Repairing Stern's Super Cool Memory Drop Targets From 1980's Flight 2000 Pinball Machine

[@OSXMan]

The whole transformation is really incredible. I would have been intimidated by the massive paint loss on the planet, etc. You just went for it, and you've done a great job.

[@LyonsArcade]

I figured I couldn’t make it too much worse 😀

[@randyginden3852]

Harry Williams would be proud of you guys !

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Randy that’s nice of you to say!

[@ULEKstore]

Thank you for filming these! I just purchased a Flight 2000 and these have been very helpful with me trouble shooting the one we just purchased.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you ULEK, glad you found them useful! Have fun with that machine!

[@mdouglaswray]

Playfield looks excellent! Nice painting work!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Doug!

[@EsotericArctos]

I am glad you didn't touch up the red. The white showing through the red kind of looks cool and almost like it should be there with the style and activity going on the backglass. You got it looking great. This machine will make someone really happy as a players machine. :)

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Brendan, I hope you had a good Christmas!

[@richardsensabaugh1312]

Nice tip on the drop target.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Richard!

[@mdouglaswray]

The back glass touchup also came out great! Agree about not messing with the red. You'd have to scrape, mask and spray to get anything worth the effort. Best left alone. Looks GREAT!!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Doug, we appreciate you watching!

[@roryvonbrutt7302]

I forgot this was the same machine that I was watching earlier❕😳😳 I don't watch these in order sometimes..... that thing looks unbelievable‼️®™️ 👏👏

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Rory, we appreciate you watching our videos man!

[@memyopinionsche6610]

I think the cracks in the flight 2000 logo looks kinda cool. seems like it the cracks should have been there.

[@LyonsArcade]

Kind of fits the theme a little bit!

[@cloneofclark4374]

The paint crack lines around the explosion look like lightning bolts to me. You could have painted them yellow or white and it would have looked good to me. But the job you did on both the play-field and back-glass look great.

[@jimkuna8687]

That is the coolest pin ball machine wow.. love the 80s sounds!

[@LyonsArcade]

I really like it, thank you Jim!

[@Indiskret1]

Never seen it before but I love just about all of it! Sounds and voices are just wonderful. You did wonders with that worn out playfield.

[@Iamfixing]

Great tip with the triple thick

[@Jason-lx3zu]

Hi Ron, long time watcher first time commentor. I'm amazed how you turned this piece of chicken crap into chicken soup, very well done! Love watching your videos after working a desk job all day long, so cool to see your talent at work.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Jason, we appreciate you watching us out there! We'll try to keep 'em coming :)

[@markseeling1723]

the planet paint job looks good!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Mark that’s nice of you to say

[@markseeling1723]

@@LyonsArcade Color matching can be very frustrating... lol

[@TheOcculus]

The repaired back glass created really kind of a cool effect. The cracked blue under the letters on that old flight 2000 backglass looks almost like cartoon rocks. That gives the letters more of an illusion of 3D depth when I compare it to a new backglass without the darker blue cracks. When it's solid homogeneous lighter blue it just doesn't seem to have the rising off the surface 3D effect.

[@mdouglaswray]

I prefer to watch play like this - no glass (no glare) and with room light. Some direct-overhead shots would be fun too. Would love to see a 'full' game - the whole sequence. Amazing to watch!

[@LyonsArcade]

I don’t like playing them like that

[@sarasotakayakfishing4100]

I loved this game when I was young. If my memory is correct, you could cycle the lights on top with one of the flippers to make it easier to light them all up. Great job Ronnie.

[@scottgm321]

I was watching to see if the lights moved with the flippers like advancing them in other games to increase the field multipliers, but they never moved.

[@stshort500]

Wasn't sure about the back glass work, but I like it! You do good work Ron! Loving the resurrection of this one! The apron is great!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching stshort500!

[@davidg-m1768]

Now that’s a transformation! Nice work

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you David, we appreciate you watching!

[@tompallc]

Great job Ronnie. That playfield was wrecked! In addition to the other work you did to this beast I would rate this as one of your best! Thanks for sharing.

[@BigLarry1950]

That play field looks great!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Larry!

[@devilaverage6718]

Wonderful restoration, work of art.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Devil Average!

[@AvengerII]

Very good restoration, so far! I'm agreeing with your painting decisions to this point. I think you said it best -- 85% "there" is better than pushing to absolute perfection and ending up with something that pleases nobody, especially the guy doing the work! 😄 I'm an expert on the curse of perfectionism...

[@LyonsArcade]

I learned long ago that even if I get it how I think it's perfect, people always cut it down so it's not worth even attempting it, just get it where you're happy with it and move on :) Thanks for watching AvengerII

[@SiaVids]

That is now a thing full of beauty and a joy forever, a great job well done. 😎

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you SiaVids, we appreciate you watching!

[@markjackson1444]

Great work on the playfield restore. Great color matching. Anyone who has ever restored a wreck knows there’s no such thing as perfection, but you get as close as you can. I never played this machine, but it sure looks like a fun game. Thanks, Ronnie.

[@scottgm321]

That blast off sequence and sounds are awesome! What a cool game.

[@arcadefussell3185]

That machine really looks amazing Ron. Sounds incredible too!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Kelly!

[@walterclement4861]

A really fun game to play. I owned this machine back in 1992 and played the hell out of it. This was also the last machine designed by the late great Harry Williams and I think the artwork was by Christian Marche .This was Stern's first multi ball and talking pinball machine.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Walter, we're going to do 1 more video tomorrow and we'll talk about Mr. Williams a little bit...

[@walterclement4861]

@@LyonsArcade U would not even believe what I paid for the Flight 2000 . I had to literally pinch myself 3 times. Remember this was back in 92 .

[@PeterMorrison-rl3sx]

Ron I could be off base with this but having restored a widebody Bally recently I discovered that if your flippers are set just a bit lower than you think they should be visually, you will actually have more power, or "sling" from the tips of the flippers. This effectively will give you more power for the outside shots. My Space Invaders had a hard time hitting the captive ball lane hard enough to hit the back switch most of the time. Once I made the adjustment to the flippers, by angling them downwards slightly it was a huge improvement. It's like I changed the "powerband" of the flippers if that makes sense. Love your videos keep em up!

[@Joe_HamRadioGuy]

That's a really cool game. I love the sounds it is making. Someone will be very happy with it. Great job.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for watching Joe!

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

All you need is a $2160 Spectrocolorimeter and the $1821 Color Chip Reference Library, and you're all set! ---- Just kidding, of course. ;) It's looking great!

[@mdouglaswray]

Playing pretty darn well - not bad for its initial state!

[@JendaLinda]

I think those cracks look like sparks, they're kinda cool.

[@LyonsArcade]

Yup depending on the art it looks ok. When the art is the female form it doesn’t look ok lol

[@JargonGigantus]

Speaking to the repaint of the glass, as well as the play field, have you thought about creating a template of the different surfaces and then restoring them that way? Would take more time, but it might help with fonts and paint matching.

[@westfester859]

Awesome job Ron, from boneyard to "It wants to play". Going to be wearing my new T-shirt into work this week, great quality, appreciate the large and misshapen sizes 🤣

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Frank, we appreciate you watching man!

[@markanderson6787]

I love your videos. Thanks. You add a lot of character to them. Just an FYI I have found that when trying to match the opacity of the backglass I can buy scotch tape. I test various colors and various degrees of opacity by painting the non sticky side of the tape. I let it dry. If it is a match I tape it or glue it onto the glass. There are millions of types (they specialize in taping car parts on cars. ) The scotch tape that you get in the office supply store works but I'm still experimenting with their more sophisticated tapes.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Mark!

[@Cyndee527]

Looks great, Well done!

[@gallimead]

An excellent restoration Ron, and it's still very playable to this day, compared to modern machines. For a wide body it does play very fast. Have you ever seen a Flight 2K conversion kit, for standard width ballys of the same era??. It plays really different. It took me a long time to get multiball on this machine, back in the 80's, being a teenager, I didn't really look at the rule card.. just flipped for every flashing light.

[@LyonsArcade]

it's tough man, I didn't get multiball on it when I played through it, i'm not good enough to make the shot consistently enough. I've heard of the kit but I've never seen one, that would be cool to have!

[@darklichny]

Your patience is tested regularly, I bet... Great job on this one... In the first video she looked ready for hospice...

[@LyonsArcade]

Most of my patience is tested by jerks on KZbin lol the actual games don’t bother me much… thank you for watching!

[@darklichny]

@@LyonsArcade Don't feed the trolls... Appreciate the efforts, Thanks.

[@dvv45]

Great work! Looking Good!

[@mikem362]

Suggestion on the 5 drop target reset problem. Take a 1uf cap on the line just before the transistors, the signal from the multiplex other leg to ground. It will keep the relay on for a split second longer to stabilize rail.

[@vincediesil]

It's always amazing how you resurrect these machines and send them back out into the world. Have you ever done a video about how you got into this or how you learned to do these kind of repairs? I never went to school for anything for electronic and there are some things I just don't understand as a result. Last question: Did these machines originally ship with operator or service manuals inside for the arcade owners? Kinda like home appliances tend to have a wiring diagram inside. Thanks for the great videos!

[@avelord6135]

Merry xmas Ron! I'm sure you know about this but.....there is a product from Liquitex, an acrylic paint retarder (no, it doesn't make acrylic paint dumber) which thins it out and makes it kinda translucent. It could work great for backglass on areas where you'd like some light to go through the retouched bits. Btw, the planet on the playfield came out great!

[@avelord6135]

wow, i wasn't expecting a ❤ after three years but hey....merry xmas and happy new year!

[@davidhollfelder9940]

For testing, You can block off the side exits with a rubber band so you don’t keep losing the ball thru them.

[@ronnieblaze4847]

So much involved! I have "faultiball" issues where out of no where a ball is released!? Very fun game tho!

[@Kyle_Reed]

Nice work! My F2K was working great for the last few years, but now my drop targets keep automatically dropping in sequence. I've checked the gap on the inlane and outlane rollovers, no shorts there. Any ideas how I can go about troubleshooting/fixing this? I don't think there's any other switches that spot lit drops, but I'm not sure.

[@LyonsArcade]

Put her in test mode and go to the switch test, see if any of the switches stick on, then test them one by one, you're looking for a switch that makes the wrong switch number come on the backbox. So if you hit switch 19, and instead of 19 it always says 24 or whatever... there's your clue. The way these work is with a switch matrix, the thing is, if you have a bad diode on any of the switches, when that switch closes, it will make several other switches close. It's kind of tricky though because on the test it will only show the highest switch number that's closed if more than one are, like with a shorted row or column. Also, if by automatically you mean it does it as soon as the game starts, and keeps doing it, you may have a completely shorted row or column... looking at the schematic I don't see anything obvious that if it shorted, you might only see one switch come on (like the inlanes or outlanes)... if I had one doing this I'd put it in test and leave it in the switch test for awhile and see if a switch pops up if you slap the playfield or something. Sometimes the physical movement of the flippers will make inlane switches bounce closed too just from the vibration if they're too close....

[@brand-x7049]

Vinyl cutter for apron graphics, maybe? 3D printer to reproduce unobtainium like those drop-targets?

[@johnneilokowitz2682]

Think about using triple thick to keep it together then try water based sharpies

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

One thing you could have done to make the paint a bit more translucent is add a drop of water as you mix. Something I've done before.

[@LyonsArcade]

It's not that I can't make it translucent, it's that you can't make the new paint look like the old paint. No matter what you do it doesn't match

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

@@LyonsArcade true it is very hard to make it match perfectly but at least you try to make it fairly close. You do a pretty damn good job of doing the touch ups that need done.

[@billdavis8490]

Ron, Looks like the flipper hold is weak. Would a new solenoid improve that?

[@LyonsArcade]

Anything else wrong you noticed that you want to bring up? No matter what I do people like you just make comments complaining something's not right, it makes it a real pain the ass to make the videos. I spend like 20 hours fixing it, then I put up a video showing how cool the machine is, and bill says "Hey, the flippers broke." Imagine how disheartening that is. It's like you introduce me to your wonderful wife and my only comment is "She's fat." I guess the flipper is messed up Bill. I'ts a real slur on you that the only thing you want to mention is the flipper that's broken. I'll try really hard to make it perfect for you next time.

[@maxhemenway]

34:22 Blast Off!

[@LyonsArcade]

We finally got there!

[@DankNoodles420]

I would like to buy this machine.

[@douro20]

A target box that big should have a reset solenoid on both sides. I guess they didn't do it on this due to the lack of space. I wonder if the newer memory targets which Stern and Jersey Jack use have a separate reset solenoid for each target?

[@LyonsArcade]

I think in general the newer memory targets they do are usually not in a bank so yes they probably have individual resets...

[@fred_derf]

For the memory drop targets, I wonder if you could add a capacitor to the reset coil, to hold it in position a fraction of a second longer to give the drop targets a chance to settle before the bar drops back…

[@LyonsArcade]

That may work!

[@fred_derf]

@@LyonsArcade P.S. Merry Christmas.

[@randyginden3852]

Second "F" in Apollo lane is also not lit...your welcome...Great series of videos!

[@douro20]

It's a design flaw. They had to use a horizontal lamp due to lack of space. An acrylic light pipe would certainly help.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Randy anything else you notice wrong that you want to point out?

[@garrymiller8031]

If u installed slightly smaller n lighter pinballs similar to Twilight Zones power ball would make the game much faster along with maximum adjustment on back leg casters with a fresh wax job.

[@miniskunk]

When you get to playing this table, I recommend adjusting the dip setting to 5 balls. This table drains easily! I have a virtual version of this table and the 12345 drop targets do behave strangely even in simulation. Perhaps the programmer was trying to simulate the strange behavior of the physical ones. I do notice if you hit them in the wrong order, they will reset themselves.

[@LyonsArcade]

Anything else bad about it you want to bring up? Ever wondered why you do that?

[@miniskunk]

@@LyonsArcade Huh? I wasn't saying anything bad about it. I think you misread my intent. I thought about your reaction I and I think you might have thought I was commenting on your skill which I wasn't. I know that is a major peeve you have. I am no pinball wizard either and this table is definitely challenging thus I felt the table should have 5 balls set by default given how hard the table goals are to get. Some tables just drain way too easily. I love your videos BTW...please keep making them!

[@dablakh0l193]

I wonder if the reason the drop targets aren't staying up is because the ledge on the targets are worn off at a slight angle. If you take a small file and square the ledge, it may fix the issue.

[@LyonsArcade]

I’ve tried everything it’s the springs

[@pinballdan]

@@LyonsArcade If the target ledge or the metal lever on the drop target drop relays are slighty bent the targets will slip off and fall..Rebuilt MANY of these BITD!

[@waynegram8907]

JOE CLASSIC, I wonder why they designed the spring tension to be wrong to hooked to the drop targets BAR but it suppose to Hook to the drop targets Lever which has a hole on the lever. I'm guessing they must have made different spring tensions for the drop target assembly or someone at the factory installed the wrong spring tensions. The Flight 2000 drop targets seems wrong that when you knock down a few numbers it will reset 1 thru 5 which I don't see most pinball games doing because mostly you have to knock down 1 thru 5 for it to reset the drop targets but this Flight 2000 if you hit a few numbers down it will reset 1 thru 5 it has a different type of game coding for the drop targets it seems?

[@lothianmcadam1]

Why are all backglass white on the back?

[@LyonsArcade]

They're actually a silver, it makes the ambient light from the bulbs behind the glass reflect around better and light up the whole thing instead of just the spots directly in front of the bulbs. It's like a reflector.

[@michaelnippert945]

I had my doubt whether you could fix that or not most people would throw it in the garbage

[@LyonsArcade]

We got it man, nothing to it but to do it :)

[@wolfgangvandenakker3377]

I saw multiple operator errors, the operator should be repaired to?

[@LyonsArcade]

Have you ever wondered why women don’t really like you? It’s shit like this

[@webbfaze124]

Big knockers.

[@jimkuna8687]

Sounds like some old Atari games sounds memories.

[@LyonsArcade]

Yup the earliest days of electronic sound…

[@jimkuna8687]

@@LyonsArcade it still sounds kick ass all these years later.. remember wizard of war? Dot dot dot. Lol

[@ocsrc]

The movie with Helena Carter, where the guy upstairs is a barber Sweeny Todd , she is making meat pied They sing a song, about the meat pies, and in the song, I think the first line of the song is "Ladies and Gentlemen " Each time you say that, I think of that movie

[@LyonsArcade]

I need to rewatch that 😀

[@maxhemenway]

34:03 Robot Off

[@PlumGurly]

For the red in the title, I 'd probably want to experiment with dye rather than paint. I don't know how bad a red magic marker would be. Dyes would be thinner than paint.

[@cirquestar6618]

Don't use paint for touchups on silk screened glass use inks. They where printed with ink.

[@gorillaau]

Is it just me or does the speech synthesis sound like the computer in the movie War Games. Plesse note that it wasnt speech synthesis there either but spoken sentences with the words spoken backwards and then filtered to sound meal is, that explains the weird emphasis on some syllables.

[@fishon8406]

With the red lettering, why don't you take the remaining red off and re-paint the them? you could tape that off and give it a nice new red color.

[@naytch2003]

It's soo quiet here, you can hear the distinct sound of a V8 Silverado with a brand new engine in it..

[@LyonsArcade]

And bad mufflers lol

[@naytch2003]

@@LyonsArcade but...a dixie horn?????

[@3rdaxis649]

You can get the backglass right but you need to use an airbrush. Not a paint brush.

[@LyonsArcade]

You first

[@3rdaxis649]

@@LyonsArcade I've done it. I would use a piece of clear plastic (from some packaging or something) and get the opacity right then mask off the crack and build up to that while checking with a light the whole time. It's a pain in the ass and I've only done it once. Come to find that people prefer you just leave it alone. Caulk it up to a "patina" lol

[@jockbeems4798]

Testing it using one flipper? Anyways, I put hundreds of quarters into the Flight 2000 at the pizza place 1/2 mile away from home. Eventually, I had the high score until they got rid of it.

[@LyonsArcade]

Just think Jock how much better you could’ve done it

[@brucebradshaw5947]

Yeah the flippers need to be lower became of the post in the middle IMO, but thats just me maybe.

[@ovalteen4404]

Runaway scoring? It's obviously the score motor. 🤓

[@LyonsArcade]

hahaha

[@pl5624]

No more daily episodes after Dec 31.....that ain't right people!!

[@LyonsArcade]

A few more

[@TheHobbyWorldofDrMike]

I have experienced the problem observed on the 4th player display. I disconnected the keep alive anode and cathode, then the display operated well, the problem went away. The dielectric within the glass breaks down when the keep alive circuit stays energized at the high voltage. It does not appear the keep alive circuit is really needed. You should try it, what are you going to do wreck the display you are going to probably toss? I did some experimentation on my Williams Flash machine. Here is a video where I talk about the keep alive circuit, the discussion starts about 8:30 into the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2OUpZ9qituCm7M. I actually disable the keep alive on all displays and the display works well.

[@LyonsArcade]

Interesting, I’ll have to try that… I previously noticed Williams changed the keep alive voltage after the first system 3 games so I figured it wasn’t a critical voltage to begin with….

[@davidhollfelder9940]

Graphics cracks .. (prob) vinyl shrinkage .. bummer.

[@swoopulater]

drop target wonkyness, what a technical nightmare 😂 i've dumped a few quarters in this game a few times and loved it, the sound scheme is great tough game to play though but it is fun. You know, on that backglass paint/screen issue with the cracks, i've seen this happen before too and it almost looks like the paint is shinking and forms those cracks. May be heat related, but most definitely age related, who knows, probably both . nice job patching that up btw. ;o)

[@ThiesIQ]

Do you really believe that the people who built such a fine machine had no reason to position the flippers like this? Otherwise, as always, good work.

[@LyonsArcade]

I believe it’s not really that important you however think it’s important enough to make a post about.

[@garrymiller8031]

Adjusting flippers to rest on pins makes it easier for players to make the shots.most operators of this pin back then would not adjust flippers to this style .lol less games awarded even when u set replays quite high.

[@MasterSgtSlappy]

Cotter pin.

[@lileveretteyoakumiii]

Yodelayheehoo

[@naytch2003]

Bah! Humbug! 😆

[@LyonsArcade]

Yodelat hee hoo

[@garrymiller8031]

Too bad Stern didn't incorporate the knocker in this game like other pins. Quick Silver, Ali,Big Game , Cheetah, Galaxy,NineBall,SeaWitch,

[@LyonsArcade]

Garry do you have anything positive to add, or do you just want to complain? Everything has to be perfect in Garry's world or all he does is comment on the one thing that's not perfect. Then you can't even do it outright, you have to make a passive aggressive comment about it. You're not quite as clever as you think you are.

[@garrymiller8031]

@@LyonsArcade u stated game played slow so respond with a solution 👍Don't worry u did an excellent job restoring it

[@johnyetman3179]

Those drop targets are almost as bad as old Williams.