Design: John Buras, Shing Lam · Art: Terry Doerzaph
Black Hole has nothing to do with the 1979 Disney film. The idea came from outside Gottlieb. Joe Cicak saw how empty a solid-state cabinet was under the playfield, and after an episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos he and Jerry Yingst built a prototype with a second playfield underneath. Gottlieb bought it, and the 1981 game was the first with a lower playfield seen through a window in the main one, sloping away from the player. The mirrored backglass has a spinning spiral disc, and a Votrax chip does the robot voice. It topped Play Meter's earnings poll by December 1981, though operators found it hard to keep running. 8,774 were made. Buy it for the lower playfield, and check that the ball comes back up every time.
Export version with no speech and a simpler backglassEclipse, a single-level version with different art, also sold as a conversion kit
6-digit numeric score displays, plus a bonus display in the playfield
Production
8,774 units
Cabinet
wide-body, lower playfield under a window, spinning-disc backglass
Also listed as
Gottlieb Black Hole
Bench check
Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home
Boards and batteries
System 80 CPU boards came with a rechargeable 3.6 V NiCad battery soldered on, and the square Data Sentry pack has the worst reputation as a board killer. Ask to see the CPU board. Good looks like the battery gone, replaced by a remote pack, a memory capacitor or a coin cell with a blocking diode, and clean card-edge contacts.
Display
The scores are on 6-digit numeric displays, and the lower playfield bonus shows on an extra display mounted in the playfield. Ask for a video with the game running. Every digit should light, including the playfield bonus display.
Playfield
The lower playfield sits under a blue window in the main playfield and slopes away from you, with its flippers at the backbox end. The joint between the window and the wood was the hard part of the design, so ask for photos of the window edges and the lower playfield and look for lifting or cracking there.
Toys and mechs
A rotating metal coil carries the ball down to the lower playfield, and a solenoid kicks drained balls back up a tube to the main playfield. Ask for a video of a ball going down and coming back. It should return every time without a second kick.
Cabinet and art
The mirrored backglass has a motor-driven spinning spiral disc ringed by flashing lights, and export games got a simpler glass without it. Ask for a video of the backbox in attract mode. The disc should turn and the mirror finish should be intact.
Moving it
It's a wide-body with a longer-than-usual playfield, so it's bigger than a standard game of its day. Measure your doorways, then take the legs and backbox off to move it.
Parts and code
Gottlieb issued a service bulletin for Black Hole that changes a 10K pullup resistor to 4.7K, and the lower playfield lamps are an exception to the usual 6 V bulb rule. Ask whether the bulletin has been done. A tech who knows System 80 will know both.
Should come with it
Original spinning-disc backglass (non-export)
Coin door keys and backbox key
Manual and schematics
Check the listing photos against these lists, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. A missing toy, glass or key should come off the price.
What to check
Operators found Black Hole hard to maintain even when new. The usual jobs are the lower playfield ball return, the window joint, and System 80 battery damage, connectors and grounds.
01Battery: Ask for a photo of the CPU board. The NiCad battery should be gone or relocated, with no corrosion.
02Lower playfield: Ask for a video of a ball dropping to the lower playfield and draining back. It should come up the tube on the first kick.
03Window: Look closely at the blue window in the photos. Its edges should sit flat with no cracks or lifting wood.
04Displays: Ask for a video of the game running. Every score digit and the playfield bonus display should light.
05Backglass: Ask for a video of the backbox in attract mode. The spiral disc should spin and the mirror should be clean.
06Speech: Ask the seller to start a game with the sound up. You should hear the robot voice on a non-export game.
07Multiball: Ask whether multiball works. Balls should lock on both levels and release together.
08Moving it: Measure your doorways before you pay. It's a wide-body with a long cabinet.
We haven’t been through this game’s listings yet. Search eBay and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a video of a full game, a photo of the CPU board and photos of the playfield in good light, and ask what’s been replaced. Pass on any seller who won’t answer.