I'm in the club! Lol, I am going to pick one up that's like 400 miles away...how awesome is that! I've never played it, but I watched videos read info...looks f'ing great! I'll post pictures once I have it.
(Topic ID: 144580)
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Scorpion
Williams, 1980
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With the help of travisbmartin I was able to assemble a service manual. Here it is if someone needs it.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4eGpJj7HefwUkdVeENVSmpjcUxjQXMxWmw5MFhkaUI4WWZN
3 months later
Quoted from cmack750:Shot in the dark considering there aren't a ton of these still floating around, but does anyone happen to have a hi-res scan of the backglass? My glass is pretty poor and finding a replacement is about impossible.
I can take some pictures if that would help? Mine is a little rough, but not horrible.
Quoted from cmack750:Thanks (and also to you Aniraf). Straight pictures won't be able to be turned into a backglass, unfortunately. Too much distortion, natural light, etc. Was worth a shot at least
If you can find a way to reproduce the backglass with the mirrored effect, I would absolutely be down for one.
Quoted from WeatherbyMAG:Mine.... I wish I could find a better Backglass as well, it's not bad unlit, but it shows some spots lit. Need to find some decals for the targets.....
I love this game! I wish the parts were available :/.
Quoted from cmack750:I assume you've tried some wiggling the bulbs?
Can you elaborate? Did this just start out of the blue or when you were doing something? Is it only the GI on the backbox? Is it at all times, or when you do certain things (like hit the flippers)?
Immediate thought is that this would be something in the games power supply or the wiring to the head, since it is only affecting the backbox GI. Start by checking the fuses (maybe one that powers the lamps is just hanging on by a thread...visually inspect in addition to continuity) and replace as needed. Secondarily, check the power supply board for burnt connectors/pins (and loose wires) running to the head.
After that, you may have to pull out the big guns and test the capacitors, the bridge rectifier and take a look at that massive filter capacitor at the base of the backbox.
Good troubleshooting tutorial for system 3-7 games can be found at http://pinball.flippers.info/system6resources.asp
Excellent, I'll read through this.
I actually have the game on route and I showed up only to notice that the backbox was very dim. All of the active backbox lighting (player number, timer, tilt, etc) lights correctly, but the general lights are at about 15%. The playfield looks perfect, and there are no lighting issues anywhere else in the game. I don't know when it happened, but seeing as I'm the only person with a key, I suspect it was not caused by change.
Wiggling the bulbs or removing/replacing them doesn't do anything. 
Quoted from cmack750:Well, considering the backbox GI in scorpion is solid on all the time and I don't think there is an attract mode, that should pretty much rule out interaction with the Mpu, Driver and Sound board. Gotta be something with either wiring or the power supply chain.
I did install a pinscore scoreboard because the old one was failing. I would have assumed the drop in required wattage between the pinscore and LEDs would have helped the game :/.
Quoted from cmack750:Well... Failing components are failing components.... Once that happens, not much you can do.
I have an issue to track down on mine too with a blowing Solonoid fuse. Hopefully, I will get to it in the next couple weeks (shopping my Johnny Mnemonic is first in line). When I do, I'll look over the wiring chain to the backbox GI and might be able to point you more in the right direction.
I’d appreciate it. I’m getting a pinbot ready for the bar and I may just pull the Scorpion back to my house for a breakdown.
I’m having another problem now. The drop targets won’t reset inside of one ball. They reset after you drain, but not until then. Any ideas? I am guessing some switch is stuck?
Quoted from cmack750:..... And if you end up needing to replace any of the drop target PCBs or just want to get new ones for reliability, read this topic:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/excellent-replacement-boards-for-williams-system-3-6-drop-targets
Absolutely excellent information...and you were completely correct! I cleaned the contacts with paper and they all came back working just fine. I need to disassemble the game and do a full clean. I'm thinking of putting two other games in the bar, then bringing this one home for a through cleaning.
Thank you for the help!!
3 weeks later
How did this game not become as popular as Gorgar or
Firepower? I tend to think the game is fantastic! I like this other games too, but I am always amazed that this wasn’t a big production run.
After I swap mine out of my friends bar I think I am going to pay someone to restore the back glass. I want this game to be around forever. 
Quoted from Boatcat:In the business back in the day, "Space Invaders" and "Middle Earth," were the only wide-bodies that were successful. The rest of them kinda tanked, (on location). By the time "Scorpion" came out, ops in my area were avoiding wide-body games, ("Superman" was a mild exception). I packed it in about a month before Embryon was released so I don't know how that one did.
My take was, (on this era of wide-bodies): Too much playfield and not enough action. The ball did too much silent rolling, scoring obstacles were spread too far apart. Scorpion probably fared a little better as the playfield is actually divided into 2, keeping the ball moving and scoring.
Personally, I'd much rather keep and fix the "Scorpion" than trade it for a "Stars." I thought that game was on the lame side, (but that's me).
"Paragon" is an interesting example of a game collectors rate highly despite earning below average amounts on commercial location, (I know it's a graphic delight). Any others?
I’m no expert, but the speed of this game doesn’t feel “wide body” to me. I understand your comments, but is is a bummer that this game never got its due.
Quoted from cmack750:That's all there is to it. Since ONLY your backbox lighting is dim, but the lighting or the playfield is fine, this means your issue is really simple: the fuse is good and the 6. 3v to and through the fuse slips and lug should also be good. What is not good is somewhere in the wiring chain between the top of the solder lug and the top of the left most fuse clip.
Verify all 4 wires are soldered correctly to both the lug and fuse clip and you don't have any loose wires or cracked or cold solder joints. If all good here, you should be able to test with a multimeter between all the test points to verify you are getting the proper power through each test point: lugs/fuse clips, connector, and the chain on the light board. You have a bad/burnt/damaged connector or wire, or bad solder on the fuse lug or fuse clip somewhere in this chain. Hope that helps.
This is incredibly helpful! Thank you so much! I will get over to the bar and take a look. I am prepping a Pinbot and
Firepower to take its place for a while. Then I can bring it back to my house and deep clean it. I’ll keep you posted
.
Quoted from cmack750:No problem. If I ever make it back to Phoenix, you can pay me back with a beer in the bar you have it in
Hell yes! I love this idea.
3 weeks later
Quoted from cmack750:No problem. If I ever make it back to Phoenix, you can pay me back with a beer in the bar you have it in
So I ended up metering the whole line and every light. I didn’t find any power issue. What I did find is that when I changed the LED to a brand new LED, the new one was 10x brighter!
I’ve been buying my LEDs from Comit Pinball. Does anyone know of issues where these dim over time?
I posted about just LEDs and people said they do dim, but I think I am having some other kind of problem. Idk. I’ll keep everyone posted if I solve it.
2 months later
Quoted from RustyLizard:I now own the 2nd and 3rd Scorpion to pass through my hands. The lesser of the two current ones is missing a backglass. I would buy a backglass or sell game to someone who had one. Might also consider parting if someone wanted entire populated playfield or cabinet.
There is a guy in Phoenix who had a backglass listed really inexpensive. It didn't look like it was in great condition, but it is better than nothing for the price. I don't know what kind of expense shipping would be, but I could inquire with him if you're interested. I could pick it up and ship it. PM me if you want me to ask if it is still available.
3 months later
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:anybody got a backglass for this game?
I have a really crappy one :/. I bought it from some guy in town for $30 and it is worth about $30 . I priced the shipping at one time and it looked like it would be around $60-80. If you're interested PM me and I'll hook you up.
Could anyone give me a hint as to why my left eject hole doesn't recognize a ball? I've f'ed with the leaf switch enough to be confident that it should be working just fine. The switch seems to test completely fine with a multimeter continuity test. I need to do a solenoid test and see if that is the problem, but in lieu of being able to test it right now I thought I might just ask if someone has a tip that would help me.
Thanks!!
4 months later
4 months later
I decided to send my Scorpion backglasses to BGResto to get it perfectly restored. From what I understand, their process is amazing and should end up extremely close to the original. For fun, I have two mirrored backglasses that will be restored. One is a train wreck and has a bit of the mirrored area that will need to be replaced with a little grey, the other is in pretty nice condition and I expect will look perfect once fully restored.
The reason I am posting is two fold. 1) Once BGResto has this artwork, he should be able to reproduce it without the mirroring for a lot less money than I will be spending. 2) I will be selling the second backglass which will have 95% of the original mirroring.
I have no idea on the timeline or final cost as they just left Arizona last week, but I figured I would at very least let the fans know there should be some options in the Scorpion backglass arena soon . .
IMG_0496 (resized).jpegIMG_0495 (resized).jpegIMG_0401 (resized).jpegIMG_0400 (resized).jpeg
1 month later
Quoted from 20eyes:Joined the club recently. I spent some time this weekend with easy off oven cleaner and stripped most of the crappy black spray paint. No idea why it would have been painted black the original paint still looks really good. I still have a bit to get off around the back glass yet but my fingers are sore.
Here is a before and after.
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
Wow! Very nice.
2 weeks later
Quoted from RustyLizard:Some Scorpion porn for you. This is original. Even all the coil wrappers are all orange originals.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Looks amazing. How is the playfield?
3 months later
Quoted from cmack750:Thanks for being the community guinea pig and sending that in. Ability to get that backglass reproduced has been a long time coming.
heck yeah! I was lucky to have ones that were mirrored to start with. The one I have above is technically for sale even though I haven't created a price yet. That one is 95% mirrored with one small part which is grey because the mirror was destroyed.
3 months later
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:about 6 months too late.
Someone will need it . It is awesome. I need to not be lazy and actually list it so that people know I have it.
Here are a couple of pictures from my restoration. I had a guy in town fix paint and clear coat the playfield. The only thing left to work on is the cabinet.
0D2F10C3-A7B6-4D92-A57D-03362E34BFAA (resized).jpeg0F37FAA1-2F93-4DD8-8618-648140E2C681 (resized).jpeg 4 months later
Quoted from remyjd:Hello all. New guy. Got a scorpion I'm trying to work all kinks out on. Love seeing all the awesome different color lamps posted above.
Mine still has few issues. And I'm a noob too so. Got a weak/nonworking upper left flipper...drop targets that dont score but spinner does.. player 3 4 score doesn't light up..and sound only beeps with no cool arcade sound. But it's not bad shape.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Looks to be in great shape!
Weak flipper can be anything from dirty coil sleeves to improper gap on the end of stroke switches. I would recommend you look into some of the flipper rebuild guides on Pinside as they taught me enough to be dangerous.
The drops in this game I have had a lot of fun with…First, the wiring is constantly breaking and I need to solder it back down to the contact. Second, the drops themselves have these little contact plate boards that get dirty as hell. You may need to disassemble the whole mech and clean them with some alcohol or an eraser. Marco sells new ones if yours are really bad.
I’m not sure on the player 3 and 4 thing. You are saying the game doesn’t register the players or that the lights aren’t lighting?
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