I have a decent Black Hole I'm offering for sale. It recently had some trouble with the 5v line and I had it serviced but it's been a bit wonky as of late (it's a system 80, this is always going to be true). I was having a bit of trouble with the ball releasing into the shooter lane but I reseated all of the connectors earlier tonight and didn't have any trouble with it. Is it gone for good? I doubt it.

The only other issue I'm aware of is some weirdness with the credit/ball display/lower playfield display. Occasionally, there will be a weird digit in the credit window (segment locked on maybe?) and for the ball count, it seems like it doesn't like to show a 1 for ball 1. For the lower playfield display a digit will sometimes drop out (might be the 1000s digit).

Beyond those two things, everything else seems to work as it should. Here are some pictures. I think it's in pretty nice shape for a Black Hole but you be the judge.

The disk spins but had a button added so it can be turned on/off. Right now, it's off.

Dave

IMG_5146.JPG IMG_5147.JPG IMG_5148.JPG IMG_5149.JPG IMG_5150.JPG IMG_5151.JPG

More pictures...

IMG_5152.JPG IMG_5153.JPG IMG_5154.JPG IMG_5155.JPG IMG_5156.JPG IMG_5157.JPG

last one...didn't want to go in the last group for some reason...

IMG_5158.JPG

Just updating the post to let folks know that I put another 10 games or so on it last night and didn't have any issues with the ball release mechanism so I'm thinking that the reseating of the connectors fixed the problem, at least for now.

The game is really in pretty nice condition overall but I wanted to be sure I was up-front with any issues that I am aware of as I want to be be sure there are no surprises for the buyer.

Dave

I'm pretty sure my repair guy did those when I first got it, at least that's what I think I told him to do. I know the game is much better once that's done, which is why I had him do it. I should probably take a look at what's normally done for the ground mods and see if it looks like they've been done.

Dave

Well then, either he didn't do them or my memories bad...my money's on my memory. I do know that my repair guy does a lot of things "his" way so it may be done, just differently than how "most" would do it but in looking at the pictures (I'm not by the machine right this second) it would appear as though they haven't been done.

As my solder skills leave a lot to be desired, I'll leave it up to the buyer to do them should they choose. I'd rather not make things worse at this point by trying to fix something that really isn't broken (game's playing great right this second). Of course, to make sure it keeps playing great, it should be done, it just won't be me that does it (unless nobody buys it, in which case I'll do it).

Dave

Ok, I played a few more games tonight and paid closer attention to the display issue with the credit/ball count/lower playfield display and figured out that the digit 1 isn't showing up. So, when the credit number includes a 1, it doesn't show. If the ball count is 1, it doesn't show, and in the lower playfield display, if there is a 1 that should appear in the 10s, 100s, 1000s, etc digit then it doesn't show. The normal score displays work fine but the #1 digit doesn't seem to display in the credit/ball count/lower playfield display.

Other than that, the game is playing great.

Dave

Just wanted to throw this out there that I'd be willing to hold the game, with payment, until Expo. Currently, I'm not planning on attending Expo but could potentially be persuaded to head that way, with the game in the back of my vehicle. I'm a little over an hour north of Expo, in case anyone is coming this way and would like to check the game out.

Let me know.

Dave

Just got back from being out of town bump...seriously, am I really overpriced on this game?

Dave

I'd say that $600 for an unshopped, working, and I assume in nice cosmetic shape, BH was a pretty good deal. I'd also say that $1000 for a shopped/modded game is also a good deal.

No worries, it'll be going up on CL sometime today and we'll see if anyone outside of the pinside world is interested in it.

Dave

Did a bit more research and have discovered that for the credit/ball in play/lower playfield display the issue is that the #1 digit isn't displaying. In other words, every place that a 1 would appear, it shows blank. Not really sure what's causing that but I can tell you that it's only in those 3 areas. The score displays work correctly.

Anyway, just thought I'd update the thread with the new information and bump it at the same time.

By the way, I'm only about an hour or so north of Expo so pick-up while you're at Expo wouldn't be too much of a trip. You could also play the games in my collection while you're there

Dave

Alright, I'm surprised this hasn't moved yet as I thought $1200 was a fair price for this game, but the masses have spoken, or rather, their silence has spoken. I'm lowering the price to $1000.

Surely, someone wants this game at that price...

Dave

My preference is to sell locally as I'd much rather have the person see the game, and play it, before taking it. I always worry that something will happen in transit and then the buyer is left wondering if there was something wrong with the game before it shipped, or if the shipping caused the issue.

However, I've had games shipped before and am willing to work with anyone who wants it shipped. However, I don't have the desire/ability to wrap a game for shipping so if you're thinking of using pilot air you'd have to pay for them to provide palleting/wrapping of the game. We'd also have to work out something for delivering it to the terminal.

Dave

Pinwiz81, if you want to discuss this further, you can send me a PM. Just hover over my avatar and click on "PM".

Dave

Thanks Pezpunk...I thought $1200 was a good price but apparently it wasn't good enough. It's really a pretty cool game, I'm just ready for something else. I suspect I'll own this game again in the future as this is the 2nd time I've owned this title so there is definitely some love for it here.

Dave

It's the "I still can't believe I have this" bump

It's the "what is it going to take to get you into this car, er pinball" bump...someone buy this thing from me. I know the old saying "if it's not selling then it's overpriced" but I really believe I have it priced fairly - but maybe the market is speaking and I'm not listening.

Dave

Ralph,

In general, I'd agree with you, but I sold a Black Hole, in probably similar or slightly worse condition than the one I have now, for $1000 4 or 5 years ago. It seems that most (your previous examples excluded) Black Holes that I see for sale are around this price.

I did have it up on Ebay last week for a quick, one week run. I had a bit of interest in it but nobody made a good offer on it.

If it doesn't sell soon then I'll just hold on to it until closer to Christmas and list it again. It's going to sell, it's just a matter of finding the right buyer.

Dave

I've never shipped via pilot air so I'm unaware of the cost and what would need to be done to the game before it could be shipped. I can't pallet/wrap the game so if that were required, they'd have to do it.

If you're interested in having it shipped, you'd need to do the legwork. I'll help as much as I can but arranging it would be on you.

Dave

Well, I'm working on finding a buyer, so I'll be calling to see if that would be you

Hey Hi-Fi,

Thanks for the bump and it was nice to meet you and Jess the other night. Hey, someone buy Hi-Fi's Champion Pub that he has for sale so that Black Hole can find a new home. I think Jess really liked the game but one's got to go before a new one can be brought in.

Dave

I'm happy to report that the game has been sold! Thanks Hi-Fi. I'm sure you and Jess are going to enjoy this game.

Dave