What size is recommended for pinball parts?

If you are going the Harbor Freight route, I would get the bigger one. The 5lb one isn;t good for fitting bigger parts like drop target housing pieces, it will end up ripping a hole in the side

I wonder has anyone used this one? This is kind of the shape of the one I use now and is a decent size. Of course you have to do multiple loads, you can probabl;y fit everything at once in a 18lbs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MYGLJC/ref=twister_B07YXCFMB2

Yea. I always hated the skirt going below the playfield when the ball pushed on the skirt
and the body would move from the jostling of the action.

ive had my eye on this one
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/3162?gclid=CjwKCAiAvonyBRB7EiwAadauqQbaL39hcVKc7me76JPFX-pNgM0RGeCBESKnK6SCnqe0vlXxt7ndLBoC4xgQAvD_BwE

I have the one you linked too. A tad bigger than the harbor freight one, shaped a little different, a whole hell of a lot quieter, works pretty good at least for the couple batches of small stuff I've run through it since it replaced my dead HF one.

I haven't shown pictures of this gem in a while. Was thinking about this tonight. I got this field from Pacak along with NOS glass for 9ball and NOS Stargazer glass. Original Nineball NOS field from Stern. I did this swap about 17 years ago. I honestly think everyone should own a Nineball. Get you some!!! I also attached a photo of the man himself. Steve Kirk....

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That looks like something I may be able to whip up no problem. The only problem is I sold my Lectronamo, so I've got nothing to measure off of.

If you could whip up a quick cocktail napkin sketch for me I can start working on a 3D model and make up some test samples.

-Hans

Replaced a bunch of lamp sockets yesterday.

That didn’t fix the problem though. Because Freefall has speech, the IDC cable between the speech and lamp driver boards was the culprit. I repinned it with crimp connectors.
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People are starting to realize how good this game is.

Some of my GI LED bulbs on Stars would flicker and go on/off as the ball bounced around so I started replacing sockets also. Turns out that all the old LED bulbs just suck and flicker madly when I tap on them, even in a new socket. It was the old LED bulbs, not the sockets in my case.

Basically it is a copy of any Bally/old Stern/CCDI wood playfield pop bumper holes
---- ( on top side ).
The trick is the bottom side, that has to fit the metal base plate and have the counter holes
---- for the bushings and screws that protrude through the metal base plate.
Finale adjustment would be the round outside Dia. of the spacer/filler and the thickness
---- of the spacer base piece... ( deferent playfield thicknesses ).
It would be interesting if someone has the time to produce the pop bumper mod and
test it on a Stern/Game Plan pinball.

Can anyone help find the correct wire colors for the Viper lamps?
The manual on the ipdb does not have the schematic.
The information I do have is from the German manual.
The colors I used for the Tech Chart are based upon the use of wires in other games.
This seems a bit like standard wires, but there are differences from time to time.
I would like to get things right.

With my next website update, all the Stern Electronics games will have a Tech Chart available.
Please help me to help others....

Peter
http://www.inkochnito.nl
viper (resized).png

I have a viper. You want me to manually check each lamp and log the colors?

If you have the manual maybe you can send me an image of the lamps page.
Then I will do the checking myself.

Here's the drops I did for my Lightning. It's the only classic Stern I've restored and it came out better than I expected.

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Had to do a design modification on the ball walker in Freefall last night.

Due to buggy code, a switch bounce on the up kicker will cause the game to release a ball from the walker prematurely. The game loses track of the 2nd ball and will not play correctly for the remainder of the game.

In my case, I was on 3rd ball and I had a switch bounce on the final up kick to start multiball. It didn’t start multiball like it was supposed to, but instead released two balls in single ball play. After a short time one ball landed back in the up kicker which started multiball, but there were only two balls to release. I can’t remember what happened after that other than one or two balls ended up back in the up kicker and the last ball drained to end the game. The ball walker moved the balls once, which it shouldn’t do, but I didn’t think much about it. A few minutes later I smelled burning related to the ball walker coil being locked on.

This prompted me to re-engineer the ball walker with an EOS system, similar to what I did for Centaur. Here is the original mech and the damage (prior) to the plastic above it:

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Step 1: McGyver a switch mounting bracket from an old coil stop that lost its plug. Position it, drill it and mount it. There is a plastic spacer behind the plunger link that will serve as the switch actuator.

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Step 2: Ty-wrap a spare flipper coil to the side of the nearby drop target bank. The hold winding of the coil will be wired in series with the ball walker coil to reduce the current draw after the solenoid pulls in.

Step 3: Move the yellow coil power wires to the hold coil, then wire in the EOS switch (blue wires) and tie the hold coil to the ball walker coil (grey wire). As wired, the EOS switch shorts across the hold coil and takes it out of circuit as long as the EOS switch is closed. This allows full power to the ball walker coil so it can pull in when activated. Once the ball walker pulls in, the EOS switch opens and adds 350 ohms from the hold coil to the circuit, which drops the current from about 1.5 amps to 0.15 amps. At this rate of current it can stay locked on all day and it won’t damage anything.

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Bill is free fall's walker coil a continuous coil? It shouldn't be possible for it to lock on otherwise, at least from a software perspective.

No, it works like F2K’s ball walker, but for whatever reason it energized after the game was over and stayed that way.

I’m going to dial in the up kicker switch a little better, but I can’t trust it to make it through the weekend at TPF.

I kind of had the same problem... The gate coil would fry at any time...
Finally the walker coil fried....
The culprit is a flaky CA3081.

Yes, it is on the continues solenoids line of Q17.

Man, I completely forgot before I sold my Lectronamo, that I wanted to see if my switch matrix testers would work. Has anybody ever tried making a harness for them?

-Hans

I made a harness and homemade switch matrix board using a proto PCB (I don’t recommend doing that, better to design and have someone else fab.)

Swap done. It’ll be setup at The Sanctum very soon.

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@Whridlsoncestood. Nice!

Nice to see Freefall get some discussion around here. I used to have problems with the ball Walker on mine. Balls would jump over it and all sorts of shit. What worked for me, was super cleaning the switch and adjusting it very close. My Feeefall has spent several months on location since and hasn't had a single problem with the ball walker. Hope this helps

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Not sure why that picture is there... but it kinda fits

Anyone here need a stargazer playfield and Backglass? I’m staring at my pile of playfield swaps I need to do and looking at my stargazer and it’s really not bad at all. It’ll be a long before I get to it. Hate letting shit collect dust.

Looking for a 4, 5, or even 6 drop target centering plate as shown in the photo below. I have a 4-bank that is missing it, but could trim down a 5 or 6 if necessary. Hit me up!
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Here's what it looks like on a 3-bank:IMG_3613 (resized).jpg

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Gott_Lieb Can You help him out?

Hey guys! Just bought my second solid state, Harlem Globetrotters. Is this the right club to ask questions about stuff with it? Flippers kits, wiring, drop targets mechs that need tweaking?!?

Only asking as this game hasn't been linked is all!

not really it's a bally , not sure if there is a bally thread

Haha...oh yeah!! lol

Well, this is a classic Stern thread. But the innards are all almost the same and they use the same boards. A drop target assembly is a drop target assembly with minor differences. The flipper assemblies are different. GI lights and feature lights are all the same. Replacement score displays are the same. Both use the same coils.

Harlem Globetrotters is a righteous pin. Beyond that..........You could lie about and say you have a Meteor and few would know the difference.

Nope. too-many-pins needed this bracket for a 4-bank the other week, and I couldn't help him out.

Jim

You have 3 options.

1) Get a piece of thin-wall angle iron. With a cutoff wheel and a drill you can make your own.

2) Got a local sheet metal shop and have them bend you and angle that they, or you, can cut and drill.

3) make 3 small U-shaped brackets and tap in some threads. In a pinch, you could probably make three u-shaped brackets from a soup can and bolt them in with some machine screws.

4) You could even use a piece of hardwood. If you have some wood left over from the rails you made, you could cut 3 pieces to size and lock them in with wood screws or sheet metal screws.

Lots of ways to skin this cat until you manage to find the right part. It is not a high stress point.

Rad! Thanks for the help @cottonm4. Looks like the piece I need is IB-616-4, but probably impossible to find. Any chance you have a pic or 2 of how to make something out of option #3? Sounds like the easiest route.

@gott_lieb, you don't have a 5 or 6 bank one do you? That 4-bank one that too-many-pins was looking for was probably for me! ;P

I made a 5-bank into a 4-bank to show someone else how to do it. I am left one five-bank left and cannot let it go.

For option #3, do this:

1) Remove your drop targets and put some masking tape on the surface where the bracket you do not have would go. Reinstall your targets. Get a good quality fine point pen and trace some nice tight lines down each side of target shanks. Remove the drop targets, again. Measure between those lines you marked. This is going to be close to the width you need to make your parts.

All you are doing is making something to set between the targets so they do not fall out of line when they drop. if you have some double back tape that would be great. Remove two drop targets leaving one installed. Take some of your oak strip you have left over, put on some double back tape and place that strip of wood up next to the drop target shank. Leave your self about .004 of clearance. Some automotive feelers gauges would be nice. Press on the double back tape. Take your drill and drill a hole from the other side and screw the wood down snug. Match up the the other line you drew; make a mark; remove your piece of wood and trim the other side to allow the 2nd drop target to be installed. You need to take your time here; this is close tolerance work. If you leave that wood too loose between the drop targets then the will fall to the side when they drop and will not line up and then will not be able to raise. if you like the way the wood performs, then drill a 2nd hole and install a 2nd screw so there is no chance the wood will pivot on you.

It does not have to be wood but wood is so easy to work with without needing a lot of tools.

If you need to talk a little more, send me a PM.

We probably have a 5 or 6, but it's attached to a complete bank. I wouldn't want to rob a bank just for that piece. You could always get two 3's and cut them. 3's are a lot more prevalent.

Got a 3?

Working on Seawitch installing new flipper kit everything is new.

Where does plastic washer in picture go?
It came in kit from pinballlife.
Guessing it goes on flipper shaft???
This is my first classic stern

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Flipper shaft & above bushing

Great thanks

Damn ! Who countersunk that hole? It looks a little deep.

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Adding post to this thread (from Quicksilver members thread) for more potential eyes.

I’m half way through my full restoration and need to order my last (hopefully) batch of spare parts. I’m struggling to find the part numbers however. Can anyone help?

Flipper Cabinet Switches
Flipper Bats
Flipper bushings
Coil Sleeves - How do you determine? (no listing online anywhere for these)
Correct plunger spring (internal and external)
The long thin (carriage) bolt at the front of the side rails (pretty sure used for earthing)

Is there a better resource than the manual for parts as it’s pretty light on. Thanks

Look thru these.

Since you are in Australia, I am trying to keep it to one suppler for you. But Marko is out of stock on some flipper bats and some of the cab flipper switches.

Here is what they have

1)coil sleeves. https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-7066

2) flipper bushings. https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/4A-111-W-2

3) Barrel spring. https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/266-5010-00. (This is the barrel spring you want. Trust me)
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some flipper bats to choose from. Some are out of stock. If you need some help figuring these out we will all help you.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=flipper+bat
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Interanal shooter springs are here. They have all sorts of different tensions. Questions? Ask.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=spring
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Best I can do for you right now. Pinball Life and PBR will probably have some of what you need, but not all of what you need.

Thanks Cotton xo (from a socially acceptable couple of metres away). Appreciate your wealth of knowledge.

Which is the correct shooter rod for these? I didn't know they made a shorter barrel spring, thanks for that one.

I cannot answer the shooter rod question (I guess I'll need to measure them ), but I had bought some barrel springs form PBR. They were a little longer, about 1.10 inches long and I was having trouble making the shot on one of my pins. So, I found these barrel springs that measure .90 inch long and put them on all my Sterns.

Hey folks, anyone have a couple used Stern flipper buttons? The white ones (off white or cream at this point in their old age). I have a game that came with one correct and one replacement gottlieb button, so I wanna replace the gottlieb with the correct button.

Thanks,
RC