Bally logo Bally Play-More Post Bally logo

Several Bally late EM and early solid-state pinball machines have the Play-More Post feature. This is a device that has an orange plastic post between the flippers that will pop up when activiate, allowing you to save the ball from going down. This is a pretty clever mechanism and often I get questions on how they work or how to repair them. All this information is based on my Bobby Orr's Power Play machine, but I assume the other machines that use it are similar, but the wire colors may be different.

First off, here's a picture of the assembly:


Click on the image to see a bigger view

It's actually a pretty clever design. Here's how it works. The picture above is what it looks like in the down position. Notice the spring under the post itself, and the "E"-ring on the post shaft, just above the nut. On the left is a relay coil (GA-31-2000) and on the bottom is a solenoid coil (AN-26-1200). When it's time for the post to pop up, the relay coil is energized, which pulls in the metal flap (armature). This disengages the flap from the nylon latch armature. Once disengaged, the spring under the post forces the post to travel to the up position and then power is removed from the relay coil.

When it's time for the post to return to the down position, power is applied to the solenoid coil which pulls the post back down, allowing the flag to engage back into the nylon latch armature. Again, only momentary power is required to pull the post back down. The beauty of this design is that no constant power is required to maintain the post in either position.

Height Adjustment
The "UP" position height is not adjustable. When the post is released, the "E"-ring on the post shaft stops the upward travel when it hits the underside of the mounting bracket. To adjust the height when the post is in the down position, you have to loosen the nut just above the nylon latch armature, then screw the post shaft in or out in order to get the down post in the proper position. You want to adjust it so it's as level with the top side of the playfield as possible. Once properly adjusted, hold the post tight in your hand and then tighten the nut back down. Here's a photo of the post in the up position showing the parts I just talked about.

Wiring
I get this question alot: "How do I wire this thing up?". Power comes off the +43VDC bus and visits each coil on the lug connected to the banded end of the coil's diode. On my Power Play, this is supplied to the relay coil via a pair of 18 AWG yellow wires connected to the coil's lug. A tan wire is also connected to that lug which supplies the 43VDC to the solenoid coil. The control wire for the relay coil comes off the harness and for my Power Play, this is a black 20 AWG wire, with a red tracer. A tan 20 AWG wire also comes off the harness and this is the control wire for the solenoid coil. Here are two photos of my Power Play post assembly showing how it's hooked up:


 

And here's a schematic diagram:

Finally, here's a copy of the post assembly from the Bally Parts Manual, showing all the parts and their corresponding part numbers.



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Created 5/2/10 - Last Modified 5/2/10 - Steve Kulpa Mail Icon Nolensville, TN
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