Now that I got my early solid state pin working (installed an Alltek MPU, fired right up), I'm starting the process of figuring how I want to do the artwork. I'm going to start with the cabinet and backglass first, so it actually starts looking like a theme (and because the playfield is going to take the longest, and I don't want to lose steam). Last night I started working on it, and my wife asked what I was doing. I was tracing an image to do a 3-layer mask for the cabinet artwork, and she said "yea but both the cabinet artwork and backglass have the same band members. Could you include both versions of the band for each piece of artwork?". I said "sure, this is your pinball afterall". Felt good to include her on something, especially something I'm so passionate about. So we started google image searching for some good images.
Since I'm back to photo artwork (not mask layers), I can no longer just spray it. I thought about maybe just going the vinyl route, but I had another idea (I've done this in the past on other projects). If you print a good image, then apply it to wood using elmer's glue, not only will it stick really well, it will seal itself in a transparent coating (If you use a nice rubber roller, it will give a much cleaner even layer than a brush, plus you'll be less apt to tear the paper while it's wet). I think I'm gonna try this technique to see how it works.
For the backglass, I found a good shot of them, but I cropped out the background and photoshopped a stage behind them. I also used a program called "rasterbator" (yes, it's a real program, and it's not dirty). It will take an image, and do a tile print (so you can print a large format photo with a regular 8.5x11 printer). It does create dots so it will affect the image quality, but it's fine for a preview. Also because it works by number of sheets, you have to allow for it. So for instance, since my backglass width is 28.5", I have to have some gap on each side to allow for the 4 pages (8.5 x 4 = 34"). That way when it prints, it will be 1:1 scale. My printer ran out of ink this morning so it started looking like crap, but you get the gist of it:
Anyway, the beauty now is I can figure out where the displays and bulb items like player, TILT, MATCH will show up on the artwork. Also since old machines like this are so simple, I'm not against completely re-laying out the board (I.E. cut new piece of wood, cut out holes for the display locations, cut holes for the general illumination, move the locations for TILT/MATCH). I'd rather not have a display overlapping one of their faces.
Here's what the side cabinet artwork will be:
And here's what will be on the sides of the backbox will look like:
Doesn't that just have a great sound to it? It's like "earthshaker", "whirlwind", classic Williams titles.
Have I made even a single cut of wood? Of course not. Do I have a pretty good idea of size? Absolutely. I'm picking standard williams widebody (TZ for example). 23" wide by 46" long. My biggest concern is making sure I can buy playfield glass.
One other thing I'm doing away with, the shooter lane. This has been around since before flippers and I think it's days are done at this point. Back then, the point of this lane was to give a lane for the ball to return to the top of the playfield, where gravity took over. Now that you have very few skillshots (and plunger controlled digitally), this lane seems outdated. Know what else? It sucks up a good 1-1/2" of precious playfield space. That's nearly the equivalent of the difference between standard and widebody pins. How do I intend on getting the ball onto the playfield? Well at first I was going to have it pop out between the flippers. Bally did this once with spectrum. Then I thought (why don't I have a subway tunnel close to where the shooter lane would be, and have the ball pop up through the playfield right at the flipper lane. Now granted, designers like Popadiuk have minimized shooter lane footprint in their pins (theater of magic, world cup soccer 94), but I'm looking for zero space.
Anyway, since I've gotten pretty far into the theme / layout in solidworks, I figured I'd share a very early rendering. While I really wanted a 3d dollhouse in the middle of the playfield, I realized this was simply not feasible. Not only would it be really hard to make the ball visible, but I can just foresee really bad ball jams. I've decided to make two houses, and just make them front fascades (like fake western towns). I have much work to do (ramps behind the garages, backyard items like lawnmowers, jungle gyms, pools, etc).
So here's the premise of this story. Couple bored kids find a pile of bowling balls (a pyramid in fact, a little nod to tim arnold if you know the legend before PHOF). They decide to start rolling these bowling balls in front of a cul-de-sac, causing damage to the homes. There will be bush ramps in front, allowing you to send the bowling ball through each window. Then the garage door opens up, allowing you access to ramps behind them. Once you unlock both homes, the gate in between opens up, allowing you access to the backyards. Finally, there will be a multi-ball mode where a little game of kick the can happens. The balls all chase you around the playfield, and you have to hit the target (can) before you are caught. I'm not sure how I'm going to implement this, but I really want this feature.
By the way, I have no idea how I'm going to do any of the electronics (timers, lights, score keeeping, etc). Mechanics and switches, sounds, yes! The way I see it, by the time I get this built I'm hoping either:
A. A user friendly pinball controller is invented
B. Build it and they will come out of the woodwork. Hoping if I make a manually controlled demo, an electrical person will step up to the plate and team up with me
4 hour drive each way to Indianapolis, but it's home. $750 is what he asked for it (he paid $800 9 years ago), and he had other people message him when I dragged my ass, but he did keep his word and not take other offers. Now before you ask me how I found this steal of a deal, it needs work. When I got there, it was sitting in the garage covered. Right off the bat, I could see the rust on the inside of the legs (black paint on the outside, probably to cover rust). No water damage on the back, that's good. He pulls off the blanket, playfield has planking but no wear (not bad for an original playfield that's 32 years old). Ok, that's a good sign, at least I can sand and touch it up easily. Then I open up the backbox, boards look clean, no jacked connectors, no battery leak damage. I fire it up, I get power, but no displays. I decide even though the fuse holder is cracked off, maybe there's enough contact still if I bend it over. I pop a new fuse in (since the old one is sitting at the bottom of the backbox), fire it up, I get displays. Unfortunately, something is odd with the coinbox because a quarter gets jammed, and I don't see switches for the coin to hit, so I fumble and manage to get some credits up. Unfortunately, the start button doesn't work (leaf switch is fouled up), but I mange to manually connect it and get a game started. The flippers work (where they didn't before), but they are jacked. They are loose as hell, and not really worth playing. Also the balls aren't ejecting because.. get this, the solenoid is literally hanging from the playfield because the screws stripped out (which I will have to fill in). So all in all, nothing that seems too difficult to repair, just needs a GOOD cleaning and a few things fixed and it might actually play somewhat normal again.
There is at least one cracked plastic, the backglass has some very minor flaking, but the cabinet is in good shape (just needs a little wood fill in black areas, the artwork is nearly perfect).
Where did I find it? Random non pinball collector who had one sitting in their garage not working decided to jump onto pinside, see who was looking for one in the chicago area, decided to message me. A few messages go back n forth, finally she posts photos in the sell market. I'm like "crap! now it's public!". So I finally call, and her husband answers last weekend. I explain I can't make it out that weekend, but can pick it up the following weekend on Sunday.
I'm sort of glad I was more prepared this time, bringing a toolbox with essentials (wrenches, screwdriver, fuses, multimeter, flashlight, drill with bits and extension cord (in case he went "whoops, I don't know where the keys are). I wasn't about to drive 4 hours each way, only to find that I couldn't take something apart, or test to see how badly damaged it might have been (sellers aren't always so honest).
Ok, so I may not have even drilled the first hole in wood, but that's just how I am. I tend to overplan, but it really does prevent issues from happening during assembly. It's the measure 10 times cut once mantra that loops in my head.
Anyway, I have enough modeled in solidworks at this point where I could at least get the flippers mounted and wired up. I started creating an apron troft, even if I don't quite yet have the ball eject worked out (probably going to use another actuator with a lever that flings it up). I plan on using 1/16" aluminum and getting it lasered from a place like ponoko, as I think it will cost less than waterjet (my local place tends to do more industrial jobs, and usually has a minimal $50 lot charge plus programming) My goal is to get all the rails to fit within a 12" x 24" piece, which on mcmaster is about $22.
Here are some photos of what I have so far. I decided to go minimalist (and save precious playfield space) by having the ball eject ASAP. This has been done on other pins, and it seems to work well:
Since my mechanism doesn't have a base plate, or any specific pinball parts (pawls, flipper bats and bushings are non-specific to any company), it will be cost effective and not infringe on any design patents. Also the hole on the end of the solenoid should interface with the pawl beautifully.
I know my last goal was to go old school and create an all mechanical pinball (might still do that one day), but I need to jump ahead at least a little bit. So I'm going to move ahead with using the door actuators for powering the flippers, I've got some old used flipper bushings, still have my new yellow flipper bats, I believe I have a couple pawls to connect the bats to the actuators, a spare ball, a full plunger assembly. In fact other than having an automated ball trowl, and perhaps a few posts to stick onto the playfield, I believe I have all the parts I need to get a semi-working pinball going.
Here's my idea.. Crunching some numbers, I believe I can get a working full-size prototype starter kit (safe kid version running off 12v) for roughly $100 cost, and an "adult" 48V version for about $200.
My idea is "pinball in a box". Basically in the kit you would get a basic playfield layout (talking flippers, couple side bumpers, an outlane guide, shooter lane), would end up looking something like the default starter playfield in future pinball (but in physical form):
No scoring, no ramps, no layout, just a blank canvas with the very basics to get you started. I would include a template where you would drill holes for posts, the flippers, the outlanes, and you would simply cut/drill a piece of plywood you pickup at your local hardware store (save the cost of shipping heavy wood if it's something you can buy local, though I might sell pre-made designs at some point).
This could be perfect for the hobbyist that just wants to mess around, but the kid-friendly version would be really neat. A parent (particularly one that is already in the pinball hobby) could buy this kit, let his kid layout a pinball like he wants, draw stuff on the playfield, then the parent helps clearcoat it. I can't imagine what better gift you could give a kid than letting him design his own pinball. Problem that exists right now, nothing like this exists. The closest you could get to this point is finding an older pinball that has a scorched playfield (but functioning), but even then your looking at between $400-$600 easily.
This is the coolest mod I've seen in a long time. This guy threw a P-roc system in his machine, wrote up some code, mounted a 26" LCD above the backbox, and turned it into what I believe is the first wide-body P2k machine. Even though it's early code, he's got objects that are breakable, and some neat pop-up menus (not to mention a great scoring system). I can't wait to see what he does with it: http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dm-p2k-concept#post-391920
Ok, so I have no actual use for this since I don't own this pin, but fer $5 + $15 shipping, I figured how could I go wrong? It seems to be in decent shape, and I suppose my plan is to touch-up all the wear spots (after a good sanding), and then clearcoat it. I can then sell it as a "refurbished" playfield for much more, or I thought about possibly turning it into a really cool ceiling light (populate all the holes with bulb holders, wire it all up in parallel, power it up with a 6VDC wallwart). Heck, maybe I'll just turn it into a coffee table, I don't know. Point is, one of the things I liked best about my last shop job was turning a crappy mylared playfield into a vibrant good looking pin. Here's some photos of it from ebay:
So while some people will simply finish a basement, throw down some tile, paint the walls, and throw some decorations up, I want to do a theme. This isn't unheard of, just takes a little more effort. I know what my theme is going to be without a doubt, I just have to figure out how I want to do it.
Basically I want to loosely base it off a restaurant that used to be at woodfield mall in schaumburg back in 2001 (it closed after a couple years). There was also one in new york, which just closed this year. It was called Mars 2112.
It had a cheesy entrance, you stepped into a "spaceship", a video played that was supposed to be a window looking out like you were actually traveling to Mars.
That cheesiness aside, the decor of the restaurant was really cool. You had red rock walls, making it look like it was carved out of a cave on Mars. There were space scenes airbrushed to simulate a skyline. The waitresses were dressed as aliens, then they had this wacky scientist who's supposedly responsible for designing the restaurant:
There was also one of those laser projection displays shooting messages on the wall.(which I would love to find a reasonably cheap version of)
Now I'm only taking this theme loosely based. I don't want a "mars" theme, but I like how they implimented it. I would like to
create a generic planet, something more like the moon. Also, I want lots of NASA embedded into it. Starting with the stairs, I want the ceiling to be a sky. I plan on doing this by taking some thin particle board, cutting a bunch of holes in it, and backlighting it with LED christmas lights (which will run off the bulb socket at the top of the stairs. I also want a rotating sign above the archway, which will tap into the arcade growing up, which is "Galaxy World":
I also want to have lots of that white structure steel that you see
So I've gone back n forth a couple times with the other blogger. Ideas are just flowing, did some massive sketching today at work. It's really rough, but I can totally see some amazing mechanisms coming out of the original theme we both agree should be made.
I think the best way to move forward is for me to start sketching some ideas of each section, sort of like a storyboard, and then place them in their appropriate section of the playfield. Then once we agree from that point, I can actually start modeling up some of these parts (I already modeled one up just to see what it would look like). All I can say is that if this project really came to light, it would rock the pinball world with it's innovation. I just hope it doesn't turn to vaporware because this pin NEEDS to be made.
So I got a comment from a guy in Jersey.. Seems he's also trying to build a homebuilt pinball, but he's electrical (I'm mechanical). His blog is over here: http://openpinballproject.wordpress.com
Like most people, he's also tired of Stern's regurgitated pinball layouts (which is honestly sad considering the talent there, steve ritchie, gomez, borg). You just know that Gary Stern has different thoughts on the pinball business than the designers (I.E. he has to make a profit, pay the bills, push the next pinball out the door before code is done). If GOOD pinball is so hard to do in volumes of a couple thousand (or less), then how is it that Jersey Jack is building the most innovative thing pinball has seen in 20 years, and at the price point of a limited edition Stern? Could it be that Stern just has too much overhead?
Anyway, makes me wonder if we could team up.. Or at the very least, if someone like him could provide a CPU/display for someone like me that has everything covered but the logic. Yes, I can buy a P-roc, and good luck trying to program it, much less write a ruleset. The predator guys in michigan might have figured it out, but anything code-related has my brains turned to mush in about 5 minutes.
I also have a messy basement, which is just recently getting to the point where I could have guests down there without feeling embarrassed by the mess.
I'm always thinking about how I want to do mechanisms, even if I haven't drawn a thing. I've actually got the flipper mechanisms modeled up 90% now, and I think it's going to work well. Basically I will have a spring loaded side button that turns a spindle, and that spindle will connect to one, two, however many flippers I want on that side. Potentially (since I have a mechanical actuated motion now), I could have another button act as a master actuator. Say I want to pop something on the playfield, like spose I want to pop a ball up a wire-ramp. Pop a secondary button, and send that ball up the ramp. What's that you say? How can a simple mechanical button press send a ball flying up? Think mechanical advantage! Imagine a see-saw, but the center isn't centered. Put the fulcrum offset, and hit the short end, what happens? The longer side has a much greater arm with greater motion, from a short throw. Now you have some serious thrust!
Any mechanical pins I do will be wood, in fact I've considered doing some sort of inlay design for artwork. I want it to be raw, and feel quality, like an amish built the thing (and I do have amish connections if I ever wanted to produce some), but still have that modern feel.
One thing I want to do for sure once it becomes electrical is use Lexan for the playfield. Might sound crazy, but Lexan is extremely durable, and very stiff (same material clear basketball backglass is made of). It keeps the artwork protected (playfield scratched? buff it out, the artwork is nowhere nearby). Speaking of durable, how many old playfields do you see where paint is flaking from the wood planking? That's the wood absorbing moisture, Lexan can't absorb! Also I've yet to see Lexan strip (unless you REALLY try). How many times do you see playfields with stripped holes?
As other projects finish up, or I find spare time (lunch breaks, sitting at home in front of the computer), I will eventually get some of these mechs finalized and hopefully post some photos of solidworks renderings, maybe even some movies of the mechanisms moving.
Also, here's the logo I came up with if I ever formed a company:
PFA stands for Pinball For All. I want everyone in the world to have the opportunity to play such a wonderful game, and at $8k a piece there are a LOT of people that will never get to play one. Yes, there is the used market, but with people hoarding them in their private collections, even used ones are often going for $1k-$12k depending on rarity.
I'm re-inspired, and I realize that I can't just go from never designing a pinball in my life, to the level that Stern is at. I should know better being an engineer, and realize how a design has to go through iterations, and learning from your mistakes. I need to start out small, simple, baby steps. Here's my goal and iteration list:
Version 1.0 - completely mechanical, no electric at this point. I want to be able to layout a full pinball, with foam board, and have everything powered by motion (of which I have a ton of great ideas to incorporate modern things like multiball).
Version 2.0 - Add LED general illumination, rollover lights, and mp3 sound using a 5V arduino board. This can run off of 4 D batteries, or a 5v wall plug.
Version 3.0 - Add a scoring system (using Arduino counter code), add an Arduino driven 7-segment display for output)
Version 4.0 - Update to 14-segment display like on late 80's williams pins (earthshaker, funhouse), add animations
Version 5.0 - Impliment a 12V system to power DC actuator driven flippers, pop bumpers, drop targets, etc. Run off of rechargable AGM (small sealed car battery). Use DC to DC converter to drop 12v down to 5v to continue running arduino system.
My intention of this project is multi-fold.
1. I REALLY want to design a pinball, from scratch, while innovating new features that have never been seen before
2. It would be nice if this takes off, to actually sell a small run of them.
3. Offer something the pinball community has never seen before. I want to make something simple, affordable, light, and easy to work on (because it will be dead simple). Ideally, I want to make it possible to stack playfields, and just have cabinet stands (that don't move), and then swap them out to keep things rotated (without having to trade, or sell/buy all the time). I hear all the time about people living in small spaces in europe, people stuck in small apartments. If I can offer a way for those people to own pinballs, at affordable prices (and not take up a ton of space, or be able to stow it away), I've hit an all new market. Also on top of being affordable and lightweight (cheaper shipping), being powered by low voltage and power, it's completely possible to charge up batteries with solar power and have pinball in 3rd world nations (if this business really takes off, I'm totally going to donate a couple to random nations).
I've already come up with a mission statement, a logo, and designed my first mechanism in solidworks this morning. I don't want to reveal anything until I have a few more mechanisms designed out, and I have my first foam prototype built, but I'm really excited to getting this going.
I've decided that rather than having tools sprawled throughout the basement (which is supposed to be getting cleaned up), I need to figure out exactly what I need specifically for pinball. Clay (who is a pinrepair god in our world) has made many tips pages, and videos going through his own repairs, and a couple months ago I ran across this video where he basically takes apart his briefcase of tools and shows you everything he needs to work on any pinball from any generation:
I want to take what I have, figure out what I need, and just create a giant list of stuff. Then take all that stuff, and somehow dump it into a rolling cart (like an auto mechanic might have), and there'd be drawers, and bins, and platforms sliding out revealing things like soldering irons, and giant light bars, and a retractable cord where I can plug it into a power strip lined on my basement ceiling rafters.
So from the video above (which goes by very quickly in 5 minutes), this is my list. x means I have the part, * means I have part of the item, or I have it but I want something better, and - means I need to buy it:
* soldering iron holder on a cart with tools (rod for solder spool)
- needlenose pliers
- flushcutter
- PLC square asic (ROM puller)
- radio shack infared detector
x lightbulb remover
x assortment of nut drivers
x 1/4 magnetic nut driver
x universal screwdriver
- allen wrench set (american and metric), get T-set
x wire crimpers
- blades (metal and plastic)
- emery board
- vise grip channel locks
x Novus 1/2/3
- sharpie
- knockout punches (knockout pins)
- wirebrush
x desolderer
- maglight (lightbar)
- electric screwdriver (low profile)
- lighter fluid (clean rubber and grease)
- that red cleaner bottle (krazy clean)
x tiny peen hammer
- 3-in-1 oil
x tyco circuit breaker devices (like on trimmer, snag some), troubleshoot GI shorts
x DMM (digital multi-meter)
- assortment of heatshrink tubing
x assortment of nylon ties
* assortment of nuts + bolts (6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 10-24), started to get these
- assortment of E and C clips
- assortment of coil sleeves
- assortment of fuse clips
- assortment of bulb holders
- xacto set
- electrical tape
- two sizes adjustable wrenches
- fixed open end wrenches for bolts
- 91% alcohol
- sandpaper grits (320-400-600-800) cleaning steppers
x alligator clips
* level
- crafstman tapper (taps fit inside body)
- security bit sets
- general wiring (14AWG??)
- teflon gel lube?
For some reason the floodgates of ideas came to me this morning. There's something about the pinball industry that's been bugging me lately. You have Stern who's been sitting on their throne for the last 12 or so years, letting quality and innovation slide more and more (while hiring more and more talent so they can crank out 3 pins every year). Slowly the masses have been getting fed up, some by voting with their wallets, some by starting their own companies. You have a small startup in spain (marsaplay) which has done some REALLY innovative things (LCD screen, like jersey jack has also implimented), you have PCB's underneath the playfield replacing expensive wiring (both in materials and labor), you have magnet switches instead of mechanical (no holes for dirt to get into, no moving parts). For a company out of spain, pretty damned impressive (even if they're first pin is a remake from the late 70's). Then you have jersey jack, taking 2 years to build up parts, design a layout, get a production area setup, really not too bad. Then you have Jpop teaming up with ben heck to work on pinballs (ben heck is a genius, his only negative attribute is he likes to finish a project in a week and move onto the next one). Jpop seems to be balancing him out, doing things right (eliminating ball lock, laying out clean and fun layouts).
So here's why it needs a reboot. All this new competition is all fun and good (hopefully Stern realizes they can't produce crap anymore), but there's still something lacking. Pinball, honestly, hasn't changed a whole heck of a lot since the mid 80's (other than DMD displays). Honestly, it hasn't changed hardly at all since the early 90's (I think it's gone downhill). You still have a custom CPU processor, you still have a driver board, you still have a sound board, you still have a giant (and HEAVY) linear transformer at the bottom of the cabinet, you still have a backbox with lights behind it, you still have miles of copper wire bundled up like kindling with similiar colored jackets, and it's so hard to trace where any wires go, or if those connections are any good (everything is still hand soldered). I also think a lot of people don't get into the hobby because they can't afford to pay a tech to fix it ($75 travel + $75/hour labor), and you thought the auto mechanic was taking a bath on you?
Cost reduction / simplify #1: Every pin is hours and hours of labor, really if you look at pinball machines they are the rolls royce of consumer product. Each one is hand built. Imagine if PC's were still through hole and hand soldered, we would still be paying $2,000 for a computer, but we don't. Know why? Some guy lays out a PCB in software, those boards are printed with silkscreen in layers, and the surface mount components are wave soldered (cheap cheap). That's why you can buy a motherboard for $30. Imagine applying that to pinball? Run all your traces through PCB (including high voltage). yes it can be done, you only need thick wires for high amps, not volts. If you took a playfield, and split it up into sub-assembly PCB's, and just had ribbon cables for data and power, you could clearly label (in plain etched text) what each trace is, where it's going, etc. If a pcb is having issues, replace it... or repair it, or send it out for repair (just like marsaplay canasta):
http://www.pinballnews.com/games/newcanasta
This also means much easier plug n play (playfield swaps would be a cinch!). Connectors have locking tab (no more solder joints getting cold). Makes labor to build a pin dirt cheap (couple dozen standoffs, connect some pre-made wires). You would have much better diagnosis because the cpu could pinpoint which section is having issues (which would be labeled), and then you could focus your attention on that one part (instead of treating it as a whole).
Cost reduction / simplify #2:One common platform. This probably isn't an issue 2 years ago (Stern is the only one, buy Stern cpu, Stern power supply, Stern driver board). Now that competition is back, it's back to having a bunch of platforms (each their own cpu, driverboard, soundboard, power supply, pop bumper design, flipper design, ball trough design, drop target design, etc etc). I'm talking about making pinballs like the auto industry is attempting to do. It used to be every auto company designed their own parts, right down to the dam door locks. Toyota and Suburu are sharing engines, many interior components are shared across manufacturers, companies are sharing hybrid technologies. Why? they were forced to. It's a global economy, and the only way for multiple car companies to survive is by teaming up, and sharing the design workload. This saves time and money (more parts, more volume, lower cost). Pinball needs to do the same thing. We need a single STANDARDIZED platform, perhaps open sourced, by which all pinballs are created. New CPU's can be designed (revisions), but would be backwards compatible with older pins. This would lower the cost of parts, would lessen product development (more familiar if you only have to deal with one system), and mean easier to replace (and diagnose). If I can pull a board from another pin to test with, it makes it easier to figure out what's wrong. In my collection, I have a data east (it's own hardware), and two williams (one is a system 11, one is a system 9), all 3 incompatible with each other.
So here's my grand scheme overall picture idea. The market is slowly shifting from arcades to homes.. it's just a fact. Pins in public are rare (occasional bowling alley, maybe a pizza joint, a gameworks if your in a major city). If your really lucky, someone has decided to fix up an older pin and route it in a bar (and keep it maintained). For the most part, I believe Stern's biggest customer are home buyers. Even though the buying market has skewed and changed, the pin has not. They still build them as if they are going on route (locked doors, coin boxes, etc). Here is what I sketched up today:
Basically you would have a base (generic) cabinet. You would have your standardized common CPU, power, driverboard, soundboard, sound amplifier, speakers. Then an LCD screen replaces the backbox. I know people will complain about not being pure, but we're talking about revolutionizing pinball here. LCD's (HD at least) are really good these days. they talk about retina resolution (so many pixels per inch, it looks like paper). If you put that behind glass, Can you honestly tell me you can notice the difference while playing? Some people say things like "yea, but when they're off, you have a black screen". If this is really an issue, maybe in 2-3 years e-ink displays this size will be comparably priced, and the energy to run them will be zero (e-ink only uses power when the display changes). Now, the only thing you swap out is the populated playfield. That's right, you keep the same cabinet, swap out a rom chip (which would be like a cartridge, not EEPROM.. think robust like a nintendo cartridge). Arcades started doing this with cabinets to reduce operator cost. They'd have mortal kombat, MKII comes out, they add a button, swap out the CPU inside, and voila! MKII for cheap! There is NO reason pinball couldn't do this same thing! "Oh but what about the cabinet artwork?!" people will say as they raise their torches. Two things:
1. If you have a big collection, your pins are stacked right against the other one, and you don't even get to see the side artwork (hence why toppers are gaining popularity).
2. Artwork gets scratched up during shipment.
My suggestion (if you really must have artwork) is have a plexiglass sleeve on the side where you can slip new artwork into. This means artwork is never tied to a cabinet.
Another bonus of a system like this: Saves space. Yea, believe it or not, the whole world doesn't live like most americans (1600+ sq feet of space), not everyone can live in the burbs. If I live in the city, most likely I will live in less than 1,000 sq feet. Unless I rent an expensive warehouse of some sort, I have no place to put my pins. If I had a system like this, I could have one cabinet, and probably 3-4 populated playfields in storage. You look at places like japan, UK, netherlands, they all live in small spaces too
Do I think this will replace the traditional cabinet? No, people still drive rolls royces. People still buy $200k ferrari's that are handbuilt by a pair of technicians that dyno an engine and mate it with a hand picked transmission. Most people buy a mass produced car, a car that is made on an assembly line, cranked out in mass quantities, and with good quality and nice features. The world needs a toyota pinball company.
Sort of excited to be going this saturday. Was thinking about going friday night too, but putting my dogs in a hotel, and myself in a hotel, for what.. 4-5 hours playing a tournament? I figure a full saturday is more than enough time to play a bunch of games, visit some vendors, and call it a day. I may go multiple days when the chicago expo comes around. This is actually my first time going to this, though seeing videos of prior shows I sort of have an idea what I'm in for. http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com
Just picked up my lethal weapon pin yesterday, beautiful condition. Got it from a guy that buys and sells pins, video games, jukeboxes (it's his living). Lives on a retired farm, works out of his garage. It's nice to finally buy a pin, and have nothing that needs to be repaired. Just plug it in, and away you go with playing it. The lineup is looking pretty nice.
Just went out the door about 2 hours ago. I find it odd I couldn't get rid of it for $200 just 3 months ago. I list it now at the same price, I have people begging to buy it at that price. Actually ended up getting a buyer that offered $250 for it, so with parts I at least broke even (possibly profited). Odd story to that, I get an email from one guy, says he's emailing me in advance to make sure it's not sold yet, but the guy who's buying it can't email from work (blocked from craigslist). Then I get an email from the buyer later on.. From Lincoln nebraska! I'm like "woah man, that's a haul, you sure about this?". Turns out he's friends with a pinball repair guy up in Racine, WI.. I guess he pays this guy to snatch up pinballs in the area, and 2-3 times a year he hauls them down in a trailer (he has family in NE). Tells me this guy has only been in the hobby about 3 years, already has like 300 pinballs in his collection (that's a pin every 4 days!) I not only don't fathom how you afford that, but where the hell do you store a collection like that?
I haven't had sound since I bought it. My first guess was to replace the soundboard. At least by doing that, I got really faint sound (like quieter than ipod headphones). I thought maybe it was the CPU, maybe a volume adjustment pot? So I finally got around to buying a new power supply recently, knowing that it's probably not a bad idea to replace that since the one in there looked like a cap leaked (new modern replacement power supply is also more efficient and reliable). Taking the old powerboard out, I saw that there was also some black pins on the back, more proof that this thing was just not stable. Get the new board mounted in, turn it on, low and behold my machine is screaming loud. I was so happy at that moment, I had actually got something else working, and sound was half of the game. I had guests over, so I could only play a quick game. After they left, I went back down and played another 3 games.
I think my next step is figuring out why I have one section of general illlumination out. From what I've read on message boards, it's either a popped fuse (doesn't look that way), or the ground wire to that section is shorted (or possibly cut), so I'm going to prop up the playfield to see if I can find something obvious. Once I get that figured out, mechanically it should be 100% working. Then I just need to do my playfield swap and repaint the outer cabinet to make it look all pretty.
Ok, so it seems I've had no plan on how to get this project started, other than "Hey look, I can make flippers move with a car door actuator and a 12v battery". As with any project, it can seem huge.. and impossible, and then discouraging. Therefore, looking at this from an engineer's viewpoint, I need to break this into pieces or it'll never happen.
So here's my basic list. Keep in mind I am figuring out ways to do these with existing components, and not necessarily existing components.
1. Flippers - this is the start of it all. Since I've already proven a concept (just needs refinement with linkages), I will skip this step for now.
2. Pop bumpers - In theory, I could recreate one using 12v by replacing this solenoid with an actuator as well, but honestly I'm probably going to skip this for now. Pop bumpers were invented in 1936, and it seems it's intention was to randomize the ball's path. In a modern game, pop bumpers seem to serve 2 purposes:
a. give a pause to gameplay. I am not a fan of this, I like a game that just keeps going with a fast pace. I want it to race my heart when I play. If I absolutely MUST have a pause, then you should be skilled enough to use your flipper to hold the ball momentarily.
b. filler - that's right, I believe a rushed pinball gets pop bumpers added because they are easy to impliment. No logic needed, just place them on the playfield, add some power, and the built in switches will activate them when hit by the ball.
I find pop bumpers to be a waste of precious playfield space.
3. Score keeper - I would have no clue how to do this. There is a giant grid of logic that goes on in a pinball, and since I don't intend on creating my own CPU (and neither does the average person), I'm going to have to go with something real simple. Best I can come up with is a digital counter. You know, those things for counting. Like if your counting church antendees, sports game atendees? Simple device, cheap ($5-$10) http://www.amazon.com/GOGO-Electronic-Counter-Digital-Clicker/dp/B003WJ45EI
and good enough for adding. Granted, it will only add by one (not 10's, or hundreds, or compute combos from completing targets), but for simplicity sake, it'll do for now.
4. targets - I will likely use an existing off the shelf target, but rather than it sending a switch signal to a CPU, it will simply add a point, and perhaps make a light activate (hitting it again would turn the light off). Simple, but effective.
5. drop targets - I'm thinking some sort of spring load, where the ball un-clicks it from staying up (like a pen), and each one that drops has a metal strip on the bottom (which adds a point), and there's a bus bar on the bottom with gaps. The metal strip on each drop target completes the circuit and would activate a servo which would reset all 3 targets.
6. ball lock - I'm thinking as long as I have a tunnel where balls can fall into, then add a switch where the 3rd ball would rest (switch needs to be activated for say 3 seconds), that will activate an actuator which moves a gate and releases all 3 balls. I'm sure there is more to this than I'm realizing, but that's the general concept.
7. diverters = I like having randomness on ramps, so if I had a small servo that moves a gate, which can be activated by a switch on another ramp.
8. magnet save = this doesn't appear to be hard. electromagnets are simple and cheap, and can run off of 12v power supply. Simply wire up to a button on the outside cabinet, and voila! Only drawback is I'd have no logic for turning it off after use (and no reward system to activate), it would simply be on all the time. Maybe have a random switch placed somewhere on the playfield that turns it on?
9. ball shooter lane - I would like to re-invent this a bit too. I hate spring plungers, they seem so out of date. I'm sure modern ones that use a switch simply have a solenoid to knock the ball up the ramp like a pool cue. It would be neat to use some sort of air cannon to launch the ball. I'm not sure I could get an air compressor to be quiet enough? I could also possibly do it with some sort of magnetic propulsion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_propulsion
Think in terms of a coil gun (but not quite so explosive):
I would also like to see an aluminum channel used for this section so that there is little wear in this area (or at least it could be replaced if it did, rather than having a section of the playfield that's worn out.
10. playfield spinners - This shouldn't be hard to do with small motors. Just needs to be adjustable with lead screw to adjust for tolerances in play field wear.
11. slingshots - I don't necessarily like these either (very much like pop bumpers). I've had games where it kept playing a game of badminton with my ball, back and forth. Either this needs to be toned down, or maybe it should just be the spring of the rubber.
12. Outlane (side drain) - I would like to reinvent this a bit too. Sometimes all the nudging in the world won't save your ball. I would like to see an actuator right before the middle drain, and a tube that directs the ball back onto the playfield. It would have to be timed JUST right, but it would give you one final chance to save your ball.
I am REALLY digging the plexiglass over MDF wood. The artwork remains protected underneath. No playfield wear (just plastic wear, which could easily be polished without rubbing paint). MDF is usually cheaper than Baltic wood, but would remain just as stiff.
14. Sound - ahh, the coup de grace. Every game needs sound. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how I would want to do this. The problem doesn't lie in playing sound with a switch. I can (and have) bought little sound modules off ebay for $2 (shipped from china). It's essentially the same thing they put in talking greeting cards. Press a button to record, press another button to playback (record 10 seconds). Not only does the sound quality suck by today's standards (crappy sample rate, crappy amp, crappy overall), but it's a single sound. Imagine how repetitive a game would get if every time you hit a target, the same sound played back. I needed a random sound generator. Oh but how to do this? Not as easy as I'd imagined. The closest I came to building a circuit was using a 555 timer chip, and interrupting the built in timer to select a bank. I'm not entirely sure how this circuit is built, but I know that's about the only way to do it with common components (not easy for the average user). It would be nice if I could like hack a silly slammer (record my own sounds). You know, those little plush things that make noises when you throw them at the ground:
Anyway, since I've yet to find a hack for this, I'm going to assume there's either no way (probably potted inside), or nobody has the desire to do so.
Well I did find this today: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9715
For $50, it has an mp3 decoder, line-out, SD card reader, very low power consumption (3.3-5V at 45mah), and can playback 18 banks of sounds using pins. Now for the great part, you don't have to manually select which bank you want to play, you can set it to random. http://makerjam.com/mp3-trigger/random-trigger-function-for-the-mp3-trigger
Aha! exactly what I wanted!! For an average pin, 18 sounds seems to be plenty! I can just spread these sounds all over the playfield, hooked up to different switches.
If I wanted to get fancy and have specific types of sounds for areas (I.E. targets have laser sounds, ramps play various swooshing sounds, drain ball plays "you lost a ball!", or "oh no!"), I could buy one board for each of these fields. $50 a pop isn't exactly thrifty, but again we are talking about simplicity (it's the price you pay).
