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    Repair log: Black Pyramid (Bally, 1984)

    1984 Bally Black Pyramid Repair log

    Repair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

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    This Black Pyramid wasn't booting up anymore. The MPU board exhibited corrosion from a leaking battery. Voltages were all good, so something in the reset circuitry on the MPU was stuffed. Took the board in for rehab, removed affected components, treated the alkali residue, sanded everything back, and repopulated the board. Now it's booting up reliably again.


    There were a few more tasks to get this game back to 100%. The solenoid driver board got some fresh capacitors and voltages were adjusted. Installed new rubber rings on the playfield. Replaced a broken drop target. (These linear drop target mechs are a breeze to work on!) Reflowed solder on the auxiliary lamp driver board to get some lamps going again. A couple of switch capacitors had died, rendering the switches inoperable. Replaced those too. After all that, it was good to go again!


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    Repair log: The Addams Family (Bally, 1992)

    1992 Bally Repair log The Addams Family

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

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    This Addams Family had a bit of a wonky bookcase assembly. It wasn't level with the playfield and was trapping balls on its bottom edge. After taking it apart, a few broken parts revealed themselves including the bookcase frame, base, and one of the actuators driven by the bookcase motor. Perfect opportunity to service the mechanism and replace all of the broken parts! New parts ordered, installed, and working great now.


    A few minor repairs were enacted on other parts of the game as well including a new battery holder for the CPU board, replacement of some lamp sockets, and installation of a strip of LED lights (had to create a small custom wiring harness for them).


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    Repair log: Tri Zone (Williams, 1979)

    1979 Repair log Tri Zone Williams

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!


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    I haven't had to do any System 6 game repairs in a while, so here goes! This game was having a couple of issues. The top pop bumper wasn't working. There was a bunch of hackery under the playfield from someone trying to solve this issue in the past. The old solenoid was shorted, so that was replaced. Switches were adjusted for correct operation. This is very important for the special solenoid circuit, or the coil will lock on! The driving transistor in the backbox was also fried, so it was replaced as well. Pop bumper was back in action after that.


    Next was a sound issue. No game sounds would play although the sound board would play its diagnostic tune when the button was pressed. A faulty sound select switch was the cause.


    Finally, a flipper issue. The left flipper wouldn't work. Flipper assembly was all OK as was the cabinet switch. The connector in the wiring harness between the playfield and backbox was not making proper contact. After it was properly seated the flipper came back to life.


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    Repair log: The Hobbit Smaug Edition (Jersey Jack, 2016)

    2016 Hobbit Jersey Jack Repair log

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

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    A beautiful looking game! This one hadn't had much play, and the owner wanted to help protect the common wear areas with Cliffy protectors. No problem! We installed protectors on the Radagast and Balin VUKs, shooter lane eject protectors, and a protector on the Smaug ball drop area. Also adjusted one of the pop-up targets, which was binding due to the bracket being a little bent; a common issue with these pop-up targets. CPU battery was also dead, so that was replaced, too. (Remember these need to be replaced every 3 years or so!)


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    Repair log: Strikes and Spares (Bally, 1978)

    1978 Bally Repair log Strikes and Spares

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

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    I had the pleasure of servicing this absolutely stunning Strikes and Spares. Haven't seen one quite as nice as this before, and I doubt I ever will! While cosmetically flawless, this game had a few issues to sort out. It needed some new rubbers. Problems with the playfield fuse were causing issues with the coils. There were a couple of electrical issues to fix too, including some flickering displays and non-working lamps. Did a few switch adjustments to round out the repair. Looking as good now as it did back in 1978!


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    Repair log: Playboy (Stern, 2002)

    2002 Playboy Repair log Stern

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

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    Service call to a Stern Playboy a couple of days ago. I took the MPU board in for repair to abate some alkaline corrosion from leaking batteries. Replaced with a lithium cell and installed NVRAM while I was there.


    Little bit of work to do on the playfield, too. The triangle motor wasn't stopping at the correct spots for "Splash" and "Triple Jackpot" awards. The switches underneath the assembly were out of adjustment. The clear plastic above the left ramp was missing. This resulted in shots to the ramp getting rejected most of the time. I fashioned a new plastic out of polycarbonate, drilled the mounting holes, and voila! Not as precise as a CNC cut plastic, sure, but not bad for an on-site repair either! Also installed a custom topper and wired it into the backbox. Changed a few rubbers and replaced a couple of switches to finish things off.


    Welcome back to the mansion!