The amazing story behind Red from Pat Lawlor's Roadshow machine

[Pavlovpinball]

Hi all,

I've been away so I've not updated the site for a couple of weeks until now. I've been talking to country music star Carlene Carter who is the voice of Red in Red and Ted's Roadshow.

If you're interested in how she came to be immortalised on a Pat Lawlor machine, you can find out here:

http://pavlovpinball.com/the-amazing-story-behind-roadshows-red/

Cheers,

Paul

 

[mwong168]

Thanks for posting that Paul and I love my Roadshow.

 

[Pavlovpinball]

Thanks! I love mine too but at the moment it's in bits - seems like you have to remove half the upper playfield parts to get Ted's head out, which I need to do to find out why his eyes don't shut anymore. Still, its filthy back there so gives me a good opportunity to clean the ramp, tumble the metal parts etc...

 

[Menace]

Thanks! I love mine too but at the moment it's in bits - seems like you have to remove half the upper playfield parts to get Ted's head out, which I need to do to find out why his eyes don't shut anymore. Still, its filthy back there so gives me a good opportunity to clean the ramp, tumble the metal parts etc...

If the coil winding isn't broken on the eyes closed coil (which is common), it's likely a broken eye's closed plunger. (also common) There is a way to get Ted out without having to remove all the crap around him, but it's not easy and you need the right tools and patience.

D

 

[Pavlovpinball]

Thanks Doug. I should have him out tonight and I'll hopefully see what the problem is. I've heard that that the eyes closed plunger is a common problem but not the coil itself. If the winding is broken is that simply a question of a new coil?

 

[Menace]

Thanks Doug. I should have him out tonight and I'll hopefully see what the problem is. I've heard that that the eyes closed plunger is a common problem but not the coil itself. If the winding is broken is that simply a question of a new coil?

Nah, if you've got a bit of sandpaper and a soldering iron you can repair it. (unless the coil locked on from a bad transistor and melted the coil) Just unwind the broken coil winding one turn and then sand off the red coating with the sandpaper, wrap the freshly sanded wire around the solder lug and re-solder it. Good as new.

D

 

[Pavlovpinball]

Well the head is out and just a quick look at it. It seems that the vertical coil attached to the eyes has siezed in some way as the coil plunger doesn't move in the coil. I'll take it out and take a closer look. That faceless head is damn spooky...

 

[Menace]

Well the head is out and just a quick look at it. It seems that the vertical coil attached to the eyes has siezed in some way as the coil plunger doesn't move in the coil. I'll take it out and take a closer look. That faceless head is damn spooky...

The one that moves the eyes left/right? I've seen these coils melt before which caused the same issue you speak of, but this was due to a failed TIP102 on the driver PCB. Rip it all apart and let me know if you've got any questions about the mech. I've serviced a handful of these over the last few months.

D

 

[Pavlovpinball]

Thanks Menace. Once I got the damn thing out I replaced the coil and plunger, and the plunger now moves smoothly in the coil. Put it all back and it's fixed! I don't know if the coil or the plunger was the problem as I couldnt see any damage to either, but it was an easy fix in the end.