1) yes

2) a few dozen

3) ok, possible to crash if stray voltage or will that instantly take out a board ic?

5) 5v strobe #5 wiring is all stock, factory Bally harness till 12 pin connector breakout in backbox. One wire goes directly into MPU connector, other is tapped into 5v feed at MPU.

Flipper coils have been swapped out with known good units and diodes changed for good measure.

I can try if you like, but it hasn't crashed out in 48 hours.

I would say when being observed 75% of the time, the other times seem random.

I'll try and capture on video if I can.

The MPU reboots- The playfield goes dead, displays dead and you can see the MPU led go through the 7 flash boot up process. Any sound effect that gets "stuck" during the crash continues till the MPU reboots. Once rebooted it enters attract mode and usually functions fine till the next crash.

Edit: No alarm sound is made when it crashes, usually the background sound or sound effect is heard till reboot..

Nope, I'd have to wire up strobe 1 and I-7, both which do not exist at the moment..

Not a step I'd like to take yet if at all, I'd have to swap MPU's plus the playfield and wire the cabinet for strobe 5, plus no switch 21 for lane shift. I don't think the two 12 pin breakout molex connectors have the same pinout either.

I just got it to hard crash working the left flipper.

Displays dead
Soundboard stuck on background noise
LED on MPU out.

So todays adventures...

1) Relocated the switch stack for right flipper off the DE mount, it was catching on the apron time to time and causing it to not function. Not an electrical problem but mechanical.

2) While going over everything decided to bypass the TRIAC for GI. When in bypass, the lamps don't flicker a whit when flippers are worked. When hooked up they do. Hmm. Installed a different TRIAC picked up at a pinball show with a transformer, flickers less than the first one.

Grounds on the plate the TRIAC is mounted to is good, has three of them as a matter of fact right to the line filter.

3) Swapped out the solenoid expander and the aux driver board for the hell of it, no notable change.

4) The under playfield ball launch mech is a giant pain in the ass. Great when it works, not so much when it is acting up. Either a ball won't drop into the launch position and the board is too stupid to realize it or if it does will not make it all the way out the flap and roll back. On the rare off chance I catch it acting up it looks like the ball is getting spit into the "launch tube" and its bouncing back into the trough mech before another ball can takes its place.

5) Tested both tilt and slam circuit.

When ST1 and I7 are jumped it goes BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPP and reboots.
When ST1 and I6 are jumped it goes "Bad move human" and takes your ball.

Today is the first time I heard it go BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPP so I guess that answers your question Quench. Not getting a slam tilt.

Again I like this game, when its working a lot of fun and the multiball seems natural instead of "here have 6-13 balls thrown at you" for no particular reason. Having the underplayfield mech load and fire adds to the fun as you know they are coming.

When the TRIAC is bypassed, the lamps don't flicker at all. Something causing the TRIAC to not work proper? It is driven by lamp driver with a resistor on it but should be a non-issue. Plenty of people running Ballys with TRIACs and LED resistor boards and such.

Idiot proof as I can make Strobe 5. When the jumper is in place, normal operation for A4-J4-5. The outside wires connect pin 5 to A3-J4-11.

When Centaur is installed, the jumper is removed and Centaur Strobe 5 harness connector is plugged in. The center pin is 5 volts, the outer pin is the strobe return at pin 5 to MPU.

The jumper attached to harness so.it can't get lost of course.

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Current backbox picture.

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Finished side rail vs "field expedient "

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Has not crashed once today. Aside from neatening up the wiring, doing the connector mentioned above and replacing the left EOS switch nothing noteworthy done.

Parts are on the way from GPE for aux board repair along with restocking. Logic probe showed the U3 chip was disinterested in functioning.

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Played a few games this morning, no issues.

Decided to do something different tonight now that I'm at a point (can I get it working) to (refining the game) which is a good place to be.

Time to start working on the backbox lighting and the first of more than a few area dimming switches so various strips of lamps can be turned on and off depending on which backglass will be installed.

Quench called it on the display positioning! Flash Gordon and Star Trek may line up but Centaur is off a little bit. By good planning I routed out the connector openings to have enough wiggle room the displays can be adjusted as needed.

The wiring for the various controlled lamps has already been run over to the backbox board (Tilt / Tilt Warning / Match / Shoot Again / HSTD / Ball in play / Game Over) do I'll be getting them into position and the 3D printer will start churning out light shields.

Made a new rear panel for the mirror, no flashers on this one unless I can figure out a more elegant solution.

Ignore the off color playfield posts, a bunch were missing so I used what was on hand till the game is further along. Same with the drop targets, have a new set in the bag.

Did a through switch test and tweaked the #1 ball position switch, see if that has any effect on the misfiring ball loader.

Game still running fine, no reboots.

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Anyone want a Black Hole minus an MPU? I'm ready to set this one on fire.

So this morning I tried adding a Seawitch 1 ohm upper flipper resistor to the ball loading coil so see if the reduced voltage would produce a "softer hit" when loading. It did seemed to do so, but still pretty violent. I'm going to keep picking at this. It hiccups every third ball or so.

Still working perfect otherwise, no rebooting.

Tonight I'm going to mock up the light shielding so I can get the 3d printer belting out product. Toying with various connectors for the controlled lamps here to make it less cumbersome in the future.

It seems to be, though the lack of definitive cause is going to irk me for awhile.

Swapped out flipper coils, replaced flipper diodes, replaced left coil with new coil, new left EOS switch, pulled flipper wiring from main playfield harness, checked all grounds, caps on the flipper switches and EOS switches, replaced TRIAC, swapped out MPU, SDB and A2 rectifier board.

Now we're cooking! Yes it clears everything, hinged and grounded. Plenty of room for the other sound boards now.

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Printing shields tonight! Only have to make one custom one so far but I think I'll have to do another custom one for the HSTD lamp. I'll start getting these done tonight. Also going to try something different in regards to controlled lighting instead of the yoppcycles.

Still playing fine this morning.

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Anyone have the metal PCB standoffs for Bally Small Aux driver board or Cheap Squeak board? I need both.

Edit- 3d printed a set.

Red shields for Centaur.

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Good afternoons work!

1) Stripped all the Seawitch controlled Yoppcycle lamps from the backbox.

2) Located the Centaur backglass lamp locations and installed countersunk stapled in #47 sockets and wired with a quick disconnect.

The sockets actually sit below the surface slightly so I can put a raised lamp over them if need be or if they are in the right location just add to the Centaur connector. Since the credit display is in the same location for Flash Gordon/Star Trek/Centaur at least the Match and Ball in play lamps will be the same.

3) Started printing out Red lamp shields. Red goes well with Centaur and each game will be color coded to keep from mixing them up.

4) I seem to have fixed the ball loader issue, worked flawless tonight.

5) No crashes.

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3D Printer goes brrrrrrrrrr.

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Busy morning! Happens when you wake up at 3AM

1) Controlled lamps and wiring for Seawitch and Centaur is installed. Each game has its own color coded wiring for ease of repair. In this case white with a tracer for Centaur, yellow with tracer for Seawitch.

2) Most of the Centaur lightshields are in, printing the last one now.

3) You can see where two of the lamps for Seawitch are below Centaur display #4. Bulbs have to be removed for clearance when Centaur is in, the other 3 bulbs for Seawitch I just left in place.

4) Trimmed the door, looks nice and less chance of cutting through an edge.

5) Light board has a few new strips and another on/off switch.

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Pretty happy with the lighting aside from the center lower orb which is a little too bright now. I'm going to have to adjust that strip so its not so bright there.

Still working like a champ!

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Final backbox lighting and baffles, switch for turning the speaker over to Bally or Stern configuration.

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Things to do before Centaur is fully operational (rolled over)

1) Add harness and lane change switch to cabinet (DONE)
2) TRIAC for GI flashing circuit (DONE)
3) Repair TRIAC connector for Centaur harness. (DONE)
4) Install Aux Driver board, wiring for power and MPU control.(DONE)
5) Install Squawk and Talk Board, power and control lines. Modify board jumpers for EPROMS, burn and install. (DONE)
7) Speaker wiring- Different between Bally and Stern and have to figure out how to manage that smoothly, toggle switch. (DONE)
8) Extra strobe line (ST-5) for Centaur switch matrix, have to install bypass switch as line is used by SDB on some games. (DONE)
9) Clearance cabinet playfield support rails. (Maple obtained) DONE
10) Locate & install backglass controlled lamps, make light shields. (DONE)
11) Installed hinged backplain PCB board. (DONE)
12) Add lane shift switch to left flipper button, convert flipper switch stack to Bally from DE. (PASS) done 2-25-23
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More stuff to do.

6) Lower cabinet harness (slight switch strobe line difference between Stern and Bally for coin switches and tilt) toggle switch (DONE)
13) Several switches need caps and I just ran out, doh! (DONE 2-22-22)
14) Repair aux board so all lamps work (3 out) DONE 2-22-22

Parts on the way from Ed.

15) Design and 3D print brackets for small AUX board, Cheap Squeak and Star Trek sound boards. (DONE) 2-23-22

Not bad. After this weekend I should be able to do a through cleaning of the playfield with fine tuning of all the switches, replacement of some posts and other hardware like the drop targets. Starting to get the hang of the game flow and the rules, I like it. Centaur is a game that rewards the player who can make precise shots. Not sure I'm going to do anything in regards to the reverb, sounds good just as it is but may experiment down the road.

The playfield I'm going to leave for the moment. My daughter is an artist and I'm going to touch base and see if she would like to try and touch up the areas that need attention and I'll clearcoat it next winter.

Perusing the wiring schematics this morning it looks like I have to switch Strobe 0 and Strobe 1 for the chute switch and tilt mechs to work properly WITHOUT moving the credit switch.

The credit switch for both Bally and Stern stays on Strobe 0.

This should be fairly straightforward to add the flip/flop switch as long as Strobe 0 goes to the credit switch first. So some minor wiring to do as I think it actually goes to the tilt bob before going off to the credit switch and coin door. Piece of cake.

Had no slam switch hooked up for Seawitch and not going to add one for Centaur either. If it was in an arcade somewhere a different story.

Actually planned on doing so later today with the addition of the "tilt switch"

Fewer than you would think- Two in reality. One for the Strobe 0/1 and another for the speaker control. The Strobe 5 issue is handled with a connector.

The ones behind the backglass for the various light strips need no labeling. On or off to tune the lighting sources as you see fit for various backglasses.

Coin switches and mechs are present and fully wired when I built Seawitch. There is also a coin button inside the door. I wished to keep options open in case I install a stock -35 or Alltek MPU. I don't think the Alltek has free play on all titles, just some.

Lawd no! Lol

Both chutes and coin button are on the chute one line.

1) I have not ruled out reverb, just not a priority.

2) I'm on a tight timeframe and already behind a few weeks, cross that particular bridge later when required.

I have major spinal surgery coming up this spring and will be laid up a month to three months and trying to hustle along before the day of reckoning.

I'll be slamming into Quicksilver next and hope to get the Flash Gordon playfield final touch ups and clear coated done before then.

It can cure while I recuperate.

I own a race car I wired for fuel injection, I feel your pain on that.

I don't think I'll be standing much for a few weeks.

You got me thinking about that useless MPU button I installed for Sterns that Andrews MPU doesn't have traces for.

Works like a charm, first time I have heard Centaur state "energize me" when hitting the credit button so that was cool.

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Broke the shop vac out, major wiring is done!

Stubborn, been living with the pain a long time now and keeping busy keeps the mind occupied.

Can't kick the can down the road any longer though.

Pictures below? Mass in the center is my spinal cord. Bones in one of the segments is crushing it.

Make more sense to add a second test button inside the backbox next to the MPU so I can cycle through and clear with one hand. Anytime I'm using the clear audits button on the MPU its when I'm changing games so the backbox is open regardless.

Wiring the Weebly MPU doesn't help when a Bally program is running, it would ignore it.
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Got it! For some reason stuck on thinking it was software.

That is too funny, lost sight of the forest through the trees and all that.

So focused on wiring that I have never noticed the button there.

Speaking of buttons a solution presented itself while sleeping and the work is already done.

Coin 1 on Stern (I0-S0) is actually Bally Coin 3 when the Tilt and Coin switch is moved to the Bally position as the strobe line is moved from S0 to S1.

Confirmed on the coin button works like a charm.

Replaced drop targets.

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Parts have arrived! Thanks to Ed (@g-p-e) for his great service and prices.

The Aux board is fully repaired and all the caps on the stand ups and rollovers have been replaced. Nice all the lamps are working now and all the stand ups when you get a quick hit!

At this point it will be another day or two before I call it good, few more things to tidy up before then.

Up early, rearranged the backbox lighting.

3D printer going.

Discovered in a game why it's good to have lane change on both flipper buttons! When you have a ball trapped on the one flipper with the switch during multiball and you have to decide to drop the ball to take advantage of lane shift.

I'll get that taken care of tonight.

I like it! Just have to drill some holes for the nylon stand-offs and were in business. I'll print out the bracket for the -51 soundboard when I get home.

Interesting thing about printing with ABS is you have to compensate for how much it shrinks when the print cools off, about 3 mm on the long edge in this case.

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Looks sweet! Second is printing out now.

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Fooling around with backglasses.

Gordon looks good, clearly the logo is not lit because I have not installed the animated lights yet. Ming looks odd because the game over light for Centaur is on.

Trek looks decent, surprisingly considering how shot the back glass is.

Skateball surprised, I may have to install more strips to even out the bands and drop the voltage a touch.

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That covers it with some room to spare.

Weebly MPU
Bally Solenoid Driver Board
Stern Lamp Driver board
Stern SB300 sound board (Seawitch & Quicksilver)
Bally Squawk & Talk (Centaur & Flash Gordon)
Bally AS-2518-51 (Skateball & Silverball Mania)
Bally AS-2518-50 (Star Trek)
Bally small and large aux driver boards
Bally Flash Gordon strobe unit

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So as of this morning the only things I have left to do for Centaur is lane shift on left flipper button, change out some posts, a follow up cleaning and change out "Ball One" microswitch. Still running into every once in awhile a ball not loading into the launcher and the launcher will cycle three times trying to launch a ball that isn't there. Worth trying a different style switch.

Of course I have not been able to really catch it acting up when I'm watching, but on a least one or two occasions it looks like the coil didn't even fire to try and load a ball which is curious. I hooked up a flasher for several games and you could clearly tell when the load coil didn't fire followed by the launcher trying to send a ball down the rails which isn't there.

@Quench, have you ever had the chance to look at the Centaur code and what is going on in this area? What are the steps the MPU takes when loading and launching a ball? You would think that the MPU not seeing a ball launch (switch mid subway) it would try and load a ball again but it never does.

I will be looking at the Quicksilver schematics with great interest this weekend.