Difference between revisions of "Black Hole"

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'''BH ball lift kicker mod'''
 
'''BH ball lift kicker mod'''
 
   
 
   
'''The problem as I see it (Steve Charland)'''
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''This modification developed by Steve Charland.''
 
   
 
   
From an engineering standpoint, the upkicker for BH is a simple and direct design but it does have it's slight faults. The first being that there is no way to adjust the power of the kick from the lower playfield to the upper playfield. The second is the problem of the ball lift coil getting fried. This happens all too often.
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From an engineering standpoint, the upkicker for BH is a simple and direct design but it does have it's slight faults. The first being that there is no way to adjust the power of the "kick" from the lower playfield to the upper playfield. The second is the problem of the ball lift coil getting fried. This happens all too often.
 
   
 
   
 
'''The solution(s)'''
 
'''The solution(s)'''
 
   
 
   
I'll address the first problem. The way most commonly used to adjust the ball lift coil is to take some windings off to weaken it so the ball will not travel too fast to the upper playfield and hit the glass. I wanted something a little simpler and I also wanted to have more control as to how fast the ball could travel. The solution is simple, add an end of stroke switch to the coil. Because the switch can be adjusted to open early or late, you can control the force of the hit to the ball. Open the switch early and the ball travel is slower, open the switch late and the ball travel is fast. Full power if the switch stays closed or is not used. Making the end of stroke switch bracket isn't too difficult to do; just contact Cliffy and hopefully he'll have them for sale soon.  
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I'll address the first problem. I wanted to be able to control the speed that the ball would travel up the tube. The simple solution is to add an end of stroke switch and use a flipper coil. Since the switch can be adjusted to open at various "throw" points of the coil plunger, you can control the force of the plunger strike to the ball. Open the switch early and the ball travel will be slower. Open the switch later and the ball travel is faster. Making the end of stroke switch bracket isn't too difficult to do. Contact Cliffy and hopefully he'll have them for sale soon.  
 
   
 
   
Now ... on to the A-4893 coil getting fried. There is something to note here, the schematic calls for a 6 1/4 amp Slo-Blo fuse for F17. A 6 1/4 amp Slo-Blo passes way too much current to protect the ball lift coil should either drive transistors lock on. No wonder it cooks. This coil needs to be protected with a 2.5 amp Slo-Blo fuse, just like the pop bumper coils (so the fuse blows before the coil cooks).
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Now...on to the A-4893 coil getting fried. There is something to note here, the schematic calls for a 6 1/4 amp Slo-Blo fuse for F17. A 6 1/4 amp Slo-Blo passes way too much current to protect the ball lift coil should either the pre-driver transistor or the under-playfield drive transistor locks on. No wonder it cooks so often. This coil needs to be protected with a 2.5 amp Slo-Blo fuse, just like the pop bumper coils (so the fuse blows before the coil cooks).
 
 
If you're still worried about the coil getting cooked, use a A-20095 flipper coil instead and use the newly installed end of stroke switch to shut off the stronger internal coil. This way, if either drive transistors should lock on and fire the ball lift coil, the hold portion of the flipper coil will be the only thing the transistor drives (just like a flipper).
 
  
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For this mod, I used a A-20095 flipper coil instead of the stock coil, and an end of stroke switch to turn off the power-stroke winding of the flipper coil. By using an end of stroke switch, f either drive transistors should lock on, only the hold portion of the flipper coil will be energized, in exactly the same way as a flipper operates.
  
 
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Revision as of 12:07, 14 April 2012

BH ball lift kicker mod

This modification developed by Steve Charland.

From an engineering standpoint, the upkicker for BH is a simple and direct design but it does have it's slight faults. The first being that there is no way to adjust the power of the "kick" from the lower playfield to the upper playfield. The second is the problem of the ball lift coil getting fried. This happens all too often.

The solution(s)

I'll address the first problem. I wanted to be able to control the speed that the ball would travel up the tube. The simple solution is to add an end of stroke switch and use a flipper coil. Since the switch can be adjusted to open at various "throw" points of the coil plunger, you can control the force of the plunger strike to the ball. Open the switch early and the ball travel will be slower. Open the switch later and the ball travel is faster. Making the end of stroke switch bracket isn't too difficult to do. Contact Cliffy and hopefully he'll have them for sale soon.

Now...on to the A-4893 coil getting fried. There is something to note here, the schematic calls for a 6 1/4 amp Slo-Blo fuse for F17. A 6 1/4 amp Slo-Blo passes way too much current to protect the ball lift coil should either the pre-driver transistor or the under-playfield drive transistor locks on. No wonder it cooks so often. This coil needs to be protected with a 2.5 amp Slo-Blo fuse, just like the pop bumper coils (so the fuse blows before the coil cooks).

For this mod, I used a A-20095 flipper coil instead of the stock coil, and an end of stroke switch to turn off the power-stroke winding of the flipper coil. By using an end of stroke switch, f either drive transistors should lock on, only the hold portion of the flipper coil will be energized, in exactly the same way as a flipper operates.