Setting the slope..another post.
MRP
I noticed a posting about a TZ and setting the slope. I have owned mine for
about 2 months now and suddenly it got me thinking about the slope of mine.
I know all the legs are on the correct way, and the casters are on
correctly, so I won't have any trouble. But my question is about the incline
bubble. Is it suppose to be between the lines for a correct 6.5 degree
slope, for some reason I never took this into consideration, even though it
plays just fine, I think it could be better.
Forgive me for posting this again, but the last answer I recieved had
nothing to do with the original content of the message.
MRP
MRP
Thanks for the post, but now to be specific, its that the first line from
the top or line from the bottom?
MRP
VetteMan48 <vette...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000704210124...@ng-fe1.aol.com...
> >But my question is about the incline
> >bubble. Is it suppose to be between the lines for a correct 6.5 degree
>
> On TZ the first line is approximately 6 degrees. Each line after that is
1/2
> degree so if the bubble is touching the second line you are at 6 1/2
degrees.
> Ron
Bob E.
>
> Ok
>
> Thanks for the post, but now to be specific, its that the first line from
> the top or line from the bottom?
>
Think about it for a minute (or read the manual!)....if Ron said the
first line is 6 degrees, and the next one is 6 1/2, that means it is
increasing in value (and therefore slope). Look at the level and the
bubble, and try some mental exercises to see which way the bubble
would have to move to increase the slope, and which way would be
diminishing the slope. Then go have a lie-down before the extra-
credit question...did you level the machine side-to-side?
--Bob
======================================================================
Bob Ellingson bob...@halted.com
Halted Specialties Co., Inc. http://www.halted.com
3500 Ryder St. (408) 732-1573
Santa Clara, Calif. 95051 USA FAX (408) 732-6428
Darren Kammer
Darren
P.S. - Ok...yes, I laughed.....sue me!
Bob E. <bob...@halted.com> wrote in message
news:3962AAB5...@halted.com...
MRP
You so funny.
Now lets think about this..Yep you are right, but I want to make sure first.
Since the machine weighs 350 pounds, I want to do it right the first time,
and getting help is not so easy. Besides I'd rather spend more time playing
than f**king around all night.
Thanks any way for your constructive message.
MRP
VetteMan48
VetteMan48
Just get under it on your hands and knees and lift one end at a time with your
back and make the adjustments. Easy to do yourself.
Ron
Bob E.
>
> Now was that REALLY necessary, Bob??
>
> Darren
>
> P.S. - Ok...yes, I laughed.....sue me!
Well, shoot. After sleeping on it, I suppose in retrospect I came off a little
too JW. But I mean, if you can't look at a bubble level and tell which way it
is going to move, how can you tell which way a pinball will roll? I still aver
that Ron's reply and actually looking at the game would provide enough
information to figure it out (and the manual would provide ALL the information
needed!), but maybe I was a little snappish...
So to make up for the bad karma, I will share some tips for setting up and
leveling a game that are *NOT* covered in the manual:
1) Before putting the legs on the game, take a few minutes and take the
levelers off. You will probably find they are rusted in place and that the
heads have been spun on the square shank, making them difficult to adjust.
Replace any damaged ones (or heck, all of them...they are cheap). If not
replacing them, wire brush the rust off, wash the legs and polish them with
automotive chrome polish (this makes a surprisingly large difference in
appearance!). When reinstalling the levelers (or when putting new ones on),
use a little dab (about the size of a match head) of Permatex Anti-Seize
compund (available at automotive parts stores) on the threads. This will make
them *MUCH* easier to adjust, especially in the future, when you may not have
the legs off the machine. Don't forget that the jam nut goes under the leg
end, between the leg and the head of the leveler. I run the levelers all the
way up into the legs, so that they are all starting at the same point.
2) Situate the game where it is going to be located, then put the legs on.
Again, use a small dab of Anti-Seize compound on the leg bolts. This will
make it *SO* much easier to remove and install the bolts in the future.
BE CAREFUL, though, since this makes the bolts so easy to tighten, it
becomes much easier to over-tighten them, stripping threads. Don't overdo
it, make them snug but not gorilla-tight.
3) Get out your torpedo level, and take off the playfield glass. If the
floor you are sitting the pin on is flat and hard, you could try using the
level on the floor first to see what types of built-in slope you are going to
have to overcome (i.e. the floor slopes a little to the left, so the left-hand
levelers are going to have to come out a little more than the right-hand ones).
If the floor is bumpy or carpeted, this obviously will not work, but no big
deal.
4) Get all four feet on the floor! This is much more important than the proper
degree of slope, since a diagonally rocking machine will be changing its slope
all the time! Unscrew the feet that rock (diagonal opposites) until they are
firmly supporting their fair share of the cabinet weight, not just until they
touch the floor.
5) Check to see if the playfield is firmly seated at all four corners. Push
down at all four corners to make sure that one corner is not "up in the air".
If it is, check to see that there is not something preventing the playfield
from seating on its mounts. On most modern games, this means the two back
hinge points and the two front hangers that suspend from the lock-down bar
mounting plate. On older games, the playfield sits on two wooden rails
screwed to the inside walls of the cabinet. If you have a corner that is not
down on its seat, it could also mean that an uneven floor or leg length is
warping the cabinet. Fix this first by adjusting the levelers some more to
get all four corners supported evenly. Of course, this could also mean that
you have a warped playfield....ouch! See if there is some way to fasten it
down. In the old days of woodrails, the playfield was held down to the
support rails by means of long wood screws with cup-washers. These are often
not reinstalled by owners, but they could be necessary in a case like this.
6) Put your torpedo level on the playfield, oriented ACROSS the machine,
right about between the slingshots. Adjust the left side or right side pairs
of levelers until the bubble is in the middle. This is also *MUCH* more
important than any ideal degree of playfield slope. A game that is not
leveled side-to-side is usually extremely disagreeable to play. You can check
your playfield for twist by checking the side-to-side level down low and up near
the top of the playfield (if possible, some games are too crowded to allow
much of this). If it is off, you may be able to adjust things by playing with
the support hangers at the front, putting some washers under them or bending
them or something. You will have to be creative here.
7) OK, if all the above has been done, NOW you can check and adjust for pitch
(slope). Check your Tru-pitch gauge (if your game has one) if you want, but
you wanna know how I do it? Put the glass on and play the game! You will know
if the game needs more slope or less, just by the behavior of the ball when it
heads up the playfield. You can also tell by where playfield loops and kickouts
deliver the ball, most of them are designed to hit either the slings or a
flipper. You'll know. Adjust one end (i.e. a piar of levelers) up or down
(since I start with the levelers all the way in, it starts out by only being
able to adjust up) either end, until it makes you happy. Turn the levelers
equally in pairs, one turn equals 1/16th inch, until the game plays the way you
like it. You don't get out the measuring tape when you adjust your car seat,
do you? When satisfied, snug up the jam nuts (don't over-tighten, especially
if you put on Anti-Seize compound), just bring them up to the leg bottom and
then gently snug them a bit more. Double check your side-to-side leveling
before you put the tools away.
Now, having said all that, I invite everyone to take their next vacation in
Tasmania (that's the Australian state that is an island south of the main
continent, for those of you who don't get National Geographic)...but don't fly
there. Take the ferry from Melbourne, you drive your car onto the ship and get
a cabin, because it is an overnight trip. After dinner, go up to the game
room (next to the casino) and play some of the pinball machines they have
there, while the ship is gently heaving over the swells in the Bass Straight.
While having the strangest game of Fishtales in your life, meditate on the how
easy you have it in achieving the proper leveling of your home games....
--Bob
Sheesh, I think *I'll* go have a lie-down....
================================================================================
Bob Ellingson bob...@halted.com
Halted Specialties Co., Inc. http://www.halted.com
3500 Ryder St. (408) 732-1573
Santa Clara, Calif. 95051 USA (408) 732-6428 (FAX)
Cliffy
--
Cliffy
For Funhouse ramp repair kits;
http://members.home.net/crinear/ramps/ramps.html
'82 Tron U/R
'87 F-14 Tomcat
'90 Funhouse
Association of Pinball Owners and Players
Western Director
http://www.ilovepinball.com/APOP
Check out Marco Rossignoli's The Complete Pinball Book
http://members.home.net/crinear/pinbook.html
Steve Baumgarten
> Check your Tru-pitch gauge (if your game has one) if you want, but
> you wanna know how I do it? Put the glass on and play the game! You
> will know if the game needs more slope or less, just by the behavior
> of the ball when it heads up the playfield.
And in truth this is the best way to set up a game. Don't rely on
levels -- play it. Especially because the recommended pitch is just
that -- a recommendation. Same goes for the outlanes -- it's fine to
leave the posts in their recommended (or default) positions, but you
might find that the game is more fun when it's more challenging.
Set it up Broadway Arcade style, with outlanes wide open and pitch a
little steeper than WMS suggests, for fast and furious play. That's
how my ATTACK FROM MARS was set up the day I got it, and it's been that
way ever since. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Why play a slow and forgiving game when you can play one that eats you
alive if you miss a shot? ;-)
(And by the way, Bob, you did a fantastic job of describing how to
properly set up a game -- as Cliffy noted, it's so good it really
should be added to the FAQ. Nice job.)
SBB
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
larry
> little steeper than WMS suggests, for fast and furious play. That's
> how my ATTACK FROM MARS was set up the day I got it, and it's been that
> way ever since. I wouldn't have it any other way.
My RFM is set at around 8 degrees in an attempt to cut down on the
number of airballs (those flippers are STRONG) .. To help balance the
difficult slope, I closed up the outlanes quite a bit.
He's right though.. set up the game so it plays how YOU like it to
play. This goes for rules as well as slope, etc. Many people set all
their games rules (balls/game, replay/eb, etc) the same, but I vary mine
based on how hard the game is originally. All are 3 balls/game, but
TOTAN, ES and SS get replays, wheras NGG and RFM give extra balls.
ST:TNG has TWO replay levels awarding extra balls. This is because
TOTAN, ES and SS are easier than NGG, RFM and ST:TNG. ES used to be
*really* easy, so I opened up the outlanes more and set the slingshot
strength to "hard" .. now the game will eat you alive at times! I also
changed the Cart Awards on NGG from "start at 3 and award every 5" to
"start at 4 and award every 4" to help the chances of a successful Cart
Attack/Multiball stack. (with 3 hits, I usually got CA well before MB).
It's too bad there are some things that cannot be changed.. like
TOTAN's wizard mode.. it's way too easy! I've owned the game 8 months
and played the Genie Battle over a hundred times, and lost exactly
ONCE.. and even then only because I was complacent :) Ahh well.
Matt Magnasco
Or just go out to Home Depot and plunk down $10 for an inclinometer,
especially if your game doesn't normally come with a bubble level (like
T2, for instance).
--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Matt Magnasco -=-=-=-=-=-=- arrabbiata @ smyrnacable . net -=-
DRIVE NOW, TALK LATER. | _____ \~~~~~~~~~\ | You have come to the
Put down your damn cell | <IX8YE< >SCIENCE >< | end of your journey.
phone and drive the car! | ~~~~~ /_________/ | Survival IS everything.
Jeremy Wilson
>Well, shoot. After sleeping on it, I suppose in retrospect I came off a
>little too JW.
Not that there's anything wrong with that!
--
xe...@inforamp.net - Jeremy Wilson - Modern Pinball Game Collector
Wonder what's inside my wallet? http://www.inforamp.net/~xeno/wallet
jk
haven't gotten it leveled yet, this info will help a lot!
Josh