I used comet LEDs in mine, and I think it looks good, maybe not as good as incandescent but no one knows the difference but me and I can live with it.
(Topic ID: 104189)
Linked Games
Comet
Williams, 1985
Topic Gallery
Oakley, CA
Sana'a
Quoted from Brent1955:Hi fellow comites,
has anyone stepped up to the plate and made a replacement corkscrew ramp? Mine is not getting any better with age and will consist mostly of patches and duct tape soon.
It's coming.
I will post as soon as I get the prototype in the mail.
Quoted from vid1900:It's coming.
I will post as soon as I get the prototype in the mail.
Yeah mines hanging together with bubble gum and wishes.
Quoted from vid1900:It's coming.
I will post as soon as I get the prototype in the mail.
I am in for a couple as well.
1 week later
Updates today for malenko’s PF.
Fresh coat of gray on the back -
And the overlay is down!! Let it dry for a couple of days and then ready for clear.
-scott
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Today’s update - first coat of clear is down!
-scott
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Quoted from Malenko:My boner has a boner.
rofl
I'm fixing a comet for a friend of mine and it needs displays pretty bad. Looks like Pinscore makes a system 9 display. Before I order, does anyone have any other suggestions?
Also, is there a good way to cut down on hits to the glass from the jump ramp?
Quoted from cocomonkeh:I'm fixing a comet for a friend of mine and it needs displays pretty bad. Looks like Pinscore makes a system 9 display. Before I order, does anyone have any other suggestions?
If some of the displays still work, you can always get a few used ones.
If going LED, make SURE you look at how the Display Controler connects to the game. Some Comets have pin connectors and some have edge connectors. If you just casually look, you will 100% buy the wrong one. You can, of course turn an Edge Connector game into a Pin Connector game, if you own a crimper.
Quoted from cocomonkeh:Also, is there a good way to cut down on hits to the glass from the jump ramp?
It's supposed to hit the glass.
Those exciting jump moments are what makes Comet so great.
(Whitewater also hits the glass, and if you listen closely, uses the same Wheeeeeeee sound from Comet....)
Quoted from cocomonkeh:Also, is there a good way to cut down on hits to the glass from the jump ramp?
Although the ball hitting the glass doesn't bother me, my game has an aftermarket ramp with a significantly longer ramp flap - only occasionally do I get a glass hit on this ramp. The Comet I have at work has the standard OEM ramp with a short flap, and gets a lot of glass hits
Great thank you.
Only one display seems to be working normally and he kind of wants to future proof it.n
We lucked out and the super hard to find plastic parts (corkscrew and whatnot) have been replaced by the previous vendor. The batteries were toast but the acid damage was minimal. Playfield is about what’d you expect for something that old, but no major areas of missing paint.
Only bad hack is someone put on a credit button.
So basically it will be a good player for 250 in parts, counting the display.
New displays are on their way. Game seems to be behaving fine. Just needs a good cleaning. It throws out a board error (5) every so often, but a few resets fix it. Weird. Any thoughts anyone?
Quoted from cocomonkeh:New displays are on their way. Game seems to be behaving fine. Just needs a good cleaning. It throws out a board error (5) every so often, but a few resets fix it. Weird. Any thoughts anyone?
Possibly you missed replacing an acid damaged part. It does not have to be visible damage either, as corrosion can migrate up the leg of a part and into the component body. Just one speculation.
I just don't get why it works and passes about half the time. Of course, it's a System 9 with no real replacement board available 
Hopefully, when I can see what its doing, I can track it down.
Quoted from cocomonkeh:I just don't get why it works and passes about half the time. Of course, it's a System 9 with no real replacement board available
Hopefully, when I can see what its doing, I can track it down.
Well, that's the nature of intermittent problems in electronics. Many times I just hope that a device fails completely - usually easier to find that way. An intermittent can be caused by a lot of things: a borderline digital signal in the ambiguous range that can't be accurately determined as a 1 or 0, a timing problem, noise in the signals - and a host of other things.
One thing I would do is thoroughly check the power supply, a power supply that doesn't come up stable and accurate at every power up can cause weird intermittent problems as well. One thing that can help identify this is to substitute with a known stable supply - which is also easier to find than a replacement MPU. I had the same problem with a Pinbot, and that turned out to be a bad connection at the power connector to the mainboard. It took months to locate, as there wasn't anything visibly wrong with the connector. The female pin socket just wasn't making a gas tight connection.
1 week later
thanks for sharing your hard work!
Quoted from hawkeyexx:Awesome Job thanks for sharing your hard work!
indeed, he's been an absolute pleasure to work with. PF arrived yesterday, going to try and knock out the swap this weekend.
Quoted from drscottsmith:Hawkeye -
Send me a PM.
-scott
PM sent. Have a good day.
Quoted from Jason43:Look what the female man delivered...
cool make sure and show us some pics when you get it installed . Or before and after .
Quoted from Jason43:Some before and after pics.
I'm not sure I get it. That comet wasn't too bad at all, though it is really clean and nice now. Maybe I just can't see something viewing the before picture on my phone.
Quoted from dmieczko:Just curious about the proper setup of this lane guide. I have seen Comets with one small rubber on each post, a 1 1/2" rubber stretching over both posts, and the lane guide turned one way or the other... Anyone positive how this is supposed to be set up?
I would go with individual rubbers on the posts and a double sided plastic lane guide.
Quoted from pinheadpierre:I'm not sure I get it. That comet wasn't too bad at all, though it is really clean and nice now. Maybe I just can't see something viewing the before picture on my phone.
It wasn't trashed by any means. It did have its share worn areas that had been touched up, chips, scratches etc. The entire portion by the 1986 lights had worn through and was repainted. There were several spots were the playfield art wasn't leveled with filler before repainting and the ball would occasionally get stuck if it rolled over it just right. It also had some spots under the Mylar where a previous owner had used too long of a screw on the back of the playfield and made a high spot in the Mylar.
@dmieczko, I'd stay with the single 1-1/2" rubber (as shown in the manual), but flip the single sided guide around so that the slick plastic side guides the ball straight down and out. It may be that having the rubber side in the return lane helps to slow down the ball, so it doesn't fly past the flipper.
Quoted from dmieczko:Just curious about the proper setup of this lane guide. I have seen Comets with one small rubber on each post, a 1 1/2" rubber stretching over both posts, and the lane guide turned one way or the other... Anyone positive how this is supposed to be set up?
Mine is kinda rigged. That lane guide was cracked and warped so much that it wouldn't let the ball pass. I trimmed the side off and mounted it with one ring until i could order another.
Quoted from dmieczko:Just curious about the proper setup of this lane guide. I have seen Comets with one small rubber on each post, a 1 1/2" rubber stretching over both posts, and the lane guide turned one way or the other... Anyone positive how this is supposed to be set up?
Should be 1 1/2" rubber stretched around both posts, according to the manual. The lane guide flat part faces left toward the return-to-play outlane, otherwise ball will hang up in the inlane drain. Note that the upper post is moveable for conservative/moderate/liberal setting...so that is something to check into if you are having problems.
Quoted from Jason43:It wasn't trashed by any means. It did have its share worn areas that had been touched up, chips, scratches etc. The entire portion by the 1986 lights had worn through and was repainted. There were several spots were the playfield art wasn't leveled with filler before repainting and the ball would occasionally get stuck if it rolled over it just right. It also had some spots under the Mylar where a previous owner had used too long of a screw on the back of the playfield and made a high spot in the Mylar.
That makes sense. Congratulations on the upgrade. I bet you are really enjoying the improved appearance and play.
Quoted from Biffbar:I'd stay with the single 1-1/2" rubber (as shown in the manual), but flip the single sided guide around so that the slick plastic side guides the ball straight down and out. It may be that having the rubber side in the return lane helps to slow down the ball, so it doesn't fly past the flipper.
This makes a lot of sense - thank you!
Quoted from wayout440:Should be 1 1/2" rubber stretched around both posts, according to the manual. The lane guide flat part faces left toward the return-to-play outlane, otherwise ball will hang up in the inlane drain. Note that the upper post is moveable for conservative/moderate/liberal setting...so that is something to check into if you are having problems.
This too! Thanks.
1 week later
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