Gottlieb Rocky Restore

[ktm450]

I was waiting for that Nick, I was gonna insert a wink smiley to prevent smartassed comments like yours!

[Strangeways]

WOW! those legs look great Nino

I'll try to take a picture of the legs during the day - ie. No flash.

Next update will be the board mods, so I'll throw up a better picture of the legs

[Strangeways]

I was waiting for that Nick, I was gonna insert a wink smiley to prevent smartassed comments like yours!

I was going to do the same... But nick is a smartass all the time..

[pinnies4me]

Ah, my reputation is safe! 

[Strangeways]

Here's a quick update on the progress of the Rocky. This update is a little behind, as I've taken some time off the restoration to rest my back. I did finish the work prior to my little "accident" 

A better picture of the Legs. I took this photo during the day, so the flash would not make the legs appear to be dark. The shine is really nice in this photo, and it is also a good indication of what the front of the game will look like when the rest of it is finished !





Boards


The "Fun Part"... The boards were really in very good condition, but there were some modifications that I did not like. The +5 and GND were common to the driver, CPU and Power Supply boards - but this wouls not address the inherent grounding problem that plagued system 1 and system 80 games. Although the game did work fine when I got it (not resetting etc), I wanted to make sure the game was upgraded correctly. To do this, the boards must be tied to a common ground - which for a system 80 - is the grounding strip on the transformer board in the lower cabinet. A wire is soldered onto that strip, and then routed through the body and head and terminated on the power supply mounting rail. From the PSU mounting rail, we run short lengths of wire to each grounding track on the boardset. CPU, Driver, Sound etc...

The Power Supply has had ALL pins replaced, but I kept the old housings are they were good. I upgraded the power supply as per Clays recommendations and it is ready to be tested. All the other boards were fine. CPU board had NO corrosion, but I replaced the wiring to the battery holder as it was too thick for that application. The CPU board had a nasty "Cheap" connector installed that was just... well... I didn't like it - so I replaced it with the proper housing and re pinned it ;




No repairs were required for any of the boards - except the removal of the "wiring mod" for +5 and Ground..

So here is a picture of the finished board set on its baseboard.. A LOT better than what I started with and it should be rock solid once I fire it up !





Next update will be next week - I hope !! SOOOO CLOSE 

[Strangeways]

Update !

FINALLY - Rocky was powered on after reconnecting and testing - and it works fine ! There were a few issues like globe holders and I had to adjust the flipper EOS for power. Apart from that, I've got one shorted transistor on the AUX Lamp board, but that is an easy fix.

One issue had me STUMPED for HOURS... The "Shooter" coil would fire when the ball activated it's switch, but then the plunger would stay activated -  First I thought it was the coil or the diode. So I replaced the diode.. then the coil.. No difference. Then I swapped the driver board - no difference.. I did notice that when I got the machine, there was a long screw and washer that was mounted near the coil bracket. I had no idea why, except it seemed to be there to prevent the plunger from "full travel".. So the plunger would NEVER hit the stop. There was the clue.

The previous "repair" that was done was to replace the coil bracket with an EM bracket.. not a SS bracket. What's the difference ? EM = AC, SS = DC.. So the wrong bracket was installed, "Magnetizing" the plunger AFTER it completed its travel -thus "holding" the shooter at the end of its travel. DUMB AS.

So I installed a SS Bracket and it is as good as new..

One BAD point about the New Targets - After 20 games, the White target "6" is PEELING already  So I'll have to send an email to PBR..Looks like mylar has to be applied to these hot stamped target. I've never had to do that before ?

Here's some pictures ;



There's a display cover missing, I'll just grab another another one and install it. All the displays work fine




The boards are all working fine and I've installed the Battery Backup. Notice the amount of effort you have to go to to have the grounding mods done..and the replaced pins and connectors..




I'll have to do something about the targets - either have a replacement sent out, or cover them with mylar. A bit disappointing, but I've never had to do it to any targets beforehand.

I have a few things to finish on the game - just small things - but is really does play FAST and it is a really cool game when working perfectly.

 

Next update will be a few pictures of the mandatory mods in the cabinet and a last couple of completed photos..

[ktm450]

That sucks about the targets, it will be interesting to see what PBR have to say about them

[Strangeways]

That sucks about the targets, it will be interesting to see what PBR have to say about them

I have a feeling they are printed - not hot stamped. I will email Steve tomorrow with before / After pictures. Sucks because I can't play it in fear of causing more damage.

[markc]

That sucks about the targets, it will be interesting to see what PBR have to say about them

I have a feeling they are printed - not hot stamped. I will email Steve tomorrow with before / After pictures. Sucks because I can't play it in fear of causing more damage.

what you do to my rocky NINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO



NINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


remember  I have your address ..............

[Pinfan]

Its come up real nice Nino. Congrats...

[Ballywannabe]

That sucks about the targets, it will be interesting to see what PBR have to say about them

I have a feeling they are printed - not hot stamped. I will email Steve tomorrow with before / After pictures. Sucks because I can't play it in fear of causing more damage.

I have had the same problem with Centaur targets and Stern '1...5' numbered targets from PBR.  Paragon targets, on the other hand, have been fine.

cheers
Ian

[Strangeways]

ALL the targets I have ever bought from PBR have been hot stamped. These look to be different. The "Rocky" on the targets is hot stamped, but not the numbers.. But the ink has only peeled off the number "6" - none of the others...

[Strangeways]

OK - The Target issue is resolved - I shot off an email to Steve, and here is his reply ;

"White Hot Stamped(And they are hot stamped) need to be covered with protective Mylar.

Since the 1980's, the formulation of the stamping foil has been changed to remove the lead(By Law), resulting in less durable white stamping "


So I'm going to have at least the "6" replaced, and I will mylar the others tonight.

Steve has offered to replace whatever targets I deem to be damaged. I believe that there are only one or two.

I will be mylaring all my targets, or at least asking if they are using the new technique to stamp them.

[Pinball Fixers]

OK - The Target issue is resolved - I shot off an email to Steve, and here is his reply ;

"White Hot Stamped(And they are hot stamped) need to be covered with protective Mylar.

Since the 1980's, the formulation of the stamping foil has been changed to remove the lead(By Law), resulting in less durable white stamping "


So I'm going to have at least the "6" replaced, and I will mylar the others tonight.

Steve has offered to replace whatever targets I deem to be damaged. I believe that there are only one or two.

I will be mylaring all my targets, or at least asking if they are using the new technique to stamp them.

That's a handy thing to know for future reference.

[ktm450]

OK - The Target issue is resolved - I shot off an email to Steve, and here is his reply ;

"White Hot Stamped(And they are hot stamped) need to be covered with protective Mylar.

Since the 1980's, the formulation of the stamping foil has been changed to remove the lead(By Law), resulting in less durable white stamping "


So I'm going to have at least the "6" replaced, and I will mylar the others tonight.

Steve has offered to replace whatever targets I deem to be damaged. I believe that there are only one or two.

I will be mylaring all my targets, or at least asking if they are using the new technique to stamp them.

You would think in this day and age that they had something better than this solution