(Topic ID: 66172)

F14 Tomcat Owners Club Fans Also Welcome.

By Hellfire

10 years ago


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  • Latest reply 4 days ago by Jumping-Box
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There are 5,581 posts in this topic. You are on page 76 of 112.
#3751 5 years ago
Quoted from CTHOMAS1998:

Flasher 07C nothing anywhere, but I recall a Service Bulletin about that, will check that out.

Left out by the factory. But it can be reconnected if you want to.

Quoted from CTHOMAS1998:

it appears 03C is not working on the back board, or the playfield. Will check resisitor boards

Look for the flasher board with the black/orange wire, check the resistance of the larger resistor closer to the blk/org wire.

Quoted from CTHOMAS1998:

And either 9 or 10 isn't working. 2 out of the 4 flashers begind the translite arent working.

The resistor board for these 4 bulbs is behind the insert board. Follow the wire from the pair of non working bulbs to the flasher board to see which side of the board you need to test the resistor on.

#3752 5 years ago

Thank you sir. I really appreciate your help

#3753 5 years ago

The pop bumper stopped working. I played around with things and it seems like the switch tab simply bent away to the point of not making good contact. I bent it back. A few weeks later (on route) it's not popping again, per a friend. Guessing it's the switch again so I'm hoping that the thicker metal tab behind the switch tab can find a happy place and stay there this time.

#3754 5 years ago
Quoted from desertT1:

The pop bumper stopped working. I played around with things and it seems like the switch tab simply bent away to the point of not making good contact. I bent it back. A few weeks later (on route) it's not popping again, per a friend. Guessing it's the switch again so I'm hoping that the thicker metal tab behind the switch tab can find a happy place and stay there this time.

Read Vid's Guide to Rebuilding Pop Bumpers elsewhere on Pinside for a full rundown of how they work and how to get them dialed in properly. If the bumper has not been rebuilt, it is almost certainly worth the effort; you may want to just replace the switch stack outright if it has been bent up over the years. Al/so, a leaf adjuster tool is a little overpriced for what it is, but it's REALLY worth having.

#3755 5 years ago
Quoted from GRUMPY:

Left out by the factory. But it can be reconnected if you want to.

Look for the flasher board with the black/orange wire, check the resistance of the larger resistor closer to the blk/org wire.

The resistor board for these 4 bulbs is behind the insert board. Follow the wire from the pair of non working bulbs to the flasher board to see which side of the board you need to test the resistor on.

Good Afternoon @GRUMPY. Took care of most of my issues. The Flasher #10 issue was a cracked solder joint. My Flasher 3c turned out to be a bad resistor and the small warming resistor next to it. Both register as open when checking with my meter. I received my new boards the other day, and will be installing them this coming week. My question is this, I have never done this before. My soldering skills aren't too awful, and I think I should be able to get thru this. But having to do this on the underside of the playfield without an extra set of hands is intimidating for my first time, without an extra couple feet of wire to get it in a more confortable position. So, is there anything wrong with soldering leads with insulated quick connects to the board while on my bench, then just removing the wires one at a time from the old board, putting connectors on those wires, then installing the new board in its place and plugging it in?
Thanks,
Chris

#3756 5 years ago
Quoted from CTHOMAS1998:

So, is there anything wrong with soldering leads with insulated quick connects to the board while on my bench, then just removing the wires one at a time from the old board, putting connectors on those wires, then installing the new board in its place and plugging it in?

Quick answer is no, but most people will not understand why and think this is a hack of some sort. I think you should try soldering directly to the board first, you may find it's not as hard as you think it is. This is a good board to try on as the traces are larger and not so delicate. Adding some solder to the wire and the iron first will stop you from needing a third hand while connecting the wire. Also buy some solder flux to make the solder flow better.

#3757 5 years ago

Ok, I'll give it a try. The board is brand new, with just a tiny hole where the wires are going to go, so I think I should put a small glob of solder on those holes first.

#3758 5 years ago
Quoted from CTHOMAS1998:

Ok, I'll give it a try. The board is brand new, with just a tiny hole where the wires are going to go, so I think I should put a small glob of solder on those holes first.

Yep, then while it's hot insert the wire into the hole, then remove the soldering iron while holding the wire still until it cools down.

1 week later
#3759 5 years ago
Quoted from Elliott99:

what exactly am I looking for? Sometimes a ball will bounce the wire gate open from the outside, and enter an already occupied eject. I can see what appear to be a broken bit of spring steel held by 2 screws

That was an early production left over... The blue spring steal rectangle would keep the wire gate closed so as to keep the ball from reentering the launch shoot...
However, as you can see from your picture, the part snaps from the extreme pitch of the
-- wire form gate, by the lifting of the gate, by the ball shooting out of the launcher.
Williams' production line omitted the parts to the game.

3 weeks later
#3760 4 years ago

Three years later, joining the F14 Club again. This time I have an F14 that has been clearcoated. Whoever did the clear job decided to leave the GI bulbs in the playfield during the spray and now they are glued in solid. The owner lost interest and abandoned the project. I have the playfield back in the Cabinet and I am ready to begin to repopulate the playfield. I have a box of parts... fun... I plan to search this thread and see if I can find pics with the diverter assembly and plastics off. Just knowing which hardware goes where is half the battle.

May have to bug a few of you for pictures of tricky areas in the near future.

Wish me luck!!!

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#3761 4 years ago

Lots of pics out there between the group of guys that are working on or have already finished. We got you!!

#3762 4 years ago

Good luck!!!
But as heni1977 said, you don’t need it. There’s a solid group of pinsiders that are currently working on or have recently finished F-14 Tomcat restorations.
You should be able to carefully dremel out or use an x-acto knife to remove those light sockets.

#3763 4 years ago

I have my F14 listed in the marketplace for trade +or- cash, I’m located in Athens Ohio. Feel free to pm me offers, thanks!

#3764 4 years ago
Quoted from cletus:

Good luck!!!
But as heni1977 said, you don’t need it. There’s a solid group of pinsiders that are currently working on or have recently finished F-14 Tomcat restorations.
You should be able to carefully dremel out or use an x-acto knife to remove those light sockets.

The sockets are free. Its the bulbs that are glued into the sockets. Ill probably end up buying a bunch of new sockets and soldering them in place.

#3765 4 years ago
Quoted from FLASHBALL:

Three years later, joining the F14 Club again. This time I have an F14 that has been clearcoated. Whoever did the clear job decided to leave the GI bulbs in the playfield during the spray and now they are glued in solid. The owner lost interest and abandoned the project. I have the playfield back in the Cabinet and I am ready to begin to repopulate the playfield. I have a box of parts... fun... I plan to search this thread and see if I can find pics with the diverter assembly and plastics off. Just knowing which hardware goes where is half the battle.
May have to bug a few of you for pictures of tricky areas in the near future.
Wish me luck!!!
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

I put up my reference pictures and notes from when I playfield swapped my F-14 here: http://raster-burn.net/wordpress/2018/10/25/danger-zone-williams-f-14-tomcat-playfield-swap/

There's also lots more info from other people who've done it in this thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/f-14-tomcat-playfield-swap-club

#3766 4 years ago

Ok, so I finished my powdercoat project on my F-14. I powdercoated the side rails, lockbar, shooter rod housing, legs, and all 5 of the wireform ramps in a red white and blue patriotic theme, which goes well with the game. Since there are 5 ramps, I couldnt evenly split the red, white. and blue theme, so I took the longest ramp, on the right side which runs around the top, and powdercoated half red, half white, so the upkick ramp is powdercoated blue. The two-tone ramp color change is covered by plastics, even though its not necessary because the transition is sharp on even. So, after all that, here is my question. I bought a full set of ramps, new lockbar, side rails, and legs, so I could powdercoat these items without having a huge downtime from palying my machine. I now want to sell the originals. Do I try to sell them as a set, sell them individually, or powdercoat them exactly as I have my own, and sell them as a set, or as a set with exchange parts? What are your opinions?

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#3767 4 years ago

Beautiful!
I would sell as a set. I had a partial set of plastics which I sold for a good price and helped another pinsider out! That's just how I am though. I am in it for the fun, and learning, and helping other pinheads out!

#3768 4 years ago

That is a cool idea. I agree with the powder coated set. You will defiantly find a buyer and maybe a trade for a fresh set. Nice work.

#3769 4 years ago
Quoted from heni1977:

Beautiful!
I would sell as a set. I had a partial set of plastics which I sold for a good price and helped another pinsider out! That's just how I am though. I am in it for the fun, and learning, and helping other pinheads out!

Quoted from Waderade812:

That is a cool idea. I agree with the powder coated set. You will defiantly find a buyer and maybe a trade for a fresh set. Nice work.

Ok, Thank you guys. I will powdercoat the parts and sell them as a set. I appreciate your input.

#3770 4 years ago

Can anyone tell me how many star posts are on F-14? Im going to go ahead and order new ones but cant find total quantity in the manual.

#3771 4 years ago
Quoted from FLASHBALL:

Can anyone tell me how many star posts are on F-14? Im going to go ahead and order new ones but cant find total quantity in the manual.

My count is eight. 6 on the slings, 1 right outlane. And the random star post at the upper left rear mounted to the plastic.

#3772 4 years ago
Quoted from Waderade812:

My count is eight. 6 on the slings, 1 right outlane. And the random star post at the upper left rear mounted to the plastic.

Thank you!

#3773 4 years ago

I picked up an F14 yesterday and spent some time going over it today, replaced some rubbers, changed the balls, swapped out some the burned out lamps to leds.

I noticed that the two of the flasher domes in the upper playfield don’t actually have flasher bulb sockets. Is this by design?

The playfield is in pretty rough shape, not a whole lot of paint loss but there are a ton of ball swirls. Is my best bet for removing them a magic eraser and alcohol?

The inserts are missing a lot of their decals, what’s my best bet to remove the decal layer? Just scrape them off?

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#3774 4 years ago
Quoted from Geteos:

I noticed that the two of the flasher domes in the upper playfield don’t actually have flasher bulb sockets. Is this by design?
The playfield is in pretty rough shape, not a whole lot of paint loss but there are a ton of ball swirls. Is my best bet for removing them a magic eraser and alcohol?
The inserts are missing a lot of their decals, what’s my best bet to remove the decal layer? Just scrape them off?

The bulbs are removed by design. Early production machines had them, but they were causing electrical shorts and a service announcement was released to remove them. They can be added back if they are insulated properly.

The Mylar can be buffed with Novus 2. The inserts are silk screened from the factory, but there are decals to repair missing artwork on the inserts if you want. vid1900 has a running play field restoration thread with all of the information.

#3775 4 years ago

The Flasher socket removal is explained here.
https://www.ipdb.org/files/804/Williams_1987_F_14_Tomcat_Service_Bulletin_41.pdf
A lot of guys have added them back with some protection from the target impacts.

For the other questions Vids playfield restoration guide is a great help for working on your playfield. A razor blade scratching on the decal is what he recommends. The alcohol and magic eraser technique will work, but system 11 games are very delicate and this should be done very carefully. I cannot stress this enough because I have removed paint in the blink of an eye. Please be careful.

#3776 4 years ago

shoot beat me!

#3777 4 years ago

Thanks! I’ll dive deeper into Vids thread. This is my first attempt at a playfield refurb, so want to make sure I do it justice.

#3778 4 years ago

Good thing we got our stories straight.

1 week later
#3779 4 years ago
Quoted from Geteos:

Thanks! I’ll dive deeper into Vids thread. This is my first attempt at a playfield refurb, so want to make sure I do it justice.

+1 for Vid's Guide. Magic Eraser & alcohol work on swirls, but you *must* use clear coat afterward, as what little protective varnish was original will be instantly dissolved and removed.

#3780 4 years ago

does anyone have any laminated target decals set F-14 TOMCAT trying get some also what is best roms to use on F-14

#3781 4 years ago

Trying to find out where this leaf switch goes. Its near left side inlane outlane and yellow wire is soldered to left inlane. Confused. Any ideas?

**edit found the leaf switch thanks to post #705 it went under left sling. Not sure what it triggers. But it belongs there.**

Also, noticed the pancake resistors on both flipper buttons look like they are toast. Common? Or cause for concern?

Ive not ever powered this machine on. Boards have been rebuilt and look great. But im still reassembling everything before first power on.

Thanks for the help comrades.

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#3782 4 years ago
Quoted from FLASHBALL:

Not sure what it triggers. But it belongs there.**

It is the score switch for the left kicker. Switch #57.

Quoted from FLASHBALL:

Also, noticed the pancake resistors on both flipper buttons look like they are toast.

These are capacitors for reducing the arc across the switch contacts.

#3783 4 years ago
Quoted from GRUMPY:

It is the score switch for the left kicker. Switch #57..

Seemed Odd that the right sling doesnt have a score switch also. Thanks.

#3784 4 years ago
Quoted from FLASHBALL:

Seemed Odd that the right sling doesnt have a score switch also.

It should. It's switch #58 and has a white/red and green/grey wires on it.

#3785 4 years ago
Quoted from GRUMPY:

It should. It's switch #58 and has a white/red and green/grey wires on it.

Thanks! My switch was hiding in a mess behind the nearby resistor board.

In other news, I have started the soldering war. Found a set of wires I need help locating.

I know the left and right diverters and where they belong. But theres another set of three (purp/yel purp/yel tan/white) close by?

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#3786 4 years ago

Those should go to Yagov coil on top of the playfield.

#3787 4 years ago

**Update**
My F14 is finally reassembled. One flip of the power switch and I see my backbox GI is out. Fiddling with the GI wiring, I soon smelled the melting and realized I fried my jet bumber coil.

For some reason when my game is powered on all of the coils are engaged before I even start a game. Didnt realize my jet bumber contacts were touching closed and so it got stuck on. Luckily I had a spare coil in my parts box. So I adjusted the contacts, checked the transistor (it was good) and reinstalled the new coil.

Is there anything I should check to figure out why all my coils work (flipper buttons and slings too) anytime the machine is on?

Also, any known or otherwise common culprits for no backbox GI?

Just wanted to say thanks to all who helped me get my F14 flying again.

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#3788 4 years ago
Quoted from FLASHBALL:

Is there anything I should check to figure out why all my coils work (flipper buttons and slings too) anytime the machine is on?

I could use some more info on what you have done to the machine. Was there any alkaline damage to the CPU board?

#3789 4 years ago

I don't believe there is any battery damage on the CPU. A friend of mine out of Springfield, MO does board repair and he suspects a bad blanking circuit. I'll probably just send him my boards and have them all checked and bullet proofed. The power supply needs recapped anyway as I can visibly see swelling in some of the large capacitors.

#3790 4 years ago

I have a new CPR plastics set for f-14 if anyone needs one. Asking $120 which is a discount from their price. Still new in box.

Parts - For Sale
New (selling multiple) - “I have new plastics for f-14 in the box that I no longer need. They are $160 on their website, I'm asking $120.”
2019-05-12
Akron, OH
120 (Firm)
Archived after: 8 days
Viewed: 26 times
Status: Sold (amount undisclosed)

#3791 4 years ago

Could someone that has swapped play fields with the ones produced in Hamburg speak to the time it took and the level of difficulty? I’m a novice. Thanks for any info.

#3792 4 years ago
Quoted from SkaterVet:

Could someone that has swapped play fields with the ones produced in Hamburg speak to the time it took and the level of difficulty? I’m a novice. Thanks for any info.

It was my first time too. I didn't count the hours. I started around March 3rd and finished around April 15th. I worked on average 2 hours a night. It's simple work, just time consuming. I labelled every single wire and location it was connected to. Approximately 300 wires got labeled, unsoldered, and resoldered

#3793 4 years ago
Quoted from SkaterVet:

Could someone that has swapped play fields with the ones produced in Hamburg speak to the time it took and the level of difficulty? I’m a novice. Thanks for any info.

It’s not difficult, just time consuming. I would suggest restoring your cabinet first if it needs it. Also, take the time to clean and restore each mechanism as much as possible before you reinstall them. Replace anything that feels suspect.

Good luck!

1 week later
#3794 4 years ago

Had a customer request I special order a F-14 tomcat slingshot set from Pinball.Center. I put them on order; but it took me longer to finalize my purchase with the german company and he bought a CPR set. It was too problmenatic for me to cancel the one item from my order; so I just let it ride.

I have the set in my Pinside store. Available first come first served.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1122-pinball-modscom/02525-f14-tomcat-slingshots

11
#3795 4 years ago

Just picked up this HUO F-14!

It's undocumented, but the guy I got it from was a 70 year old man that was very convincing that he was the original owner. Says that he bought it brand new in WA 32 years ago when he was 37 and he estimates he and his family played the game 10-20 times a year since then.

It certainly looks clean. The inserts are damn near perfect, no wear around the saucer, or the "rescue" left outlane area, cab is perfect and clean on the inside, apron is flawless, boards super clean (thankfully batteries were not installed), you can also see some playfield dimples where the ball has not totally smoothed it out yet, which to me means it hasn't had a lot of play (see any of the playfield dimples threads for more info on this). Also came with the original manual that looks like it has never been opened. Pretty excited about it.
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#3796 4 years ago

Best F-14 I've ever seen in original condition - congratulations and welcome to the club.

#3797 4 years ago

Wowser! Nice score! Welcome to the club.

#3798 4 years ago
Quoted from mab487:

Just picked up this HUO F-14!
It's undocumented, but the guy I got it from was a 70 year old man that was very convincing that he was the original owner. Says that he bought it brand new in WA 32 years ago when he was 37 and he estimates he and his family played the game 10-20 times a year since then.
It certainly looks clean. The inserts are damn near perfect, no wear around the saucer, or the "rescue" left outlane area, cab is perfect and clean on the inside, apron is flawless, boards super clean (thankfully batteries were not installed), you can also see some playfield dimples where the ball has not totally smoothed it out yet, which to me means it hasn't had a lot of play (see any of the playfield dimples threads for more info on this). Also came with the original manual that looks like it has never been opened. Pretty excited about it.

Nice score! That is an incredible find.
It’s curious that there doesn’t appear to be any factory mylar on the playfield.

#3799 4 years ago

Beautiful find! Nicest, unmolested and original F14 I have ever seen!

#3800 4 years ago

I’ve been chasing an issue with F14 for what seems like a couple years.
Basically, when 3 balls are locked and I shoot the VUK for “release”, the VUK doesn’t work. It works at all other times. During this issue, sometimes it’s weak(too weak to pop it into the wireform), other times not at all.
I was trying to think of what is different during that time than all other times in the game when the VUK does work: the beacon lights are on.
So, I unplugged the beacon lights and it worked fine for about five tests in a row.

Is it possible my beacons are pulling power away from that VUK coil somehow? Or was it just coincidence that it worked again when the beacon lights were unplugged?

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