STAR*TECH
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•. Journal •*******************••••*•••••~• ................................... *****
·,
ERICKSON
~
1l£ SERVICE TRAIL •••
By Todd Erickson
Suni t Allusaent
St. Paul, NN
NINTENDO !DIS
lihat started out to be an excellent
system gaae has turned into an
irritating Pl"Obl-■ Many years ago, I
purchased a Nintendo •Shooting
Trainer•. Now aany years later, the gun
is still attached. Driving around tONnt
I counted 51 pay phones in a roN that
Mere all still attached. Not one
■ issing! ! !
Since these 111!11 guns (lll£K
HlJfT MJ6AN' S IUEY) earn, they are an
excellent buy if they NOl"ked. The cable
isn't stl"Ol'II enough. No safety chain
NS included and should have been. lihen
• send emplo,ees shopping, it takes
alot of extra ti•. The gun has several
problems that have cm,ounded the
probl-■ The cable is co■ing out of the
gun at the lff'01l!I angle. It should be
POinted tOllll"d the cabinet. The cable
co■ing out of the cabinet NOUld be ■udt
■ore effective if it .,.. minted lONt
so it NOUld be a softer angle. B1
bending the cable at a 91 degree angle,
it destroys the cable.
•
A $131.N gun is not Nhat I consider
a replaceable it& They nDN have a
$51. N ++ exchange prograa that will
help. All guns in the. past had a NQ to
replace the cable. A rwoveable plate
on the handle NOUld help so Ne could
replace the cable and wires.
I don't Nant to seem overa-itical
about this issue because• need
creative ideas like this in our
industry.
The people in Japan are not as rough
on equiP■ent as USA custcars are. A
fa siaple changes will aake these 111!11
guns very dePl!lldable.
PINBALL PLAYFIELD- -- -- -- -
For aany years• have been told to
never use anything like rubbing
co■POund on our playfields. Water,
uonia, or soap 11USt never be used.
They ■ay be absorbed by the NOOds,
Nhich NOUld be very har■ful.
In ■ost cases there is·too ■uc:h clear
. on the playfield. Applied too heavily
or Net will cause the finish to Cl"ack.
A playfield that is a fa years old
can be slightly dull. Use 3N 15955
rubbing co■POUnd on it and the luster
Nill COIi back. It Nill shine better
than new. Applying 15988 3N glaze will
provide the final luster.
lihen applying the COIPOllnd, you are
in no danger of taking the color off as
long as it stays tan. lihen you get
playfield color it NOUld be best to
stop. This OPl!l"ation should only be
done Nhen l'll!ce55ar1 •
Waxing the playfi'eld often Nill help
it retain its luster.
PLEX SCRATDES
Bad scratches in plex can be sanded
out with 611 Net/dry sandpaper (sand
then Net>. Then use 3N autmotive
rubbing co■POund (e955). Rub it Net
until it drys. This will produce a good
shine. Use 3N (15988) for the last
shining (glazing) process.
The 3N rubbing co■POund also NOrks
•ll on pinball leas, steel runners
and stainless coin doors.
PINIR.L SERVICE KEYS
Usually there are two keys for the
top head on a gaae. If they get lost,
they get lost together. Separate thea
and keep one in the back of the
cabinet.
PINBALL stmFER TIPS
Replace all Nhite tiPS with bNINII
ti,s. They last ■uc:h longer. If the tip
has been rt!IIOYIIII, the ball 181 be
daaaged. Replace it also.
PINBALL LESS
Try reaoving 6 inches fro■ the legs
on a pinball. It llaY help the i111me in
locations that have lllilller players.
Use older daaaged legs for this.
************
ROOT
TI£ PLAYER
by John •Root• Pilardtek
Pennsauken, NJ
A ■onthly analysis of pinball
aachines currently out on the street
(new and/or reconditioned) fro■ a
player's POint of viat.
MARS (600 CF R> bJ Botti ieb
I caa across this aachine located in
the far back COl"ftl!I" in a sidercx:a of a
local bar. If it counts for anything,
the spot in Nhich this ■ac:hine lies is
quite appropriate. lihen I questioned
the bartender inquiring as to Nhether
this ■udt was getting ■udt playing
ti•, he si1pl1 said •N]•.
After playing this aadtine roughly 21
tias c:onsecutiveb, I decided to pus
11 ■one1 over the bar only because of
the aggravation llhen playing this gaa.
First, Nh1 this aachine is set uP
with four flippers is beyond • (two on
both sides about 3 inches above one
another>. The two keJ bottoa flippers
are not level with each other, one
being slightb higher than the other.
This, to -, is a lta,Jor ■istake because
it aakes the tight ball saves unfair to
the skilled player. Also, the gap
between these flippers in 111 opinion is
set too wide apart: the result being
that the player is left watching too
aan1 balls drop doNn the ■iddle.
Second, I dislike the playing design
November 1985 (3)
or field 1ou have to shoot for. With
only four bu■pers located at the top
section of the aadtine, the ball seems
to alNQs be coaing tONard 1ou, or
shall I say, !It you!
Third, there are two separate spots
(war bases) that Nill hold your ball,
being released only after JOU shoot UP
a ra■p called the stargate. But, if you
do not aake the shot and your playing
bal 1 droPS, JOU have the unpleasantness
of watching the balls held in the war
bases shoot out, doing nothing ■ore
than .rely dropping doNn without any
play POSSible - Better luck next ball.
The aadtine has two levels in Nhich
1ou' re able to hit on Score Levels. The
first, obtaining a score of • •
POints, one of the le.st settings I've
seen, but racking uP POints is no east
task! Additionally, High 6aMe 1till
award JOU 3 ga■es.
•MARS is 9upre■e• the aachine tells
at the end of the gaae. ltaybe SO,
but MARS is definateb lonely in this
bar, siapb because no one plays it!
Play on... IIIJT.
JOU
******
BATISTIC
MICROPROCESSORS
B1 John Batistic
llnivid Test S1ste■s
Cleveland, (If
The ■irc:opr"OCeSsor is bec:o■ing a
vital part of everyday life. Ever1Nhere
1ou look you see the■ used for a new
purpc,se. The ■icroprocessor·has·played·
an i■POriant role in the coin aachine
industry for quite a few years and
,ro■ises to continue in that direction.
We have all seen and heard about
but hoN aan, of us have
an underst~ing_ of Nhat they do.? There
are aany technical explanations about
■icroPl"OCe5SOl"S but they can leave 1ou
■ore confused than you Mere to begin
with. The easiest NaJ to understand a
■icroproc:essor is to draw a parallel
with SOEthing • can all understand.
■ic:roprocessors
Think of the ■ic:ropr"OCeSsor as the
conductor of a sJ■Phany orchestra. He
doesn't play any instruants but the
orchestra •ill not function without
hi■• He ■ust have Ii fe before he can
raise the baton. For Ii fe he needs
blood (+5 volts). He needs a hearbeat
(clock signal>. He needs an alar■ clock
to wake hi■ uP (re-set signal). Once he
has all the above he is ready to raise
the baton.
Upon raising the baton, the
percussion section starts the beat (RIii
is addressed for instruction>. lihen the
beat (instruction) is heard, the baton
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