Check the kickout end hasn't mushroomed... or is bent, thats the biggest culprit of SDTM from either eye socket or left saucer, also check if there is any slop in the kickout bushing. The next culprit is usually week kickout coil which could be power supply low voltage related, or a bad coil. If you own a Pinbot in HUO, its worth replacing the kickout arms once and then you can pretty much forget about them ever wearing out again.

I'm awful with manuals as far as part numbers go. I think I found the coils for each of these, AE-23-800-03, but the rest of the assembly I'm not sure what the appropriate part numbers are. Do you know what the other part numbers are for what you are suggesting to replace? This is my home machine so I'd rather just do it and be happy with how it plays.

Let me dig out my manual... this is the part- Can't remember if you need two lefts and a right but this is the part that wears out... the spring plate that it attaches to is A-6949-R and the mounting bracket is A-6950-R. The spring is 10-362. Check that the mounting bracket is mounted tight on the playfield, it being loose can cause your problems too. The left hand version is suffix -L

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-7471-R

Hi all, new member via acquisition!

TBH, part of a package deal.. but having this title at home, really let me enjoy the lamp effects and sound, and get a set up I am happy with.

Stunning game, part of our perma-collection now to sit next to high speed

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You have a great collection!

Ok, so...I just did a full on restoration of my PinBot - found a better-than-mine playfield on eBay a few years ago and have been working on this in fits and starts ever since. I had a nice hole in my schedule which allowed me to go all in on finally getting the playfield restored and clear coated, and getting it swapped over.

It looks and plays beautifully (will post pics); I had to do a few final things to get it 100% finished up this week, and when I started to play again...I'm having a major problem with the visor/eyeball kickouts. I installed the Cliffy protector for the spot target bank, and now it has become *really* hard to make the shots into the visor. Yes, I have leveled the target bank. I tried lowering it some, which went about like you'd expect, and then raising it again, even using a straightedge to be sure it was flush. But the ball just wants to bounce around, and if you don't hit the shot *JUST RIGHT*, no dice. This makes the game maddeningly difficult, to the point of no longer being fun. I deliberately didn't do touchups around the target bank area because I knew it would be covered, but now am kicking myself. Has anyone else encountered this issue? Did you come up with a solution?

Yeah, my solution was don't fix what ain't broke, my playfield had a factory installed mylar protector that had bubbles on the inserts but nothing lifted up around edges, and none of the bubbles had rubbed through and didn't affect ball trajectory. The under visor plastic is broken at the front corners and lifts up a little, acts like a funnel so my eye shots go in every time. No need to change anything just for a nice shiny playfield that will just go down hill from pristine. I start at "nicely broke in" and if it plays sweet, why temp fate? Loosen your front nuts on the under visor plastic until it comes up a little or shim it up, that's what I would try next.

Um, that’s completely unhelpful.

Or you could read the last 2 lines and try that... but you do you. If the cliffy is giving you airballs or lofted balls off the spot targets, remove the Cliffy, try a piece of mylar, make sure the foam is in place behind the spot targets, loosen the under visor plastic, bend the spot target bracket to give them a slight lean forwards... what else do you want me to say? Dick with it until it shoots better?

It’s possible that I tuned out right around here.

Sorry, my bad, but as a player first, collector second, I get them playing nice and stop. Yes, I have all the stuff to make mine pristine, NOS playfield, plastics, stickers, ramps, drop targets, original gas displays and extra glass envelopes for them, and have never needed them in HUO. I bought it all back when it was less rare and expensive but mostly as an insurance policy on future breakage.

Interesting post. What sort of pitch /angle are you running? wondering if too much makes the ball pop-out.. too little, and fresh flippers might have too much power?

Anything to dampen the ball hitting the back of the kickout stops?

Wondering if maybe the switch on the kickout could impact them as well somehow? anything to get the ball to sink in I suppose.. mine stick probably 80% of the time. The flipper power is somewhat subjective.. but as a baseline, if you shoot the ramp from a trapped ball on the right flipper.. would you say the ball makes it easily around? or does it sometimes not have enough power?

New to the machine.. but just spitballing ideas.

I think I’m gonna have to take some
slo-mo vids so I can really see what’s happening.
I’d be curious to hear from other members who are using that particular Cliffy.

I’m a player first, too, and have done a ton of restorations for hire at this point. Installing protectors on known wear areas just strikes me as a smart idea no matter what. But if it messes up gameplay, that’s a bad trade off. I would have done the touch ups when I was doing the rest of the paint apps if I’d heard this was a problem.
It looks really sharp, not that thats so import, but it would be a drag to have to pull it and have this nice playfield except for the crusty part around the drop bank...plus I just want to be done taking the playfield halfway apart to tinker with stuff...

Ok, are you talking a cliffy on the Visor drop bank or the spot target bank to the right? I have never seen a cliffy for the center drop bank. If your target carrier is adjusted flush with the table, this area around the drop bank does not get chipped or worn out in HUO, and the mylar doesn't even come that close to the edge to help protect it, so having a cliffy around it is way overkill. I have seen someone put a edge protector on the spot target bank edge, but again, overkill in my book, because a nice hard cc would do fine in that application, but again, mine, with no protector, has never chipped, nor has my drop bank opening. I would, in your shoes, ditch the protector, mask off the area adjacent, put on a coat of cc and rework the crunch spot, sanding it with increasing grit paper until its level and feathered...

OK NOTED.

Anybody else use the Cliffy in this spot, have a similar issue?

Is there a cliffy or any type of protection for the top of the spiral ramp? My Pinbot is in petty good shape minus the spiral ramp. After I replace it, I hope it doesnt break off again.

<<What sort of pitch /angle are you running? wondering if too much makes the ball pop-out.. too little, and fresh flippers might have too much power?>>

I have a Jackbot and that aggravating lock shot failure rate kinda sounds like Jackbot's infamous "early production lock holes" problem before they changed the Pinbot lock holes to deeper VUKs with curved backstops because the WPC flippers were too much for the saucers.

<<Ok, are you talking a cliffy on the Visor drop bank or the spot target bank to the right? I have never seen a cliffy for the center drop bank. >>

Reminds me of this Jackbot pic I found awhile back where it *looks* like a steel guard is on top of the visor bank, wondered what it was because I couldn't find any reference to such a protector nor other pics with that thing on it (?)
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Oh found a pic of a Cliffy for the visor bank, not the same thing as I saw in that pic. Just don't seem to me like that would affect your lock hole % at all unless the ball is hopping up in the air off of it like crazy.

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That’s the one. And that’s what is so baffling; it sits nice and flat just like every other Cliffy I have ever used. I did upgrade the flippers to parallel wound coils, but it isn’t my understanding that they are actually any stronger than the originals, so I’m kinda perplexed. I think I need slo-mo video to really understand why the shot is rejecting the ball most of the time.

I’d be curious to know more about what they changed on Jack-Bot - is it just the backstops?
That seems like an easy enough update.

The new spiral ramps from PPS are reinforced at the top, so they should hold up better!

Try reducing the plunger spring to medium (blue). It was the red plunger springs that caused these to break on full plunges.

Different backstops and different kicker units, which sit much farther down in the holes than Pinbot's saucers, and the holes are cut straight down instead of saucers. Major change and NOT an easy update. And people have tried every trick in the book to make their JB early prod saucers more reliable and you hear the same thing, *nothing* helps, the JB flippers are just too strong. But Pinbot doesn't get major gripes about the locks that the early prod JBs do. If slo-mo video doesn't show anything weird personally I would try the exact original coils again (since you did change them and they are in fact different) or just crank the game up some more if you can get away with it as per making the ramp.

As far as Cliffy's go almost all of them go around saucers or in troughs and stuff like that where they aren't going to cause problems, not right in the line of fire like that Pinbot target bank protector. But I dunno, seems like it would need to be really affecting the ball badly to cause your problem. Then again I can't see them actually being sold anywhere, not even listed on Cliffy's site other than pics from when they were developed so maybe there was a problem (?)

If my own experience is any evidence, the holes around drop banks never chip or wear that much. I think a thin spring-steel cap, ala Monster bash's Franks drop bank would work better than a cliffy type protector, but the big problem is the drop bank can move while the ball is in play and the visor is slower at going up and down which would lead to bent edges because the target carrier edge can get hammered and broken when players shoot the bank as its coming up. This is why having a spare target carrier is always a good idea. However, to help with the original problem, the rejects from the eye saucers, I would try bending the the back guide stops UP so they kill ball velocity and reduce the downward force that they generate when closer to 45 degrees. I found the balls tend to rebound off the bottom of the saucer and pop back out, but there is a sweet spot where they kinda just hit and fall in. At this point I might try adjusting the stainless guides, giving them a slight more curve than just following the artwork curve. Moving the end closest to the saucer back just a little bit can help too. I kept a hotter coil on the right flipper but put a weaker coil on the left. I can make all my shots off the left and the right can nail the ramp, I did this to limit a little damage that the left flipper can cause since it has no ramp shot to worry about making.

---a thin spring-steel cap, ala Monster bash's Franks drop bank would work better than a cliffy type protector, but the big problem is the drop bank can move while the ball is in play and the visor is slower at going up and down which would lead to bent edges---

Yeah like that grainy pic I posted above with what looks like a steel 'cap' that somebody added to a JB. Must've been a one-off homemade deal? And I also thought, great except you gotta drill into the bank and it's going to get bashed when it's hit while the visor is going up or down. But it's probably spring steel too and attached at the rear so it can probably flex up or down quite a bit unless the ball hit it dead-bang centered. I wonder how the smaller one in Monster Bash holds up.

On the early prod JB lock backstop plates I still think that if rather than goofing with the existing ones, if somebody really bore down and experimented and totally redesigned the suckers somehow, to have angled sides and maybe a little bit of a 'roof' over the back half of the saucer where the ball just barely fits under it to make it hard for the ball to bounce up and pop back out, like an open sided box... or make them more like a cupped shape, or a triangular shape, whatever, something... they would be reliable. Just a ball hitting a thing and making it stay in a saucer, don't seem like rocket science.

I know, but sometimes, no amount of dicking with something will conjure it into existence, i.e. my skill shot 100k hole... I have done everything to try and get that to be consistent, at least so it's a little repeatable, I tried different stack-ups on the vortex cover, different spiral ramps, adjusting the plunger placement on the ball, tried different plungers adjusting the plunger lane gate, adjusting the side rubbers, new plunger tips, adjusting the oneway wire gate on the spiral ramp, adjusting the placement of the ramp on the playfield shifting it left right back forth... nothing has made it stable... it either screams to the top or barely clears the 5k hole, or totally rejects the ball, it hits the 100k hole one out of 5 attempts, sometimes not 1 in 20, meaning hitting it for the million seems like is a one in a billion odds shot...

I had a little trouble with eye socket rejects but adjusting the switch wire, so it barely needs to move to register a ball in the socket, plus adjusting the back stops made it go away.

Soo frustrated today trying to get a project pinbot.. TLDR: "free" listing turned into "offer me more than $3500!"

A lady near me listed two machines free: just pick up! There was no description,no info on if they work, and no photos other than the side cabinets (other machine is Fire!). They are both dusty and neglected..and being used as storage (things stacked on top!) in a basement or garage.

I wrote to her immediately last night and she said they were available! Of course she went quiet as I'm waiting for her address, then she says someone is picking it up and an hour later they're marked as sold. Ugh..

Fast forward to this morning and they're relisted again! She stopped replying to me, but when my Dad inquired to figure out what the deal is she told him "someone's car broke down" and that the other person is offering to pay.

We said we'd be willing to pay, and she tells us she has "3 offers of $3500+". She's gotta be kidding right? 1750 each with no info on either? I'm so frustrated, oh well.

I inspected these arms today and they seem intact and not mushroomed. The brackets are tight to the playfield and the springs are there. I added a drop of lubricant on the pins (saw that in the manual) for these ejectors and leaned on two of them that were not centered well in the socket. After that I sat and tossed balls in there with the solenoid test on repeat.

So far this seems ok, now I need to play some games.

I seen this ad posted on one of the for sale groups. Its really frustrating when someone jumps in offering money or MORE money because they werent there first.

I get it... its a free market... but dang its annoying.

Offer 2500/each if you can pick right away. Then ghost her.

Good morning ....Anyone have any leads on where someone could find the pinbot decals? Many thanks in advance.

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If you are looking to repair the playfield, Outside Edge has hardtop overlays for Pinbot.
http://www.outsideedgeproducts.com/store/p75/Pinball_Playfield_Hardtop.html

Classic Playfield Reproductions (CPR) is reproducing the full playfield as well, although it is currently backordered.

I think this is what you want: http://www.outsideedgeproducts.com/store/p75/Pinball_Playfield_Hardtop.html

Could someone please send a photo at the high definition of the shoot again With radar .....I try to reproduce it......grazie mille

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I hope this helps.

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I don’t know what pleases me more, seeing pics of a well loved/played examples or fully restored.
Love this game.

Sometimes I enjoy this game, sometimes I hate it. I was looking for a Bride of Pinbot, but impulse bought Pinbot with it as a package deal from a guy who had both and was local,

Get the new PEMBOT code for the game. It is pure Pinbot but better. I've have my Pinbot over 25 years and it is just a really good game. Love the music on it and the High score theme is just the best. BOP is awesome too.

I’ve had this so long, I forget where I got it.
It’s not a translite - it’s a paper poster (about 21” x 28.5”)
Looked around for one to get an idea on the history/value.
I haven’t seen other posters that are just like translites.
Any help on history or value is appreciated.3B190C5E-89DD-4F2E-A97B-92EE4B6DCDE6 (resized).jpeg

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This is Pinball promo poster from Williams, it was kind of Pinbot-centric, it showcased Python's artwork, I have never seen another Backbox artwork poster for any other title. I have 2 of these, one I got at 2000 Pin Expo from the last time Williams had a small unofficial table there, they were giving away left over office swag from the closed down pinball line. They had promo plastics and key fobs, coasters, etc.. I asked the nice lady minding the booth if they had any Pinbot swag and she said "I will have to check" and the next day she had set aside a poster and some patches stickers, along with the literal actual jewel of my swag collection, a Bride of Pinbot Lexan Diamond plate promo paperweight, complete with original box and paper wrapper. The second copy of the poster I bought for $25 bucks about 3 years ago, This was to be a gift, but the recipient already had a copy, so I kept it. If anyone wants it, its available, however it's not pristine, it has been rolled up for 35 years and has thumb tack holes in the corners where it was originally hung up on the owners shop wall (a local retired operator here in Phoenix).

As I continue working with my Pinbot, I'm down to a couple of issues that I'm not sure are normal so I figured I would just ask...

1) The ramp occasionally twitches up/down (but never stays in the wrong position for more than a moment). I've noticed that it sometimes correlates to when the pop bumpers under the mini-playfield activate, but I have seen it do it when the ball is just rolling on the field.

2) After shooting a ball onto the lift ramp when it exits the ramp onto the mini-playfield, pretty frequently (perhaps 20% of the time) it exits the top left of the ramp and drops onto the visor (the yellow line in the image shows the path that it takes).

Thanks!

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If this bothers you (20% of the time) you can pfutz with the blue ramp a little to correct it... my blue ramp actually has a little left twist to it at the end so the ball heads more to the right of where yours hits that first post and so doesn't go the route you have highlighted... if I remember right there is a mounting point on the outside of the ramp, but the inside mount point is further back. Thats the reason my ramp end would not line up horizontal to the mini pinfield, it twists up (left side a little higher than right). I could take the twist out by heating up the ramp, but it didn't affect gameplay so I just left it the way it came.

I’ve never had that happen is there a stand off missing or rubber on wrong post? Is the machine level?

Yes the machine is level and I can't find any stands missing. This is a brand new set of plastics including the CPR mini playfield (https://classicplayfields.com/shop/pinball-miscellaneous/pinbotmini/). There seems to be plenty of space for the ball to go between the top left post and the spiral ramp.

This also happens occasionally on mine. I assumed it was normal behavior.

Same here. Although I tweaked the blue ramp just a bit. Mine was happening more like 80% of the time. Tweaking the ramp helped alot. It happens only about 5% of the time now.

Dang, my Jack*Bot has never done that once and I've had it for many years and it's got the stronger WPC flippers on it. I've never noticed there was enough room for a ball to fit thru that corner gap until I went and looked at it just now.

My restored Pinbot

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I have a bunch of used plastics if anyone needs one that i have. I don't have all of them but i do have quite a few. Not really looking to make anything on them. Just want to help someone if they are in need.

No idea of the value but I'd love one for my gameroom wall

I need this large blue one that's always broken, although I wouldnt be surprised if thats why you have the set though.

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