(Topic ID: 228623)

*NEW* Classic Bally/Stern LED Displays by PINITECH - Plasma Contender!

By acebathound

5 years ago


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    There are 126 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.
    13
    #1 5 years ago

    Reintroducing the LED displays we're offering for Classic Bally/Stern machines.

    NOW WITH A NEW LOOK!

    These LED displays were recently updated in October 2018 with custom LED digits with a comma. The new digits were designed to be a "plasma contender", meaning everything about them was done to resemble original plasma glass used in Classic Bally/Stern machines. They're available as either a DIY Kit or Fully Assembled.

    Some pictures/video in-action:
    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/can-you-guess-the-plasma-displays



    "TRADITIONAL" Style (2 board design)

    Our traditional 2-board style design, in the same style design as the original plasma displays.

    https://www.pinitech.com/products/ballystern_display_traditional.php

    ballystern_trad_display_assembled.jpgballystern_trad_display_assembled.jpg



    "UNO" Style (single PCB design)

    This design allows you to shift the displays left/right to center with the display windows in the backglass.

    https://www.pinitech.com/products/ballystern_display_uno.php

    ballystern_uno_multicolor.jpgballystern_uno_multicolor.jpg


    Displays That Match That Plasma Look!

    We're now shipping these sets with our totally customized LED digits, with comma, that we're calling a "plasma contender" in the ORANGE digit, because of how close it comes to matching the original plasma displays. You have to see these in-person to appreciate just how good they look! The custom digits were designed from the ground-up, so we had complete control over the font angle, font height, color and every other aspect of the design to create something that is not like anything else you've seen. If you've been looking for an LED display set that blends well in your line-up of other games with original plasma displays, look no further!

    ballystern_display_compare.pngballystern_display_compare.png

    Other Recent Changes
    All sets will now ship with "smoke grey" filters that help tone down the unlit segments when the machine is off to match the look of plasma displays. WHITE sets are also shipping with "plasma orange" filters, along with you being able to choose a color filter of your choice, that way you can always swap back over to the original plasma color any time if desired.

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #2 5 years ago

    Do you project to make Williams type display for the the early 80's pins also ?

    #3 5 years ago
    Quoted from HPR:

    Do you project to make Williams type display for the the early 80's pins also ?

    No immediate plans to jump into other types of display sets at the moment. Early Williams is a possibility since I could use the same custom numeric digits for those. I've got a Jungle Lord I wouldn't mind prototyping a display set for & that could happen in 2019. Not sure if it'll evolve into a display set I'd then offer the community, but it could happen.

    #4 5 years ago

    Just a picture to show an unlit display with the custom foam light block & smoke filter. And comparison with unlit plasma displays.

    unlitsegments.jpgunlitsegments.jpg

    For the few people that may be irritated with a comma being present on every digit and that not being "true to plasma displays".. a sharpie or electrical tape will easily hide the comma on digits that don't use it. That's splitting hairs though, since 99% of people will have no problem with how the displays look unlit with the smoke filter. Or if they do, they probably hated seeing unlit segments on original plasma displays as well. Another option is to double up on the smoke filter, which loses the segments/commas even more when unlit, but at a reduction in brightness & punch of the lit displays.

    #5 5 years ago

    I just assembled and installed a 7 digit UNO set of displays in my Flash Gordon...WOW!!!

    I am very impressed with the quality of these displays. With the addition of the smoke filter (makes a huge difference) and blacking out the unwanted commas with a sharpie I would have to say that the UNO displays are better than the original plasmas. The digits are more clearly defined as the background appears blacker and the comma is a nicer too I don't normally gush over products but these displays are the real deal. Excellent assembly instructions (downloadable) and all nicely packaged in anti-static packaging where necessary.

    The only (very) minor issue was that I needed to trim the foam surround to clear IC2 and the resistors so that it sat flush with the PCB. Easily cured with a sharp exacto blade. Maybe in future version of the PCB those parts could be moved down to give some clearance. The foam surround is a great addition and really sets off the displays.

    IMHO these displays are better than the originals and worth the upgrade if you are contemplating it. Thank you @acebathound for making these available and doing a damn fine and paying attention to the details.

    Ready for assembly
    Ready for assemblyReady for assembly

    IMG_20181104_155649 (resized).jpgIMG_20181104_155649 (resized).jpg

    Foam surround needs a tweak
    Foam surround needs a tweakFoam surround needs a tweak

    Installed
    InstalledInstalled

    IMG_20181105_135904 (resized).jpgIMG_20181105_135904 (resized).jpg

    IMG_20181105_135910 (resized).jpgIMG_20181105_135910 (resized).jpg

    Spot the plasma display (should be obvious lol)
    Spot the plasma display (should be obvious lol)Spot the plasma display (should be obvious lol)

    Plasma
    PlasmaPlasma

    UNO
    UNOUNO

    Photos don't do the displays justice as they look much better than the plasma!

    #6 5 years ago
    Quoted from woz:

    I just assembled and installed a 7 digit UNO set of displays in my Flash Gordon...WOW!!!
    I am very impressed with the quality of these displays. With the addition of the smoke filter (makes a huge difference) and blacking out the unwanted commas with a sharpie I would have to say that the UNO displays are better than the original plasmas. The digits are more clearly defined as the background appears blacker and the comma is a nicer too I don't normally gush over products but these displays are the real deal. Excellent assembly instructions (downloadable) and all nicely packaged in anti-static packaging where necessary.
    The only (very) minor issue was that I needed to trim the foam surround to clear IC2 and the resistors so that it sat flush with the PCB. Easily cured with a sharp exacto blade. Maybe in future version of the PCB those parts could be moved down to give some clearance. The foam surround is a great addition and really sets off the displays.
    IMHO these displays are better than the originals and worth the upgrade if you are contemplating it. Thank you @acebathound for making these available and doing a damn fine and paying attention to the details.
    Ready for assembly
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    Foam surround needs a tweak
    [quoted image]
    Installed
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    Spot the plasma display (should be obvious lol)
    [quoted image]
    Plasma
    [quoted image]
    UNO
    [quoted image]
    Photos don't do the displays justice as they look much better than the plasma!

    Looks good.

    #7 5 years ago
    Quoted from woz:

    IMHO these displays are better than the originals and worth the upgrade if you are contemplating it.

    Wow! Thank you for taking the time and posting feedback with all the pictures showing everything, including the sharpie used over unused commas! Seeing other people excited is a huge part of the reward in creating this stuff!

    I've been eagerly awaiting some form of feedback to trickle in from the handful of sets that went out in October. The proof is always seeing something in-person. And to see comments like this that mirror what I thought myself seeing these displays light up for the first time. Well, it's pretty awesome

    1 week later
    #8 5 years ago

    Thinking of running a promotion. Wanting to know what people think (keeping in mind this is just an idea right now)..

    How about a chance to get a $20 refund on your purchase, if you provide pictures/video & your HONEST opinion?

    No gimmicks, no contests, no bull.

    Something like this..

    • Post a Youtube video on this thread, showing the displays in-action & giving your honest opinion
    • Post a few photos of the displays on this thread, fully installed in your game & giving your honest opinion

    After posting, you'd simply let me know via email/PM & send along your your order number for a $20 refund.
    *Offer would only apply to the new display sets with custom digit that began shipping 10/1/2018.

    If it happens, this would be a limited-time promotion (tentatively until the end of 2018).


    I'd just be asking for an HONEST opinion (not paid positive feedback). Love or hate the displays? Think they're better than plasma or think they need improvement? All feedback is good. I'm certain once enough people see these displays in-person, they'll see what makes them different than what else is on the market. I'm not at many pinball shows, I don't advertise a bunch, so honest customer feedback and word-of-mouth is golden.

    Thoughts? Would this convince you to try one of the new display sets TODAY (or relatively soon anyway)?

    If at least a handful of people are on-board for it, I'm game!

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #9 5 years ago

    Recently had someone ask how to install the filters. I know the documentation was lacking in this area, so I had actually updated that last week to include the filter installation steps (trimming & using the included tape to adhere the filter). You only need a thin strip of tape at each side.

    But, here's another method:

    displays_alternate_filter_installation.jpgdisplays_alternate_filter_installation.jpg

    Folds are at approx 1/8" or 3/16" from the ends. Fold one side, and then size up the other side and fold.

    Excuse the older style digits being used in this example

    1 week later
    1 week later
    #11 5 years ago

    First amateur experiments with a GoPro clone. Disregard time/date

    Player 3 shown first (Amber UNO), then Player 2 (White UNO + blue filter), then Player 1 (original plasma).

    #12 5 years ago

    Super glad this was posted on today. I happened to be display shopping. Just ordered a set for my Mr. & Mrs. Pacman (minus the playfield display as it's the only one on my machine that came as LED when I bought it.)

    #13 5 years ago
    Quoted from DorkInAbox:

    Super glad this was posted on today. I happened to be display shopping. Just ordered a set for my Mr. & Mrs. Pacman (minus the playfield display as it's the only one on my machine that came as LED when I bought it.)

    Great to hear!

    I really like that game! Enough of it is theme, but since it's a later Bally it's got decent sound & the Pac-Maze feature is unique.

    I've actually had one sitting for about 5 years waiting for space to set it up. Should be getting to it in 2019. Now it's cool since the last time I had set it up was when I was dreaming of creating my own Bally displays.. and now they actually exist and look better than stock! Pac-Man will never have looked so good!

    3 weeks later
    #14 5 years ago

    New color options coming soon!!

    In about a week I'll be getting in some custom RED digits (with comma). I'll have BLUE digits coming in shortly thereafter. Pricing will fall somewhere between the ORANGE/AMBER color and WHITE on these new colors.

    Just wanted to pre-announce for anyone interested in native colored digits between now and when they're listed on the website.

    Thanks for looking!

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #15 5 years ago

    RED digits came in today! Will post a picture of a display lit up tomorrow.

    I just built out a set for a customer who's ordering for a Dragonfist that's in an barcade. Pretty awesome since it's such a rare game (302 units according to IPDB). I'm definitely going to have to have him snap a picture as I'm POSITIVE that opportunity has about zero chance of happening again on that game

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #16 5 years ago

    Custom Red Digits..

    Will try to get these available on the shopping cart by the weekend but if not, send an email or PM if interested.

    red_display.jpgred_display.jpg

    #17 5 years ago

    BLUE custom digits with comma came in!

    Added to the shopping cart, but haven't taken any pictures yet.

    So the full digit color options are now:
    ORANGE, RED, BLUE, WHITE

    A few notes..

    • ORANGE digits match the plasma display color, font height, font angle, etc.
    • WHITE digits + orange filters matches the ORANGE LED digits (and plasma display color)
    • WHITE digits + blue filters match the BLUE LED digits
    • WHITE + red filters doesn't *quite* hit the same color as the RED digits (native RED is brighter, deeper, punchier), so I'd recommend going native RED digits if you know you'll never be changing the color from red.

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #18 5 years ago

    I am really surprised not to see more talk about these displays. I guess you have to see them in person to understand just how great they look! As many of you already know Wayne (Pinitech) is my son but I still wanted to comment about how great these look. You can't imagine the hours Wayne put into getting these custom digits perfect in every way. We have yet to have anyone be able to tell the difference between his displays and original displays in our machines. Every time we know one of our pinball buddies is stopping by Wayne tosses an original display in one of our machines just to see if our buddy can figure out which is the original and which is a Pinitech display and we have yet to have anyone guess correctly.

    Anyway if you are "on the fence" about buying a set of these all I can say it you will not regret spending the money on them. Personally I love the blue displays in most machines but everyone will like something different as far as color goes! If you like the original look you will not be disappointed in how well his displays match the originals. But if you prefer a color set they look great also.

    #19 5 years ago

    As I've said before, these LED displays are better than the originals IMHO.

    #20 5 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    I am really surprised not to see more talk about these displays. .

    I recommend his stuff to anybody looking for displays or NVRAM. I use his diagnostic tools frequently. I hope to eventually buy a few sets of the displays with a bunch of different gels to see what pops on certain games but there's that whole "limited funds to dedicate to a seemingly unlimited set of pinball projects" issue I seem to have.

    The products are no doubt top notch, especially the colored displays but the customer service from Pinitech is top notch. From helping me set up payment for a large NVRAM order for my local club to going way above and beyond the call of duty with an issue I had (which turned out to be my fault) he has always been quick to respond and extremely helpful and easy to deal with.

    #21 5 years ago

    I will be ordering a set in red and a set in blue in the next couple of weeks for my Flash Gordon and Xenon when i get back from my vacation they look great and all of my games have your nvram in them also.
    Jeff

    #22 5 years ago

    Thanks everyone! It also surprised me to not have these take off in 2018 after doing the custom digits, but I expect for a bit of buzz to be generated in 2019 as more people try them out. It's nice when people do post pictures or review a product since without that people don't even know the option exists and excitement over something different helps spread the word & give others an idea of what to expect, what color displays might look nice in different games, etc.

    Added the ability to order a SINGLE **assembled** display of any color for both the UNO & TRADITIONAL sets.
    I've also cleaned up the order pages a bit to try and make the process easier.

    UNO
    https://www.pinitech.com/products/ballystern_display_uno.php

    TRADITIONAL
    https://www.pinitech.com/products/ballystern_display_traditional.php


    Here's My Challenge / Offer:
    If you're on the fence, if you need to replace a failing display in your game, buy a single **assembled** ORANGE display.
    I'll offer a full refund (minus any shipping costs) if you contact me within 14 days of receiving your order [of a single ORANGE display] & want to return the display if it doesn't meet your expectations & isn't as I'm describing it. Then, either way, I'd appreciate if you post a picture or comments here once you get the display(s) installed to let myself & others know what you think!

    I'm confident most people will be thrilled with how well the ORANGE displays blend with existing plasma displays, and I honestly don't expect to have many coming back


    The aesthetics on these displays is different than what you've seen before. The digit was artistically designed from the ground up to look better. So yes, it was a meticulous process and took quite a while to get it right, but the end result is impressive. The ORANGE digit displays actually hit a home run on two things -- they blend with original plasma displays such that you can replace a single display in your game with LED & have a hard time telling it's not plasma, while at the same time looking even better than the originals if you replace a full set of displays. Adherence to the original digit size, font angle, color, digit spacing.. combined with a few other tweaks make these some really nice looking displays!

    Keep the comments & feedback coming!

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #23 5 years ago

    Full set of the new RED digit Pinitech UNO displays in Xenon. I think the red displays offset things a bit if you've got a lot of blue lighting happening on the playfield. That said, the blue displays are usually the preferred choice in this game and they do look nice. You could always balance things out by adding some more red leds to the playfield lighting.

    I'm dead-set on getting some of my own games fixed up this year and Xenon is one of them. It's been a partially working project for the last few years, used as a test bed for these displays & it often has mis-matched or early revision displays in it. You wouldn't believe how tough it is for someone creating things to actually keep production versions of boards in a machine. As soon as I get a set built out for myself, a sale comes in and I'm shipping it out lol.

    displays_xenon_red_front.jpgdisplays_xenon_red_front.jpgdisplays_xenon_red_angle.jpgdisplays_xenon_red_angle.jpgdisplays_xenon_nobackglass.jpgdisplays_xenon_nobackglass.jpgdisplays_xenon_front (resized).jpgdisplays_xenon_front (resized).jpgdisplays_xenon_back.jpgdisplays_xenon_back.jpg

    #24 5 years ago

    I had a customer last month installing UNO displays in a Mr. & Mrs Pac-Man pinball and we found what ultimately looks like a machine-specific note on installing LED displays in that title. Thought I'd note it here for posterity. Again, this is *ONLY* for Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man.

    The issue was the millions digit on the 7-digit displays wasn't lighting. No amount of switching displays around did anything. The plasma displays had worked fine. After he sent some pictures I noticed wires going to the display connector where there shouldn't be any, specifically Pin11 (yellow wire with red stripe below). This is an issue because Pin #11 and Pin #12 are wired together for the 7th digit on the display board. This was for some games having 7th digit wiring at either of those positions.

    Notice also the KEY position having a wire go to it. The "Latch" wire looks cut, but I'm not sure we ever figured anything out with that.. other than maybe the wire was going through the opposite side or maybe it really was cut on that position.

    connector (resized).jpgconnector (resized).jpg

    The customer traced the yellow wire with red stripe back to the AUX lamp driver board. It was Lamp Strobe #2. Two displays had that color wire, the other two had another color. Popping the Molex pin out of the AUX lamp board's connector allowed the display to function, but also took out a few insert lamps on the playfield.. so the only remedy was to cut the wire at Pin11 on the display connectors.

    I later found this Pinside post describing the exact same issue.

    My guess, since these cabinets were originally for Bally Rapid Fire, is the harnesses were also unique for that game or wired to be multi-purpose. Typically these display connectors DO NOT have every wire position filled, including the KEY position.

    If you're putting LED displays into Mr. & Mrs. Pac-man, this may affect your game. I have one I'll be getting into sometime this year & will see if it's affecting my game as well. Not sure if this is just on a certain run of these games or if it affects quite a few. Supposedly it's one of the only games with this kind of issue, and practically any LED set on the market would have hit the same issue.

    I was pleased to find out the UNO displays worked for this game.. at least for the main displays. The playfield display would have to be the 2-board design, but the customer already had a different LED display in there for that.

    uno_displays_pacman.jpguno_displays_pacman.jpg

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #25 5 years ago

    xenon_blue.jpgxenon_blue.jpg

    These are the new custom blue digits... in... guess what machine? Xenon!!

    #26 5 years ago

    Wayne,

    You didn't tell anyone yet that after almost two years of using that Xenon to show off & test your displays you actually took an hour of your time this weekend to make that machine work again. I love the displays but it is even nicer having them in a WORKING machine! FINALLY you took a little time to do something for yourself!

    #27 5 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    Wayne,
    You didn't tell anyone yet that after almost two years of using that Xenon to show off & test your displays you actually took an hour of your time this weekend to make that machine work again. I love the displays but it is even nicer having them in a WORKING machine! FINALLY you took a little time to do something for yourself!

    I've bent enough piano wire for 30 min to remake switch actuators that I tend to put it off. Skeeball machines were the most painful..

    I'd have paid $15 for that trough switch if I could track it down. At least it works..

    #28 5 years ago
    Quoted from acebathound:

    I've bent enough piano wire for 30 min to remake switch actuators that I tend to put it off. Skeeball machines were the most painful..
    I'd have paid $15 for that trough switch if I could track it down. At least it works..

    Maybe I'll take a break for listing parts and go spend a little time enjoying your latest displays in that Xenon. Playing pinball for a change will be a nice little break!

    #29 5 years ago

    Some of these comments from my father lend themselves to explaining my life and living circumstances lol. Otherwise I'm feeling like people are going to wonder what exactly is up.

    First off, I'm married. My wife's cute, but I won't be posting any pictures. And....I don't live in my parent's basement.

    *WHEW* Okay got that out there.

    My parents actually live with my wife and I in a larger house with an in-law quarters. We skipped a small starter home, which otherwise would have been all we could afford at the time we bought it. It's made for an interesting setup, overall works out okay, a bit trying at times as could be expected with sharing garage or basement space. As an example, my "game room" is really a bunch of tables for my father to sort parts on much of the year..... and I took over a workbench he built for himself to use 6 years ago and haven't given it back.

    Business-wise, my father and I are quite different. I'm creative/artistic. I've got thoughts on how to run my business, how to market things. I'm pretty conservative and watch what I say. He's sometimes got this "poke the hornets nest" style of getting something sold quick, but I respect that he's just seen how social media operates these days. When you open your eyes, there's tons of people using marketing gimmicks and drama, here on Pinside, or on Facebook, to gain attention quick and sell something or draw a crowd. That's the world we're living in. A guy that figures out how to do that is actually pretty smart.

    Me, I'm not super smart. I'm relatively conservative in how I market things. I tend to not stir up drama. When I post something I generally try to add value or content.. so I don't stay on PAGE 1 long. I also tend to under-sell products, which keeps me from getting a swarm of sales over-hyping them. I could probably sell more of my Pinitech stuff with stirring up drama and over-hyping, but I'd prefer for people to try the products, be super excited with the value they received, and for natural recommendation and linking of the products to go on. Just my own style. Though it does take a heck of a long time since few people buying actually comment on a product or link it for others. But I figure over-time, as more products ship and people see them in-person, it won't be such an uphill battle

    Of course, that could change at some point if I go a few more years passed over by the crowd on products lol. I've got some ideas in the works outside of pinball and know I'll need to change the core of my personality some to make some of them work. Should be fun, life's one big experiment and lots to learn in selling things.

    #30 5 years ago

    I have some games in storage that might need a set.
    It says on your web site that you don’t ship to EU, do your ship to countries in Europe outside of EU?
    Is this a Rohs thing?

    #31 5 years ago
    Quoted from Axl:

    It says on your web site that you don’t ship to EU, do your ship to countries in Europe outside of EU?
    Is this a Rohs thing?

    Yeah, it comes down to RoHS / WEEE compliance. I did spend some time trying to understand it a few years ago, but was quickly overwhelmed with all the info and it looked like a confusing mess to figure out, not to mention a paperwork nightmare since you're supposed to hold certificates of compliance for every single component of a product from what I gathered.

    #32 5 years ago

    Actually, I should be safe posting this photo of my wife and I from a wedding a few years back.
    If she allowed it on FB, it's probably safe (famous last words).

    I've probably got more grey hair (and less of it) now from this business lol.

    us.jpgus.jpg

    Our pug when she was helping out with some house renovations & not getting chased by the cat..

    pug.jpgpug.jpg

    #33 5 years ago

    You're both cute Wayne!

    #34 5 years ago
    Quoted from acebathound:

    Yeah, it comes down to RoHS / WEEE compliance.

    I looked at the wiki page for ROHS, and the list over materials is extensive.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restriction_of_Hazardous_Substances_Directive

    I guess i could take it via a freight forwarder.

    #35 5 years ago

    Wayne, Since you were "sharing" a couple pictures I thing it might be good to show some of the guys your age why they shouldn't share a gameroom with their father.

    121_5563 (resized).JPG121_5563 (resized).JPG121_5564 (resized).JPG121_5564 (resized).JPG121_5565 (resized).JPG121_5565 (resized).JPG
    #36 5 years ago
    Quoted from acebathound:

    Some of these comments from my father lend themselves to explaining my life and living circumstances lol. Otherwise I'm feeling like people are going to wonder what exactly is up.
    First off, I'm married. My wife's cute, but I won't be posting any pictures. And....I don't live in my parent's basement.
    *WHEW* Okay got that out there.
    My parents actually live with my wife and I in a larger house with an in-law quarters. We skipped a small starter home, which otherwise would have been all we could afford at the time we bought it. It's made for an interesting setup, overall works out okay, a bit trying at times as could be expected with sharing garage or basement space. As an example, my "game room" is really a bunch of tables for my father to sort parts on much of the year..... and I took over a workbench he built for himself to use 6 years ago and haven't given it back..

    I never thought about the fact that a good many kids are living in their parents basements these days. I guess I should have explained I am actually the one living in the basement long ago. Anyway - as Wayne said - he does his thing & I do mine. At times we work well together and other times well not so much!

    My main goal in life is to help both of my boys be what ever & who ever they want to be. At times I wish Wayne would be a little more like me but most of the time I am happy he isn't. He did get a good many good traits from his mom & I but he is his own person and likes to do things his way. For that I am very thankful!

    As far as our involvement in the pinball hobby together it is kind of both of our faults. Shortly after they bought the house & we moved in Wayne asked what I though of doing a gameroom in part of the basement. Well I never do anything in a small way so 500+ machines & 10 years later here we are. It first started as 'buy a couple machines for a gameroom" then I was hooked. I kept buying machines for Wayne & I to fix up together to a point he lost interest.

    Anyway 10 years later we are still in the hobby together but each doing our own thing. I do my used parts & he does his clean & neat new parts. I really envy him and wish I was smart enough to do what he does. At the same time I am a very proud dad wishing him all the best.

    Anyway - enough said!

    #37 5 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    Wayne, Since you were "sharing" a couple pictures I thing it might be good to show some of the guys your age why they shouldn't share a gameroom with their father.

    Yeah pictures sum it up lol. And that can happen 2 weeks after machines are cleared for Christmas. Wonder why I'm the "less is more" guy?

    #38 5 years ago
    Quoted from acebathound:

    Yeah pictures sum it up lol. And that can happen 2 weeks after machines are cleared for Christmas. Wonder why I'm the "less is more" guy?

    Love ya like you were my son! Seriously - I am trying to get this mess cleaned up. This is part of the "down side" of parting out machines. If you let it get a little "out of hand" it can get very bad very quickly. On the other hand people needing the parts love the fact I do what ever it takes to try to help them. Sometimes that isn't good for the gameroom!

    #39 5 years ago

    I guess something else we should explain here is we don't see each other all that often even though we live in the same house.

    #40 5 years ago

    Assembled a WHITE 7-digit Pinitech TRADITIONAL set yesterday for a customer.

    Takes about 3 hours, start-to-finish, including testing. This is after final clean-up of the water soluble solder. Boards come out looking great! Every board I assemble, I build as if it was for myself. Resistors get installed facing the same orientation. Headers are at 90 degree angles. Digits are lined up nicely. It takes longer, but then customers can expect the same quality and consistency in future orders.

    display_set.jpgdisplay_set.jpg

    This set will be going out with red, blue and yellow filters that the customer ordered. Having the option to swap out with any color at any time or even use a few different colors in a game makes the WHITE set a great choice, and you can always swap back over to ORANGE (included by default with each WHITE set) too for that "original look".

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #41 5 years ago

    Fun Fact.

    The Pinitech TRADITIONAL displays have 4 holes spaced on the board so you can use stand-offs (not included) if you wanted.

    While not a feature most people will use, this was done for versatility if using a single assembled display to bench-test or test out a game. Yep, you can create a wire harness for testing purposes that connects display signals at J1 on the MPU to the display. Then you can use the LED display to test in-game or at the bench without any nasty high voltage. The plastic stand-offs (again, not included) would allow the board to be elevated off the playfield glass or workbench so the solder points don't touch or scratch anything.

    So if you've wondered what those holes are for, that's pretty much it!

    If you're buying a single display & want some stand-offs, let me know before you order and I can throw some in. Most people aren't using LED displays this way, but I don't think I ever really mentioned it or showed what those holes were about.

    standoff.jpgstandoff.jpg

    standoff2 (resized).jpgstandoff2 (resized).jpg

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #42 5 years ago

    Checking to see if I understand the white kit ordering correctly. You automatically get the orange filters with it, then you can pick one more color also to go with it, so you will then have 2 filters for the kit price?

    I want to get a kit for this babe. I am stalled on the color though. Orange as with the plasmas? Or red? There is lots of orange AND red everywhere. The title of the game is red, and so are her shorts, so red should look good. But the swooping backglass graphics have orange in them and there are orange elements in the picture - girl's shirt, bowling bag, bowling lanes. The player up circles are red. . There is a lot of red and orange on the playfield too.

    If I get the white with orange and red filters I would be covered either way. But if I get just the orange or just the red, I will save$$$. WHAT TO DO???

    Strikes and Spares Backglass (resized).jpgStrikes and Spares Backglass (resized).jpg

    Stirkes and Spares backglass lit 1 (resized).jpgStirkes and Spares backglass lit 1 (resized).jpg

    #43 5 years ago
    Quoted from xsvtoys:

    Checking to see if I understand the white kit ordering correctly. You automatically get the orange filters with it, then you can pick one more color also to go with it, so you will then have 2 filters for the kit price?

    Yep. One color of your choice for free with the WHITE sets. Then with WHITE sets you also [for free] ORANGE filters + SMOKE GREY filters. Additional sets of other color filters are $1.50ea.

    Quoted from xsvtoys:

    I want to get a kit for this babe. I am stalled on the color though. Orange as with the plasmas? Or red? There is lots of orange AND red everywhere.

    I did some mock-ups for Strikes & Spares in the old RETROFIT thread..
    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/interest-check-diy-bally-led-displays-using-old-boards/page/10#post-3429555

    For more color-accurate photos of various filters, check out the Xenon pictures credited to "ACEBATHOUND" here:
    https://www.pinitech.com/display_gallery/uno/

    *Note, photos in the above links are of the generic digits that were previously used on these displays.

    Personally I'd probably try red in Strikes & Spares. One thing for sure, you already know what plasma orange looks like. So you'll have to decide if you'd like to just stick with orange or try a different color. WHITE of course would allow you to flip-flop back and forth or try out red & other colors like light blue / turquoise (not sure which I'd call it in that backglass). I don't offer those other colors on the shopping cart to simplify things, but I do have some additional colors available. You'd always have the ability to go back to the original orange look if you wanted via the orange filters.

    #44 5 years ago

    Now for a behind-the-scenes, never before seen action-shot on the factory floor of our color filter processing department!

    This is where the magic happens folks! It slices, it dices, ..... it sometimes fails and horribly disfigures a filter that has to get scrapped. There's no big red push button to stop that happening, we're working with some slightly outdated equipment here. Casualties can and do happen!!

    Just another day in the color filter processing department. One of many departments here at Pinitech, all manned by our top-notch staff paid with scratch & win tickets or circus peanuts (their choice).

    filter_processing.jpgfilter_processing.jpg

    ---
    http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
    NVRAM, Bally/Stern LED Displays & Mods for pinball machines

    #45 5 years ago

    You are incredible Wayne and I really do like your custom digits, they are just what Bally/Stern led displays were missing on the market.

    #46 5 years ago
    Quoted from gianfri:

    You are incredible Wayne and I really do like your custom digits, they are just what Bally/Stern led displays were missing on the market.

    I think the more people see these the crazier demand will be for them. I have been after Wayne for months to help me help him get a better shop area set up because I think he is going to rapidly outgrow his current storage & work area once people start realizing how good these things look. I am also trying to "downsize" the space in his shop area I am using trying to plan ahead for the space he will be needing in 2019 once these really catch on.

    Wayne & I have talked countless times about this stuff and he realizes it is tough shelling out a fair amount of money for displays for a typical Classic Bally or Stern machine. But on the flip side something a few dollars cheaper that doesn't look nearly as good doesn't make much sense in the end. And buying used displays isn't much cheaper and who knows how long that used $35 display is going to last. So at some point I think he will have a hard time keeping up with demand. That is why I keep trying to push him into getting the shop ready for that demand.

    In the end buying the best is money well spent! And hands down these displays are the best on the market and will likely continue to be the best for years to come.

    #47 5 years ago

    I totally agree on the used ones, they are already slowly dying, the plasma glasses have 30/40 years life so it is clearly what is going to happen.

    From my experience the sales are just regular, no one is rushing on buying new LED displays unless he is experiencing problems with the original ones or because he is into the LED conversion all around his pinball machine.

    I have been chatting in private with Wayne regarding thes custom digits, I really like the layout and I honestly think he did a very good job.

    I think that the market is currently providing all kind of options, now the customer can freely chose the model and the price he wants to invest in such product.
    I would not say that the other ones do not look good because Wayne has been selling them for years now but it is clear that they do not match 100% the original aspect even if they are still a correct compromise if you are ok with it.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say that Wayne has done a nice job.
    Have fun with the cleaning of the storage

    #48 5 years ago
    Quoted from gianfri:

    From my experience the sales are just regular, no one is rushing on buying new LED displays unless he is experiencing problems with the original ones or because he is into the LED conversion all around his pinball machine.

    Yes this is my experience too. I did not see any increase in demand with the custom digits [yet]. It will likely happen as more people try them, but not a lot of people seem to upgrade as you might think for the number of machines that were produced. And that's even with being based in the US where there's a lot more of these machines.

    Quoted from gianfri:

    I would not say that the other ones do not look good because Wayne has been selling them for years now but it is clear that they do not match 100% the original aspect even if they are still a correct compromise if you are ok with it.

    Exactly. My custom digits were artistically designed to match / blend with the original plasmas better and ultimately be the displays I wanted to see on the market. I'd prefer not saying THE BEST because that's really up to the customers to decide what brand or pricing suites their needs and ultimately what is best for their situation.

    There are ways of marketing or talking something up that come off as very bold or salesy. Mainly in naming specific products that YOUR product is better than or saying it's THE BEST all the time. I find that gets old to me seeing that stuff and my rule of thumb is, if it gets old to me, it probably gets old to others as well. A double negative is that marketing things in such a way also has the tendency to stir up unnecessary drama with people selling similar things, when I'd much prefer to see other engineers, artists or creative people as "colleagues" than as competitors. So while I do feel what I have here is an exceptional design that many people will be happy with once they see it in-person, it's really just a "different solution". Each person that buys a display or display set can judge how good it is for themselves. And I invite any feedback/comments here once they've had that opportunity.

    #49 5 years ago

    Just installed a set of Traditional (two board) LED's in my Lost World. I got the DIY kit and it worked out great. I'd say the first board took me about 2 hours. Then once I understood what everything was, and where it went, it was more like an hour or so for each of the other boards. The boards are marked clearly, and the assembly is pretty straight forward. I would highly recommend these displays. Before I was done the whole set, I mixed them with a couple of original displays and I could not tell the difference other than the comma. Nobody would notice if you slipped one in as a single replacement and disabled the comma.

    ]

    IMG_0187 (resized).jpgIMG_0187 (resized).jpgdisplay2 (resized).jpgdisplay2 (resized).jpg
    #50 5 years ago

    These do look really nice and authentic. I’m gonna keep these in mind. Thanks for your dedication.

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