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    🦅 Repair log: Judge Dredd (Bally, 1993)

    1993 Bally Judge Dredd Repair log

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


    Image description


    This Dredd had a rough time after moving house. The removalists destroyed the topper, breaking off its wings! It looks more like a sphynx than an eagle now. Thankfully, Planetary Pinball still have reproduction toppers in stock so a new one is on the way! While we wait for that to arrive, let’s deal with the other issues…

     

    First up are the test buttons on the coin door. Two of the buttons were very sticky and wouldn’t register consistent switch closures. These switches cop a lot of abuse, and they were cheap switches to begin with. Normally I shy away from contact cleaner in pinball machines but it works quite well at dissolving the muck and improving the action on these switches in particular. One spray on each switch and both were working nicely again!

     

    Upper left flipper was being weird. It was very weak when it worked, but pressing the flipper button rarely got it to move at all. Let’s look at the flipper switch in the cabinet. Dredd needs a unique opto interrupter and bracket due to where the opto board sits in the cabinet. These were missing, and they aren’t readily available. A regular opto board had been put in its place, with a long metal blade taped to the interrupter to make it work. Not a bad solution actually, but the tape had perished and the blade was loose. Reinstalled a new interrupter plastic and secured the blade to it properly.

     

    Some general illumination lamps were out in the backbox. Specifically the bottom half. These are all on the same GI circuit. Following the wire back to the power driver board, the J120/121 connectors were fine. So were the fuses. The problem was all the way back on the input side, at J115 where lamp power comes in from the transformer. The connector had been messed with and somebody had tried to solder some of the wires back into it, causing a couple to get loose. Installed a new connector with new terminal pins which made a solid connection and the lamps started working again. 

     

    What else? Battery was flat, so that was also replaced. Some vertical lines appeared on the display which were caused by a loose ribbon cable on the display driver board. One playfield switch needed adjustment. The playfield also got a clean. All working well now! 


  • Published on

    Repair log: Judge Dredd (Bally, 1993)

    1993 Bally Judge Dredd Repair log

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


    Image description


    Lots of work involved in preparing this machine for sale! First, a thorough clean. This necessitated taking all of the ramps off the playfield so you can access all ball areas at the top of the playfield. There was some Mylar lifting in this area so that had to be removed.


    Next, the drop targets. The "J" target was not staying up. The targets are meant to rest on a plastic shelf which keeps them in the "up" position. Somebody had installed a homemade version of this part which had cracked. Correct part installed and assembly rebuilt.


    Next, the subway entrance. There were some lamps missing here which were reinstalled. There are also two small wire ball guides on either side of the hole which guide the ball into the subway. They had fallen out at some point and were in the base of the cabinet. They were re-tensioned and glued back into place. New rubbers installed while I had this bit apart.


    Next, the lamps. Plenty not working, particularly those on the lamp boards. Cracked solder is common on these, particularly the lamps in sockets which are parallel to the playfield. Most of these needed resoldering.


    Next, the Deadworld. It kept spinning and wouldn't stop to allow the magnet to pick up the balls. One of the optos under the playfield which reports the Deadworld position was not working. It was fouled up with dust and dirt which were keeping it "closed". Cleaned and back in action.


    Finally, the flippers. Upper right flipper to be exact. This one was intermittently weak. A quick rebuild did not help. Test mode revealed the flipper switch was flaky. This switch is on an opto board. Rebuilt the connector and reflowed solder on the board but this didn't fix it. Turns out, the opto itself was on the way out. Replaced it and all was good again in Mega City One.


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    CollectFest 2025

    Collectfest Demolition Man Events Fish Tales Getaway Johnny Mnemonic Judge Dredd Super Mario Bros Tee'd Off Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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    Another pop culture show? You bet! This one was a big one. CollectFest is a new show for all things collectable, whether it be collectable cards (Pokemon, Magic, etc.), comics, action figures, coins, stamps, video games, or anything in between. It's exciting whenever a new collectables show appears as it shows how much demand there is for these pop culture events around Australia. CollectFest had done shows in Brisbane and Melbourne, so Fiona and I put out hands up to contribute some pinball machines to the Sydney event in Darling Harbour to round-out their Experience offerings. We were excited about this because the CollectFest team were really keen on the retro vibe of an arcade, which is exactly what we wanted to give to patrons of the show.
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    Collector Con 2025

    Collector Con Events Getaway Judge Dredd Maverick
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    ​A couple of weeks ago, Fiona and I attended     Collector Con in Minto. This is another great local collecting and pop culture convention run in the local area. While we like doing some of the bigger shows such as Collectfest and Pinfest, we also enjoy spreading the joy of pinball in our local area at smaller events, so we were happy to contribute three machines for patrons of Collector Con to enjoy.
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    Judge Dredd

    1993 Bally Judge Dredd
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    Time to lay down the law! Judge Dredd was the last Bally/Williams machine I had left to restore of my original road trip haul. I had left it to last mainly because the look of all the ramps criss-crossing the playfield, the idea of having to fiddle with the Deadworld, and the sheer size and weight of the damn thing all told me that this would be a painful restoration. Just looking at it and comparing it to Demolition Man (Williams, 1994), my only other widebody game, the Judge Dredd playfield was packed with more features and more mechanisms, which meant more to clean and more to service. But, as always, I was up for the challenge!