Eight Ball Deluxe Owner Club & Restorations Guests Welcome As Well

Can you make those with the metal bells already in them? Now those would sell like hot cakes!!!!

You need to measure the playfield widths closely.
From my memory, EBD LE is a hair narrower just like Centaur II.
EBD and EBD "Classic" are the same width.

What pitch do you have your games set at? Mine is cleared so playing faster. I'm getting many more outlane drains AFTER the clear, so I'm playing with table pitch.

Sling posts are set to the top spot.

My game was set at in insane angle of 10 degrees (full height 3" casters and a 2×4) and I use a Powerball as well. I call it EBD "Rapid Fire", and surprise people.

Most experienced players choose between 5-6 degrees a little lower than modern games. Anything less than 4 degrees and the game plays like a woodrail.

I have mine jacked up too. Probably 7 degrees.

Does anyone have a picture of their tilt mechanism? I want to see if mine is wired correctly because when the tilt activates one of my pop bumpers fire. Anyone know why this would happen?

Also, what is the deal with the metal ball in the channel above? Mine is stuck in the dead center. Is that normal? How should this function?

Thanks.

The small ball in the channel will cause a tilt if the front of the machine is picked up far enough to roll the ball to the rear of the channel and contact the switch there. If it is stuck, it is either the wrong size or really, really rusty! I believe it is supposed to be a 3/4" ball whereas the playfield ball should be a 1 1/16" ball. I'll see if I can get a pic of the tilt plate for you.

Shawn

Thank you. Any idea why a pop bumper would fire instead of the tilt going off?

If you have any Bally manual from that era you can see the schematics of it.

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Is it the tilt plumb bob setting it off or the slam switch? (The large switch in the middle with the weight hanging on the end?)

It's the tilt plum bob setting it off.

Check the pop bumper spoon and switch for vibration activation first, before switch matrix. You may get a surprise.

Then check the switch matrix and diodes. ALL switches. Inspect wires closely at plumb bob. Temporarily disconnect the plumb bob and test. Then check the MPU and connectors. Then check ICs.

Stay the path, in this order, and the problem will reveal itself.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will start to dig in.

A side note. I took a look at the provided picture and noticed the two wires connected to the top screw of the plumb bob was connected to the screw above that holds the channel for the silver ball. Switched this and no change.

Also, the pop bumper fires only when I touch my finger to the plumb bob. If I use a pencil to push it into the metal piece nothing happens. Very strange

Well guys, the EBD has finally developed a nasty problem that I believe has to be localized to the power supply. I get a nasty 60 Hz hum on the audio that waxes/ wanes. Every few minutes, it crescendos and the machine resets. Not sure where to start. Have some replacements for the big caps in the PS and will swap those out. Any other ideas?

I always thought they were all the same playfield.

Looking at photos, they all look the same but I have never seen a LE in person.

Hi!
Dont know if im "member material", i got bell games ebdb conversion "pinball pool".

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Wow that's an interesting conversion.

I think if looks ok. Until you see pics of the cabinet. A bit too much for me.

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Wowzers!

Gotta love the 80's!

With that backglass artwork and cabinet artwork, the Bell version should have been named "Slutty Elizabeth Taylor's Time Fantasy"

Ha ha Elizabeth Taylor!
The side "art" is bolted on,in my case to cover up the Kiss painting...:/

¿Talvez algun día puedas enseñarme?

There were several clones and conversion kits of EBD copied in the 1980s other than "Pinball Pool" (Bell, Italy).
I own one of these backglasses.

"Cowboy Eight Ball" and "Cowboy Eight Ball 2" (LTD, Brazil)
Here is a recent video:

"Sure Shot" (Taito, Brazil) which was Cowboy Pool with a different backglass, player scoring numeric segments, and sounds.

There were two others as well, but I cannot remember off of my head.
Basically, copyright infringement was nearly impossible to enforce at that time in foreign countries, and Bally did not really care as these machines were almost always sold as conversion kits, low production, and were never competitors in the market anyway.

Both machines above were part of the forefather time of more modern Taito gaming in arcades most people recognize in the mid 1980s.
These two companies were actually "one in the same" but independent for marketing reasons.

The original Eight Ball had 4 clones from foreign manufacturers as well, some of the kits looked like a$$.

Wow, huge difference in music

There actually is ANOTHER sound rom set board for this game as well.
The same owner posted in his other video.

"¡El juego fue asombrosa!", right?
They are actually speaking a touch of dialectal Portuguese in the video, but most of it is Latin/SA Spanish.
I am not entirely sure where the videos were recorded.
There are very few of these games left in the world, particularly due to environmental climate.

Not so strange. Were you perhaps touching the coin door or lock down metalwork when you touched the plumb bob? Both of those are grounded and so you, in effect, grounded the plumb bob. (The CMOS logic circuits require only a tiny current to flow.) With this piece of information and the schematic you should be able to work out why the pop bumper fires. (No need to ask me how I know this ... but if you assume that my EBD does this ... you would be correct.)

Sorry for the delayed response - I haven't been able to look at this thread for the last 3 months or so after I learnt that I missed out on the CPR EBD playfield rerun.

I'm pretty sure (I am away from home so cannot check schematics at the moment) that the squawk & talk board gets its power for the sound from the GI supply (AC) so you'll need to replace (at least) the bigger caps on the squawk & talk as well. But you should definitely upgrade the PS by replacing old caps etc and verify that the AC ripple on the 5VDC supply is nominal.

I replaced the 2 big caps on the PS and that resolved the hum completely. Tnx..

Finally getting around to rebuilding the upper flip mech on our EBD as it's grown steadily weaker over the years. Wow, ton of wear on the pawl/ nylon bushing. Bit surprised the thing was working at all. I don't need a rebuild kit as most of the parts have found their way into the junk box over the years. That said, was looking at the parts lists for the more popular kits available and they all include a spring washer. I have no such thing on any of the flips in our current roster (EBD, Fathom, Centaur). What the hey? Where does it install? What does it do? Do I really need one and why? Tnx as always...

That spring washer sits between the coil and the metal bracket it fits into. You do need it as this is the way bally made sure there was no play in the coil as it fired. Without it you will have slop and there for lose power from the flippers. If you've been playing this way for a while and never had it different then you wouldn't know the difference. Get those spring washers and put them in and you may be surprised the new life you have breathed into your machine.

Tnx M. There is certainly plenty of slop in this mech and at this stage of wear I'm sure its multi-factorial including lack of a spring washer. I can see where this would definitely tighten things up for the better. Ordering 'em now... Tnx again...

For years we just played the hell out of our games and enjoyed them. Nothing ever seemed to malfunction. These puppies getting old now I guess and seems like I'm finding something that needs tending daily.. The black paint on the lowest aspect of the backglass is flaking off in alarmingly large chunks (Antartica, I feel your pain..) Seems like I've seen something about sealing the glass with something called Triple Thick. Thing is, I'd like to fill the missing black back in before sealing. Can this be done? How to? Brush on acrylic, careful spray after masking, other ?? Tnx as always guys..

http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/index1.htm#bg

The theory is to Triple-Thick the backglass, *then* touch it up, so if you screw it up you can't do much damage.

Just finished my first ever flipper rebuild. WOW !! Gonna have to learn how to play this *new* game all over again. Thanks maestro for cluing me into the spring washers. Definitely locks the coil down. Now onto that Triple-Thick...

Check this out
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/eight-ball-deluxe-owner-club-guests-welcome-as-well/page/14#post-3160848

NOS. Just picked it up today from clear coating.

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Finally found an original version ,waiting for CPR run,anyone have some nice custom score cards or know where to buy them?

My sound stopped working on my EBD. I'm not getting a -5V on TP4, but not sure where it's supposed to come from. The schematics have a dead end arrow that say to -5v but what creates that?

Just got my EBD LE in on Friday and I'm excited to start work on it. There is plenty of wear and tear on the playfield and I definitely need some new plastics. I expected this going into the transaction as I picked it up for only $825. Anywho, I have one question and one update. First off, I have not been able to find out how to get the score glass off. I don't see any extra keyholes or anything that would release the lock bar. I have the head of the machine off and I have obviously been able to take the back glass off, but I cannot figure out this score display glass to save my life. Any help?

Second, I have decided that while I am doing a playfield swap and replacing much of the aesthetics for new, I might as well get to work sanding and repainting the cabinet. I have just started the cabinet stencil and below are some pictures of step one so far. Sorry the stencil is so difficult to see, but it looks better in person

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I lift mine up and out just like the back glass. Not sure if that's how they came from the factory but I have the bottom metal trim with a lip so it's easy.

Couple of questions guys. Anybody powder-coated their legs? Approximate cost? If not powder-coat, does the old standy-by Rustoleum do a decent job? Tnx as always..

No.
The factory legs were already the proper color and finish.
Grey enamel finish (non-hammer coat) in a can if you must.
You can still source buying them, but I not have looked in some time.

I have yet to find any paint or powdercoat that is exactly the same color as the factory Bally legs but you can get real close. If you can find a dark charcoal gray powdercoat it might look pretty-good.

Here's some paint I use for mine:

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Thanks for the ideas guys. Who knows how many times these tired legs have been taken off/ put on. Accumulated their share of dings. The local custom coating shop will sandblast and powder coat for $12 per and that will virtually eliminate the issue (forever..) Next question: would like to polish the leg attachment bolts. Have a tumbler but need suggestions on media. Type and where to procure? Tnx as always...

Here's a tumbler thread...should be some good info for you in there

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tumbler-question-walnut-media-and#post-2928234

Thanks. Found walnut shell grit at the pet store (reptile bedding of all things). Gonna give that a go w/ bit of the Turtle Wax metal polish. It's definitely a low cost solution (if it works). Will report the results here..

Reporting back. The inexpensive walnut grit (reptile bedding) works great. Ended up putting 2 cups along w/ 5cc or so of Brasso and the hardware has a mirror surface after 6 hours. Sometimes the cheap solution plays..

Thanks for this thread. I'm the newest member of the club! Classic cab, very little paint wear but super dirty. Haven't turned it on, and in fact won't for a while until I go through it top to bottom.

Backglass is not shown here but I really lucked out. 9.5-9.7 out of 10!

I'm looking forward to getting this one back to life.

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Congrats Underspin....playfield looks nice