Reserved for my next update. I want it to be at the top of the "new" page.

Looks like I had nothing to worry about.

Today was pop bumper day. Started off with new parts -- yokes, rings/rods, coil sleeves, etc.

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Before installing the rings/rods I always give them a quick polish on the buffing wheel to get a bit more reflection.

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Before securing the pop mechanisms to the playfield I positioned the spoons in their proper location -- then marked/drilled appropriate holes for their mounts as well as those for any other hardware in this area. It would be a tight fit for the drill otherwise.

Pop mechs standing at attention.

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A view of the topside utilizing Zitt 's translucent bodes and skirts.

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I think I'll tackle the microswitches next. Rather than solder them back to the harness first I think I'll secure them to the playfield then secure the wiring. More and more pieces are going back onto the playfield -- but the pile on my worktable never seems to get that much smaller!

Delivery arrived from Starship Fantasy. . . a new subway!

Wasted no time getting it installed.

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More Pictures / Progress.

Finished securing the mechanisms to the underside of the playfield in addition to all the microswitches. Pictures taken before disassembly were immensely helpful to put everything back in the right spot -- also having the original playfield nearby was an asset.

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Next step might be cleaning/installing the lamp boards and relays. The wiring harness is eagerly waiting its turn!

Progress on Earthshaker had stalled while I spent some time out West in one of my favorite places.

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Fun is over -- time to get back to work!

Cleaning the lamp boards -- can you tell which ones went thru the wash?

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Once cleaned they were installed in their proper locations on the playfield.

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Perhaps you noticed from the previous pic, but I thought now was also a good time to install the sinking building mod.

A new set of plastics from CPR has slightly a slightly different look to the "windows," but I kind of like the change. I also gave the building itself a new coat of red paint to make it pop a bit more.

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This was/is a good time to install the mod as the wiring harness would need moved/adjusted otherwise -- I'll also have to pay attention to ramp position when putting those on the topside.

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Long overdue for a thread update, eh?

I am finally far enough along on the newly created garage pinball room that I can start to think about Earthshaker again.

I started the process of securing the wiring harness to the bottom of the playfield today. It was mostly a slow and steady effort of trying to remember which wire went where. I'll definitely be needing to use my pre-removal reference pictures from here on out.

The fun part was once again embarking on my quest of more light via translucence. I will be using Zitt 's translucent lollypop targets to replace the original solid color standups.

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To remove the original targets I drilled out the securing rivets and after cleaning the switch parts I used machine screws to hold it all back together. I even added a new piece of cushion foam behind the new targets.

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Here is to hoping they will look good in the game. . . let the light shine thru!

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A rainy afternoon allowed me to solder in and secure the bottom half of the wiring harness. Somehow I'm low on certain LED bulbs -- good thing Comet is having their Black Friday Sale this week!

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With any luck I can get the other half done over the extended weekend.

A lot of these pictures look the same lately. . . but I spent some time and finally soldered in the rest of the harness today. The trickiest part was getting the pop bumper lamps correct but after studying the pre-disassembly pictures I think I have it right.

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Almost as exciting as getting the wiring harness secured was making a big move. Today I hauled the playfield from the farm workshop to the newly constructed pinball room in my garage. The room is not much when it comes to aesthetics, but its heated and should allow me to spend more time working on pinball projects. Cabinet work and painting will still take place in the workshop, but here I can finish assembly or shop a game much closer to the beer fridge!

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Having the playfield in the garage workshop is starting to pay off. I was able to dedicate a bit of time today to putting pieces back on the playfield.

Flipper bats in place.

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I temporarily put the ball guides in place and used a rather technical device for flipper alignment.

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The CPR playfield has most holes in the correct location on the playfield, but there are a couple areas that need tweaking and make me take my time to get it right. One example is some post and ball guide placements just in front of the drop target mech.

The new playfield has four rather small holes in this area.

Topside (in the white "peninsula" dropping down into the green):

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Bottom side:

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The holes are way too small for the required parts. A look at the original topside:

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Bottom side:

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To be fair, the T-nut on the bottom side looks newer than the other originals above it. Perhaps there was never one here to begin with, but I imagine this post takes quite a few hits so I went ahead and installed one there anyway. After some careful drilling I hope I have the proper parts in the correct locations.

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A couple more overall views of pieces and parts that have been installed.

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My approach involves using the pictures I took during disassembly -- I leave one picture up on the laptop at a time and install the posts/guides as I see them in the original locations. This means that I have several bags containing different types of parts spread out in front of me -- it might be more efficient to focus on just metal ball guides or just stud posts and empty the bag before moving onto the next type of part, but I'm making progress and that is what counts.

I also checked over my lamp wiring. GI bulbs are all accounted for!

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Have you ever bought parts for a future pinball project, stashed them away somewhere, and (nearly) forgot you had them?

Such is the case for a set of Cliffys I had bought some time ago for Earthshaker. Luckily I remembered last night and even luckier I was able to find them in the bottom of a parts box today. A few screws had to come out, but I had the protectors installed quickly.

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I'll admit I had to check the Passion for Pinball website to figure out where this one went. . . I tried it in all sorts of other places on the playfield before I gave in to "ask for directions."

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More of an update to come later -- many more posts and ball guides were put in place today. Getting close to bed time though with a long work day ahead tomorrow.

I'll definitely keep that in mind -- I did a couple ball roll tests and it did not seem too bad but it might play different in the game.

More pictures of this weekends progress. Most all studs, posts, ball guides, etc. are back in place.

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Somehow I am coming up one stud post short (bonus points if you can find the empty spot). I cannot remember if there was a broken one. I double checked all the parts bags and even the tumblers with no luck. A new parts order has already been placed.

Using up the contents of the parts bags is always rewarding. . . sometimes frustrating when parts seem to be missing. . . sometimes a bit worrying when extra parts are left over.

I'm happy with how the new spinner decal is looking with the rest of the game. I'm sure as more plastics, ramps, etc. are put it place the design will melt into the background.

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This is the first "modern" game I've worked on to this level and the spinner has a much tighter feel than the older Ballys and Sterns that I'm used to. I thought it did not spin as much as it rocked back and forth -- but when testing it does give a couple spins when I roll a ball thru followed by a number wobbles back and forth. I made sure to install the original switch for the spinner as the ball gates farther up the orbit used the same style switch but they seemed to have an even tighter range of travel.

Those arrow inserts are so dark I had to check and see which was Zone 2 in the photo archives.

You are quite the detective!

Right again! That ball guide is only held in by the bottom two screws at the moment. The upper portion (nearest the bumper) is out of alignment but will be put back in place by the machine screw. Strangely the original playfield and the CPR version did not have the extra hole for the wood screw that the bracket appears to be designed to utilize.

A similar situation existed for the upper orbit ball guide (above the blue bumper, left of the spinner (player's perspective) but I went ahead and drilled a new hole/used a wood screw to secure the guide. I'll probably do the same for this lower guide. . . as soon as I can find a few more screws.

I was excited to dig out another long ago purchased box of parts. I'd have you guess what is in it but the originals sitting on top sort of give it away.

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Beautiful, clear ramps from lrosent345 (Starship Fantasy).

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Test fitting the first ramp. Its so clear you can hardly tell its there. Like any aftermarket part I'm having to tweak just a couple areas for fitment, but these ramps will be a superior improvement from the broken originals I had started with.

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Working on "repopulating" the ramps now -- the brackets for the microswitches were threaded for a different screw size than the originals so I'm having to find a solution around that (short of ordering an assortment kit of tiny machine screws). More pictures of wired/decaled ramps to come.

I've not been the best picture taker over the past couple days.

I've populated the ramps and have been adding plastics/rubbers to various areas of the playfield. One of the issues I've run into with the sinking building mod is a conflict of clearance with the new toll ramp. I tried getting a pic where the corner would make contact with the ramp.

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A square file was used to notch out the ramp and a razor blade was used to clean up the edges. Smooth sinking from here on out!

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Again, not the best pictures lately, but here is a view while test fitting bits and pieces.

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I'm awaiting on a last minute Comet order for some special pop bumper lights (somehow forgot to add them to my Black Friday order!) before I can finish securing everything in place. I'm sure I can still find something to do in the meantime though.

One of today's goals was to pull the shaker motor from the cabinet. My multi-ball shakes were a bit weak and I thought it best to clean things up and install a new set of brushes.

This should have been a simple task. . . but it was not. A previous set of hands had done some work under the protective plastic cover in the past and somehow stripped the screw/allen heads (both were present) that secured the bracket to the cabinet. Once I did manage to get a bite on the fasteners I quickly learned how T-nuts are a less than ideal choice to use in particle wood.

Ultimately removal involved some vice grips, a hacksaw blade, several types of screwdrivers, a hammer, a chisel, and some bleeding.

The old brushes did not require disassembly to be removed (you can pop them out with a screwdriver) but I really wanted to give everything a good cleaning. Sadly, when I placed my PBR order I wrote (e-mail) that I wanted the Shaker Motor Brush Kit -- Quantity of One. As in one kit (of two brushes). Instead I received a quantity of one brush. The new one is has the white plastic at the bottom right.

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I might be able to get away with replacing the brush with more wear. . . but I'm sure I'll be placing another parts order soon anyway.

Another area I focused on today was the General Illumination.

Focusing on the upper half of the playfield I couldn't help but think that the area over the pop bumpers/spinner and area along the shelter scoop were dark.

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I wired in a couple of Comet's Matrix strips and fixed them to the sides of the ramps.

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Same picture as above -- The Before/Dark version:

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The after result with the Matrix strips wired in:

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I had also thought of adding in some lighting behind the overpass signs but the Matrix strips do such a good job I may not even need to! I'm very happy with the result.

Progress continues -- ramps, wireforms, plastics, etc. all in place.

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I need to double check the snugness of bolts/screws above and below the playfield. . . then I think I'll take the leap to rolling the work bench over to the cabinet and plug some harnesses in for testing. I'm really looking forward to seeing everything all lit up.

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!

Now that I go back and look at the original sales flyer, you are correct. I put the colors as they had been originally placed when I acquired the game. Someone must have swapped cap colors around at some point. I had checked the photo archives for reference. . . but the prominent pictures there show the blue cap/bumper as the most exposed/at the lower right (Where Yellow is).

I'll have to give some thought as how to handle things at this point as its not a simple as just swapping caps anymore. Where were you @jibums a couple weeks ago!

Thank you for the correct info. . . better late than never!

I've given my situation some thought. I think I've come up with a good compromise for a solution.

After giving the playfield a stare down from many different angles I've decided I like the blue bumper in its current location. If you look up the playfield from the player's perspective I think the blue bumper is a nice contrast to the red flasher lenses that your eye follows up the ramps. A red bumper cap just sort of makes it a long chain of, well, red. The blue bumper also ties well into the blue path under the spinner on the playfield.

In theory I can still get the message on the DMD to correlate -- all I have to do is swap signal wires on the legs of the blue and red bumper lamp sockets. Much easier than swapping out the entire bumper assemblies at this point, a better looking layout to my eye, and one more little custom touch that makes this game "mine."

Thanks again for pointing this out to me!

EDIT: As I'm thinking about this more, all I really have to do is swap the wires at the connector. . . even easier than desoldering/resoldering!

RE-EDIT: Don't swap wires just yet. . . keep reading.

If I am thinking correctly I there are two wires to each bumper lamp, to each bumper solenoid, and also each bumper switch. If I wanted to cheat I could simply swap one set of wires -- the ones that light the bumper. I would switch them at the connector where it plugs into the interconnect board (switch places where the blue/red "activation" wires sit on the connector). This way the correct color bumper would be lit when the DMD says it is. The opposite/unlit color bumper would still score the extra points if I don't switch the wires on the actuation switch and solenoid though.

In reality I don't know how much of a problem this would really be -- its not like the player can really aim for a specific pop bumper while playing. I'm thinking the scoring is all due to random rattling around in that area anyway.

Hmmm. I'll definitely investigate this. I'm trying to remember if those "activation wires" are doubled up under the playfield. (I know the "common" wire to all three lamps is). Each of those three wires are soldered to a small metal tab screwed to the playfield and then a resistor completes the path to the lamp socket. If they are just one part of the matrix I'll definitely have to make the switch at the lamp sockets.

I knew it could not be so simple. . . Thanks DumbAss !

Ha! This is what makes Pinside great!

I could have carried on none the wiser until my 10 year old nephew asks me why the colors are mismatched while playing. Instead I have the best and brightest helping me look like I know what I'm doing!

Pop bumper lamps have been switched. The blue/yellow and orange/black wires at the "top" are the extensions of the lamp socket legs and heat shrink was used to cover the connections.

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Today was a big step for our project -- connectors were plugged into the proper places in the cabinet and the power switch was flipped on!

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The first good sign was there was no puffs of smoke, sparks, or smell of burning electronics. GI lit up as it should and the inserts were putting on a show in attract mode. I was able to put balls in the trough and start a game.

From there it was obvious adjustments needed to be made. I actually needed to enlarge my notch slightly on the repro ramp to allow the sinking building to rise, which it now does nicely. Most switches were registering and all solenoids were firing, but several needed some investigation. I found a broken diode on one and the microswitch on the diverter mechanism was a tad too tight and sticking. The ball trough switches needed a slight reposition for proper actuation.

I'll need to do some more investigation tomorrow. My gate switch on the center (miles) ramp and the two gates around the zone 6 orbit are not registering. . . but I ran out of time for checking this evening.

My main concern at this point it actually the diagnostic mode -- I can start the process by pressing the advance switch (in the coin door) and the game proceeds to the music test but I cannot seem to advance from there. I can cycle thru all the sounds with the credit button, but nothing more. I've tried moving forward with the center button both up and down with no change. Hopefully this will be another area I can look into more tomorrow. I was hoping to use the lamp/solenoid test to check all my bulbs!

If you've read thru some of my projects you know I like taking pictures of the completed pieces as things come together. This may have been one of the reasons I ran out of time for the diagnostics.

Not the final photoshoot of course, but here are a couple of my favorites from today.

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It was a productive morning -- I was able to adjust the remaining playfield switches that were not registering and now everything is communicating.

I also decided it was time to pull the MPU and install one of the NVRAM chips I had picked up awhile back. Mrs. TractorDoc was thrilled when I took over the kitchen island as my workstation (again).

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I did my research and learned U25 was the chip that needed to be replaced. On System 11 games that chip is directly soldered to the board. I circled it in red.

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My Hakko Desoldering gun was put to good use and really did a good job of pulling the solder off the legs of the chip/board.

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I successfully removed the old chip without having to clip any of the legs. . . ready for reuse if necessary.

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I had purchased the NVRAM from Pinitech: https://www.pinitech.com/products/6116_nvram.php

They supplied an adaptor socket with the chip so of course that went in first.

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I'll admit I did have a bit of a time getting the 6116 NVRAM to fit in the provided socket -- in the end I actually had to bend the legs in slightly for it to properly fit. Hopefully I can report back with good results after a test run this afternoon!

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Reinstalled the MPU with no issues.

I also traced the unresponsive coin door test buttons to a bad connection in the connector to the MPU.

I decided it was time to move the playfield from the work bench back its proper home in the cabinet. I picked up the playfield with one hand and fed the harness in with the other . Kidding of course, but I did achieve the desired result.

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Plugged all connectors into the proper locations, flipped on the power switch, and. . . it almost looks like I know what I'm doing!

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I even played my first games on this machine in over a year. Was the time worth it? Without a doubt, Yes!

There are still several small details to button up before calling this one done and moving onto the next project, but those should not take long (provided the needed bits don't get lost in the mail!). Till then I'll work on taking more pictures. . . some of which are to follow.

Earlier this year I picked up a new macro lens for the camera. Today I used it to take some pictures of my balls.

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Of course I meant pinballs! Look close -- some of these could be considered pinball selfies.

Thank You!

That is the ultimate goal. Definitely need to do some shuffling around in the game room.

Sorted out a couple more pictures this morning of how things have come together. I just might add in a spotlight to brighten up the center playfield area.

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Still have a few more to sort thru, so expect at least one more picture filled post.

The Apron is secured and the glass has been put in place. Almost nothing to do now but play!

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And play I have. As expected this game is so much more fun with ramps you can actually flip the ball up. The visual appeal is striking as well; the new playfield is so much more vibrant and colorful than the worn original. Add in the light show and I cannot help but feel very satisfied -- even just looking at the game.

A couple thoughts before closing things out.

I like the sinking building mod. Would the game still be fun without it? Sure. You'd probably never know you were missing anything without it, but its there and does grab your attention when its moving.

Cliffys. I've had no issue with the Zone 5 kickout saucer. I have had an issue with the shelter opening though. On occasion there is just enough of a lip there to kick the ball up and cause some rejects. I'm thinking this is due to the extra thickness on the playfield due to the clear coat. Also, I've installed the Cliffy Ramp Guards and I feel it slightly narrows the center/miles ramp. I don't find that to be a bad thing as this ramp was very easy to hit even when the game was in rubbish condition. I can still hit it consistently now but I think it requires a tad better aim.

I really like the pop bumper colors as I have placed them. Thanks to proper Pinsider guidance I have them wired up to correlate with the DMD. I love the translucent bumper bodies/skirts and the pop bumper lighting discs from Comet have grown on me since I've installed them. I thought I could see too much of the white base thru the clear yellow bumper cap but it blends in when you are playing. I also think Comet's Matrix system has added much needed light to otherwise dark areas of the playfield.

I'll have to move Earthshaker next to Whirlwind soon for the proper Natural Disaster Vibe. I've picked up some of Zitt 's translucent bumper bodies/bases to install in Whirlwind. . . but that will be a project for a later date.

You can see what I've gotten myself into next in the post to follow. Have to post a couple more Earthshaker pics first though.

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