bally vector

[rockhouse]

working through my bally vector found q29 completely missing
from the lamp driver board, i know q36 is missing that fell of as i tried
to straighten it thats not a problem.
i dont want to replace q29 without finding what it runs
any help appreciated

 

[Banzaipinabll]

If I am reading the wiring diagram correctly Q29 is not used

 

[Banzaipinabll]

Section of schem attached

 

[rockhouse]

ah that would explain it
many thanks another pair of eyes see what i didn't
i'll put you on my christmas card list
rockhouse

 

[Jay Walker]

Q32 looks a bit botched-up, too. It might have been pinched from a 'small' Bally or Stern Lda board, where they're mounted on a smaller 'footprint' and so end up more upright.

I'm a bit surprised that Vector has any unused lamp drivers.

 

[rockhouse]

you should see the ones at the top, like that when i got it but now replaced.
schematic above courtesy of Banzaipinabll shows q29 not used

 

[DRD]

Hi. I don't want to muddy the water here, but ....

I had a look at my vector, it is tombstoned at the moment as i am shopping funhouse and fathom. My vector has an original bally lamp board. Q29 is in place

Bally manuals of this era often contain mistakes, so it is not clear from the manual alone whether a transistor is required in q29. It may be that someone in the past, armed with a manual, removed q29 to use elsewhere on the board to replace a broken one

In your shoes i would just solder a new one into q29. Buy a number of them as it is always good to have a few transistors in stock and that model will cost pence.

 

[rockhouse]

thats what i like about this forum you muddy as much as you like
if you dont know ask i didn't know so i asked, the boards i've seen on ebay have q29
fitted and as you say the manuals do have mistakes.
your vector has it fitted so i will fit one, don't suppose you know what lamps it works
so i can check them ?
and thanks for all replies
it is appreciated

 

[DRD]

I think that the boards were just bulk produced, and every game of that era got an identical one fitted. If a given game did not need q29, it just got the same lamp board as one that did. No point bally messing about saving pence on components and giving themself a headache with multiple board code numbers

If my vector had been up and running, i could have done some more digging for you and been a bit more scientific. But it will be a number of weeks before i get it going again. I was pleasantly surprised that i managed to find the key this morning as vector has been tombstoned since nerg.

 

[Jay Walker]

If you've got the Lamp Driver schematic, have a look what connectors/pins Q29 connects to (each transistor/Scr can have more than one output pin), and check if either of them has a wire in the connecting header. If so, then it is used, and the colours will help work out what lamp(s) it's for.

Later on, in the dark days of the early to mid 80's, Bally did leave out un-utilised components, such as solenoid transistors on Gold Ball's combined solenoid/lamp/Hv/reg board.

 

[Nedreud]

Hey, @rockhouse! Just checked in my VECTOR, which isn't tombstoned! Had to find the backbox key though... some fool had taken it off the main bunch and left it on top...

Anyway, my lamp board does have Q29 fitted. But, checking the schematic it's output goes to Pin 1 on connector J1, i.e., J1-1. Checking the wiring to this this connector shows that pin 1 is unused as there isn't a wire in that location! So, it's totally irrelevant as to whether there's a transistor fitted at Q29 or not. There's nothing to use it.

I've got 4 spare AS-2518-23 lamp driver boards and they've all got Q29 fitted. I bet sometime in the past someone realised Q29 wasn't used and removed it to replace a bad one elsewhere, like that shocker at Q32!

Anyway, welcome to PinballInfo and Hello! fellow VECTOR owner!

 

[rockhouse]

4 spare aaah i feel another pinball on the horizon
and thanks to drd jay and nedreud
for the help

 

[Nedreud]

All the boards are condition unknown and assumed faulty. The idea was to fix and sell to keep my hobby funded "under the radar" so to speak

 

[DRD]

Remember the drug dealer code, "don't get high on your own supply"