Scored a Bally Speakeasy pinball machine for $100

[SuperGunGuru]

I got a call my my cousin tonight telling me his friend has a Bally Speakeasy pinball machine for 100. I go out (not the best of weather tonight but I couldn't resist and it wasn't too far to drive) to look at it and it's in okay shape. The guy shows me the free play button that has some wires that broke off. The machine does power on, but I didn't see anything from the score display. I'm pretty much a vid guy but for 100 I figure I can get my money back if nothing else. Has the original manual too. The plan is to pick this up tomorrow.

[Ken Layton]

It's a single player machine. The only single player electronic pinball Bally made.

[Harpal]

oh that is great new and a bargain you are most likely to tripple what you paid.....
would love to see pics once you have safely got her home......

[SuperGunGuru]

Here's a few pics. It didn't do anything upon initial power up so I tried the usual trick of reseating connectors, metering fuses, etc. It now powers up and runs. I have a mechanical issue. The coil used to kick the ball into the launch area doesn't fire when it's supposed too. It started working after messing with it and then went out again. Coil fires fine in test mode. I'll have to look into why the machine isn't recognizing the ball.

[Witchboard]

Looks like you got your monies worth to me.  Nice score.

[Ken Layton]

The outhole switch is probably tarnished or not not properly adjusted. Remember these are gold plated switch contacts so never file them. Only clean them with an eraser followed by a swabbing with 99% rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab.

[CheffoJeffo]

Looks like a great score ! Nicely done!

Cheers.

[SuperGunGuru]

Ball kicker problem fixed. Turned out to be a problem with the 5volts on the driver board. A jumper wire was either loose or had a dirty connection. I was getting about 2 volts and after cleaning the connection and making sure the wire was secure, the voltage shot up to 4.9

[ChadTower]

Looks to be in great shape.  Nice score.

Keep in mind that those connecters are old and probably flaky.  If you can reseat a connector and get better results than it is only a matter of time before the problem reoccurs.  For best results, rebuild the connectors. 

[SuperGunGuru]

While working on the game the past few days, I had noticed the battery on the MPU board. After doing more research on it, I did what I knew I should have done anyway; remove the battery. Certainly no major damage to the MPU, if any. I may be wrong, but I find it hard to believe a battery could go 23-24 yrs without leaking. Perhaps this one was replaced at some point, but it clearly hadn't been touched in years based on the dust covering it. I'll have to look closer at it, but I feel better having removed the battery. I'm not too worried about saving settings, but I may end up adding a safer battery system to it.

[ChadTower]

What kind of battery was it?  Soldered NiCad?  Those don't have to leak liquid in order to cause damage... they give off a gas that can be nearly as bad and far harder to detect.

[TheOtherBob]

Good idea regarding the battery.  You probably know this already but I'll say it anyways.... if you put a regular battery holder on it don't forget the blocking diode.

Btw- Nice score on that machine! 

[ChadTower]

Aw, but what if he wants to try and power the MPU off of AA batteries?     

[SuperGunGuru]

Bumping the thread to ask for some opinions. I found a local pin collector who recently got his hands on a bunch of arcade games (it pays to let your boss know about your hobby  ). I called him when I was told he had a Ms Pac that I wanted, but he's looking to keep it. I told him about the Speakeasy and he was interested in it. The only game he mentioned that he'd part with that even piqued my interest is a Black Widow. He ended up calling me back a little while after our first conversation and offered to trade his Black Widow for the Speak Easy. I went out there to check it out and it was quite a sight to see all the pins. He told me he had sold some of the games (including a rough Ms pac and a rough Galaga). The Ms Pac that was there was a solid 9/10. One of the nicest I've seen that was original. Too bad he didn't want to part with it. So anyway, he shows me the Black Widow and sure enough it works. Cabinet's in pretty good shape, except for the lower coin door is pretty rusty. I know the 6100 monitor in Black Widow is worth having, but I'd probably end up keeping the game together. I played a round and it's kind of a neat game that plays like Robotron. I figure it's  good trade bait if nothing else. Thoughts?

[TheOtherBob]

One way to think of it.... Would that Black Widow be a good deal if it only cost you $100 (the cost of your Speak Easy)?

Another way to think of it..... Speak Easy isn't going to bring in cash like a Fathom would of the same era.  But I'd guess it'd still be worth at least $400-$500 in working condition.  Is a working Black Widow worth $400-$500?

Good luck!

[GGKoul]

Nice fine!!!