I have been working on a GTB Jungle and tried some things that may be interesting to other owners.

First I have been using my rotisserie to fix up and paint the cabinet.
A simple enough idea, but I had never thought of using the rotisserie that way.

Second I found a mod for selecting a 5,000 pt bonus instead of a credit bonus for a home use pin.
This involves adding a relay on the bottom board and a switch on the bottom of the PF.

The info on the mod is here: http://www.tecnopinball.org/wild_life_mod_special.php

Of course Wild Life and Jungle schematics are very similar so the mod works for both.

BTW working on the wiring while the PF and bottom board are out of the cabinet is a blessing.

Bud

Spread (resized).JPG

Switch (resized).JPG

Relay (resized).JPG

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Just finished 1st try at webbing.

I tried flicking the brush, but it just looked like spatter. (no webs)

Ordered the Montana Spider Effect paint and it looks much better.

This is just a outside my garage paint job, no fancy HVLP sprayers or paint booths.

Yep the Montana Spider Effect goes on a little think, but I bet when Gottlieb painted these the webbing was thicker then.

Now 40 years later the webbing is warn down to near invisible.

So my question to the restore pros is what is the proper web density in webs per inch?

I think after I lightly sand the webbing will be toned down a bit.

Moving on to the PinballPimp Stencils next !

Bud

Paints (resized).JPG

Webbing (resized).JPG

Original webbing before.

Seems like the same pattern, but 43 years might have taken the edge off a little.

Bud

Org Webbing (resized).JPG

Makes it rare

Not sure why it would be lowest of the low, the artwork is really pretty good.

Game play is not the greatest EM, but I like it.

This particular one has a really pristine PF and the game will look new when the cabinet is done.

This one has no where to go but up !

Bud

PF stripped (resized).JPG

Just finished 'Pimping' my Jungle with stencils from PinballPimp.

Painting was harder than imagined, but doable.

Maybe be I'll hire that part out next time...

I will say that the Rotisserie for holding the cab was nice.

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PimpedHead (resized).JPG

I don't think the sheen mattered in my case since I applied Minwax Clear Gloss Polycrylic over the paint.

I pretty much suck at painting, but with the stencils it is kind of hard to screw up.

One thing I did majorly screw up was I used spackle on a couple of small dings as a final touch up.
BIG Mistake ! When I peeled off the stencil the adhesive pulled the paint and spackle in that touch up area off !

Fortunately, the area was small and a little masking and touch-up corrected it. (but the pain of watching the paint peel off was almost more than I could bare)

I managed not to get any runs with the Rust-oleum sprays, a couple of little ones I just chased away with more spray.
Also with the rotisserie I kept the surface I was painting horizontal for the most part.

I just got the pin back together and am working through some adjustments.

I am a bit on the fence about doing the next paint job with no real pro equipment, but for this one I am pretty happy.

The DIY turned out OK.

Bud

Pinball Pimp - Gottlieb Wild Life + Jungle PREVIEW (resized).jpg

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More Mods:

The flipper action on my Jungle was very unsatisfying.
I had put in a full flipper re-build kit, but there was still buzzing on flipper hold. (I know polish the end stop or some crap)
Also the hold power was just awful, I could not even deflect a ball with flipper up without the flipper collapsing like a wet noodle.
Also the flipper could barely send the ball back up top even with a super low 3.5 degree playfield slope.

OK, I've read all the little tweaks that might be necessary to eliminate buzz and so forth, but there is no way those tweaks were going to make these old flippers satisfy my needs. I have also read all the caveats about increasing flipper power and blasting plastics and targets to smithereens.

I decided to go ahead and put a sledge hammer to the problem and convert these flippers to DC just to see what happens.

First, I know DC coils are much more efficient than AC coils just due to the nature of magnetism. (modern games ALL use DC coils)
Also the DC power to the coil can be reduced to get the same impact as an AC coil. (without the AC buzz)

My first idea was to find out how much power the A-5141 coil was using being driven by AC.
I measured the AC current through the series hold+main coil at 1.4 Amps.
I am not concerned with the main coil current since it is only present until the EOS switch opens - only a fraction of a second.

So, now I have an idea what the normal power is expected by the hold+main coil.
If I hold the flipper up the heat of the coil starts to build, 18W is a lot of power.

Correct AC power equation:
(1.4 Amps squared = 1.96 * 9 Ohms = 17.64 Watts)

Now I can start to design a circuit that would provide less power using DC and get the increased holding power with reduced heat.

With DC circuits it is very easy to calculate the current flow (unlike AC circuits due to impedance) with simple Ohms Law.
Below is a diagram showing components I selected and the measurements I took.

Note the hold+main coil current is less than the AC powered coil current, but with much more holding power.
I tested the circuit by holding the flippers on for a very long period of time feeling the coil temp with the playfield up.

I did use a very heavy bridge rectifier (25A / 100V) and a 50W 10 ohm resistor), since I am a fan of overkill if it does not cost much.
The EOS switches need to be adjusted to open pretty quick, but that is a matter personal preference on how much of that extra flipper kick you really want.

In summery I got some real flipper satisfaction and I set the playfield slope to 5 degrees for better action all the way around.
As a precaution I added Fender washers to all the plastic corners. (no drop targets on this game)

I am super happy with the improvements.

Bud

Gottlieb Flipper DC flippers (resized).JPG

Many of the 'after' pics were posted above, but no 'before' pics.
Here are a few of the 'before' pics.
There was lots of labor erasing 40 years of dirt and grime. (and removing the lead paint)

Bud

Bottom Before (resized).JPG

Front Before (resized).JPG

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eBay Pic2 (resized).jpg

I forgot to mention in post #9 that the flipper coil power dissipation is reduced dramatically.

The 10 ohm resistor now dissipates 17W and the flipper coil only dissipates 15W.

The power dissipated by the flipper coil was 18W when powered by AC.

No more worry about coil damage with someone holding the flipper up for extended time.

A pretty good improvement for only adding 2 inexpensive components. (resistor and bridge rectifier)

IMHO this flipper mod is a 'no-brainer' for some Gottlieb EMs.

Bud

I made an error in post #9 the coil power calc should have been for apparent AC power, not DC power.

Correct equation:
(1.4 Amps squared = 1.96 * 9 Ohms = 17.64 Watts)

My original equation did not account for AC impedance (29v AC * 1.4 Amps AC = 41W)
I always get that wrong.....

But the idea of reduced power is the same. (~18W before vs. ~15W after)

Sorry, Bud

Bringing this Jungle to CLEPIN this weekend.

It will be for sale !

Bud

Jungle sold at the show.
I am closing this thread with a picture of the machine at the show and the DC flipper mod from below.
Thanks for looking....

Bud

Flippers (resized).JPG

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