(Topic ID: 9900)

Ive got something to say

By Vyzer2

12 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 12 posts
  • 10 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 12 years ago by gambit3113
  • No one calls this topic a favorite

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    #1 12 years ago

    First...the people on pinside are some of the funniest, creative, informative and opinated people on any forum.
    I am glad i found this.
    My other hobby before getting addicted last month to pb is astronomy. That too is one expensive hobby.
    In order to understand all that goes on here..you have to really read alot of the threads..there so damn entertaining.
    I bought my first machine in Decemeber ..a tf. And b4 the month was over...bought an lotr le...thats another thread. Im in the low majority in age (59)..thats another thread. Ive learned so much on this forum..made all the newbie mistakes (thats another thread). But right now I have one question...because my wife and oldest son wont stop playing my machines (thats another thread)...
    How long or how many games...before you start to have problems...switches, coils, bulbs, etc...I know its opened ended....but any advice would be great.
    Love this place..back to work.

    #2 12 years ago
    Quoted from Vyzer2:

    My other hobby before getting addicted last month to pb is astronomy.

    That is really shooting for the stars
    Welcome to pinside

    #3 12 years ago

    With pinball you are always going to have issues with switches, bulbs and other things. It is not so much about the number of plays as it has to do more with chance or fate really. Some even have trouble with NIB pins (thats another thread). Of course a Home use pin will have less problems than a routed pin but you will still run into plenty of things to fix on a home use pin eventually. The choice you need to make is wheather you want to learn how to fix most of the minor things or hire someone else to. I like to fix/work on em for me it is part of the hobby and hiring someone to do the work gets expensive real fast.

    Most importantly welcome to the hobby and Pinside very glad to have you here!! If you have questions or run into issues don't hesitate to ask here no matter how simple. The crowd here is simply awesome at helping deal with fixing a problem!

    #4 12 years ago

    A pinball machine is simply not a "plug-and-play" forever game. There are a ton of moving parts, and the object of the game is to wing a steel ball bearing around at plastic and metal objects at 60 mph+ speeds. Things ARE going to break and need maintenance. There is no predicting how long or how many plays it will take. My advice to you and to anyone else getting into the hobby is that unless you have very deep pockets to hire a technician often, learn to do at least the basic maintenance and repairs yourself. It can be intimidating at first (especially since you started with new and complex machines...no easing into it with you! ), but taken one small step at a time with our guidance, you can do anything needed.

    I'll try to help narrow down the specifics you mentioned.

    Switches rarely "go bad". They may need adjusting from time to time, even possibly right out of the box brand new. That's pretty easy to do. Some types of switches may need to have their contacts cleaned from time to time, but on such new machines it will be a very, very long time before they should need that. Other than that a wire could fall off at some point from all the vibrations, but that's about the easiest soldering job you could encounter. Really not a lot to go wrong with switches.

    Coils very rarely go bad. Again, a wire could fall off. If something wacky happens like a short, or something going back on the circuit board, a coil could lock on and fry. You will most likely never have to deal with that, but if you do they are pretty easy to replace.

    Bulbs are bulbs. They burn out. You replace them just like the lights in your bathroom. Super cheap, super easy. Sometimes they are hard to get to, but that's about the biggest challenge with them. When you change them, some people like LEDs, some don't. That is a whole bunch of different threads!

    You will want to keep your playfield clean and waxed, just like a car, to keep it in the best condition. Rubber rings will need to be replaced from time to time when they get dirty (though they can be cleaned if they are still nice) or start to lose their bounce. Many people like to swap black rubber for white which will help your playfield stay much cleaner. You should also change balls when they get dirty and old or if you notice any nicks or anything on them. This stuff doesn't need to be done terribly often in normal home use...when you notice the machine start to get dirty that means it is time. Dirt leads to wear. Wear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Err...sorry...Yoda'd out there for a minute... You also want to keep your flippers working good since they are your connection with the game. You will need to rebuild them, but not that often. Probably hundreds if not thousands of games. You will know it's time when they start feeling weak or give you problems working correctly.

    With newer machines like yours, you shouldn't have too many troubles right off the bat, but anything can (and will) happen, and you do need to keep them maintained. There isn't anything this community won't be able to help you through though, so don't be too worried about it!

    Welcome to the madness!

    #5 12 years ago

    Most of these games we're discussing on this site are used privately at home. Repairs are certainly going to be less there as they would out on site as they are getting less plays I would think.. AND they aren't on constantly.. as well as not being abused.

    #6 12 years ago

    I would say and this is really just throwing it out there - every 250 games or so, need a little wipe down, check the balls - make sure things just look ok - I know I put over 500 games on my LOTR and nothing has changed - just waxed it, palantir target got a bit crooked. I once heard flippers every 1k games - but I think its more like 5k.

    #7 12 years ago
    Quoted from Jediturtle:

    A pinball machine is simply not a "plug-and-play" forever game. There are a ton of moving parts, and the object of the game is to wing a steel ball bearing around at plastic and metal objects at 60 mph+ speeds. Things ARE going to break and need maintenance. There is no predicting how long or how many plays it will take. My advice to you and to anyone else getting into the hobby is that unless you have very deep pockets to hire a technician often, learn to do at least the basic maintenance and repairs yourself. It can be intimidating at first (especially since you started with new and complex machines...no easing into it with you! ), but taken one small step at a time with our guidance, you can do anything needed.
    I'll try to help narrow down the specifics you mentioned.
    Switches rarely "go bad". They may need adjusting from time to time, even possibly right out of the box brand new. That's pretty easy to do. Some types of switches may need to have their contacts cleaned from time to time, but on such new machines it will be a very, very long time before they should need that. Other than that a wire could fall off at some point from all the vibrations, but that's about the easiest soldering job you could encounter. Really not a lot to go wrong with switches.
    Coils very rarely go bad. Again, a wire could fall off. If something wacky happens like a short, or something going back on the circuit board, a coil could lock on and fry. You will most likely never have to deal with that, but if you do they are pretty easy to replace.
    Bulbs are bulbs. They burn out. You replace them just like the lights in your bathroom. Super cheap, super easy. Sometimes they are hard to get to, but that's about the biggest challenge with them. When you change them, some people like LEDs, some don't. That is a whole bunch of different threads!
    You will want to keep your playfield clean and waxed, just like a car, to keep it in the best condition. Rubber rings will need to be replaced from time to time when they get dirty (though they can be cleaned if they are still nice) or start to lose their bounce. Many people like to swap black rubber for white which will help your playfield stay much cleaner. You should also change balls when they get dirty and old or if you notice any nicks or anything on them. This stuff doesn't need to be done terribly often in normal home use...when you notice the machine start to get dirty that means it is time. Dirt leads to wear. Wear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Err...sorry...Yoda'd out there for a minute... You also want to keep your flippers working good since they are your connection with the game. You will need to rebuild them, but not that often. Probably hundreds if not thousands of games. You will know it's time when they start feeling weak or give you problems working correctly.
    With newer machines like yours, you shouldn't have too many troubles right off the bat, but anything can (and will) happen, and you do need to keep them maintained. There isn't anything this community won't be able to help you through though, so don't be too worried about it!
    Welcome to the madness!

    wow, that was amazing, hats off to you sir, you nailed it, hit it out of the park, no way I could have said it better.

    #8 12 years ago

    Wow!!!!! Those are two awesome machines for the start of a collection. Welcome!!!

    #9 12 years ago

    Well spoken jediturtle.

    #10 12 years ago

    Thanks guys! Write-ups like that are what happens when I'm bored at work.

    Just trying to pass on a little of the info that I've picked up along the way. Lots of guys helped me get up to speed not long ago, and while I'm FAR from knowing everything (or much of anything really), it's nice to be able to "give back" a little and help out the new guys when I can.

    #11 12 years ago

    Much appreciated to all.

    #12 12 years ago

    I thought this was going to be a Misfits thread.

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