Here's a direct link to the fix that I also did on mine. It's actually dead center in back; my mistake.
(Topic ID: 279773)
Linked Games
Cirqus Voltaire
Bally, 1997
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Quoted from BigMo:I can’t see one on either the old
[quoted image]
Or new
[quoted image]
Am I looking in the right place? (Too left and heart pumping hard )
The hole that needed to be plugged was in the first playfields that were made.
Your playfield is the corrected version so no need to plug
The hole was just under the John . Cameron at the top left of the playfield
Stansted
Have my son with me this week so house has to go back to a home and not a workshop so not too much progress 
Thanks to AVO for the screws I was able to finish and mount/test the power box in the cab. With the high gloss items from
AVO in the cab things are starting to look better.
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Replaced the nasty mould ridden clear PVC tubing with a new one also
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Finished soldering all the under play field mechs, will test and once done post these also
Backbox is focus at the moment as replaced all sockets with new and just finished last flatten back for last coat of paint, so hopefully be able to complete this soon.
Getting these as planning to finish before Christmas so my boy and I can see who is best (likely to be him as he is 9 and able to follow the ball and has better reaction times than me )
Finally soldering the mechs and looking good. All mechs are rebuilt with key components as new including screws, washers, coils, switches, optics nuts, etc. It’s only the main brackets which have been kept. In most cases where possible the wiring is also new.
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Ringmaster is in progress but main body rebuilt and looking much better. All parts again new inc board, motor, plastic shield and wiring
Unfortunately the nos warning sticker has lost its glue. Any ideas on what’s best to use?
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Jacksonville, FL
This weekend has been spent working on the transformer and the playfield batons.
Started to strip down the transformer for cleaning and repairing the wiring as there was some fraying on a few wires so will heat shrink each wire then the bundle to give them strength. Also waiting on new connectors for the transformer.
One of the screws refused to come out as it looked like it was varnished in so ended up having to drill it out. I have complete set of new screws, nuts and plastic inserts so no real issue. Planning to do a polish but may try and dry chrome plate the casing.
Was also looking at maybe getting a new transformer made. Let me know if anyone is interested as may be able to get a discount with a number made for personal use.
E557477C-717B-4BAA-BFD9-521677DB5D6E (resized).jpegBatons were a pig as the glue refused to come back off and was dry and rough in some places and then goey in others.
What should have taken an hour took about 3 but they are done and look so much better with the new vinyl wrap 596E3554-39FA-4E5D-BDF0-620A8AD24BDB (resized).jpegDA19BD94-2FEE-4251-BFC0-90584D2A95FB (resized).jpeg4C9C753F-CF78-4CF2-BD63-B91C5CC391A4 (resized).jpeg
Backbox finally back on the cab and installed all new: screws, nuts, bolts, washers, ground wire, stay arm, rear vent (not new though might get a high gloss one made), coin door, lockbar receiver, shooter housing, start button, flipper buttons and optos, colour dmd and new plastics.
Finally at the point it’s starting to look like a pin again but still loads to do
Been putting off doing the play field as hard to fix a screw up
T nuts installed and applied Danish Oil to the bottom to bring out the grain and seal it and Ceramic Coating to the lacquer to seal it also and get it really shine. Only issue is the oil stinks
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As my goal was to rebuild to as new as possible, part of that is every switch and lamp socket is being replaced, which means thousand of diodes need to be soldered onto them.
Here are the under play field and the -19 switches done but need to polish the lamp bracket and switch wires as they look grubby
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Only another left 959 to go
Onto the playfield starting with the wire ball guides. Was following Vids post on installing them and all went well with the first two but then on the third my drill bit dug in and when I tried to back it out, it ripped out the lacquer.
Luckily it’s not in a visible place and easy to repair but rather than taking a risk of
It happening again I used a burr bit on my dremel (like) tool
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This gave a nice clean result though you do get the lovely smell of melting lacquer so went slow and in short bursts to avoid burning the lacquer.
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Then went round and did the same for all the post holes
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That done the side batons on and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I prefer to rebuild in the cab so will have it in there sometime tonight.
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Getting really, really excited now. No one would think I am almost 50 and every one and work keeps telling me to shut up when I try and talk about the rebuild
It’s going to be an awesome Christmas
The coin door interface is unavailable new. The pcb is in very good condition so swapping out the components in connectors and new counter
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Going to make something, possibly interactive inside the cab and which will show the rebuild and include the old counter
Was thinking of doing something with the backbox bracket. Have seen some light up lettering that goes over the bracket but wanted a “built in” look.
What do we feel?
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The brackets are bought with the lettering cut out already, but how the light up I quickly prototyped
I like how the colour is still there when there is no power also the photos do not do justice to the colours when power is applied
Going to do the same for my CFTBL
Underside of play field coming on nicely
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Added some felt to the side of the play field to prevent scratching the side of the cab
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Now for the lamps boards, all bar one are new and all sockets are new (left new, right old)
My son is with me this week so slow progress but got the polished loom brackets, light boards, mechs etc in.
Need some help as though I took thousands of photos I am not clear as to which hole the loom bracket is supposed to go into under the WOW switches.
I think it goes in the hole in the top right of the yellow diamond Insert in the photo but may I ask if someone can check please?
Super thanks I’m advance
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I forgot to order a new eddy board and also ordered the wrong screws for the light board mounting so they are on order and hope they will be here this week.
Started replacing the lamp holders and switches on the loom but wasn’t happy with the condition of some of the GI wiring so ordered some new wire to replace which should be here tomorrow.
If all goes to plan I should be ready to put the loom back into the cab at the weekend. Then it’s the topside of the play field and start the startup checks and check and double check everything
All goes well I should be able to power up end of next week 
On track for done for Christmas
I saw this on a CV and it looked amazing.
6BD732EC-636D-4440-A756-D872469E5126 (resized).pngQuoted from Johncare07:I saw this on a CV and it looked amazing.
Thanks Johncare07
Ive seen this apron and still playing with the idea of adding one. Only feedback I have seen is that there is a slight buzzing from the EL panels but I am seeing that with the mod I just did a few posts back. It seems to be due to the high frequency that the panels are excited at makes them resonate when attached directly to a metal as they act the same as a piezo buzzer
I’m going to experiment with a few things to see if I can eliminate the buzzing and if I do then the apron might have to find a home or I might try another experiment
Quoted from Johncare07:Great idea to add the felt to prevent scratching.
Thanks Johncare07 I’ve found the wiring loom felt tape to work really well, but once it is applied use a hairdryer and a roller to really make the adhesive stick.
It will still come off without damage but it won’t come off on its own. I’ve seen a few cabs that have scratch marks as the pivot nut which needs to allow the play field to move to account to manufacturing tolerances I guess means the playfield support brackets or playfield edges scratch the cab.
I have a pair of mirror blades which didn’t fit my CFTBL which I am going to use on this build and didn’t want it then to get scratched.
They still might if the felt gets dirty but I will replace the tape every couple of years as it is cheap and readily available
Quoted from BigMo:Thanks johncare07 I’ve found the wiring loom felt tape to work really well, but once it is applied use a hairdryer and a roller to really make the adhesive stick.
It will still come off without damage but it won’t come off on its own. I’ve seen a few cabs that have scratch marks as the pivot nut which needs to allow the play field to move to account to manufacturing tolerances I guess means the playfield support brackets or playfield edges scratch the cab.
I have a pair of mirror blades which didn’t fit my CFTBL which I am going to use on this build and didn’t want it then to get scratched.
They still might if the felt gets dirty but I will replace the tape every couple of years as it is cheap and readily available
Very helpful. What thickness felt tape do you use? Can you post a link for where you buy the specific roll you use? Thanks.
Quoted from Johncare07:Very helpful. What thickness felt tape do you use? Can you post a link for where you buy the specific roll you use? Thanks.
Of course, I have found this to be a good quality at a good price. It is comparable to the Audi tape I use on my car restores
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FKT7WYK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_u.l0FbAZ3V24T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
1 week later
The last switch, the MRS has arrived finally
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Been busy on the playfield rebuild and it’s taken so much work
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No matter how many photos you think you have taken, take double
Every bracket, wire ramp, clips, hex stand-off, screw even if new really benefited from a clean and polish
I stripped the spinners right down, removed the black paint and polished them to a nice shine. I feel they look better and reflect the light when spinning now
Each microswitch was replaced and double, triple insulated and all metal contacts coated with conformal coating to prevent short glitches
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Still loads to do as lots of tweaking on the playfield to get the perfect fit
Quoted from BigMo:Transformer tarted up and continuity and resistance tested. All new pins and connectors. Need to demagnetise and power up and check voltages
[quoted image]
Demagnetize??
Spent a good 8 hours working the backbox wiring to get the best hidden wiring as possible. I’ve left connectors out at the moment so I can do the power up tests. I also moved the Pinsound boards from where I originally had to them as the didn’t look good. These are equally spaced and lined up with power board now.
Will be replacing each IDC connector after power up as it would be easier to fault find
Still some more cabling work to make the wiring look pretty but getting there
Quoted from bobukcat:Demagnetize??
I used a DC voltage and current to resistance test each of the windings. Known dc voltage and current then expected resistance, ohms law type of thing. If you don’t get the right resistance then this could indicate a problem. Advice to anyone wanting to do this is please research first for safety and avoid risk of damage to the transformer
This test can magnetise the coils (lots of physics as to why) so to prevent a rush current due to this I ran the same voltage and current in the opposite direction and back and forth reducing the current each time
I have a bachelors degree in electronic engineering and we had to build our transformers from scratch including all calcs, build windings, plates etc and testing and it was one of the steps post testing we had to do as a safety step
I also restore vintage fans and have rebuilt the coils etc and do the same on those post testing
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Lots of info on the net on how to do this and benefits
After what has felt like an age, finally got the playfield rebuilt. So many little adjustments needed to get the ramps and plastics to line up as perfect as possible.
Ringmaster is now left plus it’s and the disappearing bumper adjustments.
Missing a couple of decals and one clear plastic which I’ve ordered
Also have to finish the light tub for the back box with the plastics and LEDs
After that I have to add coin board and then transformer to go back in the start powering the thing up (gulp). I am a little anal on that part and go through a set of steps like launching a shuttle into space
If all goes well then next week will either be super awsm or not so
1C30E66E-90AD-47C7-9ECE-694ED572B130 (resized).jpegSome progress. No matter how many checks, double and triple checks the first power on leaves me bricking it
Powered up the transformer mounted inside the cab and all voltages are inline with those found here and my multimeter shows 50hz
http://www.iobium.com/wpc_transformers.htm
Got a slight hum which I am sure I didn’t have before but as I had to drill out one of the transformer screws I am not surprised if a few plates got separated even after I clamped and epoxy’Ed the core.
Fire extinguisher was not needed....yet
Next step to connect power driver and check status and voltages
Connected all the connectors and powered up and no blown fuses or issues yet. Had a bent pin on the game rim and security chip on very first power up but easily spotted and corrected
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Need to finish tidying the backbox wiring as not happy with the ribbon cables and will remake them to fit better and then add pinsound memory stick and run tests.
Backbox looks so much better than before
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521B7B00-CE74-4FC5-B7B3-D00D1B296D60 (resized).jpegHave hit a slight issh on the neon ramp cover. It is a repo part and it is slightly thicker and wider than the original but also has a bigger lip so the clear plastic doesn’t fit as it should but also the ball sometimes catches.
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Three options at the moment, trim the lip and warm the plastic then shape it thinner. If anyone has flame polished then it is the same method.
Second option is to restore the old part. It’s not in bad condition with only a small crack on the rear mount which should be easy to fix.
Finally find a new ramp and hope it is better than the one I have
Will try the first two as I am gagging to play it again
Hi EarlGrey
I actually followed the manual on ipdb.org for the most part.
I extend the ringmaster the highest position with the playfield down and then machine off. First was to undo the screw a the top the ringmasters head, then the two screws at the back of his head. My ringmaster was not flexible at all due to age so it was loads of effort to open him up enough to slide the head over the internals.
I then disconnected the magnet. then working from under the playfield I had to remove the two subway ramps to either side of the ringmaster mech having disconnected the switches for the subway first. These are really fiddly to get out as there are tons of wires in their way. Depending on how fragile they are you may want to disconnect (but take loads of photos first ) the wiring around them
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might be a good idea to clean the ramps and replace the switches as they are out. I used alcohol swabs, then flame polished them which removed the scoring completely. Just be careful not to overheat as they can not lie flat and will sag. I kept them in my hands gently rotating them until they had cooled (and they can take a few mins to cool) so they didnt sit under their own weight in one position for too long
I then disconnect the wiring from the motor board and the head. After that it was a case of 6 screws\nuts.
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Word of caution here, the mech is heavy and it is difficult to hold it while you undo the screws and nuts. I recommend that you have someone help hold the weight why you undo the screws\nuts and not let the last screw or nut take the full weight. I did the the playfield post snapped and the mech almost went crashing into the cab. I was lucky that I had one hand just under it to catch it.
Most of the screws etc will be 20+ years old and the manufacturing may not be what it is today which is why I made an effort to replace almost every screw, nut, post etc on this rebuild. As with the electronics everything has a mean time before failure associated with it and they machines were not designed or built to last 20+ years
If you are reusing then just watch out at this point
Once out, for the protector you made need to remove the metal collar under the playfield but this is only two screws. I tried to add a protector but as mine is a new repo playfield it is slightly thicker then the original so the metal protector doesn't fit
Hope that helps
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