Skeeball model H: more questions

TheShanMan

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Following up from my prior skeeball thread (since the title of that thread doesn't really apply to these questions), I'm still wondering about the following if anyone can assist:

  1. What causes the beacon light to turn on? I got a new bulb but it hasn't ever turned on and I don't know what the beacon is supposed to indicate. Guessing it was some sort of high score, I faked a score of 900 but still no beacon light.
  2. What to pick up for the "73"/"74" bulbs? I went to Napa and bought "73" bulbs but they're about half the size of the sockets. If the "73"/"74" are not widely available in local auto parts stores is there a decent alternative that's available and is more or less compatible? I'd much rather pick these up tomorrow than pay extra for shipping and have to wait.
  3. Want to find out more definitively when this unit was manufactured, or at the very least what the range of years was for this unit.
  4. Hoping there is a model H manual scan online somewhere??? I found the schematics for it, but I'd like the regular manual too. Looks like there are "repro" manuals on ebay but I'd rather just print the thing myself rather than pay to have it printed, then wait for it.
 

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The beacon should light for winning scores. If you manually scored 900 in a game, it should have lit. IIRC it uses a solid state relay to switch power to the beacon. It's identical to the one used to trip the ball release solinoid. Mine was bad when I got the machine, but I never replaced it because I don't have the celing height in my basement to have the beacon attached.
 
1) Obviously make sure the bulb is good and the connector to it is plugged in to the MB. I once fixed one that wouldn't light by doing continuity checks between the connector and the bulb socket. Turns out a pinch in one wire broke it inside the insulation, so I had to cut it open, repair the break, and it was fixed. You may also want to check to see if the dip switch for "Fixed Program" is set to Fixed.

2) The 74 bulb is commonly known as the automotive instrument bulb - used for your check engine light, etc. I know AutoZone sells them in 2-paks for about $4. I usually go to The Light Bulb Shop here in town and buy a 10-pk for about $20.

3) You could always call Skeeball technical support and give them your model and serial number to see when it was made.

4) As for the model H manual - it's not really that different from a Model S, whose manual you can find here:

http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Misc/Skeeball Model S.pdf
 
Thanks mod. Looks like the beacon light is a hack job. I think the socket was replaced, and the 2 wires go to the 2 contacts for a dual filament socket, but those 2 contacts are shorted together on the side where the bulb goes in. :confused: So essentially it's been shorting the 2 wires. I'm guessing that means I'll find something has gone bad as a result. Haven't looked to see what that might be yet though. :(

I'll stop by autozone. I thought I saw that these are 14v bulbs but even if true, I guess a 12v automotive bulb will work just fine.

I may call skeeball about the manufacture date. I was hoping that our resident expert, Tec9, might be able to narrow it down enough for me, but apparently he doesn't know the model H too well since the electronics are made by del-tronics.

I've got that manual, but I want the right manual because at the very least, the dips are different. And for other stuff, I'd be wondering "does this apply to an H?". So I might as well get the right one. :)
 
I've got that manual, but I want the right manual because at the very least, the dips are different. And for other stuff, I'd be wondering "does this apply to an H?". So I might as well get the right one. :)

Shoot me an e-mail, I can send ya a bunch of H stuff including what Skeeball would be able to send you.
 
MrGorf: Thanks so much - I was assuming it was a DC automotive style bulb, and I saw your post when I was next door to Lowes. So I now have a 25w 120v bulb.

So that makes me think it's not hacked up after all, but there's still something wrong with the socket, causing it to short. Here's a pic. You can see that thing in the center which is shorting the 2 contacts. Any thoughts on how to fix this??? Does this look like the stock socket?

KM: PM sent. Thanks for the offer!
 

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I just dug my beacon out, and the socket on mine just has the two contacts on the bottom. I'm not sure why yours is shorted like that. If you put an ohm meter on the wires does it show a short? If so, I would think the solid state switch that turns the lamp on is shot.
 
Lol. I figured out what the middle thing is. Some bonehead must have put a single contact bulb in there which shorted out the 2 contacts in the socket and fried it to the point that the bulb's contact fused to the socket's contacts. I just broke that off so now it's back to normal. Of course, it doesn't light. So I just pulled the power supply so I could examine the switch. Yep, the output terminals are shorted.

My PS board doesn't look exactly like what I see on the board layout diagram in the schematics available online (compare attached pics in the upper right corner) - I believe I have a different revision of the board. Could you (or someone) confirm that the beacon light switch, circled in green, is a T2800D? Since the board layout diagram says otherwise I'd like some confirmation before I replace it with an identical part (for all I know a T2800D could be a poor substitute for what should be in there).

And while someone is at it, have a look at the item circled in red. It looks like a bad part was possibly "repaired" with a couple of diodes. :confused: Can I get confirmation that the diodes shouldn't be on there? I'd like to correct this "repair" while I'm at it.

Thanks for the help!
 

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That does look like a different revision. The lamp controller on mine has the same footprint as the one in the schematic. That other transistor also looke like it was modified. I know the bottom 4 control the lights (game over, free game and 2 for winner) but I don't remember what those top two are for. I'll take a look when I get home from work.
 
The one that's modified on mine (the 7812) is the +12 regulator and the next one (the 7805) is the +5 regulator.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll plan to order a new 7812 so confirmation that the double diode coming off the middle pin of the 7812 isn't a factory mod would be great. I can't imagine it is, but it would be nice to get a sanity check on that.

Oh, and one other question. I've got 4 general illumination bulbs behind the marquee - compact florescents. It appears to me that it's not stock. I think there are only supposed to be 2 which point downward for illumination of the scoring holes. In addition to those I have 2 more on the top shelf pointing up. Can I get confirmation that those are not stock?

I sure appreciate the help!

I also have a full set of switches coming from arcadeshop.de, so pretty soon I'm going to have this thing running in tip top shape!
 
As far as I know there should only be the two that light up the scoring rings. Not sure what the other two would be lighting.
 
Kevin sent me the Model H manual. I intend to get it posted to arcarc or something so others can benefit.

Now onto something new: The Winner Score. Apparently it defaults to 50, which I guess is appropriate with a ticket dispenser but without, it's ridiculously low. Because my unit originally had a ticket dispenser, it doesn't have the switches (or circuitry) for setting the "winner" score. Now, I can just get those parts (it's just a few simple parts) and add them into the logic board. However, I wonder if the rom varies depending on what options were chosen at time of purchase. I wonder that because the sticker on my rom says "score 50". It makes me wonder if it will ignore that circuitry. So I wonder if I'm going to have to get a different rom in order to set it to something more reasonable.

Anyone know anything about this? Anyone have a rom with a label different than "score 50"? If nothing else I could disassemble the rom and change the hard coded winner score. Having a rom to compare to, say a "score 100" rom, might help me quickly figure out how to modify the rom.

If anyone either has the switches for changing the winner score or has a different rom, I'd like to talk to you!
 
At first I thought that the bulb socket still had the broken end of a bulb inside it.


As for different ROM's - I have the image from one (SP65 I think?) that allows you to use either optic sensors (with appropriate wiring to the MB) or switches, and is dip switch selectable to choose between 9-ball release (timed) or single ball (has a switch that counts balls as they come out and doesn't close the release until it's released 9 balls (even if just one at a time because only one ball is in it - works on either single-ball release lanes or on rocker-arm lanes using the ball count switch and one ball). I'm pretty sure it lights the beacon at 150, but it might be 100...
 
I have an SP40 and SP65 ROM image.... but they came from "S" machines.
I have no idea what they would do in an "H" machine.
 
Kevin sent me the Model H manual. I intend to get it posted to arcarc or something so others can benefit.

Now onto something new: The Winner Score. Apparently it defaults to 50, which I guess is appropriate with a ticket dispenser but without, it's ridiculously low. Because my unit originally had a ticket dispenser, it doesn't have the switches (or circuitry) for setting the "winner" score. Now, I can just get those parts (it's just a few simple parts) and add them into the logic board. However, I wonder if the rom varies depending on what options were chosen at time of purchase. I wonder that because the sticker on my rom says "score 50". It makes me wonder if it will ignore that circuitry. So I wonder if I'm going to have to get a different rom in order to set it to something more reasonable.

Anyone know anything about this? Anyone have a rom with a label different than "score 50"? If nothing else I could disassemble the rom and change the hard coded winner score. Having a rom to compare to, say a "score 100" rom, might help me quickly figure out how to modify the rom.

If anyone either has the switches for changing the winner score or has a different rom, I'd like to talk to you!
Any chance you have that Model H manual still! Just got a machine!
 
Any chance you have that Model H manual still! Just got a machine!
Yeah, I've got one Model H manual that looks original and has schematics, and one that's dated 2011 which I guess is a modernized version of their manual, but doesn't include schematics. Both are upwards of 20 pages.
 
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