How to replace or repair EM pinball latch relay parts/articulating arm/rollers

Ok, that’s a mouthful huh? This is a continuation of a previous series of videos I’ve done on fixing deep ruleset issues in EM games, and now that we’ve found what’s wrong, let’s fix it!

First, here’s a video on how to replace the latch relay – there’s another post where I demonstrate how to remove the backplane from the game so it’s easier to work on.

And in this next video, if you don’t have a replacement part, I show how with a little ingenuity and a #4 tap, you can fabricate your own roller for the articulating arm.

Now that it’s fixed… let’s see how the game plays!

Fixing Shooter Lane Problems in Stern Jurassic Park pinball

This is a common issue with Stern’s Jurassic Park pinball machine. The shooter lane throws the ball into a vertical up-ramp delivering it to the right flipper, but in some cases it doesn’t reliably do so and it messes up the skill shots. Here’s a fix that is based on what appears to be a manufacturing defect with the playfields.

Installing a dollar bill acceptor (DBA) in a pinball machine

This is a short video demonstrating how to add a DBA (dollar bill acceptor) to a new Stern game (in this case, Jurassic Park). The older Stern games came with the cable necessary but now they’re not bundling them. I take a cable from Iron Maiden, along with a DBA I pulled from Wizard of Oz, and install it in Jurassic Park before I put the game on location.

Upgrading Gottlieb System 80 MPU board with new battery pack

One of the first things you have to do when you get an original Gottlieb System 80 game is deal with their on-board NiCad battery pack, if it has not already been addressed. Gottlieb installed these batteries on the actual MPU board itself and like on other games, it’s a common cause of serious problems with the game. The batteries begin to leak after awhile, releasing electrolytes that corrode the MPU board and the components on it. This can happen even if you don’t see any obvious leaks. The batteries need to be replaced. There are a few options you have to do this: a remote battery pack (3 AA batteries along with a blocking diode to keep them from being charged if they’re not rechargeable batteries), a 2032 lithium coin cell, or my favorite, a 5.5v 1.5F memory capacitor. The memory cap will last the longest and will not destroy any components on the board. It will keep a charge for at least a month or more without power. Here’s a video of me adding this fix to a Gottlieb System 80B MPU

 

Upgrading eddy/proximity sensors on Bally/WMS games (Theater of Magic)

Recently I decided to replace the trunk eddy sensor on Theater of Magic with something more reliable than the original Bally/Williams proximity sensors. They are prone to “drifting” and will need regular adjustment. There’s a company that makes an auto-adjusting board that I wanted to try out, so here is my video showing the installation of that new board. This should make the game a little bit more reliable.

Guns and Roses: Dealing with a bad design of the ball shooter lane

Guns and Roses is one of Data East’s most desirable pinball machines, if not their most valuable.  It’s a great game with a ton going on, but there was a fundamental flaw in the initial design of the game which caused lots of problems.   Data East came out with a fix involving a replacement part that is now unobtainable.   So is there a work-around for this?   We try to find out…

This is an unedited series of videos showcasing some experiments I have been doing trying to repair damaged pinball ramps for which there are no replacements available at the present time. In this case, I’m working on a Bally Party Zone ramp, using different types of epoxies, plastics and adhesives. See work works and what doesn’t. In the end, I figured a creative approach using laser cut plexiglass tabs which were attached to ramps using two different types of adhesives.