capacitor

[akoz]

this is Sterns Stars. it is not working. the guy says the problem is the thing circled. i think it is a capacitor. first would i have to replace the whole board or can i just replace the capacitor. second where can i get this??

[HaRuMaN]

I would try replacing that cap first, for sure.  You can probably find replacements at Mouser or Digikey or the like.

[ChadTower]

I can't think of many situations where the failure of a single midsized cap like that would take down a whole pinball machine.

[GPE]

this is Sterns Stars. it is not working. the guy says the problem is the thing circled. i think it is a capacitor. first would i have to replace the whole board or can i just replace the capacitor. second where can i get this??

You have circled an item where the battery normally resides.  Looks like a fat cap but could be an oddball battery.  Any part markings on it?
Does your board have battery corrosion near it?
If not, you can simply replace this with a mem-cap at about $5.50 each (1.5F capacitor).

Ed

[akoz]

Any part markings on it?

"Radio Shack # 23-171"Sylva Charge 280K

[GPE]

Any part markings on it?

"Radio Shack # 23-171"Sylva Charge 280K

That's a battery pack with a real old ratshack part number.  Is it leaking?
Can you measure a voltage across it when the machine power is turned off?

[Hawkypro]

Akoz,

Yeah thats most likely the back-up battery, but a bad battery would not keep your machine from turning on, unless it has damaged the reset section of the MPU board by leaking acid. When you turn the machine on look at the MPU board and watch the red LED on the MPU board. Does it just stay on or go through a series of flashes?  Also, check ALL the fuses on the rectified board, especially F3 this provides the regulated +5 volts dc for the games logic circuits. Make sure that you test the fuses out of circuit.

Hawkypro

[akoz]

i dont own it yet. i am trying to see if i want to buy it.. this would be my first pin. he wants 350 Canadian. what do you think it is worth since it does not work.

[Hawkypro]

Akoz,

I know that the back-up battery is not the reason why it wont turn on, the game should turn on if the battery failed, unless it leaked acid on the MPU board and ruined the reset section.  As far as value, its hard to say. hows the playfield artwork, backglass, artwork around the cabinet ect. Because it wont power up, I would not give 350 for it.


Hawkypro

[akoz]

Here is everything he gave me, bad photos.

[Hawkypro]

Akoz,

I would not pay him what he is asking for it. From the pictures it looks like the back glass is flaking badly, trying to find a replacement will run you about 150 or more. Look at the back glass on the IPDB and see what I mean. Thats the way the back glass should look.  The playfield has wear too. He's asking to much for it in that condition. Of course, this is all just my opinion. I just think that on this site were trying to give you sound advice and save you from over paying for a machine in that condition.

Hawkypro

[akoz]

Thank you Hawkypro. i have decided not to buy this machine from all the advise i have gotten.
I have the chance to also buy eight ball for 700 canadian. How much would you pay?

[JeepMonkey]

FWIW, I saw a fairly local craigslist post for this pin.  They asked $1100 US and was in "very nice" condition.  From the pics it did look to be in very good condition.

[Hawkypro]

Akoz,

Now that's a nice machine. I think 700 is a good price for that machine and more of a collectors piece. I think some of the other guys on this board can give you an opinion on price also. Make sure you play it a while before you buying it and ask questions about the machine. Its always interesting to get a history on a machine. Good luck.


Hawkypro

[akoz]

looks can be deceiving. went to look at the machine and it is not in good condition. He turned it on and shot the ball, i started to play but when i used the left flipper a fuse blew. he changed the fuse  and a humming noise happened. then we spent the next 30 mins trying to figure out what went wrong. in the end i am back again on the market for a another pin.

[Jeff AMN]

akoz,

If you're looking for a machine, and it's your first, I'd suggest asking around here, KLOV's pinball section, and rec.games.pinball. In those places you'll find collectors and people will be generally more knowledgeable and helpful. Prices will be more in line with what they should be, and if something goes wrong you'll find good support. Just be courteous and people will give you all the help you need.

KLOV Pinball Forum: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
RGP: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.pinball/topics

[ChadTower]

akoz,

If you're looking for a machine, and it's your first, I'd suggest asking around here, KLOV's pinball section, and rec.games.pinball. In those places you'll find collectors and people will be generally more knowledgeable and helpful. Prices will be more in line with what they should be, and if something goes wrong you'll find good support. Just be courteous and people will give you all the help you need.

KLOV Pinball Forum: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
RGP: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.pinball/topics

Yes and no... just be sure to go with someone who can provide references.  Both places have more than enough sketchy sellers that would rip off a newbie in a heartbeat.

[Jeff AMN]

akoz,

If you're looking for a machine, and it's your first, I'd suggest asking around here, KLOV's pinball section, and rec.games.pinball. In those places you'll find collectors and people will be generally more knowledgeable and helpful. Prices will be more in line with what they should be, and if something goes wrong you'll find good support. Just be courteous and people will give you all the help you need.

KLOV Pinball Forum: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
RGP: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.pinball/topics

Yes and no... just be sure to go with someone who can provide references.  Both places have more than enough sketchy sellers that would rip off a newbie in a heartbeat.

Well sure, sketchy people are everywhere, but at least with those three places the community is tight enough that scammers get identified and exposed. On Craigslist and eBay it's just a crap shoot.

[ChadTower]

Well sure, sketchy people are everywhere, but at least with those three places the community is tight enough that scammers get identified and exposed. On Craigslist and eBay it's just a crap shoot.

No, often they don't.  There are quite a few that fly under the radar pretty well.

[Jeff AMN]

You're not seriously going to argue that you can't ask for references at one of these places and find a reputable buyer, are you? If you want to buy a pin, and you're new to a group, just ask the community for past experiences with that seller. It's not insulting, it's good practice. If nobody has any experience with that seller, and the machine isn't local, it's up to you, but your own fault if you get burned. If you do your homework, you'll be just fine buying either here, on KLOV, or over at RGP.

[ChadTower]

I was agreeing with you, if you'll pay attention, and reinforcing that you want multiple references.  There are RGP guys who could provide a positive reference and would still rip someone's nuts off in a deal any chance they could.  Best practice for this guy is to find someone local that he trusts to provide a decent reference to another local.  A pin is something you really just want to see in person before buying if you're not willing to assume the risk.

[Jeff AMN]

looks can be deceiving. went to look at the machine and it is not in good condition. He turned it on and shot the ball, i started to play but when i used the left flipper a fuse blew. he changed the fuse  and a humming noise happened. then we spent the next 30 mins trying to figure out what went wrong. in the end i am back again on the market for a another pin.

Never fix anything when you're buying it.  Lower your offer dramatically, and if they don't take it - walk.

Yes! This is true for pinball and arcade games. If it's not fixed by the time you get there, it's because they don't know how to service their machines. You might clean up a specific issue, but it's an indicator that other problems might be overlooked. Drop your offer and walk away if they stick to the same asking price. Besides, if you fix it, you just increased the value of the machine, and that's a perk that should be meant for you after you've become the owner.

I went to go buy a Ms. Pac-Man when I was fairly new to collecting. A guy wanted $400 for it, but he said it had issues. I went out there with a few fuses, some solder, and my soldering gun. I was unsure of buying a non-working game, but he said he'd let me work on it for an hour or so before taking it home. Well, fast-forward an hour later and I had it working 100% after fixing a few cold joints and replacing the fuses. I pulled the cash to pay him and he said, "Well now that it works all they way I can't let it go for under $800. They go for that on eBay all day."

I stared at him in disbelief and with a dirty shirt and hands. I just spent an hour fixing his machine and he went and jacked up the price. I told him it would be $50 for the fix, and he refused to pay it and said that we didn't have a deal. What an a-hole.

[ChadTower]

Heh, that's when you reach back into the machine to get your flashlight and snip the legs on 5 transistors.  Then leave an assprint on his windshield on the way out.

[akoz]

my problem is i dont know what you can fix on a pinball machine and what you cant. Can you fix a pealing and chipping playing field,  the 4th player does not work is that a simple fix? and now the machine does not turn on. but i think i know what that it. i think his transformer went. 

If you're looking for a machine, and it's your first, I'd suggest asking around here, KLOV's pinball section, and rec.games.pinball. In those places you'll find collectors and people will be generally more knowledgeable and helpful. Prices will be more in line with what they should be, and if something goes wrong you'll find good support. Just be courteous and people will give you all the help you need.

i would like to stay local. dont want to ship the machine. but i will for sure see if there is something that catches my eye and still ask tons of questions.

[JeepMonkey]

My suggestion would be to either buy a working machine that you can fix small problems that come up for experiance, or buy a project machine cheap to learn on.

You might check out RGP or the KLOV forums to read posts to learn a bit more about pins.

[ChadTower]

Well, there IS a middle ground. 

If they don't drop the price (enough) and you still want it, it might be worth poking your finger in it a little bit.  I looked at a motorcyle once and the owner couldn't get it to start or move and wouldn't drop the price any.  We tinkered with it for 30 minutes and got it going and suddenly it wasn't for sale anymore.  No big deal since the price wasn't good enough to take a risk (it was all stupid amateur crap but could have been major).

The motorcycle guy is being less of an a-hole, though.  Doubling the price, then refusing to pay for your time/skills while still clearly demanding to profit from it, is what would piss me off.  Raise the price but still pay for the repair, meh, it's annoying but I could deal with that.  I'd probably want to be paid for my time and then walk.  I guess it's the refusal to value my time that would get me the most.  I suppose the best lesson here is not to work on a game before buying unless you come to an agreement with the owner before you touch it.  The closest I've come to that is a Jungle Lord I bought for $150 - it was half dead and didn't speak.  I got the speech working again and most of the game functions working by reseating connectors and jiggling the interboard.  Luckily the owner did recognize that it wasn't going to stay working from that (plus it was a total beater) and the price didn't change.

[akoz]

I keep coming across NOS playfields but when i search NOS playfields or NOS pinball in Google i cant find their web site. can someone help  me out with this?

[Jeff AMN]

I'm confused at what you're asking. NOS stands for new old stock, meaning it's a part that has never been used in a pinball machine that has been around since the game went into production originally. If you find a NOS playfield for a game, it means that it's never been used. NOS isn't a brand.

Lots of people still have NOS parts and playfields that they'll be willing to sell, but in most cases they're not available from the companies that originally produced them.

Did I totally miss what you were asking?

[ChadTower]

It also doesn't mean the playfield is perfect.  It usually means the playfield was rejected at the start as a second so it has some problem somewhere.  And it could have picked up any amount of wear and tear sitting on shelves in the mean time.

[Jeff AMN]

Sure, NOS means never used, but it can also mean never used because it wasn't up to par. NOS can be anything from a pristine and amazing piece, or it can be a scuffed up and/or flawed piece that just hasn't happened to ever have been put into use.

When you buy NOS parts, ALWAYS get pictures first.

[shardian]

looks can be deceiving. went to look at the machine and it is not in good condition. He turned it on and shot the ball, i started to play but when i used the left flipper a fuse blew. he changed the fuse  and a humming noise happened. then we spent the next 30 mins trying to figure out what went wrong. in the end i am back again on the market for a another pin.

Never fix anything when you're buying it.  Lower your offer dramatically, and if they don't take it - walk.

Good advice. I once was looking at a red tent nintendo and a monitor crapped out. I gave the guy advice, but kept my hands out of the machine. He got it back up, we played it a while, and someone else ended up outbidding me. If I would have kept my mouth shut, I could have taken the game then and there and fixed it myself. It's alright though, because I became friends with the guy and he's hooked me up more than a few times since.


I might be going to look at a pacman pinball soon. Guy won't budge on his price even though the flippers and ball kickout are dead. He of course says "It's only a fuse". Game looks pretty nice, so pending the speech working I might come look at it. I told him in advance that I will bring fuses and if that is indeed the problem (possible, but not likely), I could probably meet his asking price.

[ChadTower]

Of course, fuses don't usually die without cause... so a new fuse is likely to blow when you turn the game on.

[akoz]

I'm confused at what you're asking. NOS stands for new old stock, meaning it's a part that has never been used in a pinball machine that has been around since the game went into production originally. If you find a NOS playfield for a game, it means that it's never been used. NOS isn't a brand.

Lots of people still have NOS parts and playfields that they'll be willing to sell, but in most cases they're not available from the companies that originally produced them.

Did I totally miss what you were asking?

No u got it right on. i just had no clue what i was talking about. i am trying to find playing fields but still falling short

[Jeff AMN]

Of course, fuses don't usually die without cause... so a new fuse is likely to blow when you turn the game on.

Yeah, and then the description on craigslist changes from "probably just a blown fuse" to "probably just a few loose wires that I don't have time to track down".

[ChadTower]

Or put in a dead fuse and say "yep, definitely more than just a fuse, I'll give you half".

[akoz]

are playfields and back glass stores a secret? or do u have to be  initiated before u can know them. if so when can i get initiated?

[shardian]

Of course, fuses don't usually die without cause... so a new fuse is likely to blow when you turn the game on.

I know that of course, and I figure the guy knows it too. The Squawk & Talk works on this one and pictures 'appear' nice, so it still might be worth a look.  It would be nice if fuses DID fix the problem though. 

[ChadTower]

Don't pay more than $300-400 for it.

...even if it's really nice.

[shardian]

I need to avoid it compeltely to tell you the truth - I'm broke! I've listed a few gameroom items on CL, but no hits yet. I think I'll hold off for now.

[akoz]

I went to Classic Play field Reproductions. in there pre order section they have the play field but it says PREORDER FULL & CLOSED.
do they only make as many that were pre ordered or do the make extra and you can buy them after they print them?