1962 Bally Spinner revisited

So a while back I cured a recurring problem on a Bally Spinner...

I slowed down a stepper unit from resetting too fast using junk Bally stepper parts.

It can be seen here in a previous post.

This whole thing was a proof of concept really. I was curious if it would work. It does, but it's not flawless.

Since then I got a chinese copy of an Omron delay timer. All the junk parts are out.

Now the Omron timer delays the timer unit reset coil from energising by about 1 second during the game's reset cycle. Plenty of time for the ball dump motor and cam to do it's thing.

The delay timer is just shoehorned on to the control board. Secured by a zip tie. The modification is completely reversible if desired. It won't even leave a trace.

It works amazing!

Eventually I will get around to making a video of the reset sequence with the delay unit...

1936 Bally Challenger One Ball Payout Pinball repairs

 Since the previous post

The cabinet was glued up. Looks like it was "repaired" at some point by a previous owner but ever since I got the game, the front left corner was split.

I got Challenger going. Fixing up the game wasn't really exciting stuff to write about.

All in all, there was 3 half ass days of work. Just basic stuff: clean, burnish, lubricate, look for obvious broken stuff then power up and troubleshoot. It's an exceeding simple game. My example of Challenger was fairly untouched, that helped a lot.

The game uses reed connectors that all need to be burnished. I use commercial grade green scotch brite pads I cut up into small squares.

Connections between head and body.

Took off the shutter to clean all the switches

I took out the payout unit, took it apart as much as I dared to clean and lubricate the moving parts. I noticed there was a seized sliding bracket. I had to let that marinate in oil for 24 hours and then with some patience and gentle persuasion managed the free up the part.

Embiggen for details

The payout drum has brass traces that needed to be burnished. I used a fiberglass sanding pen to clean the traces.

To help me with the repairs. I got a second Challenger parts machine from my friend Caitlyn. I don't know the machine's history or how she got the machine in the first place but it was very useful.

My Challenger

Cait's Challenger

The electromechanical bits in Caitlyn's game were completely modified. Apart from the odds drum unit, nothing was compatible with my example but the playfield was in a bit better condition than my example. My challenger has a dent in the playfield and most of the flag springs were broken. I decided to swap the best parts to the parts machine playfield and use that with my cabinet and head.

Batteries / Voltage:

Looking at the battery box in my Challenger and confirmed with Caitlyn's Challenger there were 10 batteries. Presuming that the machine used No 6, 1.5V dry cells, that would add up to 15 volts. Until I can find some suitable transformer, I will use a variac with a bridge rectifier and capacitor to power the game.

Looking at the playfield, I noticed a patent that wasn't mentioned in any of the ad's: 2,029,177 Game Apparatus by Bon MacDougall.

From what I understand from the IPDB entries Bon MacDougall was first employed, or at least designed for PAMCO then with Bally. That might explain the similarities between the One Balls produced by Bally and PAMCO.

Again, perusing IPDB, I found that the same game design was used multiple times by Bally and PAMCO...

Bally Derby, that conveniently has schematics. Speaking of schematics... also found a picture of the schematic for a Bally Prospector of the same era. Not exactly the same as Challenger but close enough to have a good idea of how it works.

PAMCO: Here are a few examples of one balls using the same electromechanical design and playfield layout.

Red Sails

Speedway

Parlay Senior, Notice it is almost identical to Bally Derby.

I think what differentiated Challenger from other similar One Ball games of the era is the multiplier.

How the feature works from the player's perspective, just like the red arrow says, first Nickel resets and starts the game. Manually raise the ball to the shooter lane. Then additional Nickels can be played to multiply the odds. Up to 3 additional Nickels for a 4X multiplier. Guaranteed step up for each Nickel played.

There are 6 odds steps: 2, 4, 6, 10, 16, 30

Payout odds are displayed for each numbered hole

The Odds Drum has a total of 24 odds combinations.

With a 4X multiplier, thats a maximum of 120 Nickels! Thats 6 bucks in 1936 money. Today that would be worth almost 113 dollars but consider that one play today would be worth about 1 dollar according to the US inflation calculator.

Electromechanically the multiplier is accomplished by way of a stepped plate that shifts 3 steps by way of a step up solenoid to push multiple payout slides. One slide pushes 2 Nickels at a time. There's a stack of 4 payout slides. At the start of a new game the multiplier is shifted to home position.

Game impressions:

The nautical artwork is absolutely beautiful. It's quality artwork that you would expect seeing as a framed print. The cabinet is tall and imposing. The diminutive head looks awkward on such a large cabinet.

It's as bland as you can imagine. Backbox lighting is minimal. The playfield layout, with all the flag springs makes it almost impossible to hit a hole that pays out. That's to be expected from a game that has all but one holes that pay out!

As for historical relevance, Challenger is an example of early games with changing odds. The "One Ball" concept is contrary to later One Balls. In other / later One ball games, only the lighted selections pay out, all the other holes lose. In Challenger, all the numbered holes pay. The Mystery Purse and the Grand Trophy hole pay an award of at least 10 nickels, all the way to 30 Nickels on a basic game. But the fact that's it's virtually impossible to hit a winner makes the game feel rigged and has little "play again appeal". I suspect the players who played these games when they were new caught on pretty fast. 

If you do manage to hit a winner. Coins drop into a spring loaded drawer.

The machine also has a EM sounder that knocks as coins are paid out. The sounder has an on/off switch for the operator.

Tilt Bob and Sounder

The game has a Nickel Validator (or would it be more appropriate to call it a conveyor or elevator... They call it an Escalator in the Flyer) To see if a player wasn't using wooden nickels or metal slugs. The coins drop into the payout tube at the end of the conveyor. Once full, excess Nickels drop into a cash box.

1936 Bally Challenger One Ball Payout pinball Introduction

1936 Bally Challenger One ball payout Introduction

As I write these words, it’s winter, I’m bored from my day job and there’s a night time curfew because of some virus that shall remain unnamed.

So What do I do? Take a week off work to fix up a project game of course!

The project: 1936 Bally Challenger One ball PAYOUT machine.

I bought Challenger back in October 2016 at the Church of the Silver Ball Swap meet.

You can even see the game loaded in the minivan in one of my early blog posts.

One ball machines were a type of gambling machine popular at the time.

Later One Ball games typically had horse racing themes and for that reason, were widely referred to as horse racing games.

When One ball games were outlawed by the 1951 Johnson act, Bingo machines took over the ecological niche of the “One Ball”.

On a personal level I’ve been wanting to take care of Challenger for awhile now. It has beautiful nautical themed artwork and it pays out in Nickels in a small spring loaded drawer.

Since I repaired First Race and Hustler Arrangeball, I’ve taken a liking for games that pay out coins or tokens. Over the 20+ years of collecting and repair of amusement devices, I’ve become a bit bored with vanilla flipper pinballs and arcades.

When playing a payout game: hearing those coins being paid out automatically, that metallic staccato is music to my ears.

My example of Challenger is in reasonably good condition. The cabinet requires a bit of a glue job and the electro-mechanical bits need a refurbishing. The game is non working.

There’s not much information about Challenger online. I’ve found only one good picture of a Challenger… on IPDB and I strongly suspect that it’s a picture of the actual machine I have.

On the IPDB entry for Challenger there’s two advertisements that refer to two US patents in small print:

1802521 and 2010966

Other than that, No schematics, no manual. No information.

It’s a battery operated game and I don’t even know how many batteries it requires. Don't worry! I have a plan.

This is experimental archeology. 

The more I learn about this era of games, the more I realize that there’s more information that has been lost, forgotten, than what information we collectors have gleaned collectively.

In my mind, 1936 is a watershed year for amusement with the release of Bumper: first game with electromechanical scoring and electrified bumpers. It’s one of my favourite Bally games. It has simple, yet beautiful artwork and it’s a must have for a serious historical pinball collector. I’m looking forward to bringing Challenger, another 1936 game, back to working order.

There’s a frumpy looking red arrow sticker on Challenger's apron. It reads:

CAUTION:

After depositing first coin

Raise ball to shooting position

Before depositing additional coins

Interesting: Multiple coins! Multiplier?

Next post, more overview and repairs begin

Bally Surf-Club (1954) Bingo: Cheating using a variable transformer (var...

I recently acquired a variable transformer. With a 120 Vac input, I can vary the output between 0 and a bit over 130 Vac.

This reminded me of something I read somewhere a while ago: Back in the day a variable transformer could be used to cheat on a Bally bingo machine.

The Idea was that the machine first had to be surreptitiously plugged in through the variable transformer.

Then through skill or luck a winning combination had to be achieved.

Then, as the machine started adding up credits the variable transformer’s output voltage would be dropped. Enough so that the machine kept operating but just barely. In that state the replay register would keep adding up credits but the replay counter step up coil would be too weak to accurately step up the wiper. If it was done correctly the machine could rack up credits indefinitely. It it was just close enough, the replay counter would once in a while step up successfully the wiper.

That was all theory… more like a myth or an urban legend.

With my new toy I decided to test that urban legend.

Turns out it works.

a 100 replay payout went up to 247 replays. Off camera when I tested the varian I went well over 300.

As one can notice watching the video, the bingo machine’s energized relays start buzzing loudly and the lamps become dim at around 85 Vac.

Also Back in the day there were the logistics of bringing a Variac into a bar and getting the payout from the attendant without the varian being noticed. Easier said than done.

Which one would you rather play?

1972 Bally Fireball or 1940 Gottlieb Score Card?

One is ubiquitous among the serious electro-mechanical collectors. The greatest EM ever produced bla, bla, bla.

The other is extremely marginal.

Choose...

If you chose the latter, you're my kind of pinballer.

Cheers!

Allied Leisure Wild Cycle NIB Repairs

Allied Leisure New In Box Wild Cycle Repairs

In the 4 previous posts I unboxed and documented the state of the insides of a New In Box Allied Leisure Wild Cycle arcade machine.

It was a collector's dream of mine to one day unbox a vintage EM arcade or bingo machine so when I had the opportunity to buy this NIB Wild Cycle I did a two day 1400 km road trip to go get it.

  

You think that because the machine sat unused in its original box for 50 years, that it would be fully working in perfect condition? You are wrong. Cardboard box or not, time and storage conditions affect the machine.

Parts corrode: switch points, potentiometers, connectors, lamp sockets and zinc plated parts.

Grease dries up or goes hard

Rubber parts degrade, turn to goo, become brittle or deform.

Electronic parts like capacitors and photoresistors go bad.

Gearmotors get stuck in their own grease.

ALSO

There's always the possibility of rodent damage and cosmetically backglass art can degrade.

So If you want to buy a vintage New In Box game: know the risks!

You are rolling the dice on Schrödinger arcade machine. The machine inside the box could be mint or it could be a total POS or something in between. You won't know until you open the box. 

Right out of the box my Wild Cycle partially worked. It turned on and it coined up but road disc did not turn and motorcycle did not steer.

The road disc just needed a bit of hand coaxing to get it started. The gearmotor that drove the disc was jammed in its own grease from lack of use.

 

For the motorcycle steering I had to change the "O-ring" on the cycle motor pulley and wipe off the old grease on the shaft. Over the years the O-ring got a flat spot that would cause it to jam.

 

When installing a rubber ring on the pulley. I discovered that the pulley was loose on the shaft. The nylon pulley has a set screw to secure it to the motor shaft. The set screw was loose and the motor shaft would spin freely. Again! right out of the box. A manufacturing defect. The words build quality come to mind...Again! First the crash unit then this pulley. This must have been a "Friday afternoon" machine.

The drive belt in the 8-Track tape player turned to goo over the years. The rubber had the consistency of a jujube melting in the sun. I had to scrape off the old belt and clean the residue with pure methanol.

For the time being I replaced the belt with a heavy duty rubber band until I can find a proper belt. It was more to validate that the 8-Track tape player actually worked. The rubber band, being more stretchy than a proper belt does causes a bit of WOW at startup. The important thing is to choose a rubber band that's not too tight as it will strain the motor and the capstan flywheel bearings. The rubber band has to be just tight enough not to slip but has to track properly.

  

Once the disc, motorcycle steering and 8-Track work properly. I could finally play a game on Wild Cycle. The first thing I noticed was the bad road detection. It can be seen in a video of another New in Box Wild Cycle: At 1:29 the motorcycle should not be able to drive over the fork in the road without crashing. The detection should be precise and unforgiving. Stay on the track or crash. On my game, the detection was even worse. It was vague and sometimes delayed. Unplayable!

The poor detection was caused by the old photoresistors. 50 years of total darkness inside the box made the original photoresistors slow to react.

To safely get to the photoresistors I had to take out the whole motorcycle unit and track.

First I had to remove the top shield.

Now we can see the motorcycle manakin better

Then I removed the unit to work on in on the "bench".

Nice side shot of the manakin. The paint job on it is pretty bad.

Back shot of the manakin and we can see the solenoid that tilts the motorcycle.

Old photoresistors.

New photoresistors. I put some protective tubing around the photoresistor legs to avoid the legs shorting out on the bracket.

With the new photoresistors, the crash detection is precise.

Last problem I fixed was more of a design flaw.

When a new game was started, if the previous game ended with a crash, the new game would immediately start with a crash. Sometimes even if the motorcycle was centered on the track the game would still start with a crash. I thought that was unfair to the player. I imagined this caused frustration in the arcades back in the day. "Why did it crash! No fair!"

That's because of a design flaw in the off track detection circuitry. The detection circuitry is powered at the same time as the projector lamp. The crash detection is instantaneous at the start of the game BUT the projector lamp does not start emitting light instantaneously. The filament needs to heat up and get white hot. That delay might be tiny, fractions of a second, but electronics don't lie. The photoresistors detect darkness and trigger the photo relay.

Notice the track is Beige-ish white clear while everything else is dark color. There's a black strip on each side of the track. When a black strip crosses the path of the photoresistors, it triggers a crash. Any darkness will cause a crash. Covering up the photoresistors or turning off the projector lamp causes a crash.

Also When the player got to the Champion track it would always cause a crash at the beginning for no good reason. This can be seen in the New in Box Wild Cycle video at 1:43, motorcycle crashes despite being in the middle of the track. Again because of the delay between detection and the projector lamp turning on. Lamp turns off when the game is switches tracks, Photo relay is triggered by the darkness.

I fixed this design flaw using a Omron industrial delay timer to disable the photo relay at the beginning of a game OR when the player first gets to the Champion track. The delay timer is powered by the 120V of the projector lamp. At power up it will disable the photo relay for 2.5 seconds, giving the player just enough time to center the motorcycle on the track. After that the detection works normally for the rest of the game or until the projector lamp turns off again to switch to the Champion track. Again it gives the player 2.5 seconds to center the bike on the track. The modification only involved desoldering one wire from the original game wiring and is completely reversible if desired. 

I ran some zip cord, held to the wiring loom with zip ties, to the bottom of the cabinet where I put the delay relay and I chose not to screw the relay socket to the bottom of the game to keep the game pristine.

Pin 2 and 7 of the delay timer are parallel to the projector lamp.

Pin 1 and 3 of the delay timer momentraily cut power to the photo relay for 2.5 seconds once the projector bulb is powered. 2 seconds on the dial is more like 2.5 seconds in reality.

With the repairs and the modification done, Wild Cycle is a fun and challenging game. The 8-Track music adds even more enjoyment to the experience.