Dr@No's fun filled (and often long-winded) restorations

[Fifty]

I tried the aluminum foil on a set of legs I had and all it ended up doing was making a mess of my hands. Gloves would have been a wise idea at the time. Maybe my legs were too far gone, but I think they were better looking than the ones in your picture.

 

[DRANO]

When you say "tin foil" is that like kitchen "aluminum foil" or something different?

Yes! regular old foil. Although, I suppose that the heavy duty stff might be even more effective?

I tried the aluminum foil on a set of legs I had and all it ended up doing was making a mess of my hands. Gloves would have been a wise idea at the time. Maybe my legs were too far gone, but I think they were better looking than the ones in your picture.

That's unusual. I'm assuming your legs are chrome and there's no actual pitting in the rusted areas?
This technique works on light surface rust and spots, but it won't do much for deep damaged metal.
The tirck is to get a good slurry happening. This comes down to playing with the amount of liquid you use. It can't be too dry.
The balled up foil behaves sort of like steel wool.. but without abrading the surface. I think the aluminum oxide it throws off into the 'slurry' is also what gets the job done.
Maybe try it with another set and see how it goes (and wear gloves this time )

As noted in my original post, it didn't do much for the back of the legs where the chrome was thin or non-existent. I just did the best I could with a rust bath.

As with anything, you must decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. In many cases I will simply buy new legs. However, these can sometimes be hard to find in the correct size/style, so refurbishment becomes more of an option.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you

 

[Fifty]

I blame you Drano. Don't expect an apology any time soon.

Glad to see you are active in this thread again.

 

[DRANO]

I blame you Drano. Don't expect an apology any time soon.

Glad to see you are active in this thread again.

'hangs head in shame'



Maybe I can redeem myself...

Lots of wiring happening now on the Firepower drop target project!
As I mentioned before, the guides that I linked at the start of this project do a pretty good job of explaining things... except when it gets to step 10 and you need to figure out where all the wires need to connect to.
Moving the original standup target wiring to the drop targets is not all that tricky. However, once you get to the new 10pt and the continuous contact switches on the drop target banks, it can get a bit confusing.

I wanted to try and provide a bit of an "idiot's guide" to the wiring theory and my selections for the best places to connect everything.

So, first, let's start with a new (revised) switch matrix diagram that I created.




Here's how to read this new schematic:

1) Please note the 4 new switches that I added in RED text into the matrix. 20, 24, 52, 55. I also edited the legend to the right and removed the "NOT USED" and replaced them with new names as follows:

#20 - 1-3 Drop Target Continuous
#24 - 4-6 Drop Target Continuous
#52 - 10pt switch - 4-6 Drop Target Bank
#55 - 10pt switch - 1-3 Drop Target Bank

* Please note that, even though I named #52 & #55 ater the 1-3 and 4-6 drop target bank, these switches are not on the bank mech at all. These are the new standup leaf swicthes we installed behind each bank. However, switches #20 & #24 will be found on the back of the target bank (see next photo for details).

The first thing you'll see is that we have to connect all 4 of these switches to the corresponding wires on their respective columns and rows.
For example, switch #52 (10pt switch - 4-6 Drop Target Bank) needs to be wired into the WHT/YEL wire from Row 4 and into the GRN/VIO wire of Column 7. I've also added the missing switch symbol so you can see that the WHT/YEL wire goes to the tab that connects to the non-banded side of the diode.

Now, we're not going to take apart the wiring harness to make this perfectly 'factory' looking. The best course of action is to jumper these new switches into another switch on the same row, and then another switch onto the same column. I studied the playfield and tried to find the switches that offered the cleanest and shortest wiring opportunities. I will follow up with pictures, but even in the schematic, you can see (in red lines) where I've made connections.

As an example, you can see that switch #52 is jumpered into the GRN/VIO common wire of Column 7 at switch #49 (centre middle left standup). You will also notice that I daisy-chained switch #52 to switch #55.
Now, the other tab of switch #52 (the one connected to the non-banded end of the diode) needs to be jumpered to the WHT/YEL wire of Row 4. For me, the best place to make this connection was at switch #28 (bottom right jet bumper). Coincidentally, I also used the same connection point for the new switch #20 since they all shared the same row.

Of course, the reason this all works is the diodes. They prevent the signals from feeding back in the other direction. So, even though we're jumping wires to other switches, the combination of row and column is always unique and the MPU knows this. This means that our new switch #52 is seen by the game as the connecting of Column 7 + Row 4. No other switch on the matrix can register this address as long as the diodes keep the informatin flowing the right way. This is why games get screwy switch readings when diodes fail.

I'll post some photos next with more detail.

 

[DRANO]

I also thought the Column 3 (GRN/ORG) wiring to the drop target banks might be confusing for some, so I created this image to explain in more detail.
This photo is taken directly from the guide, so it doesn't look exactly like mine. It shows the back of the '1-3' Drop Target Bank.




The important thing to note here is that all the wiring except the WHT/YEL wire at point "B" already exists within the game.

The GRN/ORG wire get's moved from the first standup switch and is soldered into the 2nd pad of the #1 target switch plate (far left in this picture). You will notice there are 3 separate switch plates all lined up together and each has 4 solder pads at the top. It's a bit hard to see, but the GRN/ORG wire from the original standup target is now on the 2nd pad of the left (or 1st) green contact plate.

*NOTE*
It's also very important to note that the 2nd and 3rd pad are connected with traces behind the contact plate; and that means that the GRN/ORG wire is actually daisy chained over to each of the three plates. On the 3rd and final plate, it also has one last connection for the 'Continuous' switch that we'll be adding at #20. I have tried to trace in light green how the common GRN/ORG wire from Column 3 actually traces to all 3 of the switches (running down to the banded side of the diode of each) and it even goes to a 4th switch and diode, which is the continuous switch #20 I already mentioned.

So, if your target bank already has all the jumpers in place, you're in luck. All you really need to do is ensure that you make the proper connection at point shown at "A" on this image.
After you've completed that, you just connect the 3 different WHT-coloured wires from the original standup targets over to the lugs on these contact plates that are connected to the non-banded part of the diodes.
In the case of the "1-3" target bank, the wire colours are:

"1" drop target - White-Brown
"2" drop target - White-Red
"3" drop target - White-Orange

On the 4th lug, we will need to add a new run of WHT/YEL wire for the #20 switch (I only had WHT/BLK so I substituted). As mentioned in the last post, I use this wire to connect the new switch into the matrix. We already know that it is connected to the GRN/ORG wire of Column 3 of the switch matrix via the daisy chain shown in this pic. As shown in my revised schematic, the other half od the switch connection goes from point "B" to the WHT/YEL wire on switch #28 (or the 'Bottom Right Jet Bumper').

For the other drop target bank we repeat same process except that the 4-6 target wiring is as follows:

"4" drop target - White-Green
"5" drop target - White-Blue
"6" drop target - White-Violet

Also, if we consult the new schematic, we see that on the "4-6" target bank the new Continuous switch #24 gets jumpered to the WHT/GRY wire on switch #40, or the "Middle POWER Target".

I'll post some more photos as I get time.

 

[DRANO]

The last few days have been pretty boring and I'm jumping back and forth between projects.

Nothing very exciting to report on Firepower. Just a lot of wiring. But, as promised, here are a lot more photos showing all of the connections I mentioned in the write-ups above.


First, let's look at the new 10pt switches behind the drop target banks. At this point you will have completed steps 6-7 in the guide that I linked at the beginning and cut your playfield and fitted the new standups. The photo below illustrates the connections as I've made them:




1) The first shot shows the new switch #55 behind the new 1-3 drop target bank. Connection point "A" shows a new WHT/VIO run of wire that has to be added. I will show where this goes to in the next step. Connection point "B" shows a new VIO/GRN wire that we will daisy chain to the other 10pt switch on the other bank and then connect both into the GRN/VIO wire of COlumn 7 on the switch matrix.

2) The 2nd slide shows that other 10pt switch added behind the 4-6 drop target bank. Connection point "C" has a new WHT/BLK wire attached and I will show where that goes in the next step (please note that the guide here calls for a WHT/YEL wire since it has to connect to the same colour wire of Row 4 on the switch matrix. I only had WHT/BLK so I substituted). For the other connection point "D", notice that is has the same VIO/GRN wire that we soldered to "B" on the other switch. B & D can actually be directly linked together (as seen in my new switch matrix schematic earlier connecting switches 55 & 52). As per the guide, both of these connections should be made to the lug with no diode connection. You will now notice a 2nd run of VIO/GRN wire coming from point "D". We will use that to link both of the 10pt switches into Column 7. **NOTE** I added this wire before deciding that I would connect the two switches to switch #49. It would be shorter if you ran it the other way. Meaning, start at "D" then link to "B" and then add another wire to switch #49 (I did the backwards and used a bit more wire as a result)

3) The last slide shows what I mean. You can see the new VIO/GRN wire coming from the top of the image where it is attached to points D and B (switches 52 & 55) and then connecting to switch #49 (Center Middle Standup) where my finger is pointing. It must connect to the same lug as the existing GRN/VIO wire.


Next, let's see where the WHT/VIO and WHT/BLK wires connect.





1) On the first slide you can see the WHT/VIO wire we added. It's coming from connection point "A" on the new #55 10pt switch (just beyond the left side of the image) and I've run the wire through the harness, as indicated by the red lines, to get it as close as possible to switch #31 Upper Top Right Standup. Make sure to attach the wire to the same lug that has an original WHT/VIO wire. It should on the non-banded side of the diode.

2) On the 2nd slide you will notice the WHT/BLK wire that is coming from the left. We cannot see the connection point in the photo, but it is the same "C" as in the previous set. This wire needs to run to where I've indicated on the right. It connects to swicth #28 Bottom Right Jet Bumper. Make sure it goes to the lug that has the WHT/YEL wire (again, non-banded diode side)

3) You will also notice a new connection "E". This is for switch #20 which is the new continuous contact switch. It's the last lug on the back of the #3 Target contact plate (the one on the non-banded side of the diode). This wire also needs to go to the same contact point on switch #28 of the Bottom Right Jet Bumper.


Lastly, let's get the final continuous switch from the other bank wired. This is switch #24. See below:




On this image you can see that I've added a new run of WHT/GRY wire and you can just make out where it connects on the far left side to the last contact plate on the back of the 4-6 drop target contact plate. If you still cannot figure out where this is, Please reference my earlier post from a few days ago showing a close-up of the back of the drop target bank. It's the one indicated by "B" in the lower right. ANyway, the red lines show the path I used to run the new WHT/GRY wire over to switch #40 Middle POWER Target. Again, make sure to look for the matching WHT/GRY wire and attach there (it'll be the non-banded diode).

That's it! If you do this all correctly, you should have a pretty clean wiring job.


The only thing left is to run the solenoid wiring for the reset solenoids on both drop target banks.
The guide does a really good job of showing this on step 7 and where to attach two new wires into the existing black Molex playfield connector. You can see that they purposely left the two holes empty when they changed the design of the game at the last moment and the wires were no longer needed. In any case, make sure you get two coloured wires as the guide recommends. Then crimp new male contacts onto each wire and push them into those holes, following the direction of the guide. The image below shows what happens on the playfield since this detail is not in the guides.





Now, the guide asks for GRY/RED to go to the 1-3 reset coil and GRY/ORG to the 4-6 reset coil. I didn't have these exactly, so the image above shows RED/GRY to the 1-3 bank and YEL/GRY to the 4-6 bank at the top. Here are things to note:

1) The YEL/GRY at connection point "X" is going to the lug on the non-banded diode side of the 4-6 drop target reset coil.
2) The RED/GRY at connection point "Y" is going to the lug on the non-banded diode side of the 1-3 drop target reset coil.
3) A new heavier 18AWG wire has been run in a chain from the banded side lug of the Left Eject Hole Solenoid and daisy-chained to the same lugs on the two new coils. This will provide the necessary power.

I think that about covers my "idiot's guide" to wiring in your Firepower drop target mod

Good luck!

 

[eh97ac]

@DRANO Can you provide an update on the Firepower hardtop? I would like to hear how it's holding up and game play issues, if any.

 

[DRANO]

@DRANO Can you provide an update on the Firepower hardtop? I would like to hear how it's holding up and game play issues, if any.

That game was sold and was at Bluffs Pinball for a while. Not sure if it is still there, but it was seeing regular play and seemed okay.
At first it feels just like a cearcoated playfield (which means ball was sliding a bit), but nothing crazy. I quite liked it as an alternative option for a machine that I didn't want to invest $1K+ into for a new playfield. It sounded like it was playing fine for the guys at Bluffs. Maybe they can chime in.

I played a Space Shuttle and Taxi that had this product on it for a while at shows and I would not have been able to tell at first glance that it wasn't a regular playfield just based on the game play.

 

[WARLOCK]

Firepower with drop targets is at Bluffs. We played it regularly in league for a while. I thought it would be easier than it is with the drop targets to slow the ball down, but it is just a different kind of "hard" than a regular Firepower.

This example will go to Sparky's in St. Lazarre sooner rather than later and have the boards gone over and otherwise tune up this Sys. 4-7 Williams pin. I will be keeping this copy of Firepower with the drop targets as well as a regular stand up target version as well. Love this game.

 

[eh97ac]

Thanks Guys!