Car Hop Pinball

[bubba]

I have a chance to pick up a Gottlieb Car Hop Pinball. Its hard to tell by the pictures, but it looks to be in decent shape.. Its supposed to work. Is a Solid State machine..

Here is the IPMD info on the machine.. it sounds like a fun game.. The guy is asking $700 for it. I'm going to try for it. Does that sound like a decent price? Anything to look for? I don't know anything about pins yet. I love the 50's theme and its probably within 15min of my house...

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=CAr+Hop&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#3676

[Kilroy]

You're right, looks to be a fun game, and I've never seen one that allows  you to switch to retro  sounds.  My pinball is mechanical, so i cna't speak for the  elctronics, but I  do offer-

Look at the drop targets , make sure they are  intact and clean.  It's near impossible to find repro's unless it's a popular machine. The back glass  should be crack free, paint  not chipped  (I'm weird that way)
A manual and schematics are a good thing also.

I'd go for it   

[bubba]

I'm going to go see it.. The weather here has gone from bad to horrible, so I don't think I'll get to him tonite. I told him I want it.. He's owned it for 5 years, and is now moving. He can't take it with him. He said its in great shape, including the playfield and backglass.  I hope so... 

[bubba]

How do you move a pinball machine? Are they stable enough to transport with the legs on it or is it better to remove the legs? How heavy are they?

[davethebirdman]

Take the legs off and lay it flat in the back of a car.... They are heavy but if you have moved a few soda machines or a couple of jukes they are feather weight in comparision.

I managed to get mine out of the car on a barrow and into the house all by myself. Had to get the mrs to help me put it on the workmate to get the legs on though...

[bubba]

Cool.. Thanks for the info Dave...

Hey did you get my info?

[collecture]

Had to get the mrs to help me put it on the workmate to get the legs on though...

Why? 

[dr galaga]

You can also take the head off the machine too (or fold it down on some models).  Open the back door on the head and there should be 4 bolts holding the head on.  Disconnect the wire harnesses first.  I used to have a van and I all I did was take the head off my pin and put the machine in the back with the legs still on!

Did you get anywhere with your DK?

[bubba]

Not yet... I'm going to order a flyback, but I really don't see that being the problem. There is no power on the B+ of the board. If the flyback blew, I would have expected a fuse to blow as well. All fuses are good. I found a tech site, forget which one right now, but he had a photo of what the screen looks like when different rom chips fail. There is one chip that will cause a black screen, but there is no mention if the sound worked. I'm having a hard time finding any tech info and the wiring diagrams I've found are all very difficult to read.

[dr galaga]

Is this the page? Does it sound like the monitor comes on (high pitch sound)?  I'm trying to get a good set of DK schematics myself since all the ones I have come across are pretty poor quality too.  If you haven't ordered a flyback yet, you may want to try ordering one from Bob Roberts.  Call him up and tell him you think you need a new flyback and tell him what it is/isn't doing.  Bob is a retired arcade tech. who basically runs his business as a hobby.  As long as he breaks even every year he is happy.  He may be able to guide you in the right direction.