you will have to see exactly what
occurs on the playfield when the
game goes crazy , then thoroughly
examine that area of the playfield for
a possible problem.
Gottlieb games occasionally have
wiring harnesses that get rubbed
through by target bank reset arms or
flipper stands . This will damage the
CPU board if solenoid voltage is
passed into a switch line, so if you
have repeated board failures in
Gottlieb games you will have to
closely inspect the wiring harness
under the playfield for an area where
the wires may have been rubbed
through . If you find such an area ,
repair and tape the wires, then
reposition the harness with a cable
clamp so that it cannot be damaged
again .
Finally , burned coils must be
changed before repair or replace -
ment of the solenoid driver board . It
is important to remember that every
coil in a solid state game must have
a diode across it. The purpose of this
diode is to prevent a voltage "spike"
from damaging the coil's driver
transistor when it is turned on . If this
diode breaks off or opens, the
transistor will short and the coil will
burn. So be sure the replacement coil
you install has a diode on it , and
observe the polarity of the connec-
tions . The solenoid voltage common
wire must always be connected to the
"band" or cathode end of the diode .
If the connections are reversed , the
driver transistor will be damaged .
The same holds true for lamp
sockets . If a socket is shorted or dirty
inside , it will either damage its lamp
driver (SCR or transistor) or not
operate . So check out the condition
of the socket before repair or
replacement of the lamp driver
board .
Hopefully these hints will lead to
less downtime on your solid state
pin games . Remember , you must
repair the playfield before you
change any boards. And the playfield
can make you think you have "bad
boards" when in reality you have a
simple problem under the playfield .
Pinball playfields have been around
for fifty years, and they are still
subject to the same problems that
they've always been subject to , even
tho1,1gh the motors and relays are
gone now . A simple playfield
problem can cause expensive board
damage , so be careful. Checking out
the playfield just may help you avoid
a needless and sometimes expensive
trip to your distributor's electronics
department .
-Reprinted courtesy of Star- Tech
Journal, Merchantville , New Jersey
08109.
Exidy ups service concerns
Exidy President H .R. Kaufman
has announced a warranty reserve
program and an incentive board
program .
"A basic tenet of these programs is
to provide better and more efficient
in -warranty , minimum charge service
to the distributor , and , at the same
time , offer timely support to the
operator ," announced Kaufman as
he issued a statement at initiation of
the programs .
The warranty reserve program is
effected in the form of a credit to a
reserve account set up for purchasers
of games from Exidy . Each Star Fire
buy is credited with forty dollars
warranty credit; each Crash purchase
is credited twenty dollars of warranty
credit ; each new Exidy game pro-
duced will be assigned an appro-
priate warranty credit.
An Exidy customer who has a
warranty account will be able to use
the funds credited therein to buy
Exidy parts or merchandise , or to use
Exidy labor at a rate of $37 .50 per
hour .
Credit accounts are limited to
$4 ,000 , no cash rebates are allowed ,
and credits are not retroactive .
As a product of Exidy's new
incentive board program , a complete
set of logic boards is being dispersed ,
at no charge , at the time five games
have been shipped to a customer .
Another set of boards will accom -
pany each purchase of 25 games .
The new Exidy programs are now
in effect and have been designed to
give cash credit to the distributor in
order to help him give better service
to the operator in the name of Exidy .
Exidy recently moved its head-
quarters to 390 Java Drive , Moffit
Industrial Park , Sunnyvale , CA
94086 . The new phone number is
408-734-9410 . Exidy also has se-
cured a new Telex number , 357-
499 .
Douty retains title
Philadelphian Jesse Douty utilized
a quick pace and an accurate
forehand shot to retain his national
Air-Table-Hockey championship .
The event , held at the University
of Houston , August 4 and 5 , was
brought to an exciting finish as Douty
recovered from a so-so first day of
competition that had left him in fifth
place going into the finals .
Douty started the finals competi-
tion with a hard fought victory over
his home town rival, Joe Campbell ,
who had entered the last day as the
top seed , and finished off his day's
work by handily disposing of Texan
Phil Arnold .
Arnold placed second in the
competition and Campbell wound up
in third place . For his victory , Douty
received a championship trophy and
a cash award of $180 .
The competition was marked by
the absence of Colorado's Mark
Robbins , who recently captured the
Texas Superflea State Tourney .
Robbins , apparently, is on the
injured reserve list .
Sega reports gains
The growth in acceptance of
coin-operated video games in Japan
and the addition of Gremlin Indus-
tries and Esco Trading Company to
its corporate structure have enabled
Sega Enterprises to issue an annual
report for fiscal 1979 that ostentates
dramatic revenue increases for the
company.
Net earnings for the year ending
June 30, 1979 reached a record
$12 .5 million , representing a more
than 600 percent increase over last
year's earnings of $1.9 million. Total
revenues for the year were $101
million , compared with $37 .2 million
the year before .
The glowing report , issued by
Chairman of the Board and Presi-
dent David Rosen , comes on the
heels of a 3-for-1 stock split for
holders of common shares as of June
22 .
Sega , which manufactures, dis-
tributes , and operates amusement
games in the United States and
Japan , is an 87 percent owned
subsidiary of Gulf+ Western In-
dustries , Inc .