Computer and Electronic Repair image

 

Centaur Photo And Video Gallery

Well it took a while to complete, but here it is, my very own Bally Centaur pinball machine. Serial number ECE2305, one of only 3700 made. Manufactured circa 1981, it is one of only two pinball machines (Centaur and Centaur II) to feature an echo on the sound; using the often missing "Say it again"  board. These are taken out of the machine and bypassed as the aptly named SAD4096 i.c. has a nasty habit of dying. This i.c. is now as rare as rocking horse doo doo, as any that weren't in the "s-i-a" boards were used up by musicians in their echo effects pedals and amplifiers. I've managed to get my board going using an MN3205 (analogue BBD i.c.) and some ancillary parts, see Repairing the SIA board.

The machine's restoration details are too many to go into but if you've got the time, and money for parts, pinball machines make great projects, especially as you have hours of fun playing them when they're finished. My thanks go out to fellow Centaur owners Grant Levey (Australia) and Bill Girardot (Canada) for their time and help in supplying pictures to complete the artwork .....cheers guys.

 


 

 

In the beginning....

 
 

Backbox

 
 

Centaur cabinet

 
 

Coin door

 
 

Playfield artwork

 
 

Rectifier board

 
 

Regulator board

 
 

Outhole kicker

 
 

Solenoid assembly

 
 

Squawk and talk board

 
 

Playfield underside

 
 

Playfield refit

 
 

Playfield unlit

 
 

Playfield lit

 
 

Finished playfield

 
 

....At the end.

 
 
 
 
 

 

Say It Again Board

Solenoid operation

Feature mode

"Say it again" operation Solenoid operation Feature mode

 

More information on the Centaur machine can be found at http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=476
Centaur in acton
 
Pinball 2: The previously repaired pinball that got me hooked
Pinball 3: How I repaired my "Say-it-again" board