Thank you so much for documenting the fix on the Medusa. Your walk through the logic and problem solving is amazing Ron. You have such a wealth of knowledge and share so willingly. You continually help keep my pinball machines working. I live in a small community up the west coast here in Canada. So if I can't figure out my problems I'm kind of screwed. Funny story....I was working on my Black Knight the other day. I came back inside the house ( My machines are in there own little studio) and wondered where my cell phone was.....Well then I just walked back out to the studio and there it was in the bottom box of the Black Knight. I was using it as a flashlight for the fix and had closed the playfield with it still sitting in the bottom box. The things we misplace when we are fixing stuff. :)
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
I did the same thing one time, left my phone inside the machine with the light turned on :)
@paulclarke75712 жыл бұрын
@@LyonsArcade We are prone to power outages where I live now. Should a pinball machine be plugged into a surge protector power bar in this case instead of just plugged into the wall? When the power comes back on can the surge fry some components if the game is only plugged into the wall? Many thanks Ron!
@DankNoodles4202 жыл бұрын
@@paulclarke7571 lol smh
@fred_derf2 жыл бұрын
@@LyonsArcade Good thing you found it before shipping it to a client...
@fred_derf2 жыл бұрын
@@paulclarke7571, write _"When the power comes back on can the surge fry some components if the game is only plugged into the wall?"_ From my understanding, the odds of that are incredibly small. The old-school non-switching power supply is going to soak up pretty much any surge before it can get to the electronics. Some machines have a metal oxide varistor (MOV) built into the machine that's useful to protect the machine from things like a lightning strike. So if you're in an area prone to lightning storms a good quality surge suppressor may be a worthwhile addition. Note: A typical power bar doesn't necessarily have any surge suppression capability, and even when they do it's often minimal. If you live in an area with particularly dirty power a high quality surge suppressor makes sense, or better yet, a UPS. A decent UPS will not only protect your equipment, but will keep the power stable through brown-outs or short term drop-outs (as well as let you keep playing in a full-blown power failure).
@joetripp123 Жыл бұрын
What a complex machine. Great ending. Can't wait for the two sound board videos.
@dnbreyen2 жыл бұрын
Great video Ron. Interesting to see the evolution of the schematics over time.
@AllanSitte2 жыл бұрын
This is really coming together great Ron. If I had the money, I would buy it. I love the drop target sequence feature. It makes the player have to really practice their aim (if there is such a thing) to hit the set targets.
@webbfaze1242 жыл бұрын
It's a cool machine and if you like em tough, this will do the trick.. The outlanes are some of the most unforgiving I've experienced. The display in the middle of the playfield includes the timed extended play feature with unlimited balls, the extra ball feature involves the lower playfield, and the ball save between the bottom flippers. Alot going on for 1981.
@madbstard12 жыл бұрын
It took me 5 attempts to watch this.....all this family life thing is not all it's cracked up to be lol. But it was worth it. Am really enjoying this very drawn out repair. It's almost like watching old school tv - having to wait patiently for the next episode :D
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your persistence :)
@madbstard12 жыл бұрын
@@LyonsArcade Not gonna let a whingy teenager spoil my very important viewing 😂
@1976aztec Жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing these video's Ron
@irieman4422 жыл бұрын
Bally drop targets are the worst. This game is going to be awesome when it's done. Can't wait for the sound videos. Nice work. It will be like new when it leaves.
@markjackson14442 жыл бұрын
Great work as usual Ronnie. … this looks like it’s gonna be a really good game. ….very tricky to get it all up and running though. … thank god Ron’s on the job. …surrender now Medusa, you don’t stand a chance of staying broke!
@alphaxanon2 жыл бұрын
It's coming together, and playable! Just needs sound now... I love how you're walking us through the diagnosis on the schematics, and sharing your experience with the electronics, especially those connectors.
@laurenceharvey62022 жыл бұрын
Brilliant as always buddy 👍👍😁😁MaxsoundCarAudio Uk
@viscountalpha2 жыл бұрын
It's coming along nice!
@geeteoh12 жыл бұрын
Amazing how Bally used the same main boards for years. Seems as only the aux light driver and sound boards changed. Makes sense as they added more lamps and improved sound. Going from Chimes to Sound Board freed up three/four solenoid lines, but then they were quickly used and expanded. This commonality is a big reason why I like these old Bally machines. Looking forward to your Medusa sound series.
@TurnFullCircle2 жыл бұрын
Wow...fantastic vid...so pleasing to see this slowly coming back to life...all the best...cheers
@JohnEricBooth2 жыл бұрын
Really enjoying this series Ron!
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Thank you John!
@michaelschrewelius75082 жыл бұрын
Im Michael from Sweden, this videos will help me to figure my Medusa out. Gonna remake my zipperflippers and change my lampdriver board to an Alltek board then I think its ready for sale, maybe😂😂
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for watching Michael, good luck with your game!
@simondempsey12 жыл бұрын
Great Video Ron, those solder joints were bad. Its comming on now, cant wait for the sound.
@MRNBricks2 жыл бұрын
Mama was a looker. Pretty machine.
@Kevscancave2 жыл бұрын
Put it down! 👍😝👍 Always interesting! I continue to learn thanks to your channel!
@samuelcolvin4994 Жыл бұрын
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@gorillaau2 жыл бұрын
Someone who use to work at Bally decided to troll Ron, let me time travel back to when the schematic was being drafted and added an insert diagram showing where the insert top is.
@Pitbull06692 жыл бұрын
Man this is such a cool game I always liked this game I would love to have this one for my house
@EsotericArctos2 жыл бұрын
I wonder if the drop targets had a layer of foam there to make a soft landing and the tape was added to replace that foam at some stage? Guess we will never know for sure :) I've never seen this game in the wild before. I am loving seeing you bring it back to life. That playfield is really fantastic.
@Cool_Retro2 жыл бұрын
Awesome game!
@clifftucker87212 жыл бұрын
Ron, enjoying these repairs you, Medusa is an awesome game and challenging to repair. I have one and changed the playfield out with a new CPR one recently. Throughout the video, whenever I see it, it urks me that the skill shot lamps top left shooter lane aren't working properly. They are in parallel with the gorgon lamps at the spinner, important feature for scoring, hopefully it's just the bulbs.
@clifftucker87212 жыл бұрын
But, with the shooter lane skill shot lamps, I think it might be a deeper problem than just the bulbs because the spinner middle gorgon lamp seems to be pulsing out of sync. Also, the right-hand side bar bonus lamps, the very last two, they might be lighting together like they're short or something, but maybe you sorted it out when you got into the Aux board repairs.
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Yeah I couldn't figure out what was going on with all that either. Everything was wired correctly.... very strange. I feel like it's a software problem... but I've seen other people saying they've used an Alltek board in their Medusa so not sure.
@mfranzusan30142 жыл бұрын
Been waiting forever! Yes!
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Today's the Day!
@AerinRavage2 жыл бұрын
So Ronnie - when you replace something like those instructions cards, do you leave the damaged ones in the box for the new owner or go with the reproductions only?
@danijelcar51842 жыл бұрын
Almost done😎👍
@stphinkle2 жыл бұрын
I noticed a few things. One is the tens digit of the yellow LED timer display on the playfield keeps advancing more than it should I think (it seems like it is trying to count down but the ones digit keeps advancing the other way). Perhaps a switch is stuck on or a wiring fault of one its data lines? I am also wondering about that unusual flash of lamp seven on the auxillary board while in attract mode. I wonder if there is any connection between the two, perhaps they are multiplexed somehow and the switch stuck on is causing a chip to switch modes in the multiplexing somehow reducing the pulses needed to flash the lamp?
@webbfaze1242 жыл бұрын
The "like numbers" feature looks like it working correctly.. the left counts up, the right counts down. Complete all the targets on either side of the machine, it locks on a number, then you try to time your shot to complete the other side, matching that locked number to get the extra ball. Not easy to do.
@jasonsteverson46092 жыл бұрын
Hey Ron!!
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Hey Jason
@scottgm3212 жыл бұрын
It says Gorgon in the middle of the bumpers . I think that’s who has his back to us at the bottom of the back glass. Same head and ears as the gorgon pinball game
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
I think you're right... good eye :)
@rc-fannl73642 жыл бұрын
Nice to see this one slowly getting resurrected. Drop targets still seem to not always come up all after reset, at least when you were playing it at the end, but I am sure that will be fixed eventually. I was thinking the masking tape might have been added to reduce the sound of the targets dropping? Since the tape slightly cushions the sound, instead of having the target hit the metal? Just a thought.
@AvengerII2 жыл бұрын
I just realized something. In our little drama plays, we all wanted to be the heroes of our story. For instance, Southern people wanted to be the Duke Boys (or even Uncle Jesse!) when the truth is more of them are like Roscoe P. Coltrane, or Deputy Enos. Well, it's better than being Boss Hogg! Just as long as we all realize, no matter WHERE we live, society really is pretty damned screwed up, isn't it? I've read Plastic Man comics. As crazy as his powers are, NOTHING is as crazy in a Plastic Man comic as ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE running around him!!!
@johanlaurasia2 жыл бұрын
I think what was happening with that one light is (you were just about there), I think the bulbs are blinked by charging a cap and then discharging it to the light and the light blinks, the cap discharges, and the process repeats. the cold joint on the pin was somewhat touching, just not as good as necessary, so with each attempt to charge the cap, it's not enough to light the bulb, but after so many times, it builds up enough charge to make it flash (and dimly at that).
@gorillaau2 жыл бұрын
Hey Ron, what are you packing to take an 80 pound suitcase?
@naytch20032 жыл бұрын
Put the joint down people come on now 😁..no mas weed
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
What are they doing, why would they do that. Come on now people
@samuelcolvin4994 Жыл бұрын
Perhaps he's got an extra GOTO 10 line🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 (computer geek humor)
It's way over-the-top for a video, but it would be very cool if you could split the data connection from the MPU and run both sound boards at the same time. Then you could record both (on separate tracks) and in editing switch back and forth between them while playing a single game. New Hotness. Old and Busted. New Hotness. Old and Busted. Still, I'm really looking forward to -seeing- hearing the difference.
@glenndoiron93172 жыл бұрын
When you replace a drive transistor like that. ALWAYS check the diodes on any coils that it is driving... unsolder one end of the diode and use the diode check function of your meter.
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
You should definitely do that on yours
@glenndoiron93172 жыл бұрын
@@LyonsArcade The diodes DO go bad and open up, and if that happens, every time the solenoid shuts off, the inductive flyback arcs across the transistor, which eventually kills it. Replacing the transistor will be a temporary fix in that situation.
@fred_derf2 жыл бұрын
My guess for the masking tape, sound deadening?
@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker95242 жыл бұрын
Oh man am I behind! This is going great. Isn’t this doubler just the same as the Williams A/C relay?
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
This was 1981
@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker95242 жыл бұрын
@@LyonsArcade When was the first A/C? 83? (So this was first by a while then?)
@garrymiller80312 жыл бұрын
Just like Flash Gordon's I had to aligned so ball would not catch in target holes n would eventually peel playfield paint in the wood beast as it was called.
@davidhollfelder99402 жыл бұрын
#7 “south” decoder.
@garrymiller80312 жыл бұрын
Al Reizerman one of Bally designers
@jussikuusela73452 жыл бұрын
Maybe they put the tape in as a dampener to quiet it down? Ah, someone beat me to it.
@PongbyAtari2 жыл бұрын
Just curious do you ever use flux?
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
The solder has flux in it, when we want extra we just pour vapor rub all over it :)
@PongbyAtari2 жыл бұрын
@Joe's Classic Video Games Ahh yes kill two birds with one stone no cold solder joints and clear your sinuses.
@samuelcolvin4994 Жыл бұрын
Will that actually work? I rarely use flux but I'm usually working on old boomboxes and they seem to end up ok.
@lileveretteyoakumiii2 жыл бұрын
Hello Yodelayheehoo
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Hello Lil Everette!
@mrouse795652 жыл бұрын
Like Joe says it's broke
@mrouse795652 жыл бұрын
Come on ppl...ppl...😂
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
Come on now Mrouse79565 we can'..... we can't do that come on now. What are they thinking? Why would they do that.... come on now
@michaelosmon2 жыл бұрын
My doctors want me taking gabapentin theoretically indefinitely for nerve damage cause in an accident. Smoking reefer at night, which is legal where I live, actually relieves the pain better and has much more tolerable side effects than gabapentin which a lot of people actually call morontin. I think you're out of line for casting judgements upon me without even knowing me. I won't be watching anymore. Unsubbed
@LyonsArcade2 жыл бұрын
You’ll be alright stop calling me on the phone high on dope
@michaelosmon2 жыл бұрын
@@LyonsArcade never called you man. Exactly my point you want to insult a group of people over 1 situation with 1 person. There's a word for that. It's bigotry