A spacer part
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The fastener is in the wrong side of the plastic
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compared to...
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and this...
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Remove top plastic... remount posts with rubber ring...
loosen metal brackets to side wall and adjust fit...
test for the ball getting stuck...
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post rubber ring is R-414 3/16" I.D.
Reassemble when you are satisfied with metal wall angle...

Hello Vector club.

I've wanted one for a while now and finally bagged one to bring home

Thought I'd share a bit of de-ledding, as when I first picked it up, the glass was very pink, but I kind of figured perhaps it was faded as all the photos online were red.. anyway, as you can see, I was able to transform it a bit removing some LEDs... no fade thanksfully, just purple LEDs I suppose... looks like those green high score etc ones might be a bit much too..

Glad to see so many tips, I see some more tweaks I should get back to. Interestignly, the original manual did not show 2x rubbers behind XYZ, however, the rubber chart that came with my machine did show that 2x.

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I have not had a chance to get into the modified rom yet, is the V4 home rom, the go to for this game now?

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I was wondering what people think of the Shoot again switch setting? Personally, I love it, as it gives the game such a great feeling of a sport, where that extra hard/fast shot is rewarded right away. I noticed that the default / recommendation is to have this off, so figured I'd see if there are other considerations. With my current set up, it is quite difficult to achieve this, but when you do.. it feels 'right'.

Overall, I think I have my game playing well, but one issue I have noted is that on occasion, the vector scan shot will sometimes skip through the lock area, and loop right out the gate. I was wondering if this is a typical thing to happen on occasion?

Thank you-

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Thanks @vec-tor, nice clear pics. I will work on those tonight. I was looking at the wrong fastener, but I thought it was funny that when I went to look at what you were talking about, I found the spacer that I thought I was missing.

This seems, uh, pretty intense for a neophyte. Is it easier than it looks?

Yeah, it's not in the owner's manual or the parts manual. But it does explain why the parts manual says you need qty 4 2" rubber rings for the game. Now if I could just explain the 1-1/2" that came with my kit. It's in the parts manual with no source or qty.

I haven't tried this, but you're really selling it. I should give it a whirl.

Are you saying it skips over all three saucers? There is no way I can hit that shot hard enough to do that. But, I'm still trying to dial in my game -- I'm fighting a little bit with playfield angle and the power of that right flipper.

Thanks for the link.

Oh, that was another thing, having to jumper the main board in order to install new ROMs. I am a little hesitant to modify original hardware in good shape just to run the home ROM. I considered getting the Weebly board with the home ROM selectable by DIP switch, what do you think of that?

Ok, so I got the little stuff done that vec-tor recommended. Now I'm working on the double sided saucer. First, does anyone have a good reference for me on how to clean and adjust the saucer? It's doing two things:

1. Not retracting after kicking the ball out
2. Kicking the ball through the gate incorrectly, such that it bounces back into the saucer (could be the gate or a post as well).

Note that when the ball falls back into the saucer, it seems to kick with less force and make it out of the gate. Kicker still sticks though.

I had the same issue with mine recently. couple of considerations-

- The gate on the exit was the real issue with mine. I am not sure if it was the original, but I ended up making another more like what I am used to, with the wireform in the middle. This seems to help, so when the ball went through the gate, it was less likely to bounce back in.

- The kickout arm getting stuck, I found under the mech, this was just misaligned slightly.. I think the return spring was getting caught slightly?. I cleaned the mech up completely and it now retracts nicely.

- If needed, the kickout can be adjusted by slightly bending the end of the armature. the direction is indicated in the manual, but basically, it should be able to kick it toward the plastic, which should guide it nicely out.

TBH, jumpering a original board is just fine IMO. It is not a hack, these boards are designed to be adjusted like this. Is it original for the title? no.. but the board was designed for this capability, so I think of it as more configuration than anything else.

I have a LISY-35 board, (runs emulated ROM via a Raspberry pi), I thought I'd give the home rom a whirl.

Yeah, I love the shoot again on the fast shot. Seems to happen a lot in multiball.. I was wonderinf if I am getting it by "tricking" the vector speed by getting two in the vector scan shot at the same time?

No, not the 3 saucers.. what happens is that the ball goes around vector scan, comes out the gate and rather than landing in the first saucer, it just rolls all the around and out the exit gate.

Thank you.

Yeah, it has some wear spots here and there, but I imagine this is quite common given the exposed drop targets and areas around the vectorscan display screen etc.

The more I play, the more I feel this game is pretty under appreciated by the community at large. I find myself drawn to playing it quite a lot... one of the things that has struck me recently is how rewarding and long the multiball can be. I've owned and own several classic SS multiball machines, but this may be one of the few where I feel I can actively keep it going for some time, and actually make saves and gain control etc... curious if people have ideas about any other classic solid state multiball that might be quite like this one, in this regard? By comparison, Centaur, Fathom, Xenon, Firepower etc.. all pretty much drain multiball without as much statisfaction? or maybe just my set up? lol.

Top gate is in wrong position.

Note: the plate bracket has three positions.
a; front
b; center
c; back
Top gate wire form on Vector is in the [ c; back position ]

Hey Vec-tor,

Two questions for you. With this gate set up, do you still have occasional times when it bounces back in? or does it always_ work as a one-way gate properly?

Also, on the plunge, do you ever just trip the X-target, or does it miss this generally?

Thank you-

Thanks. I did notice the three positions and left it in the position it was when I got it.

Back position means to the right side of the machine, correct? Like the gate entry side?

Is the wire supposed to be parallel with the bracket? Mine appears to have gotten present at some time in the past.

Curious, are things like this (gate position) published anywhere? Didn't see it in the owner's or parts manuals.

"Back position means to the right side of the machine, correct?"
Yes. The gate wire should seat a little high...
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"Curious, are things like this (gate position) published anywhere?"
No... publication... only part numbers, etc. "when they are correct"...
And---- Engineering drawings.
Note: pg. 9 playfield chart.
item 5.
#5 Ball Gate & Wire ASE-2250-91 is the same as
---- ASE-2250-77 on Bally's Skateball. There might be one little tweak here and there.
Note: Bally was really good with part numbers for the EM pinballs...
---- However, by 1976 part No. mistakes, number switching, etc ...started to happen.

Okay… got the gate fixed. It was a combination of the wrong hole plus a bad bend in the gate wire. I did a sloppy job bending the wire, still need the correct tools for that, but it's well-behaved enough to continue. Now I have discovered that the lowest saucer on the top right ("captive saucer, bottom") is activating, but is too weak to eject the ball to start multiball, and the three balls just pile up on that saucer. I checked and resoldered the connections to the coil (admittedly I am not a skilled solderer), but it did not make a difference.

What's my next step? Coils either work or don't, right? So am I looking at rebuilding the mechanical parts, troubleshooting the board, or am I wrong and I should replace the coil next?

PS, it took my nephew and I about an hour to figure out the secret combination of removing and replacing the gate wire. Whoever designed that was a diabolical genius.

Not having this problem yet. Maybe some pics/vids?

Try manually ejecting the ball.

Can you do it, or does it still hang up?

Does the entire length of plunger travel move smoothly, or does it start to resist 1/2 way through?

Is the sleeve dirty?

Is the coil stop loose?

It did have resistance. Coil stop was fine which is good because I couldn't find a replacement. Sleeve was dirty, replacing it didn't fix it. Armature was slightly bent, tweaked it dead straight, and removed some traces of dried grease with diluted Purple Power and a toothbrush. It is now functional but not 100% smooth. I think there's still gunk I can't get to. Should I drive out the roll pin to disassemble it completely, or is there a simpler way to clean it thoroughly?

I put those mechs in the ultrasonic and 85% of the time they come out spotlessly clean

make sure the plunger tip is not mushroomed in any way, if it is, file it smooth

use 1/10 of a drop of oil on the metal to metal pivots

Got myself an ultrasonic cleaner. What solvent do you use, how long, and which oil to re-lube it with? I have a precision oiler around here somewhere. Or just leave it dry?

Should I do every mech in the machine or just the two that are sticky?

I usually use Simple Green to get all the sticky oil film off them

I lube any metal to metal contacts with Super Lube teflon that comes in the toothpaste tube.

If you have a precision oiler, then I'd fill it with Zoom Spout oil - that stuff works on spinners too.

(make sure you check that all the mechanicals are still good. Plungers still the right lengths, coil stops still tall enough, new sleeves......)

Hey Vector owners, I was wondering about the playfield pitch used. I find with too steep of an angle, the outlane saves are pretty few and far between, which is a pretty big part of the enjoyment of this title IMO.

Anyway, I was kind of wondering if others play at a steeper pitch and just get used to the outlane saves, and make it happen.. or if in general, running this game less steep, just generally works a bit better (kind of what I'm finding personally).

Thanks!

As a new owner, I've been wondering the same thing. My playfield is set at 4.5*, which is about the steepest I could physically adjust it to and still be level in my garage. It still seems a little floaty, but also seems well-matched to the power of the flippers and making the vectorscan shot. I have not done any flipper maintenance to see if the machine is capable of more speed. I'd love to hear a few others' takes on it.

Done. Went with Zoom spout oil. I found that the spring washer on the plunger end of the coil needed a lot of adjustment to keep the assembly from binding. Is this common?

My newest problem is a drop target switch that won't register. I removed the drop target assembly for inspection (mechanically only) and found that the diode connection had broken.

I had to physically hold the assembly with one hand to inspect it. I can't figure out how to physically support the assembly in the game in such a way that I can access the switch and make the repair because the other drop target bank is in the way. This seems like it would be a problem peculiar to Vector. Any ideas?

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Check if the coil stop bracket is at 90*

If not, bend it back in a vise

Kind of a goofy video.. super tired. Still, figured we need some more Vector gameplay videos out there..Was a fun few games with my son.

New owner here, just wondering if there's a secret handshake or anything I need to know before joining the club. What a great game.This one has been on my wishlist a long time.I really like the deep rule set. I have replaced all the drop targets and have LED'ed the back box .This one seems to be in fairly good shape, although I will be replacing plastics and adding more LEDs.

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Thanks, sure it needs a little love but overall I think it was a good find.

I had a chance to swap out most of the LEDs on the playfield, still have a little bit to do. Added some bonus lighting under the vector energy containment unit as well as under the left plastic just below the left flipper. I also added a couple of lights near the pop bumper and behind the stand ups in the center behind the vector sign. I'm really digging this title, looking forward to dressing it up a little more.

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I used comets matrix system tied into the one GI socket at the bottom of the containment area. I split that and ran two LED strips along each side of the containment area.

Reaching out to the community here... I'm wondering if anyone has a spare one of these plastics they would be willing to part with. (Small rectangle that mounts in front of the pop bumper)I'm not too concerned with the condition of it for the application I have in mind for it.

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Hi guys, I have just bought a Vector and am very excited. I'll pick it up next month and will post pictures then. Looking forward to reading through this Vector Club forum.

Where are our pics?!?

Got a Vector and just so close to getting is going. So what's up?
J2 on the MPU.

If I unplug J2 it will go into attract all light crisp and clean.
If I plug J2 in. Some lights flicker and some lights stay lit in attract.
The Scores have scrolling 7s and 2s
Lamp test is crisp and how it should look.
Solenoids do not fire in any option.
I get 7 flashes on the MPU.
The lights in the vector containment unit and center Vector, top left and right plastic do not light up but do in test.
The Two lamps in the back box aux drivers in attract, top does not flash, bottom lamp will flash in attract. Both flash in test.
Looking for what it could be because I'm confused.
TIA

MPU connector J2 is the playfield switch harness.
Some of the switch signals are shared with the lamp bus and display bus.
If plugging the J2 connector causes these issues, it's likely there's a short circuit on the playfield between a switch and something else such as a lamp.
Go into switch test mode and see if any switches are abnormally being detected as closed.

Does anyone in here have a link to some good shop out pics? I picked up a Vector that’s a complete basket case. Basically everything except the wire harness has been removed from the top and bottom of the playfield. Looks like most of the parts are in a box. I was hoping for some nice pics to help me with the task at hand. Thanks for any help!

See if these help:

Each thread has an image gallery at the top - for your convenience here's the direct link to this clubs image gallery of Vector pictures:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vector-owners-club-fans-also-welcome/page/5?gallery#g

There's also the machine picture galleries - here's the one for Vector:

https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/vector/gallery

if anyone has a used set of playfields laying around please contact stu at cpr, they are looking to borrow a used set for the cad development for a repro. stu is not on pinside but he can be contacted through the cpr facebook page