TECH: Firepower drop target retrofit
Edward Estes
on Firepower, and it prompted me to put together this little info sheet.
I hope someone finds it interesting and/or useful.
Ted Estes
es...@mcs.com
Firepower Drop Target Retrofit
------------------------------
The original design for Firepower called for 2 banks of 3 drop targets
instead of the 2 banks of standups in front of the flippers. The
drop targets were removed at the last moment to save money and because
the drop targets were sure to be a reliability problem in that location,
since they would get heavy abuse.
If you look closely, you may find an early Firepower that had the
wiring for the original drop target banks. Another clue to the early
age of the game is presence of U-shaped cutouts behind the standup
banks to accommodate "10-point" switches that become accessible after
the drop targets are hit.
(I've been able to dig around in 8 or so Firepowers, and I've only seen
one early one with the cutouts and wire harness for the drop targets.
This doesn't count the actual Firepower prototype which I've had to
pleasure to inspect.)
The software in the game works with either standup targets or drop
targets. Here is the information on how to put drop targets into your
Firepower.
(I've included wire color information here for completeness. You get
bonus points if you use the correct colors for your conversion. The
two games I've converted got their wires -- and drop target banks --
courtesy of a few old Disco Fever games.)
Step 1: Obtain two 3-bank drop targets. Any 3-bank sets from a Williams
game made in the late 70's or early 80's will work (solid state
game only -- no electromechs).
Games made prior to Black Knight use a printed circuit board
and horseshoe wiper switch. These are notoriously unreliable,
but are the type originally used in Firepower. The horseshoe
wipers are usually bad on an old game, and I've had a hard time
finding old stock of these to rebuild old drops. I have ended up
grabbing parts from a bunch of old drop banks to get 2 working
banks rebuilt.
Good old games to part out to get drop targets: Disco Fever,
Hot Tip, Phoenix.
Step 2: Obtain 2 "10-point" leaf switches.
These can easily be from an old playfield, or wherever.
Make sure that you get the kind that have the mounting bracket
extending out from the BACK of the switch.
Step 3: Remove the old standups.
Unscrew the switches from the playfield, and carefully desolder
the wires. Save the old switches if they are in good condition,
especially if the decals on them are good. You never know when
you might have another Firepower that needs fixing up. You
might even want to keep TWO Firepowers -- one with standups and
one with drop targets -- just so you can do a side-by-side
playability test.
Step 4: Make U-shaped cutouts for "10-point" switches.
Drill/route/cut a cutout behind the two bank locations to
accommodate the "10-point" switches. Neatness counts here.
Make sure you have space to actually mount the switches.
This area of the playfield is rather cramped.
Mount the switches after cutting is complete.
Step 5: Mount drop target banks.
As noted above, the playfield is a bit cramped. This is further
complicated by the fact that the two target banks are angled
toward each other. I had to do some cutting of the target bank
assemblies to get them to fit. A Dremel tool with a cutting
wheel works well for this.
As I recall, I had to cut off one or more of the mounting feet
on one or more of the drop target assemblies.
Again, neatness counts. Be sure to center the targets themselves
within the oval cutouts and align them nicely. A sloppy job
will only bring you the ridicule of your friends as you show
off your work.
Step 6: Wire drop target reset coils.
The backbox wire harness brings the solenoid wires up to the
connector that mates with the playfield harness. To do a really
neat job, find some Molex-type pins to insert into the playfield
harness connector to bring the signals down to the playfield.
If you connect directly into the backbox harness, you will not
be able to remove the backbox when you have to move your Firepower
through a narrow doorway.
(I was able to work the pins out of the connector on the above-
mention Disco Fever harness, and use the whole wire for the
conversion.)
Solenoid #2 is the left bank reset (1-3 targets) (Grey-Red wire)
Solenoid #3 is the right bank reset (4-6 targets) (Grey-Orange wire)
Wire the drives to the lug of the coils that are connected to
the anode of the diodes (side WITHOUT the stripe). Refer to
another coil on the playfield to double check.
Connect power to the coils. Use a Red wire and tack on to a
nearby coil. The power goes to the coil lug connected to
the cathode of the diode (side WITH the stripe).
Step 7: Wire the switches.
The drop target switches are wired in the same place in the
matrix as the standups. That information is as follows, from
left to right:
"1" drop target - switch 17 (Green-Orange/White-Brown)
"2" drop target - switch 18 (Green-Orange/White-Red)
"3" drop target - switch 19 (Green-Orange/White-Orange)
"4" drop target - switch 22 (Green-Orange/White-Green)
"5" drop target - switch 22 (Green-Orange/White-Blue)
"6" drop target - switch 23 (Green-Orange/White-Violet)
The early style drop targets (horseshoe/wiper) had two sets
of contacts -- momentary and continuous. The momentary are
activated while the drop target is on its way down, and the
continuous are activated while the the target is resting in
the "down" position.
The easy way to connect the drop targets is to simply use
the continuous contacts on each target and connect it as listed
above. This is the way later style (Black Knight and later)
drop targets would be wired.
The original Firepower, however, used the momentary contacts
connected as above. The continuous contacts were connected
in series within each bank, and connected into another place
in the matrix. This gave the software an extra piece of
information that all the drops in a bank were down. You
can connect your drop switches this way, but its extra work
that is not necessary. Here are the switch positions:
"1-3" drop target series - switch 20 (Green-Orange/White-Yellow)
"4-6" drop target series - switch 24 (Green-Orange/White-Grey)
The "10-point" switches are wired as follows:
"1-3" drop target standup - switch 55 (Green-Violet/White-Violet)
"4-6" drop target standup - switch 52 (Green-Violet/White-Yellow)
When wiring switches, note that the White wire is connected to
the anode of the diode (side WITHOUT the stripe), and the Green
wire is connected to the switch terminal NOT connected to the
diode. Refer to another switch on your playfield as a guide.
Step 8: Double check your work.
Especially make sure that your coils are wired correctly.
If you reverse the leads on a coil, you will blow up the
solenoid driver transistor. The Red (power) wire goes to the
coil lug connected to the cathode of the diode (side WITH
the stripe).
Check the wiring of the switches. If switches are incorrectly
wired, they can mess up other switches in the matrix.
Step 9: Test your work.
Run test mode on your game and check out the solenoids and
switches to verify the correct installation.
Step 10: Play your game.
Notice that the default "light kickback" rule now makes more
sense: The kickback is lit on "1-3" or "4-6" on the same ball
or spotting the "1-6" lamps. Now that you have drop targets,
you can actually keep track of the "1-3" or "4-6" on one ball.
Misc: The drop target stickers used on Firepower depicted the
"melting man" as shown elsewhere on the game. They sport the
part number 30A-7572. I have seen these stickers around, so
they should be obtainable if you look hard enough. My guess
is that several rolls of these stickers were printed, in
anticipation of the production of the game with drop targets.
Since none were produced that way, that means that there should
be quite a few stickers floating around somewhere. (I found a
few at a local distributor who was kind enough to let me poke
around on his shelves. He must have just gone down a list of
sticker part numbers and ordered a bunch at one point.)
Dangerous Dann
>From: es...@MCS.COM (Edward Estes)
>Subject: TECH: Firepower drop target retrofit
>Date: 22 May 1995 10:58:50 -0500
>There has been a bit of traffic lately pertaining to the drop targets
>on Firepower, and it prompted me to put together this little info sheet.
>I hope someone finds it interesting and/or useful.
>Ted Estes
>es...@mcs.com
> Firepower Drop Target Retrofit
> ------------------------------
>The original design for Firepower called for 2 banks of 3 drop targets
>instead of the 2 banks of standups in front of the flippers. The
>drop targets were removed at the last moment to save money and because
>the drop targets were sure to be a reliability problem in that location,
>since they would get heavy abuse.
*************
I think everyone owes Ted a big thanx for his generous and detailed
posting! Those people who got to play the retrofit FIREPOWER that Tim Arnold
brought to the last WIld West Pinball Fest agree that it's a whole new game
with the Drop Targets...
Up to this point the actual conversion procedure may have been intimidating
to the average Firepower owner..... Now, thanx to Ted there's *NO EXCUSE* not
to change your game if you like the idea! Anyone finding six or so drop
target stickers for the game should let me know.... I've got lotsa trade
stock!
Danger Dann
The House of Pinball