I run a small cable business, and we can get decent prices on hookup wire like the style used in pinball machines, so we're going to start building an inventory of solid and striped wire colors common to many pinball machines. The goal is to make the wire available online in small quantities at an affordable price, with fast, low-cost shipping. We'd also have common connectors and pins/crimps available. Bulk would also be available.

I'm putting together our next order from the manufacturer as we speak! We'll have all the solid colors available in 18AWG and 22AWG arriving first, with other sizes to come if requested. The striped styles will come afterwards, as they take a little longer.

Is there anything wire/crimp/connector-related that anyone is particularly looking for, or has a hard time tracking down? Maybe that will help us plan what comes first. I'd appreciate any input!

Thanks in advance! Holler anytime with requests, questions, insults.

Yeah, I think we are on the same page! We will definitely have the appropriate pins/crimps/sockets/plugs/receptacles/housings that are needed for common pinball wiring (0.1 and 0.156 as you mentioned, for example). Being able to get everything one would need for a pinball wiring project or repair in one place would be our goal.

And yes, we will be ramping up to have all the color/stripe combinations possible. Our initial list is the standard Black, Blue, Brown, Gray, Green, Orange, Red, Violet, and Yellow solid colors, followed by striped versions of each (each in the base color with stripes of every other color). In the end, that would be 9 solid colors and 72 different striped colors (per wire gauge)!

We will also be getting them striped in the older "ring" style, and not the spiral striping that most manufacturers do today. Not that it matters, but I just prefer that look, and that it matches my older machines when I make repairs

We'd plan to offer kits as well...so, like all the appropriate wires you need to make a new Bally coin door wire harness (for example), and the connectors/bits with it as well, if needed.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I will keep the thread updated as I start to get wire in the shop and when the storefront goes live.

Other suggestions always welcome!

Cool. Any particular colors/sizes/use-cases you're after?

Nice one! We have a shop downtown so you could even pick up if you wanted to save a few bucks

Sure thing, anytime. I will DM you the details.

Yeah, for sure. We'll add things in stages. Build up a wire/parts inventory as we go, and pre-built harnesses as we go as well. In early days, we'd probably just offer harnesses on demand...as in, let us know exactly what you are looking for and we'll do what we can to get it made for you. Once made, we can add it to the store as a pre-built.

I'll look into that. I'm not familiar with what kind of connectors those are, but I imagine there is something serviceable that exists. If anyone has an image of the plug, I'd love to see. (Or just get me a specific game and I can try and dig up the info).

Thanks for the info. I will drop you a message, I would love to get a closer look.

Options for cloth or braided high-temp wire definitely exist. I would love to be able to offer that as well, and I have it on my "Phase 2" list for sure.

Yeah, for sure. I'm less familiar with arcade controls, but I imagine there is significant crossover. Please do let me know if there is anything in particular that is a common need for you. Thanks!

We're working on it, but not sure when the store will open just yet. I already have a PO in to our wire manufacturer, and should hear back on their delivery timeline any day now. We'll probably wait until our first order of wire arrives to open it up. I will keep this channel posted on timing.

For sure! We will have the flat ground strap and bare ground wire available. I have included that on my above-mentioned PO

//// * UPDATE 11/11/2021 * ////

It looks like our first batch of wire will be arriving to us sometime near the end of the month. Exciting! In the meantime, we will continue to build out the storefront and get everything ready.

Our manufacturer will apparently have trouble doing the ring (or banded) style of striping that you see in a lot of old Bally and Williams etc. games, so we'll be proceeding with the "spiral" type of striping that we're all used to. I'm still going to hunt for someone who can do the banded style, but could take more time that I thought so we'll work on that while other stuff stocks first.

Our first batch of wire will include all solid colors in 18 and 22 AWG, as well as the full spectrum of striped 22 AWG colors.

Here's a short list of some of the other items we'll have right away:
- 18 AWG bare bus wire
- 1/4" flat braided ground strap
- Ratcheting crimper tool
- Plastic loop clamps (variety of sizes)
- 0.100" and 0.156" crimp terminals and housings (as many sizes as we can source)
- 0.62" crimp pins/sockets and receptacle/plug housings (as many sizes as we can source)
- #8 ring crimp terminals
- 0.25" quick disconnect female/receptacle terminals
- 3/32", 1/8", 1/4" heat shrink (for wire repairs, etc.)
- 4" zip ties (white and black)
- Possibly a few simpler, pre-made harnesses as we can

Items we aim to add over time:
- Full spectrum of 18 AWG striped wires
- 16AWG wires (limited variety of colors)
- Double-striped wire colors for Gottleib needs?
- Custom harnesses
- Let us know!

We'll definitely look to the community to point out what wiring needs exist that we could help with, so don't be shy! We'll definitely do our best to add items as we can (and as our budget allows).

More updates to come! Thanks again.

Hmm, interesting. That was always my assumption with the GTB wires...buying white in bulk and striping being an efficiency/cost-saving move.

They may have a patent on a machine, but striping wires in two colors is not a patented thing. Many manufacturers make it.

Still would be worth contacting Steve, if only to try and learn more about the GTB wire product itself.

We've been quiet, but busy. Things we've ordered are finally arriving so we're getting close! The main hold-up is the wire we ordered. Manufacturer delayed our order a bit, and it is now scheduled to ship out to us sometime next week.

I'm hopeful we'll have a first shipment in hand sometime the week after but with the holidays, we'll see.

In the meantime, I will work on opening up the store for some "beta" sales if anyone is in need of whatever crimps/contacts/housings/etc. we've already received. Should be able to have something up this weekend sometime, or early next week. Will make a note here with a link when it's ready.

Seems a little silly to open the "wire store" storefront without any wire, but hey. It's 2021, all bets are off!

Thanks again for hanging in there and keeping an eye on the thread.

some-156-housings (resized).jpg

While we wait for our wire and other products to arrive, I'd love some help beta-testing the storefront!

If anyone is willing to take a couple of minutes to drop a couple of items in your cart and check out, I'll give you a $5 coupon. Hopefully you can find some random loose bits you can use

(I capped the coupon uses at 5, so after 5 people use it the coupon will expire)

We've got a few crimp connectors, some cable clamps and zip-ties, and a few other things. The site is still a work in progress (a few images missing, etc.), but everything is up and running so it'd be great to get some feedback. Here's how:

1. Go to www.wirebot.xyz
2. Use the password "lolowy" to enter the site
3. Use the code "BETABUDDY" in the checkout!

That'll get you $5 towards the order.

Let me know how it goes for you! Anything ordered today ships out tomorrow. I really appreciate it. Thanks!

Nice one, thanks Bryan. Package will be on its way tomorrow. You should get email updates as it ships, please let me know if not.

It is hiding down here. If you click this it will give you a space to drop the coupon code in:

Capture (resized).JPG

Huh, weird. I'll look at it, maybe I missed a setting someplace.

Hmm, weird. Looks like maybe you were trying to check out as a guest? I tried that as well, and the coupon code box was over on the right. I didn't see it in MOSFET 's screengrab, but here's how mine looked:

test-2 (resized).JPG

Let me know. Other folks have used it successfully at this point.

Looking at it again, my guess is maybe you went past it. Follow the breadcrumbs back to the "information" step and maybe it'll be there?

Sorry for any confusion. If you want, drop me a DM with what was in your order and I can try to place the same order and see if I have any issues with it.

Odd. The site is secure, nothing to fear. There is a valid SSL up on the site and it should not cause any security concerns. My guess is the fact that the site is gated with a password at the moment is causing BitDefender confusion.

A few details about the site and info on how to help beta test it are here ...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/comin-soon-pinball-wire-#post-6651907

OK, issue identified.

We have automatic discounts that apply on volume orders (discounted pricing kicks in as the quantities go up), which is conflicting with the manual coupon code entry. The platform only allows one discount to apply per order, so with the volume discount applied...it disables the manual coupon code entry box.

We will work on getting this fixed, because we will want to make sure we can still enter coupon codes when volume discounts apply.

In the meantime...as long as you don't add quantities that qualify for automatic volume pricing, you should still be seeing the coupon code box in checkout.

Thanks again for taking the time to send the feedback!

Oh, excellent, thanks for letting me know. Happy to ship to you in Australia

Awesome, glad to hear!

I will keep this channel updated when the full site is live and we have our first wave of wire stock. Shouldn't be long now! Holler in the meantime if you have any questions.

Sure thing, thanks for the order! It'll ship out tomorrow.

I was actually just in Cincinnati this weekend, and we were briefly able to stop in and flip a few games at the Pinball Garage. Seemed like a cool little spot!

To clarify, greatwichjohn reached out to me and we are discussing the possibilities of working together on some harnesses. Nothing is confirmed yet, and if/when we have any harnesses ready for sale, I will announce their availability here

As an additional update, we have one batch of wire that has shipped from our manufacturer, and another shipping today. Once it all arrives, we'll get them posted in the store and make the site live. I expect that will happen at some point around New Year's weekend.

We will make sure to post a link here once it is up. Thanks again, happy holidays, and talk soon!

Nice one, thanks for helping test out the site. We'll have this out the door for you today Cheers, and happy new year!

Yes, I'm sure there are several people out there who make cables/harnesses.

Of course, no worries. We're here to help, so if there's something useful we can provide please let us know.

We aren't a manufacturer, so we wouldn't be producing custom wire on demand, but we do hope to stock up and be able to offer a wide variety of wire options in our inventory. We will rely on the community's help to help us determine what new styles of wire we could add to our shopping list, and as long as we can source it we will do our best to get it in stock.

Thanks for the update, glad everything arrived safe and sound. As always, if you find you have a need for anything in particular, please reach out and let me know. Happy to help out as best I can!

I'm happy to say that we've officially opened our website and are accepting new orders:

https://wirebot.xyz

Our inventory will become more robust over time, but we've started by gathering a relatively wide but shallow inventory of basic wire and associated wire bits to get us going. We will be re-stocking in larger volume as orders come in and as we start to see which items are in higher demand. So if you are looking for something that is out of stock, don't worry! It'll be back soon. And new batches of wire and parts are already on the way, which we will add to the site as they arrive.

If you are looking to place a high-volume order for wire/parts, please feel free to reach out to me anytime. I can get you a cost and timeline estimate.

And to that end, we will be relying on our customers and the pinball community to help us identify new items that would be valuable to add to our store. So if you have ideas on new items that you'd like to see stocked, please let us know! We can add it to Wire-Bot's shopping list.

Please check out the new site and let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thanks and (almost) happy new year!

Excellent! You should see that ship out on Monday. Thanks for the order.

Items slowly rolling in. Added .093" pins/sockets today.

https://wirebot.xyz/collections/0-093-2-36mm

Reminder: We place regular re-orders for wire, so if you need a larger/bulk amount of something on the site let me know and I can get you pricing. Happy 2022!

Smaller lengths come in a neat loop. If you needed a larger bulk order, it'd probably be spool. But feel free to reach out anytime if you wanted something specific. We should be able to accommodate

Thanks for the heads up. Should be all better now. It was showing the default "bulk pricing" table, which doesn't actually work. Here's how it should look now:

clip (resized).JPG

New orders will get one of these sweet new stickers! They're holographic, maaaan.

get-zapped (resized).jpg

https://wirebot.xyz/

Some more housings have started to trickle in. This week we received some .093" Molex connector housings, so those have been added to the store:

https://wirebot.xyz/collections/0-093-2-36mm

Holler with questions anytime. Thanks!

They are on order, but were delayed coming from the east coast. Current estimated delivery date is Monday. So I expect them to arrive late this week or first thing next week. As soon as they do we'll get them up in the shop.

I hope they arrive soon! I need some for my own project

Thanks for the order, Jody! You'll see these ship out this afternoon.

We're game to build any harness, but we'll need an original to build from if we want it fully plug-and-play. Alternatively, we could start in the backbox and fit the required connector housings with the appropriate color wires and just cut them to a pre-determined length, and you could do the final install/cable routing.

Reach out anytime, would love to chat more about it! PM here, or email [email protected] !

We have added Gottlieb System 1 MPU-to-Driver Cable Harnesses (and kits) to the store. We don't carry the obsolete original housings (you'll need to re-use your old ones), but we'll keep hunting for suitable replacements. Cheers!

https://wirebot.xyz/products/gottlieb-system-1-interconnect-cable-harness

https://wirebot.xyz/products/gottlieb-system-1-mpu-to-driver-cable-harness-diy-kit

0.093" (18-22 AWG) crimp pins finally arrived. In stock and available now.

https://wirebot.xyz/products/0-93-crimp-pin

Received a shipment of 18 AWG Black striped cable (9 different stripe colors). Available now in the store! Have a good weekend...

https://wirebot.xyz/products/18-awg-wire-black-striped

Haha, no problem! Happy to help out, feel free to holler anytime.

Need someone to do your wire crimping for you? Wire-Bot can help! Check out our "Pre-Crimped Wire" request form and let us know what you need. We'll figure out cost and timing and let you know. Thanks! Holler with any questions.

https://wirebot.xyz/pages/pre-crimped-wires

Haha, sorry friend! We'll be here for you next go-round

Sweet, holler anytime!

Of course, thank you!

We made a few small additions to our store. Here are some links! Holler anytime with questions. More to come soon, thanks again...

18AWG Blue wire with White stripe:
https://wirebot.xyz/products/18-awg-wire-blue-striped

Classic Stern Coin Door Wiring Harnesses:
https://wirebot.xyz/products/early-stern-coin-door-wiring-harness

Thanks for the kind words, glad to hear everything went smooth.

Even the smallest wire harnesses need a little love sometimes. Here's a before-and-after of a tiny little guy I whipped up today. Helps make a big difference!

before-after (resized).jpg

Sweet, and congrats! That's a fun-looking project.

Wire-bot is always working! Fun assortments of cable shipping daily. Holler if we can help with a special project!

www.wirebot.xyz

PXL_20220501_155124851 (resized).jpg

New addition to the store today...18 AWG yellow wire with striped colors. Slowly but surely, we're getting there...

https://wirebot.xyz/products/18-awg-wire-yellow-striped

Holler anytime with any questions! Thanks

Oh, great! Yes, it is fun to have more of the wire we ordered start to arrive You should see your order ship out later today. Thanks again.

Sweet, glad we could help. Keep me posted if you have other homebrew needs you don't find in the shop. I'd love to be able to supply all the wire stuff homebrewer's need.

Holler anytime if you have any questions

We do have those, actually. Well, some anyway. I can check the shelf...maybe 50-100 or so? More on the way, at which point I will get them in the store. If you need a few in the meantime, drop me a DM here or reach out via the contact form on the site! Happy to do what I can.

Oh no, sounds like I have another inventory issue on the site. Easy fix. We have 100 of the .100 crimps (they are just standard crimp style, not trifurcon), so I can adjust your order for you. Sorry about that!

Yes, I think this is what you are after?

https://wirebot.xyz/products/18-awg-stranded-bus-wire

We finally received the 9-position .093" Molex plugs we'd been waiting on, so those are in stock now:

https://wirebot.xyz/products/093-connector-plug

Which also means that a new product---the WPC Transformer-to-GI (J115) Harness---is also available!

https://wirebot.xyz/products/wpc-transformer-to-gi-secondary-wiring-harness

Thanks for looking

0.156" headers with locking tabs are in stock. Non-locking tab style and 0.100" header strips will be in the shop next week

https://wirebot.xyz/products/0-156-24-pin-header-w-locking-tab

Sure thing, I'll see what I can do We actually recently moved so the new shop is still a work in progress!

We've got a few new items in the store!

.156" Connector Header Strips
https://wirebot.xyz/products/0-156-24-pin-header

.156" Connector Header Strips w/ Locking Ramp
https://wirebot.xyz/products/0-156-24-pin-header-w-locking-tab

.100" Connector Header Strips
https://wirebot.xyz/products/100-24-pin-header

Working on adding a few new harnesses to the website over the next few days. Today's addition:

WPC-95 Cabinet Wiring Harness

https://wirebot.xyz/products/wpc-95-cabinet-wiring-harness

Working on some WPC-95 cabinet and transformer harnesses today, among some other things.

And while they're not in the store yet, we can also make custom ribbon cables...including stuff for P3-ROC or homebrews. Just reach out! Have a good day

wpc95-cab (resized).jpg
wpc95-cab-wip (resized).jpg

Not all cables and harnesses need to be crazy! Here's a little set I whipped up for a Williams background sound board.

PXL_20220620_170700649 (resized).jpg

We've added Gray and Rainbow Ribbon Cable to the store. We also have a few sizes of connectors for them if you're looking to make some quick and easy display cable replacements. And if you're working on a home brew or other P3-ROC project, just let us know. We can make cables for you, or package up the loose bits you need.

Gray Ribbon Cable:
https://wirebot.xyz/products/ribbon-cable-gray-ft

Rainbow Ribbon Cable:
https://wirebot.xyz/products/ribbon-cable-rainbow-ft

Here's a quick shot at a project I worked on this weekend...replacing a few of the ribbon cables in my Grand Lizard:

PXL_20220709_043111466 (resized).jpg

We've got a full spectrum of striped 18 AWG incoming over the next couple of weeks (basically all of the additional color options we don't currently have), so be on the lookout for those in the store soon.

Also, I have a question. I'd like to continue to add inventory as long as it is something that would be helpful for the community ... are there any wire/connector/other parts that you have a hard time sourcing that we might be able to provide or make? The out-of-production parts (28-position .100" housings, for example) notwithstanding. If so, do let me know!

That's a good idea. I'll look into it.

Not sure if I've got the capital to buy out GPE, but it's a fun idea!

Last week we received a shipment of some of the striped 18 AWG wire we'd been waiting on. It's available now in the store

https://wirebot.xyz/collections/18-awg-wire

Coupla new cables available in the store now. See below. Thanks!

WPC 50 Volt Disconnect Harness
https://wirebot.xyz/products/wpc-50-volt-disconnect-harness

STTNG Top Gun (Cannon) Cable
https://wirebot.xyz/products/sttng-top-gun-cannon-cable

Normally I'll put anything over 50 ft on a spool, but if you have a smaller amount you'd like on a spool feel free to just leave that request in the order. No problem

Thanks, appreciate the kind words!

Always, stickers

Oh good, thanks for confirming. I'll get that one added to the site.

Right on, appreciate the note! Feel free to reach out anytime if you can't find what you're after, or have any questions.

Haha, a kit like that is certainly possible! Maybe we'll have to schedule some time to cut down some lengths of all the colors and make some short-length "everything" kits. Kind of a fun idea

We don't have any pre-made, but we can make one for you if needed. Drop me a note if/when you're in the market!

Thanks for the kind words! Happy to help.

Haha, glad you dig the sticker. Sorry again we couldn't meet up in person. Next time!

At the moment I don't but I am willing to stock it. Let me know what colors you're after, and I can add some to my weekly order.

Thanks!

Hey Mike, thanks for the suggestion. Certainly, I will look into an efficient way (for me) to do this. Appreciate the feedback.

Yeah, I had the Wolffpacs as well. I can't recall now which wires it was causing the issue (I sold the game last year), but removing those daisy-chained wires from the connectors that didn't need them fixed the issue. I will look through that post and see if I can recall. I probably have some images as well I can reference.

I did order some spools of the 16 gauge in just black, white, and green for now. They should arrive late this week or early next week, at which point I'll add them to the store. If all looks good with those, I plan to order the other solid colors subsequently.

Haha, glad they arrived safely. Now you're ready for anything Thanks for the kind words.

The Black, White, and Green 16 AWG wire is now available in the store. Thanks!

https://wirebot.xyz/products/16-awg-wire-solid-colors

Excellent. You should see those ship out right away. Appreciate you!

The manufacturer I purchase from doesn't keep stranded 14AWG ready off-the-shelf (only solid), which just means I have to order it in higher volume and the wait time is longer. So for now, I'll hold off. I haven't had a lot of people asking for the 14AWG to this point.

Looking good, appreciate that! To be clear, I aim to get orders out as fast as I can. But it's not always same day. I say 1-2 business days to fulfill most orders, sometimes a bit longer if there are harnesses I need to make

Quick note for anyone checking in here this week: Wire-Bot will be closed from March 19 through April 1 while we pack up and move our shop.

We'll be open this week and will make sure any orders placed before the 19th get shipped out as normal. Just a heads up we'll be down for a couple of weeks after that.

Thanks!

Thanks T3quila . Generally, I will start to put stuff on spools when the quantity is larger than 50 feet or so. I may actually make some tweaks to the way we are selling the wire so I can account for the cost of the spool. So like...sell wire by the foot up to 50 feet or so, then in spools of set amounts beyond that.

But if you ever have a weird or special request, feel free to reach out and I'll do my best to help!

Well, I appreciate the kind words. Don't go ripping wire out of your machine! Haha. Happy to help out anytime if I'm able, feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions. Cheers!

Drop me a DM, I'll send you a scrap piece if you want to give it a feel (ya creepy old man)!

Appreciate that Happy to help.

(And to clarify...not all quantities come on spools. Typically anything close to 100 or so ft (or more) will get spooled, smaller quantities will just be loops. But if anyone has questions, requests, or concerns about it, feel free to email or DM me anytime.)

Whoa, sweet I do actually have a manufacturer sending me samples of .100 housings. So once I receive those and can confirm they are good, I will place an order for some common sizes and start to stock those up. May take a month or two, but I am working on it.

Looking good!

Happy to help. Appreciate the order!

I'm still working on this, and will have a small shipment arriving this week in a few sizes. Slowly but surely

I have been working on it, but no product on hand yet. I have discussed production with some manufacturers, but the feedback I keep getting (from the ones I can afford) is that the piece is too long and will warp in production. I'm like "OK," but keep looking. So if anyone knows of an injection-molding manufacturer that can handle not-massive runs of product, please do share. Would definitely reach out.

I have a 3D model of the part, so doing 3D-printed pieces would be an option, but that gets pricey.

Oh wow, looking great! Keep us posted, and let me know if you have any feedback on the harness or run into any issues.

And if anyone else needs a Nine Ball harness, feel free to reach out!

I did receive a few sizes (2-p, 12-p, and 5-p). I do not have them on the site yet, but will do that sometime this week. If you need any of those in the meantime, let me know and I can help you set up an order. Thanks!