Did you get that neon from me, or from BAA? (I've been meaning to follow up on all the folks that purchased neons from me..)

Cool. Glad to see some other ones out there!

Both my sample CVs never had the kits installed. When the game is leveled properly, the highwire lock worked, and while balls may go through that little area next to the RM, I never had any balls get stuck there (since both my games had the thin RM installed..)

Work on slightly adjusting the back metal guide where the ball first goes up the wireform. Try different directions. On both of the games I used to own I had to seriously adjust these before it was perfect. (And even then, during 'perfect', one or two in 20 would fly off..)

Interesting. Both of my samples had that - didn't know what it was. Neat info.

Yeah, it was a lot more interactive than it ended up being.

All I remember is that some balls were held up at the top, just below the bell. During certain modes, a set # of balls were to be released (like, say, 4) and before all of the available balls were shot back up, you had to complete some mode or shots on the playfield. There was no scoring switch ('Luck'), just a switch to tell the game if a ball was at top, waiting to be released. (Visible in the second image.)

Then it was changed for cost purposes, the solenoid for the bell was removed, and the balls were just supposed to hit the bell. The balls were also changed - they were made larger, I believe? - and then final cost-cutting got rid of the bell, turning it into a sound-effect.

(I modified my v2.0H ROM to remove the sound effect, since my sample still had the actual bell in it.)

Yeah, I love that. Honestly, when I had my CVs, that's all I used to go for - the Join The Cirqus was just an added bonus.

Don't get too used to it.. if memory serves, except for a few choice animations (including the 'Ray-Boot'), the others are randomized, so it's mainly different each time. (Including sounds..)

I have an NOS decal - I can scan it, but it's larger than most flatbed scanners, so.. the images may need some work to stitch together.

Nnnooo... eventually I plan on re-adding CV to my collection, and knowing my luck, if I let it go, I'll need it. Gimme a few days, and I'll get it scanned in for you.

I can't rememebr the name off-hand, but they were probably the first 'protector' for the ringmaster. I prefer it over anything else, and think they were first made in '05? I don't believe they're made anymore, which is a huge shame.

Oh gawd, than kyou.

The only thing necessary was the display plastic. The post was easy to get around as long as you had your RM set up right, and I hated seeing people drill into their PFs. The lock adjuster spacer was unnecessary as well - level your game properly and make sure switch edges were good, and you wouldn't have any issues..

The right inlane rollover lights it for a set time.
And, I believe that it's lit permanently after .. something happens. (Darnit! I can't recall, I think it may be after the Ringmaster Special multiball?)

That usually just meas your rivets are loose. I would replace them.

Nice custom neon. I probably made that one!

Your ringmaster is not straight..!

Found an old photo of testing one of my custom color neons.
I can't recall off-hand the color. But this was a rich blue. Had purple phosphor, in blue glass, lit by red neon gas. Made a VERY dark, rich violet. THe color was effin' amazing, but it was NOT bright.

IMG_4678 (resized).jpg

Unfortunately no. I had *1* left, up until I moved into the new house back in 2012 - it shattered in move.

I have one SW:EP1 tube left, would have to connect it up to see what color it is.

Eventually, when I get a CV back into my collection, I may start making them again, non-commercially. When I do, I'll drop a note here and let you guys know.

Looks like one of my custom neons, nice!

Also, I hate to say it, but the center marvel decal is off-center. The 'Visit Ring 3' text should be completely hidden. (However, regardless, it's kinda neat to see if under there..)

Sample and early production games had auto boards. Mid run, they switched to the normal board. Not sure why, but that's why there's a setting in the Adjustments to specify whether you have/don't have the auto-adjust board.

I'll say. I've had two CVs in my collection in the past. While I don't have one anymore, I will play a virtual pin on my laptop on the ride to/from work sometimes.

I was playing tonight, and happened to get Juggler and RM Frenzy started, with 1 ramp to go before Strike An Arc, and 2 Highwire balls locked.

Did fantastic on the first two multiballs, and was able to slam the ball up the ramp to get the Super Duper Jackpot, and stack the other two multiballs on top of that.

The energy in the game.. gosh, made me really, really miss this game.

Also - check both switches on the highwire ramp. (Not the lock ones, the ramp ones, make sure they register correctly as well.)

Holy cow, those are horrid!

Yeah, get the switches with the rollers - while not technically OEM (I'm not sure why WMS didn't use them.. DE used them everywhere back then!) they work millions times better.

Because it was programmed by one of the best pin programmers out there, with the last version done without any input from him.

And don't go bringing the effin' JPop crap here, please. Leave it in the respected threads.

Curios - when the ball comes down the highwire ramp, in switch test mode, and the ball 'lifts up' - does switch #66 *STAY ACTIVATED*? It should.

Okay, yeah, I would get new switches first - but keep in mind that even if the ball is 'lifted', it should still activate #66. It's possible that the ball is lifting too much to activate the switch and the top 'guard' should be bent down.

Edit to add: On both CVs I owned, to improve the locking there, I used a huge set of pliers and a towel to bend the top guard down - so the vertical movement was almost nil.

Try moving the actuating lever to the other set of nubs.

Edit, for more info - The inside nub will be a little stiffer, but give a lot more travel while actuated. The outside nub requires less force to actuate, but has a much small actuating window.

NEITHER position should be tight enough to *hold up a ball*. If it IS, your game is not leveled right - or there's something else wrong in how the wireform is assembled. (One leg under a nut instead of over, etc?)

On the two CVs I've had, I kept my game between 6.5-7 degrees, and on the steeper slopes, had to squeeze down the top guide, so the ball didn't ride up the lock shaft, but other than that, it worked fine..

IMHO, I had an issue with drilling a hole in my playfield. On my samples, I never did any of the things listed in that bulletin. With a nice slope on the playfield, never had issues.

Do you mean the lamp IN the pop bumper, or the actual flasher, underneath the playfield.
In both cases, as far as I remember, they were both bare.

Huh. How'd you ever get the sideshow?

PPS just recently started making them.. Check their store.

This was (still is?) extremely common. Adjust the wireform and the metal guides in small amounts. When adjusted right, you may get *occasional* fly-offs, but most of them should stay on.

Just FYI, the neon would never get hot enough to cloud the plastic.
Could be UV light escaping and causing that to happen, or something else..

How? If the shooter lane gets filled up, where would the rest of the balls in the trough kick out to?

IMHO, if you need to have the spacer there to make sure balls are dropping out correctly, your game is not leveled steep enough. Give the game some speed!

It was offered as the upgrade kit, offered a couple months after production started. The same kit told operators to drill in a post behind the left Bally-Hoo standup at the Ringmaster.

On the two games I owned, I kept them at between a good 6.5-7.0 slope, and never had to insert the spacer. (Hell, I nevere even had to put the roller-switches on. Was I lubky? Both times? I dunno..)

At a lesser slope, the ramp's not as steep, so the timing of the coil plunger isn't long enough to allow a ball out. Hence the spacer and getting a steeper slope.

however, AT a steeper slope, the front ball can 'ride up' on the plunger, which means that the top chrome wireform should be bent down using large plumber's wrench and a towel - down as far as it can go and not bind on the balls in the lock. That will prvent the ballse from 'riding up' and off a switch.

Bad switch. It's gummed up. Get a new one.

Cannon will fire also each time SPIN is completed, or a Marvel is completed.
I don't remember too well (it's been over 10 years since I've owned the game!) but I believe Jackpot shots will fire the cannon as well.

Off the top of my head -
- It may be the ROM revision - I helped beta-test v2.0H, and do NOT remember a THING about the revisions prior to that, it was so long ago.
- It may be a loose wire - in-game, there are vibrations happening (flippers, coils, etc..) which may help the connection keep good, and as soon as everything stops the connection isn't made to the coil.
- Wired wrong? Maybe the coil is wired to a flasher output or something? Check Test and see if it fires when it's supposed to? (And if not, go through ALL coils and flashers and make sure they are all operating normally..)

You can adjust the 'wait time' of the cannon - like if you put a second or third ball in there, you can decrease the wait time to allow faster shots - both in the video mode, and when cannon shots are stacked (completing 'SPIN' and completing the marvel at the same time).

Good to hear!
Now we just need someone with plastics experience to make the RM protector..!

I had the plastic one on both my sample CVs, and never had issues with them. I have one left over, and am saving it for my next CV.. you know, when I win the lotto. If they're not that desired, then if anyone has any extras, I'll buy them, too.

I may start making custom ones again, but it will be a few months, if I do. Unsure yet, but if I do, I'll let folks here know, of course.

Not made any more. Haven't been for a long while, unfortunately. I was lucky, I found a pinsider selling one and picked it up. I bought one for both of the sample games I used to own, and when I get CV back into my collection, I'll put this one on it.

So you have a pic of this 'electrified guy'?

The #5 ball is the correct ball.
Games were shipped with varying color of Menagerie colored balls. Both may be accurate.

OH!
That went on the coin door. In one of the dollar bill panels.

No, they *were* random leaving the factory.

Not your fault- I didn't even know it said that!
When I got my Sample, I started the CV owner's list, and kept track of everyone's game - plus Neon and Ball color, and it sure seemed hellish random to me at the time.

You mean the Highwire ramp?
It should lock balls there - lock two. Then the third is caught and held up there as the animation plays, and then you start Highwire Multiball.

If it's not holding the ball, you likely have a bad or flaky switch.

No, the screw was oval. Top was slightly rounded. It was not flat from the factory.

From what I remember - and it's been a while, I could be wrong - that was done on purpose as a flat screw would get the ball in the dead center of the magnet's effect, and when the magnet would 'pulse', the ball wouldn't go anywhere. (Sitting in the center of the face of the screw like that..)

However, while a lot of times, games I've owned/played did shoot the ball backwards, it wasn't nearly (or even close to) 'all the time'. So, I'm not sure what a fix would be. Stronger magnet coil?

1. Just one rubber grommet, on the bottom hole. The grommet is used to 'level' the plastic so that it's flush with the playfield.
2. No, it just sat in the bottom of the bumper body.

The right inlane temporarily lights it, and defeating RM Razz (I believe?) permanently lights it.

Try switching the pegs that the switch actuator is mounted on, on the switch body.

When I started making the custom neons, purple was most popular, followed by multi-colored neons (of various colors..)

Don't make them anymore. Neon is a dying art and the company I was learning from and making these shut down.

If you have your original, take it to a neon shop (some commercial sign shops do neon..) and tell them you'd like to have one made matching the original's pattern. Ask to see what inventory thru have, and go to town.

There were about 5 different colors form the factory. Was semi-randomized by game. Same with the Menagerie ball.

As far as I know, colors were completely random coming out of the factory. I don't know how much they made of each color. (Would guess that noone knows of-hand. Would need to check purchase records or talk to the neon shop that originally made them.)

There's two types of neon tubes used in the game - true Neon gas tubes (orange-red when on, *clear* when off) and Argon gas tubes (Blue, White, Green, Purple with the game, other colors can be done custom - these appear white or colored when off).

There are some games out there with custom tubes - back between '03 and '08, I had custom tubes made to order. Had a lot of neat colors go out the door. I don't know how many are left out there now.

Just do NOT DO THIS with the game on! That is VERY high voltage!

Hey guys..

Just a PSA..

You're a d*ck if you replace the neon with a LED strip.

(I mean, you can still get neon tubes. New, they shouldn't cost a lot, and transformers are still EASILY available. They give off no heat, and come in a lot more neat colors than LEDs do.)

Thank you,
-Mike.

Nice!
Will you be selling them without the words in there?

Hey CV owners -
Need help identifying a part:
https://beta.pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cv-owners-need-info-from-board

Oh, FFS. I'm an idiot.

Luckily, I got it. It IS in the manual - just not in the *schematics*. (Why? I dunno.)
Thanks!

Custom. I likely made it.

I've been talking to a few neon shops. They are getting rarer and rarer.
I'm at a short stopping point because of a few things - Other projects, and the fact that I don't have my glass pattern anymore; I have to make a new one. And to make a new one, I need an existing neon to take in - and until I have a game of my own back in my colleciton, or find someone (local) willing to loan me theirs, I won't be able to get to the next stage!

That's another reason I haven't gone head-first into remaking the custom neons.

When I was doing them back in the 00's, I was able to get them at a discount, because I was friends with the shop owner, and they were teaching me how to make them. (In return, I sold him a pinball game, that they put in their break-room.)

Now, he has closed up shop - and due to work changes, I no longer have my mornings off to hook up with another shop and create that kind of relationship. Which means prices will be higher. It's also posible that colors will be more limited, as when I was at that shop, I got access to order what raw tubes I thought would be neat to use - and whatever was left over, he bought from me.

Other than looking at the colors and the game and going, 'Dood, Violet and Emerald Green look FANTASTIC togeher!', I wasn't adding anything in the creation. So literally, anyone can take their tube out, over to a neon shop, and say 'I want this reproduces, in <colors>'.

(By the way, Emerald Green is a freaking AWESOME color. )

Yup. Exactly.

Usually it's only needed once, as a 'trace pattern' (a 'copy' of the design, laid out on paper twice, for profiles) is made, so that it can be reproduced.

My last trace got lost down in Georgia, and then my last neon tube (to make a trace *from*) shattered on it's way out here to WV.

Two issues -
It's 120/240v.
It can only be cut in 1ft increments. You.. would need to do some really neat hiding or conflagualting there.

True.. Sometimes the cut areas are down to three inches. The ones I got couldn't be trimmed any shorter, or the ones that were left in tha t'cut' segment were dark.

Send some over! Would love to play with that!

Note that while I may seem against this.. I am.
I think the RGB LEDs would be awesome use if someone made like a 'Continued' version of the game (like CCC), that would then take advantage of the RGB LEDs and shift them according to gameplay. THAT would be awesome.

Jeezuz, no.
When a sample CV dialed in and leveled properly, the ball will not get stuck behind that target with a sample RM head.

The RM head was enlarged to prevent the small head from 'grabbing' the ball and pulling it down into the cabinet, taking the ball out of play. THey released the tech bulletin when they found out the larger head wasn't letting the ball roll past the RM head.

On *THAT SPECIFIC GAME* you did not need to do that.

How do I know? That's MY OLD GAME. That game was used to help develop/beta v2.0H. It's good to see the game still alive out there, but... the new hold in the playfield hurts me.

That is because production games had this done at the factory. Only sample, and early CVs had to have this tecnnical bulleting done to it.

You have a mis-registering switch. In switch test mode, roll a ball down the ramp, one at a time, and watch the lock switches.

*nods*
However, it should not be even kicking out the 1 ball. It should be giving you the third ball down in the shooter lane.

This can happen if:
It doesn't see the 2nd lock switch held closed,
It sees the 3rd lock switch closed (with or without the 2nd lock switch closed), or
It sees 2nd lock switch closed without 1st lock switch closed.

Essentially, the game's seeing seomthign OTHER than Lock 1 and Lock 2 switches closed.

Edit to add: Likely, the second ball is pressing the first one up and off of Lock #1 switch. Which is why I said to go into test mode, and watch the lock switches as you roll balls onto the wire ramp.

Yup.
However, when the ball rides up and causes the first switch to not register, I still call that a 'switch issue'. A way around this, also - without needing to adjust your switches, and what I had to do to every CV I owned/had on route - squeeze the top metal guide down - to prevent the balls running up.

I like my games steep, so I did this to all of them. Muhaha.

I think that when I had mine, I kept both of mine on the steeper side - 7-7.5. I like fast games, too.

Your Trough Jam opto is bad, or the game is seeing it as blocked. The 'light kicks' are the coil eject trying to get the balls to settle back down into the trough properly.

Don't know what else to say, 'cept something's no right. That's what that 'light kicking' is doing, and why it's doing it.

I would start a game with the coin door open (with high-power interlock closed, so coils work, of course), and start a game. When the ball is kicked out to the shooter lane and it does the light jam kick, go into Test Mode, T.3 Single Switch Test, and look at switch 31. The graphic shoudl show a LIT/filled square (not an empty one) and the description on screen should *NOT* have an "(A)" on it.

Cameron wrote this code, and specifically adjusted the coil kickout to AVOID kicking out a second ball. Yeah - he did that on purpose, and AFAIK, it was written into the OS this way so games / firmwares released afterward (and that used the new OS) took advantage of this feature.

The Home ROM would cause it to fire like that. I mean, it would, but if it thought there was a ball stuck or something. My guess is that since the switch shows closed in switch test, likely you have a failing transmitter or receiver on your trough opto board. I'd do that before touching the board in the backbox.

Seriously? Holy heck.

Bend his spring.

In the years I have (two) CVs, I was able to fix all positioning issues by bending his spring.

And yes, get the plastic protector. I have one of the originals from the later 90's, in storage alllll these years until I get my CV back.

It is possible it was changed during production, but both my Sample games came with white.

In the past, white was bouncier than black. So you didn't select the color based on looks, it preferred game play. Nowadays, no telling.

Usually, yes, the game will long-pulse that coil if the expected number of balls in there don't match what is actually in there.

I would play a game, and when you get to the point where it's going to drop all the balls, quickly go into switch test, and see what switches are active. (Without lifting, moving, or doing anything with the playfield.)

Yeah, something else is going on. (I only say this because I worked with Cameron in beta-testing, and he did a lot of code updates and tweaks to get the ramp kickout working right. This means that I played so many games with the glass off, trying to 'break' his code and find bugs.) What's going on in yours, though.. really, really hard to say. I never had the rollers in my game - I never had issue with the stock switch-ends. (I *ALSO* never had to install the service bulletin fixes; though I know other beta-testers HAD installed it.)

Yup!

True. I assume a lot, and always assume folks are on 2.0h..!

Yeah, while I don't have my CVs anymore, it's possible that the first ball is riding up and then sitting back down. Possible that would cause it. And yeah, the ramp is strong. I did bend mine on both of my CVs back in the day.

MAYBE you can adjust the switches, to give them more 'activating' room, so that when the first ball bounces up, the switch doesn't deactivate.

No, it doesn't.
You ONLY need to hook it up if you don't like the default settings, or want to customize something.

1. It will be acceptable - you WILL see a difference! Whether or not you can improve it or not, that's hard to say. ESPECIALLY if you have 3rd party power boards installed.
2. Yes.
3. I honestly do not remember this one, sorry.

To answer your question - put a freakin' neon back in.

To get technical - Some of the neon tubes were filled with Argon and coated with phosphor. (And some used colored glass as well. By mixing the gas, phosphor, and glass color, you can make a 'neon' tube in almost any color.) Phosphor will be dimmer the colder it is - and it cools down when the neon/gas is off. So, CV's ROM has 'Neon ON Time' and 'Neon OFF Time'. When the OFF time has been reached - including game time off - then the game will turn ON the neon for as long as the Neon ON Time - to warm up the phosphor and make sure the tube is as bright as it can be.

With clear glass tubes - red for neon, blue-white for argon - the On/Off time isn't needed. And unless you're a purist, you can usually set the On/Off time to 0 for phosphor tubes, as well. LEDs don't need those settings. Turn them off.

Really hard to properly diagnose with LEDs. The game uses PWM for effects on the neon, which may not be compatible with that LED strip. Also, NEON multiball - if I remember Cameron's odds correctly - was 1 in 100 on the first shot to Sideshow. (Without entering in the secret code before game start.) But, for example, the neon will glow on then glow off when you shoot up the highwire ramp.

If the LEDs are turning on at all, then everything works up to the point where this LED addition is. So, hardware works.
If the sotware isn't working - but it is, even pre-v2.0h - there's not much you could do *anyways*.

You can find it easily.
Cameron put it into a beta when we were testing v2.0H, to test some multiball stacking and other things. He was going to remove it in the final release, but we (the beta testers) asked for him to leave it in. It agreed, if we didn't tell anyone about it. AFAIK, we never did, but someone else reverse-engineered the software and found the code.

Ringmaster Test in the Service Menu is a fantastic place to start.

No. Just turn the game off before hand.

It will eject the ball back onto the playfield, if:
1. There are no more balls in the trough. (Missing ball, bad trough switch, etc.)
2. The lock switches (all three of them) do not immediatly represent balls in the highwire lock.

To test #1 - make sure that no balls are in Juggler, and that all your trough switches are working.
To test #2 - put the game into single switch mode, highlight switch #66. Set the ball on the highwire magnet, and let it roll down into the highwire ramp. The switch should activate and stay on. It should NOT go On-Off-On, or have any flutter in activating.

My guess is that the ball is hitting the gate shaft and rolling up so the switch is getting (momentarily) opened again. If this is what's happening, to fix it you can either (or both) adjust the switch, or clamp down the top guide of the wireform ramp.

Glad you got it, GPS .

Hoping that soimetime, someday, I will have a CV back in my collection. I miss that game somethin' fierce.

I had two - the first one I had while in Colorado. I sold it when I started my career and had to move to Atlanta. Once I got to Atlanta, I got my second. (Both were Sample games, as well, and the second one was a beta-tester for v2.0H.) I don't remember why, but I had to sell that one as well. Both these games I had back when CV prices were cheap-as-fuck- $2k, $3k.

The gate pin will have play. And it's needed. But since the roller switches is a collector-fix (and not an official WMS fix), it's possible that the switches need to be aligned more, or the lock gate coil assembly's position need to be adjusted some, or there's still some vertical play lifting the balls off the switches.
In reality, I would focus on adjusting the switch/switch arms.

I'm theory you don't need a lot of play. Potentially, loosening both screws and the just pushing the switch body forward and then rerighten it..

It could, but likely isn't - likely it just needs to be adjusted. If you search this thread for Eddy Sensor, you'll come across a lot of posts about it and how to adjust it, etc.

At the top of the page theres a small area that says "Find In Topic".

That is the auto-adjusting board, per the small 8-pin IC with the label on it.

I'm going from old, old memory here, but cutting and resetting power to the board (i.e. turning the game off and on) should cause the board to readjust itself.

Pinballs are cheap, and you should always have extras stored away. Yes, you do NOT want them magnetized.

Nice custom blue neon!

Spot Marvel (the insert) is lit by the right inlane. It's a timed shot - shooting up the Highwire Ramp will spot a marvel. (Not a random marvel, there is a pattern.) Side Show never awards a 'Spot Marvel', but it does light it's own 'Sideshow' marvel.

Completing Ringmaster Razz will permanently light the 'Spot Marvel' for one shot up the highwire ramp. (No timer on it, unlike the inlane.)

Yup! You're right! While I was writing that up I got the Light Marvel confused with the Extra Ball. After Razz, Extra Ball is lit, not the Light Marvel.

Sounds like the 'sideshow' is a red herring - very possible voltage is dropping, causing the game to 'see' switches close, before the machine reboots. Or, switch matrix issue and Slam Tilt is getting ghosted closed, causing the game to reset.