Operator. Wanted the playfield to not get any worse. Put varathane on it, then put it back in game. Playfield protected!

Not a collector or anyone that wanted to 'preserve' the game, beyond making it last longer and make more money. Remember, guys, these were commercial machines.

The operator that owned the Centaur I bought replaced the playfield with a NOS field in the late 80's. Because his games got heavy play he cleared it first, probably with Minwax or similar. All of the clears you could buy back then in hardware/paint stores had linseed oil in them. The clear yellowed badly over time, but at least it protected the playfield.

I have an extra Metor backglass in nice shape. Let me know if someone can use it?

What's the story behind the two different backglasses offered by CPR?
Which would you order?
Does it make a difference?

The story as far as I understand, is like this:
There was apparently some early, and less-common (not sure HOW uncommon) revisions of the backglass - (1) Proto/Sample Red Score windows? (2) Version with NO "CREDIT" and no Green layer, and (3) The most common, green layer with 'CREDIT'.
Someone offered CPR an 'NOS' backglass, and CPR did NO research on it, assuming the glass they got was 'standard'. It, sadly, was the one with no 'CREDIT' and no green color.
After the issue was brought up to their attention, they re-ran their glass with the green spot color. It still has no 'CREDIT' text, but supposedly is correct everywhere else.

Hence, you can chose which version you want.

So CPR is just trying to sell their mistake as "rare" because who really cares anyway? Kinda like the playfield fiasco?

Cleaning the paint on a meteor playfield rubs the paint off in my experience with 3 meteors I’ve had, not wanting to fix the paint and save the current condition may have been the motive. I did it once;, saved the playfield because paint flakes off at every wipe

Picked up my Meteor project today...claims it ran like a top when he put it in storage 5 years ago...then 10 years ago.
Playfield is in good shape (no obvious wear or cupping--but where did the fishing bobber come from?!!??!!? I mean, it is under the playfield glass...I really don't know and neither did he!) AND I got a Bonus populated playfield! Woo Hoo! Also, no wear. Both look like they are in really good, avobe average shape. Has original boards...the downside? Well, there's no backglass. And it doesn't run. ANd between the two playfields, I don't have a full set of plastics.

Next stop? Reading five years of posts about this pin!

I Just got a Taxi and I am doing the same lol, good news is most of the stuff you need is available to purchase, good Playfield will save you some money.

What happens when you throw the switch?

We didn't throw the switch. We played Nine Ball, the other pin.
The head was down (I clipped off the remote battery which had light corrosion) and we loaded the head, cab and extra playfield in the van.
Bought it as a project. He did say that when he put it away that it played, so with a little luck...
This one looks a little worse than my very first pin, a resurrection of a Firepower 2. Not much worse though, and it might just be dirt and refurbishing the boards.
Going to clean it up and do an inventory later this week.
The good news is that the other pin has an Alltek board, so it might not take very long to coax this Meteor back to life, even if it is a test until the boards come back.
...er, I mean, it might not take too long for the danger to pass...

typically how long does it take for CPR to ship a backglass? --assuming it is available (which Meteor is).

Has anyone done anything interesting with rubber color or translucency? I'd love to see some pics...
I see that Marco has a black rubber set? Anyone have any pics of that? (Any feedback on the black rubbers on other pins?)
Also, I'm not much for clown-vomit-looking pins, but I think that adding a little bit of color could make things pop on Meteor.
Anyone have some lighting they are proud of and want to show off?
(Ordering the repro backglass, so colored LEDs aren't necessary to help hide backglass flaws on this one).

Is there a deep preference in the group for the version of the backglass that is more desirable?

Black rubbers are not as soft as white so game play might be different. I don't know about colored ones but I think purple or red would look cool. I just don't know how pliable they are.

I would get the green option back glass. I got the repro before they added the green.

I heard that the black ones disintegrate sooner as well.
I prefer the feel of traditional rubbers to the various "new-fangled" and wildly bouncy ones like Titan.

Having said all of that, red would look pretty cool, I think.

I'm kinda torn...there's a damaged "green" glass at CPR (has what looks like a 1/4 x 1 inch gash in the black above the credit window)...save $60 and touch up paint it myself? It would still be better than any glass I have now...undecided...

Is anyone running Andrew's latest board in their Meteor? I have an older version with the bug fix rom. Does the free play option on the newer selectable board also have the bug fixes? Sound and bonus bugs, that is.

Thanks for any assistance.

RC

I typically use the white on all the games but went with Yellow (with blue on the slings) on Dr who and it looks awesome. When I refresh my Meteor I am leaning towards trying out colors. I think orange may look good (at least on the slings) and other colors that complement the playfield art.

Who is "Andrew"?
If Alltek, no. He refuses to update the software in his board.
If Weebly, then you need either (1) the lasted rev board from him, or (2) burn your own copy of v64/v74, and plug it into the board.
If someone else named "Andrew", contact him and ask.

Andrew is the guy making the weebly boards.

I prefer silicone rings these days. I think rubber has the propensity to dirty the playfield faster. This is a little less of an issue in a home setting. I saw this at Allentown last year and thought it was pretty tasteful.

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Holy crap that's beautiful.

I hate to admit I tried to leave the club the other day. Had a buyer come to grab my meteor and everything...

When he got here the controlled lights--all of them--stopped working. Gross gooey gunk all over one of the connectors (jacket breaking down I'm assuming). So, no sale. I noticed my power supply looked awful as well,so I folded everything up for now.

I love love love meteor, but I don't feel mine is worthy of *me* spending the time and money restoring it. I'm out of space (up to 9 pins, really need to be at like....7) and having to make decisions based on what my kids and guests play... And Meteor ain't up there on the list.

But, given the issues and given that I'm not willing to slash my price to sell it as-is, it's not leaving. Folded it up and stuck it in a corner for now, until I feel like doing something with it I suppose. Guess I'm here but not here really, for the long haul.

Sorry, this was kind of a worthless post. I LOVE those purple rails...

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Time to re-pin. At least that's a quick and easy repair.

I say your kids do get a vote on what pins are in the basement, but guests don't. You don't get a vote on your buddy's mancave items, lol.

Kids don't like it. They like cactus Jack's, world cup, and terminator specifically. Taxi will be a big favorite I'm sure. F-14 isn't popular because it's mean. Shuttle I don't care what anyone thinks because it's gorgeous and I'm in waaaay too deep to sell it and high speed i hardtopped myself and I'm not sure I'm ready to put "my" work out there to be judged... Lol.

Meteor and F-14 get by far the least play of what I have, and I feel I'm about two over my quota. Doesn't really matter right now though, I can't sell them as they're sitting. I certainly don't want to not own a meteor either, I just shudder at the effort--and cost--required to make mine really nice.

My Meteor will never be "really nice" but it does look decent at a distance and more importantly plays awesome. I contemplate buying a new backglass for mine but it doesn't bother me enough to pull the trigger. I think I might have to go rip that spinner a bit. . .

OKay, yeah, so just burn a chip and plug it into the open socket there, or ask him for an updated master chip.
No, the older version does not have bug fix & free play. That was made/finished only recently, so only the very latest will have that rev.

What is the preferred battery solution for an original board...pros, cons...give it all to me.
I'd like to avoid AA batteries, even off board.
I'd like to avoid the NVRAM/ROM conflict.

What is the preferred fix?

I'm probably biased but I prefer the NVram with the bugfixed rom.

but you can't run that on an original board?

Sure you can. No reason you couldn't.

And yes, on these games for me, NVRam is fine.

And who has/where can I get the fixed ROM?

https://sites.google.com/site/allentownpinball/galaxy-asm/METEOR64A-74A.ZIP?attredirects=0&d=1

You can turn off the added options if you want stock gameplay, but the spinner counter is still in there.

While I think NVRAM is the best for running the alternate updated version of the code I think the question would be more toward what would be the best battery option to use so that any version (even original) will run on the board. For that I see a few options:

- Run NVRAM (limits use of original ROM's)
Great option for new code but if you want to start out with the original code or go back to original code then the NVRAM has to come out. (leave circuit as-is)

- Run the original style rechargeable battery. (not really an option and I wouldn't install one if asked...)
Just listed for completeness sake. Would leave the circuit as it.

- Use a remote AA battery pack with three AA Energizer lithium batteries. Plenty of capacity for long RAM retention.
Not a bad option but I would install a disconnect so the board could be easily removed if needed without a large battery pack dangling off. Board needs blocking diode added to prevent trying to charge the AA's.

The next two options are popular but the concern is that the MPU-200 has TWO 5101 RAM chips to twice the load. How much will that

- Use a large memory capacitor (easy to install, no other board changes needed)
A good option for some but I'm not a fan since I don't think it will hold settings and scores as long as I'd like and the extra drain with the 2nd RAM will decrease that further.

- Mount a coin cell holder for a CR2032 type battery.
I think this may be a good option since the batteries are easy to get, replace, and don't tend to leak. Have used them many times for people but just wondering on the current draw and life with two of the 5101 RAM chips. This also needs the blocking diode installed to prevent charging the coin cell. I would lean toward this option but would like to hear if anyone else is using a CR2032 on the MPU-200 and how long it lasts. If you're talking at least 6 months to a year then this would be fine.

I used Frank's Lithium Battery Board CR-2032 cell holder from TNT Amusements: https://www.tntamusementsstore.com/wptnt/product/franks-famous-battery-board/

It's extremely reasonably priced. I actually consider it free, and I paid $13 for an autographed collector card with Todd's mug on it.

Was fine for well over a year until I upgraded to the new ROMs and 7-digit displays, and now I run nvram. My entire collection is now running battery free, and Meteor was the last one to be converted.

Looks like it was coated with the old formula Varathane.

Thanks for the feedback! I have several extra coin cell battery holders and can mount one right to the board and add the blocking diode. Just was concerned about it powering the extra RAM chip but it sounds like it shouldn’t be an issue.

I soldered in a new rechargeable Li-On battery. The OG battery was actually holding up fine, but obviously it was time. What's so bad about the rechargable route?

The newer Li-On may be a lot better than the Nicad but I just don’t trust any type of soldered battery. Just fixed too many boards because of battery damage. Personal preference on my part. As long as you inspect regularly you’re probably fine.

I mainly use clear Titans now for my pins.

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Also added a couple of finishing touches to my Meteor restore from earlier this year

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Oh no! The charging circuitry on the MPU-200 is designed for a NiCad cell. You can't just directly swap in a lithium ion rechargeable unless it has integrated circuitry to protect the battery. There is a very high possibility of damaging the internal cell, and when that happens... well, it will commit an energetic suicide, potentially taking your game, collection, and home with it if it starts a fire.

Found this on a Stern Lamp driver board that just came in for Meteor. the one in my game doesn't have any mods like this nor any other lamp driver board that I've ever worked on. Going to strip this off and put it back to the way it was supposed to be and replace any bad SCR's, etc.

Have any of you seen something like this on a lamp driver board?

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That's interesting, guess I didn't think of that. Typical battery knowledge (tapping into my RC days) would agree with that..you never charge Li-On on NICD chargers.

This battery specifically listed old Stern and came recommended to me. Guess I'll go do some more research on it to make sure, then most likely remove it.

ebay.com link: itm

My game is folded up and shoved in a corner right now anyway, I'm not very happy with it right now. :/

Those early single sided Stern lamp driver boards were modified like that at the factory. I've seen a few of them.

Same as commented above by @Quench.

anyone know why?

SCR pinouts went to the wrong place.

Yikes! That is definitely a bare-bones 18500 cell with no charging or protection circuitry. They're likely buying them in bulk overseas cheap and calling it the same because, well, what the heck it has the same voltage and seems to work. And it will work until one day it decides that early retirement is in the cards!

Please take that out of your machine. Maybe even send a note to the seller you bought it from. They probably aren't aware.

I suppose it's possible that this was intended to be installed in a non-recharging setup (IE with blocking diode installed) and would probably be fine like that. Or just go remote battery (plus diode).

Of the board sets mentioned in that ad, I have to imagine few of them had rechargeable nicads in them to deal with?

oops, realized I also have the factory 6 digit fix there as well, with the clear sound nvram stuff added, if you want as bone stock as possible:
https://sites.google.com/site/allentownpinball/galaxy-asm/meteora2.zip?attredirects=0&d=1