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SEGA - Apollo 13 - 1995 - Repair & Service Log


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Free time & empty space. Who needs it? Well, I do.. but I enjoy working on pinball machines too, so those things have to wait. I didn't get to enjoy 5 minutes of free space this time before the next game arrived for me to work on. In fact, I had a small shuffle around to create some extra space for this additional machine to work on. The freshly cleared area was instantly filled moments later when the owner turned up with a beautiful Apollo 13 from SEGA. I say beautiful because the condition is actually really good, with only a few small spots that need addressing. It's Australian delivered and spent most of it's life in a home. The game was released towards the end of 1995 and has so many balls (13) it needs two troughs to store them all. You're up for a slab of beer every time you need to replace the set. That's something to think about ;) The game arrives with one known issue (sound not working), which will be my first item to address before I begin working my way through the game like I normally do. Although the game is reasonably clean on top, it looks like it hasn't been given a good service in a long time (if ever) as there is a nice build up of black coil dust across all the assemblies below the playfield. I'll be going through cleaning each one and replacing parts where necessary.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_day_1_start.jpg

 

The cabinet condition really is superb. Both sides looks amazing, with the only real wear or damage appearing just below the flipper buttons (where greasy hands have worn away some of the black). They went for a really simple design on the artwork - but it works well with the theme I think.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_day_1_start_2.jpg

 

The back of the headbox and cabinet are also outstanding. You never see this area anyway, but it looks like it's been freshly restored. Amazing for a 23 year old game!

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_day_1_start_3.jpg

 

So let's get this adventure started and begin by sorting out the sound issue. There's no sound at all from the game. No effects, no speech and not even a pop or hum from the speakers. I decided to start at the speakers themselves and check the connectors. All looked good. I had a look at the connectors that lead back to the boards in the headbox. Everything looked good there too. I powered the game on and went into the test menu. I tried adjusting the volume both up and down, still nothing. I had the headbox door open from looking at connectors and with the game switched on, the power board caught my eye - the 12V LED was not lit.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_12v.jpg

 

A quick check in the manual to confirm that yes, 12V was used for the sound. Some further investigation found that there are two fuses for the 12V, located at F8 and F9 for the 12V and it ran through BR3.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_12v_investigation_1.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_12v_investigation_2.jpg

 

With the game switched off, I removed the fuses from the board and tested them. Sure enough, they were dead. Before swapping in new fuses, I removed the board and tested bridge #3 since this is responsible for 12V. It tested fine. So new fuses were installed and the game tested. Sound was now working. We often joke that it's "probably just a fuse" - but in this case, it was. While working away on the rest of the content in this update, I noticed some static playing through the speakers when the audio plays along with a small echo from the speaker while in the test menu. I'll need to look into this a little further, but at least for now, the audio is there and all music and speech roms play under sound test.

 

One really cool feature of the headbox design on this SEGA game is the display panel. I love how it opens up on a hinge, making it super easy to get to the boards and wires behind it without having lift the panel out. You end up with small wear / damage spots on the sides of the headbox if not careful getting the display panel in and out, so I love this design!

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_headbox_display_panel_awesome.jpg

 

According to the new owner, the batteries had not been changed since the late 90's - it's a miracle there was no leakage and resulting board damage. Incredibly lucky! No point continuing to ride that luck though. Let's quit while we're ahead and put in a better solution. I want to get the AA's off the board into a safer spot. I create my own remote battery packs for this sort of thing - they're cheap, easy to make and simple to install. I like to use the enclosed AA battery cases so if they do happen to leak, even at the base of the headbox, it's contained. Worst case scenario is the owner cuts off the old pack and spends $3 on a new one. Much better than hundreds of dollars in board work.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/remotebattery/remote_battery_pack_kit_4.jpg

 

The battery pack installs into the AA holder on the board, meaning no board work and easily removable.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_remote_batterypack_installed.jpg

 

The owner also gave me a new CPU + display ROM chip set, which I installed at the same time. The game arrived with the version 2 and is now up to version 5. There are 3 sound ROM's that go with the set, but it appears those were never updated.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_new_romset.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_new_romset_2.jpg

 

Since I was in the headbox already, I decided to clean the base behind the display panel. It's got the usual layer of dust.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_headbox_base_dirty.jpg

 

A quick wipe down removed the dust and left the surface nice and clean once again.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_headbox_base_clean.jpg

 

Still on the headbox, the backglass lock panel was looking a little old and could do with a freshen up.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_headbox_lock_start.jpg

 

The surface was cleaned and lightly sanded before receiving a few coats of satin black. Looking much better. There are so many small things you can do on a game that cost next to nothing and lift the visual presentation. It's well worth doing.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_headbox_lock_done.jpg

 

Time to look at some more interesting (game play related) things. The game plays fine as you can start, play 3 balls, activate modes and complete a game. Before going further on cleaning though, I wanted to make sure all switches were working correctly. Printing off the manual page, I went into test mode and stepped through each switch to find any that were not working. In the end, I had a list of 6 switches that did not register. The right sling shot was a known issue just from a visual inspection - the switch blades have broken off (on both switches). I'll come back to this shortly. The other 5 were more interesting.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_switch_test_results.jpg

 

Since two switches in the row were working fine, my thoughts were probably a ground wire issue. If the are chained together, then one break in the wire will take the remaining switches out. I lifted the playfield and took a look at all 5 switches. Sure enough, I found 2 wires that had come loose.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_switch_wire_broken_1.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_switch_wire_broken_2.jpg

 

Both wires were soldered back on to their switches and then tested again. Now, all switches were working correctly (except for the right sling). Next up for testing are the coils. Again, I ran through the list one by one in the test menu making sure they worked. After stepping through all coils, only one was found to be not working. The right pop bumper did not fire at all, so will need some further inspection.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_coil_test_results.jpg

 

I took a look at the coil wiring, and at first glance it looked fine. I grabbed the manual to find out which connectors the coil run through, along with which transistor is used to drive it. I inspected these and they looked fine too. A test on the transistor also showed it to be fine. Before I went off looking for complicated solutions (been down that path before), I took a step back and looked at the coil again. At first glance the wires look to be connected, with the blue/red wire protected inside a plastic shield sleeve.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_coil_wire_broken_1.jpg

 

Pulling slightly on the blue/red wire slightly presented a different story. The wire pulled straight out of the sleeve and was no longer connected to the coil. Sitting inside the sleeve had made it difficult to spot the fact it had disconnected.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_coil_wire_broken_2.jpg

 

The wire was soldered back on to the coil and retested. All working again. This is why it's always good to double check the simple stuff first! I mentioned the right sling shot switches were an issue earlier and now seemed like a good time to address that issue. The long switch blades on both switches have broken off. The coil works (via test mode) and the sling shot arm fires. I should only need to replace those two switches to get it running fine again.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_slingshot_broken_switches_1.jpg

 

The broken switch blade ends were found in the base of the cabinet. Both switches need to be replaced.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_slingshot_broken_switches_2.jpg

 

With the new switch blades installed and wiring soldered in to place, the game was put in to switch test mode and I verified both switches correctly triggered. I could now tick that off the switch matrix chart from earlier.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_slingshot_switched_fixed.jpg

 

The main damage on the cabinet is just below the flipper buttons. One option is to spray paint this, but I never like how it looks and it can come off on your hands when playing. I've seen specific mylar patches for flipper buttons, but I'm not a fan of them.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_button_damage.jpg

 

Another solution is to install metal protectors that sit over this area. I sourced a new set and installed them. The owner was keen on having back lit flipper buttons, so a clear set were installed.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_button_panel.jpg

 

For the backlit flipper buttons, I just put together my own kit. It costs around $15 - $18 for the parts, and hooks into the GI coming from the coin door price light. I had been thinking transparent blue would work well, but having seen both in action I think white easily looked the best.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_light_kit.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_button_panel_2.jpg

 

To round out the first update on Apollo 13, I decided to give the apron are some attention. This area is always a hotbed of filth that happily collects here over the years. It's well worth cleaning under here as the collected filth will be spread across the machine as the balls pass through the trough. I love the blue anodized look SEGA used on the apron (and rails) - it looks great and works well with the theme!

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_apron_start.jpg

 

The apron is attached via 2 screws below the playfield. Once removed it slides off. I had to remove the small plastic piece that covers the shooter lane as it gets in the way when trying to slide the apron off. Below the apron, the usual layer of crap was found.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_apron_removed.jpg

 

A lot of small metal filings have found their way to the ball launch assembly frame. All of this will clean up easily enough though. I'll be removing the assemblies next so they can all be given a proper clean service.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_apron_metal_shavings.jpg

 

The playfield area under the apron was stripped to remove all assemblies. The ball trough is still installed for now, but that's coming out next.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_apron_playfield_stripped.jpg

 

The metal ball guides from the trough were scrubbed clean to remove any filth that had built up over the years. The small metal shield that sits over the VUK assembly was also cleaned, along with the apron plastic. The underside of the plastic had collected a fair amount of coil dust over the years, which was cleaned away.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_apron_metal_parts_cleaned.jpg

 

The ball trough assembly was disassembled and cleaned. A lot of crap had become stuck to the small wheels on each of the switches, so each one was individually cleaned. The trough itself had a layer of filth which was also cleaned away. A new coil sleeve and rubber grommet were sourced for the rebuild.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_ball_trough_clean.jpg

 

The ball serve assembly was disassembled for cleaning. It will also get a new coil sleeve and grommet before being put back together.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_ball_step_assembly_clean.jpg

 

The last assembly from the apron to look at was the ball launcher. The coil retaining bracket has seen a lot of action over the years, but is still strong and doesn't need replacing just yet. The compression washer was broken though, so needed to be replaced. A new coil sleeve and rubber grommet were sourced too.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_ball_launch_assembly_clean.jpg

 

With the assemblies ready to go back into the game, it was time to clean up the playfield. The filth cleaned away without too much trouble thanks to Nifti and a soft cloth. The surface was finished off with some Novus 1. The coils and wiring were given a wipe down too to remove any loose coil dust.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_apron_playfield_cleaned.jpg

 

The trough pieces were installed back onto the playfield. First the metal ball guides, followed by the ball trough and shooter assemblies. The apron area is now looking in a much cleaner state.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_trough_assemblies_resbuilt.jpg

 

New instruction cards were printed off, something a bit more interesting than the standard pricing ones. Both sides of the apron were wiped down to clean away any remaining dust before being installed back onto the playfield. The shooter lane plastic was installed back onto the apron to complete this section of work.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_trough_complete.jpg

 

That's it for the first update on Apollo 13. The owner has a LED kit on order, which should be with me any day. In my next update I'll be cleaning up the flipper and sling shot assemblies. I'll also clean the up post and VUK assemblies in the area too. I'll swap over as many globes to LED's as I can as I begin to work my way up the playfield. While installing the insert LED's I'll also clean away any crap that has collected on the underside of each insert. I'd also like to remove the ball shooter handle for a freshen up too. Lot's more still to come!

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Awesome Andrew. Looking really good so far and will be like a new machine when completed. The owner of this machine will have some blood flow when he sees it!

 

One thing you stated is so true - "There are so many small things you can do on a game that cost next to nothing and lift the visual presentation. It's well worth doing."

 

It doesn't take too much effort at all and really makes a game look better.

 

Real nice work and love reading your updates.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Apollo 13 overhaul has continued over the last couple of weeks. Sometimes progress can feel like slow going, but it's surprising how quickly time gets sucked up as you work through sections of a machine. Plus, it's getting cold at night time, so working on games once the sun has gone down is getting tougher. The previous update was heavily focused on the apron area of the playfield. Shifting my attention 30cm higher up the playfield, this update will be focusing on the next lot of assemblies - so things like the flippers, up post (ball save), ball return VUK and sling shots. Technically the VUK lives under the apron area, but i'll ignore that fact for the sake of including it in this update instead of the last one :) I also want to get the CPU controlled lamps switched over to LED's as the kit arrived. So let's get started and begin removing some parts!

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lower_playfield_start.jpg

 

First step was to remove the ball return plastics and posts, along with the sling shot posts and rubbers. I also decided I'd remove the two adjustable posts on each out lane for this update too. All the metal posts and spacers were set aside to go into the tumbler. The playfield had already been given a general wipe down, but there was still plenty of filth under the sling and return lane plastics.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lower_playfield_start_2.jpg

 

The first assembly to look at is the up post. This rises up during play to prevent ball drain down between the flippers for a certain period of time.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_up_post_start.jpg

 

At first glance the assembly didn't look too filthy. But once I started removing it, my hands became covered in black dust.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_up_post_removed.jpg

 

The entire assembly was pulled apart and pieces cleaned. A new coil sleeve and grommet were purchased to replace the old parts.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_up_post_cleaned.jpg

 

I noticed a lot of filth built up on the playfield surface just inside the up post. A lot of black dust from the years of play and close proximity to the flipper assemblies.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_up_post_hole_dirty.jpg

 

A gentle wipe with a cloth takes care of it though. It's well worth taking the extra time to clean this sort of stuff out of your machines.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_up_post_hole_clean.jpg

 

The next assembly to get a clean is the VUK (Vertical up kicker) responsible for returning the ball from the under playfield ramp into the trough. To get it out though, the large red ramp from under the playfield needs to be removed from the game first. Getting the ramp out of the game was far more challenging than it should have been thanks to all the wiring and lamp sockets in the way. Once removed though, the ramp was set aside for cleaning. I'll come back to cleaning the ramp later. For now though, I could then get the VUK assembly off the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_return_vuk_dirty.jpg

 

The VUK assembly was disassembled and everything cleaned. A new coil sleeve and grommet were purchased to replace the old parts.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_return_vuk_clean.jpg

 

The next assemblies to come out of the playfield are the sling shots. The sling switches are attached directly to the assemblies and need to be removed first before you can pull them out of the game for cleaning.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_slingshots_dirty.jpg

 

Both assemblies were disassembled and all parts cleaned. New coil sleeves were purchased and installed when put back together.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_slingshots_clean.jpg

 

The owner has purchased a full LED kit from CoinTaker. It's the premium version with non ghosting LED's, which is good for SEGA machines.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_led_kit.jpg

 

I decided to start with the headbox LED's. I hit a small problem though. The kit comes with a series of #906 flashers for the headbox, but the game requires #89's. This was communicated back to the owner who is now in contact with CoinTaker sorting the issue out. Hopefully they can send the correct flashers out and also update their kit information for anyone else buying it.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_backbox_flashers_wrong.jpg

 

With the headbox LED's done (except for the flashers) I lifted the playfield up to install the insert LED's. During this process I always take time to wipe down the underside of the inserts as they often attract filth over the years.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_inserts_dirty.jpg

 

A gentle wipe down with a cloth and Nifti removes the build up and allows full light to shine through the insert. It's well worth doing and takes little effort.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_inserts_clean.jpg

 

Many of the games insert lamps live on a series of small lamp boards that attach under the playfield. These often attract coil dust and filth over the years. The ones next to coil assemblies often end up really filthy. Can you guess which one of these lives right between the two flipper assemblies? :)

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lamp_boards_dirty.jpg

 

With the goal of removing as much filth from the game as possible, I like to take the time and clean them up. It doesn't take long and is simple to do. To get at the dust between (and under) the components, I use a small paint brush to wipe it away. The appropriate LED's from the kit were installed too. I noticed after taking the photo I had forgotten to install one of the LED's. This was added before installing back into the game.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lamp_boards_clean.jpg

 

Something interesting caught my eye while cleaning the large board with the digit display. It looks like some tech work on the resistors. Not sure if it came from the factory like that or has been worked on as some point.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lamp_boards_workdone.jpg

 

The last set of assemblies to look at in the lower playfield area are the flippers. The owner was happy with the strength, so a full rebuild won't be done. Doesn't mean they shouldn't be cleaned though, so the assemblies were removed from the game.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_assembly_dirty.jpg

 

I decided to replace the coil stops, bushings, coil sleeves and grommets though. So I guess it's getting a mini rebuild. New flipper bats (with the correct Sonic logo) were purchased as the white on the old ones had faded. New blue super bands were purchased for the flippers.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_assembly_clean.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_flipper_assembly_clean_2.jpg

 

The plastics that had been removed at the start of the update were cleaned up. There was quite a bit of filth on the underside from years of use over the slingshots. The small metal spacers and posts went through the tumbler for a clean and polish. New rubbers and post sleeves were purchased. I'm replacing some of the old black posts with transparent clear and transparent blue which I think will go really well with the whole space theme and new LED's.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_plastics_cleaned.jpg

 

I had earlier removed the large red ramp that resides under the playfield to allow access to various assemblies and lamp boards. While I don't plan to install it back onto the game for awhile yet, I thought I may as well give it a proper clean now.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_underplayfield_ramp_dirty_0.jpg

 

It's really filthy, with lots of worn in ball marks. These under playfield ramps are a great collection point for the crap that gets pushed around the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_underplayfield_ramp_dirty_1.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_underplayfield_ramp_dirty_2.jpg

 

Armed with a cloth and some Nifti I was able to remove most of the worn in filth. Next step was to use Novus. The result is a nice and clean under playfield ramp again.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_underplayfield_ramp_clean.jpg

 

The ramp was put away for safe keeping until the end. Because the ramp covers such a large area, it covers various post bolts, screws and lamp boards which I still need clear access to - so better to leave it off until i'm ready to test the game. Next step was to get all the lower playfield parts back onto the machine. I started with the assemblies, so sling shots, VUK and up post were all installed again. The posts, rubbers and sleeves were all installed too, along with clear lexan washers on the sling shot corners to protect the plastics. Due to the new rubbers being installed on the sling shots, I had to adjust the 4 switch arms slightly.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lower_playfield_posts_installed.jpg

 

I then put the plastics on to see how it looked lit up.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lower_playfield_plastics_installed.jpg

 

For comparison, here is how it looked with the dirty inserts and bulbs. You can barely tell the blue life support insert is lit.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lower_playfield_lamp_start.jpg

 

Huge difference! Last step was to get the flipper assemblies back on to the playfield, along with the remaining clear plastic pieces on the return lanes. I like how the transparent posts are looking with the LEDs and allow more light across the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_lower_playfield_cleaned.jpg

 

That finishes off work on the lower playfield area. The LED's make a huge difference in terms of lighting and suit the space theme well. In the next update I'll be looking at the middle playfield section along with cleaning up the ball launch handle and may find time to swap the DMD display over with a Colour LED display.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Colour displays on pinball machines are awesome! That's probably stating the obvious, but once you're playing in colour, it's hard to go back to boring old orange and be satisfied. The owner of this Apollo had been thinking of adding a colour display from ColorDMD and decided to go ahead with it. There are two versions of colour display you can get - LCD and LED. This one's the LED version and comes with everything you need to get it installed - it's designed to be simple to install. Let's get that new Colour display installed and see how it looks!

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_start.jpg

 

First step is to remove the old display. It's attached via 5 bolts to the display panel of the headbox. The swing out design of the panel makes it super easy to work on.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_old_dmd_start.jpg

 

The display board is removed first, which then allows access to the actual DMD panel. The high voltage connector needs to be removed and the panel can then just slide out.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_old_dmd_start_2.jpg

 

To power the new colour display, it comes with a small piggy back adapter which plugs into the 15 pin CN2 connector on the power board. The IDC connector that normally plugs in here then connects into this adapter, and the power cable for the display connects on top to draw 5V and ground.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_power.jpg

 

The colour display then installs directly into the spot where the old display was. The ground connectors are hooked up again to the exposed metal sections of the panel and the display board connects to the back of it.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colordmd_installed.jpg

 

When you start the game up, the display lights up, but looks mostly like garbage. Next step was to install the correct firmware. This was downloaded from the ColorDMD website and copied to a USB stick. You then insert the USB stick into the ColorDMD board, and hold the USB button for a few seconds to begin the install process.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colordmd_firmware_updated.jpg

 

A minute later, the install was complete and the display ready to use. This one is the LED version, so looks much like the original DMD in appearance, only now in colour. With the new DMD now working, I tidied up the cables before moving on to the next task.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_working_1.jpg

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_working_2.jpg

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_colour_dmd_working_3.jpg

 

Something interesting to go with that picture of Sonic the Hedgehog in a space suit is it can be found on one of the lamp boards under the playfield! When I had the playfield up one day I noticed a strange etching in the lamp board.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_sonic_lampboard_1.jpg

 

At first I thought "What a funny track to put on the board...". On closer inspection, SEGA etched a picture of space Sonic into the lamp board. I love how SEGA put references to their console gaming history on their pinball machines. This one is very specific to the Apollo game too.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_sonic_lampboard_2.jpg

 

The next task on my to do list was to do a little clean up on the ball launch handle. This is attached via 4 bolts at the front of the cabinet and pretty simple to remove.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_launch_handle_start.jpg

 

I had expected the handle to remove in two pieces, but found the frame and metal front plate were welded together. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be like that or has been manually welded post purchase from HAPP. It makes it very difficult to disassemble the handle for cleaning or part replacement.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_launch_handle_start_2.jpg

 

Not to worry though as the reason I wanted to remove it was to freshen up the metal shaft of the handle. It's looking aged and I think a bit of paint will help it look much better.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_launch_handle_start_3.jpg

 

The handle and assembly were masked off and the shaft sprayed with satin black. It's a small thing, but costs nothing to do and adds to the presentation of the game.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_launch_handle_s%5Brayed.jpg

 

Alright, time to get a bit more work done on the playfield. For this update i'll be focusing on the middle section. There actually isn't much here - a few targets and a saucer. The main problem is getting to things as there are layers of rails and plastics to get through. On the right side there are two layers of plastics. One for art and the other clear protectors that sit above the art.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_right_start.jpg

 

The left side is similar, although has two layers of art plastics instead of a clear layer.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_left_start.jpg

 

The plastics came off the right side first. The bulbs here are all dead, but will be replaced with LEDs. Not too dirty, although a nice layer of dust to clean away. Good to see no real wear around the saucer too. A few dark ball marks (across the start mission text), but those will clean away fine.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_right_plastics_removed.jpg

 

The left side was similar, although maybe just a bit dustier. The foam pads on the targets are all old and dirty - so i'll replace these. The bulbs on this side were all dead too. With most of the GI bulbs dead in the middle section of the playfield, it made the game look quite dark. New LED's are going to brighten this up nicely.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_left_plastics_removed.jpg

 

There is one assembly in this area of the playfield - the mission start saucer, which lives on the right side of the playfield. It's very simple so won't take long to clean.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_missionstart_popper_start.jpg

 

The frame and plunger were removed from the playfield for cleaning.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_missionstart_popper_removed.jpg

 

The assembly parts were cleaned up, with a new coil sleeve and rubber grommet purchased to replace the old ones. The switch (still in the machine) was cleaned up and the assembly was ready to go back into the game.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_missionstart_popper_cleaned.jpg

 

With all the parts off the playfield, everything was cleaned up. All the small metal pieces went through the tumbler for cleaning. New post sleeves and rubbers were purchased. I'll be replacing a select few of the black posts with transparent blue ones to help more light shine through and give more blue to the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_parts_cleaned.jpg

 

The playfield on the right side was cleaned up and then rebuilt. New rubbers installed, along with new blue post sleeves and LED's. I had removed the large ball serve rail at this point too as it was getting in the way.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_right_rebuilt.jpg

 

Over on the left side, the playfield was cleaned up and parts put back into the game. The foam pads behind the targets were replaced and new LED's installed. The target faces were cleaned and polished too. The green target for food and blue target for water were also cleaned up and had new foam pads installed too.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_left_rebuilt.jpg

 

The plastics were installed back onto the right side, minus the large clear piece. Since I have to remove them again for the next phase (there are some screws for ball rails under the plastics), I didn't bother installing the final layer. That can go back on at the end. There is no lighting under the lower section of the plastic so i'm going to try out a LED strip here and see how that looks.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_right_complete.jpg

 

The plastics were installed back onto the left side too to complete it.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_left_complete.jpg

 

The lower and middle sections of the playfield are now complete and starting to look more modern (and clean).

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_middle_playfield_complete.jpg

 

Following the last photo, I have been busy pushing ahead with the upper playfield area, so the rails and ramps are now all removed. But before I completed this update, I was keen to try out a small LED strip on the right side of the playfield, as this area is left dark with no GI lighting. This is wired up to the nearest GI socket under the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_shooter_lane_led_strip.jpg

 

With the LED strip installed, the dark area is nicely lit now.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_shooter_lane_led_strip_2.jpg

 

A bit of a shorter update this time, but as always chipping away at the to do list. I'm getting into the thick of it next update as I have removed the rails and ramps to get to the pop bumpers and the playfield at the top area of the playfield. I'll also look at the ball trap in the pop bumper area too. I may actually forge on ahead and do the remainder of the top playfield section too - rather than split the next update up into smaller posts. I'll see how it progresses. I can see why people talk about it being a more difficult game to fit LED's too as there are a lot of plastics, ramps and rails to get off before you have access to the surface level of the playfield. It's a great opportunity to give it a solid clean though and the game is cleaning up nicely.

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Having worked through the lower and middle sections of the Apollo 13 playfield in previous updates, it's time to turn my attention to the upper section. There aren't that many assemblies to get through, but quite a lot of parts to remove, clean and then install again. So it's still a time consuming process. My first area of interest in this update will be the pop bumpers. But before I can get there, I have a few things to remove. In previous updates I had already removed a couple of the blue rails, but now it's time to remove the rest so I can get to the pop bumpers.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_start.jpg

 

The remaining blue rails were all removed. This then allows access to remove the blue plastic ramp and the artwork plastics below. I love that SEGA went with a transparent blue ramp with this game as it suits the theme well. Removing the rails is pretty straight forward, although in some spots a plastic piece or two had to be removed first. With the rails removed, I now had clear access to the blue ramp. This has a diverter, which is not activated by a coil, but alternates between left and right exit as a ball passes through it - much like the second face panel in Bride of Pinbot.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_start_2.jpg

 

Under the ramp are a series of star flashers which will look really neat when lit up during play. The surface below here is quite filthy and well overdue for a clean. Most surfaces in this area have a dull look to them from the dust. Not to worry though as that wipes off easily enough and will look as good as new in no time.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_start_3.jpg

 

Next step was to remove the plastics around the pop bumper area so I could access the pop bumpers for cleaning. I want to clean up the white and yellow target banks too and replace their old foam pads with new ones.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_ramps_plastics_removed.jpg

 

One interesting little thing I found tucked away under the moon is a small decal with a UFO and aliens. I've never seen the movie but I'm pretty confident there was no UFO or aliens present, which makes me think it's a neat little easter egg tucked away in the game. So even alien life and UFO's get more references on this pinball game than Tom Hanks..

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_ufo_decal.jpg

 

The remaining plastics and posts were removed from the pop bumper area, giving me free access to clean the playfield surface. The small metal parts went into the tumbler for cleaning.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_pop_bumpers_start.jpg

 

The three pop bumper assemblies were removed from the game for cleaning. As expected they are filthy.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_pop_bumpers_dirty.jpg

 

One of the pop bumper brackets had been broken and welded together in the past. This is OK I suppose, but now seems like a good time to replace it with a better one!

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_pop_bumpers_broken.jpg

 

The frames, rings and plungers were cleaned up in the tumbler. New yokes (metal and fiber), coil sleeves, skirts, bodies and spoons were purchased to replace the old ones. All other parts were cleaned up. I had a spare frame to replace the old repaired one, so this was swapped in. Normally I like to replace the pop bumper caps, but these ones have decals on them that I couldn't source, so the originals were cleaned up. They're undamaged, so will be fine. Something interesting I noticed on the small decals are deliberate gaps in the art which allow more light to shine through for added effect.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_pop_bumpers_parts_clean.jpg

 

The plastics from the pop bumper area were cleaned up too. There is one plastic that is broken and I managed to find the broken piece hidden behind one of the stand up target banks earlier. I'm going to have a go at repairing it as purchasing a new one is next to impossible.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_pop_bumpers_plastics_clean.jpg

 

The playfield area around the pop bumpers was cleaned up and then polished. The pop bumper assemblies were installed back into the game. The whole area is looking so much cleaner now. I also replaced the old worn out target pads on the various target banks in the area. I took this opportunity to wipe the moon clean too as it was covered in a thin layer of filth from its years of service. A couple of the black posts were replaced with transparent clear and blue posts to allow more light shining through.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_pop_bumpers_complete.jpg

 

With the pop bumper area out the way, time to head higher up on the playfield again and look at the top left and right corners. There is a large metal rail that runs all the way around the top and down into the mid section of the playfield. This rail prevented me from fully completing the middle section in the last update as a few of the screws attaching it to the playfield are under the middle playfield plastics.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_right_start.jpg

 

The left side is a little more complicated as it has the 8 ball trough and upper trap door which controls when the balls are fed into the trough.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_left_start.jpg

 

I began by removing the trap door assembly. There is a small coil that sits behind the back of the playfield to control the trap door being up or down.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_left_start_2.jpg

 

Then I could remove the ball trough and plastics from the top right corner. I also started to remove the plastics and flasher domes from the rear playfield panel for cleaning. The GI bulbs are all burnt and a few dust bunnies forming. I'm not surprised the GI here has not been replaced as getting to it is a real pain.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_left_start_3.jpg

 

The last of the plastics were removed from the right side of the upper playfield, along with the remaining metal ball guides. There are some dirty ball trails around the orbit, but they should clean away fine. No wear or damage to be seen, which is good.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_stripped_1.jpg

 

With so much removed from the upper playfield, now seemed like the best time to clean up the plastics and flasher domes from the back panel of the playfield. They are difficult to get at with the playfield populated, so it's now or never. All the parts were cleaned up and LED's will be used to replace the old bulbs.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_backpanel_plastics_cleaned.jpg

 

Along most of the metal rails is a nice dirty ball trail. This will clean up easily enough though.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_metal_rails_dirty.jpg

 

The ball trough that sits at the back of the playfield keeps the balls locked in with a small up post. The assembly is really straight forward and was removed for cleaning. A new coil sleeve was sourced to replace the old one.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_ball_trough_post.jpg

 

The large orbit ball rail was cleaned up, along with the ramp and rear plastic that sits just below the glass trim at the back of the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_rail_ramp_cleaned.jpg

 

The ball trough, trap door and second large metal rail were all cleaned up next.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_rail_trough_cleaned.jpg

 

The plastics, flasher domes and lamp shades were up next for cleaning. The small metal posts went into the tumbler for a clean.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_corner_plastics_cleaned.jpg

 

The upper playfield areas were cleaned next. All the dirty ball marks cleaned away no problems. With all the parts from the top of the playfield now cleaned, I could start installing them again. The metal rails and posts were all installed once more, along with LED's to replace the old globes. The back panel plastics were also installed once again.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_left_playfield_cleaned.jpg

 

The right side of the playfield was the same. Playfield cleaned up and parts installed.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_right_playfield_cleaned.jpg

 

A few of the plastics on Apollo 13 were warped and this one was the worst of them. Flattening them out is easy enough though with some heat.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_warped_plastic.jpg

 

The plastic was heated up and the sandwiched between two small sheets of glass. The result is a nice flat plastic ready to go back onto the machine.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_warped_plastic_fixed.jpg

 

The ramp lift / drop assembly was up next. This was another simple one to look at and only needed a clean. The assembly was disassembled and the parts cleaned. A new coil sleeve replaced the old dirty one.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_ramp_lift_assembly.jpg

 

The last of the parts from the top playfield area were installed again to complete the upper section. The game is cleaning up nicely.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_complete_1.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_complete_2.jpg

 

Because I had completed the top section and had the orbit rails were installed again, I could properly complete the middle playfield section and get its remaining plastics back onto the playfield. The playfield is now (almost) completely LED'ed out and looks so much brighter (and cleaner). Many of the old GI globes were dead and probably had been for many years. It would be easier to just remove the sockets from under the playfield than go through several layers of ramps and plastics to swap out a dead bulb. The owner won't have to worry about that with LED's though.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_upper_playfield_complete_3.jpg

 

That's it for another update. All that remains now is the small area where the rocket is, along with the two in lanes at the top and then the playfield is done. I had been planning to include that section in this post, but the update was already getting quite long. In the next update I'll have the playfield finished off and hopefully back together again for some testing!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Time to wrap up the work on Apollo 13 and get it back into one piece for testing. First item on my to do list in this update is the rocket assembly, as it's the last outstanding part of the playfield to get a clean. Then I can go through the process of getting everything back together (which is mostly the rails) and test the game. The end is in sight, which is exciting as I'm keen to play (...test) it. Time to get started! The rocket ship is the shot responsible for working towards the 13 ball multi ball mode. There is a ramp you shoot the ball up and a small assembly at the top which traps the ball, updates the countdown and then returns the ball back to the player. It is connected to a motor below the playfield, which performs a lift off and drops the ball into the large red ramp below the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_rocket_start.jpg

 

The rocket assembly was removed from the playfield and set aside for cleaning. The globes, posts, rails and plastics from the area were also removed and set aside for cleaning. The playfield is a bit dirty, much the same as I found elsewhere on the game in previous updates.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_rocket_removed.jpg

 

There are heavy ball trails around the left shot of the rocket. These will clean away easily though and you can already see where I had been cleaning in an earlier update.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_rocket_playfield_filth.jpg

 

The metal rails and plastics were cleaned up. New red lane posts were purchased. The last of the bulbs will be replaced with LED's. The decal on the spinner was still in really good condition so didn't need to be replaced.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_rocket_area_playfield_parts_cleaned.jpg

 

Since all the parts were off the playfield in this area, the playfield was cleaned up to remove the filth and ball trails. The cleaned parts were installed back onto the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_rocket_area_playfield_rebuilt.jpg

 

The game is now completely LED'ed out and looking so much nicer and brighter. Before I sort out that rocket assembly, there is something else I want to do first.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_playfield_leds_complete.jpg

 

One thing that has been on my to do list for a couple of weeks is sort out the broken plastic. This piece lives on the left side of the pop bumper area. I found the small broken piece hiding behind one of the stand up target banks. They are tough part to replace, so thought it was worth while having a shot at fixing it up.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_broken_popbumper_plastic_start.jpg

 

The two sides are then joined together with 2 tiny bolts and the clear acrylic.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_broken_popbumper_plastic_fixed_1.jpg

 

Underneath you can see the thin piece of clear acrylic used to join the two sides together. The post hole is cut larger than needed as we want the plastic to sit level where it was before.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_broken_popbumper_plastic_fixed_2.jpg

 

Installed, you can barely tell it's broken and the extra screws don't look out of place. It's not perfect, but I think a suitable result considering a new one couldn't be purchased.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_broken_popbumper_plastic_fixed_3.jpg

 

The knocker assembly was next and removed from the game for cleaning. A new coil sleeve was sourced to replace the old one.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_knocker_assembly_clean.jpg

 

The rocket assembly that had been set aside was dismantled and cleaned.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_shuttle%20assembly_cleaned.jpg

 

The rocket was then rebuilt and installed back onto the playfield.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_shuttle%20assembly_complete.jpg

 

Next up was the blue ramp, which is in need of a clean before being installed. A nice collection of black dust had formed on both sides of the ramp.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_blue_ramp_dirty.jpg

 

The metal parts were removed from the ramp and put into the tumbler for cleaning. The ramp was wiped down and the plastic cleaned. The ramp was ready to be rebuilt and installed back into the game.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_blue_ramp_cleaned.jpg

 

With the blue ramp rebuilt it was installed back onto the playfield. The remaining blue rails were all cleaned up and installed again too. Finally, the large red ramp under the playfield could be installed once more and 13 new balls were installed into the two troughs. The game was now back together and ready for testing.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_2.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_3.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_4.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_5.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_6.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_7.jpg

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_completed_1.jpg

 

For comparison, here is how it looked before work began:

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo13_start_compare.jpg

 

Worlds apart :)

 

After getting the game back together, the next step was to run through the switch, coil, flasher and lamps tests. That way I'm sure everything should be working fine. During the tests I found 2 switches that didn't register and also 1 lamp that wouldn't light. The switch arms needed some adjustment and the wire on the lamp socket had come off. Easy problems to solve. With those out of the way, I began testing the game by rolling a ball around the playfield by hand. This way I could test specific things during play. The "glass off" testing went really well although highlighted a few more switches that needed adjustment. The alignment on the left flipper needed some tweaking too. The next few nights will be spent putting some games in to Apollo 13 to try and find any game play issues before it goes back to the owner. If anything interesting come up, i'll post a follow up. But I'm hopeful it will just be a few minor tweaks at most.

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Real nice thorough work champ and very informative posts with photos. When will the owner get this machine back as I'm coming for a drive to play it? Obviously when things quiet down a little on the home front of course. Now, what machine is up next?
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Real nice thorough work champ and very informative posts with photos. When will the owner get this machine back as I'm coming for a drive to play it? Obviously when things quiet down a little on the home front of course. Now, what machine is up next?

 

Thanks mate :) The next few nights are testing the game and looking for anything that's obviously wrong. Since all the diagnostic tests pass (lamps, switches, coils and flashers), I'm looking to see how the game holds up under play. A good example of this is Noob-a-tron showing me an issue on one of his games last week where manually testing a switch with a finger showed it working, but during play it wouldn't register. The switch arm needed to be adjusted up higher for the ball to activate it when rolling over it. Other things can be like I found on Dr Who where it was possible to get the ball stuck on a ramp when the ball hit the ramp at a slower speed - which required a small adjustment to the ramp position. Little things like that. I'm feeling pretty happy with the state of the switches now and the game looks to be holding together well. The only concern I have is the power of the flippers - they are incredibly powerful, making some shots very difficult to hit or in the case of the rocket shot, bounce the ball back out. I'm looking at ways I can perhaps nerf this a little.

 

I'm hoping by the end of the week all those sorts of things are sorted out :)

 

I'm enjoying the game though. The colour LED DMD on the game is awesome and really compliments it well. The video mode is fun. Shaker motor cool. The 13 ball mode is a gimmick - I couldn't help but laugh and feel helpless as my flippers were bombarded and i'm flipping madly hoping I can hit something - anything :lol. The game has some good shots and challenging modes to play. The shuttle take off and moon magnet are cool too. I've installed also added a custom pricing plate on the coin slot for the owner.

 

As for the next machine - it's already been moved into position and just waiting on some parts orders to arrive (should be this week). I don't even get 5 minutes of free space this time. You'll have to wait and find out the title :) All I'll say for now is it's another SEGA game.

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Thanks mate :) The next few nights are testing the game and looking for anything that's obviously wrong. Since all the diagnostic tests pass (lamps, switches, coils and flashers), I'm looking to see how the game holds up under play. A good example of this is Noob-a-tron showing me an issue on one of his games last week where manually testing a switch with a finger showed it working, but during play it wouldn't register. The switch arm needed to be adjusted up higher for the ball to activate it when rolling over it. Other things can be like I found on Dr Who where it was possible to get the ball stuck on a ramp when the ball hit the ramp at a slower speed - which required a small adjustment to the ramp position. Little things like that. I'm feeling pretty happy with the state of the switches now and the game looks to be holding together well. The only concern I have is the power of the flippers - they are incredibly powerful, making some shots very difficult to hit or in the case of the rocket shot, bounce the ball back out. I'm looking at ways I can perhaps nerf this a little.

 

I'm hoping by the end of the week all those sorts of things are sorted out :)

 

I'm enjoying the game though. The colour LED DMD on the game is awesome and really compliments it well. The video mode is fun. Shaker motor cool. The 13 ball mode is a gimmick - I couldn't help but laugh and feel helpless as my flippers were bombarded and i'm flipping madly hoping I can hit something - anything :lol. The game has some good shots and challenging modes to play. The shuttle take off and moon magnet are cool too. I've installed also added a custom pricing plate on the coin slot for the owner.

 

As for the next machine - it's already been moved into position and just waiting on some parts orders to arrive (should be this week). I don't even get 5 minutes of free space this time. You'll have to wait and find out the title :) All I'll say for now is it's another SEGA game.

 

 

Cheers mate. You must be really getting familiar with the Sega titles by now as there has been a few. Know what you mean with flipper strength. It's actually an important factor as depending on the game play and shots really determines the correct flipper strength. I can only assume different types of solenoids/coils determine the flipper strength or is there a way this can be manually adjusted without the need to replace a coil?

 

I also appreciate how much time it takes to fully 'tweek' a machine to ensure everything works perfectly as it was intended.

 

With a family and young kids, you just keep plodding along and getting this great work restoring machines done. My hat goes off to you mate.

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Cheers mate. You must be really getting familiar with the Sega titles by now as there has been a few. Know what you mean with flipper strength. It's actually an important factor as depending on the game play and shots really determines the correct flipper strength. I can only assume different types of solenoids/coils determine the flipper strength or is there a way this can be manually adjusted without the need to replace a coil?

 

Sega use solid state flippers, so there is no real end of stroke switch that can be adjusted. When the button is pressed they fire at full power for a short period before dropping to low power for hold. This can't be adjusted. You can adjust coil strength through the adjustments menu, but that is game wide and often leaves other coils like ball serve and VUK too weak.

 

Switching coils is an option. It's what I ended up doing on my X-Files. First I swapped to stronger flipper return springs, which helped, but had a few side effects when the flipper was in the hold position to "catch" a ball. I ended up swapping to weaker coils and it made the world of difference. Apollo is a different game though and for now I've switched to the stronger return springs and it's helped. The good thing with switching springs or coils is that it's completely reversible and not permanent. I still find it hard to hit the spinner and start mission shots with any sort of consistency, but that could be more to do with my skill level than anything else ;)

 

I put up a few billion+ scores last night (it's a high scoring game, so it's probably nothing to boast about) - but it's allowed me to continue activating many of the game features under normal game play conditions. I still love the video mode - it looks like there are 3 spots you can land the craft and perhaps earn bigger points on the ones I've not tried yet. 13 ball mode is still insane - managed to hit a few targets this time and get some jackpots. Still love the countdown for the rocket takeoff to activate multiball. Colour DMD really is nice and I hope they add support for X-Files or Last Action Hero as I won't hesitate to get one for those games now. I still laugh when I lose a ball and the game calls out "You got a flight plan up there?", having a dig at me indicating that perhaps I don't know what I'm doing :redface

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I told you the 13 ball multi ball when you get it the first time you can not help but laugh all the way through it. I read somewhere of a way to change it to 7 i think. The LED's were worth it and am so glad i have now converted you to Color DMD's now just need @Glenn70 to follow suit. So eager to play this now that you mentioned the call outs i love those in games. I am starting to think it has been finished for a week now and your just making excuses to continue to play it;)

I loved the moon magnet on it also so really cool toys on this. Actually have no idea why Sega games are not more popular.

Love your work mate keep it up.

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I told you the 13 ball multi ball when you get it the first time you can not help but laugh all the way through it. I read somewhere of a way to change it to 7 i think. The LED's were worth it and am so glad i have now converted you to Color DMD's now just need @Glenn70 to follow suit. So eager to play this now that you mentioned the call outs i love those in games. I am starting to think it has been finished for a week now and your just making excuses to continue to play it;)

I loved the moon magnet on it also so really cool toys on this. Actually have no idea why Sega games are not more popular.

Love your work mate keep it up.

 

Not sure about 7 ball mode, but you can enable/disable the 8 ball trough via the adjustments menu - which would let you play a 5 ball mode. I'm wondering if this is for machines where the 8 ball trough switch membrane has died (or is faulty), so you can continue to play the machine with just the 5 ball trough under the apron (and not get hit with "X balls missing" error when trying to start a game.

 

SEGA game do seem to be underrated. Bonus of that though is people miss out on good games and you can pick them up cheaper ;)

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SEGA game do seem to be underrated. Bonus of that though is people miss out on good games and you can pick them up cheaper ;)

 

Yes, good point. I have not played many Sega titles, but Southwark would be the best one I've played. Would like to play Batman Forever too but just don't see many around or too many people that own one.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

now just need @Glenn70 to follow suit.

 

Ha ha, very funny mate. I reckon you will be reminding me of this for years to come. I only have GB and TWD that I could put colour DMD's into and I will never do it on TWD as the red display just suits the red theme of the game. Cannot justify the $600 on GB! And the only machines I reckon I will buy now will have the new displays in anyway (Stern and JJP).

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Yes, good point. I have not played many Sega titles, but Southwark would be the best one I've played. Would like to play Batman Forever too but just don't see many around or too many people that own one.

 

I got to play a Batman Forever a few weeks back. A lot of fun to play - plenty to do, good shots, although I reckon with all the rails and ramps would be a pain to work on. Was having a good game too until my ball got stuck and an unsavory AA member (who will be reading this tomorrow instead of working :p ) said "I'll fix it".. and tilted on me. I'll be reminding him of that for awhile yet :lol Well worth checking one out!

Edited by Jesder
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I am starting to think it has been finished for a week now and your just making excuses to continue to play it ;)

 

Ha - Just saw this! That's completely false...

 

It's been finished for at least 2 weeks now :lol

 

I did make a couple more minor adjustments last night and put a few good games in. It's holding together well :)

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I hit a minor issue on Thursday night which I needed to adjust. I managed to get further in one of the modes, which had the ramp at the back of the playfield drop down, which redirects the orbit shot to one of the blue rails and back to the left flipper. If you hit the ball up ramp, it would get stuck as the blue rail had been installed incorrectly.

 

http://www.enteryourinitials.com/images/apollo13/apollo_rail_installed_wrong.jpg

 

Two of the prongs on the rail should sit on the outside of the ramp - I had them on the inside, which blocked the ball from passing.

 

Fixed up and now working properly now. Things like this occur when you've been so invasive in removing parts, which is why I like to put a lot of hands on testing into the games I work on to highlight these things.

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