Star Tech Journal

September 1997
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• PINBALL REPAIR •
• & MAINTENANCE •
&
PINBALL REPAIR •
V.2
: Together they cover nearly •
every pinball made in the •
• coin-op games industry from •
• 1986 to 1996. Modifications, •
enhancements, troubleshoot- •
ing, parts sources, replace- •
ments and a ton of fixes by •
• easy-to-find symptom/solu- •
. tion format. Both manuals :
• designed to lay flat on the •
• bench for ease of viewing. ...
_____________
.
Order Form
.
• Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
provides specific info on a selec-
tion oflogic ICs and text chap-
ters discussing logic fundamen-
tals in some detail. Good discus-
sion of the 555 timer chip is in-
cluded. Every shop should have
a collection of manufacturers
data books. They are just full of
information. I recommend a
Japanese transistor manual, do-
mestic power and signal transis-
tor books (Motorola's are good),
CMOS and TTL data books
(Motorola or National), linear
ICs in particular voltage regula-
tors and display interface (Na-
tional is a good place to start).
There really is no limit to how
advanced the material can get.
When you are ready for it, there
are books on power supply
theory, video theory, processor
and DSP, and so on. There are
then design books covering the
topics, following that are various
exotics such as ESD tolerance,
CAD, micropower, AID and D/
A.
In today's world, coin-op covers
a wide range of things. Jukes in-
. Company: _ _ _ _ _ _ _
• Address: - - - - - - - -
• City: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
: State/Zip: _ _ _ _ _ _
' 0 Pinball Repair/Maint $49
0 Pinball Repair V.2 $49
• 0 $89@ Set.
• Please add $4.50 for S&H. ($11 via Air).
• Thank you!
continued from previous page ...
•
: Prepaid or COD: 609/654-5544.
: S*TJ, Box 35, Medford, NJ 08055. .
Fax: 609/654-1441.
volve CD players, audio ampli-
fiers, speakers. Changers use
motors, optical sensors, and
more. Videos require you to
know power supplies, logic and
microprocessors, video monitors,
even CD ROMs. Pinballs use a
host of electromechanical sys-
tems and the display technology
has moved way past six digit dis-
plays. Almost everything has
control electronics of some sort.
Something has to run the motors,
solenoids, relays, and lights.
Many of these technologies also
exist in the real world. TV texts
are directly applicable to video
monitors, and you can even skip
a few chapters. Chances are you
have most of a jukebox in your
home stereo. Read all about it.
One book I especially enjoyed is
Troubleshooting Analog Circuits by
Bob Pease. It is not really aimed
at fixit guys like us, it is intended
for engineers troubleshooting
problems in their designs. We
have to fix things that used to
work, but design engineers often
have to fix things that never
worked before because the de-
sign is not yet complete. The
tricks of the trade and the insights
in this book are fascinating, but
it is not for the novice. It assumes
you know your electronics. The
guy has a sense of humor and he
is smart.
Magazines are a valuable re-
source. Electronics Now, available
in libraries and on any news-
stand, has articles on all aspects
of electronics. The shopper sec-
tion in the back is a great place
to find suppliers. There are oth-
ers such as Popular Electronics.
Check out several and follow one
you like. The general magazines
help broaden the background,
but more specific publications
can be useful as well. Trouble-
shooting is troubleshooting wher-
ever you apply it, so even Ama-
teur Radio or the like can be help-
ful. You may not see much about
... continued on page 73.