Chapter 3:
The inside mechanisms
Let's take a look inside. First of all. I found amongst other paperwork, still inside the cash box, the game schematics. There was also the usual warranty card with a pre-printed "Name of equipment: Boot-A-Ball". I didn't ask when I wrote to Williams/Bally if they still have an archive of these warranty cards. Maybe someone sent a card for this game. Perhaps. if Roger Sharpe is reading this he can help. I know that usually very few people complete and mail these cards, so it's very unlikely they received cards from owners of low production games. But who knows? More noticeable are the two transformers (see picture #1 in the section below). It looks like the circuitry is divided into three sections; illumination (6v) and mechanism (12v and 50v) using the two transformers. Other parts which are common to normal pinballs are the score motor, relays, a bell, etc. There is also a very noisy buzzer (the first thing that I disconnected) and a strange timer unit. Remember that it's a timed game. It works in a similar way to the more usual stepping units, except the step-up coil has been replaced with a motor. This slowly actuates the step-up arm which is reset by the normal reset coil. It's possible to adjust the length of time of a game by moving a screw into different holes, in the same way as you adjust the maximum number of credits in a normal credit unit. The length of play can be varied from 3 minutes up to 8 minutes. During the game the player has no idea of how much time has passed. When only ten seconds playing time remains a lamp on the playfield lights and the buzzer sounds for the rest of the game. One other thing was noticeable, the absence of any tilt mechanism, apart from the usual slam switch which prevents abuse of the coin door. To tell the truth, as the game is timed and there isn't anything to gain, replays, etc the tilt is effectively redundant anyway. However, I still find its absence strange, particularly when you consider that it was installed in the first Space Invader video games.
A word about the coin mechs; usually in Italy, American pinballs were set to operate with only one, or occasionally two, coin chutes. This was because at that time only the 50 lira and 100 lira coins were available to post credits. It was common to see near the relay bank some loose wires for a non-existent third chute relay. In Boot-A-Ball I didn't find this arrangement; and in the schematic there is only one coin chute shown. This leads me to believe that the game was designed to operate with only one coin chute. The mech that was installed was for 50 lira. Inside, a unit similar to a score unit permitted adjustment for allowing two coins to post one credit.