Heat Wave
Williams, 19641964 Wms Heat Wave. New silicone rebound rubber. The game has five roll over buttons in an arch at the top. The skill shot is to get the ball to roll over all five.
I’ve adjusted the slope on the machine a zillion times to get the skill shot working. All I can think of, is that maybe the old ball gate has lost some bounce. Do they lose their bounce?
I could try bending it out some, or get a new one. Thoughts?
C0F9F108-4D9F-48B0-85B1-DB49D8EECC1C (resized).jpegI don't think Im following you, is it a skill shot or just a feature of the game to eventually light all 5 of the rollovers? When the ball leaves the gate it looks way to high from the rollovers to catch all 5 of them. If anything a soft plunge would let the ball hit off the left top plastic-rubber and maybe arc the correct way to light all 5.
ibis
It is a skill shot. Others say it works on their machines.
On the closest I’ve come, the ball hits the rebound rubber, back over to the ball gate, back to the left, losing power and dropping down to the bumper with the parasol lady, and then it is low enough to hit the arch of buttons on the way back to the right. It requires proper nudging to get the ball to fall ball away from the upper apron just right, and good nudge off the parasol lady (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) to make the shot.
I’ve made the rollovers more sensitive, to catch near hits better.
But I’m wondering if there should be more bounce from the ball gate.
I agree with ibis, to me it looks like that skillshot should require soft plunging directly into the parasol lady rubber and then rebounding back across the arc, not depending on a three way bounce
Can you take a video of your plunge?
It’s 24 or 25 advances to the special. Getting the skill shot at least once is key to lighting the specials.
Quoted from zacaj:I agree with ibis, to me it looks like that skillshot should require soft plunging directly into the parasol lady rubber and then rebounding back across the arc, not depending on a three way bounce
Can you take a video of your plunge?
Agreed here, it seems a bit ridiculous to expect it to hit the rebound rubber, then nail the ballgate and bounce back to the rebound rubber. It should require a softer plunge.
It is possible that your ballgate has slowly bent as time has gone on, but I doubt the bounce you get off it is the mechanism the skillshot is reliant on.
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:, it seems a bit ridiculous to expect it to hit the rebound rubber, then nail the ballgate and bounce back to the rebound rubber.
But did you see above where Dr_Nybble has the machine and says it works for him?
Put a small red flipper rubber over the brown rebound rubber. (if I’m following you correctly...not much bounce off round brown rebound rubber)
I had to go try to make sure I was remembering properly. I do a pretty full plunge and it goes:
- off the rebound rubber
- off the gate
- back towards the rebound rubber but not quite -- dips down then off the top of the parasol lady
- nice arc over the rollovers, and sometimes back again for a couple more; doesn't always hit all five of them
May be more than one way to do it!
I had it almost working with the front leg levelers above 2”, with the plunger pulled back between the second blue and red arrows, measuring from the edge or seam on the plunger behind the tip.
New plunger tip (silicone) and springs. Maybe I’ll just put the game back higher, but the game was designed for lesser slope & slower game, so I’d lowered it down.
Quoted from undrdog:But did you see above where Dr_Nybble has the machine and says it works for him?
Yes, but I'm saying I that I don't think that's the intended way to do the skillshot. You're introducing three separate rebound points, and basically requiring a hard plunge to even make it. It's much more 'skillful' to plunge softer, off a single rebound point, and make the arc
Quoted from undrdog:the game was designed for lesser slope & slower game, so I’d lowered it down.
What makes you say that?
Quoted from undrdog:I had it almost working with the front leg levelers above 2”
That sounds very shallow, not steep?
Quoted from zacaj:What makes you say that?
It is my understanding that 1960s games came with 2” leg levelers. Slower game. I’ve got it on 3” leg levelers had had it almost working above the 2” .
I had a Heat Wave, the ball gate isn't part of the skill shot.
Yes I made the 5 roll over shot time to time but it is rare.
I raised up the back higher and found the skill shot. It is the shot from the rebound rubber, to the ball gate, a little bump about halfway back around the apron to kill some momentum down to the parasol lady, a nudge off her parasol and there you go.
There is no low power shot right to the parasol lady. There just isn't enough power after bouncing off of her, even with a strong nudge. Not on my table, anyway.
I did try to open up the ball gate a little, but the metal is stiff and I don't know if I really changed anything.
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Winter Haven, FL
Ottawa, ON