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    Repair log: Stern Stars (1978) and Stern Dracula (1979)

    Repair log Stern 1978 Stars Dracula

    A couple of Stern MPU-100 boards came in for service. Both with similar corrosion damage which required significant abatement. Once the corrosion was dealt with, the boards were repopulated.


    A couple of small mods were done, too. Batteries and RAM were replaced with NVRAM modules from Tangles Pin Parts. A nice product from an Aussie supplier. One of the ROM chips was damaged on the Stars board, so I combined the two 2716 ROM images into a single 2764. Some modding of the board was required to accommodate the 2764 but it works well.


    Before and after photos of one of the boards below!

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    Bally Playboy

    1978 Bally Playboy
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    If you ever need proof that pinball was made for adolescent men, look no further than Playboy (Bally, 1978). As gaudy as this theme seems now, it remains a great example of a classic Bally game. There is a reason they made over 18,000 of these - they were fun! The standup targets on one side coupled with the drop targets on the other side made this a fun shooting game. This game was given to me to repair by an elderly customer who had stored it outside in his pergola for many, many years. I initially attended his house for a service call, but was then advised that he wanted the machine to be refurbished and brought back to playing condition. However, this customer did not want to spend a huge amount on the game, so I had to tackle this repair with budget in mind. 

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    Six Million Dollar Man

    1978 Bally Six Million Dollar Man
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    Let's finish off the year by repairing a classic Bally game! But first, I've got to be honest. I've never been much of a fan of late 70s/early 80s Bally games. I generally find the blips and tunes of the early sound boards grating, which makes them hard to play for any length of time. Some say it adds to the nostalgia, but having no nostalgic connection to these games, I can safely say I prefer the sounds of traditional chimes or modern digital stereo. That said, Bally games are classics in terms of gameplay and artwork, so it was a pleasure to get to work on this one for a customer: Six Million Dollar Man (Bally, 1978). This machine had not been working ever since the customer got it from a relative, and they wanted it up and running for their 60th birthday party in a few weeks. We were on a deadline, and there was lots to do!
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    Eye of the Tiger

    1978 Eye Of The Tiger Gottlieb
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    This post features my first electromechanical (EM) machine! Wow. I never thought I'd ever own an EM game, let alone restore one, but here we are. I came across this game a couple of years ago when the old owner offered it to me for sale for a very good price. I couldn't resist, and drove out to Northbridge in Sydney to collect it. The owner lived in a beautiful harbourside mansion, and the Eye of the Tiger (Gottlieb, 1978) was mainly played by him and his son. The story is that this game was originally purchased at a Luna Park auction in 1980 and had sat in this owner's home since that time.