Star Tech Journal

STAR*TECH Jc,urr,al
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the location loses revenue.
CLEAN
Dirt slOlfS dolm the ball. And as the
ball slOMS, so do the quarters. Protect
your invest11ent! Clean and ..ax the
playfield at least once a Neek. At the
saae ti11e, check for loose parts and
tighten thetl before they break. If
playfield war begins to sholl, check
for nicks or gouges in the balls.
FLIPPERS
Flippers are the 110St i ■portant
playfield fNture. They thould al..ays
operate at full strength. Tnt the
end-of-the-stroke SNitch: (1) Ju■ p the
unhanded end of the diode on the
flipper coil to the center terail'lill of
the coil. (2) Then operate the flipper
button. (3) If this technique restores
full strength, file and burnish the
end-of-the-stroke •itch-. (4Hbie
adJUSt both blades (actuating and
stationary) together 10 the fliPflll"
pawl opens the EDS •itch Nhln the
flipper is in the up position. (5)
AdJust both SNitch blades ta.ard NCh
other for good conduction. Poor
strength can also bl caused by dirty or
■ isadJusted flipper-button •itches.
BlllPERS/KICKERS
Jet-bu ■ PI" and kicur SNitches ■ust
be adJusted for fast resPOl'ISe to
increase playfield action. On the new
drop targets, the back-up blade should
be lubricated •ith a light
■achine-lubricant. This promotes
reliable dropping. Also lubricate
friction points on SPinning-target
asse■blies.
BLADE SWITD£S
Niver burnish or file a blade •itch.
Here's the right ..ay to clean and
adJust the■: (1) Insert a business card
betMeen contact points. (2) Apply
pressure to both blades Nhile P11lling
the card through. (3) AdJust the
statiol'lilry blade: The contacts should
touch Nhen the actuating blide -is
depressed hal f..ay by the ball. This
al101tS sel f-clNning action for the
re■aining half of travel. (4) The
actuating blade should be adJusted to
begin to travel at the start of SNitch
activation.
DROP TAR6ETS
Drop targets should be checked for
broken or loose parts, or •ires
disconnected fro■ •itches or coils.
PLAYFIELD
Playfield screNS and nuts should be
checked for tightness. ClNn or replace
dirty or NOrn rubber parts.
Check ball shooter plunger for proper
alig....nt and saooth operation.
Check all tilt ■echanis■s for proper
operation.
LAMPS
La■PS
that flicker or don't li!lht.
Check sockets and Mires. Replace all
burned-out bulbs and clean dirty ones.
800<-00X.
Check that al 1 IOI' s and other
socketed parts are properly seated.
Check for loose or da■aged conl'll!Ctors
and replace as needed.
Check for loose scraes holding dOllft
all circuit boards.
Check Mire harness for cub or nicks
in cables bending over edges of
cabinet.
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SABLE
POER SUPPLIES: DECK FOR "RIPPLE"
By Dennis Sable
Technical Nanilger
Ro■star
Torrance, CA.
S,■ptoa: "Hu■ Bars" on the screen,
PE goes crazy, or garbage on the
screen.
Proble■ :
Possible AC on either the
ga■e P0Ml!I" supply (+5\IDC & +12VIIC>
outputs or Monitor powr supply outP11t.
Possible Cause: "leaky" or bad filter
capacitor.
Troubleshoot in11 guide: Attach D. N. N.
(Digital Multi-Meter) to P0Ml!I" supply
output (check sche■atics for
appropriate test points>. Neasure
voltage on closest DC setting. Voltages
Nill read 10111!1" than nor■al -they ■aY
see■ "good enough" but noticeably lCMRI"
than norllill.
Next •itch your ■eter to AC setting
and check for an AC reading on the DC
line. There should be less than .ti AC
"Ripple" on any ga■e PoNM" supply. If
you find the AC to be grNter then .1i
of the specified DC voltage, suspect a
bad filter capacitor. The filter
capacitor is the largest cap. in the
circuit i■-!diately follONil'!!l the
circuit rectifier (diodes or bridge).
August
1985 · (2)
on control panels. Try to reEllber that
this is a player-ga■e interconnect and
that it is very i ■portant for this
sect ion of the conversion to be laid
out wll (player co■ fortl and that it
t10rks wll (player satisfaction) for
■aXi ■UII ga11e
inc PAtEl.. LAYIIJT
The kits vary on panel layout.
Kona■ i 1 s KICKER
diagra■ on page 2
■anual. They give
has a good layout
of the instruction
you the option of a
single or dual control layout. The dual
control doesn't allON player against
player action, hONeVer, thus I chose
the single because it suits the left or
right handed player.
NA6 NAX (Nichibutsu> doesn't give any
layout, but I installed a fire button
on both sides of the Joystick. With
these kits you'll have to decide Nhen!
to P11t your buttons.
But in the ca!il! of Wico 1 s OAIPI~
BASEJA.L Part II, you' 11 get a
plexiglass overlay Mith pre-drilled
holes so that's Nhere the buttons Nill
have to go. This kit is a dual control
layout, player against player. Looks
like a good kit, too.
ClJT WITH Tl£ Cl.D
Once you have deter■ ined the layout
you prefer, next step is take apart the
old one. It should either be sheet
11etal, or ■etal Mith 3/4• NOOCI, or no
11etal JUSt 3/4" NOOd (Williaas).
We' 11 discuss the sheet ■etal type
first.
To start, you'll need ■ore holes or
less holes. For exa■ple, an Atari DIS
w; to a Kona■ i !IJPER BASl you'll need to add tNO buttons on each
side. Si ■ply drill the l'll!N holes Mith
1-1/8" hole SIN. The buttons to use are
the 1-9/16· long Mith a deep 11eitch
bracket (Wico 115-t98411).
ENN::CS
If you're doing_a ga■e Mith tNO
holes, they ■ust be plugged. After all
the holes are drilled, install the
overlay. You're better off to scrape or
peel off old overlay first. After the
neN overlay is in place, you flip the
control panel over and fill any holes
not needed Mith epoxy. After this is
set, you can then cut out the holes
needed Mith any sharp instruant. Also
tri ■ ends of any excess. At this point,
I P11t on any stickers or decals, fire,
shoot, or Ju■P kick on the control
panel. I ~hen give it tNO or three good
coats of clear polyurethane. This Nill
help keep your stickers on, plus
provide so■e protection fro■ peeling
and cigarette burns.
This
On a control panel using 3/4"
plyNOOCI, unless the previous panel
utilizes the sa■e holes, 1 1 11 scrap it
and start OVl!r Mith a piece of 1/2"
plyNOOCI. Then you can use a 1-13/16"
Solution: Change the suspect
capacitor.
Extra Info: This quick check can be
very useful -it t10rks! By-the-Ny, if
the AC ■easure■ent is very high<• or
higher>, suspect the circuit rectifier
or, in so■e cases, a loose fuse holder.
(Not a bad fuse -Just a loose holder,
i.e. Bally NidNay PAC NAN and NS. PAC
NAN. l
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alfJERSI~ TIPS
by Ji ■ Ennis
Ji ■ Ennis Video Repair
Salisbury, II).
■c>nth
I have soae ti,s and info
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