A close friend of mine was out with his family browsing the annual community yard sale in his neighborhood and he was sending me texts and pictures of tech stuff that he knows I collect, after about 4 messages he sends me a text that he found a pinball machine for free in a driveway. Of course I figure its some beat up destroyed EM machine that isn't worth the space in a dump truck but he sends me a picture and tells me that the name is Cyclone and I immediately tell him to grab it regardless of the condition because there had to be at least some salvageable parts on it. Well he wasn't able to fit it in his Nissan Leaf for obvious reasons so they make a rushed effort back to their house 5 blocks away and get his pickup and two other neighbors in hopes it wasn't snagged by somebody else, got back to the house where the machine was and managed to get it loaded in the back of the truck the best they know how. I made the 2 1/2 hour drive to pick it up later that day and after buying the family a nice Sushi dinner and the 2 1/2 trip back home I finally got it unloaded. After spending the next day troubleshooting the dead GI, no controlled lights, half non working slings, dead kickers and non working Ferris Wheel toy I was able to get the machine playable after 3 hours and by the end of the day it was back to 100% playability. The machine was extremely dirty and all the bulbs were blacked over from the years and years of dirt and dust buildup but a quick wipe down and changing out burned out lights with some LEDs I had on hand it is getting back to it's former glory. It amazes me that some people will get so sick and tired of something taking up space that they will toss it out with the trash but as the saying goes "One mans trash is another mans treasure" and this is the fourth machine next to Police Force, Victory and Buck Rogers to end up in my hands this way. I am hoping to do a full teardown, cleanup and full LED retrofit within the next two weeks so it can make an appearance at the Golden State Pinball Expo in Lodi Ca later this month before it finds its permanent home in my game room. Have your friends keep their eyes open, you never know what thay may find for you!
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