Quoted from EJS:On games that old I would think the damage has already been done. Keeping a clean playfield and scratch free ball should get you the rest of the way.
Good points but there should be a standardized way to reduce the damage of these devices. I am dealing with EM's mostly but some of the late 70's and beyond began using a pop up method, raising these to playfield level vertically rather than throwing them. Maybe an easy swop retrofit device if originality isn't a factor would work for some and save the playfields.
Quoted from Runbikeskilee:I would guess you might see marginal gains from an attempt to weaken the power of the kick-out solenoid. Still need to kick the ball with enough force to lift it up out of the hole it is sitting in and propel it outward. If the solenoid power is weakened too much, might run the risk of the ball impacting the rim of the hole and accelerating that component of wear.
A holistic approach may be the ticket.
- An in line potentiometer.
- Adding a cliffy to protect the hole lip.
I think this might best reproduce how modern pins accomplish this as when you enter the game parameters and adjust a specific coils strength.
My only remaining question is do I size the potentiometer to the line voltage or to the load of this branch circuit, AKA the coil?
NOTE: This is my best guess using Ohms Law folks! V = IR, where V is the voltage across the conductor, I is the current flowing through the conductor and R is the resistance provided by the conductor to the flow of current. I am substituting Amps for I below.
If I size the potentiometer to the Line Voltage 24V/15 Amp fuse = 1.6 Ohms, 24V x 15Amps = *360 watts
So if I want to reduce the load (15 amps) by as much as half is 7.5 amps
24V / 7.5 Amps = 3.2 Ohms
I would say a potentiometer rated at 0-3 ohms, 360 watts and a minimum of 24V should do what I need to experiment with this.
Ohmite RNS3R0-ND or RNS3R0E-ND
https://www.ohmite.com/assets/docs/controls_rheostats.pdf?r=false
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If I size the potentiometer to the branch circuit,
Williams uses a G-23 750 coil. That's 24 volts AC over 750 turns of 23 gage wire and when you measure the coils resistance its 3.9 ohms.
24V / 3.9Ohms = 6.15 amps of load. 24V x 6.15 amps = *147.6 watts
So if I want to reduce the load (6.5 amps) by as much as half or 3 amps
24V / 3 Amps = 8 Ohms
I would say a potentiometer rated at 24V, 0-8 ohms, 147.6 watts should do what I need to experiment with this.
(*The wats could be reduced some due to it being a momentary load)
Any thoughts?