Frankfurt
Since the motorized tiger saw is sort of mandatory for Theatre of Magic (I think the machine was actually planned to have it by default) I had to get this mod as soon as we had the machine at home.
Unfortunately Tom Callahan's (pin-logic) was no longer selling the full kits at that time,
and the only available set from pinballpro.net (http://pinballpro.net/shop/theatre-of-magic-motorized-gold-tiger-saw-blade-w-lighted-marquee-mirror/) seemed a bit expensive since you can only order it together with the lighted marquee mirror mod (250$). I also like the look of a real saw blade much more.
The instructions from pin-logic for their version of the mod are still online (http://pin-logic.com/installation_of_1.htm) and hence I figured out a way to replicate the mod. The information on the pin-logic website is far more detailed than my description and I assume you read both.
Since I wanted to upgrade my ROM anyhow I decided to go for the 1.4h ROM that can directly drive the Tiger saw motor on J125 of the power driver board without any additional circuitry. This is much easier and I also find it more elegant. I ordered my Eprom from www.hobbyroms.com (10$).
The official version of the 1.4h rom is not compatible with the original PIC U22 security chip on the board. You can either get a new PIC from www.shiftedbits.com (29$) or you can patch the 1.4h rom by using anypic.exe to disable the security check. I am not sure about the legal status of the second option though.
I have also heard about some bugs in 1.4h and people mentioning, that it runs less stable than 1.3 but personally I have not noticed any stability issues or reboots at any time.
The other hardware parts you need are the following:
- A nice blade
any 5-3/8'' diameter blade, with a standard 10mm center hole preferably thin or "super thin" to be light (Home depot or Ebay <10$). You can of course also use the original plastic blade instead.
- The motor
Based on some pictures online I think I actually picked the same one as the one from the pin-logic kit.
A Jameco 174693 MOTOR,DC,3Krpm@12VDC for 2.95$
- An Adapter to mount the saw blade to the shaft
The shaft on the motor is 2mm, the blade has a 10mm) center hole. I used a propeller adapter for model airplanes and found one for 2mm shafts with an M5 mount. A larger mount would probably be even better. I used some additional 3/8'' rubber grommets to center and fix the blade. I ordered the Ultralight Collet Prop Adapter for 2mm Shaft, M5 3.99$ from www.hobbyexpress.com
- Motor EMI board
This electromagnetic interference (EMI) board is used to isolate the motors electrical noise from the main driver board. These boards are used on plenty other machines to connect motors and it's most likely a good idea to use one. I ordered A-15542 Motor EMI PCB from MAD Amusements for 15.00$
- Cables and Molex (.156KK) connectors
1x 2 pin adapter (to connect Motor -> EMI PCB)
1x 3 pin adapter (to connect the EMI PCB -> J125 on power driver board)
I used 10 pin molex housings that I cut to size for everything
e.g. Jameco 879844 156 KK TERM HSG O/RAMP Nylon
and Jameco 736587 @156 KK TERM TRIFURCON LSE TFT
- Screws, spacers, zip tie (home depot)
1 x 1 1/2'' screw for the same purpose
2 x 4-40 pan head machine screws (short) to mount the motor
4 x screws to mount the EMI pcb (I screwed it to the back of the playfield back board)
I used some screws I had lying around and don't know the precise sizes / threading. Hopefully somebody can add this info later.
1 x zip tie to hold the cable
The slightly annoying part is to drill three holes into the metal bracket for the tiger saw to mount the motor. The good thing is that there is a template for drilling available (http://pin-logic.com/installation_of_1.htm) and the metal is very soft. I used a regular cheap hand drill for this purpose and it went through like butter.
When you have the holes ready all you have to do is to solder two cables onto the motor and crimp a 2 pin molex to the other end of the cables. You can then screw the motor onto the bracket and mount the bracket. As stated on the pin-logic website it is necessary to slightly rotate the bracket and drill a new hole into the back board to mount it in order to have enough clearance to the ramp below. The pin-logic website has far more detailed instructions on this point.
I tied the cables onto the metal holder using a zip tie and routed them to the back of the playfield backboard through the conveniently located hole (was this planned for the motorized tiger saw in the initial design of the playfield?).
You can then mount the tiger plastic to the bracket using the 1 1/2''nylon spacer and the 1 1/2'' screw. The blade can now be mounted onto the motor shaft using the shaft adapter (and a rubber grommet or glue). For this purpose it is a good idea to shorten the shaft of the motor a bit to a reasonable length using a wire cutter.
You can now mount the EMI pcb wherever it fits. I just screwed it right under the hole where the cable comes out. You can then prepare the second cable with the two molex connectors and route it into the backbox, where you attach the 5V to TP2 (I used an individual molex pin that I enlarged to fit the TP2 pin) and GND to J125.
That's it.
Thanks to Tom Callahan from pin-logic for his amazing work. I would have loved to give him some money for his kit rather than figuring out all the stuff by myself and order the parts separately but I guess I was too late. Anyhow- most credits for this mod of course go to him!
The website with the original instructions can also be accessed through: https://web.archive.org/web/20140424201908/http://pin-logic.com/installation_of_1.htm
tiger_saw1.jpg
tiger_saw2.jpg
tiger_saw3.jpg
Post edited by fkretschmer: Added correct dimensions
Sana'a
Algonquin, IL
Cedar Valley, ON
