Hesston, KS
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm at a loss for being a noob. Thanks!
(Topic ID: 70838)
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Pinbot
Williams, 1986
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Well I made the 12 hr journey to pick up my $300 Pinbot project and join the club. The good:
Playfield looks great with mylar that looks to be factory.
Backglass looks excellent
Appears complete and I have not spotted any broken or missing plastics.
Original topper (not in pic to fit in my jeep).
The Bad:
Battery damage to the board as suspected.
No coin door as an op removed when it was purchased about 30 yrs ago.
Cracked piece on the spiral ramp.
20180901_192728 (resized).jpg20180901_193146 (resized).jpg20180901_193416 (resized).jpg20180901_193425 (resized).jpg20180901_193430 (resized).jpg20180901_193441 (resized).jpg20180901_193745 (resized).jpg20180901_194326 (resized).jpg20180901_194527 (resized).jpgQuoted from Tomass:looks great with mylar
Nice score!
Quoted from Tomass:Well I made the 12 hr journey to pick up my $300 Pinbot project and join the club. The good:
Playfield looks great with mylar that looks to be factory.
Backglass looks excellent
Appears complete and I have not spotted any broken or missing plastics.
Original topper (not in pic to fit in my jeep).
The Bad:
Battery damage to the board as suspected.
No coin door as an op removed when it was purchased about 30 yrs ago.
Cracked piece on the spiral ramp.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Looks like a fun project! Welcome to the club.
Quoted from Tomass:Well I made the 12 hr journey to pick up my $300 Pinbot project and join the club. The good:
Playfield looks great with mylar that looks to be factory.
Backglass looks excellent
Appears complete and I have not spotted any broken or missing plastics.
Original topper (not in pic to fit in my jeep).
The Bad:
Battery damage to the board as suspected.
No coin door as an op removed when it was purchased about 30 yrs ago.
Cracked piece on the spiral ramp.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
300 bucks is a nice score. It's a shame the op didn't leave the coindoor and remove the batteries.
Quoted from jibmums:300 bucks is a nice score. It's a shame the op didn't leave the coindoor and remove the batteries.
Haha! Yeah for real. I will need to replace that door. It had plexi but I ripped it off and handed it to her. Wondering if that board is worth saving or not. Gonna try I imagine.
Montreal, QC
Quoted from Tomass:Haha! Yeah for real. I will need to replace that door. It had plexi but I ripped it off and handed it to her. Wondering if that board is worth saving or not. Gonna try I imagine.
Totally worth saving that board. I've fixed worse. I would use the small side cutters to just clip all the leads on the two PIS chips then carefully warm each pin to pull out and then use the desoldering station to clean out the holes. Neutralize the alkali damage then some work with to clean off the old solder, etc. Repair any traces and put in a couple sockets for the PIA's.
You did well on that machine. Some touch ups and coin door should fix the cabinet. That playfield will clean up, and you'll have fun with it. My Pinbot was my first machine and I've had it for about 19 years. No plans on parting with it.
Nice looking machine. I think it was well worth the long trip. All parts, with maybe the exception of the red ramp, are obtainable. (If you find a source for a red ramp with the decals, let me know. Mine is broken at the same spot.)
Quoted from Billc479:Nice looking machine. I think it was well worth the long trip. All parts, with maybe the exception of the red ramp, are obtainable. (If you find a source for a red ramp with the decals, let me know. Mine is broken at the same spot.)
If you can't find the red one there are some black ones floating around for the Jackbot that will work and don't look bad on the machine.
Quoted from Billc479:Nice looking machine. I think it was well worth the long trip. All parts, with maybe the exception of the red ramp, are obtainable. (If you find a source for a red ramp with the decals, let me know. Mine is broken at the same spot.)
I see a repro on ebay for 99 right now. I am tapped with all my cash going to a moose hunt coming up. Only 1 available.
Quoted from Robotworkshop:Totally worth saving that board. I've fixed worse. I would use the small side cutters to just clip all the leads on the two PIS chips then carefully warm each pin to pull out and then use the desoldering station to clean out the holes. Neutralize the alkali damage then some work with to clean off the old solder, etc. Repair any traces and put in a couple sockets for the PIA's.
You did well on that machine. Some touch ups and coin door should fix the cabinet. That playfield will clean up, and you'll have fun with it. My Pinbot was my first machine and I've had it for about 19 years. No plans on parting with it.
I am gonna do a resto on this, along with my Comet and my Cyclone this winter (ak has very long winters). Will it hurt if I let it sit for a few months? Can it get worse with batteries removed? If so I will do the board work now and then leave it till I start.
Quoted from Tomass:I am gonna do a resto on this, along with my Comet and my Cyclone this winter (ak has very long winters). Will it hurt if I let it sit for a few months? Can it get worse with batteries removed? If so I will do the board work now and then leave it till I start.
Personally I would remove the batteries and the battery holders and scrub the board down with a vinegar/water (50/50) solution to minimize any further damage. I usually finish up with an alcohol rinse then blow dry with compressed air.
Quoted from Freeplay40:Personally I would remove the batteries and the battery holders and scrub the board down with a vinegar/water (50/50) solution to minimize any further damage. I usually finish up with an alcohol rinse then blow dry with compressed air.
Thanks. The holder is already cut off. I will pull the board and clean it up like you suggest. Maybe pull the corroded components while I am at it.
Quoted from Tomass:Should I replace all the components where the white appears on the back of this board? Some look good from the top.
[quoted image][quoted image]
I would just clean that area up with water/vinegar.
Could also do Cliffy’s fix for the broken top bit on the red ramp. Mine’s broken at the same place, I’m temped to try this:
Quoted from Freeplay40:I would just clean that area up with water/vinegar.
Wouldn't the guy repairing it want it uncleaned to better see what needs repairing?
Quoted from MustangPaul:Wouldn't the guy repairing it want it uncleaned to better see what needs repairing?
It's ok, I am doing the repairs.
Quoted from Freeplay40:I would just clean that area up with water/vinegar.
Problem is you can't easily clean under the IC and see what damage is there. The PIA chips aren't that expensive and if you want to ensure you deal with all the battery damage it is easier to cut off those chips, clean, put in sockets and new chips. I'd rather sacrifice an easy to source chip than damage the board. If you couldn't get the chips I'd understand but I'd rather ensure I get it done the first time. I've found lots of crud under chips I've taken off before.
Quoted from MustangPaul:Wouldn't the guy repairing it want it uncleaned to better see what needs repairing?
My point was just to stop further corrosion until it can be repaired.
Quoted from Robotworkshop:Problem is you can't easily clean under the IC and see what damage is there. The PIA chips aren't that expensive and if you want to ensure you deal with all the battery damage it is easier to cut off those chips, clean, put in sockets and new chips. I'd rather sacrifice an easy to source chip than damage the board. If you couldn't get the chips I'd understand but I'd rather ensure I get it done the first time. I've found lots of crud under chips I've taken off before.
Totally agree.
Quoted from Robotworkshop:Problem is you can't easily clean under the IC and see what damage is there. The PIA chips aren't that expensive and if you want to ensure you deal with all the battery damage it is easier to cut off those chips, clean, put in sockets and new chips. I'd rather sacrifice an easy to source chip than damage the board. If you couldn't get the chips I'd understand but I'd rather ensure I get it done the first time. I've found lots of crud under chips I've taken off before.
Would you pull more than this off? Freeplay40 was giving advice on how to hold it off a few months and about the white residue on the back.
20180902_160426 (resized).jpgI'd go a little further and heat and remove all the chip legs and suck out the solder....OK...really I'd probably keep going and get the new sockets in!
Quoted from Freeplay40:I'd go a little further and heat and remove all the chip legs and suck out the solder....OK...really I'd probably keep going and get the new sockets in!
Ok. I will clean it up tomorrow and see what it looks like with the solder removed.
Quoted from Tomass:Ok. I will clean it up tomorrow and see what it looks like with the solder removed.
You will find that 1J-8 header pins will be corroded under the white plastic.
Quoted from Tomass:Ok. I will clean it up tomorrow and see what it looks like with the solder removed.
Remove the pins and as much of the solder first. You may need to add fresh solder in order to remove each pin. Then use a de soldering tool to clean out the solder. Sometimes I've had to use a small exacto to carefully scrape off some of the pads. A fiberglass pen also helps clean things up.
Mn had one of the first test pinbots on location in 1986. The game had a womans voice that said "you got lucky" when the solar value ramp was hit.
In 1998 or so I ran into this same game and the operator made a copy of the extra sound chip for me to put in my game prior to selling in our store.It seems this phrase was on one chip on the sound board.
In production the chip was not used to save costs thus the quote was not in production games.
Simply adding the eeprom enabled the extra quote which was cool. If i ever run into the game again i will get a copy to post here.
Quoted from GRUMPY:You will find that 1J-8 header pins will be corroded under the white plastic.
Gotcha! I will pull that too and see what it looks like. Thanks for all the advice everyone!
Quoted from pinballplusMN:Mn had one of the first test pinbots on location in 1986. The game had a womans voice that said "you got lucky" when the solar value ramp was hit.
In 1998 or so I ran into this same game and the operator made a copy of the extra sound chip for me to put in my game prior to selling in our store.It seems this phrase was on one chip on the sound board.
In production the chip was not used to save costs thus the quote was not in production games.
Simply adding the eeprom enabled the extra quote which was cool. If i ever run into the game again i will get a copy to post here.
Neat! I never knew that about Pinbot.
Quoted from pinballplusMN:Mn had one of the first test pinbots on location in 1986. The game had a womans voice that said "you got lucky" when the solar value ramp was hit.
In 1998 or so I ran into this same game and the operator made a copy of the extra sound chip for me to put in my game prior to selling in our store.It seems this phrase was on one chip on the sound board.
In production the chip was not used to save costs thus the quote was not in production games.
Simply adding the eeprom enabled the extra quote which was cool. If i ever run into the game again i will get a copy to post here.
I'm surprised no one has discovered and posted that ROM image before. As I recall there are normally 5 ROM images for Pinbot. One is U4 for the sound card, two are the game ROM's (U26, U27), and two on the CPU for sound (U21, U22). In the latest L-5 set the image for U22 is corrupt but someone posted the correct U22 image separately.
I did just look at all the images posted on the IPDB.ORG site and in the L-5 set there is an additional U19 ROM image for the sound board. It isn't on my machine and I wonder if that is the mystery ROM with that other quote. I think I may have tried it once when troubleshooting that corrupt U22 image for missing sounds. It didn't do anything but I may have never hit that solar ramp. I'm going to have to burn one of those and try it my machine.
That will be awesome if it works and will add to the game. Now I know what to try and test for. If it works it will explain what that U19 image is for.
I just looked at that image for (32K) U19 image and only the first 2K is used. The rest is all 0's. That could be enough for one quick phrase.
Quoted from PM_Jeremy:Neat! I never knew that about Pinbot.
Certainly someone here has a sample game with that eeprom ... anyone out there?
Quoted from Tomass:So I will be needing a coin door at some point. What is the proper door for a Pinbot?
Pinbot had wico coin doors for some reason, while its neighboring system 11 titles had coinco doors. 
Quoted from gutz:Pinbot had wico coin doors for some reason, while its neighboring system 11 titles had coinco doors.
Seen 'em both ways. That Wico door is kind of ugly with the protruding coin entry bezels, but the stamped Coinco door isn't much better looking.
I used one off a later System 11 game (or was it an early WPC?) with the Williams W between the coin slots. 
Richard
I'm still looking for a good pair of the plastic .25 coin mechs and the two plastic retainers that hold them onto the Wico coin door. Think those are the last pieces I need to finish my game.
Launceston
Quoted from mrWol64:Plz post some pics when done so some extreme jealously from Qld can flow toward Tas
I finally got round to installing my Britecaps today, happy with the result, the bulbs in the pops were very dim before. I have set these at about half maximum brightness and they are still perhaps a little too bright, but whatever I'm enjoying them They light underneath the bumper also which is great for this dark area of Pin-Bot.
I have them set so that the middle flashes when they are activated which is a subtle but cool feature.
I was ready to change out the lamp holders to #555s but it seems old mate I bought if off already did that so they were plug and play, cheers, welcome surprise.
They raise the caps a bit so I had to stick small washers under the upper playfield hold down screws.
My pics don't do them justice they look better in the flesh, motivated my gameplay, first ball I got what must be a record for me 9 Solar Value shots 
Next up will be the Pinduino ramp chaser leds that a mate is helping me build from the kit.
20180906_105728 (resized).jpg20180906_174131 (resized).jpg20180906_174140 (resized).jpg20180906_174225 (resized).jpg20180906_175943 (resized).jpgQuoted from Rat:I finally got round to installing my Britecaps today, happy with the result, the bulbs in the pops were very dim before. I have set these at about half maximum brightness and they are still perhaps a little too bright, but whatever I'm enjoying them They light underneath the bumper also which is great for this dark area of Pin-Bot.
I have them set so that the middle flashes when they are activated which is a subtle but cool feature.
I was ready to change out the lamp holders to #555s but it seems old mate I bought if off already did that so they were plug and play, cheers, welcome surprise.
They raise the caps a bit so I had to stick small washers under the upper playfield hold down screws.
My pics don't do them justice they look better in the flesh, motivated my gameplay, first ball I got what must be a record for me 9 Solar Value shots
Next up will be the Pinduino ramp chaser leds that a mate is helping me build from the kit. [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I can’t claim 9 solar values ,.. BUT, recently and finally, I managed to get a solar value and all planets and the special on ball #1,.. I am still making my way after 2 years of battling those drains, with my mediocre pinball skills. Unhappily I am still yet to roll the score over 9,999,999 ,.. been close
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