Yes

I’m still very happy with my CPR replacement! It’s been great.

I had a GnR. I'll never support Mirco.

I'm picking up a Whirlwind locally later this week, joining the club! The seller says the game plays 100%. This will be the first time I've bought a working pin, so I'm wondering if there are any trouble spots specific to this game that I should look over before dropping cash on the glass? Thanks!

First off, congrats!

Not much, tbh. Just check for usual broken plastics: the one above the skill shot drop targets is always smashed, so is the long plastic that overhangs just to the left of the center ramp. Neither are dealbreakers because you can buy replacements. Just note it if it’s something that concerns you.

No real dealbreakers on this game though. Maybe check the playfield spinners. Make sure they work.

I'll add to go through the solenoid test to make sure everything fires - especially the right ramp up/down strokes. I don't believe its a chronic problem, just speaking from my own personal struggles to make that ramp work reliably.

Thanks! My journey along the Zen Pinball to IRL Pinball pipeline will soon be complete haha! I thought I wouldn't be buying a another game until I completed my EM project, but this WW came along and I couldn't pass it up.

Thanks for the suggestions, both of you

Hey all, having a partial GI issue on the back box. It seems pretty contained as it’s all the lights connected through the green and white-green wires. I hand a burned connector on J6 that I replaced both the head and pins. However, both before and after, I couldn’t tel if the issue was there or up on the relay board on the back glass lamp board (second picture below).

Before changing out the burned connector, wiggling J6 did make them flash on for a moment, but so did wiggling the connector on the relay board. So I replaced J6, still nothing unless I wiggled the relay board, so I then replaced the connector on the relay board. Now I get nothing even if I wiggle the connector on the relay. It does seem I have continuity from J6 all the way to the lamp sockets on the row, do the relay boards go bad very often? Do I just go buy one of those next?

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I am pretty sure it is the same relay as the one under the playfield so you could swap it for testing before buying one.

Oh nice! That’s a good idea, I’ll try that

This will make life not easy

Thats good to know, will definitely me investing and give me something to do for the winter

That worked! The board from under the playfield worked like a charm. So issue must be with the green wire, I might try to jump it from the other solder point.

Next question, I have a GI bulb in the back (bottom) right corner with a wire that goes to nowhere. Where should this connect to?

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Ask them to give you the key and say you need 10 minutes. Run through all of the diagnostics - switch, coil, lamp - and make a note of anything not working. Then decide how much you want to “charge” for repairs. Don’t put it that way, but be mindful of the work you have in front of you. I’ve learned to ignore problems if the price is right, but use them if the asking price is out of line. I also ding games more for serious cosmetic problems than electrical ones.

Ah, just circles back huh? On it, thanks!

Yeah it looks like you might have some bad connections since you do get some lights on the back box. I would follow the bare wires to the where they quit working. You can try jumping to different points with a wire stipped on both sides and see if you can get them to light up.

I posted recently about my status as a soon-to-be member. We've now had our Whirlwind less than a week, and I am over the moon about it! I was nervous about the purchase, not having spent thousands on a game before, but early results are that this was SUCH a good call! My kids and I have put well over 100 plays on it already.

Disclaimer: I'm a truly terrible player and have only broken 4 million twice, and that's with it still set to 5 balls per play as the prior owner had it! Last night, my 9yo and I played a silly game with me on the right flippers and her on the left, and we put up a 3.2 million score which is about a million better than what I get in the average game so far.

I think it's in fantastic shape, but of course at 32 years old it's not perfect. Here's a list of items I need to address on it (some of which may help me post slightly less terrible scores):

-spinner rejects - about once every other game a shot bounces off the spinner like it's bouncing off a wall. I promise these aren't bricks off the upper NE target or off the upper right flipper. It's entering the orbit cleanly, and bouncing off the spinner. Other times, the spinner seems to spin just fine. Anyone else have this happen?
- spinner shot trajectory - on successful (non-reject) spins, the ball continues around the orbit, passes cleanly through the yellow pops, and right between the flippers. My understanding from reading the first 45 pages of this thread is that it should hit the pops as it exits the orbit.
- under ramp kick out - the ball doesn't hug the guide rail as it approaches the upper flipper, in some cases it's so far over that it's only possible to nick it with the tip of the flipper.
-left flipper limited range of motion - the left flipper's tip is about 1/4" lower at the top of its stroke than the tip of the lower right. It is wildly difficult to get a cradle on that side. If the ball has even a tiny bit of center-ward motion, or a tiny bit of clockwise spin, it will never stop rolling. Also, it's impossible to catch the ball on the left after it leaves the cellar. Best you can do is tip it to the lower right flipper. The pin is level left to right, I've checked several times.
-lower right flipper strength - this is more of a want than a need, but I would really like to be able to backhand the under the ramp shot. But the backhand is very anemic. It's making me think the motion is from the hold coil not the full power flip.
-plunger shot - full plunge hits the post of the side ramp or occasionally goes up the side ramp (partially most of the time, though my neighbor and my 9yo have both gotten it to go all the way up and around on a plunge) rather than following the guide rail around to the upper flipper.
-raised inserts - a bunch of them are lifting the mylar slightly. If the ball is moving slowly enough, the raised ones are significant enough to push it out of its path, especially at the compass.

Lastly, a question: when you hit the side ramp successfully, what usually happens to your ball? It seems like it should be random due to dropping onto the active spinner. On my Whirlwind, 4 times out of 5, the ball drops out of the wire form, the spinner disk briefly whirls counterclockwise and hurls the ball perfectly between the flippers. If I'm being honest, it's kind of ruining the fun of hitting that shot. After making the hardest shot in the game, it would be nice to have at least a 50/50 chance of keeping the ball alive.

Cool to see a local join the club. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. WW is one of my favorite pins of all time. I play mine almost every day.

Some of the strange bounces and ball paths you're experiencing sound like it isn't leveled side to side correctly. A full plunge shot should do a full orbit *most* of the time and a right orbit shot should hit the pops on the way out. I get some drains down the middle out of the left ramp shot but not consistently.

Sounds like the flippers need a rebuild. I always rebuild mine when I get a new machine.

Your scores will get better as time goes on. I recommend checking out the PAPA tutorial video on YouTube, it will help your scores if you know what to shoot for. You may be excited now but wait until you do cool stuff like hit the three way combo, collect all the tolls, or hit the jackpot shot multiple times while another ball is in the cellar.

I'm going to go play mine now...

Sorry if this has been answered in here previously, but why does WW have 2 rubbers on everything? Seems more like an aesthetic decision vs an engineering one.

Most of PL games are like this. See also Addams, RS.

Most of those rubbers have an unusually long span between posts, so if the ball hits in the middle with enough force, it can sneak under the rubber... The double rubber eliminates that issue.
This was more of a thing with the old-school polyester rubber, if you use Titan or Superband urathane rubber, its not such of an issue. For added insurance, you can use a rubber that is 1/4" shorter than spec. I have converted several locations (WW, ES & RS) to a single star post and rubber, not a single ball has ever slipped under!

Has anyone heard if Outside Edge will be doing a hardtop for Whirlwind?

If anyone has a spare alphanumeric display or saw one for sale let me know.

I'm 99% certain the display on my Whirlwind is burned out since voltages were good on the cables and I replaced the power board and still no life on the display.

Looks like 2.0 is coming. Can't wait.
https://www.knapparcade.org/post/williams-whirlwind-2-0-pinball-is-being-created

The thread is worth the read! JIM aka applejuice has done a tremendous amount of work.. beta testers have had the kit for months now.. looks awesome! I can't wait either!

Would this update only be for the Whirlwinds with the modified display?

The kit comes with a dmd, converting it from alphanumeric. Check out the thread! These are comimg out sooon.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whirlwind-software-rewrite-the-journey/page/9#post-6830193

What…. Like this??
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My orbit spinner (B-13339) is pretty janky. I'm trying to buy a new one but can't seem to find it at any online retailer (Steve Young, PPS, Marco, PBL, whatever). Need to buy one. Don't need the bracket and wire or anything, just the spinner.

Just posted my Whirlwind if anyone is interested.

Machine - For Sale

Whirlwind Archived

Partially shopped/refurbished - “Working Whirlwind recently shopped with new rubbers and Comet leds throughout. All flippers and poppers are rebuilt and new sleeves on all the coils. Integrated flashing led light ...”

2022-04-11

Colorado Springs, CO

Papa_J

5,500 (Firm)

Archived after: 42 days

Viewed: 566 times

Status: Not sold: Decided to keep game

Can anyone tell me what page this is in the manual? I’ve looked and looked and don’t see it anywhere.

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Really? Mine takes a fucking hand slam to do it?

Is it supposed to do that? I'm changing springs.

My plunger is so rusty and gross I just need to either fully replace it or wipe it down with krud kutter.

I think you better see a doctor about that one

Reading from the beginning of the thread, a bunch of people say yes.

I'll get some springs out and have a paly with it. My mate sometimes slams the plunger with his palm to do it, but it's not really doable atm.

A plun

A green spring dud the trick for mine.

I belive that's on a separate sheet and not part of the manual. Will check tonight.

Yeah, mine goes around upper loop to upper flipper on hard plunge.

I’ve finally set up the whirlwind I purchased last year! I love it, but a couple issues…

Some lines in the display flicker during play. I did the display test and none of the lines are missing, but still flickers during play. I tried reseating all connectors, but no luck.

Any thoughts?

Likely have a bad solder connection in the display itself

A set of Lit Kit Flippers installed on Whirlwind, all three flippers ( https://ArcadeMade.com ).

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Guys, question for Whirlwind owners who installed NVRAM -

Who did you order from?

And was it plug and play?

I am looking at pinitech website, and its a little confusing - different version for System 11B and later? Or you need to jumper something?

I already have that chip socketed on my MPU. So it should be easy, but I want to make sure I am ordering the right one.

I believe you need to look at the chip you have in the board. My board has a 6116 chip so I would stick with a 6116. You’ll have to check your ram at U25 and see whether it’s a 6116 or 6124, then order accordingly. I haven’t gotten around to installing NVRam in my WW yet but plan to order one from pin tech as I’ve had good luck with using them in other games.

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https://nvram.weebly.com/nvram.html

The 6116 installed on my WW board:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ai4U1bDx1jDYuto99

I purchased 2 kits from that guy a while back. But then I purchased 10 "FM1608-120-PG DIP-28" chips off ebay seller shengmingelectronics. Maybe $2 a pop that way and putting those in pins as needed now. If yours already has a socket, a 45 second chip swap.

I have to share.... I've been struggling with Whirlwind for months - I rarely even get to 1 million points. I just can't seem to get the side ball(s) to lock no matter what I try. The online videos make it seem so easy but I am unable to get it. So we get frustrated and play something else for awhile.

We were playing yesterday and my wife really hates the fan, so I looked up how to turn it off. I went into the front door options buttons but I can never remember which ones to hit and if the switch has to be manual or auto. so I am pushing them at random hoping to land in the right spot rather than digging out the manual - and I ended up in the test....and wouldn't you know it, the 3 switches on the outlane are showing as bad!!!

It could be the matrix, but a couple of switch replacements is pretty easy to do to start....hey, maybe we will start having fun with Whirlwind after all this time!

You really need multiball with "Millions Plus" to have any chance to "feel the power of the wind".

Disconnect the inputs to the triac board at the top of the head. Disconnect the AC power input and drive wire.

It might also be the switch that activates the diverter. If the switches that detect ball locks are not working then the game will probably do a ball search and kick the locked ball out. You'll never get a ball lock under those circumstances. The money shot (left ramp) is where it's at with this game.

Millions Plus.

Feel the Power.

Yeah, there must be something funny going on with your game. As I've found Whirlwind to be one of the easiest and most relaxing pins that I've ever owned. Very fun, and not always a cake walk, but definitely one of the easier games I've played. Sonif you guys are having a lot if trouble with it, I'd venture to say that there must be some sort of mechanical fault going on.

So what do you mean by not being able to get the side-balls to lock? Can you elaborate? Do you mean that when the ramp flap is down, and the voice says to "Get to your homes. The storm is coming" that balls aren't locking on the left when you make the ramp shot? Does the ball just kick back out or something instead of staying locked?