Fixing the Displays & Sound Board On a 1979 Bally KISS Pinball Machine - With The Backglass! A-5

[@steeveedee8478]

Friday night, a beer in hand and I'm watching pinball repair. Life is Good!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Steve, we're all living the life of Riley!

[@DoubleG247]

I use to smash this game in 1979. On one quarter, I can turn the game over back to 0! Classic Machine!

[@cheeseparis1]

In test mode, the KISS letters count in binary. Least significant bit is the K and this is reversed (on = zero). But when I paused the video I could write this down and figure it out. This is a pandemic, we have time for that :) thanks for this awesome video, I loved this pinball.

[@ricande]

Yep. I looked thru the comments to see if anyone else noticed it. :)

[@chrisfreemesser5707]

@@ricande I just noticed it as well...very cool!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks JPL I never learned Binary back in the day so I didn't notice it!

[@cheeseparis1]

@@LyonsArcade is this counting done just for aesthetics, or is it meant to test if a counter circuit works fine, the credit counter for instance? But then why doing it in such a cryptic way? That makes sense to test the logic in the credit counter, if it stays stuck at 3 and never decreases, no player will ever complain...

[@DavidWilliams-rn6uq]

Wow, there’s more going on in those drop targets under the play field than I ever imagined! The mechs of these old machines are amazing. Looking good!

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah they had interesting ways they designed things, the cool thing too was they had to work a 100,000 times! So it had to be a GOOD design....

[@stevegreene6272]

Just finished watching all the repair videos for the KISS machine. Love how you explain what you are doing and how to repair the machine. I love the old EM as that is what I was trained on.. The new SS machines are cool also as was trained in PCB repair also by AMF for pinspotters.

[@LyonsArcade]

I've messed around with those AMF machines a little bit (mainly just watched) they are so cool. Thanks for watching Steve!

[@InMyHead]

The song at the beginning of the game is rock and roll all nite, as you know. The song at the end is shout it out loud. According to the pamphlet for the pinball game from 1979 the game only used 2 KISS tunes so I am thinking the song at boot is just a boot tune to test the board and not a KISS tune since I dont recognize it. - Brant (IN MY HEAD)

[@LyonsArcade]

I think you're right, and if you don't recognize it nobody will :)

[@InMyHead]

@@LyonsArcade you are too kind.. thanks for the shout outs during this series. I still need to take that road trip to Rock Hill.

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

@@InMyHead my old lady is like you. Play a semblance of a tune and she will usually know the song.

[@mrromantimothy]

I've been a huge kiss fan since their first album here's a fun fact I want to rock and roll all night ,first came out on a studio album version , that nobody noticed it wasn't until Kiss Alive that featured the song with an Ace Frehley solo that it became their breakout hit.

[@LyonsArcade]

I think I've usually heard the live version, so that makes sense!

[@adailyllama4786]

The amount of engineering that went into these games is amazing. Equally, watching your work troubleshooting and restoring these machines is really cool. Thanks for the vids.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks B58 we appreciate you hanging out with us!

[@DiabloDeathPusher]

That machine is a work of art. Job well done sir. I am also thrilled the owner and you are keeping it as original as possible.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks LORD Death Pusher, we appreciate that!

[@Tranarpnorra]

I really liked the Kiss pinball. I used to play it in 79/80 when me, my aunt and my mother went to the beach in our town. They would lap sun all day and I would run back to the camping where we parked and play games in a crusty big old shed where they had four pinball machines and five or so arcade cabinets. Glorious summers. =) I don't know why but back then I was more of an arcade nerd and in the late 80's I became more of a pinball enthusiast, and still am today. I like the arcades of course but there is something more intriguing about the pinballs. The arwork, the mechanics and overall complexity I think. By the way Ron, nice work on the machine. And yeah, I think Joey is the Mc Hammer of your shop, you're the fine tuning fork, haha

[@LyonsArcade]

CAN'T TOUCH THIS lol Thanks Matthias, I've heard of other people evolving from Arcade lizards to Pinheads so that must be a natural progression :) We'll see you on the next video!

[@melanatedprose9134]

Seeing this video makes me think about other bands or artists who should have had or maybe do have a pinball machine. Parliament Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, Earth Wind and Fire, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Aerosmith quickly come to mind.

[@LyonsArcade]

I agree 100% man, how in the hell have they not done a Prince one yet? You know George Clinton though hasn't ever been paid in his entire career, they ripped off every song he ever did and never payed the man, you know there's no way they're going to pay him for a Pinball Machine, but they ought to! Unfortunately all the music themed pinball machines, pretty much every one of them are the same type of music, I don't know why in the world they haven't even tried something different. They made an Aerosmith, there's a Guns N Roses, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Two different KISS machines, two different Rolling Stones machines, an AC DC machine... Elvis, Rob Zombie.... You'd think Jimi Hendrix would be a no brainer too...

[@dennissmith3030]

Mannn.... I remember when this machine first came out. I was at Time Zone Arcade (closed years ago). I always thought this was the coolest pinball machine of all time.

[@LyonsArcade]

It's pretty awesome :)

[@kevwolf69]

My soul is weeping in joy! Thank god for vpx!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks for watching Kev!

[@toddreed1160]

Thank you for your honesty. I loved the video for comedic relief. You forgot to cut out some video. ❤️😂❤️

[@toddreed1160]

Don’t have to wait till the end of the video for the bloopers. ❤️😂❤️

[@toddreed1160]

Other programs they show the bloopers at the end in some 30 second montage. I like the in line bloopers. :)

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Todd, glad you enjoyed it :) This was a very fun machine to work on!

[@grfeld84]

Another great repair video! Thank you very much for all your hard work on this KISS pinball machine! That backglass is great! Keep the videos coming!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Grfeld we appreciate it!

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

I've heard that tune on other games before. I think its a universal tune

[@LyonsArcade]

I think you're right!

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

@@LyonsArcade funny thing is i like playing pinball occasionally but not really into gaming but I would suggest looking at the audio of some of your past pinball restorations.

[@dwayneanderson908]

really great series of videos on this machine... enjoyed seeing an old solid state come back to life.... i feel ready to take on an old bally or stern project project...

[@LyonsArcade]

Go for it! They're fun to work on!

[@1976aztec]

Thanks again Joe for the video they really help . You need show one repining so we beginnerws do it right.

[@LyonsArcade]

I've shown it in the past but haven't in awhile...

[@pezjohnson]

So happy how this one came out. Great job!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thakns Pez, glad you enjoyed it!

[@waltermawdsley4552]

Got one of these back in the 90s,got paul an gene to sign the backglass at the kiss convention, got ace a few yrs ago at the Hard rock cafe, replaced the playfield, with a new one.Great work learned a few things,kinda a boring game thought compared to pinball these days.

[@LyonsArcade]

We had a guy down the street who bought one from us once and he was getting the lockdown bar signed, then clearcoated, but he had another one that he put on the game to play...

[@cliffburridge]

Great outcome! 😎😎😎👍👍

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Cliff, we appreciate you watching!

[@danijelcar5184]

Nice game plays nice and work fine also👌

[@LyonsArcade]

It's very fun man it turned out pretty good I think!

[@spidermcgavenport8767]

Thank you Sir!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Spidey!

[@JRBlood]

Thumbed up 1 minute in. Looking fab!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks buddy we appreciate it!

[@johnneilokowitz2682]

Can you recommend person or company that I can bring my black knight to in Massachusetts?

[@LyonsArcade]

Unfortunately I don't know anybody around there but check with the guys at www.PBResource.com they may know somebody in that area that works on them, they supply everybody with the parts.

[@AnthonyPresley-l8f]

Where is the best place to get .100 and the .156 pins for the Bally/stern connectors?

[@CrystalMcNair]

Hahaha. I was thinking your video was gonna get KZbin copyright striked. Glad I wasn't the only one who thought about it.

[@AiMR]

Ronny was just a baby when this game came out. He used to work on these in his diapers 😂

[@LyonsArcade]

Yup, I was adjusting the leg levelers back then (I was shorter)

[@MrVectrex]

awesome as always. Thanks for the uppload! Now i´m gonna watch the next one! :)

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you MrVectrex, we appreciate you hanging out with us :)

[@yoadrian24]

KISS pattern during digits test for VFD displays. I saw the pattern you mentioned. For some reason it is the inverse in Binary of what is being displayed and on top of it the binary representation is from left to right. So number zero is fine with all KISS lit up representing 1111 binary = 15 but when it gets to 1 it displays _ISS = 0111 = 14 (8 + 4 + 2 + 0) But it seems to be backwards Left to Right. (0 2 4 8) When it counts from 0 to 9 on the displays the KISS lights really show 15 down to 6 backwards. Maybe some subliminal KISS thing they wanted in the machine. LOL.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks for tracking it down for us :) I never had to learn binary but figured it was something like that :)

[@1959blantz]

Maybe it's just coincidence. on all my older machines I've noticed that Bally Backglasses have always seem to look almost like new, whereas Williams Backglasses have issues with flaking . Your thoughts?

[@demofilm]

B L could be different paint

[@LyonsArcade]

So about 1979, Bally started making their backglasses differently. If you look at a Mata Hari backglass, or a Night Rider, they're always flaked like all the Williams glasses did... but shortly after that, they started using this new process that printed them different, so that they could make them more photorealistic. They went from being silkscreened, to some sort of printing process on the glasses that let them have tons of different colors. These STILL get damaged, but when they do, HUGE flakes fall off so the glass is usually totally destroyed. I've fixed a few, the latest one I did was a Future Spa, if you get time check this video out : kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2qxea2bqrh6Z6c So most of those later Bally glasses are either in perfect shape, or have huge pieces missing.

[@PaulGibbons]

In Season 4 of "Joe's Classic Video Games" we see Joe repair a 1979 KISS pinball machine.

[@LyonsArcade]

Is it Season 4 already????

[@TheGnomestead]

3 thumbs up for the one handed c clip exfraction cause the 2nd thumb does not count and 2 more for the back glass melodrama cause the 4th didnt count. Have you ever considered dielectric grease on your pin connectors to prevent oxidation? Gnomesayin?

[@LyonsArcade]

Nahhhhhh, they didn't originally have grease on them so I don't put them on them. Thank you for watching the Nomesteader!

[@TheGnomestead]

@@LyonsArcade Couldnt watch if you didnt make them! All you buddy! Just an ol trick I use to use working on Ham radios back in the day. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more and watching them as the snow flies and piles high! ✌ peace!

[@toddament8035]

Is there a setting on that MPU that the game turns off the displays that are not used during a game? Also the flash option for when the player is up? I would like my Lost World to do that and I have the same MPU board.

[@kmart0017]

This can’t be changed, it’s in the game ROMs.

[@toddament8035]

@@kmart0017 Thanks, I thought that would be the reason.

[@LyonsArcade]

Lost World I think was about a year before this one, so they had a more simple game code, by the time this one came out the attract mode was better and they added minor things like you mentioned. I have heard of people doing edited roms though to make things like that happen on the older ones... you may be able to get somebody on www.Pinside.com to look into it for you, if you sign up on their forums!

[@Jeroen_a]

amazing machine :)

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Jeroen!

[@NivagSwerdna]

Imagine how much easier it would be to fix pinball machines with two hands. ;o)

[@LyonsArcade]

You should see what I get done when you're not looking!

[@shuntguy]

I remember seeing a news program saying that the Kiss machine would play a "special song" and give you 10 credits for using a Susan B. Anthony dollar coin. Don't know if you can try it out.

[@LyonsArcade]

That's interesting, i'll have to try it...

[@Shadownrun2]

in the flyer the flippers seem aligned parallel to those metal bars under them

[@mrromantimothy]

Need to go through the inside with q-tips and rubbing alcohol clean all the grime out of there and then polish and clean all the connectors. Replace as many of those capacitors as you can they get old and dry out.

[@bperkins]

This set of repair video's has been great I haven't even watched this one (yet) and I know it will be great. I've watched many many of yours and they are getting even better than just last year. I can only think one thing: "Jeff Bezos' Money!" It's got to be all his money making these videos so great!

[@LyonsArcade]

hahaha we're not getting THAT MUCH of Bezo's money

[@CrazyMan_Engineer]

Did you double check the coin door to make sure that the center coin mech registers dollar coins?

[@LyonsArcade]

No I did not

[@michaelshultz5584]

Fun to watch. What is a game like this worth?

[@LyonsArcade]

This one in this condition is worth about 3K.

[@williamsudbrink4187]

Joe doesn't use a sledge hammer when working on the playfield?

[@LyonsArcade]

Sometimes!

[@scottthatcher9086]

Needs that grind sound..

[@Bender24k]

Neat!

[@LyonsArcade]

thanks Bender :)

[@benleclair3977]

Not to stable .....but cool to see this again.

[@haynguy68]

now the sounds are correct

[@wilder9777]

let's rock classic games

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Wilder Rock And Roll!

[@NeedlessJ93]

Have you ever seen the KISS pinball backglass? -Matt: I sure have ...kayfabe Matt kayfabe 🤨

[@LyonsArcade]

Got to teach these kids

[@victorsvarietychannel2459]

Are you going to do a play video on this one? Because that tiny bit with Matt suck.😂😁

[@LyonsArcade]

I am, see you tomorrow!

[@CRSolarice]

What does KISS mean when spelled backwards?

[@LyonsArcade]

I never spell it backwards. Thanks for watching CR Solarice!

[@toddament8035]

I always put the worst display in the credit / match display position

[@LyonsArcade]

I can see the thought behind that

[@davidz121]

Is it me, or are those flippers different?

[@steeveedee8478]

Anyone doing terminals............ ALWAYS TRY TO USE RATCHET CRIMPERS LIKE THESE... Don't use the non ratchet cheaper ones, you WILL end up regretting it!

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah these are much better for sure! Usually, a perfect crimp!

[@dansledepot107]

When you're in the display test, the KISS sign in the back glass is displaying a binary style representation of the digit beng displayed. Not sure the exact name of it. K=1 I=2 S=4 S=8

[@LyonsArcade]

That makes sense, some other people were trying to track it down too...

[@thomast7748]

The new caps don’t look good, they are too white. I reinstalled the old ones on mine.

[@LyonsArcade]

The old caps don't look good, they are too yellow. I installed new ones on mine.

[@sabbathoneseveneight8643]

Boot up song is definitely not a KISS song.

[@demofilm]

I was repairing a bally nitro ground shaker with a ball that would not kick out. I held down the right flipper and it christined it self!!! Now i can not trace the origin ... maybe i should not watch so much christine video’s

[@LyonsArcade]

These machines want to work right, man, that's their only purpose in life. If they can't work they're useless. So they want to work, if you try to help them a little bit they'll do their part and meet you halfway :) They're not animated but they were built by animated people.

[@demofilm]

Joe's Classic Video Games that is so true ron