Excellent point. I forgot that I had to replace my board due to corrosion and that my new one had a RAM chip socket, so it was plug-and-play for me.

This is the way mine is, with the remote battery holder. Next time I take the batteries out, I need to actually mount it, as it is just sitting in the backbox.

All these options are viable, I suppose it's a good, better, best situation so it depends on how handy you are and how willing you are to mess with your boards (or how much you're willing to pay someone to do the work). Replacing batteries is ok too, especially in a home environment, it's when pins were used on location that most of this type of damage occurred, just remember to do it...

"Frank's Famous..."

This looks nice, but is this a new product? I've never heard of it. Who is Frank?

Is a 3V lithium cell enough to replace the 4.5V available in 3 AA batteries?

He's from TNT Amusements, a retail place in PA, they do those crazy pinball videos on YouTube

http://www.tntamusements.com/

Yes.

How long would you guys go between replacements with these coin cells?

I have one in my DM and it will go 3 years without losing my high scores. Would maybe go 5 years to completely dead.

For the record, I'm not advocating any of these, I'm just saying there are plenty of options and everyone can decide what works best for their comfort level and price points. I have not done any of these on my Getaway except switch the batteries on a regular basis but I'll eventually get around to doing one of these fixes; however, I am thinking I may try Frank's Famous just so I can test it out and see how it works.

If that is the case, just curious why we use 3 AA batteries instead of just 2?

So they last 10 years, that's when batteries were made better.

Oops, double post.

Im talking about voltage. 3AA batteries =4.5v. 2AA batteries = 3v .

So if 3v is enough, then why 3AA instead of 2 ? Does the extra battery extend the overall life of the 3 ?

Top 10 reasons why Williams used 3 batteries instead of 2:

10. Because they had all that extra room on the circuit board
9. Because batteries were really cheap back in the day
8. Because they had a shipping container load of them in inventory
7. Because 3's a crowd - who doesn't like a crowd when playing pinball?
6. Because Williams' brother-in-law was in the battery business
5. To make it harder to test the batteries with your tongue
4. Because they wanted to stick you with an extra battery when buying either 2 x 2 pack or 1 x 4 pack of batteries
3. Because 3 > 2
2. Because they had always done it that way
1. So that sometime in the unforeseeable future, someone would ask the question on yet to be invented Pinside why they used three batteries instead of two

This is my favorite, and since you have an extra battery you need to buy 3 more pinball machines so not to waste batteries.

If I remember correctly you need @ 2.4 volts to keep the memory in the ram chip, 3 AA batteries = 4.8 volts when new, coin cell= 3.2 volts when new. But the lithium coil cell self discharges less then alkaline batteries so AA aren't 3 times more powerful they are only 2 times more powerful.

Ahh, makes sense.

I agree ! lol
200w (resized).png

I was recently turned onto the idea of custom coin reject button inserts. So, here is my design for the Getaway for feedback and/or other ideas. Personally, I put red LED's (frosted domed) behind my reject buttons to make them glow red instead of orange (looks great with all the red I have going on with mine).

I printed this on high quality Epson paper (not photo stock since paper needs to be thin). This paper gives a nice crisp image and very even non-splotchy light diffusion. As always, I'm putting these on my Getaway site for free download (http://www.thezumwaltfamily.com/getawaypinball), but if you can't make your own for some reason and want to have them, then I would be willing to make you 2 or 3 (whatever your coin door requires) for $3 delivered (sorry, I know its just paper, but I have the expense of the envelope, postage, and a little time to cut them out).

FYI, Dimensions on these are .625" (5/8) by 1.1875" (1 3/16)". For my first run I actually used the wrong template that was based on Stern reject buttons which is .73" x 1.05" (wider & shorter). Here is the link to the original forum I was turned on to: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/free-coin-reject-inserts-for-modern-sterns-10-games

Getaway Coin Reject.png

CoinReject.jpg

Very nice Mr T.
I just added an 8 smd light strip to the inside of the hairpin turn ramp. Looks amazing in real life and really reflects well off the supercharger.

getaway led1 (resized).jpg

getaway led2 (resized).jpg

I can't figure out where to run the wire to do this. I have a light strip to do this but having trouble figuring where to put it so the wire is hidden. I do t want to see the wire.

Mr. T (Chris)

Those coin light inserts are AWESOME! Great work as usual and I have to have some!

Dan

I did it so that the wire comes out on the right side (you can see it in the photo if you look closely) and it runs along side the other wires and then down under the playfield. I will take a close up photo for you a bit later.

Thanks. No rush. Want to have a good plan before digging into it. I always have a fear that I'm gonna screw something up every time I have to lift the play field.

That does really light up and looks great. I really love lighting up this pin, and good to see all the personal touches.

I used your car image from the apron shooter cover for my reject inserts and you can use photo paper for this

Show us some pics. Wasn't sure how color inserts would look given the orange plastic buttons (I haven't looked to see if anyone makes clear, but that would be the best).

Following TheOnlyest's lead (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/getaway-club-dispatch-run-a-make-on-license-plate-kingpin/page/103#post-3605224), I ran my wires out the front of the gap of the U-turn then back up under the left side of the turn. Now, he did it right and removed the U-turn from the pin to secure the wiring underneath. I didn't take/have the time to do that. Instead, I ran my wires with everything in place. This will work as long as you do so up the left side as to avoid getting tangled in all the workings that are underneath the turn. I then loosed the support bracket to the cabinet at back, ran my wires flat under that, then retightened. This ensures tension on the wires so that there will not be any slack to get tangled in anything.

Had some good suggestions from other Pinsiders for the inserts this morning. Although I have some other ideas, I think that I'm pretty much done with my designs for now. As usual, everything is downloadable from my site for free or PM me if you would like to purchase from me: http://www.thezumwaltfamily.com/getawaypinball

GetawayCoinReturnInserts.png

Here is what I settled on with my 2 coin return door (both are B&W versions). Again, I backlight with red frosted dome LEDs. Would love to see pics from others who use the inserts with their lighting setup.

CoinReturnInserts.png

I took a different approach to lighting the hair pin and super charger, I made a few custom plastics, one for the hair pin and one for the super charger. I've attached these to different flashers so they go off sort of in sequence with the chrome blower lights. HP plastic has 1 blue & 1 natural white star post light and the SC has a blue led light strip. When I have time I may post some picture of how I ran the wires and what the plastics look like... if you click the pics fast and you may see what I mean

PF Full Blue a (resized).jpg

PF Full Blue c (resized).jpg

PF Full Blue b (resized).jpg

PF Full Blue d (resized).jpg

PF Full Blue e (resized).jpg

Love the idea, and how you applied it!

Okay, I think I may be obsessing on these coin reject inserts, but I promise that I'm done for now since I've gotten all the ideas out of my head. Download them all at http://www.thezumwaltfamily.com/getawaypinball or PM me if you would like to purchase from me.

CoinReject1.png

CoinReject2.png

You gave me an inferiority complex by letting me know you were going to keep one of your originals.

Maybe show me a little love by using one of my new designs for 3rd coin reject?

All in jest, of course. By all means do whatever you want to, but hopefully this is a small thing that can easily give a personal touch to several Getaway pins.

Well, changed my mind . . . again.

Inserts.jpg

I like those better.

Really Cool Mr. T. I like the fuel nossle one the best. On my to do list.

Can some direct me to a location where I can learn how to repair or replace my shooter assembly and outlane kickback assembly? I feel that they are both weak, and will place the ball where it should 50% of the time. Maybe I only need a few parts or maybe I should just replace the whole thing. I feel it is just not performing as it should. Thanks. If there is some written website that walks me through the process, then I'll go there and figure it out.

Start by replacing the coil sleeve and look at the plunger tip for wear. If the tip is damaged then replace it. Check the solder joints on the coil, if questionable the cut and restrip wire and resolder it. Follow the power wire for the coil back to its junction at another coil and make sure this connection is good. Also check the trigger wire connector on the PDB, make sure the header pins aren't dirty or tarnished and if the coil is still bad then remove the PDB and check for cracked solder joints on the header pins for this connector. Make sure the plunger is aligned with the center on the ball in all 3 axes.

Just to be sure I understand what you're saying... when you launch the ball it does not always go around the upper loop? And when the ball goes in the kickback it does not always go in the upper PF outhole?

make sure you have the right plunger. it's different for HS2. plenty have been replaced with the wrong part over the years.

Yes and Yes.

I just developed a really fun problem with mine.
I have intermittent slings, and red targets.
I thought maybe it was a board problem but the gear shift lever works fine and it's on the same line.
I just had the board done too.

For what it's worth, here is my experience with both:

- Felt like shooter was weak after having to replace circuit board. However, ball does make full loop 100% of the time (just seemed not as strong as what I remembered with original board). Over time, things got worse and I figured out that my coil sleeve was pretty tight (i.e. maybe coil expanded a little) and so the shaft was not moving as freely as it should be. Installed brand new coil with new sleeve without touching anything else and everything is back to normal for me.

- Regarding the kickback, it was maybe hitting the tunnel 5% of the time. What I discovered with that is the plunger was broken inside the shaft (just pull firmly on the white nylon tip to see if you can rotate or pull it out). I tried super glue and saw improvement to maybe 50% of the time hitting the tunnel. Well, I ordered the new plunger (kept old coil and sleeve), installed, and now I would estimate my tunnel percentage to 90%

After fixing these things the game is much more fun to me. Don't know if your issues are as simple as mine (hopefully nothing electronic). Also, I know that TheOnlyest has taken a leave of absence from this forum, but I bet if you PM'd him for his ideas on the issue he would help if you don't get anywhere from others' input. Granted, I can't guarantee such as I don't know him personally and cannot speak for him. However, he has been quite helpful to me.

Getting close to having my game for a year now. Had to kind of laugh yesterday when I was playing and realized how much better I am. I bet it took me 6 months to hit 200M and a 100M game made me happy. Now, anything less than 300M a game and I'm doing my best not to pop a blood vessel or break my hand hitting the machine.

Ok, for the shooter there are several possible things that can impact the way the ball goes around the loop or doesn't go around the loop. Many times it's simply the angle the ball comes from the shooter and the ball is hitting your star post, this is why some people switched out the star post to a regular sleeve post or even removed it altogether (it also make the upper flipper shot easier to make the loop, do not mess with that post!) If it were me I would start with the easiest 1st so in this order...
1. Pin is not level: Level your machine
2. Coil solder joints have failed or not making good contact: Resolder the wires on tabs.
3. Molex connectors are not making good contact with the pins on the High Current Driver Board: Check your connectors on your HCDB this is under the PF, the little board on the front left hand side.
3. The shooter rod is worn out or loose: Look over your shooter rod, in particular the plastic tip, to see if it needs to be replaced.
4. Make sure rod hits the ball in correct way. In other words, it's not always aligned in the center of the switch, I had to adjust mine to be offset to the right: Play with the angle of the shooter Rod (see the pic).
5. Coil sleeve is worn out: Make sure you buy the correct sleeve #03-7067-6
6. Coil is bad: Replace coil A-14789
If you're replacing the coil sleeve or shooter rod or the coil I would suggest replacing all of them at the same time, including the spring but that's just my opinion.
The kicker is a pain in butt, same steps apply (except the HCDB) to that as the shooter rod but sometimes it's just going to make it the outhole.
Cliffy shooter (resized).jpg

Added over 7 years ago: EDIT: What I meant to say was...

The kicker is a pain in butt, same steps apply (except the HCDB) to that as the shooter rod but sometimes it's just not going to make it to the outhole.

Regarding my plunger issue not making the loop; shot a slow mo video and took some pics. The pic with the upper loop area. The ball will hit the post above that red target. The video looks like the ball hits the left, then right lane before exiting onto the play field. Thoughts? Thanks. See pics and video in link.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxDW4urGhZNhNDdyZHhQS3dGOWc

My guess is that your plunger is too far offset try adjusting it more to the center, if it's hitting the star post I doubt its a coil or power issue, could be the shooter tip, yours looks a little worn down maybe the coil sleeve.

This is what the shooter is supposed to look like

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-15709

I'm slightly off balance but not much. A look at the coil. Not a great solder job. I could reflow that solder. Plunger moves free enough. Looks like I'd need to take the cover off to bump it over to the left a bit.

IMG_0694 (resized).PNG

IMG_0695 (resized).JPG

Mine looks the same, although i have 2 cars instead and have 2 white led's behind. I can't take a picture of them lit cause the driver board is out being repaired at the moment.