Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Pre-2000 Early late modern? Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

  1. #1
    Tokie Owens Habilis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    California
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    13
    Thanks Received
    22

    Default Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Hi, everyone. My name's Dave and I'm writing you from sunny SoCal--long time reader, first time poster. A few months ago I had the very good fortune of finding a Sankyo Comet II on shopgoodwill.com for $11 (plus shipping)! Anyway, that's what kicked off my pachinko fever mode. I'm in the middle of taking that one apart and giving it a good cleaning. I *think* it'll end up working OK once I've put it back together. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions about it over the next few months. I was pretty sure I only needed one pachinko game in my life but then I saw this l'il cutie on eBay for a very reasonable price and located only 1/2 hour away.
    Bomber Cat Glamor Shot.jpg

    Here's what I know. It's got a bunch of stickers in English on the frame and case that say things like "Reward Hopper" and "Jackpot release" (see below). This tells me that it was purchased for resale in the US and modified accordingly.

    Bomber Cat English Tag2.jpg
    It's also got a yellow tag that says something like "Inspected and cleaned April 2000," which tells me that the game itself is no newer than 2000, at least. If anyone can provide more chronological info about this machine I'd love it.

    As far as I can tell it seems to be working OK, although the spring on the auto-launcher is, well, sprung--it's loose and floppy and I can't get the balls to go all the way across the top of the field. I'm hoping I can replace that with a hardware store spring at some point. Here's a photo of the back of the machine.
    Bomber Cat backstage-bigger.jpg

    The real issue is that there is some sort of mechanism in the bottom right of the game that is basically a bladed wheel attached to an electrical motor (the "50hz/24 volt" image you see below). The blades on this wheel seem to either trigger or count off a number of balls dropping into the lost ball bin, in two separate channels, and after a certain point I believe they trigger a bigger reward or fever mode or something.
    Bomber Cat Jackpot jam CLEAR.jpg
    The issue is that for some reason, the balls jam in either the front (6-ball?) channel of this assembly or in the back channel. See below.

    I can free them up with a pair of pliers and force them to manually drop, but that's not really sustainable. This also seems to lead to a ton of balls accumulating in the assembly below, which I guess (?) are meant to be released during some sort of fever mode or super-jackpot or something.
    Bomber Cat Jackpot pileup.jpg
    I don't know if it's a strictly mechanical problem, or if, because this game has a LOT of circuits and so on, there's some sort of programming or timing issue I need to address. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the informative posts and just generally interesting stuff on this site! Also, I apologize in advance for any image issues... the uploader on this site is a little clunky.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. The following 2 users say "Thanks" to Habilis


  3. #2
    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Diamond Springs CA
    Posts
    14,076
    Thanks
    26,525
    Thanks Received
    12,096

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Welcome to Pachitalk

    you have allot of things going on hear..

    lets start with the simple tings and see where that gets ya..

    you need balls in the top hopper.. (rule #1 keep the top hopper filled with balls.. there are lots of weight checkers on a pachinko.. keep balls in that hopper.. all pachinko new or vintage)

    once there are balls in the top hopper you need to get the balls that are backed up in the lower part of the machine cleared.. sometimes a good taping of the finger or light taping with the blunt end of a screwdriver will get them moving again.. (rule #2 of pachinko.. no balls should be visible on the lower half of the mechanism..) if there are balls visible there most always jammed up.. you might have to start taking the back appart to get them out.. when there is allot like you have the the machine was not designed for that kind of ball weight in those spots.. hence the jam..

    see what ya can do and post more pics..
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

  4. The following user says "Thanks" to Moparformances


  5. #3
    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Diamond Springs CA
    Posts
    14,076
    Thanks
    26,525
    Thanks Received
    12,096

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    in your first picture "attached thumbnail" pictures balls are not making it all the way to the jackpot mech?? why is that?? dust bunny?? oversized ball?? take a look at that..
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

  6. #4
    Tokie Owens Habilis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    California
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    13
    Thanks Received
    22

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparformances View Post
    in your first picture "attached thumbnail" pictures balls are not making it all the way to the jackpot mech?? why is that?? dust bunny?? oversized ball?? take a look at that..
    I actually think (repeat, think) that the balls in that picture are poised and ready to drop the way they are supposed to. When they drop they hit the bell and go into the front loading area, which I guess is right. The issue is that the ones that drop out of the bottom via the "rotating gate" are getting stuck (see thumbnail #3).

  7. #5
    Tokie Owens Habilis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    California
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    13
    Thanks Received
    22

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparformances View Post
    Welcome to Pachitalk

    you have a lot of things going on here..

    lets start with the simple tings and see where that gets ya..

    you need balls in the top hopper.. (rule #1 keep the top hopper filled with balls.. there are lots of weight checkers on a pachinko.. keep balls in that hopper.. all pachinko new or vintage)

    once there are balls in the top hopper you need to get the balls that are backed up in the lower part of the machine cleared.. sometimes a good taping of the finger or light taping with the blunt end of a screwdriver will get them moving again.. (rule #2 of pachinko.. no balls should be visible on the lower half of the mechanism..) if there are balls visible there most always jammed up.. you might have to start taking the back appart to get them out.. when there is allot like you have the the machine was not designed for that kind of ball weight in those spots.. hence the jam..

    see what ya can do and post more pics..
    Ok, there are lots and lots of balls in the top hopper. I try to load a bunch up there and a small amount in the front feed area before I play. As far as the lower mechanism goes, I can trip the lever near the bottom left on the back of the machine and they will start feeding out. Until THEY jam up at the bottom as well.

  8. #6
    I was thrown out of Top Gear Drunkenclam's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Guildford, Surrey
    Posts
    28,495
    Thanks
    13,435
    Thanks Received
    18,805

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    the gate exit chute is guarded as you say and the balls are jamming up.
    the purpose of the exit gate. is that if the machine did run low on reward balls and/or multiple balls went in to the win gate at the same time. It stores the balls in there releasing them one at a time, everytime a reward is paid out.
    It might just need a good clean out in that area checking everything moves freely.
    Ian #UKPachinko

  9. The following 2 users say "Thanks" to Drunkenclam


  10. #7
    Pachi Puro Peteybob's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Grand Rapids, Michigan
    Posts
    6,029
    Thanks
    6,576
    Thanks Received
    3,677

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Hello Habilis and welcome to the group

  11. The following user says "Thanks" to Peteybob


  12. #8
    Tokie Owens Habilis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    California
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    13
    Thanks Received
    22

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Thanks everyone for your input. I've been messing with it over the past couple of days, and it really does seem like the motor/rotating "propellor" gate trigger issue is the crux of the problem. When the game goes into what I call its "frantic" mode (lots of music and lights), the "wings" on either side of the center attraction flap up and down, drawing balls into the center and depositing them into the backed-up area in the lower center--I guess this is what you call the "Win gate?" I guess at some point these balls should either be released to the "prelaunch" area as a reward allowing continued play? However this doesn't happen unless I manually trigger the jackpot release. But really, it seems like there's something mechanically wrong with the gate mechanism. I'm putting a labeled image below to see if you all can shed any light on the problem. It seems to me like the assembly on the right-hand side of the image (outlined in yellow) should move but it seems to be locked in place.
    Bomber Cat Jackpot jam explainified.jpg

  13. #9
    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Diamond Springs CA
    Posts
    14,076
    Thanks
    26,525
    Thanks Received
    12,096

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    agreed with problem in thumbnail#3 (clear those balls)

    but there is also a problem in thumbnail#1 balls should be 100% from the top hopper to the jackpot mech that is thumb nail#1
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

  14. #10
    Tokie Owens Habilis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    California
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    13
    Thanks Received
    22

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    In thumbnail one that just happens to be a picture where I let the balls run out. I don't think it's an issue. In thumbnail 3, of COURSE I need to clear the balls out. I just took a picture with all of those balls in it as a graphic example of the issue I'm talking about. I can release them all manually, but then when I go into "fever mode" or whatever they start to accumulate again.

    What I'm trying to say is that because the mechanism that I diagrammed isn't working correctly for some reason, I can only clear the balls manually by tripping the release lever on the bottom left side on the back. And when i DO release the balls from the center, they will often jam up in the "Rotating gate" mechanism as well. If anyone has any idea of why that mechanism isn't working, or if it's supposed to be operating differently than how it looks, I would love to know that.

  15. The following user says "Thanks" to Habilis


  16. #11
    I was thrown out of Top Gear Drunkenclam's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Guildford, Surrey
    Posts
    28,495
    Thanks
    13,435
    Thanks Received
    18,805

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    I don't have anything from this manafacture of this era. Mine are all new models. But you may need to strip some plastic off the back to see what is connected to the part you highlighted. it might just be gummed up with age, or something is meant to move it but broken. it is meant to move as it triggers the microswitch
    Its time to get the screwdrivers out and take pictures along the way.
    Ian #UKPachinko

  17. The following user says "Thanks" to Drunkenclam


  18. #12
    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Diamond Springs CA
    Posts
    14,076
    Thanks
    26,525
    Thanks Received
    12,096

    Default Re: Pre-2000 (Early late modern?) Kyoraku "Bomber Cat" machine with some issues

    Quote Originally Posted by Habilis View Post
    In thumbnail one that just happens to be a picture where I let the balls run out. I don't think it's an issue. In thumbnail 3, of COURSE I need to clear the balls out. I just took a picture with all of those balls in it as a graphic example of the issue I'm talking about. I can release them all manually, but then when I go into "fever mode" or whatever they start to accumulate again.

    What I'm trying to say is that because the mechanism that I diagrammed isn't working correctly for some reason, I can only clear the balls manually by tripping the release lever on the bottom left side on the back. And when i DO release the balls from the center, they will often jam up in the "Rotating gate" mechanism as well. If anyone has any idea of why that mechanism isn't working, or if it's supposed to be operating differently than how it looks, I would love to know that.
    good information.. Keep in mind we can only go by what we see and sometimes we dont read everything typed..

    keep at it im sure we can help ya get it working
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-30-2016, 11:04 AM
  2. Early Modern Haewa "Cosmo Tiger" HELP!!!
    By Phulkrum in forum Modern Pachinko
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 01-21-2014, 03:42 PM
  3. Very Early Modern - Monako "Super star" Pachinko - $95 PORT CHARLOTTE
    By JACKSJE4 in forum FB Marketplace, Craig's List and Other Listings
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-24-2012, 09:23 PM
  4. Early Modern Kyoraku "Yawara Kids" Dejipachi - $40 S.F./Milpitas
    By JACKSJE4 in forum FB Marketplace, Craig's List and Other Listings
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-23-2011, 04:37 AM
  5. Nishijin pachinko machine model a "sophia" late 1950's
    By Sid in forum Pachinko Listings / Ebay RSS feed
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-09-2009, 10:40 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •