21. Can I leave a game powered on all of the time?

23. Are there differences between pinball game balls from different suppliers and what can this difference do to a playfield?

25. What types and sizes of cabinets are there and does the cabinet type add to a game's worth?

27. Flipper Bushing types demystified and flipper scrape damage caused by worn out bushings explained.

29. What are the Neon numeric digit and alphanumeric display tubes sizes and specifications?

See our Pinball Matters E-Newsletter for the latest Tech Tips
E-Newsletter Subscription Form

22. Do all pinball games use the same size of game ball?

24. I'm confused about fuses. How are fuses rated and what types are in Coin-Op Arcade games?

26. What are the sizes of dot matrix displays (DMD) and are there any differences between display manufacturers?

28. New reproduction versus old original backglass/scoreboard glass.

30. Eliminating poor circuit and connector grounding can cure background sound hissing, random game resets and game booting problems.

See our main Tech Tips page for questions 1-20.

Pinball Matters is a Quarterly E-Newsletter featuring the latest Local Area Coin-Op Festivals, Arcade and Game Room related News, Tech Tips, Sale Specials and our New Games for Sale Inventory.

"Pinball Matters" E-Newsletter Subscription Form

---

21. Can an arcade game be left powered on all of the time?

At Commercial arcade sites, game room operators / owners will keep a game powered on twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, to maximize a game's profit potential during the typical three year life span of a game. After this time, the game usually does not pull in enough quarters/players, has paid for itself and made some profit for the arcade. It is now considered obsolete and will be sold off.
Arcade Game manufacturers design a game to be powered on all of the time because they will be during their life spans in the arcade. Unlike disposable consumer products, a full sized arcade is built to last for years powered on all of the time.

It's like playing Russian Roulette when first powering on a game. You never know when something random inside of the game will be destroyed by power supply spikes, thermal shocks and old warn out electronic parts.

• Light bulbs tend to burn out when the power is first applied to them because they have a cold filament with a low resistance. A glowing hot filament has a high resistance and therefore limits the current drawn through it. The inrush of current flowing into a weakened over time cold filament can cause it to break and burn out the bulb.

• Large electrolytic capacitors are like shorts to a power supply when they have no charge in them (see Tech Question 16 for more info on large capacitors). When the game is first powered on, the power supply will appear to have been shorted out for a few milliseconds (capacitor's charging time) causing a high current flow and possibly a voltage spike. The surge of current can destroy bridge rectifiers, power transformers, game logic and the power supply input/output connectors.
If arcade games used good capacitors and power supply design then the first powered-on surge would only happen for a short time, only when the game is powered on after being off for a long period of time (discharged capacitors). All current/voltage power-on surges should be limited by the power supply (a "soft start" power supply).
No one has ever said a classic arcade or pinball game's power supply has ever been correctly designed. The power-on surge can be a major source of power supply and game electronics destruction.

• In modern arcade games with adequate game cabinet ventilation, constant game temperature inside of the game is maintained. Electronics don't like to work properly at either too cold or too high of a temperature.  When they are cold and asked to suddenly start to function, they can be destroyed by what is known as thermal shock (Thermal shock - raising the temperature of an electronic component too fast). Game parts including electronics and batteries will last longer if the internal cabinet temperature is keep constant..

---

POWERING AN ARCADE GAME 24/7

Leaving a game running will cause destruction to expensive game parts over time (monitors, power supplies and displays). We feel a game should only be left on as long as it is being played. The destruction of game parts over a long period of game operations time out ways the possible parts repair or replacement costs caused by powering up a game to play it. Leaving the game powered off also saves on the electric bill.

EM pinball:
• Heat generated by the general illumination lamps can warp playfield plastics and cause the ink on scoreboard glasses to flake.
Electromechanical pinball games usually are the most sensitive to plastic warping and ink flaking because they are all 30+ years old. Plastic durability and resistance to heat has improved over the years.
See Tech Question 1 regarding bulb type replacement to help prevent plastic and scoreboard ink destruction.

• 'Game on' relays, score/playfield motors, coin-lockout coils and any other part of an electro-mechanical pinball that stays energized all the time will eventually heat up over the years and burn themselves out. The heat they produce also adds to the overall build up of heat inside the game.

• Light bulbs don't last forever and have to be replaced eventually.

  Electronic Pinball:
• Solid State electronic pinballs use neon score display tubes, Dot Matrix Displays (DMD) or LED displays. Both display tubes and DMD displays eventually out-gas (See Gottlieb display rejuvenation) or can burn out their non replaceable driver chips do to age and length of use.

• Display driver electronics can be destroyed by electrical spikes and other disasters (old display tubes). Displays are one of the most expensive and labor intensive parts to replace on a pinball game and have a limited life span.

• Electronics in Power Supplies, CPU / Logic chips and even monitors all produce heat. This heat can build up inside of a game and decrease electronic part life spans. Large electrolytic capacitors are made to withstand only a limited amount of heat and can be greatly affected by heat and age. (See Tech Question 9 Monitor Cap Kits for capacitor replacement info)

• Incandescent light bulbs don't last forever and produce more heat then light. General Illumination bulbs (G. I. lamps) are on during the entire time the game is powered up. The heat built up by G. I. bulbs can warp playfield plastics, marquees, coin slot pricing cards and other game specific parts. Light bulbs in playfield inserts that blink or don't burn for long don't build up heat, however, the always on EM pinball insert bulbs do and can cause damage to playfield inserts. Plastics on newer games (1990-) are not as susceptible to warping from the heat produced by the General Illumination lamps. However, we recommend changing out the #44 light bulbs with #47 ones to reduce the total current draw and heat build up of the game. This bulb swap out also helps prevent the G. I. wire connectors from burning because of excessive current draw.
See Tech Question 1 for more information on bulb types.

  Video Games:
• Electronics in Power Supplies, CPU/Logic chips and even the CRT in monitors all produce heat. This heat can build up inside of a game and decrease these same electronic component's life spans.

• Large electrolytic capacitors are made to withstand only a limited amount of heat and can be greatly affected by it.

• Modern video games include fans that dissipate excess game generated heat and use switching mode power supplies that don't produce as much heat as the analog power supplies in older video arcade games.
Older classic games do not have fans or more effect power supplies and can build up this destructive heat.

• A poorly designed and programmed video game will leave an image perpetuity on a section of the screen. Examples of this are score totals, game title, top ten players list and game demos that don't refresh the screen very often. Images will eventually burn themselves into the picture tube and will permanently darken a region of the screen. This kind of burn-in can't be repaired (See Tech Question 5 for more info on monitor screen burn-in). Leaving a video game powered on all of the time speeds the monitor image burn-in process.

---

22. Are all pinball game balls the same size?

The standard diameter pinball game ball is 1 1/16 of an inch.
Game balls come in a verity of sizes from 1/8 inch all the way up to the Que ball that is used in the Hercules pinball (the largest pinball game manufactured in the USA).

The ball's price varies little between the smaller and standard size game ball. This was never an issue with the game's manufacturer.

Pinball Medic only sells the standard sized, 80 gram pinball game ball.1 Inch Ball - Used on only a few electromechanical pinball machines from the 1960's and on Bally TRUCKSTOP to improve ramp shot playability.

1 1/4 Ball - This is the oversize ball used in Gottlieb STRIKES & SPARES (14 balls required for this game) bowling style pin table.
Gottlieb Part Number 31134

15/16 Ball used on the Roll Tilt assembly in many Bally and Stern pinball machines.
Equivalent to: Bally Part M-168-50, Midway Part 0017-00009-0547,
Williams 20-6519, Williams Part 20A-6519

3/4 Ball is used in many pinball and pitch & bat machines:
Williams games: SLUGFEST, LINE DRIVE, UPPER DECK,
PENNANT FEVER, HYPERBALL (55 balls used)
Used on roulette wheel in:
Gottlieb MONTE CARLO, Bally SPEAKEASY,
Williams MILLIONAIRE
Reference Williams part #20-6520

---

PINBALL GAME BALL SIZES   Return to Tip Index

Although most games use the standard sized game ball, some use a smaller diameter game ball. Smaller game balls have less mass and can travel and change directions faster then a larger diameter ball. This provides for faster game play without the game's manufacturer having to pay more for stronger solenoid coils that tend to lower the games mean time before failure rate (MTBF).

Can a game be equipped with a smaller/larger game ball to multiply or decrease the games playing speed?

Maybe, normally you should not put a smaller size of game ball on a playfield designed for a larger ball. The game's main coils like flippers and pop bumper coils would be too strong for a very small game ball. The ball would probably get stuck under a playfield rubber ring and break some general illumination lights.

A slight increase in the game ball size can slow down a pinball game. A slight increase in ball size can be used to slow down or make a skill shot harder to get. Usually a standard game ball is placed in a game designed for a smaller ball to slightly decrease the number of free games caused by high scoring skill shoots. A larger ball makes the flippers weaker and therefore makes all skill shots harder to make.

The top of the ball must be checked to see if it will contact any playfield plastics that use shorter mounts for smaller game balls. If the ball ever hits the playfield plastics it will break them. Also, if the rubber rings are lower then on a full sized game ball pinball, the ball can lift up from the playfield and cause playfield artwork destruction when it lands.
Usually, the game ball size only various by a very small amount. For example; a one inch ball is used instead of a normal one and one sixteenth inch sized ball. This is done to increase the speed of the ball.


NOTE: We often find the standard size and finish game ball inside a game designed for a different sized ball. The game operator either didn't know or didn't what to spend anything but the bare minimum to get the game operational.

---

23. Are there differences between pinball game balls from different suppliers and what can this difference do to my playfield?

---

 PINBALL GAME BALL DIFFERENCES   Return to Tip Index

Game balls are a very intense subject for some game collectors. They can also be one of the major sources of playfield wear. Game balls are one of the cheapest enhancements to playfield performance, game cosmetics and are the number one neglected part of a pinball next to rubber rings.

Most modern games have more then one ball. Multi ball collisions can cause ball flat spots and dents. An out of round or rusty game ball will cause the ball to roll unpredictably and damage the playfield's artwork. Game balls, unless you go for glazed or stainless are so cheap that we can't help but install them in every game we refurbish and most of the games we repair. Why decrease a game's looks and durability for a $2 ball?

The ball's hardness is at least as important as its finish. Usually ball suppliers will never tell the customer the hardness and roundness specs for the ball they sell. These specs can very wildly between manufactures.

The most important finish property is how long it will stay on the ball (gold balls aren't known for this). Game ball color finishes like gold are somewhat cosmetic. A typical pinball player will not notice he is playing a game made to have a gold colored ball installed. Only game collectors would know.

Glazed or Stainless balls have a lot longer life spans for a lot more money. Even these types of balls can get dented and destroy the playfield artwork.

Specialty Balls - There are a few game balls that don't fit a major ball size or quality category.
Twilight Zone pinball's "Power Ball" is one such case. This game uses standard sized metal game balls and one 20% lighter then steel, Ivory-colored 1-1/16" diameter, 65 gram ceramic ball. This produces a much faster, and not affected by the game's magnets game ball. This one special ceramic ball can cost more the $40.

Pinball Medic believes it is fair more important to have a clean playfield with a good quality game ball that will have to be replaced in a six to twelve month time frame, then it is to buy an exotic / expensive game ball and  leave it in the game for years. Every game played with a bad ball  decreases the game's value and playability.

NOTE: Some refurbishment / repair shops will replace the game ball with the cheapest standard non-polished ball they can find or not even bother to change a rusty game ball before shipping the game.
This is why we spent so much time researching and finding a ball supplier with very high specs for our Laser game ball.

A rusty game ball is just about the worst punishment you can do to your playfield, besides letting water get on it.

In general:
1) Rusty or dented balls cause the majority of playfield artwork destruction.

2) A hard, good quality game ball can prolong both the ball's and playfield's life spans.

3) Balls and rubber rings are considered consumable game parts and need to be replaced on a regular scheduled basis to preserve the machine for the next generation of pinball players and collectors.

---

24. How are fuses rated?

Caution: It is both a danger and a fire hazard to over fuse a circuit. It is equally hazardous to over load a wall plug and its circuit breaker. Loads should only draw 80% of the rated current capacity of the circuit breaker.  If a house circuit breaker is rated for 20 Amps then only 16 Amps should ever be drawn at any one time. This includes other wall sockets and appliances collected to the same circuit breaker. See Tech Question number 13 on our main Tech Page for more information about circuit breakers and multiple plug adaptors.

Fuse Voltage Rating: Fuses are rated in both current and in volts that can be safely disconnected by the fuse.  Older automobiles take a fuse that looks just like a fuse in a coin-op game and can even be inserted in a regular fuse holder. Automobile fuses are rated for 32 volts. If they are installed in a 50 volt flipper circuit the fuse might not open up enough to totally disconnect the circuit from the power source in the case the fuse's current rating is exceeded. This can cause arcing inside of the fuse and heat it up to a point that it desolders itself from the circuit board. This condition can also allow the circuit the fuse was supposed to protect to over heat and burn itself out. Don't risk an expensive and perhaps non-replaceable electronic game part on a 30 cent fuse. Always replace fuses with one rated for at least 125 volts.

Important Note: If you don't know the voltage that a circuit uses then replace the blown fuse with a 250 volt rated fuse. There shouldn't be any fuse protected circuit inside an arcade game (not even inside a monitor) that is supplied with greater then 250 volts and protected by a fuse (The highest voltage circuit that is fuse protected is a pinball game's display tube power supply at 190 volts).
Use this fuse voltage rating rule: The higher the voltage a fuse is rated at the better.

Fuses come in many sizes and have different end connectors.
The majority of the fuses in coin-op games are of the straight glass body type (AGC) and are 1.25 inches in length. They are made with a wire inside of a glass cylinder with crimped on metal contacts on its ends.
- Fuse photo is coming -

Fast or Slow Blow? - A fuse's element can indicate a fast or slow blow fuse. Slow blow will have a coil of wire, spring, resistor or a combination of these three fuse elements. A Fast Acting fuse usually has a strait section of thin wire between the fuse contacts. White ceramic body fuses will indicate a "slow blow" or "time delay" on either the fuse body or around the connector ends. This is because the fuse element can't be seen inside a white ceramic body fuse.
Glass body fuses at or above 15 Amperes are usually rated for 32 volt circuits only. Ceramic body fuses (ABC type) at or above 15 Amps are usually rated for 250 volts. The ceramic fuse body (Fuse type ABC or AB) can take the high heat and pressure caused by the arc across the open ends of the internal fuse wire at the instant the fuse activates or is blown. A glass body high current fuse might explode and cause a fire when its rating was surpassed (especially when the fuse is protecting a 125 volt and higher circuit). This is the reason glass body fuses are not made to operated under high current and high voltage conditions.

NOTE: Resettable fuse (house breakers, panel fuses, etc) are usually time-delayed type fuses and are not made to protect electronics.

Fuse polarization - Fuses are not polarized and work on Direct or Alternating Current. You can insert a fuse in either direction into their holders. Some very rare fuses have two different current/voltage ratings because Direct Current will produce more heat then Alternating Current. Usually about four times the heat. This is why metal welders work better using Direct Current.

On a Lighter Note: If you would like to totally baffle the coin-op repairman,
tell him (after he replaces a fuse and it doesn't repair the game);
"I know what the problem is. You put that fuse in backwards."
This will cause him to question his work for several minutes and you get to laugh at him when he/she finally figures it out.

Warning: This joke assumes the repairman will not charge more for the game repair because of this harmless joke. Pinball Medic will charge more when the customer "helps" with a repair.
Resistors don't have a polarity either, but most competent repair people put them in with the multiplier band on the right end of the resistor to make it easier to read the resistor's value. Resistors can also be used as a polarity joke but usually repair people get a clue faster with this part.

---

FUSE SPECIFICATIONS   Return to Tip Index

Fuses act like weak points in an electronic circuit. Fuses blow so your game's electronics don't.

A typical fuse in a coin operated game will be rated in Amps, Voltage, interrupt time and fuse body type.

Fuse Example: 8A 250v SB AGC = 8 Ampere fuse rated at 250 volts interruption - slow blow/time delayed fuse type - long glass cylinder fuse body.

AGC 1.25 inch long glass cylinder fuse. This is the most common fuse body type for coin-op games.
AGX   1 inch long glass cylinder fuse. This fuse type is mostly used inside of switch mode power supplies and video monitors. Its short length allows it to fit in tighter places on circuit boards.
ABC or AB type fuse - Ceramic fuse body 1.24 inches in length, usually rated at 250 volts.

  In the above fuse example, the most important spec is the fuse's current rating in Amps or Amperes (A=Amps). This is how many Amps of current the fuse can take before it will interrupt or open the circuit it is trying to protect from shorted loads or other high current draw faults (in coin-op - a bad transistor, integrated chip, flyback transformer, solenoid coil, shorted broken lamp or shorted bridge rectifier).

NOTE: A lot of games Pinball Medic has fixed were "over fused" meaning the game called for a 10 amp fuse and a 20 amp fuse was installed by another repair shop or the game's owner. This is usually done because the fuse kept blowing and instead of finding the cause of the over current draw, a fuse that can handle the maximum power the transformer or power supply can provide was installed. Overly large current rated fuses can often not blow even if the load is completely shorted out. This condition can cause fires and burn out the transformer or power source.  In extreme cases, aluminum foil was wrapped around a blown fuse causing the fuse to conduct again so the game can be played. This has the same long term effect as the "over fused" condition.

Excuse this Interruption: Fuses heat up and burn apart their internal elements when the rated current flowing through a circuit exceeds the fuse's current rating. Fuses act like weak points in an electronic circuit. Fuses blow so your game's electronics don't.
Fuses are rated for how much voltage they can interrupt when they burn themselves open. This can be visualized as the distance of the air gap between the remaining conductive components inside the fuse when it opens. The larger the gap the less likely the voltage across a blown fuse will arc inside the fuse and cause the circuit to be supplied with current even though the fuse has blown open.
To protect high current/voltage equipment use a ceramic body fuse. Glass body fuses can explode when they interrupt a high current load that is supplied with a high voltage (125 volts and higher).  AGC fuses rated at or above 15 amps are rated for 32 volts only because there is little probability of a large internal arc when interrupting a 32 volt circuit. Ceramic body fuses are usually rated in the 250 volt range because they can handle the high heat and pressure caused by the arc across the open ends of the internal fuse wire at the instant the fuse activates or is blown.

A Fast Acting fuse will immediately blow open when the current the fuse is rated at is exceeded in a circuit. Speed in opening a circuit is important when protecting sensitive electronics inside of a game. The quicker a fuse opens the less time the electronic components are supplied with over current and the less chance they will burn themselves out.

Fuzzy Fuses:  Fuzzy Logic acts according to a linear instead of a binary function to better approximate and control "real world" conditions (a Digital A/C thermostat is an example of a fuzzy logic system). Instead of a pure binary two state logic (on or off, conducting or non-conducting), fuzzy logic systems work in a range of values and trigger points.
Fuses can be built in sort of the same style of fuzziness. They can be designed to trigger in a more linear fashion and only 'blow open' when a specific current range has been met for a set period of time (Watts/Time) and quicker if the over current is substantial).

Electrically tough components (relative to semiconductors - neon and dot matrix displays) like transformers, solenoid coils and light bulbs, require a different type of fuse then electronics. Coils and light bulbs produce a large inrush current when they are first energized. This is because non-activated light bulbs have cold filaments with low resistance to current flow. Solenoid coils don't have their cores inside of the coil form when first powered up causing the coil to draw more current then when the core has been pulled inside of the solenoid coil. Even large non charged capacitors in power supplies draw a heavy current when first energized. These types of variable current loads draw a lot of current when they first get powered on that can exceed a fuse's rating for a short time and would normally blow a quick/fast blow fuse.
This is where a slow blow or time-delayed fuse comes in handy. They are built to withstand a surge in current that exceeds the fuses rating for a limited time before they burn themselves open.
This type of fuse is usually built with a coiled wire that heats slightly when a normal current is drawn through the fuse's load. If the load causes a large current flow for longer then a set time period then the fuse will burn itself out and protect the circuit. If the load should start drawing a very excessive amount of current (completely shorted load) then the slow blow or time-delayed fuse will act more like a fast acting fuse and burn itself out quicker then normal.

---

25. What types and sizes of cabinets are there and does the cabinet type add to a game's worth?

There are usually only four types of coin operated arcade cabinets.

---

CABINET STYLES AND VALUES   Return to Tip Index

The availability of a cabinet type and the popularity of the smaller cabinets can greatly influence the retail value of a game. Condition and rarity of a game title in a given cabinet style are usually major factors in determining a retail value for an arcade game. A game's condition includes side-art, wood
damage, monitor burn-in, playfield condition, control functionality, marquee, game board function and finally coin door condition.
Full Sized or Upright arcade cabinet - This is the most available style of cabinet and usually forms the base price for a typical coin-op game.

Mini cabinet - This smaller then full sized cabinet usually is rarer then the cocktail cabinet and usually are not worth as much as a Full sized game. They're not very popular for in-the-home arcade room use and therefore usually are less valuable then a full sized game.

Cocktail - This size is usually manufactured in half or less the number of full sized cabinets for a typical game title. They typically are priced much higher then their full sized brethren because they are both popular with the average game collector and are much rarer then the standard full size cabinet.
Note: People falsely believe that a Cocktail game takes up less space in a game room then a full size arcade. This is true in the vertical dimension of the game, but is not true with the floor space taken up by the game.
In fact, because cocktail games are usually two player and require the people playing the game to be sitting at each end of the game, cocktails actually take up more floor space in a game room.
The cocktail cabinet does have its advantages over an upright game. They are played sitting down and are the easiest cabinet type to move around a game room. They also make great tables if the game is not working. Just cover it with a cloth and you have an instant table or TV stand.
Use Caution: Cocktail "tables" usually have a lot of scratches on the top glass as metal objects can scratch even when a table cloth is used. Also, sugary soda drinks make the inside of the game very hard to clean and repair.

Cockpit - Any game that must be crawled into to be played is generally considered a cockpit arcade.
They are widely considered the "Gold Standard" size of game by the advanced game collector as they are extremely rare. They command the highest retail value because of their rarity and because collectors with enough game room space for one of these cabinets typically can afford a premium game price.
As an example: A full sized upright Star Wars color vector game might be worth $1400+. A Cockpit Star Wars would be worth $2500+ ($3000+ if the cockpit game has the very rare 25 inch monitor installed. This was the only game to ever have a 25 inch color vector monitor installed in it and is considered by large game collectors to be the "Holy Grail" of all video arcade games).

---

26. What are the sizes of dot matrix displays  (DMD)  and are there any differences between display manufacturers?

Dot Matrix Displays are usually used only on late model pinballs and some new amusement games (late model=1990 and newer pinballs).

Dot Matrix Displays are measured in total dots per length (row) and width (column) and not dots per inch like video monitors screens.
Example:128 x 32=128 dots per row and 32 dots per column on the display tube.

WIDTH -- Dots per column

LENGTH -- Dots per row

NOTE: LED Dot Matrix Displays are now available for most games and don't require any high voltage to operate. A LED DMD will cost much more then a regular DMD display tube and driver board.

---

DMD SIZES AND SPECIFICATIONS   Return to Tip Index

DMD or Dot Matrix Display usually come in three standard sizes or resolutions:

128 x 16 Length x Width Used on early "late model" pinballs. This size is only sold as glass display tube only (no display tube driver board). The 128 by 16 displays are not compatible with 128 x 32 sizes as they have different connector wiring.

128 x 32 Most common size of DMD. Order the complete display assembly (display tube and display driver board) or be prepared to solder a lot of tiny display tube to driver board connections.
A 128 x 32 sized display tube has 4096 attached solder wires. This is why the whole display assembly is usually replaced because removing and resoldering all of these wires would take forever. Stern and some other pinball manufactures mount a separate display driver (logic board for the display) to a display assembly. This game specific display board will NOT come with a new display assembly and must be kept with the game.

128 x 64 Only a few games take this size and therefore this display can cost in the $300+ range.

NOTE: "Baywatch" and some rare late model pinballs use a 192 x 64 size DMD. A pinball with this unusual size display has a lower auction and retail price because of the cost of a replacement display. It's not just the annoying background music on a Baywatch game that lowers its resell value.

Complete Dot Matrix Display assemblies include the display tube mounted to the display tube driver circuit board.

Pinball displays usually have a separate game display driver logic board that can be attached to the display assembly. This board is not included with a new display assembly and houses the game image data, display software PROM chips and a display micro processor (Z80,6800).

---

27. Are there different Flipper bushings and what can worn out bushings do to my playfield?

---

 FLIPPER BUSHING TYPES DEMISTIFYIED AND THE DAMGE THEY CAN CAUSE
Important Note on Flipper Bushings:
Worn out or wrong type of Flipper bushings cause "flipper scrapes".
Check to see if your flippers ever contact the playfield or wobble when moved with your hand. If they do then replace both flipper bushings immediately. Badly grooved or worn through to the wood "Flipper Scrapes" caused by the plastic flipper or its metal mounting bracket can't be refurbished.
Often route people and other repair shops install the wrong bushing type for the pinball they are working on.
Check and double check the flippers to make sure they have enough clearance between the flipper and the playfield. Playfield damage caused by flipper movement can be prevented, but not restored.

Stern/Sega/Data East #545-5070-00 - We are not 100% sure this bushing is used on all Stern games. Older Stern and EM Stern pinballs probably use the 03-6014 type of bushing. The 03-6014 offers the longest through the playfield bushing length and the highest flipper to playfield clearance. Always Check your flipper to playfield gap before playing a game.

03-7568 - Used on all Williams pinball machines from 1980 to 1999.
Used on all Bally pinball machines from 1989 to 1999.
Williams/Bally Part Number 03-7568.

03-6014 and A-2408 - Williams nylon flipper bushing used on all games from Post Time (04/69) to Laser Ball (12/79).
Williams Part Number - 03-6014.
Gottlieb Part Number - Gottlieb A-2408.

NOTE: The following games have not been completely verified to use the 03-6014 or A-2408 bushing.
Compare your old flipper bushing length to the new bushing before installing.

Post Time, Suspense, Smart Set, Paddock, Expo, Roto, Set Up, Seven Up, Gay 90's, 4 Aces, Jive Time, Rock 'N Roll, Aces & Kings, Strike Zone, Straight Flush, 3 Jokers, Dipsy Doodle, Solids N Stripes, Doodle Bug, Love Bug, Gold Rush, Jackpot, Klondike, Planets, Yukon, Zodiac, Stardust, Yukon Special, Olympic Hockey, Granada, Spanish Eyes, Honey, Winner, Super Star, Big Star, Fan-Tas-Tic, Swinger, Travel Time, Fun-Fest, Summer Time, Match Race, Gulfstream, Tropic Fun, Jubilee, Skee Skill, Darling, OXO, Star Action, Tramway, Triple Action, Dealer's Choice, Skylab, Spacelab, Strato-Flite, Super-Flite, High Ace, Lucky Ace, Star Pool, Satin Doll, Big Ben, Pat Hand, Valencia, Triple Strike, Black Gold, Little Chief, Toledo, Space Mission, Space Odyssey, Aztec, Aztec, Blue Chip, Grand Prix, Liberty Bell, Big Deal, Hot Tip, Lucky Seven, Rancho, Argosy, Wild Card, Hot Tip, Road Champion, Lucky Seven, Contact, World Cup, Disco Fever, Pokerino, Phoenix, Flash, Stellar Wars, Rock 'N Roll, Tri Zone, Time Warp, Gorgar, Laser Ball

---

28. New reproduction versus old original backglass/scoreboard glass.

Pinball Medic cannot find a backglass/scoreboard glass for your game. The only spare ones we have will be on one of the coin-op parts pages on this site.

NOTE: Glass expanses and contracts at a different rate then ink and therefore a  silk screened backglass should be kept in a temperature controlled area.

Backglass repo companies silkscreen a new game glass in batches and don't make any more batches for a specific game title until they have enough demand to financially be able to make another batch. The time between batches can be months or even years if there is not very much demand.

Ink flaking can only be partially stabilized on an original backglass. The coating process applied to the inked side of a scoreboard should only be attempted on a glass that is not too far gone or when a replacement glass cannot be found. Coating increases the backglass inks likelihood that it will be sensitive to temperature changes because any clear coating will have a different expansion rate then either the glass or the silk screen ink.

---

 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL AND A REPRODUCTION BACKGLASS
Using a new backglass versus an original is mostly at a game owner's prerogative. If there is a good used glass that is not too far away (shipping costs on inked glass is very, very expensive), then yes, use an original glass. It will match exactly in color and image and tends to look like it "belongs" on the game because the hues and age of the ink will be the same as the rest of the game.

A new glass can be so much easier to find then the original and issues like ink flaking will not be a problem with a repo glass.

Physical Glass differences:
A new glass may not totally match the original in color, be too shinny or have artwork design errors.
This "error" can be caused by the scanning method the manufacture used or the condition of the original glass. Most master copies are done by hand and then a silkscreen is made for each color in the image.
Computer scanners are becoming sufficient enough to be used in the reproduction process. The image in this case is cleaned up using an image editor program then printed digitally (or at least the silk screen master is printed digitally). There is no current way to scan a scoreboard glass that uses mirrored sections (mirroring usually scans as black). This is why some modern backglasses are not available as reproductions. Errors in reproducing the exact image can occur during any step in the copping process and some scoreboard glass reproduction manufacturers will intentionally make the image slightly different so they can tell an original from their copy.

Note: Pinheads can usually tell the difference between an original and a repro glass. Therefore, a copied backglass can affect the final asking price or game value on a refurbished pinball or arcade.

New glasses use newly formulated inks that might not completely match in color or the ink or reproduction process can be too good in quality to appear on an old game. Game buyers know that red, pink (pink used as a flesh color) and other hues classically peel away from the backglass of certain years of games because the inks used back then were not formulated correctly for longevity. They will peel with age.
New inks can last alot longer then the originals. Ink flaking should no longer be an issue with a new backglass, although any ink will flake off a piece of glass if it is subjected to extremes in temperature variation. Glass expanses and contracts at a different rate then ink.  A silk screened backglass (and the game) should be kept in a temperature controlled area and should be shipped separately from the game to better protect the artwork from large game parts and vibrations.