Very interested in this. I am trying to design my Early Bally SS test rig. I've seen may variations on this but always looking for more ideas.

I mostly work on old WMS solid state machines, sys 3 to 7 and these are pretty useful.

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The pen has two leds back to back in parallel, useful for probing cpu and driver board logic level. The led bar graph is used for;

solenoid outputs: plug onto driver board 2J9, 2J11 or 2J12 clip lead to 5V +ve on board - used to test driver board out
spec sol inputs: plug onto 2P13 with gender changer, clip lead to 5V +ve on board - used to test pf switch inputs
switch col drive: plug onto 2J2, clip lead to +ve on board - used to test switch col outputs
switch row returns: plug onto 2P3 with gender changer, clip lead to +ve on board and can test pf switch row returns

You can find out a fair bit with just these simple bits built for a few $.

Here's my wpc test fixture and instructions to build one of your own via the link.

http://pinballrehab.com/1-articles/solid-state-repair/board-rework-test/243-building-a-wpc-test-fixture

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Easier to just link the video.

-Hans

This is for Bally -17/-35. But i also have similar rigs for Wms sys3-7, WPC, system11/DE, Gtb system3, Gtb system1, Gtb system80, and for some reason, Game Plan.

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Now THAT is what I am talking about!

How do you store all of those?

Fixed your question...

I wish I had the space for that kinda setup

I wish I understood 10% of what these guys know.

Ditto

There are six stored in the pic below, and the Bally -17/-35 stays out, as does the system80 rig.

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Sys 3-7

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WPC 89 / WPC-S

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WPC-95

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Sys 9/11

I'm more envious of the test rigs shown here than I am of the people posting all the shots of their game rooms filled with pins.

There's just something about fixing things that is so unbelievably satisfying.

WOW these are impressive.

Very, very impressive.

IN TOTAL AWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just amazing... among the gods

Space is a huge concern. Clay has the right idea, with his plywood boards that he can pull in and out and save on bench space.

I'm out of bench space - and looking for a factory 3-6 fixture. Plans are being made to add a 2nd workbench in my workshop.

Most folks don't need these. It'd be majorly overkill. When you go through a lot of games, or do a lot of board repair, they become very valuable.

The main reason I like the factory test rigs is the burn-in feature.

If I want to have it load test a certain solenoid on a driver board, I can have it do it repeatedly for 10 days if I so desire.

Or, I can throw it in 'auto burn in' mode, and it cycles through all the tests, repeatedly, until I tell it to stop. The sys 9 fixture is set up with a knocker, and when it runs through the solenoid test, it knocks on every solenoid. That way, it has an actual load. The other testers use large resistors to provide the load.

When I do a board repair, I like to let them run for a few hours and get up to temperature, and be sure the board still functions when 'hot'. I did a WPC MPU last week that had corroded, and while it looked and tested out great, after running for about 3 hours, one switch column stopped working. As the materials expanded and contracted, a trace on the board 'opened' and no longer made contact. If I'd just bench tested this, or game tested it, for a game or two, it would've never heated up where I could find the fault.

The other nice thing is, if you're testing with a ROM for a specific game, it may not use every switch in the matrix. Earlier games like Funhouse, Hurricane, etc did not use the full switch matrix - so if you needed something on the 8th column, for example, you cannot test it with a Funhouse ROM.

Once you look at a factory test fixture, you quickly realize they are not much at all, other than a transformer, wiring harness, a few buttons/switches/lamps/leds for testing, and a well thought-out cabinet so you can access what you need easily. The WPC-95 fixture is actually open under the PCBs, so you can swing it up, and change a transistor on the fly, if you wanted to!

I love the old Williams system 4-7s.
Here's my test rig. It runs custom code for the various tests.
More info here: http://www.smokingcircuit.com/williams-system-3-6-test-fixture.html

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If you were attempting to make me any less envious, your attempt failed John.

I use lamps for most test fixture's lamps. that is identical load. on the coils i use coil voltage and a 10 watt 10 ohm resistor and a lamp. That is essentially what i coil is (a large resistor.) I also have a knocker installed on all test fixtures but i don't use that much. it's just too noisy.

Here is my very special tester for testing the Twilight Zone clock board.

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Here the test of a board that had no faults in Test-Mode, but the board did not work reliable in the machine.

Measurments with the test rig showed, that 6 of the 8 optos were bad.

Opto 1 was good:

Test Rig GOOD Opto.jpg

Opto 2 was bad:

Test Rig BAD Opto.jpg

Here is a test rig I built using an old EK cabinet. It can test Bally MPUs, SDBs, lamp driver boards, and displays.image-946.jpgimage-569.jpgimage-66.jpg

Holy Moly!

Holy moly indeed! Looking good guys!

Funny, I was just admiring Clay's rig on the latest pinball ninja vid. I try to keep one game from most systems around so I can swap boards out. I need to find some donor games to make these fixtures except I can't help but fix every dumper I buy.

These are amazing!

I don't even have time to play much less make/use these rigs.

I don't have a complete "RIG" for any one system, but I've slowly been developing some test equipment when my own needs have called for it & also offering many of those creations for sale. When something you need doesn't exist, you create it!

Classic Bally/Stern Test Equipment

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64 Switch Matrix Tester (one of my newest creations):
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/announcing-for-sale-64-switch-matrix-tester-from-pinitech

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Many people aren't aware of some of the tools out there that exist and can make your life a TON easier with diagnosing pinball machines. These types of posts help to give people ideas & exposure to the diagnostic equipment already available. I've seen lots of people creating their own stuff because they didn't know the tool existed -- sure some people would still create their own for the fun of it, but the fact is there's not much exposure to test rigs or diagnostic equipment, or much talk about it really. I find it interesting to see what other people have come up with or quicker ways to diagnose issues. So, thanks to the OP for the thread, both as a creator of some equipment & as someone that just wants to see other people have an easier time diagnosing issues!

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

I find test equipment design at work to be extremely boring. But this, this is some very cool TE.

Pinitech has some great test products as does Siegcraft: http://www.siegecraft.us/presta/index.php.

This test gear is great. If I did a ton of board work, I'd absolutely have some home-made stuff by now. This actually perks my interest in finishing up my PT2399 Centaur SIA DIY project for the community.

Something I threw together to help me, pinball in a suitcase for System 80, it's not much but I use it a lot.

Steve

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Nice! I have seen a few other people do the suitcase style test rig and it seems like a great idea. Your setup looks very clean.

I agree completely. Pinitech is a must have to test Bally early solid state boards and the Siegecraft products are a must have to test Williams System 3-7 boards. Siegecraft also has some new stuff for Bally, such as an inexpensive mod so that you can use LEDs in early Bally solid state machines.

Anyone have a manual for this squawk and talk tester?

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