I don't believe that one is a tantalum cap. Looks more like a standard axial ceramic cap.

What is the latest ROM version for Rocky and Bullwinkle? I've seen v1.3 and a version 3.2

Could someone confirm what the value is of crystal oscillator on the CPU board? Mine is trashed and the writing is gone. From the schematics it looks like it should be 8mhz. An image that shows the printing on the crystal would be awesome.

Thank you!

There is a small silver rectangular oscillator that sits right above the .CPU under the battery. It may show something like 8.00Mhz on it. All the writing and markings are gone off mine and it was damaged by the battery. Amazingly the rest of the board looks great. I have a variety of crystals and just need to confirm it isn't another speed like 4, 6, 16, etc. It will look something like the attached picture.

IMG_1080 (resized).JPG

That's it! Can you make out the writing on it? The picture is a bit fuzzy.

That should do it. Thank you! It matches what I suspected was going to be in there. Maybe I'll be able to try it out later today after all!

That part is the crystal and sets the timing for the whole CPU board. You can almost think of it as a heart beat. Higher number more beats or transitions per second.

I was able to get the board fixed and back in the machine. Fun game!

Has anyone installed the pinblades? If do how easy were they to install and how do they look? Any pictures with them installed?

It will be nice to see the pictures. Did you just pull out the whole playfield to install? Any issues with the playfield rubbing on them as you lift it to work on?

If the issue is with the 5v supply then it probably needs a new 100uf (25v or higher) cap and maybe some traces fixed under it.... I've fixed several of these including mine.

Have you looked over the playfield to see if any wires wore through, pinched under a fastener, or somehow shorting against something it shouldn't?

May have been a single short in the wrong place that may have taken out some drivers. Definitely look for shorts. It has happened on other machines.

After ensuring that things look good it can help to make a list of the specific coils that aren't working to see if there is something in common that would prevent them from working. I'd look for any prior repair work or hacks. Any if the bad coils replaced? Was a diode installed backwards or left off where there should be one? Was this game ever working for you or a new pickup with an unknown past?

Are the ones you have issues with driven by the PPB board? I've had to repair those before. If you've never had the boards out of it take a good look at the front and back of each. It is amazing what people have done to pinball boards in the past. I've spent a lot of time straightening out hacks and fixing boards to make them right again.

Thank you! Those really look good and ties in with the theme well. I've never installed a set before but just ordered them. I think they will be great in the game.

My game was missing the topper. The one I ordered just arrived but it is only the plastic piece. Does anyone have a good picture of the brackets and fasteners to mount it? I'm sure I could just get some L brackets at the hardware store if I have to. If you happen to have a source for the proper ones a link to get them would be great.

Does anyone know of a source for the plastic lift edge for the bottom of the backglass.

Does the coil sleeve seem worn or sloppy where it aims the ball toward the back edge?

If you just need touch ups this works well:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/that-trick-never-works-rocky-bullwinkle-club/page/3#post-3272357

I've used Comet and some from cointaker LEDs with good results on other games. Haven't switched over on the Rocky and Bullwinkle yet except for the shoot again because it was out. Used a red one to match the insert. I've had good luck color matching the inserts. Regular or warm white LEDs for the GI or backbox.

You may want to order a few samples before you dive in. The brightness can vary a bit. Some superbright are way too bright and some of the bargain LEDs aren't as bright as a bulb. You'll have to see what looks good to you where you have the machine setup.

I would avoid some of the "kits" for your game unless you love purple. There are several kits sold with color GI and they all look purple. That would make a game worth less to me as I'd have to pull them out and replace them.

Are you sure about that? On mine there had been a few times when a really short ball ends up showing "Stay tuned" and kicks out a new ball. There must be some setting to control it.

What ROM version do you have? I am running 1.3

On the backbox animation the Rhino and Rockybwork perfect. The lion goes up the drops a bit before lowering. I've read others have issues with the lion. What's up with that particular one? I saw a note about changing the coil voltage for that one. What are the known issues and fixes for that?

I'll have to search for it. If you happen to find the link before me please feel free to share it.

Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you! After reading the details it makes a lot of sense to me. Sounds like it a simple mod to perform before there is a real problem.

While people are asking for pictures it would be cool to see how the ground strap for the head is supposed to be attached. I had one hanging loose on my game.

I think Marco has the correct housing, mounting, and Boris button for the game if you need those.

Looks like the bracket is in stock:

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/535-6144-00

If you ever have problems with the boards I am local and have rebuilt a bunch of them. Just finished repairing a Data East MPU that had all sorts of hacks on it.

Robert

Do you know the history of the machine? Maybe someone swapped out a sound card or sound card ROM chips.

I'd check the ribbon cable connection to the DMD display board first. Beyond that I'd probably pull the power board if it hasn't been gone through and replace the 5v cap since those are always bad and then check the ROMs to verify the images and make a new set of the v1.3 version for both the MPU and Display.

Does anyone happen to have an extra Boris plastic for the shooter lane? Just noticed this one is cracked and could use a replacement.

Boris_Plastic (resized).jpg

Does anyone know of a source for the correct short rubber bungie cord in the base to hold up the playfield? The one on my game has one end ripped out.

That housing should fit tight against the cabinet in the recessed area. I just installed a replacement housing and correct Boris button on mine. The screw holes in the reproduction housing were a bit off so I had to file them out a little in order to get the screws in. Luckily it wasn't a lot and the head still covered the holes.

One odd fact is that the orientation of the housing for the Boris button and the locating holes were 90 degrees off from the original. I re drilled those holes to match the original. I also had to take apart the Boris button to turn the insert 90 degrees so it all matched the original. This was all in addition to enlarging the holes above to get that new cover installed.

Also installed a white led since it should last longer that a bulb and it would be a pain to change later.

What version of the main ROM is your machine running? Is it v1.3

I have the latest version in mine and it does the same thing. Seems that the default sound that the sound board makes may be that phrase. Maybe the earlier version of the main ROM just let the sound card run. The newer one may reset it sooner to cut off the sound.

Either way it always seemed like a random startup sound until the boards finish initializing during a power up.

No issues when the game is on or playing.

How did you check the switches? Was it by pressing on the with a finger or setting a ball on it? That can make a difference.

Does anyone happen to have a picture of the backbox with the DMD panel laying down? My game has two ground leads that come from each lower corner of the back box and they have a clear tube around them for insulation. The one on the left goes to the DMD panel but the one on the right is disconnected. I'm not sure if that should go to the ground on the DMD drier board or somewhere else. Can someone confirm where those two ground leads should be attached?

Thank You.

I've been able to do some testing and it seems that swapping out MPU boards can make a difference with the hum on the sound card. I have a quite MPU, a very noisy one, and one with just a little hum. I'm trying to isolate what is different between them to see if swapping parts on that board can help.

This video has a great overview of the rules and gameplay.

If I recall you'll want to check the display ROM since it should also be updated to match. I made the latest set for mine and it works great.

When you go to 1.10 make sure you upgrade the display ROM as well. There is a matching version for that. I'd have to check but I think the one I run is 1.3

Has anyone found a source for the correct short rubber bungee cord that is used to hold up the playfield? Still looking for one of those.

I don't see battery damage on your MPU but I would pull the batteries and install NVRAM on the board. Then you'll never have to worry about it.

On the board board check the fuse clips, look for cold solder joints and at least replace the cap for the 5V supply. That one often leaks and eats the traces so you may need to do trace repairs too. Fixed a bunch of those.

For the sound issues if it is excess noise the caps may help a little but just be warned that most DE games just make a lot of excess noise. Comes from the MPU, lamps in attract mode, power supply, etc. Several sources and there is a huge thread on pinside just about audio issues. Some games are noisier than others. A lot of people just install a dedicated switching supply for the sound to resolve it. FYI

Have you checked for battery damage? It tends to leak down on the CPU chip and the crystal oscillator. Can often eat through the fine traces for the clock and reset line. Also the cap for the 5V supply often goes bad. Those tend to leak as well and eat away at the traces on the PCB. I had to fix that on mine and have repaired a bunch of other boards with similar issues.

How is the Boris plastic for the shooter lane? Would be interested in that and the saw blade.

If it is not going down on it's own is it binding anywhere? Maybe just half a drop of the teflon superlube at the pivot point? Sounds like there is still binding or resistance to movement somewhere.

Could you post a link on where to buy this? Also do you know if there are any video's of it running in the game? I've seen some of the Color DMD and wonder how this compares.

From the video it is a great first attempt. Is he looking for feedback on what frames could use tweaking? If it’s open then maybe others can help tidy it up.

I sent him a message asking if there is anyway that I (or anyone else) can contribute or help get it to 100%

Where did you tie in the power cable for the display? Any more pictures of the power wiring and how the mounting goes?

If he doesn't want it I could use it. I'm rebuilding my test jig and want to add a DMD display to it.

If you’re not going to keep it black then either of your mix and match variations would work.

Why? If you are going to install one what about these?

https://www.tiltgraphicsinc.com/product-page/rocky-and-bullwinkle-gameblades

I bought a set for mine that I plan on installing soon. Machines the theme and goes with the background. From pictures I've seen it looks like the game should have come with them.

I think they are all good options. Just posted the link to the ones that matched the background in case people hadn't seen them.

Guess they were factoring in Global warming...

If you look at the MPU board does it look like any of the transistors have been replaced? If so what is the quality of the work and did they put in the correct parts?

So it happened. I've bought a few games in the past that had a burned up coil when I bought them but this is the first one that has ever smoked on a game that I've had up and running. It looks like the TIP36 is bad. Just not sure the series of events that caused it but luckily have the parts onhand to rebuild this and fix replace the bad TIP36 on the board.

How may of you have had an issue with the VUK?

VUKfried (resized).jpg

That is always the question isn't it! When something happens what was the sequence of events that transpired to cause the failure. Did the VUK bind and it stayed energized too long taking out the TIP then that ended up locking on the coil and literally smoking it. (I was not happy seeming smoke coming from the ALSOP hole)

Or did the switch fail, or a bad driver (or pre driver) on the MPU or even the PIA driving those? Definitely will be checking it all over. I've fixed a bunch of the PPB boards for others and now get to fix my own for a change.

I may just solder one leg on the new coil and clip on a 2.5A SB fuse until I am sure it will be ok. Thinking I may end up installing an inline fuse holder and leave it just to be safe.

I'm hoping someone can help me out. I went to reassemble the Super VUK for the ALSOP hole but I don't think my was assembled properly to begin with. Just curious if the sleeve with the shoulder went toward the top of the playfield or towards the bottom of the cabinet. To me it looks like the shoulder on the sleeve should be on the bottom. Also is the coil mounted with the lugs toward the bottom of the cabinet or toward the playfield? The picture in the manual seems to indicate the lugs were up toward the playfield.

Could use some reference photos so I can get this back together the way it should be. Just need to install that assembly and adjust the new switch and I should have my game up and running again.

I found a picture that shows the coil with the lugs up by the playfield so I assembled it like that and I like the way the wires are routed better. Also the part of the sleeve with the shoulder had to got towards the bottom of the cabinet. Otherwise the spring loaded cup hits it and wouldn't sit all the way down. Fits good now. Also got one of the new switches with straight wire and managed to bend it exactly as the original. Will keep the old one as a reference.

Mine came with 28.5" legs and it sits level with the Bad Cats I have next to it. Two games with animated backglass.

Have you checked the coil sleeve, plunger, and end stop? There may be a burr on the plunger, etc slowing it down.

Is there any battery damage on the MPU board? Do you notice any hacks on the board or wiring hacks? Any disconnected wires? I think there are a couple different versions of the code. Does it have the latest installed? I'd also inspect and reseat the ribbon cables.

The RAM chip should be in a socket so I would just install NVRAM. Did that on mine and never need batteries again. Run NVRAM in most my games now.

Do you have the manual? If not you can download it from here:

https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=23

Check for any battery corrosion on the MPU board. Unfortunately that is common. Also there is a capacitor that goes bad on the power supply. It often leaks as it goes and can eat through the copper traces under it causing an open connection. Can be repaired.

Would be worth trying the later code. IPDB.org has v1.30 for both the MPU and display.

PM sent

It looks like you are going to replace the original with a Rottendog from the picture. Later DataEast power supplies -02 have two extra pins on CN7 and so does the Rottendog. You just plug it in using pins 1, 2, and 3 like before and leave pins 4 and 5 open.

If you can post pictures of the parts you're missing I may have them from a LW3 game that was stripped.

Pictures of your boards? Looks like it could be a power problem. Can you measure the voltages for the DMD display? That issue doesn't appear to be caused by any kind of ROM issue. If you did swap ROM's make sure the display and main ROM versions match.

Are you running original boards or aftermarket? The more details you can provide the better.

That Intro sound not coming on when first power up seems normal with Version 1.3 of the ROM's. I notice that too so I don't think that is an issue. I think it is more to do with the later version of the code.

Did you measure the voltages at both the power supply and the DMD?

With the picture you had of the display it looked more like a possible issue with the high voltage. It's possible that one of the power supplies was putting out too much and damaged a DMD panel. I've heard of that happening.

Good news is that the ColorDMD doesn't need that high voltage and supposedly looks great on this game. At some point I will probably upgrade mine.

I’d have to take a closer look at mine once power gets restored after the storms.

The flippers on mine are strong and no issues hitting either ramp. First check the coil sleeve and if there are any flaring on the end of the plunger.

Have you checked to see if the correct coils are in the game?

Was the game a reimport? Have you checked to see if the input voltage is properly set?

Can you measure coil voltage?

What flipper board is inside the cabinet? Original or aftermarket?

Does the MPU board still have batteries? If so are they ok? Any corrosion on the board?