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In Progress Rocky & Bullwinkle Shop Log

Sorted the two mechanisms that were making a row tonight. The gate at the top of the playfield was catching on one of the plastics so I trimmed that back a little to solve the issue. The cut part is hidden from view anyway so no big deal.

And the other diverter was just a case of some slight adjustment. All sorted now.

Also fixed the left slingshot. They all need some adjustment but i'll save that to be the last job when everything else is done.

I have, however, noticed a new issue. If the ball 'dribbles' down the left out lane it triggers the Laser Kick multiple times but there isn't sufficient force to drive the ball back onto the playfield. Not sure why; if the ball goes down there at full speed it's fine. I can't see any cause for the problem.

So yeah, slow progress but getting there.
 
B-O-M-B targets all adjusted and working nicely now. The tool from Pinballmania made it a doddle to do.

That means the remaining items are:

2. The slingshots need a bit of adjustment on the switches; they look to far apart right now but i'll be able to gauge better once i've got the left one working and I can actually attempt to play a game.

5. I'm still missing a screw from the ramp diverter; despite @BigIan very kindly sending me some screws it turned out the thread pitch and length was wrong so they were no good. I also ordered some possible candidates from The Pin Witch but they are also unsuitable. If anyone has a spare ramp diverter amp from a Rocky & Bullwinkle or the screws that hold the head onto the shaft then please get in touch.

6. I'm missing a couple of bulbs from under the playfield so need to grab those. For the sake of my memory I need 1 x #44 White Insert LED, 1 x #44 Orange Insert LED and 2 x #555 Red LEDs for above the gates.

7. The Laser Kick seems to be behaving a little oddly but i'm not sure if it's normal or if something else is causing a problem. If the ball only trickles down the out lane then the Laser Kick fires multiple times but doesn't seem to have enough welly to kick the ball back out; if you slide the ball down there a bit quicker then it works fine.

I'm not actually sure the slings need adjusting. Playing a brief game today seemed just fine but i'll most likely leave it until the very last job and then make a decision. With the new tool i've got it's relatively easy to do.
 
Well, tonight has mainly consisted of a lot of swearing.

Having found the screw I needed for the diverter I thought it would be a good idea to get it back in place; but whilst doing so I also needed to remove some other plastics and parts so that I could remove the coating from the Lexan sheet that i've used to protect the playfield. Like an idiot I presumed that it would be possible to carefully remove it once everything was back in place but of course it's never that simple and I found it wasn't peeling off cleanly. The only option was to strip it down again in some areas to get the covering removed.

Anyway, the good news is that it's all done now.

However, then I hit the next issue. Whilst refitting the WABAC ramp I noticed that the ramp flap has a kink in the middle of it. I figured it'd be fine once the screws were tightened up but sods law dictates that after tightening the screws the problem is actually worse. I have no idea where the kink has come from; it's a brand new ramp and I don't recall it being there when I fit the ramp the first time around. Whilst wrestling with that I also managed to dislodge one of the switch wires.

Anyway, in a fit of rage i've fully removed the ramp. I don't want to bodge it so I need to sit down and try to figure how to get the flap 'un-kinked' and also to resolder the wire on.

Is there anything I can do about the flap to sort the issue or is I going to need removing and re-rivetting? I've tried using some pressure to 'massage' it back into place but no luck so far.
 
Well after much swearing i'm happy to report that the machine is back together and in a state where you can play a game. Is it finished? No - there's still stuff to do but thankfully everything from a playfield perspective seems to be working.

It's been a real nightmare doing these finishing touches. I got it all back together and then found that the ramp switch wasn't working. I'd resoldered one of the wires but the other one was covered in heat shrink and I made the mistake of presuming it was sound. Sure enough when I removed the heat shrink I found that this wire was also disconnected. I managed to resolder it without fully removing the ramp but it was still a bit of a pain in the backside.

To make things even more fun I then found a section of coating on the Lexan that I hadn't removed and it was causing the ball to get stuck. Yay!! So yet more bits had to be stripped to clear that.

Anyway, after lots of messing around it's finally working. Here's a few quick pictures; they're not the best as the lighting in the room is terrible but I wanted to post some images as it's been pretty text heavy lately.

20170927_195440.jpg
20170927_195423.jpg 20170927_195413.jpg 20170927_195353.jpg

So, what's left now? Well there are a few issues i've noticed including:

1. The SVUK that kicks the ball out of Aesops Hole is a bit weak. It doesn't fly out as quickly as i'd like but I have no idea how to approach this or what might be causing it? I guess as a start I should verify that the coil is the right rating and that the plunger is moving freely. There is a cliffy fitted so i'm wondering it the ball is clipping and slowing down.

2. There are a few switches on the table which need adjusting. The slings and pop bumper particularly.

3. The Laser Kick still isn't kicking the ball back into play on all occasions. If the ball dribbles down the out lane then it usually fires multiple times but doesn't seem to have enough 'ooomph' to get the ball back into play. If the ball comes down the lane faster then it works fine. I don't know if this is normal or not; but I don't recall it behaving this way before.

4. The flippers need adjusting. One has moved because I obviously didn't tighten it fully; this is probably because I intended to go back and adjust them later.

5. There's a couple of LEDs that I missed. I didn't order them as the postage for 2 tiny LEDs was stupid; but maybe I could grab them at Play Expo if anyone there is likely to be selling LED's.

In addition to the above I also need to get the credit board refitted, sort out Bullwinkles nose on the backglass and also get the Nell Assembly working and back in place. Oh yeah, and slightly widen the lockdown bar so it doesn't 'rub' the poweder coating on the side rails before fitting the new Roman Glass and buttoning the whole thing up.

Phew!! The end is in sight though.
 
Woohoo! It lights up!

Great job man, it's coming along and looks stunning!
 
Thanks @PeteB

I actually played a game last night. Was working well until the flipper slipped in the pawl; need to get them adjusted and fully tightened.

As for the looks; well, the new plastics help a lot. :thumbs: I'll get some better photos hopefully in the next few days.
 
Wiredworm said:
5. There's a couple of LEDs that I missed. I didn't order them as the postage for 2 tiny LEDs was stupid; but maybe I could grab them at Play Expo if anyone there is likely to be selling LED's.
Click to expand...

What type/colour do you need?

Really great to see it coming together after so long. I thought my AFM restore took ages!
 
I'll check on the LEDs tonight.

It's taken a lot longer than it probably should have. To be honest i'm just amazed that i've put it all back together and it still works. ;-)
 
Monkeyboypaul said:
What type/colour do you need?

Really great to see it coming together after so long. I thought my AFM restore took ages!
Click to expand...
Sorry it's taken so long to reply - had a load of stuff going on including a holiday to Mallorca; get back and before I knew it Play Expo was here.

The LED's i'm after are:

2 x #555 Wedge Red (Domed) - These go in the sockets above the two ramps.
1 x #44 Cool White (Super Bright) - Left Return Lane Insert
1 x #44 Red (Super Bright) - Extra Ball Insert

If you're able to help then i'd be very grateful and can make payment if needed, either in cash or beer. Not sure if you're making it to Play Expo or not?

I'll most likely post these requirements on the NLP thread too just in case any of the usual suspects are coming along to sell LED's. I don't mind paying for them but the postage cost for 4 LEDs was more than the cost of the bulbs itself.

Cheers

Pete
 
Let me check my LED box tomorrow... I don’t buy ‘super brights’ but probably have something similar or useful at least.

At NLP Saturday day only.
 
Wiredworm said:
2 x #555 Wedge Red (Domed) - These go in the sockets above the two ramps.
1 x #44 Cool White (Super Bright) - Left Return Lane Insert
1 x #44 Red (Super Bright) - Extra Ball Insert
Click to expand...

so, i have this lot, all Twin SMDs.

IMG_8037.JPG

They're Coin Taker i think, taken from key insert locations in Stern games, which i then replaced with the Frosted comet types e.g. Warp ramp on ST, Mystery scoop on Metallica, and others i can't remember! Same chip, different supplier.

I don't know if the Whites are 'cool', likely neutral, so i have a pair if it helps you balance the left with the right Return lane insert?

Any use?

If you want them i can bring to NLP on Saturday day only - call it quits for the help you gave me on the Apron cards you did for me a while back :)
 
Unfortunately the right return lane insert is a different bulb type - I thnk it's a #555 wedge.

I really appreciate you taking the time to dig these out but as they're probably not going to match up with what i've already got i'll take a pass this time; especially as it means you might be able to help someone else in the future who might make better use of them.

@chris b has offered to fix me up so i'll take his kind offer.

Really huge thanks for checking for me though - and no worry on the apron cards - you'd already helped me out by stashing a sheet of Roman Glass for me for a few weeks. :)
 
Wiredworm said:
Unfortunately the right return lane insert is a different bulb type - I thnk it's a #555 wedge.

I really appreciate you taking the time to dig these out but as they're probably not going to match up with what i've already got i'll take a pass this time; especially as it means you might be able to help someone else in the future who might make better use of them.

@chris b has offered to fix me up so i'll take his kind offer.

Really huge thanks for checking for me though - and no worry on the apron cards - you'd already helped me out by stashing a sheet of Roman Glass for me for a few weeks. :)
Click to expand...
Ok, no problem
 
Now that Play Expo is out of the way it's finally time to get my ass in gear and get this finished.

I've fitted the four bulbs that @chris b provided at the Expo so that's one job off the list. I've also got the flippers adjusted.

I've also had a bit of a fiddle around with the coin mech and credit board. It's going to be set to freeplay but it'd be nice to have the option of enabling the mech should it be required; as it's not been updated for a while i'm going to have to try to get it working with 20p and 50p pieces. I did have it working a little earlier tonight and then it stopped; erm, bit strange but i'll get back to that.

Next jobs are:

1. Get the NVRAM that @lukewells sent me a while back fitted.
2. Look at the laser kick and figure out why it's not always kicking the ball back into play.
3. Sort out why the SVUK isn't kicking the ball out with as much force as i'd like.
4. Adjust the switches on the pops and slings. Still not happy with how snappy they are.

So, yeah, things are slowly getting there. Hopefully be all done and dusted in the next couple of weeks.
 
NVRAM from @lukewells fitted. Was a doddle to do; in fact it probably took longer to get the CPU board out the backbox and refit it than it did to do the fitting. A simple jumper wire to solder in place and a chip to swap out. Job done.

Nice :)
 
Hi everyone - yep - I am alive and well despite not being around for ages.

We've had lots going on at work and some 'fun' with our foster daughter. Add into that the mixture of holidays and moving house and you can imagine how busy things have been.

The good news is that we're now at a new house so the Pin has a new home outdoors. It's not ideal right now as there isn't any heating in the outbuilding so i'm naturally concerned about the dreaded damp, moisture and the potential for rust. So far it's not been an issue which is lucky as i'm not in much of a position to do a lot about it for now. I'll monitor things and if it looks to be becoming an issue i'll be talking to the wife about moving it indoors. The longer term plan is to have the brick garage converted into a proper room with heating but we can't make much progress on that until the old house sells.

Anyway, tonight i've fitted the new Roman glass. Good stuff I have to say.

So, all that remains is some odds and sods. Specifically:

1. Adjust the switches on the pop bumpers; they aren't nearly responsive enough for my liking.
2. Relabel the connectors in the back box
3. Sort out Bullwinkles nose
4. Figure out why the Laser Kick isn't working correctly
5. Adjust the sling shot switches
6. Give it a general clean over because of all the @£&"&!ing dust it's gathered whilst i've been sat on my **** instead of getting it sorted
7. Fix the right flipper; it seems to drop if the ball hits it when it's in the held position. No clue why this is - ideas peeps?

Errrr, think that's it for now. I'll add more to the list if I can recall anything. Consider the above a reminder for myself to get the last issues resolved. I did manage to play a game tonight and got on reasonably well, notwithstanding the above few issues.

Good to be back :)

Pete
 
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