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All about contactors


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One of the most common questions asked is 'will this contactor be any good'

DeeGor come up with a great idea to create a thread to list all contactor models that people have used.

I decided to do a vid of a couple of contactors I have tried and a Alvin G flipper assemsbly.

Here is a clip from BitPirate on how he modified his contactors to sound a lot better

Would be great if people could post here what contactors they used, makes and models, to give new people a decent short list of what to look for.

If I find the time, I will go through peoples threads and see if I can find part numbers and add them to this first post.

My contactors in the new build will be Sprecher & Schuh CA7-9E-M 24 Volt DC - Nice and loud. Excelent recovery rate and very low current draw.

Alvin G Flipper assembly - http://www.pinball.co/Products/29698-abr-001.aspx - The real deal and very well priced.

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Good idea to have all this in one place. :top:

Here are the ones I have used:

Allen Bradley - 700-CF400Z - ok noise, slow response time.

Allen Bradley - 100-C09D*10 - Has good sound. A little slower and does pull more current than siemens. - my mm said around 400mA though according to spec it should be closer to 270mA

Siemens - 3RT1015-1BB41 - Faster response, able to hook directly to ledwiz - little less loud than the AB 100 (because of the coil size) - Easily modified for louder sound

Siemens - 3TH2022-0BB4 - Simply too quite, doesn't provide enough feedback

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Good idea to have all this in one place. :top:

Here are the ones I have used:

Allen Bradley - 700-CF400Z - ok noise, slow response time.

Allen Bradley - 100-C09D*10 - Has good sound. A little slower and does pull more current than siemens. - my mm said around 400mA though according to spec it should be closer to 270mA

Siemens - 3RT1015-1BB41 - Faster response, able to hook directly to ledwiz - little less loud than the AB 100 (because of the coil size) - Easily modified for louder sound

Siemens - 3TH2022-0BB4 - Simply too quite, doesn't provide enough feedback

"Easily modified for louder sound"..do tell!!!

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Hi guys, so I thought I`d share my experiences with differing models of siemens 24v contactors.

Originally i found some used 3RT1015 1AB02 and 3RT1015 1BB41 and immediately there was a disparity both between the two models and also some were clearly more worn than others.

One of the1BB41`s failed and the coil displaced then stayed open and blew a bank on my wiz (yeah i now have fuses:banghead:).

I then found some NIB 3RT1016 1BB41`s at a good price so got another four and noticed the new ones seemed both quicker and crisper sounding and definately an improvement.

Don't get me wrong i still have some of the used models in my cab but just want to highlight that for me my preference is for the 3RT1016 1BB41 model, and that may be just due to the specs and not its age.

One other observation is that the force of the impact is dependent on how far the mechanism travels within the unit, and dismantling each type internally each model was indeed slightly different.

As for the overall force induced the 3RT1015 1AB02 was almost too loud (only had one) and was removed (make a good knocker).

So to sum up..

3RT1015 1BB41 -least powerful

3RT1016 1BB41 -for me just right

3RT1015 1AB02 -for me too loud and slightly slower due to extra travel of plunger

Anyway here is a video of the 3RT1015 1BB41 on the left and the 3RT1015 1AB02 on the right jumping of the bench, the audio is misleading as to how different the two really are but you get the idea.

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Hi Guys,

Thought I'd post the results I got with my contactors.

I have Siemens 3rt1015-1bb41's as well. After seeing Bitpirates modifications above (great idea!), and having received my 24v power supply I thought I'd try mine to see what they will be like in the cabinet (when finished).

I found a very handy device for making these things louder. Of all things it's a common washer! So easy to fit. Guess I was lucky but I had exactly the perfect size washers to fit in the contactor. They go over the raised point that the spring sits on, but also allows the spring to be put back in place. No need to file back any of the plastic etc.

It worked so well I thought I'd take some photos/video so everyone can see the difference.

Here's the washers I had lying around:

post-51874-142870576074_thumb.jpg

and what it looked like before re-assembling the contactor. Nothing had to be modified, contactor went back together without any force with the spring and washer in place. I can't see that this could in any way put any extra wear on the contactor either.

(click for larger images)

post-51874-142870576076_thumb.jpg

post-51874-142870576079_thumb.jpg

Makes a really nice difference to them too.

Here's the video so you can hear the difference. First youtube vid I've ever made, so be kind :D

Cheers,

Arkay.

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Hi Guys,

Thought I'd post the results I got with my contactors.

I have Siemens 3rt1015-1bb41's as well. After seeing Bitpirates modifications above (great idea!), and having received my 24v power supply I thought I'd try mine to see what they will be like in the cabinet (when finished).

I found a very handy device for making these things louder. Of all things it's a common washer! So easy to fit. Guess I was lucky but I had exactly the perfect size washers to fit in the contactor. They go over the raised point that the spring sits on, but also allows the spring to be put back in place. No need to file back any of the plastic etc.

(modified for length)

Cheers,

Arkay.

Great revision Arkay!

tchiacch, I've seen alot of people using 10amp models so it should be ok. I found a 15amp version for just a few more dollars so thought it couldnt hurt for possible expansion in the future- http://www.ebay.com/itm/120861369269?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

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yes...i also used 18ga wire

How many contactors should I buy and what is the best location to put them in your box? I see some people have 5, 6, 8. I guess you estimate where the flippers and the slingshots are typically. Are contactors only used to simulate sound of flippers and slingshots?

Do certain contactors last longer before failure? Wondering how many extras I might need to buy if they "wear out".

Also, I can see how the contactors work for the different flippers because these are hooked to the flipper buttons, but what about slingshots? Does the software interact with these only for Visual pinball via the ROMs? What about future pinball, do they work with it as well for slingshots? Sorry for the nube type questions as I am just getting into the contactor research.

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I would go with 8. That seems to be standard. The tables are programmed to use them for various in-game actions. You will have 2 flipper contactors and 2 slingshot contactors. Then you will have 4 more. 2 on each side of the cab and 1 in the top back and 1 in the bottom back.

They are a great addition. Once you have the force feedback stuff (contactors, LED, Gear motor) you'll never want to play a table without them.

As far as I know (and I have not used it at all) Future Pinball does not support them.

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i bought 9 (one extra) and use 8.....

i used 2 closer the front for the flippers....then you see in my pic circled in purple i have 3 in the back bar and 1 on other side

i dont know how long they last. Yes the slingshots, flippers and bumpers are controlled throught the rom and through pixelmagics config page and you configure your ledwiz to run your toys..or i have seen people use zebulons board..i used ledwiz....yes only works with VP not FP

http://pinball.pixelmagic.nl/ledwiz/

post-5133-14287057609_thumb.jpg

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i bought 9 (one extra) and use 8.....

i used 2 closer the front for the flippers....then you see in my pic circled in purple i have 3 in the back bar and 1 on other side

i dont know how long they last. Yes the slingshots, flippers and bumpers are controlled throught the rom and through pixelmagics config page and you configure your ledwiz to run your toys..or i have seen people use zebulons board..i used ledwiz....yes only works with VP not FP

http://pinball.pixelmagic.nl/ledwiz/

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16397[/ATTACH]

I would think there would be a way to wire up the main two flipper contactors to always fire with the push of the flipper button. That way, those two contactors would make future pinball work somewhat too. Has anyone done this? I can see the other contactors only used via VP. Thanks for the info, you all are so helpful. Not sure why contactors have to be so pricey and hard to find.

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it will not work in FP at all.....i have not seen anyone doing it..if there was a way i would be all over it......fp has great graphics but i like the contactors so i dont have them on my table

look on ebay for the contactors....i did.got all mine for less than $100

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I would think there would be a way to wire up the main two flipper contactors to always fire with the push of the flipper button. That way, those two contactors would make future pinball work somewhat too. Has anyone done this? I can see the other contactors only used via VP. Thanks for the info, you all are so helpful. Not sure why contactors have to be so pricey and hard to find.

Yes, you can wire up the flipper contactors so that they fire with the button presses and yes they would then work in future pinball. Most folks here do not wire them that way as they would also fire off when in the Hyperpin front end. Your call how you want to wire them.

As for the other contactors, they are generally controlled via an interface to the tables ROMs via an LEDWiz plugin. This leaves FP tables and non-ROM based VP tables without those contactors. However I know for a fact at least that you can script contactor events into the VP tables directly. SO if you want to add them to VP, and are handy with the scripting, you can get them working in all VP tables. Something similar might be available for FP, I don't know.

If you have not purchased contactors yet, many of us (myself included hopefully someday) are using these instead of some/all of the contactors.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/SOL-58/24-VDC-PULL-TYPE-SOLENOID/1.html

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