My first table has arrived

I bought my first table last week and it arrived today, a ' Getaway HS2 '. Sorry for the poor photo, I'll take some more tomorrow;



There are a lot more photo's here that the seller took. As you can see the playfield looks very good but the cabinet has seen better days.

The experience has been a bit soured though because the table was advertised as having LED's fitted throughout which was a big deciding factor in my purchase ( fully converting to LED would cost over £100 ), however a quick inspection reveals only a few LED's fitted. A few emails have been exchanged with the shop I bought it from and eventually he has agreed to send me an LED kit, we'll see if he is true to his word. The table also has a few problems I have yet to investigate, a switch on the left return rail, a diverter that isn't working during the test and I have yet to see the supercharger work. Does anyone know if the supercharger should start wizzing balls around any time you get balls up into it or is it only during supercharger multiball?


Oh yeah, nearly forgot to mention, this is also Farsights fault!!

Good choice , after seeing it on Youtube from another thread , this is a table I fully look forward to having on the Pinball Arcade , sometime soon in 2013 FarSight?

from what I recall in that video the supercharger works during the multiball phase , but im far from a expert.

Congrats Kevlar! Very good choice. The lighting looks really nice in your picture.

If the balls are getting diverted into the supercharger they should be getting accelerated by it. It can certainly happen during single ball play as well as multiball. Is that the diverter that isn't working in self test?

I think the diverter is activated by a single solenoid with both high and low power (holding) operation, similar to a flipper coil. It's possible that one (or both) of those isn't working.

Do you have a copy of the manual? Do you get any error reports when you go into the operator mode? There is an operator setting to disable a broken diverter. There is also a pair of supercharger tests that can be used to diagnose if there is a problem with the Opto switches or any of the magnets that accelerate the ball.

I have a Getaway at my parent's place which is sadly missing most of its boards. Any questions, just ask and I'll see what I can remember/figure out.

Oh yeah. Forgot to say - Excellent choice of game. Getaway was my first DMD pinball and still one of my favourites.

Very NICE! and welcome to the club! You picked a great table for your first, just be aware these things are ALIVE and need TLC but if maintained they last as you can see its 20 years old.

Thanks guys, and thanks Fuseball for the supercharger info, I'll have a good go at troubleshooting it tomorrow, I do have a copy of the manual. There are a few problems to sort out, the pop bumper caps need replacing as they are cracked and the holes are bigger than the screws!, one came off on my first go . The tilt plumb bob is missing ( could be an advantage ), 3 switches are coming up in the test report ( 67, 74 and 75 which are left ramp, top lock and middle lock ), there are about 8 lamps not working but I shall wait and see if the seller sends me the promised LED kit before playing with them. The ramp up/down diverter may need a bit of work as balls get stuck underneath it. Sometimes when getting a quick drain and ' don't move ' relaunch, 2 balls are launched so I don't know what going on there ( hey, maybe TPA is relistic after all! )

Always happy to help.

The three switches in the test report are all simple microswitches. I seem to recall that the left ramp return switch was prone to being hit by occasional airballs and may well be knocked out of alignment or damaged. With the glass off the switch should make a soft but audible click if it is working. Also look for diodes broken off those switches.

The 2 balls in the launcher also sounds like it could be caused by the microswitches in the ball trough and launcher lane not working reliably. Thankfully all the switch actuators are easily bendable pieces of wire or metal, so hopefully an easy adjustment or fix. I usually use the Switch Edges test when fixing problems like these.

I had a quick look and switch 67 seems to work fine in the switch edges test even though its reported as faulty in the test report. Did a quick supercharger test using the 2 available test options and sadly it did nothing although the optos seem to be working. I'm really not happy with the supplier of this table, I'm fearing the worst, I.e the ball accelerator board being faulty and I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about before selling it to me judging by his response when I challenged him about the LED's. More testing tomorrow.

Okay. 67 showing up in the test report just means that it hasn't been activated in normal play. Either the ball passing it isn't pushing the switch down enough or the non-working diverter is stopping the ball from ever going down that rail. It may be a similar problem with the lock switches. If the ramp isn't lowering properly then the balls would never trigger those two switches. Just a theory.

I will do a bit of homework on the accelerator board. Never had a problem with mine and I've not heard of it being a particularly problematic part. Check all the wiring and connectors first. Could be something very simple.

Whereabouts in the UK are you?

that's a fun machine. congrats.

Thanks fuseball, I'm in south wales. I haven't tried any troubleshooting yet, just ran the tests. I'll have a play tomorrow. Any help appreciated so please, drop by often ��.

Well, the supercharger opto circuitry is on the accelerator board with the magnet drivers, so the board is at least getting power and is partially working.

I'm not exactly local to South Wales but I owe some friends of mine near Camarthen a visit soon, so if you get completely stuck I may be able to help. I'm on here every day for online support.

Fuseball said:

I'm on here every day for online support.

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Thanks m8, part of the attraction of getting a table was maintaining it, I just didn't expect to be in the deep end immediately. I just hope this doesn't turn out to be expensive, I'm already in the doghouse for buying it!

Maybe I'm thinking too basic but, clean the opto?

The virus is spreading. It has begun. And Farsight surely is to blame.

Congratulations! Have fun restoring and playing that great machine. Hope your supplier turns out to be an honest soul.

Kevlar said:

I just hope this doesn't turn out to be expensive, I'm already in the doghouse for buying it!

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As the saying goes, its easier to ask for forgiveness than it is permission!

Great table, hope all your issues turn out to be minor.

What a cool first table to own. Congrats Kevlar!

Fuseball said:

Well, the supercharger opto circuitry is on the accelerator board with the magnet drivers, so the board is at least getting power and is partially working.

I'm not exactly local to South Wales but I owe some friends of mine near Camarthen a visit soon, so if you get completely stuck I may be able to help. I'm on here every day for online support.

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General stuff to do when you get a new machine.

Check all fuses on the main board.

Refloat the solder on the board connectors, and check for any oxidization of the connector pins, or blackening of the board. Particularly important for the GI circuit which suffers terribly from overheating and oxidization.

Do LEDs 2, 3 and 4 light up on the SC board? If not, there is something up with the magnets where the lights aren't illuminated.

Check all screw points on the supercharger ramp. Posts suggest the screw mounts act as grounding for the coils, and may cause malfunction if not tightly screwed down.

Triple-check the opto mounts and ensure the opto boards are screwed in firmly to the mounts. Remember there is significant vibration of that assembly.

And ensure you read www.pinrepair.com for getting started guides.

These guides were invaluable for me when I was restoring Pins of the 90's era.

For specific repair tips for your supercharger, Google "getaway supercharger not working" as a starting point.

Hope this info helps you diagnose the issue.

Here is nothing quite like experiencing the speed of a well-maintained supercharger. There are plastic ball retainers on that assembly for a reason ;-)

jaredmorgs said:

Do LEDs 2, 3 and 4 light up on the SC board?

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Unfortunately not, only LED 1 is lit. All the opto's work, magnets don't. I'm really pissed at the supplier of this machine, supposed to be a happy day today too ( my birthday! ). It was sold as fully working so I'll be emailing him again today. Has anyone on here had dealings with pinball paradise of Blackpool before?

Get it returned then go on UK Pinball Yahoo group and buy a loved one from a member there.