I would certainly be in for one as well

just have some L brackets welded to the outside. Will never break again. TZ scoop suffered from the same problem.

Find someone in your local area that does very nice TIG welding. Ask to see an example of their work. I have a guy that TIG welds all my broken ramps better than they originally were. TZ and Shadow are common for breaking. There is no need to buy new ramps when they break at the welds or cheesy bent over and spot welded tabs. On my TZ, I also had him weld a tab on the side of the scoop to back up the target that bends and causes air balls.

yea, with TZ if you get the reinforced target, it stops the edge of the scoop getting beat down.

I talked to Kerry, and he can make new ramps, but he needs 10 people in to make it worth his time.

So, if you need the ramp, shout out and i will put you down on the list.
I have also made a forum post here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/interest-list-mantis-pinball-magic-stage-ramp#post-2893697

Axl

Mine was broken as well. Also the genie scoop had one side where all the welds were broken. Broken welds are so common on machines. Stern ball trough hoods especially seem to break. Got a guy on speed dial that handles all my fixes. Not as cheap as my old one, but he does good work.

Just like the improved design one Kerry @ Mantis sells
http://www.mantisamusements.com/tz.htm

We now have 8 people on the interest list, only 2 more, and it should be a go!
we are also trying to convince Kerry to make the droptarget lift plate in stainless steel.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/interest-list-mantis-pinball-magic-stage-ramp#post-2893697

Axl

I put a call out for EOIs to the Aussie Arcade forums.

If you need someone to make the cut, I will take one also Axl.

Chris

Im in
Thanks
Magicchiz

We reached our minimum buyers of the stage ramp in 3 days!

I have talked to Kerry, and he can ship anywhere, so that is no problem.
He now needs a ramp to start making it, either a broken one, or a new one.
I live in Norway, so shipping will be expensive and take time.
If somebody else has a ramp already out, or i backup it would be greatly appreciated.
If not, i will send mine.

Axl

I sent you a PM Axl - I can help. I have a NOS ramp that can be used as a model.

Chris

Capcom was so far ahead of it's time it is not even funny anymore. You hit on some key areas where they were innovative but really, you have to read the brochure to understand how much further they were ahead of B/W/G. It is hard to believe sometimes. Other examples are:

1) Multi mpeg sound processing
2) Short circuit protection for lamps and solenoids.
3) Individual lamps. NO G.I. strings! Ever!
4) Brown Out compensation
5) Single coil part number used almost throughout
6) Open wire detection
7) Adjustable flipper power in settings
8) No ground wires on back of playfield
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=3596&picno=10751&zoom=1

Way ahead of it's time. My wife and I will never part with ours!

I have owned my PM for about a year and a half. Just love the game. I do have a little inside info about the game. I dated the girl that has her likeness on the back glass. Her name is Karen Tobin and she was the executive assistant to the president of Capcom during the pinball years. They used her face for the picture of Marta Magna. The artist did enhance the picture in other places. And a casting of her hand for the hand holding the wand. We didn't hit it off but stayed in touch. When I purchased my PM I had her come over and sign my translite. I have included a picture of her signing the translite.

20141108_202241_(resized).jpg

In addition to all the light stuff, the things that impress me are actual speaker enclosures in the backbox, a piano hinge for the speaker panel, and the battery backed SRAM for retaining settings and high scores. Unfortunately they didn't put the SRAM in a socket. Someday it will need to be replaced.

Luckily NVRAM works great

Do you mean you can just replace the SRAM with a NVRAM chip? What is the chip number?

Capcom

All Games(U14)

Use 6116/6264 specific version of anyPin NVRAM

http://lockwhenlit.com/anyPinlist.htm

I think I remember U14 IS NOT socketed so you'll have to deal with that

I run the NVRAM in my PM, works great!

Do you need to solder anything? How does this whole process work? I have a PM and would like to fit it out so I do not have to worry about this "going dead" someday issue. There are no batteries in this pin right?

Thanks.

it's not socketed, so yes you have to unsolder the old chip, put a socket in and put the NV chip in. If your not masterful at soldering, hand it over to someone who has experience.

Yep, what captain nemo said. You'll have to desolder all the legs of the original Sram chip, then solder in a new socket. With the proper tools its not a bad job, but if you're not competent at soldering, then let somebody who is handle it. You really don't want to screw that board up, as replacements are extremely hard to come by. Once you have the socket in though, its a simple matter of plug and play and never having to worry about the sram going bad!

I got an OCD and working on LED'ing my PM. Anybody have a cross reference for which magician matches up to which color in the color ball assembly?

The manual lists them in this order:

Amber
Blue
Green
Red
Yellow

But there are more magicians than colors - listed in this order.

Nostradamus
Shaman
The Great Hansen
Mr Mystique
Kenzo
Jadugar
Matra Magna

Edit: I think I figured it out - see photo

IMG_3188_(resized).jpg

don't LED it. Looks like shit.

Not if you have one of Herg's LED OCD kits!!!!!

They are a big step in the right direction, but you do still lose some of the effects. It does eliminate ghosting and if you are hard pressed to have leds in all your machines it really is the only option.

Sadly sold my pm today so no longer in the club. Gonna miss it, but it went to a good home and you guy's have a new member now.

LED's have limited amounts of fade effect they can do. I would have to see them in person, but I do not think you will get the pulsating in and out that you do with regular bulbs.

Special thanks to you and the Captain! It appears to me that this task is out of my capability. I suppose if replacement boards were readily available and reasonably priced, I might try the task. We all know that is not the case though. I will look for someone to do this for me. Say friends, how long do you think I have before my built in battery chip will go dead? I know you cannot answer exactly but in general. Do you think I have several years left or am I getting close since it is 2016 already and it is a 90's pin?

Thanks for all the help!!!!

does it have to be replaced before it fails ?

you have to have someone around you that knows how to solder and does their own board work.

I wouldn't think so.

Honestly, nobody knows for sure how long they will last. It could go another 20 years, it could die tomorrow. Really though, its not a very big concern. I don't think I have heard of any of them going bad for anybody yet. I only did mine because I was trying to track down a different problem and wanted to rule that out. It is nice knowing I won't ever have to worry about it however. If it does go dead though, I don't think it will effect you much, your scores and settings just won't save, but I could be wrong on that. I wouldn't let it worry you too much, but if you do decide to go NVram it shouldn't be hard to track down somebody to solder it for you! I would offer to do yours but I no longer have access to a desoldering gun (its on the to-buy list though) and I wouldn't want to do it any other way personally.

Hello Everyone.

Can someone suggest a replacement/mod/fix for the plunger? I am almost never able to make the full loop on PM. I can make the hat shot but 95% of the time the ball just drops off the loop onto the pf.

The other question is when hitting the center loop(?), coming around the right orbit often just dumps the ball right down the middle.

Both of these are frustrating when just trying to enjoy a game of PM.

Thoughts or suggestions, please fire away!

Dnaman,

There is some adjustment in the spiral loop. I had mine plated and if it was not in the right spot it would catch the ball if not shot hard enough. Real pain having to take off glass if that happens. So check to see how hard you have it fastened and if you can move it a little. You can always get stronger springs for the shooter rod. Go to pinball life and search shooter.
Magicchiz

also, look at your plunger. If your shooter housing isn't centered right, you won't get full impact on the ball. Also make sure the tip touches the ball. If not. bend the prongs back on the shooter shield. or take out some washers from the barrel spring. If it's not lined up. Loosen the 3 screws that hold the housing on, center it. Should hit dead center. Otherwise you will get force on the ball at an angle which puts lots of pressure and spin on it. Causing massive amounts of lost forward momentum.

Awaiting the new ramp from mantis, I need to remove my old one. How much of the other things a do I have to remove to get to it?

I am thinking, if I have to remove a lot, then I might as well do a play field top shop.

Axl

I guess that it is the same with this as most pinball machines. If you remove the plastics you will see some screws that you can use to adjust it.

Axl

Happy to say that I am now part of the club

image_(resized).jpg

Nice PM! Wecome to the club! My wife and I will never sell ours. There are 5 machines that are our core and permanent until death. This is one of them. Now if I could just knock her name down from high scores and get mine up there. [Ugh]!

Very nice! Love those instruction cards. Did they come with the machine?

Chris

Mine does this too. I was thinking of adding some sort of bumper to force the ball to the left when it comes around. Was just commenting last night about this very thing.

I had trouble with my loop because one of the welds broke and the wireform moved about 1mm to the side but it was enough to trap the ball in there. What I did to fix it since I couldn't find a replacement loop was I added a couple washers to the underside of the loop, which raised it up, giving the ball enough clearance to make it through without getting snagged. Hope this helps!

Just shop the whole thing. You have to take everything in the back off the machine to get a new ramp on...and that's the most complicated part of the tear down so you should just do it.

Thanks
Yes they were in the game already

@TheLaw thanks for the heads up, shopping it is then!

@Rapzilch i would love to have those cards, can you check with the previous owner where he got them?

Axl

Have fun
The right side of the machine isn't too bad.
The left isn't too bad other then the trunk mechanism.
The middle (pops, critics) aren't tough just make sure you notice the correct order of pieces.

The Capcom issues come in at the back of the machine with the ramps and ball guides etc. Because of the way the PF lifts up it's a little annoying to get to some areas....can be tricky.

EDIT: Whatever you do, watch yourself when it comes to the wireforms! Don't go using brasso or anything weird on them.

I want to join the Pinball Magic Club. Does anyone ever sell theirs?

I have mine up for trade right now, but I have some trade offers in the works right now. Nothing has been set in stone yet. I think I have something, but the trade has been pushed back.

Sold mine two weeks ago. It is a good game, but was time to move on. Got a good price and it stayed local so can play it down the road if I miss it.