Exactly! I suggested either louder cheering or having Harry proclaim his victory upon escaping, which would be cool!

Quick question...Just installed a shaker today and the cover they (AP) sent me is about 3/4 of an inch to wide. I cannot secure it (cover) Berry from tech told me to squeeze it in there. I tried, but it would surely break. Anyone else install one and run into this issue? I would have to pry off the coin box guide on the left to get it to work. Don't really want to do that. Not a huge issue, just want to understand what the proper cover measures? This one measures 4 and 3/4 wide.

Magicians in this place were certainly not Houdini experts

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Unfortunately the one we were using we can no longer use due to a competitor …

Was the flange trimmed down on the sides? If so, it should squeeze in without breaking

It fits. Loosen the housing for the shaker and push it as far to the outside of the cabinet side as you can, then tighten it. Then, kind of angle the cover in a little as you slide it down. It's VERY tight, but it will fit. You can also use something thin and semi-rigid like a spatula to shoehorn it in.

Yep - if I don't catch a glimpse of the display at the right time after I complete a mode, I often can't tell from the sound alone whether I was successful or not.

Houdini’s in stock at Abel electronics. Michigan American Pinball distributor. PM for info.

That chain is usually staffed by college kids. There is a decent Houdini museum and shop in Times Square next time you are in nyc.

No, but I will do that and squeeze it in there. Just didn't want to try and force without knowing the full story. Thanks all for the help

Would someone please ID what this and what it is for? It was in the Houdini goody bag. Thanks!

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You can attach it to the LCD; it's for power on/off, brightness, the menu, etc. Just like a regular computer monitor

Just to be clear, for the mini-lcd on playfield, but you will likely never need it

Got it, thanks!

Took a break from Houdini to enjoy the nice weather. Last game was good tho, finished milkcan mode

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Just ran into one of our location regulars this afternoon when I was cleaning machines. He told me he lost his house in the Carr fire that's all over around the city here, and his pristene ToM was melted to the ground along with a car and his harley. Total bummer.

That sucks regarding his house (as well as his TOM). My family suffered a major house fire when I was a kid and we had to live elsewhere for 6 months, but I can only imagine how hard a blow it is to have your home totally destroyed in a wildfire. Hopefully, no one was hurt or killed in getting out and he has adequate insurance.

This guy just lost lots of possessions. Fatalaties are pretty low considering the size and scope of this enormous fire. 1 Firefighter, 1 Hired contractor, 3 civilians (grandpa left them to run errands before evac and the fire got them - stupid).

My trunk catapult shoots both far left and far right erratically. not sure how to adjust that. Coil strength is 27. Score was from 5 ball game set up easy peasy.

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I’d check that the catapult arm doesn’t have play; see if it needs tightening under the PF

I'd also make sure that it is dropping all the way down, though I suspect the switch wouldn't register the ball being there if it didn't, just thinking maybe the ball doesn't always end up centered in the catapult arm.

Try lowering the catapult coil strength. I operate mine on 25; if I raise it to 26, it throws it to the left.

FWIW: No such thing as "easy peasy" on Houdini. Just "Kill Me Now Hard", "Super Hard", and "Hard".

Yes, that may be it, because i bent the switch arm up high because the ball wasnt always pushing it down far enough to activate the switch. I readjusted it lower and now arm seems to be firing centered most of the time. The arm linkage has a bit of wiggle, but all seems to be connected properly.

LOL

I have games where I brick almost every shot, and then I’ll play one more game, and suddenly it’s Grand Champion territory!

Finally got around to removing the washer on the plunger arm (the one inside the cab) and holy crap what a difference, totally smooth now.

Are these now included with every new Houdini?
You probably knew that question was coming...LOL

Same here so far. Plunger seems smooth, but i can rarely hit the top skill shot target. I will try it without washer. BTW, anyone see the captive stage ball during play? I havent yet.

There is another, more involved adjustment for hitting the target - you have to slightly bend the metal ball guide a little (wider? I think?)

http://s4.american-pinball.com/img/support/2018-5/Houdini-Skill-Shot-Fix.pdf

Thanks, I did see that procedure. I'll try it if I can't zero in on the right level of plunge. The autofire makes the top target sometimes, so I should be able to...

FYI, I had a spare powered sub sitting around, so I decided to try it out on Houdini. It....sounds.....amazing!! I set the crossover to filter out anything above 120Hz. Huge difference, IMHO. If you are thinking about doing it, do it. Easy to hookup tot he amp and well worth it for the home environment.

Which cliffy protector is being used on the ball scoop on the right? I thought there was a link in this thread. Im gonna need one before I play anymore

Just email him ([email protected] or [email protected]) and ask for a set of protectors for Houdini. He's usually 1-2 months out, so you'll have a wait.

This is the set that Cliffy currently has for Houdini - scoop and shooter ejects.

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That works, but you have to find a happy medium. loosening the screws allows the yellow lever to be swung over to the far right, but it also seems to make the bar less secure/tight. Got to add beer foam to make it snug.

For the people having issues with the catapult shooting right or left.

We have discovered that over time the catapult that was shooting fine, all of a sudden is shooting wide in either direction.

The fix for this condition is, disassemble the catapult arm from the fulcrum clean with rubbing alcohol or similar, reassemble and enjoy.

What about adding a tiny drop of sewing machine oil like on spinners?

Do you mean where the metal axle goes into a hole in a piece of metal holding it ? I would. The spinners last years longer before they break.

LTG : )

Yes.
I would think it would be ok.
Just clean it out when necessary with naphtha or alcohol?

Thanks, great tip! I also discovered lowering the catapult coil strength and playing with the leg levels helped.

A tiny drop of oil or light grease. I'd leave it alone until when you do a thorough shop job. Then clean and when done put a drop of oil on it. Clean it with what ever is handy. Fantastic, 409, Windex, etc.

LTG : )

Will spit work? I'm out of 409!

Nose grease. Very common product, always there when you need it. Actually works great on film gates and fine threads to.

Yours will. That sh*t removes paint.

LTG : )

I have a new machine coming. Will the service bulletin corrections already be taken care of on it?

I have a new game coming. Is the factory correcting the service bulletin fixes before shipping?

Depends on the bulletin and the date the game was built. Games don't always ship in the order they are made, both from the factory and from a distributor, sometimes a machine can get shoved into the back of a warehouse and you end up with last, first out, vs first in first out. Was with a distributor the other day who was shipping out two games to customers, but had an older machine in his warehouse, just easier to take what is in front then shuffle them all around.

Always good to double check it, it and also make sure it is on current code. At a minimum look at build date and compare that to bulletins.

Thanks. ^^^ Where do I find the bulletins? I have only seen the skill shot bulletin.

https://www.american-pinball.com/support/

Im watching my AC power in my gameroom since I got the little plug in voltmeter off Amazon.

It ranges from 116v in the afternoons to 120v after about 8:30 PM.

The power company guarantees power to be between 110v and 125v

When the voltage is at 116, all of my games play like crap because they were adjusted in their settings to play good at 120v.

When the power is at 121v or higher the games play amazingly well !

On low power sessions, other than adjust the settings I just practice modes or techniques when this happens.

Unfortunately during the summer (now), over the days that the temperature is 100+ degrees low power happens daily. For days on end.

I imagine I can get the Variacs, set them to 115v, readjust all of my games to play well at that voltage and solve this?

What voltage is the Houdini tested at in the lab? 110v? 117v 120v?

Im thinking I want to stabilize the game power in my gameroom to make them play consistently good

Will the mentioned somewhat available daughterboard stabilize the power draw 10 110v? 115v? This would be good as my power almost never goes below 115v.

I would like to get more info on this. Im perfectly willing to get the Variacs if its a permanent solution.

Thanks!

Why not just get a line conditioner that will maintain a solid 120v output? They're not that expensive...

https://www.tripplite.com/products/power-conditioners~23

Those are nice. Any recommendations on which to buy?