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  • TECH: Twilight Zone TZ - Slot machine gives ball too much spin/angle

    From Tim Kuo@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jul 5 17:13:12 2022
    Insight, please.

    The slot machine eject/kick-out on my Twilight Zone TZ sends the ball out with so much spin/angle that it drains (between the flippers) half of the time.
    The solenoid plunger looks reasonably flat on the rubber part.

    Is there a fix to get more consistent ejects/kick-outs from the slot machine? At least so it doesn't drain so much?

    TIA,
    Tim

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  • From John Robertson@21:1/5 to Tim Kuo on Tue Jul 5 21:13:52 2022
    On 2022/07/05 5:13 p.m., Tim Kuo wrote:
    Insight, please.

    The slot machine eject/kick-out on my Twilight Zone TZ sends the ball out with so much spin/angle that it drains (between the flippers) half of the time.
    The solenoid plunger looks reasonably flat on the rubber part.

    Is there a fix to get more consistent ejects/kick-outs from the slot machine? At least so it doesn't drain so much?

    TIA,
    Tim

    Is the VUK assembly solid and is the coil sleeve good?

    You could try a weaker coil so the ball doesn't come out so forcefully.
    Or possibly add a 15 to 25 OHM 25Watt potentiometer in series to adjust
    the output strength of the original coil?

    These are things I would try if mechanically the assembly seems just
    fine. I have an assortment of potentiometers lying around the shop to
    play with, not something everyone has...

    John :-#)#
    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

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  • From Tim Kuo@21:1/5 to John Robertson on Thu Jul 14 19:15:42 2022
    On Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 12:14:07 AM UTC-4, John Robertson wrote:
    On 2022/07/05 5:13 p.m., Tim Kuo wrote:
    Insight, please.

    The slot machine eject/kick-out on my Twilight Zone TZ sends the ball out with so much spin/angle that it drains (between the flippers) half of the time.
    The solenoid plunger looks reasonably flat on the rubber part.

    Is there a fix to get more consistent ejects/kick-outs from the slot machine?
    At least so it doesn't drain so much?

    TIA,
    Tim
    Is the VUK assembly solid and is the coil sleeve good?

    You could try a weaker coil so the ball doesn't come out so forcefully.
    Or possibly add a 15 to 25 OHM 25Watt potentiometer in series to adjust
    the output strength of the original coil?

    These are things I would try if mechanically the assembly seems just
    fine. I have an assortment of potentiometers lying around the shop to
    play with, not something everyone has...

    John :-#)#
    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

    It was a broken weld in the scoop for the slot machine.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Robertson@21:1/5 to Tim Kuo on Thu Jul 14 23:04:09 2022
    On 2022/07/14 7:15 p.m., Tim Kuo wrote:
    On Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 12:14:07 AM UTC-4, John Robertson wrote:
    On 2022/07/05 5:13 p.m., Tim Kuo wrote:
    Insight, please.

    The slot machine eject/kick-out on my Twilight Zone TZ sends the ball out with so much spin/angle that it drains (between the flippers) half of the time.
    The solenoid plunger looks reasonably flat on the rubber part.

    Is there a fix to get more consistent ejects/kick-outs from the slot machine?
    At least so it doesn't drain so much?

    TIA,
    Tim
    Is the VUK assembly solid and is the coil sleeve good?

    You could try a weaker coil so the ball doesn't come out so forcefully.
    Or possibly add a 15 to 25 OHM 25Watt potentiometer in series to adjust
    the output strength of the original coil?

    These are things I would try if mechanically the assembly seems just
    fine. I have an assortment of potentiometers lying around the shop to
    play with, not something everyone has...

    John :-#)#

    It was a broken weld in the scoop for the slot machine.

    Ah, the mechanical problem...the VUK was not solid. We have a spot
    welder for fixing that sort of thing, bur brazing with MAPP gas works
    just as well.

    Silver solder and a propane torch gives the best look as if you are
    careful the metal doesn't discolour..

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)