Project "The Black Knight Rises" - Introduction

A few years back, around 2014, I came across a scavenged Williams Black Knight playfield for sale.  Many of the mechanical assemblies had been removed, and the wiring harnesses were cut and ruined, but the playfield itself was in okay shape, plus it had most of the hard to find game specific bits like rails, ramps, scoops, and the plastics.

This Black Knight, destined for the scrap heap, needs help.

I immediately realized that this was a perfect candidate for not just restoration, but a Pinball Chameleon upgrade, adding advanced sound, enhanced multi-ball, full DMD animations, light shows, an LCD monitor backglass, customize-able game rules, and more.  This is the Modern Firepower concept, but now applied to resurrecting a trashed playfield from the junkyard.

Black Knight also presented some new features for me to test and implement in my code.  Drop Targets, Magna-Save, a 3-ball Ball Lock, and four flippers.  Actually, my code already has partial support for these features, though a few tweaks would be necessary to tie them into the game rules.  For example, the Magna-Save would function just like a regular flipper, only the game would now have to disable and enable them as part of normal game-play, plus implement a timed limit on their use.

Parts that I would replace anyway, like the flippers, were already missing from this neglected playfield, so I wasn't paying for parts I wouldn't be able to use.  Plus, since I would completely rewire the entire board to connect it to my own electronics, a damaged wiring harness didn't matter one bit.

Trashed harnesses and missing assemblies... someone tried to murder this Black Knight.

One man's trash is this man's new pinball machine.

I was able to score the playfield for $200.

Another reason I jumped at this Black Knight is that, eons ago when I was first researching how pinball machines work, my buddy Troy scored a nearly worthless Black Knight playfield for about $50.  Though it was not salvageable, that playfield revealed many pinball secrets, from simple things like the dimensions of the wood side-rails, and how pop bumpers, flippers and kickers work.  Having tangible parts that I could inspect and measure, even if they didn't actually work, was game changing for someone who had never been exposed to pinball machines before.

Eventually I tossed that first Black Knight, but not before salvaging the ramps and plastics.

The remains of that first Black Knight playfield:  some metal ramps and rails, a spinner and siderail piece.

Various plastics from that first Black Knight.

Life then got busy, so this playfield has been kicking around for a few years, just gathering dust and generally being in the way.  Now, a mere month away from The Southern Fried Gameroom Expo 2017, I've decided to try the impossible: a playfield restoration and upgrade to the Chameleon Pinball Engine.

Read on to see how I prepped for the project...


 Mechanical Assemblies:

Before starting the Black Knight playfield restoration, I had to make a full account of what parts were needed to complete the playfield.

I started with the mechanical assemblies, and noted the following were missing:

• All 4 flipper assemblies
• The Lower Left 3-Bank Drop Target assembly
• The solenoid and bracket for the Ball Ramp Thrower
• The solenoid and bracket for the Multi-Ball Release
• The entire assembly for the Lower Eject Hole
• The solenoids and brackets for both Kickers

I wasn't kidding when I said the board had been scavenged.  The list of what was still on the board was shorter than what was missing or damaged.

On the bright side, I was actually quite happy that all four flipper assemblies were missing, as the original units from 1980 are not compatible with my Chameleon IO Controller.  Rather, the Williams flippers from the 1987-1991 era, which include a built-in low power hold mode connected to the End-Of-Stroke (EOS) switch, allow for simply controlling the flipper like a light switch, eliminating the need for any kind of external PWM or voltage control circuitry.

The 3 remaining drop target assemblies all needed attention, as their various springs  were worn out, and some of the metal brackets were bent and damaged, but it all appeared fixable.  More concerning was the prospect of finding the missing 4th drop target assembly...

The Jet Bumper seemed a little rough, and I decided it could use replacing.  The two remaining ejector assemblies were also pretty bent up.  No surprise that these parts hadn't been scavenged.

At Pinball Life I was able to find the needed flippers and a jet bumper, and the three missing solenoid brackets.  I also picked up a couple Data East slingshot assemblies to fix the two kickers - I had used these on the Modern Firepower build, and really appreciated the all-in-one construction and good value.

The missing drop target assembly really turned into a near showstopper.  I couldn't locate an original assembly anywhere.  With a full schematic of the assembly, including part numbers, I then set about trying to find the individual pieces so I could assemble may own.  I could find everything except for four parts, most notably the main mounting bracket.  I thought briefly about making the missing parts myself using my 3D printer and CNC router, but realized that the effort to do so would be too much for my 1-month timeline.

Instead, I found an Alvin G 3-Bank Drop Target assembly on Pinball Life, and for only $65 I decided to take a gamble and use it as a temporary solution.

I was able get three new ejector assemblies from Marco Specialties.  These things are really expensive at $27 each, especially since they don't include the solenoid and its mounting bracket.  I much prefer the Data East design that is simply a solenoid angled at 30 degrees which directly hits the ball to eject it, eliminating the complex and expensive mechanical assembly used on these old games.  However, a quick examination of the underside of the playfield made it obvious that these units could not be retrofitted to the Black Knight design.

Also from Marco Specialties I picked up 6 new solenoids to replace the 3 missing units plus the 37 year old originals in the 3 drop targets, a coil sleeve kit, and new springs for the drop targets.

The costs added up pretty quickly:

• 4 Williams Flippers assemblies with coils and bats - $192
• 1 Williams Jet Bumper assembly with coil - $47
• 1 Alving G Drop Target assembly with coil and switches - $65
• 2 Data East Slingshot/Kicker assemblies with coils and switches - $90
• 3 Solenoid Brackets and Coil Stops - $24
• 3 Williams Ejector Assemblies - $81
• 6 SA-23-750-DC coils (for drop targets and ejector assemblies) - $66
• Black Knight Coil Sleeve Kit - $13
• Replacement Springs for the Drop Targets - $22

The final mechanical assembly repair and replacement cost came to $580.


Switches:

Next came a thorough examination of the switches.  This 1980 game primarily used leaf switches, though I found micro-switches in the ball trough and upper ball lock (appears to have been an official upgrade, either at the factory or retrofitted later).  Most of the switches looked in good shape, though in obvious need of cleaning.

Unfortunately, all 9 leaf switches on the remaining drop targets were bent beyond recognition and needed replacement.  Worse, replacements are nowhere to be found.  In desperation, I found I could make my own using components from Steve Young's Pinball Resource, though for the moment I decided to hold off.  Instead, I will investigate converting these drop targets to micro-switches, utilizing 3D printed mounting brackets of my own design.

One switch was completely missing, the "Right Ramp Rollunder" as the documentation describes the switch.  It took a while, but I finally figured out from examining photographs online that the missing components were a wire gate linked to a spinner type leaf switch.  I was able to find the missing gate and a replacement leaf switch at Marco Specialties, making me very happy I didn't have to bend my own wire gate.

I found one additional switch in need of repair, the Playfield Tilt switch.  Since I will have a plumb-bob tilt switch in the cabinet, I don't see any benefit of the playfield tilt switch for home use, so I plan to remove it.  Also, I added up the total number of playfield switches and came to 32 total switches without the playfield tilt switch.  While the Chameleon IO Controller can easily handle up to 56 switches, a separate mini wiring harness is needed for each group of 8 switches, so wiring up the playfield tilt switch would have required a 5th wiring harness.  To save a few bucks, and keep the wiring a bit cleaner, eliminating the playfield tilt switch was an easy decision to make.

At this time, I didn't electrically test any switches.  After all the wiring is cut away and the switches removed from the playfield for restoration, I will test each separately and repair or replace as necessary.

• Wire Gate, Spinner Actuator Wireform, and Swinging Target Switch - $15
• 9 Drop Target Switches - $60 (for microswitches and 3D printed mounts)

The switch replacement cost came to $75, which seems a bit steep for 10 switches.


Plastics:

With two different Black Knight playfields having come through the house, I was pretty confident I had all the platics to make at least one complete game.

Now, with a more detailed eye, I laid out and examined all of the plastics.  Though I had lots of duplicates, I discovered that two were still missing:  the left kicker and the lower ball lock were not to be found.

Looking online, I was able to find 1 of them (for a combined $30!), or a brand new and complete plastics set for $129 at Planetary Pinball.  I decided the upgrade to new plastics was worth it, both in time saved reconditioning the old plastics, and in final appearance.  Plus, this seemed to be one of the few (or only) new sets still available, and I didn't want to risk it selling out if I didn't act now.

The pop bumper cap was also missing, and I was able to score a reproduction unit, with the correct markings, for $7, also at Planetary Pinball.

I also decided to replace all of the inserts in the playfield, as they were badly faded and looked horrible.  Now or never, I figured.  Pinball Life had everything I needed.

• Black Knight Playfield Plastic Set - $129
• Black Knight Pop Bumper Cap - $7
• New Playfield Inserts -  $28

The final plastics repair and replacement cost came to $164.


Posts and Rubber Rings:

It's pretty typical to replace all of the rubber rings when shopping a playfield, and this was no exception.  I was able to find a kit for Black Knight at Marco Specialties for $17.

Most of the red concentric fin plastic posts were present and undamaged - I only noted two missing posts.  While I could have spent time cleaning the red plastic posts, again I felt my time on this project was best spent elsewhere, so I picked up 44 new posts from Marco Specialties.  While I was there, I also picked up 6 new metal posts for a cosmetic upgrade, shiny new post screws, and chromed metal acorn nuts.

• Black Knight Rubber Ring Kit - $17
• 44 Red Plastic Concentric Fin Posts- $32
• 6 Metal Post Studs - $14
• Various Post Screws and Studs - $50

The final post and rubber ring replace cost came to $113.


Rails, Ramps and Ball Guides:

Luckily, I not only had every single rail and ramp, I had 3 spare ramps and 2 spare rails.  I would be able to take the best looking parts for my restoration, and could sell the extras later.

Cost:  $0.  Finally.

Decals:
As part of the restoration, I will completely disassemble, clean, touch-up, and clear coat the playfield.  For the touch-up portion, from Bay Area Amusements I picked up the Black Knight Insert Decal Set (non-laminated) to give new life to the faded text on the playfield.

While I was there, I also picked up new laminated drop target decals, spinner decals, and Magna-Save When Lit decals to cover the bare wood spots on the playfield.  Since my apron was in rough shape, showing both rust and some paint spatter on it, a Black Knight Apron decal set also found its way into my cart.

• Black Knight Insert Decal Set (non-laminated) - $39
• Black Knight Magna-Save Decals (laminated) - $11
• Black Knight Drop Target Decals (12, laminated) - $12
• Black Knight Spinner Decals (non-laminated???) - $6
• Black Knight Apron Decal Set (5 piece) - $35

The final decal costs rang up at $103.


Lighting:

This 37 year old, used and abused playfield had obviously never been the recipient of an LED upgrade, which is a must for a Chameleon IO Controller upgrade.  The higher power requirements of incandescent bulbs is just too high for the Chameleon IO Controller to handle.  Even more important, the Chameleon IO Controller was designed for modern LED bulbs, utilizing DC instead of AC, has no ghosting issues, and can even handle PWM and RGB LED's.

For insert lighting, I've designed my own Chameleon ChameLED all-in-one PCB based lighting assemblies.  I'll simply remove all the underfield bayonet style bulb holders and replace them with the ChameLED's.

For other areas, like the pop bumper, GI lighting, and kickers, which all require a classical bulb shape to get proper lighting, I will re-use the existing bayonet bulb sockets and replace the bulbs with Cointaker's super bright "44 47 Super 5" LED bulbs, which have 5 LED's arranged to provide complete omni-directional coverage just like a classic incandescent.

All bulbs will be wired up to my Chameleon IO Controller.

• 20 "44 47 Super 5" LED Bulbs (various colors) - $34.
• 46 ChameLED's - $46

Total LED lighting  upgrade cost:  $80.


Cleanup and Clear Coating:

This cost is a little hard to determine.  Using various products (Naptha, Novus, Magic Eraser, PPG Omni MC161 High Solids Urethane) the initial purchase cost is over $200, but these products will be be sufficient for many more playfield restorations.

For lack of a hard number, I'll just guess about $50 in cleaning and painting supplies.


Adding It All Up:

So what is the final tally to bring this Black Knight playfield back from the edge of death, and upgrade it for use with my Chameleon Pinball Engine software and Chameleon IO Controller / Chameleon Power Drivers hardware?

• Playfield - $200
• Mechanical Assemblies - $580
• Switches - $75
• Plastics - $164
• Posts and Rubber Rings - $113
• Ramps, Rails and Ball Guides - $0
• Decals - $103
• Lighting - $80
• Cleanup and Clear Coating - $50

Total Cost:  $1365

This is just the playfield expense.  Considering a fully shopped Black Knight machine in excellent condition can go for $7000, I think $1300 is fair.

Missing from this cost is the electronics (Windows PC + Chameleon Pinball Engine software, Chameleon IO Controller, Chameleon Power Drivers), and the cost of the cabinet and power supplies.