Laser Cue
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Picking up a project laser cue today. I have not played this game, but really enjoyed AP...so when this came up I jumped on it. Hopefully it doesn't take long to get the game running. I've done some preliminary search and hopefully it won't take much. Let's get this thread going!
Been working on the Laser Cue that I picked up last week
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/system-7-laser-cue-starts-up-in-audit-mode-help
Just put in a pretty large parts order on Monday, but have been troubleshooting the electrical issues in the mean time. At least I can get it to play now! Looks like the P4 display isn't working, I'll have to look into that more.
One thing that I've noticed. My game does not have ball gates on the shooter lane or on the spinner lane exit. On some pictures, I see there is a ball gate on the shooter lane, but on others, I don't.
Can you all let me know if there are ball gates on your game or not? I'm thinking about putting it in the shooter lane at least, as I'd rather the ball stay in play then exit out.
Quoted from patrickvc:Mine doesn’t have the gate either. I’ve owned 2 and neither game had
one.
Does yours have the ball gate on the spinner lane?
Quoted from henrydwh:My Laser Cue doesn't have a ball gate on the shooter lane, but it does on the top of the spinner where the ball exits.
Ok. so I'll at least need 1, but I might add one over the shooter lane, just so that it keeps the ball in play, instead of a free plunge into the spinner.
I also want to comment at how cool the extra ball rule is. I just noticed that there is at 25 second ball saver after you've started your extra ball. Is there another game that does this?
Another problem I may or may not have is that the bell in my game hasn't activated yet. I haven't looked at the mech or what causes it to ring (a solenoid?). Can someone tell me what conditions cause the bell to ring and if it should ring in solenoid test?
Quoted from mof:White pop caps and yellow pop caps.
I'll always like yellow better.
Good game, finally got to put some time on one...
-mof
I couldn't find the original white pop caps, so i'm going with the ice pop caps (like on TNA) 
Thinking about it now, it might look out of place...
Quoted from mof:You can grab a set of yellow off another williams pin -- I think it's millionaire? if you want to go that route. I already grabbed a set off ebay
-mof
I just asked if I could get the translucent red instead of the ice. If not, it's not a huge deal. Anything is better than what I have one mine right now 
Quoted from gutz:Bell rings briefly every time you score a ball in sequence (and for extra ball). Check the solenoid and EOS switch for the bell clapper.
So if I score the drop targets in sequence, it should ring?
Ok. I'll need to adjust it so that its normally closed. It was opened when I looked. All of the wiring seems to be ok from what I could see.
Quoted from gutz:It should be normally closed so solenoid power reaches the coil. When the coil is energized, the arm will open the EOS and cut power to the solenoid. This happens over and over very quickly to make the bell "ring".
It's working!! Thank you! Slowly but surely, my game is coming together. This is why I love Pinside 
I noticed that the flipper brackets are missing the rubber grommet that the flipper plunger rests on when not in use. Can someone send me a pic of what it looks like so I can replace them, or do they not have them?
Something like this I'm assuming. I notice in older games they are typically tan colored.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/38-6577
Quoted from indypinhead:This is what you need....
https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-rubber-bumper-pluggrommet.html
Marco has that part that I linked as a cross-reference. Thanks!
Quoted from Deaconblooze:I've been looking for one for a while. If you decide to move it along, please let me know!
For sure. It's been great bringing it back to life. Lots of big and little nagging things for sure, and still working out some kinks, but I'll have it playing 100% in no time.
I just bought replacement resistors for the driver board R149-R156
I bought these from Amazon and they are significantly smaller than the ones on the board.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GMZW73Z
Can someone confirm that these will work? I was expecting them to be a bit larger but I guess component technology is different than it was 30 years ago.
Screenshot_20190503-161007_Drive (resized).jpgScreenshot_20190503-161029_Drive (resized).jpg20190503_161422 (resized).jpgQuoted from SYS6:If you are going to do this, it might be better to read up on replacing the lamp col TIP42 transistors with IRF9Z34N, this eliminates the heat problem and is something I do on all these WMS driver boards.
I didnt know about this. Ill look I to it. Thanks!
Quoted from tmontana:Laser Cue is NOT supposed to have them on. I asked this question when I first got mine and that's what the pinball ninja told me. In fact here's his responses.
"actually on that era of flipper, the plugs are not utilized."
" i should say, "in my experience.""
" i should add a bit more info... if the flipper links are bakelit, then no, the plugs are not used. If the flipper links are plastic, yes the plugs are used. that has been my experience."
"i can add more... laser cue, system7, used non-replaceable coil stops (they are part of the flipper assembly bracket.) so if this is a keeper, my suggestion is to go to pinballlife.com and order WPC style flipper assemblies with replaceable coil stops and expansion flipper return springs (opposed to compression springs.) also buy new flipper bats. this will give you the best of all worlds. you will probably have to send Terry at PL an email to make sure he populates these assemblies with the correct coils (i can't remember if Laser cue is 30 or 50 volt flippers. i think they are 30 volt, so you need the correct coils, you can't use FL11630 for example.) Of course you could transplant your stock coils too. i highly suggest doing this. Also then you can "micro-manage" the flipper travel on the new brackets (which will have the plunger rest plug.)"
"if you put them on, the flipper travel will change. Actually pretty dramatically. So it will change how the game plays. But it's like ice cream, some people like long flipper travel (big "V"), and some don't. but if there's bakelite flipper links, they shouldn't be there."
Good info! I didn't realize the stock flipper plates had the coil stop built in. (like Sys 6 games I presume). The flipper rebuild kit that I got from Pinball Life had replaceable coil stops, as they usually do. Glad mine is like that and I didn't have to by new flipper plates. There is wear where the plug should go, so it is likely that it didn't come with the plugs, so I'll leave them be. I don't mind the compression springs. I'm a purist in the way that if that's how the flippers came from the factory, that's how I'll keep them, unless they are prone to massive failure or are hazardous (ie flipper coils catching on fire). In those cases, I'll change them to the safer alternative.
Is there any reason why the spinner would cut in and out during a good spin? I've cleaned the contacts with a business card and resoldered the wires onto the switch. The switch is in average condition. I dont notice any pitting or other damage.
Quoted from djreddog:Quick question for the group. I need to replace one of the drop target coils. Quickly looking at the underside of the PF, does this mean I have to remove bulb fixtures and the entire drop target assembly in order to accomplish this?
I had these pics from when I was shopping out my game a month ago. If you remove the bulb rails, (really easy, only 2 screws each) it really opens up the area. You might be able to get a screwdriver to loosen the screws holding the coil stop down. You might be able to get to the coil in-situ.
20190421_152518 (resized).jpg20190421_152736 (resized).jpg
Has anyone done anything to get more light at the drop target bank? I was thinking a spot light from the "A" stand up target area to illuminate it more. Looks like Alien Poker has a couple bulbs behind the drops. I wonder why they took these out with LC?
Just gotta say that this game, when tuned, plays hella fun. Getting the drops in order, the left and right stand ups, and the 8-ball shots are awesome. Take off the bar in between the right flippers and you've got yourself a seriously great game. I love the bell!
Quoted from djreddog:Still having an issue with drop target #5. When I first got the game, all drops worked. After about a week or so the coil on drop target #5 burned up. When it burned up, and to prevent other damage, we simply cut the single "grey" wire to the coil. So after several weeks, I finally bought a new coil and replaced it. The coil works, as I confirmed this by running an alligator clip from the ground wire to the single wire lug on the coil and it fires. However, when the game resets all the drops, #5 will not reset. I've doubled checked all wiring and can't seem to find anything wrong that would prevent the target from resetting.
I confirmed that q25 and q24 control the fifth drop target and both tested bad, replaced both of them but drop #5 still doesn't reset.
Also, I hooked a jumper from drop 4 to drop 5, started the game and can confirm the coil works and the target resets.
What else can I look at from here?
In my limited experience, when you have a driver go bad, you usually want to replace the diode, pre-driver, and driver all in one go. The reason being is that if one of the 3 have failed, and you replace the one that you think is bad, but isn't, then you'll still end up blowing one or more of the components.
Have you repinned both sides of the 40 pin connector? If not, you should do this first before doing any further troubleshooting. Afterwards, I would suggest replacing the diode on the coil, the pre-driver, and the driver (again) all at one time. Also check to make sure there isn't grounding any of the components (the coil, the connectors, the board(s) etc.)
Quoted from sublime90803:Oh, thanks for the heads up. I thought it was controlled by the cabinet switch. I just rebuilt all 4 flippers with new EOS switches. There is a separate lane change switch under one of the 4 flipper mechs?
There's a lane change switch (stacked) on the lower right flipper EOS switch. If you rebuilt and changed all 4 EOS switches, you should have handled it at least one time.
Just sold my LC to make space and help fund a new game. Sad
Hope to be able to pick up another one some day though.
Quoted from chad:Chexx Hockey coming? I know you mentioned it. Good luck.
No, I don't have room for a Chexx. Would love to have space for one though. Someday. I'm hopefully picking up a LOTR this Saturday 
Quoted from Deaconblooze:Thanks to FatPanda for an easy sale - I was able to pick this one up last night. He did great work on this one and it's playing really strong, so this should just be one I can just setup and play (after I finish my basement rehab).
Thanks for coming out on (relatively) short notice. And the fact that you're only 20 mins away from me means that LC isn't too far away to play a few games on Good luck on your basement! I can't imagine that's a fun thing to have to deal with.
Quoted from chuckwurt:Yeah. Great layout that could definitely benefit from different rules and theme.
How dare you! 
Deaconblooze ready to sell back the Laser Cue I sold you?
Someone had posted a thread about troubleshooting their game, so I decided to take a stroll back down memory lane to see if I had encountered something similar. Man I miss this game!
Quoted from Deaconblooze:It doesn't seem like my "@" functionality is working. I might need to check some settings..
I do love Laser Cue, but I'm also out of space and pin funds... so hit me up if you're serious!
No worries! I'm out of space too, and have 2-3 projects in the backlog...but I'll give it some serious thought. It's a game that I'd like to have back some day. I don't know if right now is right though. The whole of the pinball market just kind of soured me to buying and selling tbh. I'll PM you.
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