Star Tech Journal

2nd Annual S*T J Reader Survey
Ratings are based on the '/fumber of
manufacturer listings as compared
to the total S*T J surveys returned.
(e.g. in the first category 85% of all
the surveys returned listed Bally as
one of the easiest pins to service,
while 51 % of those listed Williams
as one of the most difficult.)
The comments are selected from re-
turned surveys and do not necessarily
reflect industry service trends. They
are independent opinions.
I. Which amusement machines are
easiest/difficult to service?
PINS
Easiest
Bally
85%
Stem
28%
Williams
20%
Gottlieb
10%
* Gottlieb doesn't have enough info
in service book: Chillicothe, OH
* Gottlieb game information suggests
*
*
*
*
*
VIDEO
Easiest
Difficult
Williams
Gottlieb
Atari
Game Plan
Stem
Bally
51%
47%
9%
6%
6%
2%
Comments:
(Pro)
Bally has more complete game
schematics: Clarksville, WV
If everyone was set up with man-
uals and interchangeability that
Bally has, many service people
would have time to clean play-
fields: Honolulu, HI
Bally "F.O." manuals and Wil-
liams circuit separation ease trou-
bleshooting and repair problems:
Lubbock, TX
Williams' in depth self-test feature
very desirable: Long Beach, CA
Stem sections and labels their
boards better: Louisville, KY
Williams' are easiest except for
their drop targets: Sioux City, IA
Bally has the best support, docu-
mentation and 800 number service:
North Suburban, IL
Bally has less plugs to give troubles:
Pierre, SD
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
(Con)
Gottlieb has too many "Special"
parts used on only one game-one
time: St. Louis, MO
Williams' boards take forever to
remove: Elizabeth, NJ
*
*
S*TJ OCTOBER 1981 8
that any problem harder to fix than
a light bulb should be done by the
distributor: Marina Del Rey, CA
Williams goes out of their way to
make the game unnecessarily com-
plex: Bismark, ND
Gottlieb electronics are hard to
understand: Reno, NV
Williams' problems are usually few
but complicated: Louisville, KY
Gottlieb's self-test isn't as good as
the others: Phoenix, AZ
Components are not marked on
Williams' boa,rds: Burns, TN
Atari
Midway
Williams
Stem
Cinematronics
Gremlin/Sega
Universal
62%
60%
13%
11%
4%
3%
1%
Difficult
Gremlin/Sega
Cinematronics
Stem
Taito
Atari
Midway
Exidy
Williams
Centuri
Universal
29%
19%
16%
14%
11%
9%
8%
6%
5%
3%
* Midway has good back-up service
manuals: Steering, VT
(Con)
I wish Gremlin/Sega would use
standard coin acceptors: Effing-
ham, IL
Gremlin/Sega and foreign games
have a shortage of info and de-
cipherable prints: Lubbock, TX
Cinematronics monitor system
needs changing. Direct coupling
takes out too many components
when one fails: Louisville, KY
Taito doesn't supply enough serv-
ice info: Long Beach, CA
Color monitors ( all mfg's) - Better
service manuals are badly needed.
Card/cage games should have an
extender card supplied: Detroit,
MI
Gremlin/Sega - connectors on
boards should be color-coded:
Westmont, NJ
Stem "Berzerk" joystick needs to
be improved: Utica, NY
Atari's control panel is hard to
remove: Burns, TN
Cinematronics "Star Castle" needs
easier access to monitor front for
cleaning: Hunt, NY
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
MUSIC
Easiest
Rowe/AMI
Rock-Ola
Seeburg
NSM
Wurlitzer
32%
26%
12%
6%
1%
Difficult
Comments:
(Pro)
Atari includes the most service
info: Los Angeles, CA
Midway and Atari are tops with
their Rom/Ram tests and good
schematics: Dorval, Quebec
Atari is the most trouble-free:
Greensburg, PA
I think Williams has a great video
in "Defender"-very dependable:
Long Beach, CA
Atari and Midway have simple
designs and many parts are inter-
changeable: College Station, PA
I must credit Midway for supplying
complete schematics: Marina Del
Ray, CA
Atari, Midway, Williams-Excel-
lent test modes: Elizabeth, NJ
The frontdooron Stem's "Berzerk"
is great for.service: Pittsburgh, PA
Seeburg
Rowe/AMI
Wurlitzer
Rock-Ola
NSM
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
31%
10%
8%
5%
2%
Comments:
(Pro)
Rowe/ AMI has the best service
manuals and the best method of
locating a bad module: Pierre, SD
Rowe parts are easiest to repair
and change: Valentine, IL
Rock-Ola jukes are very depend-
able: Los Angeles, CA
Rowe/ AMI is easiest to service,
also it is American made: Mon-
treal, Quebec
Rock-Ola seems to be a more solid
machine than its competition in
both mechanics and amplification:
Lubbock, TX
*
*
*
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