https://www.ipdb.org/files/829/Bally_1981_Fathom_English_Manual.pdf

IPDB has the manuals for most machines including Bally Fathom

https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=fathom&sortby=name&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#829

I think these are the settings you need, just grabbed my manual. The way I read this the target always = x-ball, unless it's already been awarded and lit. Never mind, it's the third column. L>Self test position 16 > set to 01 award = 25k instead of x-ball. Set to 02 or 03 = x-ball.

My issue right now is if I hit the drop target with a fast shot, it fails to register.
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Awesome......BorgDog, punkin, & jjga..................I'll check it out in a bit and see what happens.

Thanks all!

Can you do it with the glass off with your finger to see if it's a switch issue?

tried that right off the bat..........also looked around under the PF for any issues....

Cool...............extra ball award issue solved.

It was solved in self test

self test 16 and set to 02 and BOOM extra ball awards!

This is going to radically change my current high score! Super cool. Thank you gentlemen.

Next task will be that pesky sticky 5x drop target on the upper drops. It looks like it is going to be a chore to remove the drop target assembly for an examination. It's squeezed in pretty tight on the playfield and all the way at the bottom when you have the playfield up.

Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill on that job? Or is it as big a chore as it looks to be?

What exactly is happening with the 5x target?

It does not like to drop.

When the games resets the drops it sometimes drops but more often than not, it is stuck up. Not in a "rude" way stuck up just stuck up. Even a good hit with the ball fails to drop it. A tap of the finger to the top of the drop with the glass off drops it but I kinda like playing with the glass on.

Anyway..........

Something is out of alignment or something is just plain wrong. When I mentioned it to the previous owner he said he had a tech address it and he added some extra washers or something. Hmmmmm....

Well, I am my own technician so it looks like I gotta jump in the pool and figure this out. Looks like it is gonna be a little bit of work to pull out the assembly.

I'm open to suggestions though........

Anyone have a spare left gate laying around. Rebuilding mine and can’t seem to find the damn thing

This is a mechanical issue. If your drops don’t go down all the way or don’t respond to a hit, but the solenoid functions, it’s mechanical.

I recommend you remove the entire mech and re-build it. De-solder the coils and switches. Install new springs, new drops, clean/polish the metal, etc. Bally used a particular piece prone to failure (P-7939-1) that may be broken or bent. You can take a look at my playfield swap thread for reference, or there’s some good info here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tech-bally-fathom-drop-target-doesnt-always-stay-up
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My upper right flipper was intermittent, now won’t engage at all. When I press the right flipper button, the upper right flipper vibrates just enough (and hums) where I can tell it’s getting power.

Voltage at the coil is 44V. Switch contacts seem good.

Any ideas? Could this be a board issue? I have an Alltek Solenoid Driver Board with an original MPU.

Lower right flipper (works fine):
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Upper right flipper (not working with good voltage):
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Thanks Mudflaps.......I've been having so much fun playing this game it's gonna be sad to take it down for repairs. I knew this is what was gonna need to happen though. Thanks for the heads up on the P-7939-1 bracket.

You can get a reinforced version from Shapeways made by Swinks. It’s expensive, or you could possibly fashion your own if you can do some crude metal work.

Make sure you get the correct version… there is a left and right hand version.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQGC7NU2N/nut-spring-bracket-p-7939-1-left-modded

Try adjusting contacts on leaf switch

Dup post

I think I just found the problem. The contact portion of the leaf switch… is gone.

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It's a $19.50 piece of metal but if I need it, I'll be going for it. It looks well made and it saves me time. And as Benjamin Franklin once said:

"Remember, that time is money."

looks like you are buying a piece of metal also

Ha, fortunately for me, I’m a parts hoarder and I have a spare leaf switch.

I’m also glad I used molex connections with the coils. This will save me some soldering when I take out the coil.

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Nice.

Yes, that will save you some time. And glad it is an easy fix with the leaf switch for ya

Back in business

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Since we're on the topic of flippers and switches. I'm replacing the cabinet flipper switches on the right (left side is just one, so easy) and it looks like there are 2 switches, but one is high voltage and controls both upper and lower right and the other is a lane change. Can I use just a regular lane change switch there?

Also are the two switches on the lower right flipper both EOS switches and can I just use regular EOS switches there? It's throwing me off because one is NC, and the other is NO.

Lastly, when I press the star rollovers right before the saucer locks for both Green and Blue sides, nothing happens. When are those switches active?

These guys know more than me, but I did have one sticking target on my game that was because a piece of plastic casting flash was rubbing the playfield. My game had all new targets, but they had model airplane like extra plastic on the mold seams. Once i gently trimmed and sanded the extra plastic off the target, it fixed the issue.

I had the same star rollover questions when I picked up my Fathom last year. Here's a really, really good thread explaining it all. Really makes sense after it's explained.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fathom-lagoon-and-cave-trap-rollover-switches-not-registering

Awesome! Thanks for the link. Here's the post explaining how they work for others that are new to the game (like me!)

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fathom-lagoon-and-cave-trap-rollover-switches-not-registering#post-6071784

Has anybody used Comet or PBL spot lighting to illuminate the center playfield area?? Wondering if there’s enough clearance between the slingshot plastics and the glass to accommodate them? Ideas welcomed! Thx

Your game, but I would not recommend spotlights. If you’re using cool white LEDs, the game is plenty bright. No further illumination needed.

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Switching to comet sunlight LEDs and clear bands added significantly more light to my Fathom.

Currently using Comet (frosted) sunlights. Perfect balance between warm white (too yellow), and cool white (too fluorescent looking). The bands are white thiugh, rather than translucent. Still looks like the middle could brighten up a notch. I put a 3smd strip in the trough, and dimmed it way down. Lights up that area well.

I drove up to a local arcade yesterday, and they custom make their spots, and it looked pretty awesome on some games. Below, my Fathom and their Paragon, with spotlighting…

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was looking to order some new Titans for my game soon, but see some inconsistent numbers in Titan ring database. Does anyone know which list is the most accurate?

https://www.titanpinball.com/kits/index.php/browse/bygame/1705

Finally getting around to re-painting the cabinet. Will strip with acetone, sand, fill in with fiberglass resin, more sanding, then primer and paint.

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Sanded, smoothed over with fiberglass resin and first coat of primer. Next up is the head, sanding the cabinet and one more coat of primer.

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Anyone know how to turn off attract sounds in Fathom? I can't seem to find it in the manual.

Just traded my Nine-Ball for a beautiful Fathom I'm bringing up to 11.

Switch 30 to OFF

Primed, sanded and the first few coats sprayed. I’ll let it cure for a week or so, one more light sanding and coat, then stencils.

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Really enjoying my fathom (traded 9 ball for it). Couldn't resist throwing on one of these plastic toppers I got on ebay and throwing in a matrix light. It's like she's gazing down into the playfield. Its actually 3 seperate pieces layered so there is a 3-d effect. The previous owner did an excellent job on the cabinet.

My game is playing 100%, with just a few sound issues.

1. It has an aftermarket squak and talk bored it it, but the background music occasionally cuts out (not sure what I can do there).
2. The background music stays on for at least 20 minutes after playing a game. Does anyone know if there is a setting for this?

The only thing left to do on my pin aside from the small sound things is the playfield. It has a beautiful original playfield with no touch up or wear I can find, but someone put mylar on it 40 years ago (which is why it's so nice). It's not a kit, someone put a flat sheet of mylar over the entire playfield and cut out holes where needed, so there is mylar under all the plastics. However, they overtightened the posts on reinstall, and it caused the mylar to pool/ripple in some places. I removed a test piece out of sight and it came up with no issues. I want to preserve the art, but am not a clearcoat guy. The plan is to carefully cut/pull the mylar, and put down a playfield protector. If the next owner wants to clearcoat it, it will be all there for them. The mylar test strip I pulled came up much easier than the System 11 and WPC 95 strips I've pulled.

Great game!

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I wouldn't pull up the entire sheet of mylar if there are no bubbles. I would just take an exacto knife with a brand new blade, and cut around the posts. If you pull it up, the concern would be pulling up artwork as well.

I'm glad you were able to find a Fathom! It reminds me of a previous version of my gameroom with my Flash Gordon next to it. It's a different issue but when I got my Fathom I wasn't getting all the sounds. I posted the issue on the tech area on Pinside and two generous guys let me know about the jumpers on the original squawk and talk board so I did a little soldering and have everything working now. I'm not sure how old your aftermarket board is but there is another forum specifically for the S&T boards that might be able to help you.

Got it. May or may not pull all of it. Was able to get with exacto knife around my test area with no issues. There are a few spots where there are ripples over the general playfield I'm concerned about that still need fixed.

Will look into this.

You're the one who got me here... seeing that awesome fathom of yours next to the Flash Gordon of yours I picked up.

I've been successful with pulling off small portions of mylar on newer System 11 games and up. I would be afraid to try on anything older as there isn't really any kind of clear finish that they applied, as far as I know. If you try, just expect the worst

If the sound board is mine. GEETEOH.COM. I'll work with you to fix the issue. I have PMed you.

Thank you! No idea what brand the replacement board is, but I'll check tonight. Thank you for helping with something that would not be your responsibility even if it is/was your board. That's customer support right here.

First stencils applied:
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And success! Time to wait a week or so to dry, then the next layer.
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Thas is a sexy beast! Are you using the colors codes provided with the stencils? I need to get my games started, but have yet to apply any stencils yet. Excited to get the first one under my belt. Looks great so far!

Green goes first with the cabinet and last with the head. As far as color, I’m not a purist at all. I just picked the ‘close enough’ colors at Home Depot.
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It looks great!!

Flipper help?

Almost done with Fathom. Got the playfield protector in, trimmed the weird mylar I described earlier, and put everything back together.

Since putting it back together, the right flipper isn't working right. It works for about the first 10 seconds of the game, then gets weak, then stops working. I have turned it off after both test games and given it an hour to cool as I think that is a coil problem. Where would you start? I am thinking it has to be something about the way the switches are gapped at the End of Stroke. I have a working Flash Gordon next to Fathom. I'm assuming I should make sure the Fathom flipper is gapped the exact way the working Flash Gordon is gapped? Any help greatly appreciated.

Also getting free aftermarket out of warranty tech support from GEETEOH.COM on my Sqawk and talk board issues. He's sending a new chip this week, and hopefully that will fix my issues and any future potential owners issues. Thanks!

Check the coil on that flipper to see if it's getting very hot to the touch, if so you're end of stroke switch is probably not gapped properly.

I only use the end of stroke switches that have the helper leaf spring on the one leaf to make better contact.

Yep... it was the EOS switch. Got it adjusted and the flippers are snappy.

Started switching the game over to LEDs. GI and backbox already had them. I'm amazed at how much grunge is on the underside of the inserts. Cleaning is making a bigger difference than bulb replacement.

I have also never in my 40 pins rotated through my basement found lightbulbs as hard to change as these. I'm happy the light sockets are not flakey, but it's hard to put LEDs into these sockets. I'm actually clipping each bulb down one at a time to make them fit.

Great game... and the playfield protector looks/plays awesome in this one.