Considering buying a Comet...

Syngefinger

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I've found a local guy who has an average to slightly better than average Comet pinball for sale. It's very rare to be able to find any classic arcade or pinball games for sale locally. I played a game and everything seemed to work ok with the exception of the very top row of digits in the player 4 space not showing up. It also needs a good cleaning and waxing. All the original mylar is intact and there is some playfield wear, but not too bad.

One thing that concerned me is that none of the voices seemed to be audible during gameplay. The guy told me that the voices annoyed his wife, so he had manually turned the voices off in the setup. Is that possible or is there possibly a problem with the sound board?

One other concern is that the game has been in his unheated garage for as long as he's owned it (about 15 years). He says they only played it after the temperture warmed up, but living in Northern Michigan with our bitter cold winters, is that something to be concerned about? Oh, and he's asking $800.00 although he did say there is room to negotiate. Opinions?
 
Comet is an okay game. I got bored of mine quickly after about a year however.

I believe there is a separate volume control or fader on the board to handle the voice effects. Not sure on the dip settings.

I sold my okay comet for $500 to a member here.. so $800 to me seems a bit high. For a nicer comet I'd think more towards $600
 
One other concern is that the game has been in his unheated garage for as long as he's owned it (about 15 years). He says they only played it after the temperture warmed up, but living in Northern Michigan with our bitter cold winters, is that something to be concerned about? Oh, and he's asking $800.00 although he did say there is room to negotiate. Opinions?


I'd pop the playfield up and inspect for signs of rusting on the mechanisms. Some discoloration is normal, but if you see actual rust - take that into account and offer accordingly. It may or may not turn into an issue, depending on the severity. And of course check the backbox boards for any visual signs of obvious stress.

Given your location (upper or lower?), I'd say the asking price is fair (if complete, working & no probs). If you can get it cheaper, I'd say you did OK.
 
Thanks for the responses. I agree that it doesn't have the wow effect. I could see where it might become boring after a short time and didn't seem to be too challenging. On the other hand, I can count on one hand the number of pinball machines and arcade games that have been available for sale within a short drive. So do I see if i can pick it up for a reasonable price, figuring I can always resell it later on if it does become boring? Or pass on it completely? Still not sure.

I did thoroughly inspect all the boards and contacts, in both the cabinet and the backglass and didn't see any signs of rust. Of note though was a bit of noticeable sagging in the front right corner of the bottom of the cabinet. Probably from the years of cold and humidity changes?
 
I have a Comet pin, and while I often consider trading it or selling it, so far I never have. It is a fun game that anyone can play and enjoy on their first game. The ramps are cool and the Million point shot is pertty simple but still rewarding. If you feel the game loosing its luster jack up the leg levelers in the back to increase the speed and make it more fast paced. I do think that $800 is on the high side for the game unless its mint. I'd try to talk him down to the $600 range. Good luck!
 
I like my Comet, it was my first pin. That being said I don't believe it's an $800 game. If it's in reasonable shape and in working condition I would say $600 tops. As for the displays I wouldn't worry about player 4 unless you actually have 4 players playing. I would personally hate to have to wait on 3 people to finish their turn before I got a shot.

You can also find these displays on ebay from time to time so it shouldn't be too hard to replace.
 
Well I talked to the owner tonight and offered him $600.00, which he didn't accept. I told him I understood and he took my number. In case he doesn't get any better offers I told him that if he reconsiders that I'd still be interested at the $600.00. If I don't hear anything from him, I'm ok with that. It certainly wasn't a grail-type machine and I do have a very limited space left in my gameroom, which I'd rather hold for a more highly sought after game anyway.
 
I bet you get a call pretty soon and he'll take the $600. It is a decent game, just didn't get much play here sitting between Theatre of Magic and Road Show.

Just how far north in Michigan are you?
 
I bet you get a call pretty soon and he'll take the $600. It is a decent game, just didn't get much play here sitting between Theatre of Magic and Road Show.

Just how far north in Michigan are you?[/QUOTE

I'm in Alpena. Very few collectors here and even less classic games to be found locally.
 
I bet you get a call pretty soon and he'll take the $600. It is a decent game, just didn't get much play here sitting between Theatre of Magic and Road Show.

Just how far north in Michigan are you?

As Nerbfong predicted...got a call tonight. Guy accepted my offer. Said he had a higher offer from an out of towner, but the guy just wanted it to part it out. Whether that's true or not, who knows. I should be picking it up Saturday.
 
Don't forget to to a diagnostic test if all audio samples work.... Print the manual and take it with you. Maybe ask him to do so before you step in the car. Also make a list of things to check. System 9 boards suffer from battery corrosion a lot....

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Made a movie from my comet today...if it looks any worse than this do not buy it. Bought mine for 150 dollar 2 weeks ago. But i am in europe .. Prices may differ

 
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As Nerbfong predicted...got a call tonight. Guy accepted my offer. Said he had a higher offer from an out of towner, but the guy just wanted it to part it out. Whether that's true or not, who knows. I should be picking it up Saturday.


Woot!

Comet is a fun game. That million point shot is a challenge to get lit, and then collect. Dunking the dummy, lol. He got dunked alot here. A lot.

As Xnif said though, check for corrosion on the main pcb!!
 
One thing I noticed about Comets are that the conditions of the ramps HIGHLY influence the price. I have seen Comets go for around 1k because of this...
 
One thing I noticed about Comets are that the conditions of the ramps HIGHLY influence the price. I have seen Comets go for around 1k because of this...


yes , and as far as i know they are all broken and repaired. The quality of the original plastic is really aweful. I heard the reproduction ramps are much better.... but they will cost you. The main ramp will set you back a 120 dollar. A new plastic kit will cost you another 100 bucks. And then there is the Corkscrew Ramp that will set you back another 80 dollar.

So it's wise to really check the ramps and plastics for cracks and repairs. I do not mean low balling him, but if you have to repair those you are way beyond the price this comet should cost.
 
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I have tons of spare parts for Comet. If you end up picking it up let me know if you need anything.

Very kind of you to make that offer, pinjunky. Thanks! I did end up picking this game up tonight. It was filthy. I cleaned up the playfield quickly tonight and played a few games. One thing that I've noticed is that the backglass is not very well illuminated. During play only the very front of the coaster is lit up. The fireworks light up on occasion, but otherwise the rest of the backglass is dark.

I did throughly examine the cpu board and didn't see any corrosion. I am also a bit puzzled over why the voices don't seem to be working. I really need to sit down and read the manual and try and figure that out. The manual said that the knob on the sound board controlled the voices, but when I adjust that knob, it only makes the volume of the effects louder.

The plastics seem to be in decent shape anyway. The corkscrew and comet ramps have minimum cracks. The plastic for the million dollar shot area has some minor cracking. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.
 
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@syngefinger that knob is the balance between music and the voices. Like i said, you should do a sound diagnostic by pressing the button in the coindoor a few times untill you are in the soundcheck. There is a cycle from 00 till 07 (if i remember correctly) and every number should have a sampled sound. There is also the sounddiagnostic button on the cpuboard, i'm not sure if that buttons does the same. When there are no voices your speechboard probably has problems. This thread is good for someone did a lot of repairs on a comet http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=129162&highlight=williams+comet
 
@syngefinger that knob is the balance between music and the voices. Like i said, you should do a sound diagnostic by pressing the button in the coindoor a few times untill you are in the soundcheck. There is a cycle from 00 till 07 (if i remember correctly) and every number should have a sampled sound. There is also the sounddiagnostic button on the cpuboard, i'm not sure if that buttons does the same. When there are no voices your speechboard probably has problems. This thread is good for someone did a lot of repairs on a comet http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=129162&highlight=williams+comet
Thanks for the good information and the link. That will come in handy. I found that when I do the sound test by using the switches on the CPU, that all the speech effects are working, but can't get them to work during the game.

I've found that the ROM at U-19 seems to be missing. From what I've read in the manual, that would explain why the speech is present in the test, but not during gameplay. Anyone happen to have a spare U-19 ROM I could buy off of you. Or suggest where one can be acquired?
 
isn't it weird that it's missing? I mean why would anyone remove it without placing a new one.....

i do not know stores in the usa, do i have no experience with these shops. But i think this place is selling roms, but do not see the U-19. Wan't U19 an unused gamerom socket, i'm not sure but i think you need U20 and U49 not the U19 in a Comet. And there are the U4, U5, U6 and U7 that a speech roms . : http://www.actionpinball.com/cgi-bin/romorder.cgi?name=Comet

I found this document a must have for a system 9 owner. It's the official system 9 troubleshooting guide from williams: http://gamearchive.askey.org/Pinball/Manufacturers/Williams/pdfs/pinball_troubleshooting_sys9.pdf
 
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