TECH: FIsh Tales Plunger Coil

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

Hi all,

Three questions on the Fish Tales Plunger coil. When playing game it ejects
ball ot various strenghts. Ussually starting slow then getting faster until
it completes a cycle then goes back to slow again, then speeds up each time
then back to slow.

Anyway, when it is launch the ball at one of the slower strengths it
sometimes does not have enough power to get the ball all the way onto the
playfield.

When it is at full strenght no problem shooting ball all the way up to the
top of the game.

So the three questions are

1) Is the ball strenght supposed to vary with each launch?

2) Is there an adjustment in any of the setting for launch speed

3) Do I simply need a new coil to make sure even at the lowest launch
velocity it will make it onto the playfeild?

Thanks in advance
Bob Presutti

 

[Adi]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

So the three questions are
>
1) Is the ball strenght supposed to vary with each launch? - No.
>
2) Is there an adjustment in any of the setting for launch speed - No.
>
3) Do I simply need a new coil to make sure even at the lowest launch
velocity it will make it onto the playfeild? - No.


You have a mechanical problems. Coils dort sorta-kinda work, they
wither work or they don;t, day, night, hot cold, zero, 1, so coils is
not an issue. What you need to check is if your plunger is worn, if
yes, replace. Also, make sure that plunger is kicking the ball square
in the middle, a bit ont he side and the ball will rattle and veer and
lose momentum. Check the spring, then check the coil plastic tube, make
sure nothing is binding there. Sonds like a typical mechanical problem
that will need little investigation and tweaking, perhaps with the
apron off.

Best of luck,
Adi
www.txpinball.com

 

[otto]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

The ball speed should be consistent and it should make it all the way around
the back(long cast type shot), through the gate at the top left, and down
the left orbit to your flippers.

Sounds like a mechanical issue with the plunger.

Take the apron off and check to make sure it is moving freely and actuating
correctly.

I would also strongly suspect that the plunger is not contacting the ball
squarely. Either the ball is not resting in a consistent spot or the plunger
is not properly aligned.

Also may need to replace the coil sleeve, clean and polish the plunger,
check the spring, etc. If you can easily remove the coil sleeve then the
coil is most likely ok.

I am not familiar with an adjustment in the menu to control ball speed.

Hth.

Otto

CARGPB11

My web page: http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-Ottoslanding

"skidog" <rpresuttiUNMUNGE@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:ttaSe.343$FO3.277@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
> Hi all,
>
> Three questions on the Fish Tales Plunger coil. When playing game it
> ejects ball ot various strenghts. Ussually starting slow then getting
> faster until it completes a cycle then goes back to slow again, then
> speeds up each time then back to slow.
>
> Anyway, when it is launch the ball at one of the slower strengths it
> sometimes does not have enough power to get the ball all the way onto the
> playfield.
>
> When it is at full strenght no problem shooting ball all the way up to the
> top of the game.
>
> So the three questions are
>
> 1) Is the ball strenght supposed to vary with each launch?
>
> 2) Is there an adjustment in any of the setting for launch speed
>
> 3) Do I simply need a new coil to make sure even at the lowest launch
> velocity it will make it onto the playfeild?
>
> Thanks in advance
> Bob Presutti
>
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

"skidog" wrote:
> 1) Is the ball strenght supposed to vary with each launch?

No- you probably have a loose coil bracket/mechanism. This will allow the
coil to move (alignment varies) and depending on the trajectory, the ball
may not go straight up the plunger lane- if it hits the walls, it will lose
momentum. Very common problem in auto-launch games. Brackets work loose
from the screws and/or break from all the years of use/neglect. Open it up
and take a look to see if anything is obvious.

> 2) Is there an adjustment in any of the setting for launch speed

No software adjustment. Only mechanical adjustment on the mechanism itself
which is the mounting screws- you can adjust the angle/alignment slightly or
bend the mounting bracket if absolutely necessary. Depends on if it's
loose, broken, bent, etc. Again, a visual examination of it would be needed
to really tell what's going on or what it needs.

> 3) Do I simply need a new coil to make sure even at the lowest launch
> velocity it will make it onto the playfeild?

No- coils do not wear out or lose strength over time unless they're
physically damaged. You may want to check to make sure you have the correct
coil installed- there should be a coil chart inside the front cover of your
game manual showing the number of each coil. Compare and see.

Coils will essentially either work or they won't. You have something else
happening which is inhibiting the coil's ability to get the ball up the
ramp- most likely loose ball launcher mechanism- or misalignment- ball is
rattling off the side walls of the plunger lane and losing momentum as a
result.

Let us know what you find.

Ray J.
--
Action Pinball & Amusement, LLC
Salt Lake City, Utah USA
Web: www.actionpinball.com

We're serious about pinball. Anything else is just for fun!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

Thanks All,

Missaligned assembly.

A little tweeaking with allign,ent and she's fine now.

Regards
Bob Presutti


"skidog" <rpresuttiUNMUNGE@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:ttaSe.343$FO3.277@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
> Hi all,
>
> Three questions on the Fish Tales Plunger coil. When playing game it
> ejects ball ot various strenghts. Ussually starting slow then getting
> faster until it completes a cycle then goes back to slow again, then
> speeds up each time then back to slow.
>
> Anyway, when it is launch the ball at one of the slower strengths it
> sometimes does not have enough power to get the ball all the way onto the
> playfield.
>
> When it is at full strenght no problem shooting ball all the way up to the
> top of the game.
>
> So the three questions are
>
> 1) Is the ball strenght supposed to vary with each launch?
>
> 2) Is there an adjustment in any of the setting for launch speed
>
> 3) Do I simply need a new coil to make sure even at the lowest launch
> velocity it will make it onto the playfeild?
>
> Thanks in advance
> Bob Presutti
>
>
>
>