Recently, during a visit to RichG he and I talked about the Powered Flipper. Our discussions sparked some ideas and Rich contributed three really important aspects on the solution explained here.
1 - The use of a dual coil latching relay.
2 - Employing the flipper signals to activate the relay.
3 - The electrical connection to the flipper.
You need one Dual Coil Latching Relay for each flipper - Maplin part number N38AW RELAY LINK (currently £3.73 each - in the UK) and some wire, I used 3 core flat servo extension wire, commonly used for RC servos.
Positioned under the Straight Lane Change section the relay is just about 2mm deeper than the track, so when complete the track won't sit perfectly flat on a surface. This is not an issue for most permanent installations as the table or base can be cut to accommodate the relay. It's not too bad on a flat surface and you won't even notice it on a carpet.
On a flat surface, if you can't live with the Lane changer being raised slightly, then you could arrange the wiring differently to get the relays outside of the track section.
There is a risk! - If the flipper is polarised one way and you then manually pushed it to contact the wrong rail there would be a short. In normal use this is unlikely to happen and would be no worse than a braid short.
The Dummies Guide
This is not difficult to do - you need to use a solder iron - I would rate it with a difficulty level 3/10
The instructions below are based on wiring the Left-Hand Flipper (viewed from the top of the track). In reality you would work on the Right-Hand flipper at the same time.
Cut one length of 3 core flat wire - 150mm
Cut another length 190mm and separate the white lead. Cut the remaining red and black leads to 90mm
Solder the leads of the 150mm flat wire to the relay pins as per the diagram - strip the black lead a little longer to span and link pins 1 and 2 on the relay, solder the white lead to pin 15 and the red lead to pin 16.
Solder the 90mm black lead to pin 6, the red lead to pin 8. Solder the 190mm white lead to pin 4.
Remove the Sensor cover (3 screws) cut 2 slots in the cover and 2 in the matching track piece to create an exit for the wire (see image). Solder the 3 leads to the trigger pads in the order below (also see image). Replace the cover and screws.
LEFT FLIPPER - The trigger wires already under the sensor board are coloured red, white and black. To keep the lead flat, I've soldered it to the sensor board pads in the order white, red and black.
Create notches in the track for the leads to sit in.
Solder the red and black leads from pins 6 and 8 to the rails as indicated in the diagram and image. Tin the Rail Tabs with solder first.
Remover the Flipper cover (5 screws) Note: Once the cover is removed try to avoid turning the track over because the flipper actuating arms and pins will fall out. They can be put back together but it's just a bit fiddly.
Create a notch in the track (see image below) to hold the flipper wire contact.
Carefully, strip the end of the lead by 30mm and coil it into a ball to create a good contactor for the flipper. Place it on top of the flipper and into the notch. Tape the lead to hold it in place. Replace the cover and screws. If you have a multi-meter it's a good idea to check the continuity between the flipper and the pin on the relay.
Fix relay to underside of track
The process for the right-hand flipper is the same but for neatness I've wired to the opposite side of the relay.
RIGHT FLIPPER - The trigger wires already under the sensor board are coloured black, yellow and blue. To keep the lead flat that I'm soldering to the sensor board pads they are in the order black, red and white
Testing so far has proved to be faultless; you can stop on any flipper and just drive away.
However, if you reduce the track voltage to less than 10.5v there is insufficient voltage to switch the relay coils and then when the flipper is triggered an overload is likely.
Enjoy
Keith…
1 - The use of a dual coil latching relay.
2 - Employing the flipper signals to activate the relay.
3 - The electrical connection to the flipper.
You need one Dual Coil Latching Relay for each flipper - Maplin part number N38AW RELAY LINK (currently £3.73 each - in the UK) and some wire, I used 3 core flat servo extension wire, commonly used for RC servos.

Positioned under the Straight Lane Change section the relay is just about 2mm deeper than the track, so when complete the track won't sit perfectly flat on a surface. This is not an issue for most permanent installations as the table or base can be cut to accommodate the relay. It's not too bad on a flat surface and you won't even notice it on a carpet.
On a flat surface, if you can't live with the Lane changer being raised slightly, then you could arrange the wiring differently to get the relays outside of the track section.
There is a risk! - If the flipper is polarised one way and you then manually pushed it to contact the wrong rail there would be a short. In normal use this is unlikely to happen and would be no worse than a braid short.
The Dummies Guide
This is not difficult to do - you need to use a solder iron - I would rate it with a difficulty level 3/10

The instructions below are based on wiring the Left-Hand Flipper (viewed from the top of the track). In reality you would work on the Right-Hand flipper at the same time.
Cut one length of 3 core flat wire - 150mm
Cut another length 190mm and separate the white lead. Cut the remaining red and black leads to 90mm

Solder the leads of the 150mm flat wire to the relay pins as per the diagram - strip the black lead a little longer to span and link pins 1 and 2 on the relay, solder the white lead to pin 15 and the red lead to pin 16.
Solder the 90mm black lead to pin 6, the red lead to pin 8. Solder the 190mm white lead to pin 4.


Remove the Sensor cover (3 screws) cut 2 slots in the cover and 2 in the matching track piece to create an exit for the wire (see image). Solder the 3 leads to the trigger pads in the order below (also see image). Replace the cover and screws.

LEFT FLIPPER - The trigger wires already under the sensor board are coloured red, white and black. To keep the lead flat, I've soldered it to the sensor board pads in the order white, red and black.

Create notches in the track for the leads to sit in.

Solder the red and black leads from pins 6 and 8 to the rails as indicated in the diagram and image. Tin the Rail Tabs with solder first.

Remover the Flipper cover (5 screws) Note: Once the cover is removed try to avoid turning the track over because the flipper actuating arms and pins will fall out. They can be put back together but it's just a bit fiddly.
Create a notch in the track (see image below) to hold the flipper wire contact.

Carefully, strip the end of the lead by 30mm and coil it into a ball to create a good contactor for the flipper. Place it on top of the flipper and into the notch. Tape the lead to hold it in place. Replace the cover and screws. If you have a multi-meter it's a good idea to check the continuity between the flipper and the pin on the relay.

Fix relay to underside of track



The process for the right-hand flipper is the same but for neatness I've wired to the opposite side of the relay.
RIGHT FLIPPER - The trigger wires already under the sensor board are coloured black, yellow and blue. To keep the lead flat that I'm soldering to the sensor board pads they are in the order black, red and white

Testing so far has proved to be faultless; you can stop on any flipper and just drive away.
However, if you reduce the track voltage to less than 10.5v there is insufficient voltage to switch the relay coils and then when the flipper is triggered an overload is likely.
Enjoy

Keith…