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Modified Bally In Line Drop Target Bracket And Why It Works


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This is a mod I have been doing to a number of my Bally SS with those incredible in line drop target banks.

 

After being pissed with them breaking I thought I would have a good look and see exactly why they broke so often.

 

The machines I've owned over the years with these targets are Dolly Parton, Paragon and now Black Pyramid but I have modded many customer machines with these targets as well.

 

It's a relatively simple mod, basically making it the way the factory should have but for some reason didn't.

 

I thought I would share for those with these machines and they to are sick of replacing these parts..

 

This is the target bank with the part highlighted in red....

 

DeuCZ5B.jpg?4

 

And this is what happens to them over time....

 

5qQSXlF.jpg?1

 

Now they break after being hit every time the target bank main coil resets the target bank.

 

This picture shows my Black Pyramid in line bank, it's a 3 target bank.

 

The middle target bracket is removed in this picture but look at the left bracket, (white target) compared to the 3rd right bracket (green target) and you can see the 3rd bracket is bending back and up....

 

Ft8zKzw.jpg?3

 

Or here highlighting the 3rd target bracket on it's way to breaking....

 

5fh58qX.jpg?3

 

This same picture shows what edges come into contact, (highlighted in red), when the target bank is reset not only lifting the target but also stopping the reset arm connected to the coil itself and it hits these points on every target way before hitting the coil stop in the coil so basically it is the fingers on the brackets doing all the stopping.

 

x6crUEf.jpg?1

 

Now you see why you break so many of these parts?.

 

Fortunately the mod is relatively simple.

 

Weld the "finger" to the rest of the bracket at the top leaving enough slot left to allow the target bracket to go slightly through the bracket just in the corner as all that is required.

 

Here is a picture explaining better than words. The left is an original Bally part and the right is modified....

 

ZyphRbo.jpg

 

What the mod does is rather than just the finger wearing the shock every time the bank resets, the shock is spread over the whole bracket therefore preventing the finger from bending and eventually breaking.

 

I actually prefer to make these whole brackets from a piece of suitable angle, drill the holes in place and put a 1mm angle grinder blade through the bend carefully to make the now closed in slot. No welding that way.;)

 

I know this part is no longer stock but it is a better, longer lasting part and to me it is all about reliability with pinballs.

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Well observed and what a simple fix - well done!

 

We could manufacture that bracket as an aftermarket repair part given exact dimensions (and if there was any interest in it being available).

 

I don't think the part would make you rich Homepin especially when it was usually these series of Bally pins that got trashed for spares by operators sick of repairing these target banks but they are good pins, those that remain with not many makers supplying this replacement part.

 

There is also the problem there are three different types of these target banks that requires two versions of these brackets.

 

A left hand and a right hand thus the parts number last letter "L" or "R".

 

The third style is a memory type with 'knockdown" coils fitted as used in Bally's Fathom or Special Force.

 

I don't have a handy example to get dimensions off, my Black Pyramid is 220KMs away ATM.

 

I suppose I should have taken the time before to measure one up but I usually have a sample here to work off and a machine to fit it in to test.

 

Manufacturing wise, you could just punch them out however the two bolt holes are tapped and the other two holes are simply to locate the spring on so are just holes.

 

Interestingly, I have only ever seen one of the holes being used for the spring. The other hole has always been vacant but 3 styles of target banks, maybe it gets used on a machine I haven't worked on yet.

 

A couple of versions of Bally's inline target banks...

 

2ba326fd0ff99461132d1ab739207cbca7c67ece.jpg

 

565431c83970b133aa897448120bc68e81f4f013.jpg

 

These style target banks were used in these Bally pinballs

 

1979

-Paragon

-Harlem GlobeTrotters

-Dolly Parton

-Future Spa

1980

-Hot Doggin'

-Viking

-Frontier

1981

-Flash Gordon

-Eight Ball Deluxe

-Fathom

-Centaur

-Elektra

1983

-Joust

1984

-Black Pyramid

1986

-Special Force

1987

-Hardbody

-Party Animal

-Dungeons & Dragons

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I don't think the part would make you rich Homepin especially when it was usually these series of Bally pins that got trashed for spares by operators sick of repairing these target banks but they are good pins, those that remain with not many makers supplying this replacement part.

 

There is also the problem there are three different types of these target banks that requires two versions of these brackets.

 

A left hand and a right hand thus the parts number last letter "L" or "R".

 

The third style is a memory type with 'knockdown" coils fitted as used in Bally's Fathom or Special Force.

 

I don't have a handy example to get dimensions off, my Black Pyramid is 220KMs away ATM.

 

I suppose I should have taken the time before to measure one up but I usually have a sample here to work off and a machine to fit it in to test.

 

Manufacturing wise, you could just punch them out however the two bolt holes are tapped and the other two holes are simply to locate the spring on so are just holes.

 

Interestingly, I have only ever seen one of the holes being used for the spring. The other hole has always been vacant but 3 styles of target banks, maybe it gets used on a machine I haven't worked on yet.

 

A couple of versions of Bally's inline target banks...

 

2ba326fd0ff99461132d1ab739207cbca7c67ece.jpg

 

565431c83970b133aa897448120bc68e81f4f013.jpg

 

These style target banks were used in these Bally pinballs

 

1979

-Paragon

-Harlem GlobeTrotters

-Dolly Parton

-Future Spa

1980

-Hot Doggin'

-Viking

-Frontier

1981

-Flash Gordon

-Eight Ball Deluxe

-Fathom

-Centaur

-Elektra

1983

-Joust

1984

-Black Pyramid

1986

-Special Force

1987

-Hardbody

-Party Animal

-Dungeons & Dragons

 

Nice cat lol

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@Autosteve . I love my Bally SS games and I must admit I've never had this problem with the 3 Fathoms I've owned for example.

 

I can see why there is a fatigue point. I doubt if there is much of a market BUT if you can give us some "idea" of what you'd like, happy to help;)

 

I'd like to say maybe your 3 Fathoms I have already modded but I have never worked on a Fathom.:)

 

The symptom is the target bank resets and occasionally one of the targets comes up to high in the playfield and jams.

 

Once this starts, the part is finished.

 

You being the owner of a Harlem Globe Trotters, a Centaur and a Fathom will see this sooner or later I would suspect.

 

The whole purpose of writing this post was so people like you could possibly make or modify your own parts for your machines.

 

It isn't difficult. If someone whats to actually make them for others that would be good as well.

 

To me, it looked as though these parts were becoming hard to get but to tell you the truth this part has always been hard to get.

 

It may be something you and your bother might like to supply the Aussie market?.

 

Can you imagine how many you could knock out of one of your faulty siderails not suitable for sale from scratches or something.

 

I personally have no interest in making them but if someone is after a set they can send me there inline target bank and I'll make and fit them and post the target bank back to them.

 

If that doesn't happen soon, next time I see my Black Pyramid, I'll pull one out and go over the part with my micrometer and send the sizes off to HomePin. Problem is I only have a left hand sample and I think Fathom and a few others are a right hand part.

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The symptom is the target bank resets and occasionally one of the targets comes up to high in the playfield and jams.

 

Once this starts, the part is finished.

Is there a height setting for the reset?

I fiddled with the gottlieb ones in joker poker and adjusted the reset height.

I just haven’t looked yet and Harlem is my next one.

As far as fathom and targets jumping out too far, that’s the springs needing replacement. No matter what I tried, until I replaced every spring it would keep happening.

It wouldn’t hurt to have a handful spare so, yes please.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'll pull one out and go over the part with my micrometer and send the sizes off to HomePin.

 

We would have some laser cut then we would fold them here in the factory and tap the holes and send them out to be plated.

 

These shouldn't be made from stainless as it's too brittle when folded and mechanical stress would cause them to crack along the fold very easily.

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Is there a height setting for the reset?

I fiddled with the gottlieb ones in joker poker and adjusted the reset height.

I just haven’t looked yet and Harlem is my next one.

As far as fathom and targets jumping out too far, that’s the springs needing replacement. No matter what I tried, until I replaced every spring it would keep happening.

It wouldn’t hurt to have a handful spare so, yes please.

 

The only way I could see to stop the fingers wearing all the impact was putting something inside the coil sleeve so it hit there but no adjustment as such to relocate the coil and the main reason is the Bally reset bar is "floating" rather than ridged. It twists when activated by the coil.

 

Once the finger is broken, (usually an end target in the bank), it allows the reset bar to come up higher driving the target up further than designed and the part of the target shaped for the spring to attach is to thick for the target hole in the playfield and that causes the jam.

 

Maybe an inspection of the underside of the target holes may show signs of the target getting jammed in the past?.

 

I would expect to see some signs on the wood.

 

If you hit the jammed target to many times with the ball, you snap the target right at the spring connection point.

 

@Homepin stainless is totally unsuitable. Normally I would say thicker gauge metal seeing as two holes are tapped but I have never seen any strip out the threads.

 

I was just thinking maybe it only happens on the coil end target and maybe Fathom has the coil on the other end of the bank were as my Paragon , Centaur and Dolly Parton all had the 1st target break but you all saw the picture of my Black Pyramid bank and it is the 3rd target, the target at the other end of the target bank to the coil.

 

My thinking was along the lines of the target that is down the most, (the 1st target), combined with the twisting motion of the reset bar combined with the coil at that end may be why owners of Fathom haven't seen these parts break regularly.

 

What ever the reason, these parts are hard to get and they do break.

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@Homepin stainless is totally unsuitable. Normally I would say thicker gauge metal seeing as two holes are tapped but I have never seen any strip out the threads.

 

What ever the reason, these parts are hard to get and they do break.

 

Yup - we know that, ask me how I know.........:lol

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  • 2 weeks later...
Rummaging around in a box of assorted stuff yesterday in the factory I actually found this exact bracket!!! Strange but true.

 

Can anyone tell me the exact thread used? Yes, I'm aware it is a weird seppo size....

 

Seeing as it is that part with the thread and you would be supplying that part as a spare, why not throw a "easier for you in China" metric thread in it along with a pair of metric suitable bolts?.

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Seeing as it is that part with the thread and you would be supplying that part as a spare, why not throw a "easier for you in China" metric thread in it along with a pair of metric suitable bolts?.

 

Usually I would do this with our own parts BUT I am well aware what some pinball enthusiasts are like and remember, I sell to most places in the world so they would be expecting an original replacement part not some "bodged metric" one. :lol

 

But, just in case - how long are the bolts that are used? (in metric please LOL)

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Seeing as it is that part with the thread and you would be supplying that part as a spare, why not throw a "easier for you in China" metric thread in it along with a pair of metric suitable bolts?.

 

please dont encourage him.. the last thing we need is stray stupid size bolts popping up in old machines.

 

UNC 6-32 8-32 and 10-32 will cover nearly everything

 

((edited - except this screw that you actually need. its 5-40 x 7/8 so you better buy a 4 and a 5 as well

Edited by wiredoug
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Usually I would do this with our own parts BUT I am well aware what some pinball enthusiasts are like and remember, I sell to most places in the world so they would be expecting an original replacement part not some "bodged metric" one. :lol

 

But, just in case - how long are the bolts that are used? (in metric please LOL)

 

The way I see it is if you did replace it with a 3-4mm thread size X 6mm long and you do make the part unbreakable as is the intention, they will be the only bolts being metric that don't require some other form of locking, (star washers, spring washers, nylok nuts etc), so they don't undo themselves..

 

Metric pitch of thread VS Imperial pitch of thread.

 

US made pinball owners won't know what to do with themselves with bolts that don't undo themselves...:lol

 

All jokes aside, I think it may actually be a UNF thread for that part.

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I'll take the bracket to our local machine supplies place on Tuesday and see what he says.

 

The place has an amazing stock of stuff so I'll be surprised if he can't help - when he doesn't have what we need, usually he can get it in overnight.

 

He also speaks a reasonable amount of English, especially "technical English" which is pretty helpful for me :lol

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