Quoted from pinwiztom:ReinnieDidn't you essentially do it also with your Jack of Diamonds project with Herb Silvers?How hard would it be to adapt your board set to be used or reprogrammed for other E/Ms?
Tom,
The board was designed with a lot of flexibility in mind. However, the programming structure is not that of an open source environment and each game would need to be custom programmed. At one time, I had thought about the possibility of making available "Conversion kits" to convert popular titles over to SS reliability. However, with the current state of Retro Pinball, the parts would not be available to cost effectively put together such kits. And quite honestly, the market would be so small, and the cost so high, it would not be finacially viable to take the time to do the programming. And, I fear, that just like many Heath Kit products of the past, they would never get completed and like was mentioned, you would just end up destroying an otherwise workable EM game.
And, in my current frame of mind, I would much rather keep any EM game original in every way possible (minus New Backglass, Playfield, or Playfield plastics). I prefer the sound and feel that is unique to an EM and actually enjoy, more than just about anything, working on EM games. And what I have found in the small time operating I am doing now, a properly serviced EM is probably just as reliable as any contemporary counterpart. If you keep most of what makes an EM look and sound like an EM (Score Reels, Bell Chimes etc.), there is very little point to gutting just the relay logic because someone doesn't have the knowledge or patience to figure it out. The way I look at it, not every game should be saved. Some of them are just too far gone to justify the work required to make them look and play well. And junking 1 EM game typically keeps several others alive or gives a number of warehouse orphans that have had parts completely cut from them another chance to live again. Most of these games were made in the 1000's and loosing a few here and there is not the World's biggest concern these days.
There are basically two types of computer people out there. There are Hardware people, and there are Software people. You don't always find someone that possesses both tallents. I could see why a "software" person would think that removing the relay and setpper logic in an EM to be an improvement. But to me, it is NOT!