spares to sell? Thanks!
What's the best place to get the best Centaur BG? I don't care if it's mirrored or not, but I know there were quality issues with some manufacturers. Thanks
image2 (resized).jpegSo I need help - I have almost completed my Bally Centaur Restoration, but there a few things I cannot find anywhere - are they really impossible to find?
Top of the list is the narrow height ball gate assembly that attaches to the upper wood rail. The three other wire gates I need, I need the brackets - end of the shooter lane, and the two on either side of the flippers. Help?
image0 (resized).jpegimage1 (resized).jpegimage2 (resized).jpeg
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:I think all of them. Never seen one without. I know I have seen a ton of Centaurs with bad / broken or missing magnets “including mine”. I had can to repair the coil to get mine to work. I think a lot of them were thrown away when they failed. Really not needed but a nice touch.
Interesting - I got mine when it had been stripped down to a shell and a partially populated pf, so no magnet here.
Quoted from jibmums:Hate to be that guy but......."ITS" and "MULTIBALL" spelled incorrectly on top card.
I appreciate that. Must have missed it. I'll post a new one.
Quoted from Zee:From the Readme:
freeplay:
if dip switch 25 = on and dip switch 26 = on freeplay is enable: decrease credits not lower then 01
coin 3 works now same as coin 2, dip 17 - 20 has new meaning
dip17 = off, flashing 50k and getting 50k for hitting orbs in sequence
dip18 = on , erase bonus after one ball total
dip19 = off, don't give power orb during multiball
if orb targets are out of sequence laught (but only if O was the first target you drop)
Dual target hits for ORBS target enabled (we wait two flashes until we detect an out of sequence error...)... change speech:
When (no multiball is running) or (multiball is running an dip 19 = on) and all ORBS dropped in sequence we say:
"Sequence completed activate Power Orb"
otherwise if all orbs are not dropped in sequence we say "energize power orb"
If multiball is running and all ORBS are droppend in sequence (with dip19 = off) we say "Sequence completed activate Power Orb"
if Multiball is running and all orbs are dropped not in sequence (withdip19 = off) we say "completed"
Installation notes:
read the file readxxx.txt file
create (based on your orignal roms) customs roms
Burn the two files on 2732 eprom
After power on you will see the version number in the player one display.
I have those updates in my machine. Pretty cool.
I am looking for feedback on a product line I'm thinking of doing. You can see it here, before it's been applied to the glass. In this case, I created a new glass "cling" by creating original artwork using the style of the Centaur playfield. It's meant to dress up any area of the playfield you want, in this case, I thought near the shooter lane seemed ideal. I like the idea, but what do I know? You tell me. It's not a sticker, no glue, just static cling keeps it in place once applied.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:It is in the style of Centaur art so kudos for pulling that off (not easy). She kinda looks like she is bowling to me. Would this be on the top or bottom side of the glass? Topside would interfere with cleaning the glass while the underside doesn’t seem practical.
Top. And it can be removed and repositioned several times. I just tested it and you can wipe over it without issue. 2 mil thickness I believe. Thanks.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:It is in the style of Centaur art so kudos for pulling that off (not easy). She kinda looks like she is bowling to me. Would this be on the top or bottom side of the glass? Topside would interfere with cleaning the glass while the underside doesn’t seem practical.
Thanks, I can match pretty much any art style. I have her reaching out for the pinball. But it's also the concept here which I'm gauging interest.
Quoted from Heretic_9:I think the basic idea has potential, and not just for this particular game. So this gets applied to the underside of the glass ? I guess that would make more sense, as the shooter lane itself (almost always some lacquered wood, isn't it ?) must receive some of the hardest wear of any part of the pf.
They can be made to apply underneath the glass as well.
Quoted from Bryan_Kelly:Just got a Centaur that needs a playfield swap.
I've done tons of swaps but anything in particular to watch out for on a Centaur?
I have found that the wiring along the edge between the drop target unit and the edge needs to be done very neat to avoid pinching when the PF goes back into the machine. Other then that, the usual - take tons of reference pictures, trace the wiring pattern on the old board with sharpie before you remove it, etc..
Quoted from Heretic_9:I had an opportunity to buy a Centaur with a new CPR pf -- at that time the price was around $4,500., which is very possibly low by today's standards. (?) ....Probably should have taken my chances with the first one, but oh well . . . .
Yeah, that's low. Centaurs with new CPR pfs run around 6K now. Ever increasing, yay, us.
Quoted from pacman11:Thanks the sound is now working but I can still hear the hum in the background.
Any know what size flipper rubbers this game takes? They seem to be different then standard rubbers.
Nope. Same as any other Bally from the era
Quoted from ChiefKC:This is the one that was at the NWPAS this past weekend. [quoted image]
There are some design choices there that I'd change. Hopefully everyone goes for the new, and leaves the original to the rest of us! ha!
I am thinking of adding the magnet to my Centaur. Looking at the old PF, there's no evidence it ever had a magnet mounted. No screw holes for a mounting bracket, and I don't see any magnet wires in the harness. Did all games come with the magnet? I seem to recall something mentioned about it, but it's been awhile.
Quoted from Joydivision:I saw your pic on the other thread, pretty sure all games came with a magnet. I have never seen a Centaur without a factory fitted magnet, even stranger the fact the wiring does not seem to be present in the harness also.
Could you see the wire for the magnet in those pics? Am I wrong in thinking there should be a gray and red wire flopping around lose in that area? I did dig out the old playfield, and I was wrong about the screw holes for the magnet bracket. They are there, so....
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/centaur-magnet-retrofit-question-where-s-waldo#post-6968724
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:The magnet is so anticlimactic in Centaur. Mine was broken for years before I noticed it. Now that it works, I barely notice it. It really doesn’t do anything for the game. That being said, the pinball tech in me says it needs to be 100% functional. Knowing it is missing would bug the hell out of me.
I am right there with you on both counts. If I can find the red gray wire, I can follow the instructions for putting in a replacement.
Quoted from mad_carl:What is a suitable replacement for the magnet?
I’m pretty sure mine was(is) toast when I bought the game. When I went to do the playfield swap shortly after I picked it up I noticed one side of the magnet was disconnected and the pf was discoloured.
After completing the swap I had a few issues on first start up and I disconnected it again to rule it out. Haven’t tried it since.
I can’t imagine it makes it breaks the gameplay but I also have a voice telling me it should be working lol
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/centaur-20-9247-magnet-retrofit
But if you don't want yours, I'll take it! I need to figure out why I do NOT have a lose wire that should be there for the magnet.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:You have both the wires. Joydivison circled where they connect in his last photo. Now you just need a magnet.
Oh, I didn't see that! Thank you, and thanks Joydivision! I had skipped right over that. More coffee! Pinside at it's best!
I've ordered all the parts to do the retrofit. What gauge wire should I be using for the harness wires?
I also ended the ad I had here for my Centaur. I'll repost it once I have the missing magnet installed.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:Curious how you're going to integrate that magnet coil into a Centaur since the ohms are 1/10th what they should be. If it were me, I would re-wind it with the correct gage magnetic wire but I know there are other work arounds.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/centaur-20-9247-magnet-retrofit
I'm using this approach.
Quoted from mjalexan:Ooh thanks for that link! I imagine this retro magnet is a fair bit stronger than original?
I think the big benefit of doing it this way is, it makes it simple to replace the magnet in the future. Since the original is unavailable, and not everyone wants to rewind a magnet (no disrespect meant).
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:I like it. Seems like a respectable substitute for the OEM part.
And....it WORKS! The magnet has a good, strong hold on the ball, and it only took me three games to energize and hit that target. (yeah, I know, but I wanted to see it without the hand of the restorer). Very pleased with the results.
These are way cool. I didn't know how much light they would pick up. Turns out, an awesome amount.
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Added 22 months ago: https://www.facebook.com/PinballClings For those interested.
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Pasadena, CA
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