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Hi Danny and Happy New Years.
Actually Circus does step the volts down to thirty volts. An interesting
little note on the transformer says that if you're below 110 volts on you
incoming power supply to connect to one plug but if you're at 110 to use a
different one. My guess is that some locations may have been a little
too far from the transformer (the one on the telephone pole) back on the
1952 grid and were experiencing some voltage drop in the line. United
probably fixed this by putting an additional lead further down the wrap on
the transformer.
Anyway, Circus sure does make a lot of noise. The mixer is made up of
four steppers. Each only step in one direction. When a coin is
played, the sequence motor on the back door is sent in motion. It
goes so far and then triggers the mixers. It actually stops and waits
for the mixers to do their thing. The mixers are fired by the flasher
motor. The flasher motor is to the left of the Scan Motor. Well
those things start chuggin away. All four steppers up there start
firing their coils. The lights flash. It last about two full
seconds and then something either lights or doesn't. Each of the four
mixers controls a specified feature or features. There is no manual
for this game but there are a lot of good tags through out it. The
mixers each have a tag on the side calling out what they control.
One thing about United I have noticed that Jeff didn't really make
reference too in his book is that they are tight. They just don't
seem to me to give out the features like a Bally. Almost doesn't
matter how many features you put on a Bingo is they don't light....What's
the difference.
Also on Circus, Notice the bell in the top left of the backbox up by the
mixer? Every time the replay register steps up that bell is
rung. Kind of quaint at first but hit five in a line on card with
"Triple Score" lit up and that bell is damn annoying.
Circus also has a separate button to knock the games off. You can
turn it on and off all you want to and the games stay on. There is a
switch on the ball return hole to step the timer back down when a ball goes
into the return hole. Since the game is actually keeping track of how
many balls are in holes, it wont score until it knows all five balls are in
play. Something to keep in mind when you have the glass off and are
trouble shooting.
There is a button you can press to tighten the reflex all the way.
They S/I cards are either printed on some really good poster board or are
printed on balsa wood. The playfield lamps are awesome. I've
wondered why that idea didn't take off? Circus also has a double ball
gate but I figure out why.
The cabinet itself is really sturdy. Untied used a sheet metal catch
pan that quit secure in there. Not a flimsy piece of particle board
laying in it held in place with one little wood screw. Really I think
it's a super-cool little game. I can't get it to spot both sets off
numbers. I think their is something in the circuitry to keep it from
doing so but I don't see it. I can get it to spot one group of three
numbers and it will spot a fourth number too. The fourth number to
get spotted is out of the other group of three numbers. I'm going to
have to play around with it a little more to figure out what's going on
there.
Anyway, I really like the Circus. The last time I was playing with
it, my fingers smelled like ozone for hours afterward.
Alright, well I'm babbling again. Talk to you later Danny.
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