OK so there was an issue coming from undoing the backbox wiring to get it downstairs. Some times while playing the game will just reboot. Or sometimes the audio will reboot. Once the DMD just displayed an error at bootup.
These issues I have mostly traced down to a single connector that feels a bit loose. It is a touch flimsy and I am not sure if it was this bad before disconnection, but it is the first thing I attend to if/when something does go wrong.
I had a guy over to help move the Royal Flush and he mentioned the connector, described it perfectly, and apparently they are notoriously bad. So add to the todo list:
13) have that power/ground connector rebuilt!
I am hoping that will solve the issue. It's very rare and erratic (oh, THOSE kinds of issues...) but at least I have a good starting point.
Hi there again!
ReplyDeleteI just got done tackling the last few issues in the playfield on my Bullwinkle machine. The replacement Nell motor came in, so I installed that and also replaced a missing left lane half-guide (which took 3 hours as you have to damn near disassemble the entire machine to get to them). Finally, I fixed the issue of the Rhino orbit being a death drain. The metal barrier flap was off alignment by a mere millimeter. I readjusted it and now the ball hits low on the right flipper instead of draining down the middle. So everything is now tip-top, and I've just been swapping in colored LED lights a handful at a time until I get exactly the right lighting effects I want.
Any chance you took photos while disassembling? I would love to post them up if so, could be very useful.
DeleteGlad you fixed the rhino shot, because this game has some great back-and-forth orbiting. Did you just fiddle with it? Or realize it was ACTUALLY misaligned by seeing it in a schematic or something like that?
do your LEDs go in to the same light brackets as the normal lamps?
I have to disassemble the playfield fully later on when I replace the rubbers, posts, and decals, so I will take pictures of that process as I go. Also you may recall the screw next to your pop bumper and how I noticed there was a small hole there on mine. I was able to confirm that indeed an actual nail was hammered in there (one of those long thin ones with a slender head) as part of fixing design flaws in post production. There are a few nails in other parts of the playfield, including under both slingshots to prevent the plastic covers from ever buckling and pinching the slingshot heads. Mine still has the slingshot nails intact, and so does another machine I found on the internet that someone else owns.
ReplyDeleteOn the Rhino orbit, I compared mine with pics of other machines and saw my barrier was more left than usual by a millimeter. I loosened the bolt securing it to the playfield (required removing ramps and art pieces to get to), and just used a flat-head screw driver to gently move the edge inward until it matched the positioning in all the photos I'd downloaded. Then I re-tightened the bolt and it was good to go.
The LEDs I got from cointaker.com. They design them to fit the same sockets, so you just order by socket type the ones you want. While they make complete pre-packaged kits, I opted to go custom and first ordered an assortment of colors and types. This allowed me to experiment with them in order to determine the look I liked best. For inserts like the WABAC bonuses, I found I really liked the frosted premium bulbs. Color-matching worked best for white, blue, green, and red, but the yellows and oranges work better with "warm white" LEDs. I'm still playing around with the general illumination lights and flashers, and I've got another box of LEDs coming in the mail for those.
Great, thank you!
DeleteI took the screw out of my playfield. I would rather have the hole and the occasional ball-search initiated than having a screw to bash the ball.
Mine has them under the slingshots as well.
I am not going to bother with LEDs until I start noticing any bulbs out. :)
Well the LEDs make it look MUCH better when you install them in the inserts. The colors are more vibrant and attractive. The added bonus of course is LEDs will never burn out in your lifetime, but the main reason to get them is for the eye-candy.
ReplyDeleteSo today, I just installed some more LEDs. I used red, green, and blue frosted premiums for the hat trick targets, and they look beautiful! When you decide to get some LEDs, I highly recommend that scheme for the hat tricks. For the hat trick lane light, I found the "ultra" red LED works best. It's bright enough to cover the large area of that insert.
ReplyDeleteHey so do you really think it matters to get the coloured ones? I was thinking white bulbs and let the inserts colour them.
DeleteCan you send a photo of your LED scheme? Would love to see. I am getting some cointaker white LEDs soon, but would love to see a more creative approach.
I do like the idea of having the lights further up the playfield more vibrant/visible. I am not a fan of total LED conversions though, I find them TOO bright usually.
On Monday and Tuesday, I'll be getting the last of the LEDs in the mail I need to finish off the inserts. Then I'll make a video of them in action and upload it to my youtube channel.
ReplyDeleteI ended up ordering some bulb-shaped LED slow-fade color changers from Noflix in Germany. I've got them installed in the overhead ramps and also the front pop-bumper with the hole in the top. I've still got to order some "superflux" versions of these same LEDs for the other two pop-bumpers, since the bulb-shape is too tall for them to fit.
I also did a full set of frosted purple lights for the Nell railroad, and then I did a set of 2-Led premiums for the left lane going from yellow, to orange, to red, to green. The progressive scale of "hotter" colors on the left lane really looks great to spice it up a bit.
Next, I installed brand new start and Boris buttons, and put button LEDs in them. I used a red LED for the Boris button, and a warm white for the start button since it uses a yellow-clear plastic cover cap. I ended up having to do some soldering to install the new buttons to the wires, since the previous buttons had a couple of resistors solder to the wires. It wasn't too difficult, and my Weller soldering station was worth every penny I paid for it.
So now I'm just waiting on a shipment of frosted LEDs for the Spin 'N Win / Tri-Ball clock assembly to round everything off nicely. The manual calls for amber and orange light sleeves in the two middle indicators on the clock, but I'm just going with two oranges since they don't make an amber colored LED.