Boulder, CO
Quoted from Marten:I always look for 20 minutes and then ask my wife to find it. She usually finds it right away.
I tried this. No luck. Will report back tomorrow.
(Topic ID: 72348)
Linked Games
High Speed
Williams, 1986
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Try using the magnetic wand trick. Run it along the wiring harness. You'd be surprised how effective this is. If you don't already have a magnetic wand, you should buy one. It's an invaluable tool.
Quoted from gweempose:Try using the magnetic wand trick. Run it along the wiring harness. You'd be surprised how effective this is. If you don't already have a magnetic wand, you should buy one. It's an invaluable tool.
Got a link to one you like? Most of the ones I'm seeing have just a tiny magnet on the end.
Swift Current, SK
Quoted from ryanwanger:Got a link to one you like? Most of the ones I'm seeing have just a tiny magnet on the end.
Even though the magnets may look small, they are very powerful. I have two of them, both made by Ullman. One is nice and small for getting into tight places. The other one is a bit larger, but it has a built-in LED light which can really come in handy.
http://www.amazon.com/Ullman-ULHTLP-2-Lighted-Magnetic-Pick-Up/dp/B007QV6XUM/ref=sr_1_8
Quoted from pezpunk:uhm ... how big are these screws you're dropping?
I was imagining a giant wand that just takes a few sweeps to find what you're looking for. 
Quoted from pezpunk:I have a similar problem with my STTNG : screws dropped inside are often flung to random coordinates in space-time, disappearing from this reality entirely and reappearing weeks or even months later. clearly, the wormhole mission is not shutting down properly -- I suspect stray chronometric particles are causing a localized time rift inside the cab. very annoying.
The screw is on top of the mountain of unmatched socks in another dimension.....
blockquote cite="#1288979">I was imagining a giant wand that just takes a few sweeps to find what you're looking for.
Ohhh...you want one of those driveway magnetic sweepers! : ). No luck yet finding it?
Quoted from ryanwanger:I was imagining a giant wand that just takes a few sweeps to find what you're looking for.
So you were thinking something like this? 
Sana'a
Yeah, this is super frustrating. They always seem to completely dissapear or they fall into the most hard to reach place.
One thing to keep in mind is that it could have hit a part or wire harness and bounced or got redirected pretty much anywhere below the drop point. I've dropped screws on the top left side of the playfield and found them on the bottom right.
Walking away and coming back with fresh eyes (and patience) definately helps.
Quoted from hlaj78:This problem is why I always use magnetic tipped screwdrivers and nutdrivers.
Howie
You just end up dealing with a magnetized screw that jumps to the side instead of down in the hole when you try to screw it back in.
Quoted from wayout440:Putting a towel down before you screw is generally a good idea.
Don't forget to bring a towel!
Towelie_2.jpgQuoted from hassanchop:Once i dropped a #44 gi bulb and couldn't find it for 2 months...
I've dropped things that I NEVER found. At some point, all you can do is flip on the power and pray ...
Quoted from ryanwanger:Doing a flipper rebuild (on High Speed) and dropped a short screw (for the assembly support bracket) while the playfield was vertical. It didn't fall far before stopping. Now I can't find it. I spent 10 minutes looking with a headlamp, took the playfield out, and shook it in every possible orientation. Nothing.
Should I worry? Is there something else I can do short of taking everything off the underside of the playfield?
Look to the wire bundles. Especially if the sound of the hardware was relatively quiet. (Not much clattering and clanking on the way down) If you heard metal on metal sound check any scoops or ball trough's extensively. Good luck. It's almost always rough when you drop small hardware under the playfield.
Quoted from pezpunk:this is the kind of phrase that I expect to be followed by "...I was walking barefoot when I suddenly heard a crunch"
nop
The bulb was hidden inside the cabinet. The bastard..
Quoted from pezpunk:this is the kind of phrase that I expect to be followed by "...I was walking barefoot when I suddenly heard a crunch"
I've stepped on and smashed 2 or 3 555s. I haven't gotten cut yet though.
Quoted from Rum-Z:I lost a screw in my NGG while the playfield was up. It bounced around, fell through a hole in the playfield, and ended up on the top side, under a plastic at the rear of the machine. That was hard to find!
NGG is my nightmare. I have dropped so many screws, and they almost ALWAYS go into the putting green subway (with like 10 hex head screws holding it in place). There's no spot to shake them out or to fish them out from above.
Once I had a mysterious problem with the subway, and I knew it wasn't a screw. Turned out one of the upper PF 906 lamps had leaped down into it.
Quoted from vid1900:The sad fact is: more things are dropped than are ever picked up.
Unless there is a pin on the space shuttle or zero G you drop something its all down hill.
Quoted from hlaj78:Somebody should make a magnetic snake to fish some of these bastards out. Terry at pinballlife, you need to get on this.
I literally just got this in the mail today from amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NPR3ZW/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:I literally just got this in the mail today from amazon:
amazon.com link »61XHIGowm9L._SL1500_.jpg 31 KB
Those are handy....I fished a nut out of an intake runner with the same tool.
Quoted from Chrizg:Everyone needs a 1/4 mag nut driver. It is a must have tool
I agree, but I need to find one with a stronger magnet. I was using a Klein magnetic nut driver when I dropped the screw today.
I lost a bulb in my HH once. The board that the transformer and fuse bank sits on it raised just enough for an 89 to roll under, and it's fixed in place, and open at the high end. Used my husband's camera snake to see where it went to pry it back out. Still worked, too lol.
My two worst fallen screws were one that got stuck in the area where the sling licker comes through the playfield - it was also under a ramp. The other one I was about ready to send the kids into the game with magnets....spent days looking for it. Came back to it one more time and it was stuck between the speaker mesh and the cabinet.
Lessons learned: Use a bright light. Always have a telescoping magnet. Wear pants with pockets and never hold in your hands more than what you are working on right then. Put the other screws and things in your pocket. Don't put the pants with pockets full of screws in the laundry that way.
Quoted from hlaj78:Somebody should make a magnetic snake to fish some of these bastards out. Terry at pinballlife, you need to get on this.
I got this one last March. ebay.com link: NEW MASTER MAGNETIC 7229 BEND IT MAGNET FLEXIBLE TOOL
some times when this happens to me- i drop another one from the same location and try to watch where it goes-
Quoted from vid1900:The sad fact is: more things are dropped than are ever picked up.
gravity can be such a heartless bitch sometimes 
Quoted from hassanchop:Today I dropped a fart and couldn't find it anywhere
If you drop it at pinball expo it wouldn't be hard to find.
Quoted from hlaj78:If you drop it at pinball expo it wouldn't be hard to find.
I disagree, that's a bit like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles.
Okay, I'm giving up finding the screw. I even got that telescoping magnetic wand thing, but to no avail.
Any places I should double check before turning it back on to avoid a board melting short? Wish me luck!
Try taking off and replacing some of the adjacent light boards. While they're off, try to look around your weldments and subways. Give the wire harnesses a good shake. Give the bottom of your cabinet one more good look over with a flashlight, especially under any covered areas.
If you're on carpeting, is there a chance it's not actually in the game but on the floor.
All our games are on carpet. When I'm working on something and I drop something, the first thing I do is listen.
If I don't hear it hit the bottom of the cabinet, it can only be one of a couple places. It's either still in the game underside or on the floor. The first thing I do is follow a straight line down from where I was working. Then I broaden that straight line a couple inches in width. Then I look on the floor. Most of the time, it's on the floor. 
Quoted from ryanwanger:Okay, I'm giving up finding the screw. I even got that telescoping magnetic wand thing, but to no avail.
Any places I should double check before turning it back on to avoid a board melting short? Wish me luck!
I guess I was hoping for last ditch advice like: "check all of your coils to make sure the screw isn't touching them".
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