This gate. This freaking gate. Either the switch is gapped just enough to get closed by the super dinky leaf switch, or it’s contacts are just closed. It it’s gapped properly, it just sticks up like this the first time it’s touched. What’s the trick?

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Mine was doing this on the opposite side. And the trick was to bend the wire link to the switch. Mine is open now, but just bend the wire end back to the main drop from the gate.

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https://www.pinballlife.com/britecaps-evo-pop-bumper-lighting.html

Sorry - the last few days have been pretty busy and I've only gotten to check in once. Here's a pic of my machine with the brite cap installed. Lucky me, I turned it on and got just the GI because the capacitor on my board apparently isn't holding a charge anymore... Hello Adjustment failure - time to install the NVRAM finally.

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Has anyone here scanned the half dot section of the playfield to make a water slide decal? I'm doing a playfield restore and I don't have access to a scanner for two decals. If someone could make me some decals I will gladly pay you for them. Even if I could get the file of the scan I could get a hobby place to print it off for me.

Thank you,
Waderade812

This is the fuse for the beacons ?
My beacons were , all of sudden , having trouble rotating. The band was spinning but the beacons got tight. I could barely rotate them by hand. I took the beacons,off they activated in attack mode then lights and motor went dead..
I assume it was the fuse

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I am guessing this isn’t the correct beacon rotating post either ..?

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What a beacon mess..
Does anyone have the circled parts ?
If so please let me know
Thanks

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You could just buy a new one.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1027-tilted-pinball/01127-reproduction-f14-beacon

Thanks, statictrance, I just ordered one along with a couple NVRAM battery replacement boards. F-14 already has one but I'd like to be completely battery-free some day!

Wanted to follow up on my own post. Finally had time to mess with this a little. I noticed that the symptoms changed the longer the game was on, occasionally booting completely into a game.
This morning I checked 5v and found it at 2.9v. I pulled the PS board, reflowed the solder on almost the entire board, plugged it back in and boots up perfectly now.

The game is now playable except for one issue, which is quite frustrating to get to:
If you achieve multiball, it releases the 3 locked balls, but it will not kick the 4th ball up. It has to go into search mode and then it kicks it up (so the coil is working). It makes the call out for a successful landing, so I know the switch is working. But it won’t kick up the ball.

Here is a video of the issue I’m having in the last post. I can’t find any errors in the switch tests either, and I’ve tried plenty of combinations to mimic this problem.

After fighting this problem for wat too long, I finally fixed it tonight. I ran out of ideas for what could possibly be causing such a strange problem. I replaced both roms (U26, U27), and it is now working perfectly. The old Roms were original and even said “proto” on them since it’s an early game.

My beacon was having trouble rotating. It wasn’t the motor but mechanical with the beacons. As I was trying to figure out the issue, it was in attract mode , beacon on and trying to spin. Then the lights and motor lost power. Rest of the game functions normally
I assumed it was a fuse but after checking they are all good.
Would the relay be the next place to check?

You did check the single fuse holder next to the relay in the back box.

Yes. That was the first fuse I checked. Hoped it was that one

If the relay went bad would there be no power to motor and lights?

I took all the fuses out on the power supply. They tested fine and when I put them back... now the beacon power comes on. Don’t understand that..

Bad connection on the fuse clips / cold solder joint?

I believe the F-14 was used only by the Navy, but there should still be patches out there...

I guess I will see how long it functions..If goes out right away again I will check the fuse clips and solder joints
thanks

http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-squadron.htm

Has anyone put a 23-850 on the pop bumper ? I rebuilt mine but it still seems so mellow..

You wont be able to tell the difference. A pop by itself is always going to be mellow.

Thanks. That saved me wasted time.

Add a high current driver, then change the pop power to 50 volts. That may wake it up a bit.

It looks like the high current driver board is easy install. What’s is entailed in changing the pop power to 50?

Not hard at all. I recommend switching the power from the divertors to the pop. This also solves the blacken CPU sindrome. Most games came with 75 volts on the divertors ( purple/yellow) which is too high and 25 volts (red/white) on the pop which is too low. If you buy a high current driver board you will have a clean install but will have to make two IDC connectors to finish the install. This will cost @ 35.00 dollars. This can also be done with a TIP 36 and 220 ohm resistor for @ 7.00 dollars, just not as pretty.

Is there a link you can post that would show the idc connectors? For knowing which wires to goto the correct spots..
I will double check, I think when I looked before my diverters had the lower voltage wires..
Thanks again

No links for this as I just do this for my own pins. But if people are interested I can do something with some pictures.

I ordered the boArd from a pinsider(eBay)..
When/if you get some time a couple photos would be great..?
I’d like to see that pop bumper have a little more umph..
Appreciate the help and suggestions

Can someone tell me which direction the diode on the plumb bob tilt goes? Is the banded side connected to the wire or the metal bracket of the plumb bob assembly? Mine only registers on my switch test when I short it at the wire(bypassing the diode), so I was curious if it’s on there backwards.

The white striped wire connects to the non banded side of the diode.

Can also be a bad diode to.

Thanks! Somehow it’s on there backwards. I know it’s not bad because I just replaced it...unfortunately I replaced it in the same direction it already was. Might account for why I was getting phantom tilts occasionally, which is why I was checking it in the first place.

This is more of a common problem then you know. SCR6 has been know for phantom tilting before.

You will need a 5 and a 6 pin .156 IDC connector and 2 key pins.

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That stuff I do have ..
Ty

Mount the board with J-2 facing the coil. Remove the wires and diode from the pop coil. Connect pins one and five of J-2 to the coil. Doesn't matter which way they go because the diode is on the driver board now. Connect the 75 volt purple/yellow wire to J-1 pin 5. Connect a ground wire to J-1 pin 1, this can be gotten from the ground of a near by snubber relay board or a ground from a resistor board. Lastly connect the blue/yellow that was connected to the pop coil to J-1 pin 4. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!!

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Thank you. That does seem straight forward..one probably silly question. I will have to check, but if my diverter has already been connected with the red white wires, where should I get the purple wire from?

On either side of the pop coil is the left and right center eject coils, both of these should have a purple/yellow power wire on them. Just add on to one of these.

Are replacement playfields available for this game?

Yes, coming soon I hear.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/demand-check-f14-tom-cat/page/9#post-4810963

They did one run a couple years ago so if you look / ask around you may be able to find someone who has decided not to do the swap / sold the game / etc. willing to sell.

Xpin is running a batch of blue displays for early version F-14. Get in contact with them if you are interested. I believe he is also doing the mounting brackets for them.
[email protected] o m
He said he is loading blocks on friday and if interested to get in touch with him.

Based on mine . I can vouch for how great it looks.

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Hello, everybody,

in the course of a troubleshooting I want to update the ROMs U26 and U27 on a F-14 Tomcat.
The reason is that the device is not playable after an extensive troubleshooting and a previous short circuit.
The assumption is obvious that the ROM bricks might have been damaged or are not compatible at all (unlikely).
The CPU was checked by our highly appreciated colleague "Flipperwerk" and tested without a doubt as flawless.
The status of the ROMs is "Proto" and clearly assigned with various stickers.
Is it sufficient in this case, if the ROM blocks U26 and U27 are burned to the current state L1, or is there more behind it, which must be adapted or changed?
So are the stones U4, U19, U21 and U22 identical in content?

regards
Averell

Question for the F-14 crew. I picked this game up a while back and am getting around to getting it back to 100%. I know it’s an early production game by the clear top beacon and white flasher row, but no X in the serial numbers. In the upper right corner of the playfield most machines I see a clear piece covering the ramp diverters. On mine, it has an F14 sticker, etc. Is this a mod or was this from the factory?

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Its an add on. dreg604 makes them.

Awesome; thank you

You’re probably right. I thought turning that diode around would work, but I got another phantom tilt last night. Time to replace SCR6.