What is the proper incline for a Black Knight?

[skbrothers]

Just got my BK and see that there is no bubble level. Have to go buy
an inclinometer (spelling) today.

What incline level do I need to set my playfield at?

Thanks!

[pinfun]

Slope is critical on this game.Had a couple and they are great
players!.Had a fun 3 week match with son in law,then had to move the
pin .When he next played it heasked "whats wrong, its not fun
anymore".Slope had changed too shallow.
Seems to me I had 11 degrees on the glass.Just make sure you can make
the left ramp shot and ajust outlanes to be "fair".Yes thats right,I
drilled holes and changed the outlane wire guides.You may not want to
do this on a collector pin ,but fun is why I play!
steve

[TheKorn]

Post by pinfun
Slope is critical on this game.Had a couple and they are great
players!.Had a fun 3 week match with son in law,then had to move the
pin .When he next played it heasked "whats wrong, its not fun
anymore".Slope had changed too shallow.
Seems to me I had 11 degrees on the glass.Just make sure you can make
the left ramp shot and ajust outlanes to be "fair".Yes thats right,I
drilled holes and changed the outlane wire guides.You may not want to
do this on a collector pin ,but fun is why I play!
steve

slope on the glass means --==>nothing<==--. you may as well measure the
incline of the floor; it means about as much!

Measure the incline on the *field*! Proper incline is roughly 6.3
degrees, +/- a few tenths to taste.

(And while you're there, measure left-right level both on the bottom
field and the top field! Again, if the glass is level left-right it
means >>NOTHING<<!)

[pinfun]

Sorry but gotta disagree with the big K.PF slope stays the same in
relation to pf glass slope.
You can play your game and ajust the feet to get your best gameplay
with glass on.Then measure your slope on the glass.If you move the pin
to another room just measure the the glass slope.Move to another house
just measure the glass.
I think Ks point is a common measurement must be taken at the same
common area/condition.Problem is ,I think many home pin owners may
consider the glass the PF slope.Ajusting gameplay with glass on is more
convienent .NASA would take glass off,measure,glass on play,glass off
measure,glass on play,then blow up on reentry.
I do have a question for Korn .Where does that "roughly" 6.3 degree
slope come from?
Not saying its wrong,I may agree its the best slope .just wondering if
its a personal preference or factory spec.?

[s***@excite.com]

Factory spec is "between 6 and 7 degrees measured on the playfield
itself".... in your case, the glass is fine for what you're doing.

Me? I crank my machines up as high as I can stand em. Black Knight is
completely brutal the higher you raise it, and more fun for it. I'll
let your drilling the holes in your PF slide, it's your machine.
(Although I think that's why magna save is there, to help make up for
the large outlanes.)

I never use the playfield bubble level on my machines that have it
anyway, I just set em for the speed I like (which apparently is more
than the recommend 7 degrees on some machines..... I start adjustment
at 3" leveler in the back just peeking through the leg then move down
from there..... sometimes....)

[frenchy]

I don't use any bubble either, just do it by eye, feel, see if the ball
goes straight down the middle when rolled, see if I'm getting too many
drains, etc. Also have my BK all the way up in back and all the way in
in front.

[TheKorn]

Post by pinfun
Sorry but gotta disagree with the big K.PF slope stays the same in
relation to pf glass slope.

Right, but it's not always consistent game to game. Hence, it really
doesn't mean *anything*. I.E. by telling the guy to put his game at 11
degrees, you're not doing him any favors, since that could be more or
less pitch than his game would need to play roughly correct.

Post by pinfun
You can play your game and ajust the feet to get your best gameplay
with glass on.Then measure your slope on the glass.If you move the pin
to another room just measure the the glass slope.Move to another house
just measure the glass.

That method *does* *not* *work* for playfield level, since many pinball
cabinets don't have the playfield actually sit entirely square inside the
cabinet. (I have two cabinets that read perfectly level left/right on
the playfield, while reading perfectly NOT level on the glass!) You
might not be able to tell, but off level left-right (especially if it's
only off level in the front) drives me *bonkers*.

Measuring pitch and level with the glass on satisfies one thing, and one
thing only: CONVENIENCE. It's neither precise nor accurate. If you're
going to do a crappy job of pitching and leveling your game, *why*
*bother* with it at all!?? Just eyeball it and be done with it; it's far
faster than using a level and inclinometer badly!

Post by pinfun
I think Ks point is a common measurement must be taken at the same
common area/condition.

Well, that's part of the problem... If you want to be sure you're
playing your game with the same pitch as another game, the *only* way to
make sure is to actually measure the playfield's pitch. The glass pitch
may, or may not, be the same.

Post by pinfun
Problem is ,I think many home pin owners may consider the glass the PF
slope.

My reaction to that would be let's educate them, not pander to their
ignorance. (I know that sounds harsh, but *come on!!*)

Post by pinfun
I do have a question for Korn .Where does that "roughly" 6.3 degree
slope come from?

It's the manufacturers' recommendation that holds true for most SS games.
I say 'roughly' because there is some slop in there for adjustment due to
difficulty.

If you take WMS's tru-pitch levels, they have multiple stripe marks going
from (IIRC) 6.0 to 7.0 degrees, with 6.3 being the darkest one.

6.3 is also *really* easy to hit if you have a 9" torpedo level. Google
back for a post I wrote a few years ago on how to do that. :)

[PJPins]

There is no proper angle. Thats partly the reason the leg levelers are
adjustable. Set it up for however you like it to play, fast/challenging
or slow/easy. If your flippers are worn out and cant make the ball up
the left ramp then set it lower. All depends but theres no set angle.

PJ

[pinfun]

Points taken.Question ..how do you level left to right?seems to me you
would have to measure from the actual top of plywood because any
(bottom of sling to bottom of sling)may not be how the plywood pf is
mounted in the game to be square.Where do you set your level?
ME ,of course I just slide the old torpedo up tight to the top
glasstrim,then back down to the lock bar .Any level L-R has to be
square
with PF.Even the apron may not sit the same as the PF.

[TheKorn]

Post by pinfun
Points taken.Question ..how do you level left to right?

Sort of an aquired skill. :) In general, the slings tend to be drilled at
the same height, so if you place the level at the same position between
each sling, then you should get a pretty good reading. (There you pretty
much have to eyeball it to see if you're at the same position.)

The top of the playfield can be trickier; there it's best effort. A lot of
times you're constrained by the playfield itself. (But by the flippers is
where it's way more critical anyway.)

Obviously, the "acid" test is to take a ball and put it as high up the
field as you can go, and see if it veers to one side or another.