I've gone and done it now...

[revmondo]

I blame my upbringing. I was a latchkey arcade kid.


I just bought a Data East Star Wars arcade pinball machine...
(my wife is gonna kill me)


PIcs will be coming soon. It will be of my Star Wars pinball lovingly surrounded by my 2 Star Wars pachinkos (just to keep it on topic).

Now I have to find a support group for pinball thats at least half as good as this place is for pachi. I have scoured the net and havent really found anything. I am wondering what it took to get this place up and going and if any of my brothers and sisters at the next Pachitalk Members of Pinball Anonymous meeting would like to get something going. I already have so many questions, and one major issue. Its a far cry from mint, lots of work to be done, but the playfield was shopped, its been stripped and waxed and has all new bulbs. But alas I have no one to turn to for knowledge in the way of the large sphere.

Just proves what a rare and wonderful thing we have here. Now its back to the sofa cushions to look for more quarters...

[gottac]

Deny till you die... tell her you didn't order it must have come to the wrong house and you called and they said they will pick it up in 2 days or you get to keep it!!

Congrats it sounds cool!

[arbycoffee]

tell her "I thought you bought it"

[rubberratt]

Hey Rev !

Gratz on your new pin, can't wait to see the snaps.
This link should get you going nicely
I have found it to be extremely useful over the years

Repaired my Data East Pin to 100%, great stuff indeed (for pinball that is)

RR

http://marvin3m.com/fix.htm

PS - For more information ... in a pinch, you can always call the folks at Stern Pinball, they are the last pinball manufacterer left in the US. Those guys are nice, and they are very knowledgeable. They bought Data East many years ago
(I think)

[FTKServices]

Where's the link... I need some parts for my Star Trek Pinball..

Thanks I see it now.

[rubberratt]

Where's the link... I need some parts for my Star Trek Pinball..

Thanks I see it now.

A good source for pinball parts...
Marco Specialities
http://www.marcospecialties.com/

[Denhomer]

Hi revmondo,

I don't know if anybody noticed it yet, but my avatar is from my pinball machine Gorgar.

I don't know really much about pinballs, but with the help of the internet I fixed my machine.
I also checked out that marvin3m site and it's really good.

If you want a community to ask questions, I'm a member at www.gameroom.be , this is a Belgian forum, but there is 1 forum section in english. Don't be shy to ask stuff there if you got a problem fixing your machine or something, the people are really nice (there are not many members, but they're all devoted to the silver ball).

Good luck with your pinball machine.
I hope you realize this is just like pachinko, it doesn't stop at 1 machine !

If you want all english people, you can always post a message at the newsgroup news://rec.games.pinball , there are a whole lot of people that buy / sell / fix pinball machines, or just discuss random stuff about it.

[FTKServices]

I saw your avatar. I think that was one of the first talking pinballs out. I worked in an arcade back then. I can remember when the boss got that machine. It was a really big deal.

[hanabi]

Congrats on the Star Wars Pinball Machine!!

I am soooo envious!!


and there seems to be a few Pinball enthusiasts around here,
so hopefully you will find the help / advice / or any parts you need...

looking forward to the pics!!

[revmondo]

heres the first pics. I havent moved it into the gameroom yet, so this is just a teaser to show game and condition.

DESW1.JPG

DESW2.JPG

The cabinet needs some TLC. I will add some wood filler to get rid of the gouges and need to add some touchup paint. Not sure how to handle the graphics parts, I'm not that artistic.
The only mechanical problem I seem to be having is that the dot matrix overheats after about an hour of play, and I have to turn it off and let it cool down before I can play again. Been looking online to try and find cause and solution, but no luck yet. Gonna try calling Stern monday to see what those guys think. Hopefully its not too serious. Might just need an updated power supply? The one installed looks factory original.

[Sid]

SWEET!!!



I hope your wife lets you live long enough to really enjoy it!

[hanabi]

Oh that looks really fantastic

Did I mention I'm envious??

and if your wife doesn't want you to keep it
you could always send it to me!!

That is deff the Droid I'm looking for!!

[rubberratt]

The DMDs have limited life. The gas dissipates over the years, and they need to be replaced. This sounds like the most likely scenario. Fortunately... they can still be had.

It is a bit expensive, and not plasma, but this always looked like a good solution to me. When my next DMD "burns" out, I will replace with this.

http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DI-PL20002&Category_Code=DI&Product_Count=4

If this does turn out to be the case, you may want to contact the seller, and see if they will meet you halfway, or even send another one that might get you through a few more years

[Denhomer]

All you star wars nuts do know that there is also a star wars themed pinball 2000... right ?
http://www.pinball.com/games/starwars/

[devospeed]

If your wife kills you Revmondo, can I have the machine? I also might know of somebody that can help you with the graphics on the machine

P.S. you should change your forum name to Luckydog Part 2!

[daverob]

Congratulations on your first pinball Revmondo! They are definitely another hobby where one is never enough. I bought my first one about ten years ago and now I have about 25 of them and operate them commercially in a small number of local locations.

With regards to the DMD problem, from your description it sounds like a common problem on Data East machines. If it's bright and working OK when you first switch on, and then goes blank after a certain amount of play (sometimes with random patterns on it before it goes completely blank), then it's highly unlikely to be outgassed, so you won't have the expense of buying a new display unit.

Usually the cause is a problem with the display power connector (the big chunky one with the large seperate wires, not the smaller ribbon cable). Remove then reconnect this connector (at both ends of the cable) and check all the PCB pins to see if they are burned (ie heavy black carbon deposits), or signs of discoloration on the connector housings. Also do the same for all of the other power connectors on the display CPU board (the PCB that both the DMD connector cables lead to).

If it takes about an hour on your machine for the display to go blank, then you've spotted this problem very early, so you should be able to get away with just having to reseat the connectors. Typically by the time I get called to repair games with this fault, it's got to the stage where the display gives up after 5-10 minutes, and the connectors are toast and have to be replaced.

[revmondo]

Congratulations on your first pinball Revmondo! They are definitely another hobby where one is never enough. I bought my first one about ten years ago and now I have about 25 of them and operate them commercially in a small number of local locations.

With regards to the DMD problem, from your description it sounds like a common problem on Data East machines. If it's bright and working OK when you first switch on, and then goes blank after a certain amount of play (sometimes with random patterns on it before it goes completely blank), then it's highly unlikely to be outgassed, so you won't have the expense of buying a new display unit.

Usually the cause is a problem with the display power connector (the big chunky one with the large seperate wires, not the smaller ribbon cable). Remove then reconnect this connector (at both ends of the cable) and check all the PCB pins to see if they are burned (ie heavy black carbon deposits), or signs of discoloration on the connector housings. Also do the same for all of the other power connectors on the display CPU board (the PCB that both the DMD connector cables lead to).

If it takes about an hour on your machine for the display to go blank, then you've spotted this problem very early, so you should be able to get away with just having to reseat the connectors. Typically by the time I get called to repair games with this fault, it's got to the stage where the display gives up after 5-10 minutes, and the connectors are toast and have to be replaced.

Thanks daverob,
The problem is that after an hour or so the screen goes bright, not blank. It starts streaking, then the screen, with the exception of approx 1inch on the far right, completely lights up. At first you can still see contrast changes, but after 10 mins from the onset it eventually just stays solid lit, except for that patch on the right. I am cleaning and reseatign all connectors today, just taking a break now to check in. I just ran diagnostics from the self test and factory burn in. no other probems, other than the plunger need to be greased? Its gotten a bit sluggish, like its dirty or something - it got stuck out after firing once during burn in. It gives playfield status alerts but I think I figured out that they are not actually prblems, just whats on at the moment, like it tells what position the t-handle is in, and if the death star is open or closed. a few of the targets dont seem to like to fall back right away when hit, but I will be cleaning and tweaking on those. Any recommendations on what to use to grease the plunger?

[daverob]

The problem is that after an hour or so the screen goes bright, not blank.

That's a new one on me. It might be a new symptom of the same fault that I just haven't come across yet, but also could be down to display power supply voltages failing after the game has been on for an hour. Again I really doubt that it could be a problem with the display panel itself, but I suppose it is possible! If you know how to use a multimeter, the DE repair guide at http://www.marvin3m.com/fix.htm has the information on how to check the display voltages.

a few of the targets dont seem to like to fall back right away when hit, but I will be cleaning and tweaking on those. Any recommendations on what to use to grease the plunger?

In general you should never grease anything inside a pinball machine. The grease attracts dust and dirt, and before long you've got a worse problem than you originally had.

All soleniod plungers are designed to run dry, any that don't move freely should be disassembled and cleaned. If the end of the plunger has mushroomed over where it hits the coil stop, then the burrs can be carefully removed with a small file.

There are a couple of exceptions to the no grease rules. Pivot points where there is metal against metal contact (ie where the slingshot arms pivot on the playfield mounting and some auto shooter mechanisms), should be lubricated with a couple of drops of light machine oil.

Manual ball shooter plungers on Data East/Sega/Stern games can sometimes benefit from a wipe with a cloth that has had some WD40 sprayed on it, but don't spray directly on the shooter rod, and never do this on a Williams/Bally game as they use a nylon sleeve in the shooter rod housing so should not be lubricated. Seeing as Star Wars has an auto-plunger mechanism, you can ignore this part!

Drop targets are the other exception, if they don't drop quickly and smoothly when hit by the ball, the mechanism should first be disassembled and cleaned, and any excessively worn parts replaced, then if the problem is still present after reassembly, a small amount of white lithium grease can be used. Don't use any petroleum based greases on drop targets, as they can make the plastic brittle, and before long you'll be looking to replace a broken target.

[new in town]

I blame my upbringing. I was a latchkey arcade kid.


I just bought a Data East Star Wars arcade pinball machine...
(my wife is gonna kill me)

revmondo, If you wife has not killed you yet... Would you want one of it's brothers???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0%3D%26fvi%3D1

[Sid]

revmondo, If you wife has not killed you yet... Would you want one of it's brothers???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0%3D%26fvi%3D1

Old Greek saying " in the house of the Hanged you dont talk about rope"