At the moment I am working on a board/mod that will allow use of later style drop targets in a Firepower rather than the horseshoe style drop targets. I only need to access 8 switches (and don't need to access the lamp matrix at all) and so I am using 2x quad optocouplers to access the switch matrix in place of switches. At proof-of-concept level, it works. I would have thought that one could access the whole switch matrix with 4x quad optocouplers arranged as a 8x8 matrix, but I have not tried that.

One advantage that I see is using optocouplers is that I should be able to steal power for my board/mod from GI without worrying about grounding/voltage levels etc. This is appealing because (a) the board will be mounted near the drop targets with no obvious source of 5VDC; and (b) others might choose to use the same mod (perhaps with yet other mods) and this will hopefully reduce problems.

Although I have not had to think about it for my project, I would have thought that you could use optocouplers in a similar way for the lamp matrix (and perhaps the score displays).

I spent a good amount of time looking into this last week. Optocouplers seem like a popular choice:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/update-arduino-shield-propin-pinhead

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/always-wanted-to-build-your-own-pinball-lightmod

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/can-an-opto-isolator-be-introduced-into-a-switch-matrix#post-2653787

I briefly experimented with the idea outlined here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/diy-time-your-balls which sort of worked for what I needed (detect lit lamps). I'm playing with it a bit more this week.

I updated the LED's in my Firepower last night. It's plenty bright now!

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Did you put lights under the apron?

Your GI looks pretty good for LEDs. What are you using?

Also look like you have piggy backed the lock lights to a flexy LED to light the saucer. That looks great.

Yes, Comet 7 SMD strips in warm white.

Thanks. I used Comet twin 2835 frosted in sunlight white. Actually all the bulbs I used are from Comet. Thanks Art!

Yeah I really like it. I saw a video where TNT did this so I shamelessly copied.

I'm also going to install Comet star post lights in the slings tonight to see if I like it.

Do you have better pictures of this? I'm interested in seeing exactly what you did.

I did the clear saucers and lights as well, I think it looks great. I came across it in a post on the forum somewhere and then found it on the TNT video as well. If you aren't a traditionalist you can swap the pop bumper caps and put in Cointaker Afterbuner LEDs to match. My picture isn't the best but I'm sure you get the idea...

I also loaded up my backbox with LEDs and got a new backglass. I might be biased but it looks awesome!

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Hey guys, I'm finally in the market for a Firepower myself, and there is one locally on eBay for pickup. Wanted to throw it to the pros here as to what you think about the machine, the pics (some pretty bad wear spots on the play field that I can see), and your overall impressions. Also, I'd love some advice as to what to look for specifically on such machines when going to test them out. Thanks!

The link to the machine is found here:

ebay.com link: Firepower Pinball with Rottendog combo mpu driver bd upgrade

While the rest of the machine looks pretty clean, with that playfield wear, I'd have to say it's overpriced. Unless there is another CPR run, replacements are hard to find and would push the price well past the value.

Had a quick look for you. I'm not an expert but I think that price is too high. Nice to have the Rottendog board in it. Playfield is a bit shot which is not out of the norm. Backglass looks to be flaking a bit but hard to tell until you pull it out. The side of the cabinet that you can see looks decent enough. If you go check it out, read up on putting it in diagnostics mode and check that everything works as expected. Either that or slide the glass off and start a game but manually check each switch/target/saucer/etc.

Just for comparison purposes, I paid $1100 CDN for mine about a year ago delivered and set up in my basement. Everything worked as expected, my backglass was below average, my playfield had worn spots down to the wood but had been touched up. There were already many LEDs in the playfield. I would say my cabinet is average.

Hope that helps!

La_porta,

I remember seeing one recently for less than half the cost of that posting but I couldn't remember where. I did a quick search for Firepower in the "project" thread and came up with a pretty good listing of recent prices for non-pristine Firepowers (including my post for the one I remembered seeing):

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/post-project-pins-for-sale-here-cl-ebay-pinside-and-others?tq=firepower&tu

If you go see that one they should have a good bit of negotiating room.

-Rob
-visit http://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or for Williams system 3-7 sound board potentiometer solutions. Also offer high quality Firepower Outlane replacements.

Many thanks to those of you who have gotten back to me already. I figured that the price was on the high side from what I had seen, and I thank you all for your information, it has been very helpful! I wrote to the guy and asked a few questions last night, as well. He got back to me with some more info on what may not work perfectly. Here are the questions and the answers:

-Did you do the rotten dog upgrade yourself, and do you still have the original boards as well?
-I did see some expected play field wear in the pictures. Has the machine been shopped or overhauled by anyone in recent time?
-Are there any deficits in the play of the game that I should be aware of, or features that may not work 100% correctly?
-Have you made any other modifications or upgrades to the machine? Replaced anything else recently?
-Any specific reason that you are parting with the machine now?

I did not replace the board myself and I do not have the original.I did change the lane guides with new replacements.I also cleaned and waxed the.play field and put in a new speakerand I still have the original speaker.I am not sure if the tilt works.I do not know if there is a setting to change it from off to on.I do know that when I touch contacts with a screwdriver the tilt will function.The thunder sound did not always sound when sending the ball in play,but I cleaned the contacts and think it works most of the time.The reason I m selling it is because I thought it would be a great bonding tool between my 2 children and I but they have no interest,so it is hardly used and is just taking up space.Oh,a couple thousand of points are scored when it is a players turn without the ball even being put into play,but I think that is a pretty minor repair. I think I got all the questions answered.

La_porta,

The issues that he mentions about the thunder and the scoring are more than likely just switches on the playfield that need adjusting. Mine was doing the same things after I did a playfield swap. The gaps in the switches were either too small or too big. Usually an easy fix, just have to bang the playfield with your hand to determine which one needs tweaking. Honestly, I have no clue if my tilt works and could care less.

Still, that price is too high...

Price Check - I have a firepower playfield that I am thinking of selling, but I am not sure how much I should ask. I know shipping would be around $40 - $50, so that may scare aware some buyers. I have the wood side rails for the playfield, but nothing else. I've attached pictures of the playfield so everyone can see where the worn areas are. I know I've seen a lot worse playfields still out in the wild, so I think this may have some value to someone. So, any ideas on how much I should ask for this? Thanks

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I somehow don't have pictures from when I installed it put it's really easy. Just stick the LED's centered between the flippers at the top of the ball guide and fish the wires down to under the playfield and tie in to the the GI.

I put these in my bumper caps.

http://www.cometpinball.com/Pinball-Pop-Bumper-LED-Light-p/11smdbmpring.htm

Did you get it from mayfair? That's where I got mine at Pintastic.

It does!

So from what I've seen here, I'm going to be talking this guy more into the ~$1000 range from $1600. I've got enough info from the forum from here to back up the roughly 1/3 price decrease from his asking price. If he won't bargain I'll simply walk...as we know, there are many out there!

Have an LED question regarding my Firepower... A couple years ago I did a PF swap on my FP. I bought new pop bumper assemblies from Pinball Life and the pop bumpers are like freaking rockets now. But.... They have #555 sockets in them (2 red translucent and 2 blue translucent caps also). So I had bought some #555 LEDs to try in them. They wouldn't work. No problem (at the time) and I put the incandescent bulbs back in and have been satisfied with that up to this point... So now, I've seen in person on a Space Shuttle, the BriteCaps LED Pop Bumper Rings and want to try them. But they only come with the #555 connector and I don't think they'll work as is.

I read somewhere quite awhile back on what to do to get #555 LEDs to work in the pop bumpers of a Firepower but am drawing a blank on where I read it. Anybody know how to remedy this?

Thanks,
-Steve

Do you mean how do you get #555 when you have 44/47 sockets? You cut the leads under the playfield, fish in the new socket wiring, and solder.

Did you put the #555 bulb in both ways? In other words, did you try it one way and then spin it around the other way? When I did my swap I put in #555 holders rather than the 44/47 sockets. I'm pretty sure that when I was testing, the bulb would work one way but not the other. Some LEDs seem to have a polarity and will only work a certain way.

I vaguely recall running into this issue so if someone thinks I'm smoking something, feel free to correct me!

This is most likely the answer. The lights in the pops on Firepower are controlled lights, like in inserts. LEDs will only work correctly when inserted with the correct polarity (unlike when installed in the GI where they will work either way). If they don't work one way, spin it 180 degrees and re-install. If they still do not light, check that the wires on the LED socket are centered on the 555 "prongs".

i'd like to know too.

You know what?... I never even thought of that... Duh!! LOL Thanks for the responses guys... Now I feel silly for even asking the question.... Live and learn.

-Steve

Yup, got it from Mayfair as well. You can contact Steve at [email protected]. Mine was around $300 USD give or take. I think it was a package deal as we bought a couple of backglasses at the same time and made arrangements to pick them up at one of the shows.

Just keep in mind that the colours don't 100% match the original. I can post pictures if you like. With the right LEDs in the right spots the backglass just pops!

Beatmaster, unfortunately you will be taking a pretty big hit with the exchange rate right now but that's life. You can always wait it out!

DZ.

thanks for the info.
yes, i can always wait a little bit, seems like they always have them in stock.

I'd like to see the pictures of this new backglass.

This is a picture of the Mayfair backglass I received from them when I inquired a couple years ago. This is the note they sent (I took the prices out as I am not sure if they are valid after all this time...

I have a quality reproduction Firepower backglass that was made by Williams in 1996. It is just like the original in form and fit, and printed on glass not plastic. They upgraded the quality of the ink to address the issue of peeling on the original 1979 run. The price on the glass is $XXX, add $XX for a trim package that includes a new chrome lift channel and outside edge trim. Shipping is $XX sent UPS fully insured. Please note that one color is different on this glass. On the 1978 version the word Firepower fades from orange to yellow. On the 1996 version it is a solid yellow.

clip_image002_(resized).jpg

It's hard to get a really good picture of this with a crappy smartphone camera! By putting different coloured bulbs under "Firepower" you can give it more of a gradual colour change. As you can see by the picture without the glass, different colours in the right spots enhance the graphics.

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That looks better than I thought it would turn out! Looks nice!

i agree, i think it looks pretty damn good, now i want to get one.... damn dollars

I actually like the yellow behind the logo on the repros more than the original all
red

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I used to have colored lights as well but recently I've gone plain Jane. I even added some more lights in the backbox!

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That LED color back glass lighting looks stellar...no pun intended! Where does one find repro back glass anyway?

Go back and look at post 623 in this thread. Start by emailing Steve, he is located in NYC and usually attends the pinball shows...

Much appreciated. Looks like they have all kinds of stuff per their website. Now all I need is an actual machine!!

I joined this club over the weekend. Can't wait to get it playing. Still waiting for the glue to dry before setting it up. This game needed almost a full bottle.

Well it looks like I blew the 7406 by grounding GI power through the switch matrix. I was getting all sorts of switch closures. Whoops Does anyone know if I could've taken out the PIA as well or anything else? Thanks.

Well, I socketed and replaced the 7406 at IC 18 and still got random switch closures. I then replaced the the PIA at IC11 and that fixed the problem. Is GI voltage enough to take out both chips or did I manage to get a higher (coil?) voltage into the switch matrix?

Playfield has been sold to Stephen - he is going to try and restore it. He said he would keep us apprised of his progress.

Yes indeed, I've started to clean it up. Right now I'm working on the inserts. In particular, the faded "Fire" and "Power" inserts are my current test subjects. They are faded, but I think it is just the decal (or the adhesive holding it on). As they are not readily available, I'm going to first try to remove the decal, and if not possible, try to recut some inserts. I think some 1/4" acrylic would work if needed... The rest of the faded inserts I should be able to find.

BriPin - I just noticed the other two pins adjacent to your Firepower... I have those two in my lineup as well (BoP and CBW)

-Rob
-visit http://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or for Williams system 3-7 sound board potentiometer solutions. Also offer high quality Firepower Outlane replacements.

Just joined the club yesterday, picked up a project (some assembly required). Any sign of CPR re running plastic sets?

Not in the near future. I am hoping though.

Bright Caps mod - with Video!
-Fire power was my first pin (purchased over 10 years ago). Last year I tried out the Bright Caps on my Taxi and loved them. This year, I figure, what the heck, they should look good on Firepower.
Rebuilt the pops top to bottom
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Installed 555 light sockets
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Here's a side by side
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and voila~ here's the vid

Hi everyone.

I finally joined the club back in November. First thing I did was have new toy gone over at the shop. Ended up with a picture of it posted to IPDB (OK...a picture of the bottom. ).

Lots and lots of great information on this thread and on this site....really enjoying it so far.

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You've got good taste Rob!

Oops wrong post lol

Might be purchasing a Firepower tomorrow...I wanted to know, for transport purposes, if someone can measure the height of the cabinet in the front and the back, not including the legs? I need to know if it will fit in my pickup bed...much appreciated!

they have dimensions on the "buying guide" in the "FP documents" section of the firepowerpinball.com website.

-Rob
-visit http://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or for Williams system 3-7 sound board potentiometer solutions

I did see those, but those show the dimensions from the top of the front to the bottom of the legs, and from the top of the back box to the bottom of the legs...there is no real way to extrapolate the "legless" heights from it.

I measured 17" in the front, 19" in the back, and 49" in the back with the head on. Personally, I wouldn't transport with the head on...but I also can't picture the truck you might have that you would be worried about size without the head on... Good luck, it's a great game.