New Pachinko owner seeking tips / help

[Erniesan]

Name:: Rescue Dog
Status: Used, very good condition, a bit dirty inside.
Good to go: No

OK so to make this machine "Good to go" I need to resolve a few issues. First and most basic is cleaning. I've seen this awesome looking video of a sweet Pachinko cleaner but I'm guessing they are very hard to come by. What are the best cleaners to use for the playfield and the plastics? What cleaners need to be avoided?

Next is the sound... Already got quite a few answers on this but I'm still unsure. Would this Sammy machine be OK with the volume controls from radio shack? I'm not an engineer (yet) but I learn fast and know how to solder stuff. Basically I'd be happy with the most basic and effective solution to reducing the volume on this machine. Any suggestions for specific parts or links to diagrams would be awesome!

Finally the power... I left the machine plugged in this morning but turned the switch on the back off. Well I came back after 6 hours and the power supply was too hot to touch. Literally blazing hot, I really thought it was getting close to becoming a fire-hazard. Granted the tips of ones fingers are very sensitive and I know electronics run hot but... is this OK??? Should the machine never be left plugged in for too long? Maybe it's a bad PSU? It's not encased in anything so maybe I'm just not used to touching an exposed PSU.


Name: Indiana Jones
Status: hasn't arrived yet!
Good to go: No

Again the sound issue. Want the simplest and most effective solution to bring the volume under control or just drastically lowered. From my post in the main forum it sounds like the good volume control part is out of stock, would just putting a resistor somewhere in the speaker circuit work?



Many thanks for the help!

[luckydog]

thats why just about all of us keep them on power strips, and shut them off that way,

when you shut off the pachinko itself the transformer is still getting power.

[nickbuol]

Yeah, put it on a power strip and turn it off/on that way. The transformer stays "on" even when the machine is "off"...

As for sound for Indiana Jones... Arby put some resistors in-line with the speakers (one resistor for each speaker) to get the volume down. Indiana Jones is REALLY loud, so normal speaker controls may have problems. Even with the resistors, Indiana Jones at the lowest volume setting (with the normal 3-position switch) is louder than either my Star Wars or Julie on the highest setting.

The cleaning tool that you've seen is a Pica cell cleaner. There is one with cleaning spray and a power transformer in the Pachi-Auction right now. It is a bit pricey for me, and my 3 cells, but I hear that they work well. I've seen videos of people using some sort of spray and a brustle brush but I am not sure how well that works.

[Meathead]

The Radio Shack volume controls work just fine. The only problem is that they do not come with instructions or a schematic. I had to experiment with the terminals to identify what they go to. After that, I soldered some 9" wires to them, pigtailed them into the wires going from the sound board or amp to the speaker. I ended up attaching each control to the inside of the door with velcro rather than fuss with attempting an external volume adjustment. They work great! You'll need one for each speaker. Or buy the stereo version to cover two speakers.

[Erniesan]

I stuffed some foam and fabric in front of the speakers on my Rescue Dog and it worked pretty well... almost too well! I'm going to pick up the Radio Shack volume controls on Monday if they are in stock.

Will the radio shack ones work on the Indy too or were those the ones that melted for people? Maybe a resistor + volume control + socks???

...

NEW PROBLEM:

OK so this is the new problem: I've noticed that one of the... forgive me for not remembering all the technical terms... one of the scoops on the cell seems to not register the ball going through it. I think it may be that my machine is leaning forward just a bit and when the ball falls through the hole it misses the metal contact. Right now about 4 of 5 times a ball goes through it doesn't get detected. If I open it up and put the balls in with my fingers it always gets detected

[nickbuol]

Erniesan,
I have read here, and know from my years of experience with home theater speakers, that putting anything over a speaker, such as foam, fabric, or cotton balls, can do damage to the speaker over time. Granted there are degrees to this. I mean, if you pack the area in front of the speaker tight with some sort of matterial that is limiting the speaker from moving, that is more harsh than simply putting some clear packaging tape over inside of the speaker holes. The inability for the cone to move will become a more noticable problem faster than the inability for the speaker to push air out because an inch away from the cone is some packaging tape. Both will damage the speaker, but just take different lengths of time to do so. How noticable is it? I don't know as I've never set out to damage a speaker before. Seriously though, in some cases it may be just minor, and unless you were doing what is called an A/B test with a known good and a known damaged speaker, you may not be able to tell. I just wanted to mention all of that. Not that I think that you are cramming a bunch of stuff in front of the speaker... I was just trying to use an extreme example.

I too have heard of Indiana Jones "melting" the little "6 for $15" volume controls. Not sure about the resitor + volume control. Would be interesting to hear since I have the resitors (thanks Arby!).


So for question #2, when you say "scoop" do you mean one of the (again, wrong terms from me too, sorry) "pockets" or "targets" that the ball goes IN or one of the "rings" that the ball goes THROUGH?

[arbycoffee]

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/local_links.php
______________________________________________________
some pockets on the right are dummy pockets of the cell. they are there for looks

[nickbuol]

Yeah, there ya go. Pockets, Chutes, and Gates... Thanks Arby...

[rubberratt]

If you really need to lower the volume for a while... stuff cotton balls in there, the air can still move, and the sound will quiet down a bit

[Tulsa]

Or simply put the cotton balls in your ears, same effect without danger to the speakers. Your neighbors may not prefer it but hey, are they paying the rent?

[owennewton]

Or simply put the cotton balls in your ears, same effect without danger to the speakers. Your neighbors may not prefer it but hey, are they paying the rent?

I was playing Yoon Sona the other day at full blast (6 fevers in a row) and later the neighbor asked what radio station I had been listening to so loud. I tried to explain what pachinko was but just gave up and told her that it was a Japanese video game.

[Erniesan]

Solved the problem with the pocket. Well basically it IS working (it's not the one for decoration) and it lights up other lights that I didn't notice before.

Sound issue is also basically solved, well I haven't implemented it yet but I'll be buying some volume controls and resistors and experimenting. I have a pinball machine coming soon too so lots to mess around with right now!

So I'm going to close this thread since all my current questions have been answered. Thanks folks!