Still looking for a players game in Chicagoland area .

Cheapest source for a new topper dome?

Little Shop of Games has them for $110.

Yeah, saw that. I guess these have dried up. I remember buying one a few years ago for Whitewater for 60 bucks. Mine just had a few scuffs, so I'm not gonna pay 110, but if they were available cheaper I'd probably spring for one.

Can someone be so kind as to take a photo of j116 on their driver board including the color of the wires from left to right and placement of polarizing pins.

This would be right up Freeplay 40’s alley. Prob made the same way as a ramp.

https://www.starship-fantasy.com/ramps/Fish-Tales-Topper-Dome

I'll do it as soon as I can

Thanks so much but I think the manual can be incorrect at times. Was looking for an actual picture.

can agree that manual is correct 100%

Joining the club!
I didn't do the resto job on it, I'm not capable. A friend of mine did and it's beautiful.
Issues:
The lamps to the tree jackpots won't work. Bulbs are ok. I do not understand why?
Ball goes from left loop to right flipper. Should go to left. It bounces on the rubber ring just below the rail. Can't get it right. It is levelled at 6.5 according to pin guy, level is right. It plays superfast due to the finish of the playfield.
Help?

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Problem with left loop solved. A 3/4” rubber was put there instead of the 7/16” that should have been there. Right size rubber solved the problem.
The three bulbs still remains unsolved...

Have you checked the pins on the affected light boards? Most of the time its cracked solder at based of the pin, sonetimes need a magnifying glass to see it and a reheat to reflow the solder is all thats neede most of the time.
Nice looking game btw

I will check and measure tomorrow. Thanks for the input!
I'll try to get better pictures. Playfield is like glass. Superfast and a drain monster =)

All issues with the lamps are solved. Probably a bad connection somewhere. They're working fine now, I just need to figure out how to play better so I can get those darn jackpots
It resets to factory default when I turn it off thou. Intermittent... Holds memory sometimes and sometimes not. Will try to get better contact with the batteries first, then I don't know... We'll see. I'm not the best handyman...
Thanks Justin!

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Did you change battery's when you bought it?

The batteries are fine. They are new and I can see no traces of damage from acid around the area. The card looks fine.
I haven't started it today so I don't know yet if it was just bad connection in the battery holder.
But thanks! Often it is the obvious

Bad connection in the holder. A bit of dremel magic and now it is fine.

Saw that CPR is making mirrored backglasses and they are coming soon: https://classicplayfields.com/shop/pinball-backglasses/fishtales-2/

Sounds awesome, but Id like to see one in person first.

Anyone got pics of Rad Cals for fishtales?

Think its in the requirements documented on the site here:
http://shop.colordmd.com/colordmd-replacement-display-for-fish-tales-pinball-machine/
But you need the L5 rom

Anyone who has issues with right gate switch not registering on the long cast loop, I found the switch in Australia.

It's been a hard one to find.

https://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/a-12687-p.html

No issue, but why won’t the 12688 work as a replacement?

I have got lots of stuff off them and never had a problem I would say you can buy with confidence

Proud new member after a rough ride home.

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OMG. I can imagine the pucker factor as that went down!

HOLY SHHHEEETTTT

Damn, broken dolly, game going down ravine..
With my luck, i would be by myself. Hope you had help.

Nope! I had to grab a new dolly, but couldn't load it on the soft ground. I picked it up and moved it 2 feet at a time from the rear while my wife used the dolly to lift up the front. Luckily it was only 20 feet inside.

This still has the protectice film on but you get the idea. I can post pics of finished cab later if you like.

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Watch from the 25 minute mark this is coming from a guy who really knows what he's talking about .

Also on loserkid pinball podcast legendary pinball player , and designer Keith Elwin says he loves playing fishtails . With the calibre of these guys it can only help the value of this pin and finally give it the recognition it deserves

Proud to join Casters’ Club after 10 hour drive to Pittsburgh to land this really beautiful, partially restored Fish Tales. I’m going to add a color DMD today too! I love how challenging this game is, and I found myself pressing the start button over and over for hours. Such a fantastic 90’s era game. That boat ramp is pretty genius. It’s punishing if you miss your shots! It’s Saturday. I’m going fishing...

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Nice catch.

Nice. Welcome to the Caster's Club. I never get tired of my Fish Tales. Such a great pin.

"You got a Big one there"

Cliff Rinear is just the best. This is how he deals with flipper hop.
Before:

After:

I hope the videos are visible.

I'm finally getting around to restoring a player's condition Fish Tales I bought a while ago. The first thing I need to fix is the lock mechanism. When I bought it this was malfunctioning (motor would turn on but reel wouldn't move), but the belt was very loose so I thought that was the whole problem.

I put a new belt on (https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-8614) but it still doesn't work. So talking about the part of the mechanism that's under the playfield, what's happening is that the motor turns on, the motor drives the spindle just fine, but the pulley doesn't actually turn. If I disconnect the belt, everything turns just fine. With the belt disconnected, the reel above the playfield spins very easily, so it doesn't seem like anything is binding up there. Any ideas of what's wrong? It's like the pulley has no grip on the driveshaft, so the shaft just spins inside the pulley. I've tried tightening up the nut that sits next to the pulley to no effect. Everything looks the same as my before pictures from before I changed out the belt, but of course, it was broken in the before pictures.

Is the set screw tight? Pulley may be worn out. I replaced both pullies on mine. Still having issues, though. Looks like the belt is slipping on the lower pulley.

Does anyone else sell the belt? Could the belt itself from Marco be the issue?

The set screw is tight. I assume it should be pushed hard against the pulley. I'm not sure what the pulley being worn out would look like?

I too could use some help. Just bought a Fish Tales and when I bought it the reel worked, but when I got it home and set it up, it will not spin. The motor is not running during the test mode. I put a voltage meter on the motor leads and was not reading any voltage. I did not know what voltage I should be getting there but did not read any ac or dc voltage. Is there a specific fuse I should look at? Any help in trouble shooting would be VERY appreciated! EDIT...... I am getting 15v dc out of the power driver board on j118 but I am not getting any voltage on the motor side of the EMI board.....

Just a quick note as to how I solved this issue. The wire for J122-4 was broken some where from the EMI board to the power board. I found this by doing a continuity test on the line. Ran a jumper wire to EMI board and all is well.

I'm referring to the bottom pulley that has a "D" shaped hole. I replaced mine thinking it was worn out. It doesn't fit very tight and has a lot of play. The new pulley is the same so maybe it's supposed to be like that. The new pulley is made out of white plastic and think that's my problem. The belt slips much more easily on the white pulley than the old black one. Going back with the original one and looking for something I can shove in the gap to take the slack out.

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FYI - I see Nitro has FT topper dome

https://nitropinball.com/collections/stern-shop/products/topper-dome-for-fish-tales-whitewater

I think you just solved my problem- I either have the wrong pulley or its very worn as it’s more like an “O” shaped hole.

What a bargain!

If you're being tongue in cheek, (which I would be also) - Remember, that's CDN, wait, WHOA, that's USD,

The topper dome is much cheaper at LSOG.

https://littleshopofgames.com/shop/toppers/decals-topper-decal/clear-topper-dome-for-fish-tales-or-white-water-pinball-machine/