NBA Fastbreak
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Quoted from KozMckPinball:Brand new maple plywood bottom cab for my restore project, fully trimmed NBA Fastbreak manufactured by Paul Maletich At VirtuaPin....
https://virtuapin.net/
Paul does a fantastic job. He's got a very busy shop, well worth the wait.
[quoted image]Added 97 days ago: Paul did not make the decals.
Paul and VirtuaPin are great. I have purchased some parts from him for my vpin cab. Good stuff.
So happy to say that I just joined the club. Not only the NBAFB club but the pinball machine club in general. I have always loved pinball and play quite often at the local brewery. My project before getting a real machine was building a virtual cab. Everyone warned me that as soon as I finished that project that I would end up with a real machine and they were right.
Anyway I'm having one issue with my machine that I haven't found an answer for in this thread. My million dollar shot doesn't work. At startup I have two errors saying to check the right outlane switch and the right loop return switch. When I test these switches individually they report as working. When the third ball drains in the right outlane million dollar shot doesn't activate. The game just ends. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Quoted from FlippyD:Sounds like a flaky switch. Could be a few things:
1. Switch itself is just unreliable and needs to be replaced
2. Diode on the switch is unreliable and needs to be replaced
3. Some wiring connecting to the switch is flaky and you need to reflow solder there
4. The wiring or a connector is flaky, a visual inspection usually can rule this out, sometimes the IDC connections need to be pushed back in.
Take the glass off and manually test the switch with your finger, see it working in the switch matrix, then start a new game and push the switch. It should make the sound effect for a drained ball.
If you can get the switch to trigger the ball drain sound effect, then drain another and try to see if Million Dollar shot will trigger on ball three.
I've had switches that can be made to work manually, but after sitting a while the switch itself stops clicking. My suspicion is it might be a similar issue and the solution is to replace the switch.
So I checked the above. It seems to be something with the wire that sticks up through the playfield (not sure what the real name of that piece is). With my finger I can always get it register in the matrix and play the drain ball sound or kick off Million Dollar Shot. If I roll the ball down the outlane it doesn't seem to register. Seems like I could bend that wire to make it more sensitive but that's probably not right solution.
Quoted from FlippyD:Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
That would be called "adjusting the switch". Follow your intuition here because it is on the right track!
If you over adjust it the balls might have trouble rolling over it and a slow one could get stuck. So be gradual with your tweaking and you can always go the opposite direction if you over do it.
An amazing amount of pinball repair work boils down to making very subtle adjustments to pieces of metal. Often 1mm or less can be the difference between something working just right, or not working at all.
LOL. Awesome. I'll follow my intuition.
Thank you!
Quoted from rockwell:Hey FB'ers! Question...I am trying to replace (well, add for the first time, I suppose...mine has been missing since I got it) the little guide bracket that holds the blue bumper bit by Crazy Bob's. I ordered a new bracket from Marco, but hell if I can figure out how to align it and make it work. Nothing looked right. Here's a couple pictures of what I've tried. Anyone have a decent image of that piece that might shed some light on it for me? Thanks in advance!
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
My machine is missing the blue rubber and bracket as well. Does anyone have the links for the metal bracket? I can't find it on Marcos or on pinball spare parts. The blue rubber is currently unavailable at Marcos but I'm on the notify list. In the meantime I stuck some 1/4" self adhesive foam to the inside of the ball guide.
Thanks!
Question about multiball modes and the number of balls. Currently on my machine all multiball modes are three balls. When I play the Fastbreak at the brewery Shoot Around multiball is two balls.
How many balls should each of the four multiball modes have?
My machine is currently throwing a Switch 34, Trough Ball 3 error. I wondering if that is screwing up the ball count.
Thanks!
-J
IMG_1298 (resized).jpegQuoted from SimplePin:My machine is currently throwing a Switch 34, Trough Ball 3 error. I wondering if that is screwing up the ball count.
After checking the manual it reads that Shoot Around multiball is a two ball mode. The switch 34 error was causing the "problem" Now that I have fixed that error my Shoot Around is now two balls. There goes all of my high scores. They are all invalid as they were all made with three ball Shoot Around.
-J
Does anyone have any experience with these two reproductions or this company? I would love to replace both of these in my backbox.
Thanks!
https://www.pinball.center/en/shop/pinball-parts-by-game/nba-fastbreak/9058/translite-for-nba-fastbreak
https://www.pinball.center/en/shop/pinball-parts/playfield-parts/insert-decals-overlays/9082/backbox-decal-for-nba-fastbreak
Quoted from Zitt:Correct. Next group buy is at the end of the year:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinballcenter-parts-needed/page/4#post-6563469
PM sent.
Quoted from dscapo:Has anyone had an issue with the ball getting stuck under the net, resting against the switch? It seems that so much momentum is lost going through the net that the ball doesn’t have the velocity to make the switch.
Is your Defender mech working as intended? Is the Defender blocker the ball?
Quoted from dscapo:I believe it’s working correctly. Often the defender isn’t directly in front of the net but the ball still hangs up on the switch.
Just took a closer look at mine. So you think the switch below the basket is holding the ball? Have you checked the wire form of the switch with your finger? Is it stiff? Sounds strange to me that the switch could hold the ball. Let us know.
Quoted from dscapo:It may just need the wire form adjusted so it doesn’t sit so high out of the playfield. Just was curious if this was a problem with anyone else’s machines.
Sounds like the right plan. Here are some pics of my switch if they are useful.
IMG_0470 (resized).jpegIMG_0471 (resized).jpegIMG_0472 (resized).jpegQuoted from Jimmylad:Hi, my Fastbreak doesn’t give me a multi ball on Shoot around multi ball only one ball even though it launches into the mode. It does however pay three ball in Around the world multi ball.
Is this normal or an issue I’ve never owned or played one before and my tec is unfamiliar with the game as well. He seems to think it might be a cpu type fault or perhaps a game code problem.
I’ve done the usual things like have the boards tested and repaired as well as replaced ball trough Opto s. Have hit a brick wall on this one and hoped that I could check in with other game owners to figure out.
[quoted image]
I recently had issues with Shoot Around Multi Ball but it was the opposite of your problem. It was giving me three balls instead of two. My issue was that my receiver and transmitter boards on the ball trough were misaligned. Are you having any switch errors there? Do you have enough balls installed? LOL. Should be four. Sorry this is not really helpful just sharing my recent experience.
Quoted from Jimmylad:It plays three balls in around the world multi ball and only one in shoot around multi ball. Is three correct for around the world multi ball or should it be 4. It has 4 installed. No switch errors being reported….
Three balls for Around the World and two balls for Shoot Around is the correct number of balls.
Quoted from DK:So there is a list of the answers for the NBA trivia is on the bottom of this site:
http://pinball.org/rules/nbafastbreak.html
I swear i've ran across a question or two that i've never seen on this list. Is there a more complete, comprehensive list somewhere online?
Once you've played it as many times as I have you'll just remember them! 
Quoted from AFM95:I ended replacing the batteries, which reset the high scores and cleared out other items such as the time/date. I was able to get a high score with the Pistons with one ring after that.
I was surprised that did the trick, since it was holding other high scores, and recording new ones, just not for the Pistons.
Thanks for the help Santis.
Wasn't there a rumored "easter egg" that prevented the Pistons from getting three rings? Some kind of Chicago/Detroit rivalry or some such?
Quoted from Spacemanratso09:This is a great game wow
Very well done
Yours looks to be in very good shape. I haven't seen that clean of a back box since the 90's! Enjoy.
That diverter when down sends the ball into the pop bumpers. When up (buzzing sound) it lets the ball enter the orbit.
I'm having an issue with the strength and/or consistency of the shoot 1 and shoot 2 units. The passes in shoot 2 don't ever make it left or right but it makes the basket every time. Shoot 1 can pass (gravity assist) but it rarely makes the shot. This is a new problem since I repaired my game by replacing both the Power driver board (original is going out for repair) and the CPU board (original was majorly corroded and flakey).
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Center ramp shot shouldn't be too hard to make. At least strength of shot wise. You do have to make a clean shot though.
Quoted from ThatGuyBo:No setting for that but definitely consider rebuilding the flippers. Makes a world of difference!
Absolutely a world of difference. I second this suggestion. I did this recently on my NGG that was starting to feel weak. Major improvement. Here's the kit that I used from Marcos.
Just wondering where people generally have their outlane posts set. I haven't touched my since I got my game but they are all the way at the top. I'd like to move them to the "factory" location whatever that is. Does anyone have any idea where the factory set those posts originally? I've been putting some time into getting my first ring and I don't want it to be harder than intended.
Thanks.
Quoted from JMWRainwater:Any leads on the left ramp divertor (#04-10725)? I've welded mine back, but on route it breaks every few months. Would love to see these re-run.
-JR
Found one in Germany.
https://shop.multiball.de/produkt/diverter-blade-nba-fastbreak/
Quoted from jcar302:Few more things to resolve before my pin is 100%.
Maybe you guys know the answers to.
F6 upper flipper but. Error?
Manaul says f6 is unsused in switches.
Game seems to play right.
Also think I have a bad diode somewhere, possibly related? When you hit either of the lower 2 pop bumpers or sometimes the left loop it triggers the upper flipper. I changed the diodes on the upper flipper and I don't see any on the other coils. Are they on the boards?
Thanks,
Joe
Upper flipper?
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:Asking for a friend.
Need colour files for a pin2dmd screen.
I reached out to “president” on vpin site but no response.
Any ideas?
Just a thought but could they potentially be extracted from the ColorDMD files? Someone with Unix or Software Engineering skills should be able to in theory.
Quoted from PSUTownie:Just picked up a nice NBA Fastbreak from a shuttered bar in PA. It’s been sitting for years, but fired right up. A quick question that I can’t seem to find an answer to:
My back box clear cover is plexiglass. The trim is damaged, and the lower lift channel missing, so I ordered new, but before I replace I wanted to know if the plexiglass was factory on this title, or if mine is an operator fix to a broken factory glass (actual glass).
Thanks!
[quoted image]
Should be glass. Enjoy the game!
Quoted from punkin:I know bars don't look their best in daylight, but that's a fuckin dingy bar for a first world country.
LOL. That's a pretty common bar scene in many parts of the US. Can't trust Hollywood and travel brochures to paint a true picture of this country
Quoted from BradLinden:Need a couple owners to do me a tiny favor!
When you turn your game on, does the GI in the slingshots and inlanes immediately turn on (before the game boots or any other GI turns on)? Mine is doing this and I wanted to see if this is normal or a sign of an electrical issue somewhere. Thanks!
Mine seems to be booting the same.
Quoted from DumbAss:WPC has 5 controlled (dimmable) GI strings.
In WPC-89 all 5 of them are under software control.
In WPC-95 (this game is WPC-95) only 3 of them are under software control. The other 2 are always on.In WPC-95 the always on strings are the GRN/WHT-GRN and VIO/WHT-VIO strings. They usually go to the backbox with the other 3 strings going to the playfield.
In the past it was not uncommon for operators (or home hobbyists) to modify the GI connections due to burned connectors to get things working. Things to check:Check your transformer secondary connection at J103.
Check your GI outputs from the power board at J105/J106.
Verify the wire colors to the GI that you expect to be software controlled but is not. If they are GRN or VIO strings they will come on when the machine is powered on.If you are unsure then post images of the area in question.
Does this mean mine is not working as intended?
Quoted from BradLinden:No, I think ours are both working correctly.
My buddy has one on route at the local brewery. I'll power cycle it this afternoon when I'm there to confirm the same behavior. But I agree. I think we are good.
Quoted from chriz99:got my second NBA fastbreak today, ready for some cool link games [quoted image]
My buddy has two NBAFB's in storage at his place. Doesn't currently have room for them. I have one NBAFB and all the space in the world. If I can only convince him to "store" one of his other machines at my place! I've never experienced the linked mode. Would love to check it out at some point. Maybe down the road I'll pick up a second.
Quoted from Boat:It’s got the switch. When you press the button it will shoot the ball, just won’t pass left.
I'm having deja vu! Is it blowing fuses? Did you short the transistor to the ground braid to validate the coil and wiring?
Quoted from ZedMcGlunk:Anyone know were I can get a defender A-21392 assembly? Marco shows out of stock discontinued
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-21392
Do you need the whole thing or just the plastic? I see a lot of NBAFB's out there with the mech but missing the plastic. I got mine from ebay. Dude is in Russia. Works just fine as a replacement.
Quoted from ZedMcGlunk:Thanks - yeah I just need the plastic actually. I’ll check out the eBay one
Just in case...
Quoted from Okey:Just to give an update, I reached out and they aren't going to have time until August. I'm gonna follow-up then about sending my diverter out.
Patience in pinball!
Wondering if anyone has done anything particular with Comet LED's when LED'ing their machine. Meaning color matching to inserts etc. Just used one of their kits to do my WCS and I am super impressed with results. Sadly Comet doesn't have a kit for Fastbreak. They have a worksheet and tips for making your own but before I do that I was hoping someone else already had and perhaps even saved the bulb list. My Fastbreak is looking tired and dingy sitting next to WCS.
71427083436__DD16C861-891D-49FA-A1CE-73E3750BA020 (resized).jpeg71427094904__43171331-28DD-410A-8C46-8E7F79570FAB (resized).jpegQuoted from localVariable:I did my FB a little while ago and think it came out nice (did try to color-match), but I don't think I still have the full list around for what I did. I didn't really do anything special outside of following along with the worksheet, except that I did order one of the LED inserts for the pop bumper instead of having the LED stick out the top.
[quoted image]
That looks great. Thanks for sharing.
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:Is this it?
No. It's this.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/23-6766
Last time I ordered one the holes were correct but it was slightly to tall for my game. Shaved a bit off the bottom until it fit. You'll also need the plate and screw that holds it on.
Quoted from SimplePin:No. It's this.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/23-6766
Last time I ordered one the holes were correct but it was slightly to tall for my game. Shaved a bit off the bottom until it fit. You'll also need the plate and screw that holds it on.
This.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/04-10253
Which was also too tall for my game. Had to dremel some of the metal away. Maybe my games ball guide was installed to low at the factory. Who knows. Be prepared to modify both parts. You'll also need to the tiny black metal screw. These parts are all in the manual. Or mine anyway.
Quoted from punkin:We had a new GC and MVP score set during comp yesti by Shaun. He had a great game and scored 312
[quoted image]
How many rings?
Quoted from punkin:I don't know? How do i find that out? I did see a graphic with a ring on it. He had round the world twice, i only caught the end of the game, last 5 mins.
There will be a ring icon next to the team high score and mvp score. One icon per ring. To get more than one ring you have to complete everything again. I've only ever gotten one ring and it took two years of owning my game before I was able to do it.
Quoted from punkin:There's one ring then.
He was allowed to play extra balls which is banned in comp, after he agreed that his first ball score of 142 would be his final score for the purposes of comp.
It was fun to watch, he was well tuned in.
Watched my TD make wizard and GC on Cirquis Voltaire before comp too.
I find that I have to be really tuned in to get anywhere with Fastbreak. If I approach it with a casual game in mind I never make it far. My first pin. Love it.
Quoted from AFM95:I remember a few days after buying NBAFB as my first pin and Midnight Madness came on. I thought my game broke for a moment and I was so mad! What a fun mode!
Now that I’m older, I changed the time in NBAFB to hit midnight at 8pm. I’m too old to stay up that late.
Same, my "midnight" is 9PM.
Quoted from AlexRogan84:Question about the pop bumpers: My lower left one with the red cap works fine and the light in it comes on and off as a flasher when it gets hit. The lower right one has no light in it by design. The upper one has a light but no cap. The manual calls for a 906 bulb in this popper, which is a flasher bulb. My game currently looks to just have a regular wedge base incandescent in it and this bulb is always on (like any GI bulb would normally stay on all the time).
Is that right? This always on bulb in the upper popper? Should it only come on when the popper is hit? Or always on like most other popper bulbs?
Mine has always had the standard wedge bulb and is always on with the GI. My manual doesn't specify a bulb for this location and is not listed as a flasher on page 2-40 of my manual. FWIW.
Quoted from AlexRogan84:I'm probably trying to give the original manual too much credit for being correct.
I also have two slightly different versions of the manual, both downloaded as PDF's from ipdb.org.
On page 2-22 for the jet bumper assemblies, it lists the three pop bumpers, with the top one having the details spelled out and then the next two only noting what is different. The top list is pretty clearly the lower left one with the red cap and dome. #7 on that parts list is a 555 bulb yet on page 2-40 for the solenoids/flashers, it shows #18 for that bulb as a 906.
The second pop bumper just shows the four things not used, which includes the cap and the bulb socket and bulb.
The third shows the cap missing but includes the bulb socket and then also lists a 906 bulb. Yet none is shown on that 2-40 page in either version of the manual I have.
I had honestly been looking closer at those jet bumper assembly parts lists because I am going to replace the chipped skirts (wafers) and wanted to see what colours they came with originally. And that changed from manual to manual too it seems. In one version it is white for the lower left and the lower right, while the upper one got purple. And then in the second version of the manual it lists all three skirts as being red. Go figure! lol
I am going to put a red skirt in the lower left one and purple in the other two as that seems to look good from the pics I've seen. I don't see mention anywhere of the red skirt needing to be trimmed, but it sure looks like it has to be. Fun fun. Maybe the technical writing department back in the day didn't get the budget they needed.
I love it! The upper right bulb should be a GI bulb wedge. I also just replaced all of my wafers. All three were chipped. My game has a red (modified) skirt for lower left and white for the other two. Though purple could be cool for the upper right. I guess it depends if you want it to blend in or stand out.
IMG_2239 (resized).jpegIMG_2249 (resized).jpegQuoted from AlexRogan84:Those are great pictures. I hadn't realized how good the access to the pop bumpers was with only that right ramp removed. I'm still acquiring a few more parts before tearing it down to do rubber rings and whatnot.
I saw pics of someone with an orange skirt there too and that also looked good.
Another question, maybe another one reading too much into specifics... in the NBAFB manual, they call out the fuses as being "time delay". Is this just another name for the slow blow ones used in most other pinball machines? They got different part numbers so wasn't sure and figured I would ask.
Right ramp and center ramp are easy to remove. Go ahead and take them both off when you do the work. You can get a good cleaning while you are at it. Slow blow and time delay are the same thing. The hardest (time consuming, not really hard) is dealing with the bulb sockets. You will have to loosen the staples under the playfield. I just cut my old sockets out after loosening the staples. No way the originals were going back in cleanly. Easier to just replace and bend the new metal "wires" to mimic the original and slide them under the staples.
Quoted from jcar302:The real good new is that i found all my missing tools that left in there last time i had it open.
I love it when that happens. Found my favorite spring loaded needle nose the other day.
Quoted from DK:You can get really dorky about it and tilt when the trivia comes up to eliminate that point lol
My 49 was my first attempt. I’m going to mess around with it more in the near future
I'm in too. Sounds fun.
Quoted from AlexRogan84:I'm tearing my game down for the first time to do a cleaning and whatnot.
Noticed my game has a double rubber ring on this spot above the pop bumpers. The manual only shows one and the photos online here have a mix of games with only one and some with two. Which is it supposed to be? Any reason why some games went with a double ring here?
[quoted image]
My game came with one ring. There were a few NBAFB's on location near that had two so when I replaced rings I did two. Two years later when I LED'd it I realized that two rings blocks most of the light unless you go clear or remove one. I don't really think it affects gameplay either way. The next time I remove anything from that section I am going back to one ring for more light.
Quoted from AlexRogan84:ColorDMD is better in every category except price.
Actually, it’s a taller unit too and I’m not sure how well that would fit under the Fastbreak backbox insert game. Seems like it would make an already challenging translite to get out even more difficult.
The fastbreak backbox tub is the same size as any other wpc95 tub. The "backbox game" just adds a flipper mech to the depth on the back of the tub and doesn't interfere with anything. Either LCD or LED ColorDMD would be fine. Agree on better in every category statement. So true.
Quoted from marioparty34:Hey NBA Fans,
I came across a problem I cannot solve. So I have 2 NBA FBs linked up. I decided to do a quick shop job on them both this weekend. After which, I played a few games on each.
I noticed that it takes a different number of Jet Bumper hits to activate the Power Point modes for each pin. For example, one of them only needs 20 to start Hook Shot, while the other one takes 40 bumper hits. So I went into their respective menus to see if I could set them on the same. Easiest thing to do was set them both on Easy Preset and see what happens. But even after both were set on the same preset, the number of bumper hits were still different.
I looked at the manual and here is what it says:
"ln order to compensate for game-to-game variation in Jet Bumper response, the award levels are based on a percentage of the average number of Jet Bumper hits made per game played. The minimum average number of Jet Bumper hits is five. The first Power Points award is always given at 1% of the average number of Jet Bumper hits per game. All Power Points awards following the first are based on a percentage of the average number of Jet Bumper hits per game and the difficulty adjustment. The start of Power Hoops modes are based on a percentage of the average number of Jet Bumper hits per game and the difficulty adjustment. "
So does this mean if I have longer games on one of them (and hence more pop bumper hits) it will take longer to move through the Power Point modes? I feel like I should have the ability to adjust it. I have no idea how this will affect head 2 head game play.
I did consider doing a factory reset to bring the number back down to 5, but then I would lose all my rings/scores. Plus eventually it will get to the same point as it is now as I tend to favor one of them more than the other.
Any advice?
Just a thought but if I'm reading that right, the "variation in Jet Bumper resposne" jumps out at me. Since you have two games I would expect the games to be out of sync if (probably) even one of the pop switches was less sensitive than the other game. Maybe pull the glass on both games and roll a ball around in the pops and compare the reaction. Another thing, are all of the wafers not chipped? A chipped wafer can reduce switch sensitivity. Again just a thought.
Quoted from Okey:I figured I'd just give an update that I finally was able to ship out my ramp diverter to Mantis Amusements last week and they are currently working on getting the dimensions so we'll have some reproductions available since those seem to be pretty much unavailable anywhere.
Take one for the team. Much appreciated.
Quoted from allsportdvd:Just finished reading the kineticist NBAFB tutorial and have a question
In trophy Multiball I was under the opinion that only the centre ramp scores baskets but the tutorial states any shot to a basket so does that mean the left ramp is open for baskets?
I have rings on half of the teams. My impression is that it's only the center shot. Meaning I've only noticed the center shot to actually score and result in a callout. The pace is so frenetic during trophy multiball that I'm only focused on making the center shot. I have a buddy coming over tonight for some pinball. I'll go for trophy multiball and have him pay attention to see if other ramp shots score.
Quoted from Nintegageo:Hey guys, seems I may be joining the club next wk. It'll be joining WCS, NGG and CP. Do you guys find it similar to any of these, or ya think it gonna complement them well?
I have NBAFB, WCS and NGG and have played CP extensively. I don't think they play similarly at all. I guess the the only thing similar is the Sports theme.
Quoted from allsportdvd:Around the world Multiball works though as does the pops Multiball. Plus, where is the magnet in this game that would magnetise balls? I generally find on games with magnets that it’s not a Multiball problem but any kind of ball lunch
Quoted from Leonardogit:How many balls are released in Around the World Multiball on your machine?
There is a magnet on the front of the basket, it is very discreet
That magnet is used to feed the ball back into the pops from the upper shooter area. Pretty neat to watch the game pass the ball over to the magnet and then release it into the pops. Clever.
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West Chicago, IL