Pinball FAQ

 

Archive-name: games/pinball/part2

This is the second half of the monthly posting for rec.games.pinball.

If you have any comments, additions, or suggestions for this posting,

please contact the editor, Andy Oakland (sao@athena.mit.edu).

The FAQ editor (that's me!) has finally joined the Web!  You can find

my personal web page at "http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/sao/home.html".

And with luck, I'll soon have an illustrated FAQ online!

Changes from last time:

New email address for Steven Craig, PAPS list maintainer.

Section on flippers slightly revised.

'Amusement Emporium' in Bristol confirmed as out-of-business,

new numbers for Pinball Paradise, thanks to J.Nash@ukc.ac.uk.

----------------------------------------------------------

Frequently Asked Question number two:

I've got this pinball machine.  Now what do I do with it?  (Besides

play it, of course!)

Steven Craig (sjc@winternet.com) maintains an up-to-date list of

pinball machines and their owners (the PAPS list), so that other net'ers

can find people who have a specific game.  He posts it to rec.games.pinball

monthly, or you can email him for a personal copy.  If you have recently

bought a machine, he'd be happy to add you to the list!

=========================================================================

=======================      Playfields         =========================

=========================================================================

Playfields come in three flavors:  Mylared, non-Mylared, and Williams'

"DiamondPlated" fields.  Mylar is a sheet of clear plastic laid over

the playfield to protect it.  Mylar can get grubby, and slows down play...

Some pinball purists remove the Mylar and keep their fields well waxed.

For Mylared playfields, you can use "Endust" or something similar.  If 

your game is already in good condition, it does just what you want, and 

without that annoying waxy buildup!  

Williams field service suggests cleaning DiamondPlate playfields with

Novus Plastic Polishes #'s 1 and 2.  #1 to clean and repel dust, #2 to

remove fine scratches.  Or you can simply wipe the field clean with a rag

and some glass cleaner.  KIT carnauba wax is also reputed to be good.

Call Novus at (800) 548-6872 for a distributor in your area.  Brady

Distributors (see bottom of FAQ) and some plastics supply houses carry Novus. 

By the way, Williams does not recommend "Wildcat" wax on DiamondPlate

playfields, as it can seep under any mylar pieces and dissolve their 

adhesive.  It can also cloud clear ramps, with repeated use.

Maintaining your non-Mylar playfield is more complicated.  There are special

waxes made for this, such as "Mills" and "Wildcat," which are available

at distributors or via mail-order.  (See list of suppliers below)  Wax 

protects the playfield's paint, and provides a smooth, fast, surface for

the ball to roll on.

A dirty playfield should be "dry wiped" with a soft rag before the first 

cleaner/wax application -- that much less dirt to get trapped in the wax.

Do NOT clean playfields with water!  Lemon Pledge is reputed to be an

excellent general-purpose cleaner; you can also clean up the playfield

plastics with it, and use it to freshen up a game that's alread got a

good coat of wax.

If you want get ambitious and remove your Mylar, Brian Millham

(bdm@dr.att.com) offers the following advice:

"It turned out to be a BIG, MESSY job, but it was worth it!

The best method that I found was HEAT.  I simply took a hair dryer

and heated up a portion of the Mylar, starting from an easy to get

to edge, and peeled it up.  Once you get it started, the job is fairly

easy, but slow.  Let the heat do its work.  Don't overheat the

playfield, but also don't pull the Mylar up too fast.  You don't want

to pull up any paint with it!

"Once you have removed the old Mylar, you are probably only half done

with the job.  You now will need to remove the glue that was left

behind.  This is the fun part :-)  I ended up using Milwax and

lots of elbow grease.  Once you start cleaning off

the glue, you will find that it looks like you are making a bigger

mess than you had.  Don't worry, it will start coming clean.

Oh, did I mention to have LOTS of cloths to do this part?

"It played like a whole different machine!  And it looked better too.

The Mylar leaves a dull finish.  A waxed playfield looks nice and

bright.

Also, there are solvents available to dissolve the glue...I've seen these

work with magnificent results.  Michael Knudsen (knudsen@ihlpl.att.com)

reports:

"I just heard from a serious pin restorer that that Blue Stuff

(called CP-100 by Gemini Inc in Michigan) really dissolves that

gunky glue that holds down Mylar sheets.  Not only cleans it up

in short order, but will even soak under the edge of a Mylar sheet

(like around a bumper or ramp) and loosen it right off the playfield!

So now The Blue Stuff has its special niche in pin work.

If you want to do playfield touchup, you can use Testor's paint.  You'll 

find this in the plastic model section of your local toy store.  There

are some new Testor's paint pens on the market, too, which work well.

Lettering can be either retouched by hand, if there's enough to salvage, or

completely redone with rub-on letters.  Art supply stores have the latter.

Before retouching the playfield, be certain to clean well and remove all 

the old wax!  Brian Casper has used grain alcohol with good results.

You can build up height in worn or chipped spots by using multiple coats

of paint.  Be sure to allow plenty of time for each coat to dry, and finish

up with coats of polyurethane spray.

Deeper gouges and holes in your playfield can be patched with "Bondo," a

product typically used for repairing car bodies.  Bondo should be applied

to the bare wood; beware of getting it on playfield plastics, as its

solvents may attack them.  It is very hard after it cures, so you should do

as much shaping of the area as possible while it is still malleable.  Once

it dries, you need to use a power sander to smooth it out.

To fill in stripped screw holes and the like, you can use "Plastic Wood"

to provide a new surface for the screws to grip.

=========================================================================

=======================        Flippers         =========================

=========================================================================

If your flippers seem feeble, have a look at the contacts on the buttons

and the coils themselves.

The flipper coils are actually two coils in one.  One is the relatively

high-current one to initially fire a flipper, and the other is the lower-

current one for holding a flipper up.  The high-current coil is supposed

to cut out at the end of a stroke, leaving the lower-current coil to hold

the flipper up.  If the high-current coil isn't firing, the flipper will

move very feebly.  Conversely, if the high-power coil is constantly

energized, you're likely to fry the coil or blow a fuse.

How this is done depends on the age of the machine.  On older machines,

(Pre-Dr. Dude, 1990) it's done in hardware with a normally closed end-of-

stroke ("EOS") switch which opens at the top of the stroke and puts the

low-power coil in series with the high-power one, reducing the total

current and protecting the high-power coil.  If the contacts on this switch

are bad, the high-power coil won't get full power, and the flipper will be

feeble.  If the switch opens too soon, the flipper will be deenergized

too early.  But if it doesn't open at all, you risk burning out the coil.

Cleaning and adjusting these contacts, as well as the contacts in the

flipper buttons, will fix many flipper problems.  See the directions for

contact cleaning under "General Cleaning Tips" below.

Most modern machines use "solid state" flippers, which use software to control

the strength of the flip.  The most important difference is the fact that the

end of stroke switches are normally open, and close when the flipper reaches

the end of stroke.  When the player presses a flipper button, the flipper

controller board energizes both the high-power (50-volt) and low-power (25

volt) coils.  When the flipper closes the EOS switch, the controller board

shuts off the 50 volts, leaving the 25-volt coil to keep the flipper up.

The practical upshot of all this is that the switches, being low current, do

not need as much care.  Also, the flipper buttons may be replaced by optical

switches, again reducing the necessary maintance.

A sluggish flip may also be caused by a dirty flipper sleeve.  Remove

the sleeve and clean it and the plunger.  DO NOT USE LUBRICANTS on

the flipper sleeve; they will pick up gunk and eventually clog things

back up again.  Replace the sleeve if it looks really worn.

A melted sleeve should warn you to check the EOS switch and make sure

the high-current coil is cutting out on cue.

You may also have a worn coil stop or plunger, causing the flipper

to pull in too far.  And eventually, the end of the plunger will

"mushroom" from hitting the coil stop thousands of times, making the

end fatter and causing friction as it moves through the sleeve.

Best bet here is to replace the plunger.

If you need new contacts, sleeves, plungers, or whole coils, you can order

replacements from the sources listed below.  

Flippers in many electromechanical (EM) machines are driven by AC, so there

tends to be some buzzing associated with them.  This is normal.

=========================================================================

=======================     Drop Targets        =========================

=========================================================================

To clean drop targets, hold the target up by hand, or remove it entirely, 

and use a moist soapy rag or Q-tip.  Anything nastier than soap may harm 

the paint or plastic.  Again, test on an inconspicuous place first.

If your drop targets aren't resetting properly, check to see if the

lip the target sits on is rounded off.  If so, file the plastic lip (on 

the target) flat again or replace the target.  Also, check that the reset 

solenoid is pulling in all the way so that the targets are coming up to 

the correct height.

If the targets don't register when they drop, try cleaning the contacts

as described below.

=========================================================================

=======================  General Cleaning Tips  =========================

=========================================================================

If this is a machine you've just bought, by all means vacuum out all the

insides, carefully.  Don't suck up any stray screws, small springs, or

other objects...They might be useful!  Watch out for the various service

instruction sheets stapled around the insides.  If you find any mouse

droppings, check carefully for wires and cables gnawed thru so neatly

that you can't see the gaps!

Radio Shack Color TV Tuner Cleaner is a good all-around cleaner and

lubricant, even for non-electrical items like solenoid plungers and

shooter plunger shafts.  Don't get it all over the playfield though,

as it's conductive and can confuse a solid-state machine.

Intermittently flickering bulbs may be helped by bending the socket

slightly out of round with needlenose pliers (with the bulb out!) to make

the grounded shell fit tighter.  Use TV tuner cleaner to slip the bulbs

in and out easier.

You can use a business card to clean switch contacts.  If necessary, 

use Freon, rubbing alcohol or some such solvent on the card to soften 

the crud, and use a dry card again afterwards.  High-current contacts,

such as the ones on flipper buttons, may require harsher measures.  Look 

for a "contact burnisher" at your electronics shop or hardware store.

Never use these on the gold-plated low-current contacts, though, as

they'll destroy the plating and lead to corrosion.

If some switches aren't firing, or are firing sporadically, check the 

spacing between the contacts ("Dwell and Gap").  Bally recommends

1/16th of an inch.  You can adjust the spacing by bending the stiff blade

that's between the two conductive ones.

=========================================================================

=======================     General Books     ===========================

=========================================================================

The following books are recommended for pinball fanatics:

"Pinball--The Lure of the Silver Ball," Gary Flower and Bill Kurtz, 

Chartwell Books.  General overview of pinball history, from EM's to solid

states.  Color hardcover, great pictures.  ISBN 1-55521-322-7.

"Pinball 1," Richard Bueschel.  History of early games, guide to rating

condition of games, descriptions and photos of many pre-1960 machines.

Emphasis on EM or pre-electric machines.  B/W softcover.  ISBN 0-86667-047-5.

"Pinball Art," Keith Temple, H.C. Blossom Publishers.  History of pinball,

focussing on backglass art.  Absolutely gorgeous pictures.  Includes a list

of pinball artists and their machines, and a "notoriously inaccurate"

(according to David Marston, marston@coos.dartmouth.EDU) list of pinball

milestones.  ISBN 1-872532-10-1.

"Pinball," Paul Zsolnay Verlag, 1992, originally published in German by V.I.P.

Reprinted in the US by Chartwell Books and in the UK by Tiger Books.

General (though not completely accurate) overview of pinball

history, from 1930's to present.  Hardcover, 80 pages, mostly pictures

without explanation.  Includes German games from the 30's and woodrails

from the 40's to 50's.  ISBN 0-7858-0071-9.

Most of the books listed above are out-of-print and can't be found at your

local bookstore.  However, the following people sell them by mail:

AMR Publishing, though they specialize in jukeboxes, sell schematics

and service manuals for an odd collection of older pinball machines,

as well as many of the "coffee table" pinball books listed above.

Box 3007, Arlington, WA, 98223.  (206) 659-6434.

Harold Balde (harold.balde@canrem.com) has a stock of "Pinball," (US $20) 

"Pinball Art," (US $25) and "Lure of the Silver Ball" (US $25) for sale, as

well as other books on jukeboxes and slot machines.

Mayfair Amusements (see listing below, under parts sources) sells

some manuals and books.

Also, Rick Botts of Jukebox Collector Magazine, is rumored to carry

some books.  (515) 265-8324.

Larry Bieza puts out an annual "Pinball Price Guide," listing price ranges

and guidelines for estimating value for Gottlieb, Williams and Bally machines

from Humpty Dumpty up to the early 1980's.  $12.00 from 1446 Albany Ave,

St Paul MN, 55108.

=========================================================================

====================      Manuals and references     ====================

=========================================================================

For guides to maintaining machines, you can try the following:

Pinball Troubleshooting Guide, Russ Jensen.  For upkeep of electro-

mechanicals.   Can be ordered directly from author;  $19.95 to

1652 Euclid Av, Camarillo, CA, 93010.

The following reprints of 1960s-vintage service guides are available

from Paul Midtdal, 1-3755 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC, CANADA V5Z 2X4:

[Williams] Introduction to Coin-Op Amusement Games, $12.

An Introduction to Bally Flipper Games, $8.

Gottlieb Instruction and Service Manual $10.

"Pinball Machines: How they work & troubleshooting," Norbert Snicer

ISBN 0-646-11126-4.  Available from the author for $40 Australian.

Norbert Snicer, PO Box 622, Randwick NSW 2031, AUSTRALIA.

=========================================================================

==============  Sources for parts, machines, etc.      ==================

=========================================================================

The following sources have been used and recommended by a variety of people

on the net.  (I've used several of them myself)  For many more sources,

read the ads in the periodicals recommended in part one of the FAQ.

WICO is a reliable source of parts for all sorts of coin-op machines,

but a little expensive.  Tried marketting their own pinball machine

a while back, but it flopped.  Catalog costs $10.  (800) 367-9426.

Two-Bit Score Amusements provides circuit board repairs for Bally, Stern,

Williams, and Data East pins after 1977.  Can supply and install game

and sound ROMs; sells reprinted shop manuals with schematics as well

as specialized testing chips and text fixtures.  Austin, Texas.

(512) 447-8888 (voice), (512) 447-8895 (FAX), TWOBITTX@aol.com

Eldorado Products sells copies of manuals for $29.

Long Beach, California, (310) 630-3300.

Betson's sells anything related to arcade games and vending machines.

Ask for the parts department.  (800) 524-2343.

Donal Murphy runs EWI, an inexpensive source for coils and some plastic 

parts.  He manufactures new bumper caps and drop targets using the original

molds.  Chicago, Illinois, (312) 235-3360.

Steve Young has a good supply of miscellaneous EM parts (wiper/stepping

units, motors, flippers, pop bumper skirts, springs, score reels, etc.)

He also stocks parts for recent machines, and can order obscure items

directly from Williams.

Lagrangeville, New York.   Eves:(914) 223-5613   FAX:(914) 223-7365

Nick Cochis at Pintronics specializes in Bally and Stern solid state

machines.  He repairs and sells circuit boards (CPUs, driver boards,

displays, sound boards, etc.)  He also sells copies of manuals for

Bally and Stern machines.  Canton, MA.  (617) 961-3012.

Steve Engel at Mayfair Amusement Company carries staples like coils, rubbers

and light bulbs.  They also do board repairs, have parts and documentation

for older machines, and carry a mammoth (6K+) selection of backglasses.

Ridgewood, NY.  (718) 417-5050.

Dan Gulley has apparently spun off from Two-Bit (see above) and specializes

in Gottlieb parts and repair.  (512) 288-4307.

Colorado Game Exchange sells whole machines (both pinball and video,

we'll forgive them for the latter), though their quality can vary.

(800) 999-3555.

Birmingham Vending in Orlando, Florida, sells parts by mail, does board

repairs, and sells whole machines.  (407) 425-1505.

Brady Distributing Company in Charlotte, N.C., sells Novus Plastic Polish

(and other supplies, I assume!) (704) 357-1243.

-----------------------------------

For readers in the UK:

The Pinball Owner's Association has a new address:

POA, PO BOX 122, Cambridge, CB1 4AH, England. You can contact David Blake,

the Treasurer, by email:  D.Blake@BAS.AC.UK  They have revived

their magazine, and provide spare parts.

An authorised Williams distributor, though they don't like dealing with

small orders, is:

DEITH LEISURE LTD.

Unit 2, Industrial Estate, Leigh Close

New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3NL, England

0181 336 1222 (voice)

0181 336 1487 (fax)

SUZO, 182C Park Avenue, London, NW10 7XH, England.  Telephone 081 961 2661.

They sell through a catalogue with minimum orders of ~25. (Sorry if that

attempt at a Pound sign doesn't work!) Credit cards accepted.

'Pinball Paradise' is especially good for getting parts for old games, etc.

01428 606116 (voice)

01428 606106 (fax)