Well, if my rant about LEDs didn't bring it in, I'm sure this will. I aim to please.

Different strokes and all. If it's your game, go for it, but my personal thought is that it decreases the playability and thus value of a game for me - especially an EM or Bingo. Replacing shoddy or worn clear coat on a modern game is an entirely different subject.

I also just set up a voicemail line for the podcast - 724-BINGOS-1 or 724-246-4671.
Call with an EM or Bingo playing memory, with gameplay or technical questions, and you'll likely hear it on the show!

Yes, you can also leave hate voicemail if needed.

It's not the speed that bothers me, but the way the ball moves. Changes to the forces exerted on the playfield, not ball speed, are at issue.

I'll have to listen to that episode again, however, this is only my opinion.

I've got several super fast EMs. The fastest of all my games is 50 years old. Age is just a number, Ryan!

Wax will bring ball speed back up as it provides a very thin coat on top of the wood/ink. I'll get to that in a later episode.

Ryan, note that I mentioned if you are completely repainting your game then a full clearcoat would make sense.

Episode 115 - Interview with Danny Leach 6-26-15

Danny runs the bingo history website located at http://danny.cdyn.com

Danny has been collecting and archiving stories and history on all the bingo machines - Bally, United, and the solid states from overseas.

The stories that have been archived at Danny's site are fascinating - he has lots of info on bingos and the law and various player stories and info on playing these great games.

Note that there's a couple of bad words, if you care about such things.

Thank you Vic, I agree!

Episode 116 - Interview with Jay Stafford 6-28-15

Jay Stafford is one of the key members of the IPDB, who helps to accrue images and documentation on pinball machines to post for reference.

The IPDB site provides an invaluable service to the collector community - I know, speaking for myself, that I would be absolutely lost without the availability of the images and information on the site.

Jay provided his answers via e-mail.

The Internet Pinball Database is available at http://ipdb.org.

A sidenote: don't forget to register your serial numbers at http://ipsnd.net

Ha-ha, oh. Well I meant to say it. Lacquering would make sense if you were screening the graphics onto the playfield. This would be as original, and would certainly play better (in my opinion only!), but I thought I had mentioned in a throwaway sentence that if you were repainting the entire playfield, it would make sense to clearcoat.

In this case because the paint is more fragile than the screened ink.

Otherwise, I'd still leave it as factory.

Episode 117 -Interview with Molly Baldridge 7-2-15

Molly is my wife, and I finally talk with her about her thoughts on pinball in general, her favorite machines, and bingos.
Molly holds the high score for Twinky, one of the fastest, most difficult machines that I own.
Molly enjoys the social aspects of the hobby, but mostly does not play, so I was curious to record her perspective on the games.

Early post today - Episode 118 - Cleaning the Bottom Board

Cleaning the bottom board in an EM machine is important, for any machine that has components mounted on a board beneath the playfield.

This would include most any flipper game made in the 60s+.

Note that the bingo collection I mention as for sale in Ep. 118 is only for sale as a package deal for all 10 games. Contact Vic_Camp if interested!

Episode 119 - Playfield Disassembly

Discussion on how to disassemble the top of your playfield, including how to polish your plastics and posts.

Episode 120 - Further Playfield Disassembly

You've got your ball arch, posts, and plastics removed - now it's time to remove your pops/bumpers, flippers, slings and other mechanisms - then the fun really begins.

Episode 121 - Cleaning and Waxing

What I use, how I use it. Pitfalls of everything.

Episode 122 - Mold Remediation

Our first call on the bingo line brings a question on how to deal with mold on the bottom board.
I talk about some of the ways I try to tackle this issue.

Absolutely, ask away!

Tonight's episode:

Episode 123 - Cleaning Metal

The basics of how to disassemble the metal bits on the playfield of a typical game, and how to clean.

I'm super cheap, so I hand polish these items - discussion of products used and any extra precautions needed.

Next episode I will discuss the lamp springs on bingo playfields - they are conspicuous in their absence.

Episode 124 - Bingo Lamp Spring Removal

Bingo lamp shield springs are beautiful pieces that are difficult to remove, but very satisfying once cleaned.

Removal requires a good degree of caution. Follow these instructions and you should be good!

Episode 125 - Interview with Jeff Rivera 7-8-15

Jeff is one of the co-hosts of 'The Pinball Podcast' located at thepinballpodcast.com

We talk about EMs he enjoys, repair, and I try to talk him into a local Magic Squares bingo.

Episode 126 - Interview #2 with Vic Camp - 7-9-15

Vic Camp comes back on the podcast to talk about his current collection, bingos, and Gottlieb wedgeheads.

Note that the package deal for 10 bingos is still available in New Jersey - contact Vic_Camp for the (100% working!) bingo collection.

Some great titles - listen to the podcast for more detail on this - snap it up!

Episode 127 - Cabinet Cleaning

How to clean your cabinet, and, more importantly, keep it clean!

We're all going to ignore the fact that I've already partially repeated myself.

Episode 128 - De-rusting

A large amount of surface rust can be a tell-tale sign that the mechanisms in the head or the cabinet are frozen in place. Evaluate any machine with rust carefully before purchasing.

How to remove rust from your siderails, legs, and coin door, as well as smaller parts.

Episode 129 - The story of the Coil Burner

Sadly, my nickname is Coil Burner. Steve gave me that name after I blew up his Golden Gate.

Now that I'm aware of that issue, I pay close attention to payouts. I'll be detailing the issue and remediation in tomorrow's episode.

Episode 130 - Magic Screen Timing Bug

The Magic Screen games between Sea Island and Bounty have a design flaw that will sometimes cause a coil to remain locked on during payout.

The timer unit steps up in certain circumstances during payout and will shut off the motors. This causes a coil that is normally engaged during payout to remain on and fry.

Fixing this problem is thankfully pretty easy! I would recommend that everyone make this modification on their screen games to prevent heartbreak when you're not looking.

Episode 131 - Quick Switch Contact Repair (hack)

Sometimes, you don't have the time or correct parts to fix a problem. If I am going to create a hack to fix a problem temporarily, I like to ensure that it is easily reversible and will cause a minimum of damage to the game in case it goes wrong.

With a time crunch before a group of newcomers to pinball came over, I had to correct a flaky switch that incremented the score on an older machine.

A freely rotating contact on a leaf switch can, sometimes, be soldered in place to allow for continued operation without a replacement switch at hand. This is a very easy hack to reverse, as I simply have to replace the switch and the issue goes away (I'll be doing that soon).

Episode 132 - Score Motors - Exhibit

Score motors are the 'brains' of any EM game. Tonight I discuss Exhibit's score motor orientation and function in the 1947 Exhibit 'Mystery' that I own.

I also added a quick addendum to last night's simple 'hack' podcast.

Episode 133 - Score Motors - Gottlieb

Gottlieb used the same style of score motor for pretty much their entire EM life. Discussion on orientation, maintenance, advantages and disadvantages of this setup. I enjoy the compact setup of these motors.

Episode 134 - Score Motors - Bally

Bally's Score Motor design changed quite a bit over the years, depending on the style of game they were making. In a future episode, I'll dive into the control unit, which is a beautiful, complex electromechanical marvel.

This episode, however, I talk about the relatively straightforward, no-frills Bally score motor, its ease of adjustment and common issues (really the same common issue that plagues most score motors that have been sitting and transported many times without being used for a long period of time).

You caught me!

The advantage of in-person delivery! T-shirts are in and they are spectacular (in my not-so-humble opinion).

Picked up shipping materials today, will address and ship tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who purchased.

Episode 135 - Score Motors - Williams

The last (for now) in my score motors series detailing the differences between the various manfacturers and their approaches to the same problem.

Williams score motors have a service plug that can be moved that will lock all the cams in place. I wish this option did not exist. Any Williams with this option constantly trips me up.

Nice lookin' shirt Ryan! I sent out all the orders today in the mail - I'm looking forward to having these all across the world soon.

Vic, I love your idea on the payoffs on your machines. Awesome.

Tonight's episode - 136 - Control Units - Servicing

Bally's Control Unit was an ingenious design for several reasons - in the bingos, one of the most impressive designs was how very serviceable these units are.

You take one part Bally score motor, add in some more power and clutches, and you have a rather simple design that allows for servicing from almost any angle.

I love 'em!

Episode 137 - The Control Unit - First Switches

The first switches in the control unit are required for timing out the motor, thus saving wear and tear on the motor.

It is crucial that these switches are adjusted properly or your motor will never stop running.

Episode 138 - The Control Unit - Second Switches

This is our continued series looking at the control unit on a Bally bingo - specifically the 1972 Double-Up.

These switches are involved with normal gameplay, and only comprise a little over half of the switches and cams involved in making the game operate as per normal.

I realized after recording this that it may very well be the driest, most technical podcast I've yet recorded. Enjoy everyone! Tomorrow's will be less so (and we're headed into the exciting switches).