If the price was affordable, 5.6K too steep for me, I would definitely love to get a Fathom project going. Sounds like the cabinet needs sanding and a repaint. Inserts are replicable.

At the factory we set our games up by holding a level on the bottom of the cabinet. If the bottom of the cabinet is level then the game is pitched as designed. Some of us, myself included, like a faster playing game so I raise the rear leg levelers about halfway after leveling the cabinet.

Memory Drops were a cool new feature and you can bet the game came from the factory with the feature enabled.
55K is the maximum bonus thresholds. Once reached there is an option to retain it in memory to double it up to 110 on the next ball.

Check the manual for the conservative/Liberal settings.

There was a defect in the die used to make the drop target frame on some games. Occasionally targets would overshoot the track when being reset. On games where this is a problem a breaking rod can be inserted through holes in the sides of the assembly that will stop the targets from jumping when reset.

as for the replay being reset to 08 this is a sign the battery failed causing memory settings to be set to gibberish. If the battery is good clear and reset it to correct the problem.

Those exact sockets are no longer made as they were an inferior design. Similar wedge lamp sockets are commonly available at all the usual places.

Wow, you are right, I can't find them anywhere. Maybe hiding on eBay somewhere. You can for sure replace them with bayonet 44 sockets and bulbs, or even better, use Yoppsicles.

I guess those horrid sockets had such a bad rep nobody wants to use them. Factory workers told me that reaching into the box to grab a handful was like reaching into a box of razor blades. Back in the day I did some of the testing on wedge lamps. The original socket we tested along with the 444 bulbs was a proven design. Unfortunately the Bally purchasing department bought a cheaper inferior product for production which was loaded with issues.

Tilt and/or slam?

Back when I had a Fathom I remember those callouts. It was under very special circumstances.

Free Ball?
Second Free ball on same turn?
Novelty mode award?
High score beat?

I seem to remember they were tied to rarely won features. I used to always push to avoid having the coolest sounds and dialog not tied to rarely called events but sometimes the designers couldn't help themselves.

They are used. I have heard all those sounds at one time, but for the life of me I cannot remember the combination of events that called them.

Bally used different types of outhole kicker and ball release combos. Fathom uses a modified linear sling shot assembly for the ball outhole kicker. The assembly uses a hook-like actuator in place of the standard linear flipper striker. I also believe a standard bally trough is utilized. I could find no picture in the parts guide. However I found this part and diagram at the Marco site:
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/C-972-3

The extra curve was added because there was not enough room to grab onto when lifting the playfield. It was too easy to damage the trough switches.

12v you can tap off the cabinet power assembly.

Bally refers to the 12v output as the unregulated 5v because it feeds the 5v voltage regulator.

Are you sure you need 12v? Some lighting kits I've looked at tap off the 6.3v GI?

pasted_image (resized).png

The subject of slope comes up all the time as younger players have become accustomed to the fast pace of modern games.

Back in the day, at the factory we would set up a game by leveling the bottom of the cabinet. If you set your game that way it is sloped as the designer intended.
I preferred a modestly faster game and would raise my rear legs about 1/2 way. (on a hard surface like tile or wood fours)
You have to remember, these were money making machines. The idea was to strike a balance between cashbox earnings and player satisfaction.
If you jacked up the rear legs all the way and even worse, added a 2x4 underneath them, the ball drains too quickly and players get pissed and move on.

When the games are designed they worked from the bottom-up of the playfield, terminating the cables into the connectors last.

The wearing parts on Bally drop targets are, the target and reset return springs, the coil sleave(s), as well as the targets themselves. I replace all of those when doing a target rebuild and I can usually find everything from Marco.

No grease! Adding lubricants is a short term fix for other issues but ultimately it becomes slimy goo that gets over everything including the playfield.

Hmm..... How does the light behave in self test?

Have you worked on the playfield? Sometimes the strobe pullup resistor located near the drop targets fails and causes bizarre behaviors.
There was a similar instance of this resistor causing problems in the past. You might want to review this thread.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fathom-selects-random-number-of-players#post-7726824