So, the gear is on there, just in the wrong position along the shaft? That stinks! Feels like you would need the equivalent of a brake hub puller to press grab the edge of the gear and apply pressure to the shaft.
faz

ColorDMD really REALLY works well in this game. The dots are done really way and impacts play in a very positive way. If I had to choose between the ColorDMD and the moving topper (I have both)... I'd do ColorDMD first... in a heartbeat!

That said, the topper is cool... especially for guests new to the game.

Cliffy's all around of course.

And you can find any DW toy strapped somewhere on other peoples games (I have a little K9 myself on the ramp).

It's a great game
faz

I have a tiny K9 on the guard behind the Rime Expander myself.

K9 is a must!

Thanks everybody - haven't picked out the game yet but it happening soon. Thanks for the advice - I will take it slow and already plan to add a PinSound, but obviously the ColorDMD is happening ...

This is the K9 I found.

https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Light-Sound-Illustrated/dp/0762454784/ref=sr_1_8

faz

Here's what I used

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BXIE1JY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

Killer! My son used his allowance to buy a surprise box the other day and when he opened it it was a Dalek so I'm sure that is going in!

That's really fun when the kids get into a game adding their own toy to the theme.
faz

That's what the whole point of getting this pin is - we love NuWho , I watched Tom Baker when I was a kid, and my kid has been asking how to solder, fix parts, add mods, lights, etc, so this will be a win-win!

I grew up on Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Jon Pertwee reruns growing up myself. Its funny... the kids could have cared less about Dr Who until they saw Blink... then they were hooked. Gotta say, I'm still not that fond of Peter Capaldi's character.

faz

Dont forget the pinsound board for Dr Who as well. The difference to the sound is fantastic, and there are 3 or 4 different orchestrations already available to download. Even more fun is to do your own, with your own modern doctor quotes thrown in. I think this mod is second only to the color DMD.

pinsound.org

I'm having a real problem understanding the allure to this. All of the samples on youtube have .... poor sound quality, which does not help the argument.

Although even if the sounds was fantastic some of the orchestrations IMO really don't fit the machine.
I love the David Tennant/Matt Smith sounds...just not in that game. I'm not even talking about the Disco version.
The metal version is pretty fun, but again, with a mix of old sounds and new ones... it just sounds weird.

Perhaps if ALL the sounds were replaced with a consistent theme it would fit better (at least in my mind); it would be harder to do with the callouts..but... Anyone done something like that?
faz

Despite being a huge heavy metal guy, the Who metal theme is not my bag either, but are you sure you're listening to the higher quality youtube videos? The quality is *substantially* better than the stock setup. I bought a new PinSound specifically for this machine because of the awesome mixes.

The callouts weren't recorded new for the machine AFAIK so shouldn't be too hard to replace, but the amount of time it represents is massive. I'm working on doing that for TZ which has substantially fewer callouts, and even that's a huge pain.

Given that the sound is played through speakers and picked up on someone's iphone... can any HD Youtube video really give you the impression of what its like playing the game?

I guess I won't know until I try someones game.
faz

Ok, I'm going to ask a dumb question here. Is the focus of this board bright cleaner sound, power (louder), or the other features of replacing sounds, phone jacks, treble, etc?

I did a speaker upgrade last year. The sound is full and my 'pinballs' rattle during Sonic Boom.... so, plenty loud enough too. The sounds seem pretty clean and I kinda like the sounds that Jon Hey created.

Given that I'm not looking to put headphones on or swap sounds.... is the sound THAT much better that it's worth $350?
faz

These gold dalek speaker inserts are pretty cool

IMG_0582 (resized).JPG

The board offers all at the above - I'm not sure how to answer which is the "focus" of the board... But it does offer bass/treble management like the flipper fidelity speakers do, you can replace the sounds to your hearts content (and should, to get the maximum benefit), you can use stereo sounds, plug in a sub using the headphone jack... The overall amp power is Way louder...

And if you have a WPC95 game, the news that a PinSound board combined with any old DMD board can replace the A/V boards (which can become unfixable) is huge huge news. Folks have said its like a ColorDMD for the sound.. I tend to agree. Sound isn't as obvious an upgrade to some but it is really important to making these games feel modern.

Is it worth $400? I was taken aback by the price too, but after taking the plunge for my TZ, it's worth it to me, just like a color DMD is a "must-have" mod for most games.

We are gonna try to torch it and see what happens. My directional board also had its capacitor spill its guts, which also added to the problem. The chip has a nasty leg, and a couple of th diodes

I'm interested to see how this works.

Here's some good discussion in the RC world.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?91851-I-have-a-motor-with-a-brass-cog-on-the-end-How-do-i-remove-the-cog-and-replace-it/page2

Maybe try the soldering iron first.. it's a little more controlled.
faz

Hi all-

Pretty sure I will be driving home with a DW tomorrow (what??), already have the PinSound board sitting at the post office.

I will be ordering a ColorDMD too, but for now I expect I will just pull one out of one of the other games until I decide how far I will go on the DW restoration. I do want to fix up the cabinet real well.

Anyway - so what's the deal on the topper kits? I know there are two, and there seem to be advocates for both.. but what are the pros and cons of each? Or is one just unobtsnium these days? I know the DIY pinball toys one is available ..

Just read some of the drama with the Al Warner kit being ripped off with a crappier version yet the same name.

This is very disappointing to see someone did that, and the jacked the price up too. I'm sure they justified it with some misguided wisdom about the "free market". (Does not exist, folks! The only free market is one in which there are no participants).. anyway after reading the technical specs on the "proper" kit, it is clear it is superior... just impossible to find apparently!

Tried the iron, but it couldn't get it hot enough. Mine only goes to 900 or so (I think)

I would not say "crappier", I would say "different". The 'wobble' name issue is very uncool but I suspect there's not legal basis for the name... hence it continues.

There's plenty of video out there on both. Watch the action and decide if you have a preference to either.

I DO LIKE the original action of the prototype design, recreated by Mark Davidson.... bought it myself and it works very nicely with an action that I really like; it's smooth and does not overshoot the action (like the solenoid version).

The designs are very different and the mechanical construction (quality for price) is different as well... so, decide for yourself...
faz

I had hope based upon the other thread. Is a pencil torch able to heat it up without destroying the motor??

Best of luck,
faz

I created the Doctorin' the Tardis, Metal, Disco and Modern Pinsound mixes. I didn't record them using an iPhone although the video quality would probably look better if I did. I used a camcorder and ran all the audio from the Pinsound headphone jack into my laptop. Then I dubbed the two together. So, any flipper sounds are picked up by the camera's mic and any music and sound effects are direct from the Pinsound board. I put about 100 hours into these 4 mixes and videos. So crank it up in your home theater or something similar, this is how it will sound in your game. Assuming the crappy stock speakers are upgraded.

For the original sound call outs, Sylvester McCoy did the custom speech for the Doctor so they can't be pulled off of a show at higher quality. I tried running all the original sound effects (not the music) through various filters, converting to stereo, etc and it didn't help. It still sounded scratchy and just added to the file sizes. Perfect for Daleks, tho! The Modern mix does have some different Dalek laser sounds I grabbed from 'Genesis of the Daleks' along with Davros saying "Exterminate" at the beginning of the Davros multiball music.

I like the variety of the mixes since they are all so different. I've had this game longer than any other game in my collection and I just wanted an alternative. I still have the original mix on my pinsound usb and you can change the mix whenever you want. Even during a game. Although I have yet to really use the original mix since I installed the pinsound board.

These are the videos I specifically listened to when deciding to drop the coin for my new PinSound (I already had one in my TZ). Unfortunately you can't 'filter' bad audio to rebuild it. Speech is phenomenally more affected by low bitrates vs music, unfortunately. You can try to add reverb which will sort of gloss over the low-res audio, but it basically still sounds crap. Not so the Daleks though.. haha

These mixes sound particularly awesome, IMO - (I still hate the metal one, but that's not your fault )

PinSound just started selling a set of *really* good replacement speakers, which are far more worth it than the (also great) Flipper Fidelity speakers. They are true coaxial speakers, and the sub is full of thump. Now I need to put a set in my damn Monster Bash...

pinballshark
That clip certainly reflects the amount of work you have poured into the sound. I felt like I was in one of the episodes and I can definitely imagine how it would enhance (hopefully improve) my game play. Thanks for sharing.

Hi guys,

i'm a DW owner too and i fixed it , especially the gearbox which was dead.
Anyway, i have now a recent issue, which appeared when i moved the pinball machine (off), which i suspect made vibrations.

Now, i had some resets during heavy load, fixed by rescrewing the driver board better ; but few days later, my ball launcher AND eject ball coils are weak, so weak that i can't even get a ball in play, it stays in the launching lane or in the eject hole.

I suspect strongly the bridge rectifier and as i am currently placing an order for other things, do you have references of BR and other caps which are usually sensitive and worth a replacement ?

Thanks a lot

Follow all the steps before you start tearing apart your board.

http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Game_resets

If you run into a problem create a new topic. There's a lot of WPC heads that will get you going quickly.
faz

Thanks, good advice

Hey all -

I'm putting my DW back together after an intense clean-up and halfway restore. I'm getting down to replacing bulbs and tracking down some of the board issues.

Question: the flashers at the back of the cab, where Doctor #5 is: are those flashers partially on all the time? That's what mine is doing, and I've watched a couple videos, and I *think* they may actually be lit a touch, but it's too hard to tell. Wondering if maybe Q36 which controls them is bad? The test works, and they do flash.

When I power off the game, they are still lit for a few seconds until the power drains, which makes me think something's up.

All right - follow-up.

I noticed that the flashers under the left ramp are also lit constantly. They do flash in test, so ... I guess it's good? Just wanted to confirm whether this is expected. I've not seen a pin with flashers that have constant power before.

Next thing: I'm working on the miniplayfield. I am having some serious issues with it all of a sudden, it was going up and down... ok.. before but I disassembled it to clean it - now it won't go up or down hardly at all. I don't *think* it's binding (followed Faz's guide to line it all up) but it's got to be something like that - it had enough power before, and was able to go up and down, so I'm not sure what to think.

Also, is it possible to misalign the cam where it is raising the MPF but the optos don't realize it? In other words, the tab is in the wrong spot so the optos think the MPF is raised or lowered all the way, but it is in fact not?

thx!

Ok:

mini pf: check for power at the motor, should be 20v D.C. If you have power there, checkmthe motor board underneath the pf. Test the transistors on the board. I had a similar issue (motor was shot, but my game was a reimport from somewhere near water, given the rust all over) BUT the capacitor on the board went bad, leaked, and corroded the chip, and that stopped the motor totally. (Verified by swapping into my wh20, Bigfoot quit moving)

I forgot to mention - when I hook up my 12V power supply to the MPF it goes up and down all day long. Slips a little at the top, but I figure this is an alignment thing. It goes up and down when powered outside the game both CW and CCW (i.e. reverse wired) and with the entire MPF assembled as well as just the brackets themselves.

So I'm thinking either a) not enough power is getting to the motor (will test that), or b) something is binding so bad it just can't move

next I'll swap the driver board with my TZ or creature and see what happens..

So it moves when the bi directional board is bypassed....problem on that board then. I'm going with the capacitor is bad, and possibly leaked it's guts and corroded something(s) on the board. Follow your power cables from the motor to the board.

Well that sounds fun...lol. I'll check in the morning - thanks man

All right, checked the motor board... seems to check out. The LED is on, I don't see any physical corrosion or a bad cap, but I have not checked with a DMM.

The weird thing is, the MPF worked fairly well before I disassembled the machine, so I'm inclined to think I screwed something up when I put it back together... but it works fine when connected to a 12V wall wart.

I did add a pinsound, and I can't remember if I tested the MPF after I added it. I need to swap out the driver board with another one of my machines and see what's up.

Still the restore is coming along pretty well, got my cliffys in!

I'd like to see the behavior if possible. Can you add a video?

I can't tell from your description if it's binding or just moving oddly during the motion.

Actually, you may want to start a new thread... but you're call.

Thanks Rich - I will start a new thread. I am basically done and would like to play a game or two! I can certainly add s video. I don't think it's binding since it goes up and down when powered outside the game . I tested it fully loaded and held it up in the air to simulate it being installed in the game.

It sort of tries to go up and I can hear the motor going, but not much happens. It goes up maybe 1/16 of an inch, then down, and logs an error. On start, Test says no CW movement and also no CCW movement. Could it Just not be getting enough power from the driver board?

I'll add a video when I get home.

Alas, I think the gear box has some issues.

That sounds all too familiar...

I'd recommend pulling the MPF again and running a few tests. Let me find my notes.
faz

Wow... that was easier than I expected:

If the main gear breaks from the arbor I've seen MPFs not hold. But the action is way different. It "falls" rather than glides down. If there's a broken tooth it would pulse up.

I made up a test to catch this, but was reluctant to throw that log into the fire because it seems really unlikely.

Gear Box test:
** Pull the motor/gearbox assembly off the MPF; leave the motor connected to the gear box
** Get a pair of leather garden gloves.
** Hook the motor up to power and grab the arbor wearing the gloves. Let the arbor spin under light pressure. If there's a broken tooth you should feel a hitch. If you can stop the arbor at all with human pressure, the collet has most likely separated from one of the gearbox axles (big one).
** Run the above test for a few revolutions both directions.

** Separate the motor from the gear box
** The motor will spin crazy fast; be careful. Start up the motor; with the glove on... slowly start to add pressure onto the gear. The motor has a single small gear on its arbor. You should not be able to stop the gear or even cause the gear to move on the arbor.

faz

That's fantastic stuff! I read the threads about the internal issues the gearbox can have (where the collet and gear spin independently from the spindle) and have been reluctant to drill out the rivets yet. My situation didn't seem the same. I'll try these tests first!!

I finally got my time expander fixed (except for my wonky bracket) and back into the game. I've also done a nice little mod so the time expander scoops are lit during multi ball, and off when the pf is not all the way up (so no issues with extra light near the optos. I will get some vids posted here soon.

All right, here's a video of my time expander. Note I have cliffys on but i experienced the same situation before installing them. As far as I can tell, the surfaces are not binding on the edges - the Mpf is pushed fully back in the brackets.

Same issue mine had. Like I mentioned, I bet it's on the bi directional board. Can you post a pic of it?

No kidding? Yep, I will go take one now...

image (resized).jpg

And turned on (not that this matters, in hindsight)

image (resized).jpg

And here's the back, which definitely looks a little suspect. Looks worse in the photo though. I can't tell if it's been worked on or not

image (resized).jpg

I don't know. That really sounds like the motor is trying to run but can't.
faz

Ok test 1 out of the machine

And counter clockwise (reversed wires)

I did notice that it's slipping a bit on the CCW movement, thought I had fixed that. Maybe it is a bad gear? But I don't get why it works outside of the playfield ok

Pretty slick at pulling that MPF out

Motor action looks pretty smooth. That wobble at the top is not hideous. I've seen much worse.
The brackets must be pretty straight because it's taking the weight.

Are you sure it's centered in the hole? All those Cliffy's can add up.

Oh, crud... should have asked. You don't have a CPR repro MPF do you? Those are notorious for being 1/8" proud.
faz