Paragon
Bally, 1979Quoted from guitarded:Swinks makes a replacement head, now...
don't know where I'd look for the whole assembly right now, though?
Unfortunately my right flipper and left sling arm was removed. Game was too hard I guess. A lot of extra posts on the playfield as well.
Quoted from orangegsx:Unfortunately my right flipper and left sling arm was removed. Game was too hard I guess. A lot of extra posts on the playfield as well.
Last time I was able to source original NOS heads, they came from a repair Tech in BC. Had to be on page 25+ of a search for Bally parts.
My advice is to maybe start calling around to repair techs / operators who might have a stash of OEM Bally parts / castoffs?
Quoted from guitarded:Swinks makes a replacement head, now...
don't know where I'd look for the whole assembly right now, though?
Yep just got 4 of them in today. Looks like they are 3D printed and seem to work very well.
Quoted from wrd1972_PinDoc:Yep just got 4 of them in today. Looks like they are 3D printed and seem to work very well.
yes these are solid nylon laser sintered 3d printed, much stronger than home printing
here is a link to my reproduction parts via Shapeways - about 14 items down the list
https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace?q=swinksreproduction&sort=newest
hope it helps
Planetary Pinball has the head in stock for $4, I just ordered a half dozen. If you still need the pivot, PM me and let me know which side, I probably have a used one.
Quoted from Ballypalooza:What do you guys have your free games set at?
I have one set at 40 and another at 90 or so. Keepin' them credits up.
I have my Paragon set up to 3 balls, all settings conservative except for SW 24 because I dont like the Paragon saucer to scan. One extra ball can be earned per ball in play, then 25k or 50k points added afterwards for 2nd earned extra ball or special.
Tough game, but I love the challenge. I may eventually buy the weebly board so I can add the Million digit.
I have mine on 3 ball. The PARAGON scans, and the lit letter is awarded at the saucer and upon hitting an inline drop. I have the first free game at 200k and the second at 450k, which is hard enough that I need to add credits every once in a while.
My playfield is a little worn, and has cupped inserts as many machines of this era do, but I have a playfield protector that fixes that. I am a fan of pf protectors in these instances since I don’t have the skills needed to fix it any other way 
Congrats on finishing the CPR restoration- looks amazing. I'm hoping to one day (eventually) go that route for my own machine but a project of that magnitude is definitely still outside my own comfort zone/skill set.
In the meantime though, the plastic on my upper-left pop bumper split apart over the weekend. What's the best way to go about replacing? They were already a little (ok, REALLY) worn so I'm thinking a rebuild is in order. (Images attached)
I'm browsing Marco specialty now but they don't seem to offer any bumper rebuild kits- would I notice any improvement if I just replace the plastic skirt, base, and body? The caps are still fine.
They bumpers still have a strong "pop" when they are triggered too so I don't think I'd need to replace the solenoid or whatever does the actual popping, but what do you guys think is the best course of action here?
Also I have yet to lift up the playfield too so I really don't have any idea of the condition of the wiring, etc underneath...
(man I hope this doesn't end up being a can of worms...)
popz-1 (resized).jpgpopz-2 (resized).jpgQuoted from somenerd:Congrats on finishing the CPR restoration- looks amazing. I'm hoping to one day (eventually) go that route for my own machine but a project of that magnitude is definitely still outside my own comfort zone/skill set.
In the meantime though, the plastic on my upper-left pop bumper split apart over the weekend. What's the best way to go about replacing? They were already a little (ok, REALLY) worn so I'm thinking a rebuild is in order. (Images attached)
I'm browsing Marco specialty now but they don't seem to offer any bumper rebuild kits- would I notice any improvement if I just replace the plastic skirt, base, and body? The caps are still fine.
They bumpers still have a strong "pop" when they are triggered too so I don't think I'd need to replace the solenoid or whatever does the actual popping, but what do you guys think is the best course of action here?
Also I have yet to lift up the playfield too so I really don't have any idea of the condition of the wiring, etc underneath...
(man I hope this doesn't end up being a can of worms...)
[quoted image][quoted image]
Rebuilding bally ss pop bumpers was the first “serious” maintenance I ever attempted and it gave me confidence to attempt more complicated things. I followed Vid1900’s guide and everything went smoothly. It was my first attempts at desoldering and resoldering and they are still popping like mad 3 years later!
If you go that route I recommend replacing the lamp sockets with wedge-based, this will eliminate the flakiness from all the vibration they take.
I think I got my rebuild kits from Marco and it had everything that should be replaced, except the lamp sockets which you would have to add to the kit. Good luck! Paragon is a great game.
Update... I opened up my game to remove the broken bumper plastic. Unscrewed the pair of tiny screws, took out the broken chunk. Easy peasy. I then lifted the playfield to try and figure out how to go about swapping out some of the parts I'd need to access from underneath.
I didn't trust the "stand" (a long thin piece of flimsy-looking metal that came to a point and didn't appear to latch into/onto anywhere), so I just ended up sliding the playfield back into place without ever propping it up with anything but my hands for a few moments.
I put the glass back on and started a game to see if it still worked fine, and... the lower-left flipper is now unresponsive to the flipper button. The upper-left mini flipper works just fine. So now I gotta troubleshoot what I could've possibly messed up in those moments. yeeesh HERE WE GO
Quoted from somenerd:I didn't trust the "stand" (a long thin piece of flimsy-looking metal that came to a point and didn't appear to latch into/onto anywhere), so I just ended up sliding the playfield back into place without ever propping it up with anything but my hands for a few moments.
I cut two lengths of wood for propping up my Paragon PF. It's too unweildy to rely on the factory bar.
Quoted from Chosen_S:Does someone make great looking instruction cards??
Plenty in this group to choose from.
I got these from UPKICK and really like them. I also got some coin door inserts. https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1256-upkick-pinball/04020-paragon-coin-door-inserts-
Connector day... its never fun, but it always needs to be done. I repinned all 3 of the connectors on the new Bigdaddy power supply board.
I have a known working Power Supply, MPU and SDB in this machine. On my first power up it seems like everything is working except for playfield solenoids. They dont fire after the game boots and they dont fire in gameplay either...
Where would you look first?
20210322_131943 (resized).jpg20210322_131948 (resized).jpg20210322_132756 (resized).jpgQuoted from FLASHBALL:Where would you look first?
1 amp fuse on the underside of the playfield. Check this first.
Confirm all your voltages at the rectifier & driver board too.
Bally Rectifier board day. These are kind of a PITA to remove and reinstall. But I love the BigDaddy replacement as it has the voltage LEDs and also numbers on the back of the board for easy reinstalling.
This 3rd Paragon is going to be the worst of the bunch. Despite having to do all of the normal stuff to get a game working... a mouse took up residence inside it and chewed and frayed several wires inside the backbox. Mostly on the inside of the door it seems like. Not looking forward to that.
Wish me luck.
#projectPARAGON #StevensRestoration
20210323_135132 (resized).jpg20210323_140403 (resized).jpg
Screenshot_20210323-140700_Chrome (resized).jpgQuoted from Gort:I got these from UPKICK and really like them. I also got some coin door inserts. https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1256-upkick-pinball/04020-paragon-coin-door-inserts-
Thanks! We're glad you like them. We love making pins look great!
paragon1 (resized).jpegparagon2 (resized).jpgparagon3 (resized).jpgThis may be a problem with other early Ballys. But since I recently joined the club, I thought I'd ask my question here.
The first drop target in the Valley of the Demons occasionally sticks up too far and is pretty much impossible to knock down. It doesn't happen on every ball, but when it happens, I just have to focus on getting the super bonus. And then the target resets itself properly on the next ball.
Can someone help me out?
IMG_0802 (resized).jpgWorn parts on the inline target, next time it happens pull the playfield up and see if the pick arm on the drop has moved too far up in its slot.
Quoted from slochar:Worn parts on the inline target, next time it happens pull the playfield up and see if the pick arm on the drop has moved too far up in its slot.
Yeah, probably the P-7939-1 (or 7939-?) bracket is broken. It is an obsolete part, but some are being 3D printed. Others (me included) made my own out of angle steel.
https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQGC7NU2N/nut-spring-bracket-p-7939-1-left-modded
Owned a Paragon for a couple years now - my first pin. Pretty much unmolested overall, with heavy play field wear and typ cab fading. I have a CPR play field that’ll get swapped out sometime this summer once I’m done shopping the elec and mechs
Still on the fence for refinishing the cab while I have it apart. It’s the right thing to do, but unsure if it’ll add too much to the project that it’ll take a summer project into a two summer ordeal
Joining the club soon. Getting delivered this Saturday locally. Thanks Ned! Got on CPR’s list for playfield and will restore the cabinet. Playfield not horrible by any means. New Alltek board and all LEDs.
61F91F95-98A4-438F-AC3C-45ADFE8063D3 (resized).jpeg6579C2F0-1977-4630-A6AE-1885F1FB639A (resized).jpegB75492E5-2DBB-495F-866D-59D390313E5E (resized).jpegDA921F68-D052-44CF-808B-E8A59CC2E6D9 (resized).jpegE6175269-0CA2-479F-A2A6-0EB7780C3A33 (resized).jpeg18FD3BF0-3CA8-4C07-9943-996D0F661BBD (resized).jpegEC9B0B4B-7DDC-46F2-89FC-036A605BF2D1 (resized).jpegQuoted from JethroP:Yeah, probably the P-7939-1 (or 7939-?) bracket is broken. It is an obsolete part, but some are being 3D printed. Others (me included) made my own out of angle steel.
https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQGC7NU2N/nut-spring-bracket-p-7939-1-left-modded
I finally got to look at this today. I didn't see any broken bracket. I attached the picture of the bank (upside down). I hope that someone can spot a problem right away. What I did do is replace the spring on the first drop target. That seemed to fix the issue. But then the problem happened again on a good game. I racked up a decent super bonus, and the first drop target was reset too high again and wouldn't budge. Crap.
I'm kind of lost on why the bracket could be the issue, and if that could still be a factor of my problem.
IMG_0806 (resized).jpgQuoted from BallyKISS1978:Joining the club soon. Getting delivered this Saturday locally. Thanks Ned! Got on CPR’s list for playfield and will restore the cabinet. Playfield not horrible by any means. New Alltek board and all LEDs.
Congrats and nice apron cards! We have coin door inserts too.
paragon1 (resized).jpgQuoted from cadmium:Congrats and nice apron cards! We have coin door inserts too.[quoted image]
Nice!! Do you have a griffin facing the other way so they both face to the center insert?
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:Joining the club soon. Getting delivered this Saturday locally. Thanks Ned! Got on CPR’s list for playfield and will restore the cabinet. Playfield not horrible by any means. New Alltek board and all LEDs.
Congrats on the acquisition! That's a really nice-looking machine; that playfield especially. Since I've got mine I've played it damn near close to every day, and I'm still so happy to have one I can call my own. Hoping you enjoy yours just as much.
Sharing an update to my previous posts:
After one of my pop bumper plastics completely broke apart a month or two ago, I ended up calling a local tech who really fixed things up for me quite a bit (Ken at Northeast Pinball; such a great guy).
Added 4 brand new pop bumpers, upgraded the lighting to LEDs (with a couple *tasteful* color accents) and added an Alltek board, replaced the malfunctioning credits/match display with a PinScore, and got a fresh wax and new posts & rubbers. He also added a lock to the door and replaced the old and overly-sensitive flipper buttons. It's playing like a brand new machine and was definitely worth the investment. I also bought some replacement plastics on eBay and swapped out the mangled piece featuring the spear-dude on the upper-left corner.
While the playfield is still worn in spots and the backglass has unfortunately flaked a little more at the bottom, those are (relatively) minor cosmetics in the grand scheme of things. Would love to go with a CPR playfield eventually, but after dropping the coin on these upgrades that's probably a ways away.
paragon_led_full (resized).jpgparagon_led_pf1 (resized).jpgpin_group (resized).jpgQuoted from somenerd:Congrats on the acquisition! That's a really nice-looking machine; that playfield especially. Since I've got mine I've played it damn near close to every day, and I'm still so happy to have one I can call my own. Hoping you enjoy yours just as much.
Sharing an update to my previous posts:
After one of my pop bumper plastics completely broke apart a month or two ago, I ended up calling a local tech who really fixed things up for me quite a bit (Ken at Northeast Pinball; such a great guy).
Added 4 brand new pop bumpers, upgraded the lighting to LEDs (with a couple *tasteful* color accents) and added an Alltek board, replaced the malfunctioning credits/match display with a PinScore, and got a fresh wax and new posts & rubbers. He also added a lock to the door and replaced the old and overly-sensitive flipper buttons. It's playing like a brand new machine and was definitely worth the investment. I also bought some replacement plastics on eBay and swapped out the mangled piece featuring the spear-dude on the upper-left corner.
While the playfield is still worn in spots and the backglass has unfortunately flaked a little more at the bottom, those are (relatively) minor cosmetics in the grand scheme of things. Would love to go with a CPR playfield eventually, but after dropping the coin on these upgrades that's probably a ways away. [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Forget the CPR. Your playfield looks really nice. As long as it plays well Id forget about the cosmetics and just enjoy it. I know a guy with a Frontier that has a 6 or 7 inch worn circle of bare wood right in the center. He has a CPR ready to put in but cant bring himself to start because other than missing some of the artwork the game plays fantastic.
Its pinball, enjoy it.
Quoted from freejack1971:I finally got to look at this today. I didn't see any broken bracket. I attached the picture of the bank (upside down). I hope that someone can spot a problem right away. What I did do is replace the spring on the first drop target. That seemed to fix the issue. But then the problem happened again on a good game. I racked up a decent super bonus, and the first drop target was reset too high again and wouldn't budge. Crap.
I'm kind of lost on why the bracket could be the issue, and if that could still be a factor of my problem.
[quoted image]
I would turn the first three studs around... the last one looks correct.
Just finished my cpr playfield swap, every star rollover filled to the brim with clear, pop bumper yoke holes had to be drilled out-lights holes as well, paintjob seems off to the right, I will always look for a mirco over cpr from now on.
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:Nice!! Do you have a griffin facing the other way so they both face to the center insert?
They can face them anyway you want.
IMG_1505 (resized).JPGQuoted from Coolpinballdino:Anyone have a picture of this connector. I was trying to repin it, but got confused on the location of a wire. It's J3 on the driver board thanks.
34A8A179-1D2D-4F4B-9F9B-3AC8FE2A98EA (resized).jpegAlways best practice to use the manual when you can. Never know when a previous Operator did something fishy.
Here's a picture of J3 from the manual and the wire color code.
USER_SCOPED_TEMP_DATA_orca-image--936717120 (resized).jpeg
*note* pin 25 and pin 13 is the same wire and jumps from one to the other.
Quoted from FLASHBALL:Always best practice to use the manual when you can. Never know when a previous Operator did something fishy.
Here's a picture of J3 from the manual and the wire color code.
[quoted image]
*note* pin 25 and pin 13 is the same wire and jumps from one to the other.
I personally like to see what colors the wires have become on someone else's game so that I can determine whether something is supposed to be red, orange or yellow. I envy the folks with perfect color vision.
Quoted from newovad:I envy the folks with perfect color vision.
...and a clean wire harness
Quoted from emsrph:...and a clean wire harness
That first wire is “white”. No way in hell it is white even if I clean it.
Quoted from newovad:That first wire is “white”. No way in hell it is white even if I clean it.
It looks like your white has darkened a little, that's all. The wires with white (3, 10, 15, 21, 24) show the same shade of "white" by comparison. More like tan. Insulations age differently depending upon the environment where they've been.
Quoted from scruffypinball:Whaddaya reckon a nice restore paragon is going for these days with a clear coated PF?
Oddly, Paragon is the only pinball machine currently that has gone down in price. So much so, that you have to give them away. You have my address and I have your PayPal. I'll pay for shipping and you can send it my way. 
Quoted from scruffypinball:Whaddaya reckon a nice restore paragon is going for these days with a clear coated PF?
At least 3 griffins and a beard
Today I saw a post through Facebook from a guy who'd made a new processor type thing for Paragon so the game plays differently (enhanced rules) and has improved (different) sounds... does anyone know about it? I can't seem to find the Facebook thing again!!
Does the above work?
Quoted from Tuna_Delight:In the club!
Is that your actual game? Playfield looks amazing!!
Quoted from FLASHBALL:Forget the CPR. Your playfield looks really nice. As long as it plays well Id forget about the cosmetics and just enjoy it.
...
Its pinball, enjoy it.
Thanks- good perspective! I have been enjoying it, and I'll try and worry less about the cosmetics now that everything's in good working order.
Quoted from FLASHBALL:Never know when a previous Operator did something fishy.
I add an extra orange wire to J3 pin 1.
+12 volts unreg. from power supply.
Basically an extra support for J3 pin 12.
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Richmond, KY
Ottawa, ON
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