In the 80's the bad guys used to punch or kick on the speaker grille, so that the speaker got torn loose, and then grabbed coins from cashbox via the open speaker hole. There was a rumour that some operators then mounted razor blades to cashbox back edge. Probably just installing cashbox covers should have been enough.

Cost of a bracket = $2.50. Cost of a quick weld job at operators shop = $0.25...

I used to carry some most common coils, flipper button and EOS switches, coil stops and sleeves, lamps, Gottlieb and Bally drop targets and fuses. Usually nothing game specific. In days of EM and early SS a broken EOS usually resulted in burned flipper coil and molten sleeve. I dont remember having to take the game to shop for repairs, but sometimes had to go there myself to get some parts not in my toolcase.

A co-worker of mine used to say that fuses blow because they are bad quality. He also told me that fuses are rated according to their quality, 1A being the worst and 10A being the best.

My boss did the exact same thing! Luckily the games were EM then, and a little more forgiving to that kind of abuse. He used to put pliers across the burnt fuse.

Linkage is probably working, but the EOS switch sure needs some adjustment...

Someone did not have capacitors of high enough voltage, and replaced with two series connected caps, and inserted resistors to equalize voltages between the two caps. Not bad.

Looks like someone has been out of LM323's and cleverly created an adjustable 5V regulator from an LM317.

Besides accidental shorting, it is really amazing if it ever worked without a heat sink and not go to thermal shutdown. The original LM323 is rated for 3A, and LM317 for 1.5A, which is just barely enough and even then with ample heat sinking. But of course that depends on how much the unregulated voltage is over 5 volts.

Have you tried drawing numbers on the connectors?

73 YOU ALL HAMS DE OH3MVV

Is that from a re-import game? The 1-1/4" fuses are sometimes hard to find in Europe, since we mainly use the smaller 5 x 20 mm.

In Finland, we have mandatory mechanical coin counters (although I never heard that anybody had their counter readings ever checked), that in WPC games connect to knocker output, leaving the knocker disconnected. Some operators then take out the knocker coil for spares.

Probably because players soon found out the flipper is useless, and did not bother to play long enough for the coil to burn out...

Back in EM days, if a game was in a dark corner, clever kids used a large screwdriver to pry the backbox cover open a little from one side, then turned the credit unit wheel to maximum with a bicycle spoke. We mounted a microswitch detecting open cover and a loud alarm inside the backbox. Also securing rods like that were used.

On Elektra, the push button enables lower playfield flippers for testing.

That's a Wico add-on sound board designed to replace chimes in EM games. Quite rare.

The difference between profit making and just floorspace taking game.

And for the same reasons exactly. But you dont need to repair the bullet

Apart from making unnecessary holes in cabinet, actually quite clever compared to the usual doorbell button.

Maybe it is just a fuse

I once bought an old Bally game, originally with 2" flippers, but 3" flippers installed. The seller had found out that if both flippers are up, draining is impossible. So he had quite cleverly installed relays on flipper circuits, to prevent one flipper energizing if the other is already up.

Sure. And that's why the 3" flippers and relays were quite soon disposed of

Most important part of the picture above is the capacitor charging/discharging curve. The capacitor only charges when rectifier output is higher than capacitor voltage. Rest of time it just supplies current, or discharges. This means the peak current from rectifier might be 10x higher than average load current. And that's why 35 amp rectifiers are used - and sometimes fail - in average 2 amp circuit.

Maybe the original 1-1/4" size fuse was not available locally? And the repairman did not have (for example) a 10 amp 20mm fuse but used two 5 amp fuses in parallel instead.

Not so pretty, but sometimes you have to get the game working with the spares and tools you happen to have with you, on location.

Not bad. Beefy enough (maybe car alternator) diodes, and even soldered case to PCB for cooling.

Reduce buzzing maybe?

As much as I do appreciate cfh's work, I think adjusting the makeshift plungers rubber tip does not do very much to tune the chime.

The bad guys used to drill a hole to front door and then use a bicycle spoke etc. to push the escape button to get service credits. This was before the coin door interlock button disabled diagnostic switches.

Maybe also to prevent serviceman reading audits, or alter game settings without backbox key.

In the bicycle spoke case, yes. But preventing audit or setup access from the serviceman, no, since he has front door key and access to playfield underside.

Personally, I think if you dont trust your service guy enough to let him access game setup, maybe it is time to find another one. Disabling the diagnostics makes it hard to find problems other than obvious loose wires or burnt out bulbs. But I have seen an operator paranoid enough to do that.

Good that the coil survived. Next step would have been to short out the flipper fuse, then burn out the coil and eventually flipper supply.

When you are repairing routed games, you have to manage it with what is in your toolbox, sometimes with not so nice looking hacks.

Anyway, when I was doing that work, I always took care I had a good assortment of screws and wood dowels with me. Often, a loosened screw hole could be at least temporarily repaired by inserting one or two matches in the hole, then replacing the screw. A more permanent repair was to slightly enlarge the hole, insert and glue a wood dowel, then drill a hole for screw.

I never used oversized screws that penetrated through the playfield, but unfortunately many others did I admit sometimes I "repaired" a fuse by soldering a strand of wire across it.

https://www.actionpinball.com/parts.php?item=G10_AFM

Clever repair, but on most games the reset bar falls back even without extra weight

I am sure that after cleaning it will work without that.

I have seen similar solutions, when a location owner thinks the game is too loud, but doesnt have keys to open game and adjust volume.

Very unlikely that a game on route would suddenly lose four drop target springs.

Are you sure it is just a second lock? I have seen operators remove the original power switch and installing a keyswitch instead. Usually, on the cabinet front on the right side of coin door though.