Munford, AL
Quoted from AzureOz:Below is a summary of the BDC Flipper wiring for reference.
[quoted image]
Thanks Azure. I'll recheck that and see if that's my ghost causing the left pop to jump erratically.
(Topic ID: 320823)
Quoted from DaddyManD:Hell yeah! Looks amazing and unique and the color pops like no machine I have ever seen! Keep it up brother!
Down to only 1 ghost left. Today I search for that, then hopefully start moving forward on the final few things...sound, topper light, and cabinet paint.
Quoted from MrBigg:Down to only 1 ghost left.
You're doing much better than my buddy. He only owns one game and he's constantly finding ghosts in it.
Then again, his game in America's Most Haunted, so . . .
Quoted from littlecammi:You're doing much better than my buddy. He only owns one game and he's constantly finding ghosts in it.
Then again, his game in America's Most Haunted, so . . .
I'm assuming the police are the main music in that pin? Ghosts in the machine?
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrpyDacBCh7DBTZPD_JLCY-EjQTGjCKQF
How can you literally give life to a new game, then it turns on you? Lol
Learning your own game can even be a challenge for shots.
Found my last bug, and can you guess what happens when a bulb socket, and a Rollover switch bracket are making contact? My guess is bugs, pop bumpers going nuts, game resetting, etc, but that's just a wild guess on my part.
Next is custom sound card, and redoing a few stacked switches after replacing 6 bad switches from the factory on out lanes.
Game play video also included at no extra charge.
So my best friend came over, as I promised him first crack at it after I got it running, and we played about 40 games last night. Everything went really good, found one spot that the ball very rarely got stuck, and needs a post. So that went really well.
Noticed as the evening went on the lights in the coin slots started to flicker everytime the flipper buttons were pushed, and then the machine shut down, went into reset, and won't play now.
Not going to mess with it today, but I'm guessing possibly a rectifier, or some power issue. I'll run some tests this week, and check for another possible short somewhere.
Regardless, we had a blast, and the game played very good, very fun, and all the shots are doable. My buddy gave it an 8 out of 10 which to me was outstanding, and my gf thinks it's a good playing game as well.
All in all, I give it a solid 7 for play, and I enjoyed it as well, it'll be much better with the new sounds, and music.
So it's close, it's fun, and I did something I didn't think I could do. Now to finish this beast, and move it into the house.
20230429_185031 (resized).jpgHere is a suggestion for how to wire the Relay board to control an additional feature using a lamp signal.
Schematic_Pin Bally BDC_2023-05-02.pdf
This may or may not work as it may cause the relay to switch too fast. If that is the case an additional piece of circuitry will be required.
The Power +5V and Ground can be power from the voltage regulator +5V output or for your machine you could use the general illumination +5V and ground from the SMPS.
Here is a circuit that I think matches that Relay Board.
Relay PCB (resized).jpg
Here is a suggestion for an adapter to use wav trigger sound cards. The adapter uses the original connector to decode the game sounds and send them to the trigger input on 2 wav trigger sound cards. This is an idea for a prototype we can try.
Edit: Post edited as first posted schematic and layout was not complete and would not work.
Sound cards interface adapter v1_0 pcb (resized).jpg
Bally WavTrigger interface adapter v1_0.pdfQuoted from AzureOz:Here is a suggestion for an interface to use newer sound cards. They could be side by side (inverted) or top and bottom, I like the top and bottom more myself. The interface card uses the original connector to decode the game sounds and send them to the new sound card triggers. This is not a final circuit needs to input protection resistors and caps added.
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
This is not only genius, but also something I was told couldn't be done, to trigger the bally cards to fire my new sounds without switches.
Don't post anymore photos here as this could be something to do as an aftermarket money maker to sell restructured sound for rethemes, and also homebrewers.
I am always bl9wn away by how incredible, and detailed your thought process is. Excellent work Azure, and ty for being such a huge help on this f8nal leg of my homebrew project.
Unbelievable!!!
Quoted from AzureOz:Here is a suggestion for how to wire the Relay board to control an additional feature using a lamp signal.
[quoted image]
This may or may not work as it may cause the relay to switch too fast. If that is the case an additional piece of circuitry will be required.
The Power +5V and Ground can be power from the voltage regulator +5V output or for your machine you could use the general illumination +5V and ground from the SMPS.
Here is a circuit that I think matches that Relay Board.
[quoted image]
Success on the topper strobe light, worked like a charm. Lights perfectly off the special light to the relay. No intermitent issues with the hold on the relay. Excellent idea, thank you.
I updated the earlier Wav Trigger Adapter post I made with updated pictures that are closer to a prototype.
2 weeks later
Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I've been down about 2 weeks with covid now. Just now getting to where I can semi take a solid breath again.
3rd time I've had this stuff since it came on the scene almost 3 years ago, and this was the roughest version yet for me.
Anyway I'm going to try and start back working on the BDC pin, and I should have everything working correctly minus sound card development.
Azure has been helping me with a cool design to adapt an old bally card to a new style wav card to use old triggers, to make new sounds fire.
Beyond that I have the cabinet paint to finish.
In other news, we are saving up for our first nice newer pin for Christmas to each other, a TMNT, and we will be redoing the living room to move in our pins from the shop as we get them working. Next up is a supersonic, that I will be turning into a more colorful 2.0 version, as this playfield is trashed, and the overlay is horribly drab.
Picked it up for $500 around Dec., with all new parts, etc already with it, from a guy who lost interest.
We also have an Allied leisure Eros One in pretty good shape, that I'll soon have a new repro cpu for.
Lastly the new playfield design for my next homebrew is under review, and looking at different ramps I've printed, some layouts, and a few other things like the no shooter lane, and instead the ball will drop out from the back somewhere, and open the playfield a bit more at the bottom.
Still working on the setup for the epoxy pour for the carbon fiber, and how I'll get the graphics to "float" between the first pour, and final pour.
Good times ahead, and have really enjoyed everyone's progress on their homebrews. Really helped watching your progress while I've been sick.
1 week later
Quoted from MrBigg:Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I've been down about 2 weeks with covid now. Just now getting to where I can semi take a solid breath again.
3rd time I've had this stuff since it came on the scene almost 3 years ago, and this was the roughest version yet for me.
Anyway I'm going to try and start back working on the BDC pin, and I should have everything working correctly minus sound card development.
Azure has been helping me with a cool design to adapt an old bally card to a new style wav card to use old triggers, to make new sounds fire.
Beyond that I have the cabinet paint to finish.
In other news, we are saving up for our first nice newer pin for Christmas to each other, a TMNT, and we will be redoing the living room to move in our pins from the shop as we get them working. Next up is a supersonic, that I will be turning into a more colorful 2.0 version, as this playfield is trashed, and the overlay is horribly drab.
Picked it up for $500 around Dec., with all new parts, etc already with it, from a guy who lost interest.
We also have an Allied leisure Eros One in pretty good shape, that I'll soon have a new repro cpu for.
Lastly the new playfield design for my next homebrew is under review, and looking at different ramps I've printed, some layouts, and a few other things like the no shooter lane, and instead the ball will drop out from the back somewhere, and open the playfield a bit more at the bottom.
Still working on the setup for the epoxy pour for the carbon fiber, and how I'll get the graphics to "float" between the first pour, and final pour.
Good times ahead, and have really enjoyed everyone's progress on their homebrews. Really helped watching your progress while I've been sick.
Hope you are feeling better Bigg!
Quoted from DaddyManD:Hope you are feeling better Bigg!
Thank you my friend, I'm finally starting to get some energy back, and my breathing is getting much better. This was a rough patch, but I'm seeing some daylight finally. Ty for checking on me.
So the latest update is this.... I now have some voltage bleeding across a lighting ckt to another ckt somewhere, so that will be next to track down.
2) I have a switch matrix issue somewhere.... so when the left pop switch is pressed, it makes the right kicker coil fire, & when the right drop down target is hit, it makes the center pop coil fire.
This has become absurdly frustrating. No switches show faults in test mode, and I can't find any shorts in the switch matrix.
Beginning to wonder if it's a diode/diodes have gone bad, or if I'm just an idiot, and overlooking something simple?
The last 5% of this project has become the hardest, and I'm beginning to wonder if I should even attempt another after this.
I'm definitely not giving up, especially after all I've went though with early issues, broken playfield debacle, etc, but I'm at a point where I'm struggling to see what to check next.
Guess I'll put it back on the rotisserie, and start working my way through circuits again.
Kitchener, ON
Might be a diode or two. Is there a normally closed switch in the matrix somewhere making a connection? Are the pops and kicker and drops on the same line in the matrix? Maybe a transistor on the board? Can you post a pic of the matrix? I forget the original game.
These gremlins are the hardest to search out, but also the most rewarding when you find them. Keep up the hunt.
Quoted from Luckydogg420:Might be a diode or two. Is there a normally closed switch in the matrix somewhere making a connection? Are the pops and kicker and drops on the same line in the matrix? Maybe a transistor on the board? Can you post a pic of the matrix? I forget the original game.
These gremlins are the hardest to search out, but also the most rewarding when you find them. Keep up the hunt.
So I did a switch test, and all clear there, diode will be my first check after I get it back out on the rotisserie. Here is a picture of the matrix, and it has all new altek bally repro cards, and I'm using the space invaders game play set up. So switches on the altek are set for space invaders. Thank you for chiming in, I'm exhausted with this at the moment.
20230604_090718 (resized).jpg20230604_090729 (resized).jpgI’d start looking on that line for a short, bad diode, or bad capacitor on a switch under the playfield. That A4J2-5 line might have an issue at the board like a bad resistor or something but my guess is on the playfield. Grab some coil (IN4004) and some switch (IN4148) diodes, and some .05 MFD capacitors to swap out any that look suspicious. I wish I was a better tech and could help you with the correct answer, but we’ll figure it out
OK so here we go again back on the rotisserie. It's getting scarier each time I have to do this now, due to the weight of the playfield.
So I pulled all the sound switches back out, removed that wiring completely. New sound card in the works that will actually trigger from a Bally style (alltek) MPU, and play recorded sounds through a wav card. That's in the works thanks to AzureOz.
Started trying to find my ghost that keeps firing odd coils from the wrong switch, that worked fine before. I've ordered a bag of new diodes, because obviously who would order used ones, and I'll switch out a few on the right kicker, the single drop, and maybe the left pop.
Kicker, and drop are older parts, so I'll start there.
Looking for a reason my lights are back feeding voltage 3.3 vdc, and so far they are a clean path, but I'll keep looking there as well. One of the downfalls of having 3 different voltages on the PF. Next homebrew will be 48vdc, and 5vdc only I hope.
Anyway, just trying to give some news, and I'm working on it. Sucks being able to play it, and really start getting into it, then it go down. We played about 40 games before it went nuts, and kept rebooting before it would start a game.
I purchased power supplies, and a computer setup foe the next build. If you need stuff contact Octomodz at Trident Pinball, he has some amazing skills, and items to get you in the homebrew game.
20230610_162310 (resized).jpg20230610_162316 (resized).jpgQuoted from MrBigg:OK so here we go again back on the rotisserie. It's getting scarier each time I have to do this now, due to the weight of the playfield.
So I pulled all the sound switches back out, removed that wiring completely. New sound card in the works that will actually trigger from a Bally style (alltek) MPU, and play recorded sounds through a wav card. That's in the works thanks to AzureOz.
Started trying to find my ghost that keeps firing odd coils from the wrong switch, that worked fine before. I've ordered a bag of new diodes, because obviously who would order used ones, and I'll switch out a few on the right kicker, the single drop, and maybe the left pop.
Kicker, and drop are older parts, so I'll start there.
Looking for a reason my lights are back feeding voltage 3.3 vdc, and so far they are a clean path, but I'll keep looking there as well. One of the downfalls of having 3 different voltages on the PF. Next homebrew will be 48vdc, and 5vdc only I hope.
Anyway, just trying to give some news, and I'm working on it. Sucks being able to play it, and really start getting into it, then it go down. We played about 40 games before it went nuts, and kept rebooting before it would start a game.
I purchased power supplies, and a computer setup foe the next build. If you need stuff contact Octomodz at Trident Pinball, he has some amazing skills, and items to get you in the homebrew game.
[quoted image][quoted image]
Good luck detective Biggs! You will find the issue soon! and so glad to see you already talking about your next homebrew!
1 week later
Just wanted to give a shout out to all the guys I've been following, watching, and so unbelievably impressed by, building homebrews. This down time being sick, then catching up with work, etc, has been much more bearable because of you all. OctoModz is an absolute genius on any pin he tackles, the Friday the 13th pin is really looking incredible, Overwatch has grabbed me from the start, and I don't even know the game. Obilix head to head is crazy cool, and Haunted cruise is awesome. Azrach is absolutely stunning, Seeing a matrix start to come together, and so many cool pins in all stages of build. I'm honored to even be considered in a class with all of you, and really hope to meet you all somewhere at some point.
I'm in for 2 ideas on my nexthomebrew, and both are very cool to me.
1) an original theme of time gone wrong called Weird-A-Geddon
2) BioShock the original video game
Just wanted you all to know how much I've enjoyed your builds, and progress.
There was a pretty cool Bioshock homebrew that hasn't been updated in a while https://poormanspinball.blogspot.com/
Quoted from TreyBo69:There was a pretty cool Bioshock homebrew that hasn't been updated in a while https://poormanspinball.blogspot.com/
That is a very awesome playfield, and representation of the game. It looks very factory made! Wow!
So guess I'll move on to something different. Thanks for sharing that. Had no idea so many have worked on homebrews. It's quite a larger club than I originally imagined.
Enjoying your build. Way to go!
Was noticing how clean all you playfield cuts are. What tools are you using? Notice a Milwakee jig saw a while back, but are you using a router or plunge router as well? Your round insert cuts look like forstner bits with a hand drill.
Quoted from JohnnyHomeBrew:Enjoying your build. Way to go!
Was noticing how clean all you playfield cuts are. What tools are you using? Notice a Milwakee jig saw a while back, but are you using a router or plunge router as well? Your round insert cuts look like forstner bits with a hand drill.
Forster on my round holes with a backing plate to help with less, or little blowout. Using a jig saw on some, and a cordless finish router on odd shapes with very good bits, and homemade guides.
Dremel tool with a small, fine deburring bit helps a lot in the little edges.
Used a little auto putty on the blemishes in the wood as well to help with the over all smoothness of any wood grain, or voids in the wood itself. White wood is pretty good when you buy it though.
Thanks for the kind words, and a little bit still left to wrap up. Sound card has been the biggest challenge, and a switch matrix issue.
Quoted from MrBigg:Just wanted to give a shout out to all the guys I've been following, watching, and so unbelievably impressed by, building homebrews. This down time being sick, then catching up with work, etc, has been much more bearable because of you all. OctoModz is an absolute genius on any pin he tackles, the Friday the 13th pin is really looking incredible, Overwatch has grabbed me from the start, and I don't even know the game. Obilix head to head is crazy cool, and Haunted cruise is awesome. Azrach is absolutely stunning, Seeing a matrix start to come together, and so many cool pins in all stages of build. I'm honored to even be considered in a class with all of you, and really hope to meet you all somewhere at some point.
I'm in for 2 ideas on my nexthomebrew, and both are very cool to me.
1) an original theme of time gone wrong called Weird-A-Geddon
2) BioShock the original video game
Just wanted you all to know how much I've enjoyed your builds, and progress.
Mr Bigg your combination of kindness and class is unmatched in this world. Glad we are all helping each other out!
LOVE that you are going for another homebrew and can’t wait to see the path you choose!
Quoted from DaddyManD:Mr Bigg your combination of kindness and class is unmatched in this world. Glad we are all helping each other out!
LOVE that you are going for another homebrew and can’t wait to see the path you choose!
I've learned some things with age.... nobody wants to be around people who discourage, or act better than others.
I've learned by others winning, that I'm not losing anything, and actually quite the opposite, when I encourage others, it builds myself up as well, and helping each other, and surrounding yourself with other encouraging people is nothing but a win for everyone involved.
Fortunately I wasn't raised to believe that jealousy was healthy. I love watching you guys accel at these projects, and I get some joy out of it as well.
I sincerely love these builds, and I'm really enjoying the different approaches you've each taken to get to your desired destination.
I try to interject little ideas, but ultimately, I like seeing you figure it out, and make your own mistakes. Lord knows I've had some serious bumbles on my first attempt!
Clermont-ferrand
Can you do a video with a nice view of the playfield ? (while playing) ?
I love your approach and the result, the last video is a little far from the playfield, i'd love to watch some gameplay on your homebrew.
For people like me that are faaaaaar away from you.
Quoted from leeoneil:Can you do a video with a nice view of the playfield ? (while playing) ?
I love your approach and the result, the last video is a little far from the playfield, i'd love to watch some gameplay on your homebrew.
For people like me that are faaaaaar away from you.
I'm sorry but at the moment the playfield is out on the rotisserie, and I've had some issues at home, and have not been able to work on it.
I have a friend helping greatly on a new sound card, and i have some switch issues with the kicker switch firing the left pop, and a single drop firing the center pop. Hopeful can get back to this soon, and thank you for the kind compliment on the build. Still cabinet art to do, and a few small things.
For the pop bumper switch issue, here is some info from pinwiki that might be relevant
https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern#Pop_Bumper_Randomly_Fires
"5.15.1 Pop Bumper Randomly Fires
An occasional spurious pop from a pop bumper on these games is normal. This is, somehow, an intentional artifact of the software, attempting to aggressively "debounce". These kick with full strength, but do not score. (This is discussed in the Bally Theory of Operation manual.) However, a failing capacitor on a switch may also cause issues. See the information under the switch capacitor section for additional details.
If the bumper activates whenever the flipper fires, check to make sure the switch is clean and gapped properly."
If you remove the capacitor on the switch that should remove any problems it maybe causing. Downside is without a capacitor across the switch it may sometime get missed during game play. So, removing it to see if the random firing stops will help identify if it is the cap or something else.
Quoted from AzureOz:For the pop bumper switch issue, here is some info from pinwiki that might be relevant
https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern#Pop_Bumper_Randomly_Fires
"5.15.1 Pop Bumper Randomly Fires
An occasional spurious pop from a pop bumper on these games is normal. This is, somehow, an intentional artifact of the software, attempting to aggressively "debounce". These kick with full strength, but do not score. (This is discussed in the Bally Theory of Operation manual.) However, a failing capacitor on a switch may also cause issues. See the information under the switch capacitor section for additional details.
If the bumper activates whenever the flipper fires, check to make sure the switch is clean and gapped properly."
If you remove the capacitor on the switch that should remove any problems it maybe causing. Downside is without a capacitor across the switch it may sometime get missed during game play. So, removing it to see if the random firing stops will help identify if it is the cap or something else.
That is good info, and will be very helpful. Ty my friend
Quoted from Sandman454:And AzureOz that sound to Wav adapter is awesome.
Just caught up on all this great work as about to embark on starting my own retheme/redesign.
Thanks, that sound interface card is only in early prototyping at this stage. Have the prototype card built and have started working on some code to test the hardware on the card. If that all works I will then work on the code to read the sounds from the MPU.
Quoted from Sandman454:Simply amazing work. Came up fantastic.
And AzureOz that sound to Wav adapter is awesome.
Just caught up on all this great work as about to embark on starting my own retheme/redesign.
Thank you for the compliment, been a long road. Azure is basically a genius in his own right, and has been very helpful to me. He's the equivalent of the Einstein of pinball/arcade games.
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