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Retro Pizza Zone

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Current Admins
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VJ / VJ
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Matt The Franchize / Matt
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Nace / Brandon
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RetroGirl / Cindy


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Current Moderators
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CavitySam / Andrea
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Rockafirecheese / Jacob
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80sgirl / Stacy
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avengerchucke / Jack (T)
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CECWestCoast / Isaiah (T)
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Current Number of Members
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Admins – 4
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Moderators – 5
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Members – 871
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Total Members - 880



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Please give a special thanks to our TESTERS for helping us set up the forums, and find any issues we had to fix! Without them we wouldn’t have this open for you!
Thanks to our special helper on this large scale project, whom of which without their help, this wouldn't be possible!
And of course, THANKS TO EVERYONE!!

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New announcements are constantly released! Make sure you always check the Announcements forum for new topics. You'll get your notices there, and updates of anything going on. In addition to that, we're always trying new things, which is why the forum always gets tweaked. If you have suggestions, be sure to submit them in the Suggestions forum!

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Remember to check 'The Pizza Office' section of the forum (or contact an Admin or Mod) about the rules, or if you have any questions and/or suggestions!

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If you wish to have your name changed, please request a Change of Username from your Profile.


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If you need any help, be sure to contact ANYONE on the staff team, via PM! You can find the staff names on the left side scroller!!

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We would like to extend a very big Congratulations to our 2 newest mods, Jack and Isaiah!

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10/10/14
The GRAND "RE"-Opening of the forum is TODAY!! October 10th! This new and inviting atmosphere was recreated with a cool new look for all users, past/present/future to touch back with their old roots!! Hope you like it here, at the RETRO PIZZA ZONE!!

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2/8/15
There's always new things happening on the forums, and y'all are helping it bloom faster than a flower in Spring! Don't forget to check out your favorite topics, and continue the conversations!

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--/--/15
WE HAD A BLAST setting this up for you all! On the center scroller, you see us thanking everyone on the staff team, but we should be thanking you! THE FANS! You inspired us to touch back to our roots, with a LARGER "play area", with more to talk about, more to do, and more people to see! We surely hope you enjoy it here, and even share about this new era!

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8/8/15
As we aim to make your experience more enjoyable, we're always trying out new things!! In the near future, there MIGHT be some new things coming to light, as we help to make this place what it should be! As well, I'm marking this day as the day some updates happened!! XD The Member scroller has been updated, and things are in the works!!

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4/1/16
THIS IS MY FORUM, AND I'M TAKING OVER, WITH AS MUCH CHEESE AS I WANT!! I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY YOUR STAY, HERE ON MY FORUM!!! CHEESE!! CHEESE!! CHEESE!!

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4/1/16
We got the forums back, and it's been a very eventful day!! We think Rick needs a bit of a break though, and during that time, be sure to check out the new theme!!

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2/23/17
Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to announce that we've updated a few things! Feel free to extend a congratulations to our new mods, and continue to have fun!

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Things I learned working on my bot
Topic Started: Aug 24 2015, 09:11 PM (806 Views)
80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
Thought it would be a good idea to start a separate thread sharing restoration tips, ideas and things I discovered while working on Chuck. If you're working on a bot and you stumble across anything helpful, feel free to add it here.

1.) CRC Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner is like magic for cleaning sluggish or stuck valves:

Posted Image

I used it on Chuck's solenoid valves and stuck mouth valve. It's intended to clean the mass air flow sensor in cars. MAF sensors experience the same type of contaminates as pneumatic valves like dirt, vaporized oil and moisture. It's available at just about any auto parts or large hardware store for about $7 a can. I think even Wal-Mart carries it. Disassemble the valve as much as you can, spray it on the parts, let them dry for a few minutes and reassemble. It's that easy. Dries with no residue and doesn't harm metal, rubber or plastic. Also works great on inaccessible areas of the valve manifold.

2.) Gunk engine cleaner is good for removing those years of nasty grease buildup. Also safe on rubber and plastics. I used the spray bottle rather than the foam because it's easier to control indoors and you don't need to hose off the bot afterward. Spay it on a rag or paper towel and let it sit for a few minutes. Plus it smells nice. He smelled like oranges for days!

3.) Flyback diodes are good to have when using a 3rd party controller. I was having a problem with Chuck's controller locking up randomly. Turned out the issue was caused by a voltage spike that travels back to the controller when the electromagnetic field in the solenoid collapses. A flyback diode provides an alternate path for the spike and only allows electricity to travel one way, preventing it from reaching the controller. I presume the original computers have flyback protection built into the character cards, but if you're using a modern controller without protection it's a good idea to have these. I used 1N4007 diodes I bought off ebay:

Posted Image

Notice the silver band on the right side in the image? That side MUST go to the POSITIVE connection. POLARITY IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! I put one in backward and it damaged the controller! I had to send it in for repairs!

They are wired in parallel to the solenoids. Here is how I wired them to Chuck's board:

Posted Image

This is the right way to do it. No more freezing.
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ConnorL
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Very interesting, will it affect Mac Valves? I haven't thought about the solenoid spiking back. Could the amps be too high or low?
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80sgirl
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Electroidal Animal Doctor
ConnorL
Aug 24 2015, 11:42 PM
Very interesting, will it affect Mac Valves? I haven't thought about the solenoid spiking back. Could the amps be too high or low?
Flyback affects all solenoids because it is inherent in their design as electromagnets but some solenoids have diodes built-in to handle the voltage spike. These don't and in the original computer system the problem was either accounted for or handled somewhere else. Not sure about Mac valves.

If you want to know more about why the problem occurs, this is a good source of information that's easy to understand:

http://www.douglaskrantz.com/Flyback_Diode.html
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