Black Hole

Click to go back to the 1980-1989 Gottlieb® System 80/80A/80B repair guide.

1 Black Hole Solenoid Manual Solenoid Listing Incorrect

Errors in game manuals are fairly prevalent. One such error in the Gottlieb Black Hole manual lists the solenoid numbers and solenoids pulsed during solenoid test incorrectly. The order shown in the manual vs the actual test order follows.

Solenoid	Game Manual	Actual
1	Lower PF Drop Targets (4)	"HOLE" drop targets
2	Lower PF Drop Targets (3)	"BLACK" drop targets
3	Outhole	Left Coin Counter
4	Upper PF Drop Targets (4)	Right Coin Counter
5	Upper PF Drop Targets (5)	Yellow drop targets (Lower PF)
6	Ball Gate	White drop targets (Lower PF)
7	Capture Hole Lower Playfield	Center Coin Counter
8	Capture Hole Upper Playfield	Knocker
9	Kicker Lower Playfield	Outhole
10	Outhole	none
11	Ball Gate	none

2 Replacing Black Hole Lower Playfield Illumination Lamps with #44 Lamps

This modification developed by Steve Charland.

When Gottlieb designed Black Hole and Haunted House, the designers chose to illuminate the lower playfield with 313 lamps, which are 28 volt lamps. Coil power could be used as a power source, and the lamps are slightly brighter than #44 lamps. However, #313 bulbs are triple the price of #44 lamps and are a unique part to stock.

Converting the power circuit that drives these lamps to 6VDC makes sense and allows the use of the more common #44 lamps.

Overview of the mod

The big picture...
Here's what the final "hack" will look like, just to get you oriented.
Note the use of red wire to indicate this is an "aftermarket" implementation. You may use black-slate-slate wire to have that "factory" look.

Modifications at the "L" relay. Desolder the orange/slate/slate wires.

L relay mods...
Remove the orange-slate-slate wires from the switch stack located on the L relay under the lower playfield. Be sure to cap the wires off so they can't short to anything. In the picture at left, heat shrink tubing was used to cap the wires which were twisted together.

Solder a new 16 gauge wire to the vacant solder tab where you removed the orange-slate-slate wires.

Picking up 6VDC to power the #44 lamps from the black/slate/slate wire

Attaching to the power bus...
Solder the other end of the new wire to the black-slate-slate wire that connects to all of the controlled lights on the lower playfield (pictured left).

Use "zip ties" to secure the new wire to the factory wire bundle. You can feed the wire through the factory "tie downs".

All done...

Let there be light...
All finished with the mod. The bulbs now will light on 6VDC instead of 24VDC. Swap out all of those #313s with #44s or #47s and never worry about looking for the correct bulb again.

3 Replacing the Black Hole "Spinning Disk" Motor

Parts list and this particular motor suggestion provided by Ken Huber

Black Hole back box spinning disk motors, having run continuously since 1981 while the game is powered on, often fail.

Various replacement motor options have been used over the years including the Radio Shack hobby motor and the Granger heavy duty motor.

Another simple and inexpensive option is the DC motor sold by ServoCity at: http://www.servocity.com/

Parts required:

• Quantity 1 - RZ12-1000-3RPM geared motor - $24.99
  
• Quantity 1 - 3472H 6mm (the motor shaft size) bore aluminum hub with 5-40 tapped mount holes - $4.99 (NOTE: I've been told by ServoCity staff that this part is obsolete and being replaced by the 0.770 version. I've built an adapter plate to convert the 0.770 hub to my disk.)
  
• Quantity 2 - 92005A116 3mm x 6mm pan head phillips screws - $0.15 each, minimum quantity 4 (for mounting the new motor to the original mounting bracket.)
  
• Quantity 2 - 91771A125 5-40 Flat Head Phillips Machine Screws, 5/16" long - $0.23 each, minimum quantity 4 (for mounting the spinning disk to the new hub)

This 3 RPM motor, which is spec'd to run on DC voltages from 3 to 12V, is driven by 6VDC in the game. Since it is not powered at the full 12VDC, it runs slower than the rated 3 RPM at about 1.5 RPM, which looks good and matches the OEM motor speed closely. The shaft of the motor is also the perfect length. When assembled as described below, the spinning disk rides above the #455 flasher bulbs by about 1/4 inch and also about 1/4 inch behind the inner backglass.

Installation:

1. Remove the spinning disk face and the old motor assembly.
2. Remove the 3 screws that attach the OEM motor to the mounting bracket.
3. Use one of the new 3mm x 6mm screws to mount the new motor to the mounting bracket. Optionally, you may "elongate" one of the holes in the mounting bracket so that another screw may be used, but one screw is probably enough since the motor center protrudes through the bracket.
4. Mount the new hub to the motor shaft so that it is flush with the end of the shaft. Tighten the set screw with a 3/32" Allen wrench (hex key).
5. Mount the motor and bracket assembly to the lamp insert board using the two original flat blade screws.
6. Ensure that only #455 blinking lamps are used in the area behind the spinning disk. #44/47 lamps protrude too far and will scratch the back of the spinning disk.
7. Mount the spinning disk to the hub using two 5-40 Flat Head Phillips Machine screws.
8. Solder the power wires to the solder tabs on the motor. Connecting the Green/Yellow wire to the positive side of the motor causes it to spin counter-clockwise. Connecting the Green/Yellow wire to the negative side of the motor causes it to spin clockwise. You be the judge of the age-old debate as to which direction is correct.
9. Optional: but recommended, insert a 2-pin molex connector inline with the power connections (as shown in the picture below) to provide a quick way to disconnect the motor.
10. Optional: paint the two flat head screws used to mount the spinning disk black.
11. Optional: If you need more clearance because your disc is warped, replace the 455 bulbs with LED blinkers from Marco or Cointaker. The LED blinkers allow an additional 3/8" clearance behind the disc. To mount the disc farther back, either cut the shaft shorter, or secure the motor to the mount with washers (use 3mm X 8mm screws).

Note: The 2 RPM ServoCity motor may also be used . The mounting holes on the motor face are slightly wider apart, allowing two additional screws with washers to "clamp" the motor to the mounting bracket without elongating holes. The motor will, of course, turn 1/3 slower than the 3 RPM motor.

• Black Hole Spinning Disk Motor Replacement
• 

  Front view of the motor assembly. Note the single screw attaching the motor to the bracket.
• 

  Rear view of the motor assembly. Note the inline 2-pin molex connector.
• 

  455 Lamp Clearance. Nice...
• 

  The Completed Job
• 

  The OEM Motor Assembly after detaching the mounting bracket
• 

  Replacement Parts Acquired from ServoCity. Note: 5-40 Flat Head Screws not shown

Click here for a YouTube video of the new motor operating.

4 Black Hole Auto Spin Disc Circuit

This modification developed by Ken Huber.

By implementing this modification, the backbox spinning disc
can be set to spin at all times (bypass on) or to only spin
while a game is being played (bypass off).

Parts List
Active Circuit	Passive Circuit (optional)
TIP102 transistor PN2907 transistor 2x 1N4001 diode 10K resistor 100 ohm resistor 220 ohm resistor (optional) LED (optional) .100" headers Molex pins and connectors Stripboard SPST switch Wire	TIP125 transistor 2x 1N4001 diode .100" headers Molex pins and connectors Stripboard SPST switch Wire

• Illustrated Instructions for Black Hole Auto Spin Disc Circuit
• 

  The Active Circuit uses a PNP transistor to drive an NPN transistor into saturation. Since the NPN is in saturation, the circuit has only about 0.5V loss. This circuit is the best choice for nearly lossless switching of the disc motor. Although there are a few more components than the Passive Circuit, it takes about the same time to build.

• 

  Optional Passive Circuit. The diode at the base of the PNP transistor prevents the higher voltage upstream from grounding the Game Over relay. The diode also prevents the PNP transistor from saturating, so there is about a 1.5V loss using this circuit. If you want your motor to spin at maximum speed, avoid using this circuit.

• 

  The following instructions show construction and wiring for the Active Circuit. The wire colors are shown in (parentheses). If you choose to use the Passive Circuit, adjust your wiring accordingly.
  
  Optional: You can use terminal blocks instead of .100" headers & connectors.

• 

  Active Circuit Stripboard Layout
• 

  Locate the rear third wire from the right, on the A3J3 connector. Connect a 1 foot length of wire to it. This wire is the Control Line (white).

• 

  Locate the A10J10 2-pin connector for the motor. Remove the wires from the connector, and save the connector in your spare parts box. It will not be needed for this modification.

• 

  Use a 3-pin male Molex connector and configure the pins as follows:
  1. +V Motor (to mate with 6V wire on female side).
  2. -V Motor (to mate with Motor Ground on female side).
  3. No pin (this does not connect to the female side).

• 

  Use a 3-pin female Molex connector and configure the pins as follows:
  1. Combine the game's 6V wire (white/orange) with a 1 foot length of wire (red).
  2. Pin 2 is a 1 foot length of wire (blue) for the Motor Ground.
  3. Combine the game's ground wire (green/yellow) with a 1 foot length of wire (green). This pin will not connect to the male side.

• 

  Run a wire (black) from the circuit board location to the front of cabinet to a SPST switch that can be accessed from inside the coin door. When the bypass switch is ON, the disc will spin continuously. When the bypass switch is OFF, the disc will only spin during a game.

• 

  Connect the other side of the bypass switch to a convenient ground connection.

• 

  For the Active Circuit make the following connections to the circuit board:
  1. 6v (red) to circuit 6v.
  2. Control line (white) to diode leading to PN2907 base.
  3. Motor ground (blue) & bypass (black) to TIP 102 collector.
  4. Ground (green) to circuit ground.

• 

  The circuit board fits installed (with a stand off and longer screw) on the bottom cable tie. Test the operation by starting and ending a game.

5 Black Hole 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 its 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 due to shorted transistors, or failing transistors that provide "trickle" power to the coil, heating it up over time and eventually causing it to short.

The solution(s)

The first problem was 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 at Passion for Pinball, 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-drive transistor or the under-playfield drive transistor short 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 in theory the fuse will blow 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, if either drive transistors short on, only the hold portion of the flipper coil will be energized, in exactly the same way as a flipper operates.

• Black Hole Upkicker Modification.
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  Measuring for hole placement on the new bracket.
• 

  Trial fitting some sheet steel to the new holes. This sheet steel will eventually become the EOS bracket.
• 

  The new bracket and switch.
• 

  Another view of the new bracket and switch.
• 

  The bracket and switch in place.
• 

  Completed work, flipper coil installed.

Click to go back to the 1980-1989 Gottlieb® System 80/80A/80B repair guide.