Anyway, I'm convinced it makes no sense to retheme the current playfield (too constricting) so I know I'm going to have to make a completely new playfield. I also need to drop the playfield down a good 4-5 inches, but again I don't want to do that till I know everything is working 100% again. Since I'm dropping the playfield, that also means I have to move the plunger down as far (which means new hole, fill in the old one). I also want to break down my components to make wiring simpler and simply have a terminal block under the playfield. In other words:
spinner switch
target (50 point, 100 point)
rollover switches
drop target mech
The original schematic may have run separate wires for each target, but if there's redundancy why not just have those values, and then I can tap into that terminal for as many targets as I want anywhere on the playfield (makes wiring and troubleshooting simpler too).
One last thing, since I'm integrating the mp3 trigger into switches for sound, I have to have a separate shielded contact (if I wire it into the same switch, it will trigger loop sound as soon as it boots up). This means replacing every single blade switch with a 2 terminal blade switch. These aren't cheap, in fact even by Pinball life pricing I'm looking at $9 a piece! Also, I freaking HATE these switches! They've existed for over 60 years. They're archaic, they get pitted, they cost too much because they have copper and tungsten, and they wear (and flex out of position and need readjustments). a MUCH better switch that is proven and has been tested up to a million cycles is the microswitch (AKA cherry switch). Also, if you design a mechanism to use them, they are cheap (46 cents a piece), and will handle up to 5 amps a piece. So even with a double throw, I'm looking at less than a buck. I've got an early mechanism designed that looks like it should work, I just gotta prototype one now:
