Also just finished putting comet LEDs in this one throughout.

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OK ERIK! It's not enough for me to be in a tournament for you to prove I suck, you have to do it when I'm at home too?!?!

So after poking my game like a bad first date, I made some interesting discoveries:

1) It IS possible to get the game to say "Orbit Completed" on the same single shot! BUT - and in my opinion this is a HUGE but - you'd have to rip the spinners so damn hard and fast that I question just how likely it is. I mean, I have loose spinners... but the way I finally got my Blackout to do it, they ripped faster and longer than any natural spinner shot I've done on any pinball game I've played. Not only that, but the delay in the game registering the first completion, playing the callout, registering the ongoing spin and then playing the second callout was so long that I think the ball would be back in play long before the second call. In case you're wondering, I only managed to simulate this via finger spins, AND once rocketing the ball by hand with such force that when I tried a second time it ricocheted and broke a plastic

2) There IS a limit on Orbit awards, or callouts at least: 4 *per game*. Didn't matter if I did this in one ball, or a combo of two or three. And didn't matter what the scoring was, or what else had been achieved. Once it said it four times it never did again, even though everything else worked as far I as I noticed. I claimed the Blackout and/or EB awards to see if that would reset some internal clock... nope. But after starting the next game, Orbits called out fine. Until 4.

I would've sworn I'd more than that a few times but... maybe not after all? But there *HAVE* been few times I've been "sure" I did and it didn't talk and I only assumed it's because the orbit wasn't "fast" enough. Clearly I was mistaken.

I'm not aware of an orbit score bonus beyond spinner counts, so if the "limit" means just muted callouts it may not be a big deal.

3) It will indeed award a counterclockwise Orbit if you remove the gate: it apparently looks for the spinners in direct sequence regardless of order. The callout plays the instant the second spinner switch closes. How long they must continue spinning to register a "2-for-1", I couldn't tell. Several times, both spinners were still going after the speech call completed, but a 2-fer didn't play. Only when I massively cheated them, did it work.

Given that it IMO it really only makes sense for "one orbit" to be complete per ball transition, I'm OK with this. I never had reason to suspect a 2-fer was possible. But it's interesting that it *is*...

I could’ve sworn on this one it lets me get the orbits again once I drained. Maybe I missed something. Good to k ow yours behaves similarly.

I'm not sure, but I thought my orbits reset after reaching 20,000 and went back to 5000

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They will reset after hitting the saucer and then hitting any playfield switch I believe. But orbits don’t come back I don’t think.

I'm sure we'll find that pic in the No Rainbow puke Club, but I like it. I think the colors look great in this game.

On mine it seems that if the left spinner and right spinner keep spinning,it thinks another ball gone through the two spinners and completed the orbit. I just don’t know where my problem would be. Doesn’t seem to be switches, almost has to be software bug, or if there is a timer built in to prevent that from happening, it has gone bad. Curious where I should look bc it sounds like it’s not “supposed” to be that way

I think it’s related to how long the right spinner spins. Mine doesn’t spin that long when the ball comes through the backside of it. If yours is spinning for a long time on the full orbit, that’s probably what’s doing it.

It didn’t take many spins for https://share.icloud.com/photos/0hieCPbjmakY3NKzE6M4OGlNw

thanks. Man I am mentally deficient on uploading a video. Took me 10 tries

(When is the panthera video?)

Your left spinner was spinning forever.

On mine when I rip the ball around through both the left spinner rocks for a while, but the right spinner only goes for 10-15 spins. I think that’s the deciding factor on if you get that second orbit award.

Panthera video soon! I’m still working out some kinks.

I think that you need to hit another (non spinner) switch while they are still spinning, to get a second "Orbit completed) call.

More orbit rules fun:

Just streamed mine for a couple hours the other day, and never had the orbit issue. I was able to keep collecting the values same ball or rest of game.

Maybe my testing by hand was causing the game to act weird. YMMV, but I think the orbits are working fine and never lock you out.

Anyone have a wall hanger play field that I could got a hardtop and swap with?

Any one know what would cause my Blackout to rapidly flash double zeroes on all of the score screens and not let me start up a game? 40 pin connector issue perhaps? Figured before I start diagnostics I’d reach out here and see if anyone else has had and fixed this issue. Thanks!

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That'll most likely take a little work to figure out the problem. Your better off starting your own thread.

Thanks. I was actually able to fix the problem. Not sure what caused it, but I removed and reconnected all of the connectors on the boards and that fixed the problem. Keeping my fingers crossed it's fixed now for some time.

Sometimes the high tech approach like this is best !
Congrats on the fix!

Lol, and thanks!

I've got a very nice Blackout populated playfield with wire harness (only missing a drop target mech, so you'd have to swap that) if anyone would like to upgrade. I was initially going to try to build a game out of it but I have enough projects and I can't find the right donor cabinet. It's gotta be a local deal because shipping would be a bitch. (Unless you really want to pay for it) Shoot me a PM if you're interested or looking for one.

What is the insert situation like on your playfield?

Slightly cupped but not bad. PM me and I'll get you more pictures. There is a little wear on the side inserts but I can touch that up.

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Hi. I know this might be simple question and im hoping so. How do i change blackout so the 2x 3x 4x and 5x dont carry over to next ball? Thanks.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/blackout-settings-stop-multipliers-carry-over#post-6172722

Yeah was itching to get it set up correctly. Switch 35 and im in there.

Here's a fun video my 10 year old and I created last week to pay homage to Williams Blackout....hope you enjoy it!

Where do you go for green plastic arrow inserts for the Blackout or any other machine that uses them? I ordered a few from Marco just to see what they look like and the shape is not the same and they don't fit. The newer arrows also have facets that give it a diamond like effect underneath, where the old green ones are just flat green plastic. If anyone has a source I would very much appreciate that as I would like to pop these out and replace them. The orange ones at the top on my machine are flush although just a bit cupped but I can live with that. Thanks!

You have to sand the inserts... which sucks but there is no other way.

Like you, I have found the modern arrows to be just a tad bigger regardless of what color I bought when or from who (Firepower in 2015; Blackout in 2020; from multiple sources each time). It's crazy! The only way to get them to fit flush is to sand down the top surface about 1/16 to 1/8", OR route the original pf holes slightly bigger. The new inserts have edges which bevel inward, so their surface area shrinks as you decrease the thickness.

I've tried both methods; neither is fun. Routing the holes larger is obviously extremely risky but if you only have one or two to do and a surgeon's hand, it's waaaay quicker. BUT even then you still have to sand the insert tops anyway to remove the mold marks.

With sanding alone what sucks is you have to sand them so much first for fit, and then more to polish them shiny. Sand and check fit, sand some more and repeat until they get flush. Make sure you sand dead level and not an angle... you have to rig a jig of sorts to hold the insert as you sand, and it's all so tedious. And if you go too far, you'll be fretting over how to raise and level or fill the now-low insert.

As for the facets, nobody has made plain "flat" inserts for many years, or at least not in mass quantity. The understanding is faceting strengthens the inserts to make round ones less likely to "dish" and arrows less likely to "banana" over time. A fair trade IMO.

I can see where the facets would strengthen an insert to keep it from caving in for sure but I'm surprised after all these decades now with pinball having a resurgence that nobody has tackled this with a simple injection mold process. Take an old arrow or any of the older playfield inserts, measure them and create a mold out of aluminum and start cranking them out! I had one shot and I blew it. I had all five green arrows out at one time and I managed to flatten them with a hot hair dryer as they were concave and sticking up. I used Elmer's wood glue and glued them back in and noticed that they did not sit flush with the playfield no matter how hard I pushed down on it by the time I realized it it was too late and the glue dried. All I had to do was sand the bottom of the arrow that sits inside the machine about a 16th of an inch. Apparently the plastic had swelled over the last 40 years. I suppose you could sand a 16th of an inch from the top of the arrow where the ball touches it but then you'd have to polish it to get the scratches out to make it see-thru. If I try to pop them out now they will certainly break. Elmer's white glue is the way to go for inserts. If you ever hope to pop them back out again later. You're absolutely right, there is no easy way around this unless you want to fork out $700 and hope that classic playfield reproductions out of Canada creates a new reproduction Blackout playfield! I wish I had a tool that would take the top of those arrows down to playfield level without removing them or damaging the paint! Live and learn!

Tax Return has me thinking...
CPR plastics?
Repro Backglass?
Pinball Pimp stencils?
Polished side rails?
New legs?
Already have a Hardtop (though this playfield is better than my last Blackout)

This machine is a forever pin in our house so why not make it the best Blackout it can be?

Subwoofer sounds nice

For the guys out there who have done full tear downs, have any of you swapped the star posts for clear or blue? Im going to Hardtop my Balckout this fall and im thinking clear star posts might look sharp with the theme. Thanks

I did a Hardtop on mine and kept the red. I bet clear would look great. Blue might too. I took some liberties with changing some insert colors.

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Can anybody give me a number count for the amount of insert bulbs.
I'm outta town and would like them there when I return.

I was PM-ing Flip-it-good about his insert question and after reading Goingincirclez answer I decided to post here instead.
I've done this in both my Blackout and FirePower inserts.
The legal team said I need to include the following statement: this worked perfectly for me and my situation. It may or may not for yours and doing so you assume full responsibility for the outcome.
Now I NEVER sanded mine...why remove the already aged and brittle material that is there..your just weakening the plastic.
The following material cost me about $10. (See Pic 1)
1) 3" C-clamp ( you'll need the jaw width)
2) 2 glass trinkets from Family Dollar, about 1/4 in. thick and tempered, safety first.

I use my oven to which I set to 170°, that's as low as it goes. I take one insert at a time and place between the two glass discs. I then clamp till snug, this usually flattens the insert. (Pic 2)

I leave in the oven for 25 minutes (reversing 40 yrs. worth of lightbulb heat). When the time is up I take from the oven, giving a slight turn to the clamp, and put right into the freezer for 10 mins or till cool.

Remove, polish and replace. I like to use hot glue, it won't change color or get hazy later on.

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just joined the club, loving the seemingly simple objectives and the orbit shots but not so easy to accomplish. my first non dmd game. the ball kicks out so fast when you drain i thought it was a ball save hahha!

have an annoying ball hop on the right flipper looking into a cliffy flipper frame. also some fast orbit shots just jump over the frame to the drain , both left nd right sides , seems like the frame should have a plastic on standoffs above the metal frame to keep this from happening. anyone else have issues with this?

I don't remember for sure, but for the orbit shot going down to the right flipper - check the placement of the last post on the way down. You may need to move it - conservative or liberal placement. I'm not sure what you mean by frame.

i thought that was the term for the metal piece with 3 screws in it that feeds the ball to the flippers from the inlanes ?

I've always called them lane guides, but then again, I'm not the definition expert. Others feel free to chime in. They likely have more than one name.

On my Blackout, I don't seem to have that issue. It plays fast, and occasionally, I'll get a ball hop off the right flipper when the orbit is really flying. I don't have anything above the lane guides.

Made some flipper frame or ball return guides that sit on short standoffs,I think it looks a little more finished and prevents the ball from hopping over . Went with a red pinstripe to match the rest of the plastics.

These are an opaque black ,if someone else has some graphic or decal skills I would be happy to make a set in clear in exchange. They could look nice illuminated from the bottom by drilling out the flipper frame

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had to do a little tweaking:

fused the rectifiers per vids thread.

switched the flippers to the fliptronic style, feels snappier and more solid . with the flipper frames from cliffy no more ball hop- shooting good!

replaced the speaker with a more modern 80 w one i had lying around , sounds about the same.

thinking of trying to do a little playfield touchup or waterslide decals anyone have playfield scans?

Does anyone have and want to sell some Blackout Keyfobs?

Hello. I'm looking for a 300 or 600 dpi scan of this plastic. Can anyone help me out?

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Bump. Anyone?

I'll hook you up bro, take me a day or two to shuffle around pins so I can get the glass off. Drop me a reminder if you don't see a post by Sunday night.

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I'll have time this weekend to do this if still needed.

if either of you can get me a scan of the area of the two astronauts on the playfield, and one from the flippers up to the top of the slingshots i will be eternally grateful