Williams Upper Deck Pitch & Bat small repair

First post of 2026!

So the other day I wanted to play Upper Deck...

 

I got this game in 2019 and since I've first gotten it working. It's been very reliable.

So I start a game, press the pitch button. The game serves the ball. Press the bat button... nothing happens. 

The bat is dead!?

Re start the game, press the pitch button. The game serves the ball. Press the bat button, the bat works.

Pitch the next ball, bat. all good.

Another pitch, press the bat button. Bat is dead again.

What's happening?

So I open up the game.

I start with the obvious stuff: (I.e. Bullshitting my way through the repair)

Clean the end of stroke switch on the bat unit.

 

Clean the switch points on the Pitch Relay, the Bat Relay and the Bat Button Relay.

 

Close up the game. Try a new game... and the game behaves exactly the same as before.

But I also notice a pattern:

When the bat was inoperative, if I kept pitching balls, after the 3rd strike, an out would register and the bat would work again for a couple of pitches... interesting.

Time to look at some documentation:

I had a PDF copy of Upper Deck's manual but no schematic.

The sequence of operation of the Pitch Unit, Bat Re. Bat Button Re. and Bat Unit coil is clearly explained:

 

I check the Pitch Unit:

 

Everything checks out good but still the bug remains.

I look on IPDB.org for a similar Williams pitch and bat game that might have the schematic.

1971 Williams Action Baseball had the schematic and close enough features so I can use it to aid my troubleshooting.

 

The bat coil is a 110 Volt coil.

It is energized by way of 2 switches on the Bat Relay, then by a switch on the Bat Button Relay. Then through a large variable resistor (for bat power operator adjustment). Then the circuit goes parallel through a 4 Ohm 10W resistor and a Mix unit switch. An finally through a fuse before reaching the coil.

So I start checking:

All the relay malarkey has been checked already. All good.

The variable resistor and the fuse are good. Connections are solid.

 

The Mix Unis is a bit gummed up, it didn't actuate smoothly. So I cleaned it and changed the coil sleeve.

 

Then I check the 4 Ohm 10W resistor and the resistor is bad. Open circuit.

That explains the intermittent failure of the bat. The mixer's role is to vary the power of the bat coil on a pseudo-random basis. By opening and closing the Mix Unit switch parallel to the 4 Ohm resistor, the circuit either goes through both the mixer switch and resistor (making the resistance practically zero) or through the resistor only, in the later case with the blown resistor, the circuit couldn't complete to the coil.

 

 

I didn't have a 4 Ohm resistor on hand so I had to order one. In the meantime I temporarily bodged a 3 Ohm resistor, just to be able to play the game until I fix it properly.

Here's the final repair:

 

I like Upper Deck. It was William's last Electro-mechanical Pitch & Bat game. It has the running man unit, electronic sound AND bells, two rows of targets, pseudo-random curve balls and a cool back box light animation for home runs.

My example is a bit of a rough. The head is missing the neck, the backglass is bad and the cabinet is pretty poor. But it's a keeper. I have fond memories of playing another Upper Deck at a pinball show against someone else. I was in the moment, just enjoying it.   

Cabin Fever? Playing 1951 Williams Spark Plugs

1951 Williams Spark Plugs

Maybe it's cabin fever from self isolating, but lately I've been playing this game a lot. Maybe it's from recently repairing and playing a Gottlieb contemporary of Spark Plugs... Chinatown. Games from that ear have their distinctive feel to them.

I just have this... I wouldn't say fixation, but interest for electro-mechanical horse racing games lately (not the pure mechanical ones tho).

I have Spark Plugs on the "B side" of the basement arcade. In normal times, I never think about this game, but these are not normal times.

Spark plugs has inverted impulse flippers. I like those. They give a whole other dimension to the flipper thing, you need to time your shots and flip wisely. Also, you can play the game one handed for ease of beverage consumption.

I just love seeing those cardboard nags advance step by step every time their respective pop bumper (or rollover) is hit.

Spark Plugs and Sea Jockeys share the distinction of having Win, Place and Show selections. Selections are pseudo randomised as the game starts during the reset cycle. Selections are changed with top center rollover also. Your selections need to cross the finish line in order to keep playing and win replays.

I really like the 3 selection feature, it adds a bit of a challenge once you get the first horse across the finish line, you want to keep playing and win more replays.

Win selection across the finish line scores 2 replays.
Place selection second across the finish line scores an additional 3 replays.
Show selection across the finish line third scores and additional 20 replays.
For a grand total of 25 replays.
All other horses crossing the finish line at any time during the game ends game.

25 Replays! That's not much compared to the bingo machines of the same era. However, I heard rumors that back in the day those horsey games were used for betting. Patrons would put money on on a horse with someone playing the game. Off game betting? That's possible...

The machine does have panel score display, but these scores are useless really.

The machine doesn't have a mechanical replay display. But the colored dots at the top of the backglass are backlit panels displaying the number of replays. On the underside of the cabinet. There's a knock off button.

I've had this game for a long time, since 2013... I was a different dude then... I was married, more hair, less beard and a lot less coin operated devices. Time flies! This game is rough cosmetically! But it works great, I've gone over this game a couple of times over the years.

Williams produced a bunch of horsey games in the early to mid 50's

Hayburners
Nags
Jalopy
Spark Plugs
Sea Jockeys
Horsefeathers
Handicap
Daffy Derby

 ...a few in the 60's

Nags
Derby Day
Hayburners II... which can seen in the Yello masterpiece Pinball Cha Cha

...and the early 70's
Winner, here the horses were moved under the playfield

Williams Upper Deck Pitch and Bat

Is there such a thing as "binge repairing"?

My First pitch and bat machine...
1973 Williams Upper Deck... 

Last EM Pitch & Bat by Williams.
19 years after I started collecting these crazy machines.
It's about time. I was ready.

The problem was that I was waiting for the right machine, 

at the right price.

I picked up this machine on a Friday.
On Saturday, I rested.
Sunday, after my first morning coffee,

I started working on the machine.

Slowly at first, 

then faster and faster until I was in the repair flow.
I didn't pause. 

Not for coffee. Not for beer. Not for food. 

I just kept on working. Replacing a jones connector, 

splicing cut wires, cleaning switches and de-gumming stepper mechs.

I worked like a Madman...

By Sunday evening, I had a "working game".

By Monday night (or the wee hours of Tuesday),

I  had a perfectly working and playing game,

having worked on it from arriving home after work till 1 am.

I've been intrigued about why I binge worked so hard on the game.

The answer, I fear, is that I'm fed up about working on games.
I just wanted to get it out of the way. Out of my system.

The Upper deck being a coin op bucket list thing.

I hope this "fed up with EM repairs" thing is just a passing phase.

Williams OXO back from the dead

Back in late September I picked a cool project game that's been on my want list for awhile. 1973 Williams OXO. I always liked the artwork and colors of the game. The 3 x 3 Tic-Tac-Toe card is a miniature version of a bingo card in a sense.

The game I bought was a bit of a mess. The lockdown bar was "misplaced", most of the flipper mechs were purloined, the knocker assembly was missing, the ball trough switch was AWOL. The ball shooter and housing was missing and the spare one that came with the game was cactus. The coin door wiring was hacked and the flat bar protecting the trip bank was missing.

Hopefully I had a spares of all the aforementioned parts, coming from a WMS Super-Flite I picked up for parts. I know super-flite is a pretty rare game but the one I picked up was missing the head and the body was rotten beyond repair. I also picked a williams gulf stream playfield that donated a few parts to the OXO.

Oddly, the chime unit was still in place, which was a surprise. Usually, they're missing in this kind of deal.

The worst thing about my OXO was the wiring harness that was hacked between the head and the score motor panel. I guess someone wanted to take the game apart didn't notice the jones connectors. According to the guy representing the seller, all the wires were correctly repaired.

In a Williams game, the same wire color can be used 3 or 4 times in the same wiring loom. That makes the risk of crossing wires extremely high. However, I trusted that the previous repair guy did his homework and correctly matched the wires.

The repair job was a mess of electrical tape and poorly crimped butt joint crimp connectors. I redid all the joints with solder and heat shrink tubing.

However, there were signs that some wires were mixed up... The game was over fused with 20 and 30 Amp fuses. When I first turned on the game after resoldering all the spices, the game was locked up. Completely unplayable. Doing all sorts of crazy stuff. Solenoids energized and extremely bright lamps all over the backbox. Obviously, there were a few crossed wires.

I began the painstakingly long process of figuring out all the crossed wires. It involves a multimeter, the manual, schematics, a good deal of logic, a good sense of observation, patience and intuition. In the end there was close to 20 crossed wires (out of 60! Ouch!) I reversed the mistakes on the female part of the jones connectors in the head. I realise the connector map is no longer "original" but it seemed like the easiest way to fix the crossed wires.

After that I had to take care of the trip bank. I think the playfield if my OXO was dropped at one time. There's a weird bend in the trip bank that makes the switch adjustment a bit tricky on a few switch stacks. Also, over time some switch stack screws got a bit loose, that allowed some switch stacks to shift a bit and short circuit to the frame by way of the switch actuators and the set-up bar when the bar would reset the bank.

After the trip bank, There were a few odds and ends to take care of, little stuff to dial in the game. The most noteworthy repair was re-winding a 6 Volt coil for the triple bonus relay from a 120V trip bank reset coil I had laying around, Both used 24 AWG wire.

In the end, I'm happy. I got my OXO and got a good challenge out of it. To put a price on the number of hours I invested in the game added to the price I paid for the game, this game is a disastrous money pit. However, I suspect there's not many EM repair guys that would have taken on this project. I did it for myself, for the challenge of chasing bugs. The game would probably have ended up chopped as spare parts or something eventually. It would have just rotted in the corner of some warehouse in Syracuse NY.

Now it's in my game room for myself and my friends to enjoy. Spread the joy trough pinball.

The worst phrase for a EM pinball repair dude

Often seen on Williams pinball schematics from around 1976

NOTICE Due to wire shortages beyond our control, some wire colors may be other than indicated on wiring diagram.

Grrrr. And my multimeter is out of batteries.

[Imagine Picard Facepalm Here]

Better hope there's a jack (jones plug) layout and detailed relay switch info.

Cheers

Welcome to flavor country

2017 Ottawa Pinball and Gameroom Show

On September 2nd and 3rd was the 2017 Ottawa Pinball and gameroom show at the Nepean Sportsplex.

Game setup was on Friday the 1st. My contributions to the show were Bally Wizard!, Hokus Pokus and Delta Queen.

Friday Setup

Setting up my games

The show is an occasion for people of all ages to enjoy pinball in all it's forms. For the people from the pinball community, it's another occasion to hang out, chat, and drink beer.

There was around 100 games, some from as early as mid 1960's all the way to new games. All the games at the show were supplied by vendors, operators and the general pinball community.

My favorite game at the show was Williams Fan-Tas-Tic. I had never played it before. It's a lot like Williams Spanish Eyes, but with a bonus, left outlane kick back, right outlane return and a roulette.

Williams Fan-Tas-Tic

There was an IFPA sanctioned O-Town Throwdown Tournament.

Tournament

Tons of fun. Can't wait for next year's show.

From my photo archives: 2015 Ottawa pinball and gameroom show

Here's a picture of a couple of my games at the 2015 Ottawa Pinball and Gameroom Show. The gone and NOT missed Williams Travel Time and my second Bally Super Wall Street Bingo. I took the picture after shooting a 5 in line diagonal on the second card. It happened by accident, I just chucked the balls. Good times!

Pinball lifestyle: "The dose makes the poison"

To loosely quote Paracelcus:

"The dose makes the poison"

I might be getting close to the lethal dose of pinball... Maybe not, I have observed fellow humans with a lot more games than me. I'm safe, for now.

But I have a heck of a lot of games. A lot for the small space I live in...

Here is the latest pictorial inventory of my... I can't really say gameroom anymore. It's more like a game house.

Observe and enjoy!

Les cardiaques et les femmes enceintes sont priées d'éviter ce spectacle effrayant!

UPSTAIRS

Firecracker, a Bally game designed by Harry Williams, one of my personal favorite games

Bally Nip-It, the latest project. Tastefully modded by moi. Still fun.

Bally Surf Club bingo, with the mixer taken apart for a cleaning. I have a recurring problem with the neatsfoot oil that goes sticky. To be continued.

Williams Four Corners. Every picture tells a story. She is filled with secrets.

The ole Nishijin Super DX pachinko game. I've had this game for over 16 years.

Bally Hokus Pokus. Sadly, I don't have any room for this game at this point in time.

The Booz-Barometer. Circa 1958. A gift from my Ole Pa a long time ago.

North Star Richelieu. Bally Challenger one ball and Keeney Thriller. Future projects. Treasure Trove.

DOWNSTAIRS

Enjoy the view. I know I do.

Interflip "BAO!" Dragon, Bally "camel toe" Wizard! and Bally "Brass Bra" Lost World: my only solid state game

Bally Flip-Flop, Twin Win, Big Valley

Bally Carnival Queen Bingo, my first magic screen bingo.
Watling penny scale
Bally Super Wall Street Bingo. My first bingo machine. Pictures of the backglass of my game seen here were used with my permission in Nick Baldridge's virtual bingo.
Bally Miss Universe. Good looking game, awful gameplay.

... Bally Golden Gate and Mystic Gate Bingo

Keeney Little Buckaroo Upright

Bally bottomless hopper slot machine

Midway's Space Gun. My one and only gun game.

Midway's Table Tennis Remote Controlled wall game. The remotes are HUGE

AMI D-80 jukebox. My first restoration attempt.

THE WORKSHOP aka "B" SIDE

Projects and extra games

Bally Surf Club Bingo

Williams Spark Plugs Horsey game. Gambling machine in disguise

United's Singapore Bingo

Bally Star-Jet pinball. The first EM multiball that established the 3 ball multiball mode.

The Borg cube of extra games, projects and parts machines

Crazy!