Pinball repairs for the ignorant?

[jcalder8]

I bought Williams Laser Ball, for 150 Canadian. But I don't know anything really about electronics and from what I've heard it won't register a credit, so it's not actually playable.

So my questions are: Could I repair it or even keep it running after getting it repaired with little to zero knowledge?

Does anyone know any books that I could buy? I'd rather have something I could take with me and read than just have to sit at my comp.

Thanks

[Mattiekrome]

I was sort of in the same boat as you are. I had an old EM pin that I was going to pick up for a couple hundred $. It was in fair shape, could have used some work. I read up on pin repairs, and noticed that alot of websites say you need to have experience in soldering & electronics (capacitors, diodes, etc.) to make PCB repairs and whatnot... Definitely not in my bag of tricks. I passed on picking up the pin (which now I regret), not due to the amount of maintenance + repair, but due to space concerns.

Looking back I wish I had picked it up, figuring that even if I did have to do some repairs to it, what a better way to practice than on an authentic (albeit cheap) pinball machine. A good way to see what you've got when it comes to repairing & maintaining pins

[EDIT] ---

Here are some great links that I had stashed away...

http://marvin3m.com/fix.htm

http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/index1.htm - Part 1
http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/index2.htm - Part 2
http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/index3.htm - Part 3

The bottom ones are really good in depth guides as to what to expect with pin repairs

[Superman]

It may not be much help much, but a fix could be simpler or more complicated, based on why the credit is not getting registered.

1. There could be a mechanical problem with the coin slot. I would consider this to be an easier problem to fix, as you just have to look for the broken, misaligned piece, etc.

2. There is a problem with the electronic registration. This, of course, is a more difficult problem, as it requires some knowledge of electronics, as Mattiekrome noted.

If you can figure out why it is not registering, that my help you make a decision.

[jcalder8]

Thanks for the tips guys. I did decide to pick it up.

Does anyone know any books that I could buy? I'd rather have something I could take with me and read than just have to sit at my comp.

[Goblin]

Thanks for the tips guys. I did decide to pick it up.

Does anyone know any books that I could buy? I'd rather have something I could take with me and read than just have to sit at my comp.

I don't know of any books that really cover the material, but you don't need one. Print out all three sections from here:
http://www.pinrepair.com/sys37/index.htm

Your laser ball is a system 6 machine.

Toss them in a three ring binder and you are all set. This is really the definitive guide to pinball repair. If you try something and it doesn't work you can post over at rec.games.pinball. But before you do so work through this guide logically and you probably won't even need to. It certainly would help if you knew about electronics, but you can get far just by reading the guide.

I used the guide to fix my system 7 Black Knight machine. Everything I needed was covered here.