I was hoping for a retrofit kit ?

Bacically cut the hole, install kit, plug in and enjoy !

Its not that I cant do it anyway with adapter plates and a pinwoofer setup.

I just wanted to throw my money in API's direction first if I could.

Houdini is just such a perfect game now.

I really plays strong and fast with very few problems.

As I said before this game is world class and worth adding to any collection.

I know. PM them here and contact them on the website.

Never hurts to ask. Enough interest they may do it, if not already in their plans.

Ask them nice enough and they might include the hole too !

LTG : )

Great Idea!

Thanks Lloyd, you're the best as always!

Hard to ship the hole, everything else in the box falls out.

LOL!

Drill pilot hole, Jigsaw, template, countersunk retainer bolts, install woofer, 2 connections, done! What do I win?

too many steps, bad move human.

Mark dot, drill with holesaw. Fit hole that came in the box.

LMFAO....!

wolftownjeff came over to my house yesterday and played my Houdini. He asked me if I had the latest code. I said I did. He said that my game loses track of the balls when the second ball goes into the lock on left below the ramp just like his does. I believe I sent some audit files to rosh a few times.

Is this something others are still getting? Is there a way to fix this? Or will a code fix need to be done? Every time this happens, I go into test mode and all the lock switches register correctly.

mine will do this very very VERY occasionally. I am reasonably sure it is due to the left lock switches - sometimes they do not all seem to trigger. The ball sits slightly askew of the switch, and I've bent it down (very carefully!) and tried to bend in the ball guide a bit to line the ball up. Seems to have helped

I haven't seen any ball tracking issues in the latest release at all (knock on wood).

^^ This
And i'll add to test any adjustments in switch test several times by rolling the ball into the locks and checking that your adjustments are giving consistent switch closures.

Stay tuned. I need to make a video and written instructions for the install.

I'll see if I can replicate it. When testing the switches, be sure to move the balls left and right to be use they register regardless of how they are stacked. The latest code will keep balls there more frequently, so that might be highlighting a switch issue or maybe there is a code issue. When I have chance I'll see if I can replicate it.

And if you have some free time, maybe a write up on installing the Houdini subwoofer kit (to be announced in the future), maybe....

My wife and I don't agree on many pins, but we both agree Houdini is a masterpiece. So many fun modes! I really believe this is the one pin that will remain constant in our small collection.

For whatever reason any power issues I had in the past are gone and the flippers are strong as could be. Glad to see power supply changes and subwoofer is interesting as well. If I could make any suggestion for next round super deluxe version... use Titan competition rings, in the end most people just swap them out anyway. And use warm white bulbs, they really look best on a game like this.

Possibly my favorite cheap "mod" are the eye blockers. I also wrapped the backboard LEDs with a film to tone down the brightness of the cool white.

H (resized).jpg

What are eye blockers?

Oh, I see unfortunately this is not showing up in the shops at the moment.
Houdini eyelight block foam

I had purchased these from HDMIKE444 and its a simple made self adhesive circle foam strip that just lets light through the center so only Houdini's pupils are lit, rather than the entire round insert.

I bought and installed these too. One of the cheapest and easiest to install mods in pinball. Once you see the difference, it really stands out. Not sure if he's still making them but you could make your own set too.

Yes, mine has exactly the same problem. I've messed around with it with my limited knowledge and had two different techs come out and look at it, no one's been able to figure it out. I can say for sure that it wasn't always doing that, so maybe just a very tricky switch issue.

So hope all you guys still enjoy houdini.

I want to modify my power input a bit more - so I ordered and received the "Total Nuclear Annihilation Power Filter Board Assembly".

I' give it a try and would like to bring a bit more buffer and boost to the game and also stabalize all coils.

Here is how I would like to do it and I would ask if I'm right this way.

The API Coil performance kit is a nice to have but maybe not needed anymore when the TNA board works for me.

Hope for your feedback!

HD1 (resized).JPG

Thats a serious cspacitor board!

I imagine nothing but positive results with that.

Let me know how it goes. The random flipper power can be really frustrating on a game that demands precision.

I roll balls into it during test mode and test it every time I play (which is less and less since I want to play - not test) and the switches register every time.

when it happens and I am playing, I stop and go into test mode and both balls (usually two balls in the lock) are registered.

Has anyone had an issue with the Milk Can loop where the ball essentially go in and then manages to spin back out of the entrance? The flipper strength is where it should be (i.e. it's at the factory default and any lower it's not going to make the top loop). I'm thinking either trying additional wax or putting a small wedge on the rail so that it can't go back up. Any thoughts?

Does it happen every time? Some people have put some of that dead drop foam in there (maybe velcro would work too) and it grabs the ball better

Does anyone know where to buy the drop dead foam? I would like to put some in the back of the stage as well.

It won't help the stage.

Ive done extensive work on this.

The only thing i have come up with to eliminate stage rejects is to hinge the back wall as a mechanical inertia dampener.

Something like the new inertia dampener being made for the IJ mode hole rejects.

Its simple and elegant in its design and works very well.

The problem is that there are very few durable products that eliminate bounce effectively in such a small space.

Plumbers putty works very well but is not durable at all.

Ive tried it.

Now we need to get a game over to Ricochet for him to work on it.

His design has huge implications for future pinball applications.

I put a four round pieces of the soft sided velcro (self adhesive on other side) that are nearly the same size as the metal strip in a row in there. This has helped.

I'll just leave this here:
https://store.american-pinball.com/products/houdini-open-trunk-topper

Nice Vid!

And such a handsome young man (with very fast hands evidently).

Im hoping that this is a precursor to the "Adding a subwoofer" video from the factory kit (thats yet to be announced).

I didn't know if it was possible to earn two Great Jail Escapes in one game, but I found out it is, and I completed both. The second I finished just as I drained my final ball. It awarded 18 million plus. That gave me a new Grand Champion score of 29 million, and most efficient magician. I guess we can assume you can get a 2nd movie binge as well.

MightGrave,

You might want to reach out to Meanwell and ask about large capacitance loads and if the power supply can handle it. I looked up the Meanwell supply and I didn't see any comments about max load capacitance on the RSP-750-48, but some switching supplies spec a max cap rating. Can cause power supply instabilities or maybe in-rush current issues.

Wouldn't hurt to check w/Meanwell just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for the Input mbwalker.
I hope it works, cause in spooky machines and Stern machines there are also these capacitator boards installed.
Bit I will contact meanwell.

So I hope my wiring diagramm will be fine?! I will put the board after the Coindoorswitch and 4-Pin connector (back of the playfield) for the PD-16 boards.

Maybe the AP EE's can chime in. Don't want to steer you wrong nor second guess AP's insight. Just something to consider (too much capacitance) that might cause a hiccup. That's all.

Do you know what power supply Spooky uses?

mbwalker

All fine - i appreciate your Input. I think we all want the best experiance with the game and "tweak it" without damage.

Spooky useses a Meanwell SE-600-48.

RSP-750-48 (resized).png

SE-600-48 (resized).png

Can anyone share a photo of what these mods look like? Doesn't appear that Mike is selling them anymore and I'd love to make a set for my Houdini.

Here are couple of pics...

1 (resized).jpg
2 (resized).jpg

I have a Mirco playfield in mine and don't think it needs these eye black-out inserts as the actual inserts are different between the two.

i am picking up a houdini this saturday in a honda pilot if it doesnt fit is it easy o take the back box off?

My buddy has a Honda pilot and it EASILY fits a folded pin. However if you really had to take the head off, yes it should be pretty quick.

I use Hotwheels in this example, but the process is basically the same.

thank you pin-pals for the pinformation

I've started a Houdini Gameblades poll. Check it out:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gameblades-for-houdini

Now that spooky announced the next game, I need a new speculation thread. When could we see an American pinball announcement ?

No announcement needed.

Its gonna be The Green Hornet !

https://observer.com/2020/04/green-hornet-kato-movie-universal-pictures/

Let me see if I can spin up the Spooky guys in this thread about what the title is...

Nightmare on Elm Street.

Dont even kid about that.

LOL, couldn't resist!

Halloween is the next spooky game