(Topic ID: 173628)

Space Mission eject holes are too strong.

By Silverstreak02

7 years ago


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#1 7 years ago

I recently cleared my Space Mission play field and rebuilt all the eject holes, pop bumpers and flippers. We started playing a couple of weeks ago and I noticed the eject holes are shooting the ball into the air as it comes out. The ball actually hit the glass once. This has created an area of dimples in the play field a couple of inches in front of the hole. The pictures don't show them and they can't be felt, but they can be seen when you look from the right angle. I started to investigate and discovered my transformer was on the hi-tap terminal. I changed it and now it doesn't hit the glass, but the ball still gets airborne. Is there a way to weaken the mechanism or is this just the way it is?

#2 7 years ago

IMG_2744 (resized).JPGIMG_2744 (resized).JPG

#6 7 years ago

No orange peel, just the dimples. I took the glass off again and noticed I have a ton of dimples in front of the swinging target. Unless this will somehow harm the clear coat I'm not going to worry about it. The dimples are so small they can't be felt and can only be seen when looking at the right angle. A straight on view looks perfect.

#8 7 years ago

Cliff thanks for the reply. I changed the plunger/link and the plastic cup. I didn't measure the parts before they were replaced, but bought them form PBR. The spring looked good so I didn't change it, but I might order some the next time I place an order. The ball also gets launched by the swinging target from time to time. It was worse when it was on Hi tap, but still does to some degree. I think it was like this before the clear coating and parts replacement, but just wasn't dimpling anything.

#11 7 years ago
Quoted from PinballAir:

I waited to reply on this until I could look at my own Space Mission.
Is it only the cups that are launching the ball?
You say you rebuilt them, what exactly did you do?
There are no real "adjustments " on that assembly so if the ball did not jump before it should be related to the new parts.
The bracket is also the coil stop. Did you change the bracket and if so is the height of the stop the same?
Did you change the plunger or the link? Are they the same length?
Addition of or less travel of the mechanism will affect how the ball leaves the cup.
Finally, did you change the spring on the two drive arms?
The spring absorbs some of the energy applied to the mechanism. If the spring is to hard the hit on the ball will be harder.
The reverse is also true, softer spring softer hit.
Look at the parts that were changed in the rebuild....
Before adding resistors or changing the coil ,why not change the spring. They are cheap at the hardware store.
My game is not clear coated but there is definitely a place where the ball always lands and is indicated in the finish of the playfield.
Cliff

Cliff does the ball get airborne coming out of the eject holes on your game?

#13 7 years ago

I ordered two new springs today from PBR. I'll let you know if they solve the problem.

#15 7 years ago

About 2 1/2 to 3 degrees

#17 7 years ago
Quoted from PinballAir:

That is pretty low.
I run them no less than 5 degrees.
Most of them I have higher so they play faster.
Did you change the spring when you rebuilt them ?
Did it launch the ball in the air before the clear coat ?
I would think that a new spring ( being tighter due to less fatigue) will launch it out harder.
It seems in looking at the mechanism that a softer spring would absorb more energy as the arm hits the ball.

I changed the plastic cup, plunger with the attached link and the spring that goes on the plunger. I ordered the spring that goes on the mechanism and will change it next. I'm not sure if the ball was being launched in the air before I did the clear coat. I only had the game for a month before I took it apart. I can say that there were no dimples before I did the clear coat. We played some tonight and the left side is way more of a problem than the right. The ball hit the glass several times coming out of the left hole. I think the ball is occasionally getting air on the right side, but not very high or often. I have minor dimples on that side and a ton on the left side. I started to look at score motor switches and the relay tonight after playing and will test my results tomorrow. I hope I find it soon.

#20 7 years ago

I got the new springs from PBR and replaced them, but that made no difference. I then installed all the old parts in the left side and have played like that for several nights. The eject mechanism is definitely weaker with the old parts. The ball still pops out of the cup, but not as far or as high as before. I compared the parts as I replaced them and they appeared to be exactly the same except for the sleeve. The new one is plastic instead of metal. I think I'll try installing the metal sleeve on the right side to see if that makes a difference. I also measured the voltage at the transformer and have 28.8 instead of the 24 stated on the label. I'm going to call PBR to ask if there is a way to decrease the voltage. HI tap is over 30 volts.

#21 7 years ago

I spoke to Steve at PBR today He is sending me two weaker coils.

1 month later
#25 7 years ago

I installed the weaker coils from PBR and that solved the problem. Now the ball comes out of the hole much slower and rolls to the flipper instead of being launched into the air. Steve Young knows his stuff.

#27 7 years ago

No I had the correct original coils. PBR sold me weaker coils that work better.

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