Hello there fellow Whovian Pinballers! One of these days, I will carve out some room in my house and purchase a Doctor Who Pinball machine. I have read all 90 pages and what a story of maintenance and parts gathering. I spent hours watching YouTube video of a complete tear down and rehab of a Dr. Who machine in Canada.

Thanks for all the tips on what works and what doesn't.

6 days ago, I put an offer in for a Dalek Head. I thought I would get a head start by motorizing it. Although I contacted the person selling it less than a hour after it was posted for sale, I was told it had just sold.

SOLD!

Mod - For Sale

Doctor Who Dalek topper Archived

Used, good condition - “Dalek topper for Doctor Who pinball machine. Very good condition.”

2020-10-16

Veracruz, VER.

pinballvermex

160 (Firm)

Archived after: 8 days

Viewed: 289 times

Status: Sold (amount undisclosed)

I see it is still for sale. Is this common? I also see that he has posted it for sale several times over the past year, along with other Who pinball parts, but they never sold and were archived. Has anyone bought or tried to purchase any related parts from this person in Veracruz. Mexico?

I have dipped a toe into the pinball world. I recently bought a Dr Who MPF that came from a flooded warehouse, that was for sale on this site. I have really enjoyed pulling it apart using the Faz guide. Good news is that the motor, gear box, elevator, cam were in good shape. Bad news is that: Metal posts, screws, Tnuts and lamp holders were Rusted. The wood play field was squishy like a sponge on the front. It had 2 mylars stacked. The T nuts were poorly covered in epoxy. The cover is broken and cracked in 3 places. The elevator had both yellow caked grease and black grease. Yuk.

Once apart and every part catalogued, I began cleaning/polishing. I have bought a new wood play field and cover. I have ordered new screws and parts from Marco. Cliffs is making me protectors for the play field. I have taken measurements from the old one as I know I have some drilling and front end removal (2mm) supposedly.

I have been reading up here on testing the Optos. I was able to connect the motor to a 12 volt power supply and was able to verify that it worked with no gear slop. It looks like it had been replaced recently.

Next will be learning how to test the coils. I am guessing they are 12 volt? I have a VOM and will test for continuity and resistance.

Pictures once things are cleaner. Maybe a before and after picture.

How bad can it be? 50 years of abuse and then be subjected to wet salty warehouse? These are the before pictures of my Mini Playfield. It turns out to be mostly surface rust, and many of the rusty screws, nuts and bolts are in stock.

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In my quest to rebuild a Mini Playfield, after disassembly, I upgraded to a new wood playfield from CPR. I don't know what "silver" meant on the back side, but as I saw on multiple YouTubes, you need to trim about 3mm off the front of the new one. Which also means there will be a 3mm gap at the back. I measured all the holes, that needed to be added on both the front and back. After marking the holes with a pen on the new playfield, it is an excellent idea to trial fit the part that will be screwed into place. Then with awl or nail, punch a divet hole, to mark where to drill a small pilot hole. Pictures show the differences of original and new. I also scanned my measurements for the holes to be added. Noting that I needed to subtract 3mm from the vertical measurements from the back of the playfield.

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Yes it was! I got it for a lot less. In my search for parts, I found that although many are available, many are not.

Thanks. Yes I only have a MPF. It is my way of learning about pinball machines, parts, suppliers, tools and techniques. So far I have learned about after market parts, Back order parts, Out of stock parts, and refurbishing parts. I took an electronics class in college in 1976. I am re-learning soldering, flux, and the fine art of holding two wires together, while trying to solder them. I have learned about coils, plungers, sleeves and springs. I am having fun. I did not want to jump into a major pinball project, without first seeing if I liked it. Sorry if this club is for owners of the whole machine....

I finally got all my parts to rebuild the MPF and it looks great! With 12 volt power it goes up and down perfectly. I have also worked on getting a Dalek Head upgraded to LEDs and moving with the Wobble head servo. Next will be actually adding the game to my house. I had a chance to play it and it worked perfectly. Even got a multi-ball to happen. It has a few cosmetic issues (as most do), but I am ready!

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I finally have my very own Doctor Who pinball installed and setup in my house. I have been buying parts, even before owning one. First picture is how it looked when I got it. Second and following pictures are what it currently looks like. I am having immense fun, learning all about this Pin. I also have a million questions. I have gone through all 93 pages of this web post. It has helped me tremendously already. For instance, the game worked when I picked it up and then drove it 45 miles in a Uhaul van. I plugged it in and got the dreaded CW/CCW error message. But because of posts here, I knew what and where to look for. A plug to the MPF motor OPTO had become disconnected. Easy fix. Next, I booted it up and got a warning message about the MPF, even though the playfield glass was installed. The mini-switch lever was not closing contact. I bent it up, and realized that its pivot pin is worn and the whole things needs replacing. On game 3 a grey plastic switch cover behind the Tardis popped off and went down the drain stopping any further plays. Another easy fix. I have also found out that there is a procedure for removing and reinstalling the play field glass. With the coin door open, and the lever thrown, that if you close the door before you move the lever, the coin mech hangs up on the open lever. DOH. But y'all already knew that right? Currently learning about those 4 buttons on the coin door. The game has made a total of $43.00 since last 2003 reset, if I am reading the screen right. There are two unused plugs with wires, one on each side of the pin under the flipper buttons. They are stock original looking. I don't see a printer, or bill changer or third coin door. Is this what they are for? Next time under the hood, I will write down wire colors and photograph. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

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Only one came with a head, that I purchased earlier. I have installed a wobble head conversion in it. One base came with the Pin (but no head). Another base came from ebay. I am toying with the idea of making new heads with movable stalks and LEDs. But having too much fun playing the pin with no quarters. I am hoping the Biden Virus Fund check will cover the mods I just ordered from France (Pinsound), Color DMD, Lighted new Speakers.

Yes, from your earlier comments and watching on youtube, I chose the LED too. Also because, it will fit better. LOL.

I tried learning the Pinsound download last night. I got the original soundtrack on a thumb drive, but ran into problems downloading the custom ones. I got a message saying load last chapter??? I gave up and went to bed running a norton scan on the computer.

Pinsound +, inbound from France. Down loaded latest Jan 12, 2021 version to thumb drive.
Can the firmware be on same thumb drive as music down loads?
I found out that I had to register to down load community music. All good.
I now have: original, Doctorin' Tardis, and 13 doctors on thumb drive.

Tried my first upgrade tonight and failed. I added the wobble head Dalek board and wires. The instructions and photo, showed the +12 D.C. Volts and ground to the Dalek board coming from J118 on Power Board positions 2 & 3. The picture showed a new connector to J118 with just the 2 wires going to the Dalek board. Assumption on my part (we know what ASS U ME means), that I just had to unplug the old J118 plug and add new plug and wires to the Dalek board. WRONG!!! Power up and I get error report about Optos, a bunch of them. Good news,the Dalek head flashed and turned like it was supposed to. Turned off Pin. Looked in manual, after the fact, what J118 was connected to. Lesson learned, but nothing fried. The ground black wires goes to both the 4 bulbs on top of back box and to the 10 Opto board J3 under playfield via the grey pipe. The grey/yellow wire +12 v goes directly to feed all 10 Optos on that board J3. Will have to back track and solder Dalek wires to original J118 plug wires. Wish the instructions were clear!

Awesome news!!! Thanks. Looking it up now.

The saga continues, sorry. I plugged J118 plug from the 10 Opto board into the Power board, like it was originally. I decided to wait on soldering wires till I got an adapter plug. I powered on and got the same OPTO Errors 71-75 and a switch. Which means that that something went wrong, when I turned on the machine without J118 plugged in. I am at a loss. Going to get my digital volt meter out and follow the +12 volts from J118 to the 10 Opto board. Kind of scared checking it out with the power on, but that is what I need to do. I went from having fun with a working machine, to messing it up. Probably will have to call in an expert.

What a coincidence. I just added the same coin return buttons. My Opto 10 board decided to work with J118 plugged in correctly. I also discovered that a small wire in the ball through only hangs one way to let balls out and not bounce back. While cleaning under there last night I must have flipped that wire the other direction. I will learn this machine one mistake at a time. I have begun to replace screws and ESNuts on the top of the playfield with new shiny ones. The fidelity speakers showed up yesterday, but will wait for PINSOUND+ (that is currently in New York from Paris) to install. Thanks for all the help guys.

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Swinks Pinball also carries a plastic replica for the purpose of using it as a template. They also state, they could make one out of stainless. Link to the ad. https://www.shapeways.com/product/AGNPGNACC/doctor-who-pinball-time-expander-motor-bracket?optionId=65328800&li=marketplace

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I have been a Doctor Who Fan since it first came out in 1963, when my parents lived south of London on an Air Force Base. The Daleks scared me as a child, but I have followed them ever since and know their whole history. So imagine a Pinball Game with my favorite Sci-Fi monster series. Then getting to add a COLOR DMD to the screen and upgrading the sound to PINSOUND+. I am so happy with the way it sounds, looks and plays. Special Thanks to PINBALLRENO for his guidance in the PINSOUND install. I found that you need the Original sound mix on the thumb drive, in order to add the custom ones. Also that you need to add them to the thumb drive in compressed ZIP format. Even though there are two USB ports, you can not have one loaded with the original, and the other with custom sounds. All the custom sounds need to be on the same thumb drive as the Original sounds. As I add the custom sounds, I would like to also thank PINSHARK for his Doctorin Tardis. The 13 Doctors has so many new doctors giving callouts, that I really like and remember from the show. At the end of a ball, instead of just the Master Laughing at me for loosing another ball. I hear his say slowly..."I am the Master". Thanks to all who contribute here.

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Thanks - I downloaded "boot". I listened to it on computer and it did sound way cool. I want it.
I turned off Pin and removed USB stick with Audio on it. I looked at files inside. There is audio and tmp files and (.cache, .mix, self diagnosis), which I can not open.
Audio file contains: Original, 13 Doctors, Hendrix and Doctorin files.
I opened Original which seems to be the driver file for startup. It contains: Jingle, Music, sfx, single, voice files and (config pinsound and license).
I opened Jingle file folder and found: ball lost, second chance, shoot again, and all doctors. Did not see a boot file???
I opened each of those folders and found a similar sounding file name and the word legacy.

So I am at a loss. I even reloaded the PINSOUND download onto another drive. I looked inside it and found no Jingle or boot wav.

Please make me smarter. Thanks

Just what I needed to hear, seeing I own 3 Daleks. It will be fun to see how the UK Wobble Head compares to Basement arcade, side by side. Oh and the 4th Modern Dalek talking head too is coming.

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Beautiful looking game! Good luck on the sale. I hope my game looks this good one day.

There I was, enjoying playing my DW pinball, with new Color DMD and Pinsound+ and stereo speakers. I was learning shots, loops, transmatting, etc. The ball started to get stuck in the left popper of the MPF, when there was already a ball in there. I could not initially figure it out and kept playing. Letting the find ball process try three times and then it would eject both balls. Several days later the MPF got stuck between level 2 and 3. I feared the worse. I wanted to keep enjoying my new pinball. But in the back of my mind, I knew, I had a completely rebuilt MPF sitting close by. Using the FAZ guide again, I carefully began removing parts, screws, and ramps to get to the MPF. I was finding missing screws, ESMs, also had flat head screws, and loose T nuts. I don't think anyone else has a 3 inch long machine screw holding the Dalek reset roller and MPF in place. The first and second pictures are showing the reason why two balls could occupy the left popper. It is also the reason for MPF jam. The third picture shows both MPF sitting side by side. With the intent to put the rebuilt one back in and start playing again.

I had ordered some side blades and thought it would be a good time to add them, seeing I had the plastic ramps out. While looking at the ramps, they were yellowed, cracked and the blue metal ramps had corrosion on them. So I ordered new ones of course. Need some guidance on reattaching the rivets to the stainless metal pieces to the plastic. Or should I use small screws and lock nuts?

I had received new metal glass rails when I got the machine, as the backbox had crashed down and dented them sometime in the past( as well as leaving lots of small glass squares everywhere). So I watched a Youtube video and proceeded to remove them. Good thing I had new ones, as I bent the hell out of the old ones prying them off that double sided original tape. That is when things snowballed out of control. See Picture 3 and 4.

With the side rails off, I could see the remnants of the bright red lines that the rest of the cabinet should be displaying. Another couple YOUTUBE videos later, I was shopping at the hardware store for a heat gun, GooGone, and scrapers. Between the snow we are having and COVID stay at home, I had time to be creative.

The thing that scares me most right now is that I only see people laying new decals on flat horizontal surfaces. That means, that I will have to unplug, unwire, unbolt the back box and the playfield. I will photograph everything. Make lots of notes. Label wires with tape. And pray, I don't mess it up. Wish me luck.

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I contacted CPR about the mirror back glass. I was also told that both the MPF and the whole playfield are scheduled to be made in the future. That is good news.

Please, I need help from someone who has removed the playfield from the cabinet. I have separated the back box from the cabinet. I labeled all the connectors that went to the boards in the back box. The large grey tube and black tube of wires dropped into the back of cabinet. I see how I have to raise the playfield and lift it out. The MPF is already out, so it will weigh less. LOL. Tell me that they designed the game, so that there are no wires from the cabinet to the playfield. My fear is that when I lift the playfield up, there will be that one wire or bundle of wires that will not allow me to detach. and I will tear something up. I am guessing that the grey tube is playfield wires and that the black tube is cabinet.

On a happier note, my Backbox has new paint and decals. It looks sweet. Hoping all my notes, blue tape with board pin numbers, and manual will help to put it back together, like Humpty dumpty and all the kings horses and kings men.

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Thanks Chrispink25 for the vote of confidence. I did want to be hanging mid air with playfield and wonder why I was stuck. I have already had 2 mishaps with wires. The new speaker terminal came off with the wire and a black wire to J118 also became un attached.

The Backbox has a sticker next to a post that grounded braid all runs too. It says to connect it to the ground under cabinet near the wing bolt. I do not see any ground braid near the underside of the wing bolt in the cabinet. I only see the ground braid of the cabinet running up to the two sides of the back metal vent.

I can extend that braid to the backbox, if that is what the warning label means. I did make sure the backbox ground braid went from that terminal in the bottom left to the metal plate that the boards attach to...

Thanks again! I found the ground braid in a clear plastic tube and it was not attached. I will make sure I attach it.

I lifted the play field out finally. Yes the two wire harnesses are separate, but they were so tangled and intertwined. But they had enough slack to put play field outside of cabinet, while I untangled. I vacumed the remaining playfield glass and wiped all the dust out of the cabinet. Ready for sanding, painting, and redecal.

"Anyone know off the top of their head where this flasher ties into the board...maybe a pin number? Are there any known issues with this flasher?"

If you are referring to the light bulb inside the Dalek Head, it is connected to 2 wires (white with organce stripe and an orange wire) that run into the top Backbox and turn left. They connect to the top of a small board in the upper left corner of the Backbox. See top of attached picture. The bottom of that board has a connector (J2) with 3 wires (black and two white with orange stripes) that drops down to the bottom of the Backbox. It gets +voltage from one connector and - ground (black wire) from another. Check the voltage of those wires and make sure they are connected. The Black ground recently came off on mine, when I was taping into the lower connector to power my wobble head Dalek.

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You are correct. My bad. The wires from the flasher go down to the bottom of back box.

Could one of you knowledgeable pin people, please tell me what the test report means by "examine left jet bumper switch". I know that it means the left rear round red pop bumper. I looked at it. The wires are attached to the coil. It slides freely up and down. It is an intermittent fault.

Otherwise, on a happier note, I finished my rebuild/restore/redecal/repainted of my first pinball. It looks great. It plays great. Thanks for all the help here that got me to this point!

Thank you. I have been researching pop bumpers and understand what you are saying. With the credit dot error on, that pop bumper does not "pop". But the other 2 do. I tried looking at the leaf switch on the offending one, but it is in the very bottom of the cabinet and the coil holder is upside down, so I can not see anything, unlike the other two which are pointing upward. This will require pulling it out. Which means the upper ramp must be removed and all the things I just installed. Not whining but frustrated. The right rear pop bumper is missing a nut on the ring. It is actually broken off, so that I can not just put another nut on. Soooo, it looks like I will be ordering pop bumper parts. Setting the gap is like gapping points on a 1960s and earlier car. Been there, done that. Have the feeler gauge, so appreciate the gap numbers.

Attached is a picture of my coin door. It is way cool, in the dark with the coin return Tardis light up.

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I got my highest score so far! I am so happy with the mods and new decals. The expensive moving Dalek Head during video mode in color on The DMD, yelling Exterminate over the stereo speakers that are lit up. Sara Jane Smith saying "Its YOU". A cow showing up on the screen. The Emperor Dalek shooting the Supreme Dalek and then killing the pink Dalek Brain crawling across the screen. Some many layers to this onion. Love it.

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Flipper upgrade. I got to see what a mushroomed stop and plunger look like too. The only tricky parts were putting that little spring on. Glad that I read about that hole behind the flipper to align it. I even used a Marcos thickness gauge to get the right height off the playfield.

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Thanks to Rdoyle1978 for his tips on modifying a USB Tardis to replace the cheaper original one. I think it looks a lot better. I also mounted a Red Dalek over the shooter lane, pointing towards the Tardis. You probably can not tell, but I also installed small red Dalek Band holders every where I could. The Swinks/Shapeways Who Mobile is on order to replace the black plastic microswitch covers.

On another note, I am midway on replacing broken pop bumpers with all new parts. Using Vids guide has helped with parts from Marcos and Pinball Life.

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AND Pinside is back! In the meantime, I was able to follow VIDS tips on replacing Pop (or Jet) bumpers. The left side shows the probably original parts (green Williams coils). Note the broken metal yoke on a working pop bumper on the left. Note the broken stud on the bottom of the ring on the middle working pop bumper. The right pop bumper was not working and giving a check switch error. All the parts on it were ok. Strange that two of the Rings had washers at the top of the threads, but I did not see any in the diagrams in the manual or on Marcos site. During the test mode, all 3 coils fired. In switch test, the right one did not activate the coil. Being new at this, I decided to replace all the parts of all 3. That is the bottom picture, with the parts spread out awaiting to be installed.

I would change up the order of the VID Pop Bumper instructions though. I found that it was easier to un-staple and unsolder the lamp metal leads, once the coils and spoon switches are removed. This job would have been a lot easier if the playfield was out. But when I was rebuilding the cabinet and the playfield was out, is when this error occurred. It turns out that I could have probably fixed the initial problem by adjusting the spoon leaf switch. I probably got closed when playfield was out. Oh well, I have new parts in now, and boy do my pop bumpers pop now. Transmat score goes up quickly as the ball bounces back and forth like a machine gun.....
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AND it finally worked!!! Thanks for the guide for dummies. LOL.

So after reading all the horror stories about battery leakage, I decided to get a different solution. Noquartersarcade.com had a solution to the problem. It was fairly cheap and easy to install, once I watched the Youtube video that he provided a link to. I also have found that using a fine tip on the weller soldering iron works better than the screw driver tip for working on boards. I have been changing out the Tantulum Capacitors on the original Sound board. Even though I don't need it with the Pinsound in. Maybe someone will want it someday.

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Guess who scored probably the last NOS Playfield and from Ron Kruzman. It came from an employee that retired from Bally williams, and programed the CNC machine. He kept one of each of the titles he worked on. It is from early production, but not early enough to have a solid brown coat on Doctor #3. I have read about the early machines but have not seen a picture of one.

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Of course. well maybe... I need to get one of those rotisserie carts first. And more room in my garage. Ron advised me to sand and clear coat the back and let it cure for about a month. I will play the hell out of the current playfield till I am ready. If only I had a spare playfield wire harness, to begin the process. I hear the Dalek taunting me to come back an play....

Yes, CPR told me that they were going to reproduce the playfield. But then, you would have to send it off to someone like Kruzman to get it cleared, and that is a long wait. Like next year by the time CPR does it and then the clear gets cured. Also it will always be a repro, and not a NOS playfield. There is apparently a difference. Having had a difficulty getting the CPR Mini-playfield to fit (had to trim the front about 4mm), plus some of the holes did not line up either, not impressed. But if that is all that is available, you make do. Alter, adjust, trim, redrill.

As bad as that, your description. I wasted good money then. Thought the diamond plate new playfield would have been better than the one same age I am playing on now with 29 years of wear.

I wonder if it would be available....?

I am going to add a shaker next, once I get my allowance. Maybe I could mow a few hundred lawns....
Seriously, I am looking forward to adding it. Each upgrade, has enhanced the game to the next level. From what I understand, it plugs into my Pinsound+ board and someone has already figured out when the shaker takes off, based on events in the game. I see that it has 3 levels of shake. What setting are y'all most comfortable with?

I am very happy with my LED COLORDMD. Easy Install. It brings the video Jumping doctor to life!

Strangest thing though. I have noticed that sometimes the current Doctor running at the start, changes to another Doctor in different clothes after the first jump. Weird.

Strange thing two. During a Davros multi-ball, with the Dalek on top moving/lighting up and talking, the MPF moving to level 3 - the DMD goes from color to black and white for a couple seconds. Scary. But is a momentary glitch.

I have a daughter/reset board on the CPU. I have a separate dual power supply for my LED Flippers, LED speaker lights, Dalek motor and DMD.

Thanks all for the reassurance that I am not imagining things. I wish I could set up a video of the strange issues. I catch them out of the corner of my eye while trying to not drain the balls flying around. Next time it happens, I will try and document what was happening.

I went from shades of orange to the full colorDMD. Having just played all 4 players game, these are the differences that make it worth it. Each of the 7 doctors that are on the speaker board have a different set of colored clothing that matches what they wore on the TV series. When in Video mode, you can see the obstacles better and jump just before you get to them. It is easier to see if they are a 1 flipper or 2 flipper choice. It makes getting all 7 doctors lit up easier. When the Supreme Dalek shows up on the screen in white and gold, it shoots the left Dalek and it explodes. Then a pink Brain tentacle Dalek creature crawls out and gets blasted again for letting the Doctors escape. In my opinion, it makes the video mode a lot more playable.

Switching the music on the Pinsound board gives the game a different feel depending on my mood. The Blazing metal guitars mode is when I am working off anger and bashing pinballs around the playfield. The 13 Doctors is my favorite (and happy mood) and still finding and hearing new callouts that I have heard from the more recent series. You have to be a Who fan to get some of the nuances. Doctoring the Tardis is when I am in a mellow mood. But thats me.

There are several vendors for the side cabinet art. One is on Ebay, one is in the UK. The one I got and recently put on is the one with white windows Tardis on one side of the Head Unit and yellow windows on the other side. But only I know it, and could care less. Wood prep (removing goey decal goo, sanding, sanding, priming and sanding will reward you with a like new cabinet with bright colors. Know up front that the decals are smaller than the cabinet and head. So having a smooth wood surface painted gloss black is key. It looked so good that my coin door needed updating.

Enjoy.

ignat Where did you get your beautiful clear coat. It is gorgeous!

Sorry, I just have to post, that I had my most wonderful Doctor Who game of all time. I have been trying to follow advice about the Who Loops multiplier. I never got to a sonic boom but was close. The ball has to be barely rolling off the tip of the right flipper to make the left "collision" target alley way. Then as it rolls back down, the upper left flipper has to hit the ball just as it gets to the flipper (and you have to smash the flipper button hard). Then and only then will the ball go up the Loop ramp. Then you have seconds before you get to time the ball strike on the upper left again and again. I quit while I was ahead and turned the machine off as it is almost midnight. I have surely woken some people up in the house with my excitement. My fathers day present is going to be that shaker thingy, for sure.

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Thanks. I went to update my previous score, when I first got my machine in February. I saw that my score was no where near great. LOL.
There were scores in the Billions including ones you and pinballgoddess did. Then I started looking at the pictures associated with those high scores. Was surprised to see that many of them had a credit dot (indicating that they had faults in their machines, probably time expander mushroom optos) and they still got great scores with hundreds of loops. I will admit that mine is set to the easiest standard factory setting. I also saw where someone indicated that other custom settings could make the game easier or harder (tournament play?).

I am no expert, but I have had several problems with my MPF not rising. So it sounds like your motor and gears are not the problem. That leads me to believe that either there is no power going to the motor through the wires from the motor or power board. Or the opto just below the motor is not working. One problem I had was that the switch in the upper left corner of the playfield that detects the glass is installed went bad on me. Once I replaced it, Everything worked. Another time, the plug to the motor of the MPF was not making a connection so that caused a NO CC/CCW error. I have read here, that if the set screw to the wheel attached to the motor gets loose and the wheel is not aligned with the opto, that it will also cause an error. It would help for you to go into test mode and report exactly what the errors are showing.

Quickly looks at my new thicker ramps installed and see the same bubbling. Then looks at old original ramps that are cracked the V where a screw attaches. Don't see the bubbling. I am very pleased with my new ramps! You only see that area if you are right over top and looking for it. I did have to dremel trim the right side, so it would not scratch my new pinblades, when raising playfield.

The alternative is to keep the thin broken, yellowed, scratched plastic ramps....or enjoy a thicker more durable product.

Someone replaced my motor in the past and had added fuse next to it. But you would see that easily. Oddly enough, it did not blow the fuse when one of my kickouts loosened up and dropped down jamming my MPF. There were no lock washers on it like there should have been. The FAZ guide is great reference for fixing the MPF. I might suggest also looking at the 10 Opto board in the middle of the underside of the playfield.

I am also grateful to the FAZ guide as it has helped me multiple times in my short history with this pinball. I am getting an OPTO error 71 now, meaning the right most mushroom does not register a hit. I know that means using the FAZ guide to remove the MPF again. I am glad I have it printed out as a reference, and not have to disturb wife on the computer.

If there was ever an update to the guide (like v3). I would like to see several additions from various past posts.

1. Link Opto #'s 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 to Opto #'s on the board in the Matrix and the Motor OPTO #. The boards have a different numbering system. 1-5.
2. A verbal description and picture of how to take a photo of a working OPTO.
3. A full size, printable paper copy of the fish paper that surrounds the OPTO boards.
4. A section on MODs perhaps. Like the Swinks OPTO carrier with picture. The MPF Cliffies protectors placement, with pictures.

I was just thinking a one stop shop for the collected knowledge of the most amazing Mini-Playfield. Although I think Bride of Pinbot rotating head is awesome too.

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1. I ran the full switch test and paid particular attention to those switches in the same row. For example all the other OPTOs in the vertical column of the matrix, then all the parts in the row of the matrix. The only one out was SW71 right most OPTO. Confirmed it by playing a game and touching the mushrooms with a pencil eraser when the MPF was in the second level configuration. Again, only right most mushroom did not work.

2. Have not added any lights.

3. The Opto Carrier is the better Swinks one. The boards are original Bally/Williams.

4. The Swinks Opto Carrier and boards are wrapped in black construction paper and black electrician tape.

5. The credit dot problem sometimes goes away in the middle of the game if the MPF is raised. But comes back later.

I will try the camera trick next once I get the MPF out. As a precaution, I have ordered a set of OPTO boards from Marcos. Do not who made them, yet, if they are even marked.

I am guessing a cold solder joint on the right most Opto or reciever or loose wire, due to the intermittent nature.

I have a spare wired up set of Opto boards from the extra MPF I bought before owning the game. I will try the camera trick with that board as well. Good to have spares.

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Yes they are tough to get, but if you are patient and look around many sites, and are willing to pay a price as soon as it shows up.....

Two of mine are currently motorized. The UK Servo one and a Mark Davidson version like the original had.

Wishing Mark would make another batch so they could all talk to each other.

EXTERMINATE! You would make a good Dalek! We are supreme beings!"

and just like that My error codes on the magic mushrooms disappeared when the mailman showed up with new boards. She knew I was about to rip her open again and decided to cooperate. Intermittant error on Switch 71 sounds like loose connection.

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The latest upgrade is new full length flippers and red silicon bands, with some really cool design on top that matches playfield. I really thought full length flippers would be a lot longer than the lightning ones, but hey, every 1/8 inch counts. I like the look too.

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I can always switch back, but....I am still trying to get a high score, without really cheating (like taking the playfield glass off and putting the ball up the PF multiplier manually for every ball). Once I read that the original game designer made the ramps for use with full size flippers, and that some Euro market wanted shorter game time and higher game sales with shorter flippers, I wanted the longer flippers. They do make a difference.

Fellow Doctor Who pinball owners. I need some advice and guidance.

First, I direct your attention to the Doctor Who manual page 3-20 Power Driver Board, Connector J104 is printed as supplying 50VAC to the Fliptronics board at connector J901. However on page 3-26 Fliptronis II Board, Connector J901 states it is getting 50VAC from J105 on the Power Driver Board. Now my game plays with J104 connected and my connector is labeled J104. I measured the voltage on both J104 and J105 pins 1 and 3. They all read 70 volts. The 4 fuses on the Flip board also read 70 volts. I know there are errors in the manual. So which plug is your game on?

Second, I have a Power Driver Board from 2005 from PINLED in Germany. While it plays the game successfully, I have noticed that several of the lights in the playfield flicker on and off during the game. The W-H-O score dots, The ESCAPE triangles, and the multiplier diamonds. I read that the PINLED board suffered from ghosting. Has anyone else experienced this or have this board installed?

Third, I bought a Pinball basement Power Driver Board in hopes that the ghosting goes away, as it is advertised to be a direct copy of the Bally/Williams Board. Does anyone have that board in their game?

Thanks for any and all input.

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I found a lot of caked on dried white grease on mine on the slides and rollers. Then there was a black grease as well. Clean all the grease off. I used brake cleaner and small wire brush. Then only use spray silicon grease lightly. on rollers.

Christmas in July for my Doctor Who Pinball!!! It is the white package in the middle of playfields. It is from France. Thanks Pinballreno for recommending it.

The spare playfield on the left is on loan from Wick. The NOS playfield on the right has just had several coats of Poly on the back of the playfield and is curing (per Kruzman recco). I am going to copy the post holes, GI holes, board holes, coils and flippers holes onto some thin plexi=glass. Then drill the holes into the Plexi. Lastly, transfer the holes in a dimple procedure onto the NOS playfield. None of the inserts are sunk and the PF has its original Diamond Plate clear.

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My July present is of course a :shaker". It is successfully installed. Great easy instructions! I have it set on the factory gentle setting, to get used to the rumble. Of course I have questions from other users.... Like what setting do you use most often? (Light, Medium or Hard). Do different music settings on the Pinsound+ cause different rumbles? Did anyone customize the rumbling settings when they made the custom music files? I am trying to get a feel of when the rumbles come during play. I just scored my highest score with 3 balls. 941,575,170. I also made it up to level 11 on the video screen. This game is amazing, the more I play it and the more features that I install on it.

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Delete duplicate post

Only had one ball fly into the hole in the back of the pinball and into the cabinet. Not sure how it happened.

With Pinsound, I think you can manipulate the sound volume issues. But you will have to download there program and understand the software. Something I have not done and am probably not smart enough to get through. Just saying.

If you have a problem with loud music or callouts, you could just lower the overall volume at the coin door buttons. I play mine at level 10. I can't imagine how annoyed you would be with the custom Metal sound tract. Blazing Guitar riffs, intensify at critical times. Love it. Doctorin the Tardis is great too. I play 13 Doctors the most though. Great callouts that are clear and on point with what part of the game you are playing. Hearing Sara Jane say "It's YOU! melts my heart every time. My wife however, does not like hearing Christopher Eccelson shout, "WHY DON"T YOU JUST DIE!" But I do.

Some sound tracks are louder than others. But then again, I like Rush and Hendrix cranked up on my new 3 stereo speakers. Plus, now I am getting vibrations from the shaker at critical times. MMMMMM, MMMMMM, MMMMMM.

I just added the headphone station. and was wondering if it had the capability to change the orchestration.
Thanks.

Well it is available for download on Pinsound. But it is not available to listen to like the other mixes for some reason.

I am technically challenged, as my camera does not do sounds. I think my phone does, but not sure about getting it from phone to here. I dont do Youtube.

Now that I have learned the "double tap" on the headphone station, I am a happy camper about not opening coindoor when I want to change mixes. I have 5 mixes on my USB and it took 20 seconds, before I hear DAVROS saying "SO DOCTOR, WE MEET AGAIN!"

When I get a high score that lets me sign the Best Doctors Book, there is the sweetest music that plays.

Just returned from Pinfest in Allentown, PA. Not one Dr Who in Free play area or sale area. (There was a set of new Dr. Who Ramps) No used parts in the flea market area for it either. I did score a new lock down bar, Metal Flipper button protectors, a set of plastic hold downs for back glass, some Cointaker non-ghosting LEDS. I took my non-working New WPC89 Power Driver Board back to pinball basement, to see why the flippers did not work. He promises to send me a new one. I also scored a January 1993 WPC Schematic book for $10 from Marco. Makes me realize that I need to keep track of my spares and old parts I take off.

Agree with pinballreno. After replacing the Tardis with the USB one, I had same issue of kick out. It hard worked perfectly prior. I looked for parts first. Then, when I raised PF, I could see that the wire for the light in the Tardis was blocking the Optos. once I moved and ty wrapped the wire out of the way, it worked.

I talked with Rob at Pinfest. He was a good dude. I had his original "no reset" board in my machine and asked about what it did. As I have not experienced a reset. I bought and installed his latest board with leds that indicate status of your power. He told me that as your CPU and power board ages, that voltages get less due to aging components. I asked him about Pinsound. He is still pissed at the ripoff. Claimed their board was a glorified expensive MP player.

If we knew what state you were in, someone local could fix it quickly and test it with a meter. I have to agree that your soldering skills would increase quickly with practice and a welder soldering iron tip! A soldering gun and larger irons will only mess up your boards. The difference is like comparing an xacto knife with a butcher knife.

On a completely different topic...

Recently, after completing a MPF raising multi ball and it goes back down PF level. I know that I have to hit center target, to begin locking balls again in MPF. In the recent past, it would kick the ball back out, until I hit the center target. But last night and today, the right ball lock will let the ball sit and not kick it out. Then it goes into 3 ball finds and two MPF raises, until it is ejected.

I am thinking the Optos knows the ball is there, because prior to first multi ball, it sees the ball and displays on the screen that one or both balls are locked and goes to level two PF for mushroom bashing.

Would appreciate any ideas.

I hear what you are saying. And will try test mode next. I played a couple games today and it happened again.

So to be clear, the MPF is raising and lowering correctly to all three levels like it should. So that Opto is working.

The left Ball Lock Opto and coil are working perfectly too.

The right Ball Lock works correctly the first time in the game. The Light in front of it, is on steady with the ball in place. The DMD does its little movie where the half curtain goes around the right sided Doctor. So that tells me that the Opto sees that a ball is in place. Once all 15 mushrooms and light have been lit, the MPF drops to ground level and ejects both Locked balls, like it should. So that means that the coil is connected and firing. Once the MPF times out after getting some balls through the 3 red dalek doors, the MPF goes back down to ground level. And a Doctor mentions something about a timey wimey thing.

This is where it gets interesting (for me at least). If I lock a ball in the left Lock, without hitting the center target, the left coil shoots it out (usually SDTM). But then I get a "Second Chance" ball launch. The same thing used to happen on the right lock. But now the ball just goes into the right hole and the game waits a while, till it starts it "Ball Search 1, Ball Search 2 with raising MPF, and then it kicks the ball out and the game continues play with that ball.

However, if I hit the center target on round two, and lock the ball in the right or left hole, it registers that the balls are there. Once both balls are locked, I go into multiball Davros Mushroom bashing and then level 3 Dalek door time.

Looks great! You will appreciate the color DMD, as it enhances video mode.

I appreciate all the help and hints I get from Pinsiders. Your experiences and advice and gotten me down the road of pinball service.

Here is an interesting story about how the Doctor Who pinball machine has a mind of its own. I know that it stores high scores and loop champion, as well as a long list of audit history. Like how many games it has played, how much money it has made, how many free games it gave away, etc. Still learning that set of things.

#Pinballreno gave me hints on how to build a ladder, of how to get higher scores. I went into the software and manual. I set the game to Easy. I adjusted a bunch of the values. I set the WHO ramp "extra ball to 1". I set the Video mode to Easy and "Extra Ball to 1". I had replay set to 300,000. I was getting better at ramp shots, and multi-balls. I finally got a 1 billion score. Then several weeks later, my game changed itself. Video mode changed to the 1st version of wave 2 instead of 1. I have no idea what the WHO ramp changed to, but it is not set to 1 anymore, after I got several extra balls with it. Replay keeps going higher by itself and now is around 500,000. It is like the machine is learning that I am winning and making itself harder and harder.

Does any of this make sense? Has anyone else noticed their machine doing this? I guess, if I had it set on standard settings, I would not be seeing these changes....

For those who would like to upgrade the static Dalek topper, Mark Davidson just finished 6 more of his famous Wobble head mechs. I just got another one, so he has 5 left. https://www.basementarcade.com/Project-Wobble-Head.html

So my machine that I just manually forced balls to light up targets and WHO extra ball, it only knocks on high score replay, and when special is lit on ESCAPE targets. Doing a W H O ramps in order and then going down the extra ball lane that is lit, only gets you an extra ball, NO knock. My machine is set to wave 5 video extra ball. So I went through all 5 videos and got extra ball, but No knock. I have original WPC 89 CPU with level 2 chip. My power board is from PinLED in Germany 2005. Wonder why the difference in your machines.

I know that the recent auction that the Museum (but not museum quality) pinballs and arcades sold for inflated prices, but can you believe that Doctor Who sold for $8000 plus shipping??? It did not even have any upgrades such as color DMD, or Pinsound board, or moving Dalek topper.

The $8000 included auction fees and taxes of 25%.

I would measure the height distance of the working scoop and duplicate it on the non-working one. I would use pliers of large channel lock pliers to bend it. I rebuilt my MPF a couple months back with the valuable use of the FAZ guide. I also added Cliffies to a new MPF wood from CPR. The old MPF was banged up pretty bad and I wanted my new one to last. While cleaning up and polishing the scoops before reattachment, I noticed one was out of shape and pointing to the sky. I had it out, so bent it with pliers in a vice to match the other one. Reattaching them with new screws in new wood was a challenge. But I pre-dimpled with a sharp nail where the screws were supposed to go. Then pre-drilled them smaller than the screws. While removing the old wood screws from the old MPF, I noticed how big the holes were, as the screws were sloppy holding the metal walls and scoop down. If you find this in yours, you may be able to increase the screw diameter one size, but may have to make the attachment holes bigger in the metal. Just my 2 cents. MPF After4 (resized).JPG

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Awesome Thanks. I have the others already loaded and change tunes every so often to keep it fresh!

I have had that ball stuck on the MPF and the motor/gear box jammed tight. I bought a new one with motor and gear box. I took the old motor off and it still ran free and on a 9 volt battery. The Gear box on the other had was stuck. I have not drilled out the rivets to see what went on inside. Yet.

I have been waiting in line for one of the ULF linear lift kits. Last I checked, I was #12. I will get the board mentioned as an option. I hope I get it soon. I have 3 things needed to be fixed on the MPF, but it still works. The Lock light on the left is out, The right mushroom is not registering hits (I have new Opto Boards), The right coil was firing occassionally, and now not at all.

Your game looks better than new. Congrats. First time I have seen the mirror glass.

Thanks, that was my question on what size were the wires going to the MPF. I also googled Silicone Wires and was overwhelmed with choices and sizes. I think I will rewire my MPF, once I get the ULF raising kit. The original wires are hard and brittle. I am looking at Molex connector sizes next. I have labeled all my plastic connectors going to the MPF, as well as written down the colors of the wires, and where they go to. Some of the stripes have changed color with time though. Maybe in my spare time, I will put it on a spread sheet or word document.

ULF is making me one of his linear lift kits for the MPF. This will be a vast improvement, instead of the wobble raising kit that it came with originally. You can see on most games how it scratches the right side of vertical cover decal.

In another development, I have changed my WPC89 power board from the 2005 PinLED board to a Dumbass Board. The ghosting on the playfield GI circuit with regular bulbs has gone away. The game performs perfect. Happy pinball player.

Yes ULF has reached out. We discussed options. I want it all except the powder coating. The improved motor board from pellew as well.

Time to order some orange, grey, black, red, violet, blue, and green flexible 22 gauge wire.

I am so excited, like a kid Christmas morning...The smooth Lifter kit for Mini-Playfield has arrived for my Doctor Who Pinball.
I now have everything, including new Opto Boards and holder, new 12 pin plug and silicone flexible wires, new Motor and gear box.
Thanks to all here with advice on where to get wire, connectors, and parts. Especially #darkpinball ULF for a well thought out kit and instructions.
I have read the instructions 3 times and am still absorbing the information. At least I have identified all the parts and am locating tools in the tool box.
Let the tear down begin and an improved Mini-playfield.
So glad I have an extra Mini-playfield mechanism to experiment on, while still being able to play the game.

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I am in the middle of tear down of the MPF to add the ULF lifter kit. Many thanks again to Faz for the guide, even though I have done it 3 times now. Things I have found as I was swapping over parts.

1. I had a non-working left Lock Light not working on the MPF forever. I checked the bulb, the bulb holder, the diodes, the Yellow/Green wire that is common to both Lock Lights. I even checked the voltage coming off the GI circuit plug. I finally found that the Red/Blue stripe wire going into the 4 pin plug was not making connectivity but was connected. Will replace with my new flexible wire, plugs and molex connectors and tools.

2. MPF Right kickout would only work occasionally. Found wire was hanging on by a thread onto coil. Reattached wire stronger.

3. Switch Error 71- Right Mushroom Opto was not working. Swapped in new boards and tested. All 5 mushroom Optos registering in test.

I had to paint the motor wheel (as recommended by ULF). It has now dried and is attached with Huge set screws and locktight.

I found it interesting, being able to test pieces parts of the MPF while it was out, and the parts plugged in to diagnose problems in test mode. Helps to have a spare MPF all apart to plug in to see if it is in the main harness, on a board, or local to the MPF parts. Pictures to follow once I have things going back together. I am still having fun.

First, I want to say how great the ULF smooth lifter system works!

Second, the instructions were almost idiot proof.

Third, the adjustability to level MPF (side to side and up/down) is fantastic. The kit included 4 different thickness shims for either the left or right side attachment to Main Playfield. I only needed the 1 mm thickness shim on the left side to level out the MPF. With the shipped height of the connecting rod, I need to shorten it by 1 mm (which will be one 360 degree turn = .8 mm). With the MPF fully extended in Test mode (as recommended), I measured a height of 88 mm before starting and when finished. I would highly recommend buying the cam wheel, instead of modifying the stock one (Makes life so much easier).

Fourth, before the MPF would wobble and scrape both sides of the metal enclosure. See Picture. And by the way, where do I get those decals. Have yet to find them on any site. Now the MPF goes straight up and down like an elevator should.

Hope I don't overwhelm the Whovian Club with pictures, but they show the awesomeness of the engineering.

Enjoy.
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They look better than the originals! I printed them on plain paper first and was impressed. Now waiting for Sticky Photo paper to arrive.

Any tips on removing old decals from the metal surround? I have goo gone, sand paper, wire wheel attachment of drill, Scrapers, etc. that I used getting cabinet decals off.

All the adjustments to MPF vertical and horizontal are complete. Ulf advised me to remove the fuse from the motor, that a previous owner had installed. If a ball got stuck, the fuse would supposedly blow before the new Bi-directional board could reverse the motor. That has now been done and it gave me chance to replace the wires and Molex connectors with new.

I am absorbing the directions for installing the new Bi-directional board. It will plug right in where the original board is, but there are adjustments to be made to the raising and lowering locations of the MPF, via adj. pots. I wanted the MPF to work correctly first before installing the board. I guess it is time now to work on that.

Something I was worried about and seems to have come true with adding the shaker. Loose screws are showing up in the bottom of the cabinet or attached to the magnet of the speaker. I knew when I replaced the flipper coils that some of those screws did not tighten too well. I have performed the toothpick glue trick and am hoping this will help.

Thanks, that did the trick and they did peal off easily. I took my exacto knife to lift the corners. There were TWO layers of original decals on the inside, with long vertical gouges on both sides, where the MPF would wobble and scrape on the way up and the way down. The smooth lifter kit solved that issue.

The mailman delivered my sticky back photo paper today. Its like Christmas. I printed the files #pinballinreno sent me (Huge Thanks). They are beautiful on glossy photo paper. I noticed they are slightly larger, as the original did not cover the whole metal area. So these are even better. If anyone needs a printed copy, PM me. I got a box of that paper now. Maybe I will try printed those two front cards on that glossy paper too.

Lastly, I had replaced the stock Tardis with the USB one, I saw in a post here. I finally got around to installing a blue LED in the top. Like a cherry on top of a sundae, only Blue!!!

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I just installed one and it was easy. Wish I had new black standoffs first. It makes raising and lowering MPF really easy, so that you can adjust the height of MPF. I am still learning how to adjust the Time and Current.

I am no expert, but when I replaced my coils on the flippers and the leaf switches, I had a similar problem with the adjustment of the leaf switch that the arm the moves.

Just measured mine. You are correct 28 3/4 wide and 28 1/2 tall.

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Yes, different sticks. I made that mistake when I first got mine. I also learned you can only have 6 music tracks on one stick.

What your Opto Carrier should look like from Swinks with boards installed and no interference of the mushroom interrupters. Be careful removing the c clips on the mushrooms, as they will fly and get lost. Ask me How I Know. But Marcos sells those too, along with new mushrooms (as does Swinks). Make sure to wrap the open back and sides with black paper, to prevent light leakage. Esp. if you have LEDs under playfield or MPF.

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Have you ever wondered what some of the writing or stamps on the top or edges or back or your Doctor Who Playfield meant? During my cabinet renovation, I documented some of those marks and stamps. Because one day, I would have a better understanding of them. Today is that day. I found a website of a playfield restorer who documented the history of the subcontractors that made Bally Doctor Who and other Pinballs. I found it an interesting read.

I have 3 Sun Process Dr. Who playfields, as they all say Diamond Plate on them and have SP marked under the Apron. TAG playfields are not marked Diamond Plate and have pinkish flesh tones on the PF faces, whereas DP has yellowish faces. Look closely at Picture 1 (TAG) compared to Picture 2 and 3 (SP) to see the missing Diamond Plate logo under the Master. From the Front Edge, my original PF was made or approved on Nov 13, 1992. There is also a *11 hand marked as well on the edge. A red marker 58 is on the bottom of the PF by the left flipper coil.

http://www.lasvegasplayfields.com/playfield-information/

Thomas A. Grant (TAG): Thomas A. Grant is the son of Thomas Grant who founded Ad Posters. TAG made playfields and plastics for Williams in the 1990‘s. They also made the backglasses for No Good Gofers. TAG was bought in 2001 by Gene Cunningham (of Illinois Pin Ball). All the assets of the company moved to IPB. Until then Stern Pinball used TAG for their playfields (Stern’s Austin Powers was the last made made by TAG), but after this sale Stern switched to Churchill (who already delivered their cabinets) as playfield supplier. Gene, from IPB, never really did anything with the TAG equipment. I am unsure of what happened to all the TAG equipment that Gene got from the sale. I do know that it was missing from IPB when James from Pinball Inc bought all the remaining IPB stuff.

Electronic Sound Corp (ESC): Electronic Sound was a contractor for multiple pinball companies but Gottlieb/Premier was their biggest account. Gottlieb used ESC for all their playfields and cabinets between 1978 until they stopped making pinball machines in 1996. The last playfield ESC made for Gottlieb was ‘Brooks N Dunn’. Bally/Williams used ESC mostly for WPC speaker DMD wood panels and some playfield routing.

Lenc-Smith (LS): Probably every Bally cabinet and playfield since around 1968 was made by them. In 1988 Bally sold their pinball division, including Lenc-Smith, to WMS Industries. Lenc-Smith made almost all the cabinets for Williams / Bally pinball machines and Midway arcade games. What they did exactly to a playfield changed over the years. In the beginning they created the complete playfield, starting from bare wood. After the failed clear coating attempts with their LS Topcoat they did not do any clear coating and sublet that to Sun Process until 1996 when LS moved into the CCC building. Lenc-Smith did produce plastics for some games, which can be identified by the -LS extension of the part number. Williams sold Lenc-Smith to the Churchill Cabinet Company. Churchill moved into the Lenc-Smith building in 1996.

Sun Process (SP): They printed and clear coated playfields, but also made playfield plastics (SP- is printed in the part number on plastics like slingshots of some games). They invented Diamond Plate as a playfield protection in the late 1980‘s. Diamond Plate clear coating started to be used on pinball playfields by Williams around 1990. (see below for more information about DP). Sun Process only worked for Williams. Ron Baum, who did the sales for Sun Process, told me the cooperation started in the early 1980’s when Williams searched for a new company to provide them with decals and playfields. The first thing Sun Process did for Williams were the artwork for the Defender video arcade game. Space Shuttle pinball machine was the first SP/Williams project. They used a 4 color printing process for the backglass. Sun Process was able to deliver Williams every type of screen printed plastic part used on a pinball machines and arcade games: the backglass, translites (subcontracted to another company), cabinet decals, playfields, dmd insert panels and playfield plastics. In the early nineties when there was a lot of demand for pinball machines (like Addams Family, Twilight Zone and Getaway’s), Sun Process delivered up to 200 playfields a day to Williams. Sun Process playfields tend to hold up better and the colors are preferred to by most collectors. Example: The hot pink colors on the CFTBL (Creature From the Black Lagoon) playfields (these are all SP made playfields). The brighter red colors on TZ (Twilight Zone) playfields or the purple colors on the Addams Family playfields are all made by Sun Process. The only real exception to this is the Sun Process made Theatre of Magic playfields. They are terrible and most collectors prefer the Thomas A. Grant (TAG) made TOM (Theatre of Magic) playfields. The Sun Process made Dr Who playfields have a higher resolution printing than the TAG made Dr. Who playfields.

Diamond Plate: Diamond Plate is a clear coat coating that was developed in the late 1980‘s by Sun Process and Dupont. Ken Fedesna, Vice President at Williams, asked Sun Process to develop a coating to make pinball playfields more durable. Their answer was Diamond Plate or basically an automotive urethane clear coat. Diamond Plate clear coating added several years to the commercial lifespan of pinball machines, taking away a bit of the need for operators to buy new games. Diamond Plate was initially named XR-7 and a few prototype Banzai Run’s, Earthshakers, Funhouse and Bride of Pinbots were coated with Diamond Plate and are stamped (usually handwritten) XR-7 on the front edge of the playfield.

Lenc-Smith made their own version of clear coat and named it L.S. Topcoat. It is not uncommon to find sample Funhouse pins that are stamped with the ‘LS Topcoat’ logo. However LS Topcoat was found to be not as durable as Diamond Plate.

The first game that had Diamond Plate on its non-prototype games was Bride of Pinbot, Whirlwind and Dr. Dude but issues happened with colors so it was not applied on the whole run. About 200 BOP and Whirlwind factory Diamond Plate playfields were made and 100 Dr. Dude playfields were done in Diamond Plate. By the time Getaway was in production it was perfected. Terminator 2 was the first game to have Diamond Plate on all of its playfields. These games all have the DP logo somewhere near the right outlane.

TAG also clear coated playfields but these do not have a Diamond Plate logo. Games like Twilight Zone that were made by TAG were also clear coated by them. After a few years (around 1994) Williams dropped the Diamond Plate logo from all playfields. They could still be made / clear coated by Sun Process, but as competitors also had a hardcoat clear coating on their playfields, there wasn’t a marketing advantage anymore by labeling a clear coated playfield as such.

Shortly after the introduction of Diamond Plate by Williams, most other pinball companies (Data East and Capcom) also started to clear coat their playfields. Data East named their clear coat ‘Stealth Coat’ (or Stealth Hardcoat) and started to apply this as of their Star Trek 25th Anniversary pinball machine. Gottlieb (or Electronic Sound as they made the playfields) never made the switch and continued to still use lacquer.

If you read all the way through this history, give me a thumbs up post, and maybe add photos of your PF edges with identifying info marks.
Cheers and Happy 2022 New Year!!! Play Ball.

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I did the same plan recently. I turned it on and went straight into test switch mode to check mushroom optos worked. And they did.

I took about 6 hours and did it in two evenings. I have taken the MPF out several times, so I know all the tools I need and have the FAZ guide mesmorized. LOL. I replaced the Opto boards as well, as one opto was burnt. See previous posts a couple pages back for reference.

Agree. I tried popping witH pins, tweezers, needle nose pliers, and xacto knife. But once I bought the special tools, like a small metal straw, it works great! Then the real molex pliers work great, once you watch the video on YouTube. I will admit to screwing up several pins trying to learn the process. A quality wire stripper pliers is also a great help. I even bought a special wire stuffer for the connectors that go to the boards.

The lights take the smaller wire and you need more of it. The coils take the larger 18 gauge, I believe.

#Pinballinreno I am constantly amazed at how smart you are and helpful. Thanks for all you do!