Looks like coil wires are on back wards.....
Kickup = AO-27-1300 [85] A3J5-10 Black/White wire.
Kickdown AO-29-2100 [75] A3J2-11 Orange/White wire.
------------------------------------------
Missing:
Kickdown coil AO-29-2100.

Turn the whole assembly 90°.

Thanks for the info. So If I wanted to test the lamp signal (pin eight) turning on and off how would I do that? Testing like in the image only gives me the on state.

When I measure the voltage from pin 1 and 8 I get 40v. Or pin 1 and 3 I get 140v.

Figure I'd start with seeing if the control lamp signal is doing what it's supposed to.

20221218_133208 (resized).jpg

Could anyone take a picture of how that whole assembly is supposed to look?

Pin 1 and Pin 3 is from the secondary aux. transformer.
------------------------------------
Never cross the two circuitry. Pin 1 should never be tested with pin 8.
Look at your schematics.
------------------------------------
Pin 1 and pin 3 are associated with each other.
Pin 7 and Pin 8 are associated with each other.
Never mix the two individual circuitries.

From photo morgue:
pasted_image (resized).png

Power transformer coil voltage.

Ugh, I think I have finally narrowed down my sometimes_ weak feeling flippers to possibly the power transformer.

Started at the wrong direction on this one. Anyway, finally measured the output from the actual J5 to the power rectifier, and I am getting ~47VAC, where I suspect I should be getting at least 49VAC. Looking at the other voltages on this connector, they are otherwise in spec.

It seems odd that it is off by so little in a way?

So, wondering if there are any other possible things to check here? Transformer power line adjustment? or just need a new transformer?

Thank you-

2 vac difference isn't a lot for an imprecise thing like a transformer. What else have you done?

Yeah, I mean, it's playable.

I end up with about 41.5 or so at the flippers, which plays.. but for something like FG, I think that extra few v could be the difference with the upper PF ramps etc... the left is pretty good, the right is the one where I can feel a loss in power after some gameplay (couple of minutes it feels good.. then it feels like I lose about 15% or so.. and suddenly a backhand up the ramp is not longer working, where-as it was no problem initially).. as I type this, I'm thinking maybe I can check the lower engage for the upper circuit and try to delay that a bit more?.. although IIRC, it is opening pretty late. I also have not made the EOS too tight as these coils do get a bit warm.. I've gapped it to keep the temps lower, so I'm not sure if temperature is particularly making it feel worse over time.. really not a hot feeling coil to touch anyway after flipping quite a few times..

I've done everything else I can think of to eek out power.. Changed BR2 which gave me another 0.5 volt DC... I think it is coming out to about 41.5 or so DC on TP5.. the varistor measured the same on output, so figured that was ok. Cleaned connectors... Flipper switches cleaned and meter low resistance, EOS replaced and show low resistance... Gapped accordingly. Coil resistances in spec. Flipper assemblies are nice, new bushings, Replaced the PF fuse holder by the flippers, cleaned etc. Again, that 41.5 or so DC on BR2 Test point 5, seems good to the flipper coil without much loss. Game came to me with what I'm guessing are rebuilt linear flippers, the bushing is nice. no slop, return spring is at the loosest point, and feels quite good. I replaced the plunger bushing, but for mech feel, it's really nice.

Totally guessing, but figure that with all my work, I have it playing pretty well when it is cool.. but once the coil gets warm, even with the EOS gapped conservatively for safety, that slight loss in power, is right at that point where some shots are just not fun. :/

Are you saying only the right lower flipper coil gets warm, and the left flipper coil stays cool?

Have you set the EOS switch stack on the lower right flipper to break EOS before it makes the upper flipper switch?

Thank you-

Pretty comparable. Right maybe slightly warmer.. but it gets a lot more action. Also likely they are both a little weak.. just that I feel it much more on the right flipper, as the backhand up the right ramp is pretty telling when it is working well to start.. and then by ball 2 or 3, is no longer able to clear the ramp

Yes, I think the EOS is pretty good for opening, and closing the top switch for the upper flipper. As a test tho, I figure I will maybe just bend the top out to see how the power is without the upper flipper going at all.. just to isolate that.

I appreciate most players would probably not even notice, and to be honest, I had figured it was going to be good enough.. but then, of course, I had to keep digging, and now that I know the source is a bit low, that is going to bug me. lol.

I imagine it is jumpered for 115v line.. but if it is 120v jumpered.. maybe that could help?

Yes, worth testing.
How much gap are you setting on the EOS switch? Remember to set the gap by pushing in the metal plunger, not by rotating the crank/flipper bat which doesn't take slack/wear into account.

Have you got capacitors on the flipper button switch and EOS switch?

Well it will make up for the solenoid voltage loss you're thinking about.
Do you have another Bally with the same transformer you can temporarily swap in?

To be honest I think the issues are related to the switch contacts heating up and becoming a little more resistive with the high current surges (yes I know you changed them). This is why I asked of you have capacitors on them which will reduce the arcing.

Thank you. Turns out it was pretty much on the nose for the eos on the right flipper VS the upper circuit. I gapped the upper later.. It helps a bit maybe. I really need to figure out some kind of more scientific repeatable test for actual coil force.

Anyway, I don't have another transformer handy..

I do not have caps on either switches cab leafs or eos. I don't see that in schematics. What specifically minimum is recommended? I see some arcing on the eos on both sides for sure. Not seeing it on the cab switches.

Came across this

"I have read that 2.2 uF capacitors on the EOS switches and .1 uF capacitors on the cabinet flipper switches will help."

I have some polyester from some atari 2600 work.. Only 100v rating but maybe ok on cab switches?

What is 2A104J?
100nF (0.1uF – 2A104J) – 100V Polyester Film Capacitor.

Hey.. Found some 2e474j in some components I must have harvested from a power supply or something.

Voltage is good.. But capacitance is only 0.47uf

Meh I'll see what happens.

The caps here must be minimum 250V rating. Actually the schematics call for 500V caps (for Germany). Certainly don't use 100V caps.

The 2e474j are 250v, but only 0.47uf.. I stuck them on anyway.. still some arc.. but noticeably less... which is I guess what one would expect with a fraction of the spec.

Thank you for this. I kind of thought it was moot on pins without them originally.. but clearly it can save some life in components.. so I'll order a bunch of the correct parts.

TBH, the game is probably playing better than the majority of FGs out there already.. Playing it at 6.5' now, which perhaps I could back off a bit to help with the ramps as well.. I'm getting 42.5v now from the pre-cab switch to the fuse by the flippers, not really sure what changed? That seems pretty decent, so perhaps I'll try to work on the cab switch again.. guessing that is the bottleneck now, which would be a good thing. I'll try to order some appropriate caps for that area as well and see if that can keep it going after getting it cleaned up.

Thanks for the guidance and ear!.. or eye in this case.

Good luck with it. BTW which EOS switches do you have? Care to post a picture?
Also are your cabinet switches easy or hard to press? More tension on the receiver blade means it will bounce less and stay in contact longer when you hit them fast/hard.

IDK what it was from, I think I just tried to match the original wafers. It is making good contact tho, didn't note any resistance anyway.

20221220_093806 (resized).jpg

Top outside switch appears upside down and incorrect. Contacts should point towards each other nor do they look like proper high current contacts. That needs to be replaced with the correct switch.

Let's take a moment to remember the director of Flash Gordon who died today, Mr Mike Hodges.

Figured I'd update this issue with resolved

I brought home a Vector, and was thinking of testing the transformer in my FG, but noticed it was configured for 115v. Since it seemed ok, I figured WTH, and set my Flash Gordon to 115 as well.

FG is playing like I thought it should be playing now. Flipper power both sides feel consistent and good power to make it up the ramps after a few games in a row... in fact, had a blast playing tonight!

Not really sure what is up.. or maybe I've been spoiled playing everything with higher power. Some issues that I thought were something else seem to have gone as well (some phantom switch hits), etc... all seem to be gone.

I recently reset both transformers to 115v and the game plays great. I don’t know why the voltages were jacked up, but I did it in an effort to figure out why my strobe causes my game to reboot. That didn’t fix it, but at least my voltages are all dialed in.

Does anyone make a power tap splitter for FG? Looking for a nice way to snag 5v DC and or 12v DC for some mod ideas I have kicking around?

Thinking about replacing my plastics as well. Has anyone found quality reproductions for FG?

I had good luck with the CPR. Also curious about your mod idea.

Thanks for the CPR recommendation. Just placed my order as many of my current plastics are not desirable. As for my mod ideas, most of them is to enhance lighting. Still working out the details on that but I'll be happy to share when I figure it out.

The more interesting idea I have is to change out the static ming plastic from inside the video screen with real video. 1st phase is just a video loop of ming. After that is working I'm hoping to trigger different clips in code. Either with the FG 2021 add on RoyGBev makes and/or the Geeteoh replacement S&T board sending a 3.3v or 5v to inputs on a video looper.

I usually place a small green LED strip behind the Wood Beat Target and tap off the Extra Ball Lamp to light up the Beast / Drop area when that Target is active.

Also, always liked it when there is some light added to the Ball Lane Tunnel.

Man. I gotta get another FG.

Oh, I do like the Ming video idea. That would be very cool. I have a Geeteoh board and have enjoyed that. Pretty nice and was easy to add a Vultan sound file: “Oh well, who wants to live forever…”
Good luck with that and let me know if you need a test dummy. Hope the CPRs work out - I was happy with my order, and I’m pretty picky.

Glad you like the idea. Today I managed to give it test. Not too shabby.

Yeah, I agree the Geeteoh sound board is pretty awesome by the way. His support is top notch and a really cool dude.

That’s pretty wicked. Now I want to try that. If you go into production, let me know!

Amazing work.. probably one of the most fitting LCD mods for a classic ever.. it's already a little screen.. so perfect!

Thanks for the kind words. This is a diy thing that I'm happy to share the details on. Maybe you guys can help make it better?

UCTRONICS 3.5 Inch Touch Screen for Raspberry Pi 4, HDMI TFT LCD Mini Display with Stylus Pen for Pi 4 B, 3 B+ https://a.co/d/iL0YPnw

You need this hdmi because the normal ones are to bulky to fit.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FHXF3LS

This media player can loop video from the memory card on powerup
HDMI Media Player, Black Mini 1080p Full-HD Ultra HDMI Digital Media Player for -MKV/RM- HDD USB Drives and SD Cards https://a.co/d/ipM1sKc

Ultimately we need to trigger clips in code to match gameplay to make this amazing. There are triggerable Media players out there but I haven't decided which one would be best or how to trigger it. With the Sprite on Amazon it can take 3.3v or 5v to trigger video. Or serial.

I used metal and some furniture pads to make the frame. Thinking the next version of the frame can be clear plastic to let more light through. I've never used a 3d printer. Maybe someone here is handy with a 3d printer?

Currently I'm powering both via the service outlet so this needs to change to power direct somehow.
20230107_160957 (resized).jpg

Awesome idea digitaldocc will be following your mod very closely.
I'm a relatively new FG owner, I have the Geeteoh board however my mix doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the one in your video.
Please can you share, or point me in the direction of the files? Thank you

Tap or T splices are a great clean way to tap into existing wires in the cable. They are readily available on eBay.

Lucky enough to recently get what may be the cleanest original Flash Gordon on the planet. Very happy with it, not for sale.

However, I've hunted around and can't find anything about turning off the attract mode "Emperor Ming Awaits!"

Is there a trick I'm missing? It's driving me nuts....

manual page 7. Dip 21.

Tim Murren has already rewritten the entire Flash Gordon game using BSOS. So the hard work is already done. The code could easily be modified to trigger another output on the Arduino running the code and trigger anything you want. I notice the Geeteoh board uses the Robertsonics WavTrigger as its sound player. BSOS uses the WavTrigger directly, no need for a working S&T at all. Tim's game currently is set up to use the stock S&T but adding a WavTrigger is quite simple but the code has to be modified to use it.

Geeteoh users, are there any alternative sound banks out there please?
I'm using the custom bank included with the card, but have heard more interesting alternatives on youtube.

Thanks

On the Geeteoh board you should try switching to soundbank 3. It's pretty great and built in. PM him directly for support or specific questions.

That's great news I'm waiting patiently Roygbev's turnkey BSOS mod to arrive. I think he is on vacation or something. Hopefully he is OK. Communication has stopped.

Without getting hands on with BSOS my plan is to use the Geeteoh board to handle the sound processing. What that board does already by sorting and processing sounds is crucial. IMO both BSOS and Geetteoh should be part of the plan.

One or the other IMO. Out of the box the Geeteoh is definitely the easiest way to get your mod going, assuming you can work with the 3 relays available, based on sound triggers. It's basically all thought out and done for you. The documentation is excellent.

If you want to do a more complex integration with the software rules, then the Roygbev is the way to go.

Thanks for the response digitaldocc
However I am using soundbank 3, but it is definitely different to the one in your mod video.

I like this mod / idea. Keep us posted on how you execute it, came across someone else who did a screen install years ago but it had very little info on it.

Picked up a FG last week and I am working on fixing the flash board before putting it back in the game. I replaced caps with new ones since they looked original. Looks like the MOC3011 chip was replaced in the past and someone tried to put in a smaller flash. The flash looks like it was maybe wired backwards and I want to make sure it is correct before putting back in and firing up, I got a replacement from Action Pinball. From Action pinball it said to wire the red green and white wire to specific contacts however I have a black and two red wires coming off the board. Anyone by chance have a picture of of their flash wiring?

I fixed my strobe last week with a replacement flash, I'd followed the existing wiring colour and it did not work.
However, I found this thread and matched my wiring to this and it worked: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/flash-gordon-strobe-issue#post-5309021

My strobe used to work but now it causes the mpu to lock up on boot. Both the mpu and power supply boards are new. Also repinned pretty much every connector. So for now I have the strobe disconnected

What flash did you end up using?

They don't seem picky, I used one from a $5 throw away camera.