need help identifying and starting to get this heiwa machine working.

[leapcow]

A friend of mine that used to live in japan had a few machines in his garage and today he let me pick one out. I've searched around for info on this machine and can't find anything on it. The power says it wants 24V AC which i hear is fairly standard, is there a recommended transformer for this?

the only name i can find on the machine is "Pettan Rabbit" it's written on the back circuit board and the center piece of the playfield (see picture)

picture:
IMAG0347.jpg
IMAG0340.jpg
PettanRabbit.jpg(i tried forever to get this to rotate upright with no luck -_- it's late and i'm tired so i'll try more later if it's too bothersome.)

[Moparformances]

something like this should get ya powered up..

Amazon.com: 24 VCT 4 Amp Center Tapped Power Transformer: Electronics

please post a picture of the whole back of your macine when you have time..

and of course

Welcome to Pachitalk

[leapcow]

alright i'll look into getting that transformer asap. here are a few more pics
IMAG0356.jpg2013-08-16 09.41.59.jpgIMAG0355.jpgIMAG0352.jpg

[leapcow]

do i need the 4 amp transformer, or can i get by with the 2 amp?

[Moparformances]

i dont think a 2 amp will run your machine.. to be honest i was looking for a 5 amp to be safe..

if ya get in a pinch i have a 5 amp i would consider leting go.. pm me if your interested.

[Drunkenclam]

As you say, the machine is a Heiwa called Pettan rabbit ペッタンラビット
Power is rated at 80va So you will need a 3.4A transformer or higher.

[leapcow]

Awesome, I think I have a local store that'll have a transformer that I can pick up on Monday. Is there any kind of catalog for machines to get an idea of anything I'm missing or once I get it powered to know what should be happening if it's not?

[Moparformances]

Awesome, I think I have a local store that'll have a transformer that I can pick up on Monday. Is there any kind of catalog for machines to get an idea of anything I'm missing or once I get it powered to know what should be happening if it's not?

sounds great

not really

yes

[leapcow]

Ok, on my way to get the transformer. I'm going to get glass too. I noticed there's two troughs for glass. Should I get plexiglass for the inner trough and real glass for the outside?

[p.opus]

Ok, on my way to get the transformer. I'm going to get glass too. I noticed there's two troughs for glass. Should I get plexiglass for the inner trough and real glass for the outside?

The outer pane is not really necessary. It was primarily designed to prevent cheating. If you have rugrats then simply using plexiglass in the inner pane is fine. If you don't have rugrats, then I prefer glass, it gives a more satisfying "crack" when the balls hit the glass.

The glass will cost you less than 10 bucks.

[leapcow]

So there's no risk of breaking the glass on the inside?

Also it looks like I'm missing the motor to pull back the plunger. Am I going to have to make something with or is there a way to get one somewhere?

[leapcow]

ok we're powered and everything electronically seems to work great. definitely going to need to figure out the motor but right now i can fire them by hand around the back and plays fairly well. i have a few pictures of some areas of the machine i'm not sure if i should have something that's not there, basically anywhere that has open plugs.
IMAG0358.jpgThis is the empty spot for the motor.
IMAG0379_ZOE014.jpgThis is the lit up center, any idea what the H is for? is it just for Heiwa? once the special mode is activated it shows a number.
IMAG0386.jpgthese are two plugs i'm pretty curious about, they have the most characters by them, the white one seems like someone almost pulled it off so it may be fun to try and connect something to it if it's important
IMAG0387.jpga few more random numbered plugs
IMAG0385.jpg

[leapcow]

anyone?

[p.opus]

I don't know where you can get shooter motors. That is a concern of mine as well. I have three moderns and if their shooter motors die, I am in a world of "sugar honey iced tea." Maybe someone has another Heiwa that they are parting out. Moderns (especially early moderns) are really neat but they are a PITA to restore because of so many specialty parts. It doesn't help that the machines are basically considered disposable in Japan since no machine can stay in a parlor for over a year. As a result, the manufacturers have no incentive to make user serviceable parts.

They are well constructed, but they are not designed to be repaired. I imagine if they do have a warranty associated with them, the factory just swaps it out.

Yahoo JP has some pretty esoteric stuff, you might find one there, but you need to kind of know Japanese so you know what to look for. Perhaps some people who've had experience using Yahoo JP and one of the brokers can lead you to the right path.

[leapcow]

Thanks for the good info, I didn't realize they could only be in service for a year. If I construct a motor mount and shoot arm thing to pull back the arm could I technically use any 24v motor?

[heima]

Just like in the other thread, the shooter motors are stepper motors. A 24 VAC motor is not going to work.

[daverob]

Thanks for the good info, I didn't realize they could only be in service for a year. If I construct a motor mount and shoot arm thing to pull back the arm could I technically use any 24v motor?

Pachinko's are 'approved' for operation, and the approval lasts three years (and not the one year forced retirement that seems have been mentioned a lot around here recently). But the approval date may be quite a few months before the machine is officially released to parlors, so the actual life of the machine in parlors will be shorter. Some of the Japanese pachinko sites have the approval, release and retirement dates for most of the recent machines.

With a bit of electronics and mechanical knowledge, you might be able to rig up something with a different motor. But you will probably have to fabricate all of the parts yourself. A few pictures of the original motor from an owner of a similar machine might help to figure out what you'll need to do. You might need to use a stepper motor (if the original required one to change the shooter strength) and then you'll need to figure out how to connect it into the original drive electronics, or design your own electronics, or you could replace it with a fixed speed motor if the shooter strength was originally controlled by mechanical means.

I'm seeing a lot of comments from collectors of vintage machines that moderns are harder to repair if they go wrong, and I don't really agree with this at all. They're not harder, you just need a different skill set. I'd be absolutely useless if faced with a vintage that has artwork damage to the playfield, as I am seriously lacking in artistic skills (it took me 5 years to touch up a few small areas of the playfield on my Elvira & the Party Monsters pinball). However give me an early modern with a faulty CRT monitor, and I'd have no problem figuring out a way of fixing it or replacing the screen with a small LCD panel.

As more issues come up with modern machines, we'll find collectors coming up with ingenious solutions to these problems, and before long they'll be well documented and we won't be frightened of what happens if a motor fails, a driver chip blows, or the power supply board needs repair. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that if a plastic piece on a vintage machine had broken, you needed to find one from a parted out machine. But now we're getting people producing replacement parts using 3d printers and resin moulding techniques that no-one thought possible a few years ago.

[p.opus]

Pachinko's are 'approved' for operation, and the approval lasts three years

When did this change? On all the 70's vintages I worked for the expiration tag was one year long and it was a good way to determine when a machine was manufactured. If you had an expiration date of 75, then it was almost a given that your machine was built in 74.

Vintage machines are easier to repair because mechanically they are simple beasts. Even machines with artwork damage can be replaced by scanning the artwork into a computer and putting it onto a nylon adhesive sheet. If a certain video controller chip goes bad, I don't care how talented you are, if the chips aren't available, you're hosed. Yes, you can probably find one off a similar machine, but taking off surface mounted IC chips is not an easy task. And that's if you have the diagnostic tools to actually troubleshoot the issue to the chip level.

Even the mechanics are more daunting. I have a 2007 CR Yamato 1, and one of the cannon lights is dim. I believe this is due to a failing LED. I was able to take apart the Cell so that I could get the super structure portion where the "cannon" is located isolated, and even then, I couldn't figure out how to disassemble it further. I finally gave up trying, if for no other reason than if it is indeed failing, I don't have the skill to replace those miniscule surface mounted LED's. Although, in my search of answers, I'm likely to give it another go today, just to see if it's an easy fix, or if I can reflect some of the light from neighboring LED's to even out the overall look.


Another thing is that if electronic components go bad, they tend to go bad in bunches. An electronic failure or short circuit can and often cascades to other components. I'm not saying it can't be done, but to say that it's as easy as repairing a vintage, I'd have to disagree there.

I agree that 3d printing and resin molding is doing some great things. I was able to get some resin molded pockets for one of my vintages that was amazing. I hope the rest of what you are saying is equally true. I have an early 80's hanemono that I really want to last, as well as my Star Wars and Uchū Senkan Yamato,

[leapcow]

Well the shooter strength is mechanically changed, the knob just tightens the spring on the plunger, in fact currently without a motor I can play by operating the plunger with my thumb. So I'm thinking if I can get a motor to run on the power I can build a motor mount and cut a piece of plexiglass out for the piece that draws back the plunger

[daverob]

When did this change? On all the 70's vintages I worked for the expiration tag was one year long and it was a good way to determine when a machine was manufactured.

Not sure, I don't know much about vintage machines, as they're too scary for someone like me work on . All I know is that for current machines it's 3 years.

Vintage machines are easier to repair because mechanically they are simple beasts.

They might be for someone who understands mechanics. Someone who is more familiar with electronics would more likely feel that modern machines are easier to repair.

But in their day, vintage machines were state of the art. In the '70s you'd need access to a fully equipped machine shop to replicate some of the parts, and custom plastic parts needed expensive injection moulding equipment. Nowadays we have common equipment and techniques that make all of this easier. There's no reason to think that when modern machines are of the same age, we won't have techniques and equipment that makes them look like 'simple beasts'.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but to say that it's as easy as repairing a vintage, I'd have to disagree there.

You might think that working with modern electronics and surface mount components is a daunting task, but for some of us it's just normal day to day stuff. I much prefer working with surface mounted components, with the right tools they're easier and quicker that dealing with through-hole electronics. In the workshops of my last employer, I could remove and replace a 100 pin quad flat pack SMD chip in less time than it took to remove and then suck all of the old solder out of the plated-through-holes of a 16 pin DIL logic chip.

As things move on, then the people who work on them also move on. I'm sure that when these modern machines are in need of complicated repair procedures, there will be a lot more people out there who have been brought up with these style of components and will have the skills and equipment to replace them.