Ultra Shuffle Alley IV

Yesterday, the parts I ordered came in.  I received the schematics, 100 replacement bulbs, and a new coil.  Unfortunately, the coil was not the right one.  I had taken a guess based on some schematics of similar systems by United and thought it was worth a chance.  It was the right gauge wire and close to the right number of turns but the inner sleeve was the wrong diameter.  The part I ordered is A-24-1000.  The one the schematic calls for is A-24F-1100.  The last number is the number of turns. I had seen on the internet that the particular one listed on the schematics is very difficult to find.  I decided that I could re-wind the old sleeve and make a part or two to build a coil that would work.  Basically, the replacement part I'm making will be a little stronger than the original because the number of turns is less.  I think it should be fine.  The following are some pictures of how I did it...

Bolted up inner sleeve and newly made end cap.

I've got the new (wrong) solenoid in the vice so that it will spin freely.

The bolt in the first picture was too short to chuck up in the drill.  Got a longer one.  I'll basically take the end of the wire and start spinning it off the coil on to the newly cleaned and fixed up spool.

Here it is after the transfer

I got the newly recoiled solenoid back in its mounting bracket and ready for installation in to the game.

Here it is in the game.  I used bolts for terminals and ring terminals crimped on the wires from the game.  This will make it easy to remove in the future if necessary.

 I cleaned up some more contacts and some of the scoring reels (player 1 and 2).  The reels are very delicate and time consuming to work on.  All of the reels need to be taken off and Very very gently washed.  In addition, all of the lever arms need to be taken off and cleaned using rubbing alcohol.  It will take a while to get through everything...

After opening the Back Glass, the scoring reels unlatch and flip down on top of the pin hood for easy access.

 

 

I put it all together and tried it out.  Not everything was working at first.  I must have messed up one of the contacts on the "Game Over" relay.  After inspecting it, I could see that several of the contacts needed adjusting.  I adjusted them and everything works!  For the first time, the player up lights, strike,and spare lights have lit up.

Notice the tenth frame lights are lit, the 2nd player up lights are lit and that player has a strike.

Player one up and he has a strike from the last frame.

The end of a game with the "Game Over" lights.

Ultra Shuffle Alley III

I've done a little more clean up on the game.  I read somewhere that Simple Green was the cleaner of choice for getting smoke stains off old games.  I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it for myself.  I had already wiped everything down several times using other cleaners.  In the picture below, you can see the uncleaned portion on the lower left portion of the door...

The same day I cleaned the outside, I cleaned all of the connectors and a good number of the step-up units. If you're curious what the inside looks like, check these out.  Notice the nice shiny contact rivets on the SU in the last photo.

Here's a closer look at the burned up coil...

I've ordered a new solenoid coil as well as schematics and 100 replacement bulbs.  They should be here tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to working on it this weekend!

Ultra Shuffle Alley II

Well, I've been working on this for several days now.  I was able to clean it up a bit.  I shop vac'd it out and wiped it down.  I use tea tree oil to be sure to kill any mold from sitting in the previous owner's basement. The selector switches down in the coin box were frozen up.  I took it all apart to clean it up:

I was able to get the buttons unstuck.  It turns out that the pockets where the switches are mounted were packed full of the table "wax" and the aluminum switch parts had oxidized to the point of seizing in the down position.  I had read somewhere that if these buttons are stuck, the machine will never reset and there fore never actually start.

I had a friend over today and somehow we managed to get the top section on after a bit of a struggle.  It was time to try it out.  First thing I noticed was a blown fuse.  It was the main 115v fuse.  We swapped it out and gave it a shot.  Unfortunately, the fuse blew right away.  Okay, there's obviously something else wrong here.  Turns out it was this bugger right here:

This is the reset solenoid.  It pushes a lever that resets a whole bank of relays.  It's clearly burned and is showing that it is shorted when testing with a meter.  At the time, I didn't have another fuse to try.

After dinner tonight, I had a chance to go back out and tinker.  I replaced the power cord and cleaned few other parts.  I managed to find another fuse as well.  I ended up cutting the wires to the reset solenoid and giving it another try.  Holy smokes! it fired up!

 

 

 

How cool is that!  I tried a few pucks but not everything is working.  I have to admit, it's further than I thought I'd get by now.  I'm getting really excited to get this thing up and running in the basement.  It should be a blast!

I think at this point, I'll take the legs off and the cover plate for the switches (coin box) and see if my buddy can sand blast them.  At that point, I can get them painted and get the whole thing down in to the basement.  I'll be able to do a better job of replacing the burned out solenoid and adjusting the relay contacts and switches when it's down there.

More to come...

Ultra Shuffle Alley

Here's my latest acquisition... It's a 1963 United Mfg. Co. Ultra Shuffle Alley.

Once again, Craigslist was the place for this.  I had been looking for one of these for a while.  Being as cheap as I am, I ended up getting this at a fraction of what others were going for.  The guy I got it from had sold his parents house and it was in the basement for nearly twenty years and he needed to get rid of it.  His dad was an arcade repair guy and kept this one for himself.  It needs work, as most things I get on Craigslist do, but I'm up for the challenge.

The plan is to get it cleaned up and then get it down in the game room for an actual electrical repair.  I'll do all of the big physical, mechanical and cosmetic stuff out in the garage.  I think it will be a great addition to the family entertainment area.

On a side note...  I picked this up in a town close to where my mother grew up.  She said that her aunt and uncle had a game room that included one of these.  I find it interesting that I got it in the same town where they lived.  Since these things weigh 300-400 lbs, I doubt the thing has moved around much.  I guess it's possible that it could have been theirs.  Now how cool would that be?!

Here's the original flyer for the game...

Here's the one I picked up (sorry for the bad out of focus pics!)...

 

Here's another that was out on the internet all fixed up...

 

Another showing the front glass...

 More to come...

Oh, did I mention I bowl overhand?  ; )