Is Firepower a machine where it would be easy to take the back box off or does it bend over on a hinge with a bunch of wires attached?
(Topic ID: 70775)
Linked Games
Firepower
Williams, 1980-
Firepower II
Williams, 1983
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You guys are the best! Thank you very much.
Just 2 weeks until we head down to Kansas City MO for a family reunion & pick up the Firepower and F-14 Tomcat. Should be a fun road trip which we haven't done in a long time.
1 week later
Quoted from Jumping-Box:What a great idea!
Wiring - would you somehow combine with existing spinner?
I see you have a F-14 & a Firepower. We're on a long road trip as I type this to pick up those actual games. What are the odds?
2 weeks later
Since we're talking about new plastics & playfields..... how would you touch up these bad spots? A pinball guy about 2 hours from me could make it look good for $300 but if I could get a close match or if someone may be making a new pf.... that would be great.
I was thinking about contacting a local art student and see if somebody there would be interested in doing something.
I am going to be getting a LED kit from Cointaker for my Firepower. For the guys who have LEDs in your Firepower..... are there any particular colors you like in certain areas that really helped it look good? Thanks
I don't have the Firepower manual yet. Can someone tell me how to get a credit on the game? I have 3 balls in the trough and I think it's ready to go. I haven't heard any sounds yet.
Quoted from Jumping-Box:Goto menu and scroll to 18. Use the credit button and set value to 0. That free play.
Do I put the upper left display to 18? With the right red button & leave it & use the credit button to put 00 on the lower left display?
Quoted from Bugsy:Or instead of turning off and on again, just cycle to the end of the test mode and let it go through the boot up sequence.
Ok... sorry for being a huge novice on system 6 but how do you cycle to the end? When I turn off & on... nothing happen when the credit button is pressed... I can hear a faint sounding click.
I set it up for free play but nothing happens. I have 3 balls in the trough. No sounds etc if I press credit button. The only action is if I put a ball between flippers... it will kick to trough.
1 week later
Quoted from setzkor:The 20 is 1 3/16. 10 is 1", 1-9 are 3/4". Got mine from Marco. I had to sand the sides quite a bit to get them to fit (or dremel a little extra out of the pocket).
My 1 - 10 & 20 inserts are sunk in or shrunk. Would you take them out & sand them or buy new ones?
Also.... does the back of your Firepower backglass look like mine? Thanks
Quoted from RCA1:Yikes! No, somebody spray painted that to hide a bunch of flaking original paint.
Shoot... I was hoping it was normal. The front isn't too bad but I'll be looking for a new backglass.
Quoted from Spitfiren8:Def different, there is no sound of the ball rolling anymore. It plays just as fast as before but now i dont get mis-directs off cupped/raised inserts. I can make all locks easy peasy which was my biggest worry.
Would it fix the sunk in insert issue or would I still need to raise them up flush ?
Quoted from Spitfiren8:You will no longer have issues with sunken, cupped or raised inserts.
Ok... but would the sunken/cupped inserts need to be repaired first or..... with this product make it so you would not need to? Thanks
1 month later
Several of the inserts in my Firepower are shrunk. Could someone please explain the best way of going about repairing this issue?
Also I see that the Playfield scenes pretty dry where the paint has thin lines missing. Would a Playfield protector make it look ok? Thanks
Quoted from scampcamp:Several of the inserts in my Firepower are shrunk. Could someone please explain the best way of going about repairing this issue?
Also I see that the Playfield scenes pretty dry where the paint has thin lines missing. Would a Playfield protector make it look ok? Thanks
Nudge....
Quoted from Travish:By shrunk do you mean cupped or loose/flopping around in the hole. The best approach is glue and level the insert (if loose) and fill the cupped part with clear. You could also replace the inserts, install decals on the new inserts and clear the whole playfield depending on how much you want to put into it. You could always touch up the lines and put the playfield protector on. You won't have to worry about the cupped inserts and it will look like new.
So... putting a playfield protector on will totally fix the sunk insert issue? Can you tell me who has these protectors? Thanks for the reply Travish.
1 year later
Quoted from HHaase:I’m seriously considering trading my firepower. I think it’s just cursed. Can’t even tell you how many times I’ve repaired the boards and they keep finding new ways to fail.
That and I really should have a Bally machine here for all the Bally stuff I’ve been selling. My only problem...... I currently only have a sedan to drive.
I am starting to think the same... I've had the boards gone through. Re-did a connector tonight... put it on free play & the balls won't kick up a game won't start. Uhg!!
Quoted from scampcamp:I am starting to think the same... I've had the boards gone through. Re-did a connector tonight... put it on free play & the balls won't kick up a game won't start. Uhg!!
UPDATE - I found a bad 2.5 amp fuse... switched it & now I'm a pinball fan again !!
6 months later
Would anyone happen to know what the part numbers are for the switches that sense for the ball to be kicked up in the shooter lane? I don’t have a manual right now & I would like to order the parts. Thank you very much.
Quoted from dzorbas:This what you are looking for...?
[quoted image]
Thanks very much dzorbas ! I believe that’s what I’m looking for. I really appreciate it.
I was looking for those 5 switches because the ball Will not kick to the shooter lane. I called Steve at Pinbal resource and he said nobody makes these switches for Firepower and that I would need to order some metal pieces & rebuild them.
Has anybody had experience in doing this and is it very difficult? Thanks a lot.
1 year later
When you're ordering LEDs for your Firepower do you have to look for ones that are longer?
I noticed that the incandescent bulbs are longer & up closer to the inserts.
I'm thinking about ordering more of the warm white frosted LEDs from comet.
Do led flashers cause issues?
Please post any other ideas or tips for leds for this game. Thank you very much.
Quoted from Da-Shaker:I Think there are only 2 flasher bulbs (#84) and they are the 2 big bulbs under the fire & power inserts. You can probably buy warm white comets for everything else. Also there's a couple tight socket holes where my Pinball Life Ghostbusters had a hard time fitting (outlanes & 6 standing targets) and needed a slimmer bulb. I'm not sure if Comets are slimmer than Ghostbusters or not.
Thanks very much ! I appreciate your info. 
Quoted from rlbohon3:Definitely agree on the bulbs under the 6 standups being a little blinding. I went with flex bulbs instead to get them to light things up w/o shining directly back at the player. Overall, I went with more clear lens bulbs than frosted but it's a matter of preference.
I threw together a video as an overview of the LEDs I put in my Firepower.
Great video ! I am going to use alot of your ideas when ordering from Comet.
Thanks... I've heard/read that the B style sometimes go in kickouts but the regular A was in there & now the 2 of you agreed.
I'm NOT complaining staff have been far less lately etc because of covid-19 but I find it very interesting that I ordered parts on Tues 4-7 from both Pinball Life & Playfield Protectors. Pinball Life is about 600 miles away..... Pinball Protectors is about 5,000 miles away.
The protector arrived yesterday 4-10 & the Pinball Life order tracking says it will be here Wed 4-15.
20200411_151044 (resized).jpg
Oh ok.... thanks. Yes... the lower left kick back.
The A style was in it & I had a new same style replacement. What changes in its performance if i leave the wrong 1 in?
For the guys who installed a playfield protector... did you remove the wire guides or cut a slot in the protector for them?
Quoted from ChrisPINk25:I removed the wire guides before putting the playfield protector on.
Thanks... I used a small nail to tap them up from underneath. It was very easy.
The right kickout plastic needed to be loosened to get at 1 of the holes.
Quoted from catboxer:It supports the big plastic piece. No rubber need.
Thank you.... much appreciated.
If I look at the Firepower pinball flyer... would it show the accurate placement of what the targets should look like?
I've seen it in several ways. I'm guessing the 6 front targets are the flame design.. the 3 right are bullseys. And the straight back is a bullseye also?
Thank you
Here is how mine is now... you can see i need the 6 front targets decals replaced for sure.
20200427_163747 (resized).jpgQuoted from Schwaggs:That looks right to me. That is like 3 of the Firepowers I have had! Well, except for the one with a couple blue bullseye targets behind the arrows but I'm pretty sure thats not stock
Thank you..
I emailed this link to a print shop that makes vinyl decals etc.
http://blackknightpinball.co.uk/wp/artwork-2/spinner-targets
He called back & said he would need a password to open the pdf. I have never heard that.
Do you know what he means?
1 week later
Quoted from slochar:You sure that wasn't one of the Alan Meyer repro's from that time period? (The fade at the top was more orange than red, and there wasn't as good as/any dithering in the color fade)
He just mentioned it was a repro that Williams did in 96. Here's a photo. thanks
fprepro (resized).pngQuoted from Da-Shaker:Ball gate inside the trough? Make sure it's in the right direction or your balls will bounce back. Could also the top of the shooter lane where the ball exits.
Would this look like where it should go? It may be broke on the end where I'm holding it.
20200509_210340 (resized).jpgQuoted from Da-Shaker:It goes from one side of the trough to the other. The ball gate prevents the ball from coming back out and locks it in. Yours doesn't look broke. However, it will only work after the apron is installed. The apron prevents the gate from flipping over.
Thanks trk12fire !! I really appreciate you taking the pictures & explaining exactly where this goes. Also... letting me know the wire form I have wasn't broken... saving me $.
Probably the only area I didn't take a before picture of.
Does anyone have a picture on how the spinner wire feeds through the switch?
I put it through like how I thought it was... but the target lays sideways.
I'm trying to see how the spinner target stays relaxed to know placement of new decals.
Thanks
20200512_194054 (resized).jpgRGarriott - Your awesome! Thanks so much.
I had it in the same way.. but had to adjust it a hair to look like yours... works great.
2 weeks later
Quoted from hodgesm0:Does anyone have a copy of the schematics they can send me, the one on ipbdb is corrupted
Pm me your email & I can send you a pdf.
1 week later
I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence but when I was messing with some wires with a power on (dumb move)... the GI fuse went out. Wires & fuse were replaced.
Now... on 2 of the displays... the same parts of the segments are missing. Any ideas? Thanks
20200608_115708 (resized).jpgDo you put a spring on the flipper plunger? If so... which end does the wider side go?
Also... do you put the capacitor on the flipper assembly?
I have a big problem... I installed 555 sockets in the pop bumpers. (Wires were connected the way the original sockets were)throughout the game.
Everything worked fine before the 555 pop bumper sockets & leds were put in.
At 1st.. it was fine. I then noticed a few controlled leds were not working... most leds turned off in backbox.... then I saw smoke from under playfield.... not sure where from.... but near pop bumpers.
Could this be what Vid1900 was talking about when he mentioned things can go bad if polarities are wrong etc?
Any info appreciated?
Quoted from Gorgar666:Are your bridge rectifiers fused or do you have a Bridges Board? If not it a must mod. incognito bridgeboards are the best...
I am pretty sure it's going to be a short sonewhere on the red blue wire.. we'll see.
In the sound board parts list for capacitors in the manual... 2 of them have choices.
800mfd 16v or 1,000mfd 15v
500mfd 15v or 470mfd 25v
Is there a better choice?
Quoted from kciaccio:Anybody have suggestions on where to get a back glass? Mine shattered this morning...
I bought 1 from Mayfair a few weeks ago.
Very happy with it.
20200520_171539 (resized).jpgI am changing out the electrolytic capacitors on the sound board & see 1 of them in the parts list says it's "tantalum" not electrolytic.
I am assuming the electrolytic that came in the kit will be fine but is there a difference?
Quoted from Schwaggs:Tantalum capacitors do not die of old age like electrolytic. They also have different electrical characteristics. Some circuits call specifically for tantalum caps for this reason.
I would not replace a tantalum cap with an electrolytic.
Thanks... I replaced it with a electrolytic but I could put it back.
Here's a picture of what I took out... is this a tantalum style? I notice it's radial & not axial like the others I replaced.
20200621_112414 (resized).jpgQuoted from Schwaggs:Nope, that's an electrolytic for sure. Good idea to replace it. Even better would be to replace it with a tantalum especially if the original circuit called for one.
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CTR-1uF-35V
Hey... thank you very much. I appreciate the info & link.
Quoted from mrm_4:Unless im missing them, i only see Firepower II
Apron Cards – Custom Printed Pinball Cards
http://aproncards.com/index.php/nggallery/pinball-apron-cards/firepower
If the manual is correct.... I have my 2 right pop bumpers switched around. Would this cause any lamp issues? (Which I have). Thanks
Quoted from Schwaggs:How is it that they are switched around? If the wires for the pop lamps have been swapped in pairs, I can’t see how that would cause problems. If only one of the two wires were swapped, it could cause problems based on which were swapped and which were not.
Right... I found out the pop bumper brackets were switched below. I switched them to correct places & solenoid tests are correct.
The bottom right led still is acting up.
Quoted from Schwaggs:What color wires are on each pop lamp? Which wire has the banded side of the diode?
I switched sockets to new 555's with wires attached.
Top left pb 1 to resistor & 1 to red with yellow
Bottom left pb 1 to resistor & 1 to yellow with blue
Top right pb 1 to resistor & 1 to red with green
Bottom right pb 1 to resistor & 1 to red with blue
20200624_212009 (resized).jpgQuoted from Schwaggs:The Yellow with Blue wire should be connected to one side of all 4 pop bumper lamps. This should be the side of the lamp socket WITHOUT the diode. You may have different color jumper wire connecting them all together but the jumpers should all lead to the yellow with blue wire for all 4 pop lamps.
The red w/yellow, red w/green, red w/blue and red w/violet wires should first be connected to the banded side if a diode (orientation matters, 4 individual diodes, 1 for each lamp). The non-banded side of the diode should be connected to the other side of the pop lamp socket.
Hope this isn't a dumb question... but why stop now? ☺
If all 4 pop bumpers are connected to the same wire... wouldn't all 4 lights blink at the same time? I don't think they should be... right?
8 months later
Quoted from monkfe:Anyone get a twitch notification yesterday for Firepower?...went to the site, but couldn't find it...
Yes... I saw it but he was having trouble getting it to work... fuse issues etc.
Quoted from monkfe:So it never streamed?
I was watching it for about 20 minutes live but not sure if it's still up...
11 months later
In this YouTube video (at 11 minutes in) he explains how to put a system 6 game on free play.
I can't seem to get it to work. I've read you need to go to next step or it doesn't save it.... how is this done? Thanks.
Quoted from slochar:The value is saved every time you advance or decrement it. There's no need to move to the next or previous adjustment.
The adjustment code is (in english) a big loop:
START
read adjustment, display
if pressing credit button, advance or decrement audit and save, then loop to start to display new value.
if not pressing credit button, loop to start to display value.
Every time the audit is put onto the display, it is re-read from the cmos ram. System 6 in particular is ram starved and there wasn't any space available for niceties like saving a temporary value somewhere in case you changed your mind.
Try it and see. System 7/11 work the same way.
This advice of advancing probably comes from WPC era where you have to specifically save rather than turn off, or possibly other manufacturer's like Gottlieb, that one I'm not sure of off the top of my head (I can look later) but bally-stern-williams of this era all save the values as you change them directly.
So... I do not need to go to next step to save free play setting? Why isn't it saving?
Quoted from slochar:Are any of your settings saving?
I was just trying to do step by step by how he explains it I'm the video & it doesn't work for free play. Maybe I'm missing a step?
Quoted from slochar:If you have 18 on your match display you press the credit button and the numbers on the player displays change. You press advance to get into test.
You are in the correct area when the player one display shows 1497 2 or 6 depending on your ROM revision. Press advance from there to get to 18.
Thank.. we got it start a game but noticed during switch test there were no solenoids working. I'd use a ball pop bumpers & slingshot & nothing happens.
9 months later
I am trying to get my Firepower coin mech working like it did in the 1980s. .25 on left & right with the center slot taking a Susan B Anthony coin.
At this time the left & center work with a quarter. The center slot say 1 dollar but a Susan B Anthony coin is too big?
I'm pretty sure I need a new .25 wire form. Marco & other places showed out of stock/discontinued but vec-tor saw what I posted in a wanted add & sent me to Bob's Pinball stuff & he had the part.
I know it's difficult to tell by just pictures but can anyone notice other parts or things I should work on? Thanks very much.
20221221_151006 (resized).jpg20221221_151024 (resized).jpg20221221_151121 (resized).jpgQuoted from LynnInDenver:It looks like the left side slot is larger than the center? There should be a metal slot piece constraining the slot to the coin size, I think you can swap the left and center so the coin can get in.
You've got to be kidding me! You saw that from a picture & I didn't notice while it's in front of my face? Good eye & thank you.
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