Star Tech Journal

Tai to Operation Wolf Gun Problen1s
Jim Ennis
Fun City Arcade
Ocean City, Maryland
I would like to start this article by saying that
Taito's Operation Woiflooks like an excellent
piece of equipment as far as player appeal
and earnings go. Unfortunately, a game is
only as good as it works.
PROBLEMS
The main problem, that I have encountered
with this game, has been with the gun as-
sembly, and so far, I have more problems
than I do solutions.
The first thing that happened to our game
was that the gun just fell apart! The bolts
under the gun base assembly loosened from
one week of normal play and just fell (to the
floor) apart! I know it's supposed to last
longer than one week!
Next, the self-locking nut (Ml2) came un-
locked and permitted the gun to be spun
around until the wiring was destroyed and
the gun can now be lifted up and out (as per
the "How To Replace The Gun Assembly"
instructions) to be carried home and
mounted by one of our players.
Thirdly, the gears in the gun, that give you
that fabulous recoil action, stripped away to
nothing. They then made a lot of noise but no
action. At the time, the distributors natu-
rally had no replacement parts because the
game was new. (We all know this tired old
story by heart).
Also, after a short period of time, the grenade
or rocket button fails. There are, also, no
replacements for these either.
SOLUTIONS
As far as solutions go, here are some things
that I have tried and can suggest:
1. Locktite on all the bolts and nuts should
be applied before (preventive maintenance)
they fall apart (which they will) and this
should save you some time and trouble.
2. Go down to your local hardware store and
get a standard doorbell button. It will fit
exactly in place and replace the grenade
button (last longer too).
3. As for the stripped gears, you can only -
take that up with your distributor and hope
for a replacement gun.
GOOD NEWS
Now for the good news: It seems that these
problems only exist in the early production
games. The last games we received had the
bolts Locktited, and the gears seemed much
more quiet. I believe that they have short-
ened the stroke on the plunger, so that there
is less movement and less strain on the
motor and gear assembly.
A SUGGESTION
My wish for this month (I get one, don't I?)
would be that the manufacturers do a little
more field testing for quality and durability;
not just earnings. It would, without doubt,
save operators money, make the game more
popular and reduce headaches all around. It A
seems, to me, that this would benefit every- •
one. Including distributors, who look like
they're stuck between a rock and a hard
place in these situations.