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That's an epic road trip. My wife and I did Jersey out to Yellowstone, down to the Grand Canyon, over to Disney World, and back up (with everything in between) in three and a half weeks. You'll lose feeling in that right foot, so I hope you've got cruise control. I'd love to see you when you're out my way...
Quoted from NicoVolta:Yo Beez! NJ schedule is super tight due to mandatory Allentown event... will you be there?
I will on Friday, and I'll see you there! WOO HOO!!! (I need to thank you in person for all your help and advice with Jacks Open...)
You know, Nic, you've just given me a wonderful idea. When I retire in a few years, I'm going to do the same thing. Except since I have no marketable skills whatsoever, I'll just crash at different people's houses around the country for a night and clean out their refrigerators. After all, who wouldn't want to play with a Boob for a night? 
Just thought of a tip for you: I hope you built in some time to get your oil changed at a couple of places. I had to do it in Colorado when I went cross-country. Keep it in mind if it hasn't occurred to you!
Quoted from bangerjay:I could put you up for a night and have a few ems that could be tweaked. I didn't know at the time, but I played a game with you on freedom at tpf, I was in the wheelchair. I'm north of Chicago
Good luck with that. I think he's got this trip timed out to the second at this point. 
And btw...we haven't heard from Nic since he left Tennessee. I'm starting to get visions of Deliverance in my head. 
Quoted from NicoVolta:Today I'm in the middle of Visit #3 (a four-day stop), but we had enough time to break away for tournament night at The Retro. I used the opportunity to upload two videos at 60fps.
Have a look... excellent frame rate for capturing pinball action!
» YouTube video
» YouTube video
Here are the final standings...
Dude! You got to meet the caveman from the Geico ads? I'm so jealous!
I thought you were pretty funny in that interview. But did you say you started in this hobby THREE YEARS AGO??? Jeez...and here I thought I learned quickly!
Yeah...looking at these posts, I just realize I have GOT to get myself fired from work so I can try this out myself. 
I'm just amazed at all the stuff you know having been in the hobby for so short a time. Really astounding...and I thought I knew a lot! And do you just drive around the country with a car full of transformers, switches, LEDs, etc.? Who the hell does that?
I hereby elevate you to Vid status in terms of the help you provide people here on Pinside, Nic. Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work! 
So, let me get this straight:
I meet Nic at TPF last year. But when I look forward to meeting him at my own local pinball show, Allentown, I can't find the guy. Worse yet, by the time I ask Otaku, Colson, and others where he is, I find out he's left already.
Biggest disappointment of the show for me.
Guess I'll catch you again at TPF '18, Nic. 
Quoted from RyanClaytor:He should be there tomorrow, too. ...so I hear.
I heard differently, and even if he IS there, that'll make one of us. I'll just have to catch him in the VECTOR booth next year.
Quoted from NicoVolta:Visit #13 – Paul Sbano in Asbury, NJ
The subject: Bank Shot
I’d never been to Asbury before and expected city streets and traffic. Instead, as I drove through the darkness to Paul’s place, the road suddenly emptied, took a hard right, and twisted high into a snaking hill-climb. Left, right, hairpin left, up, up, up. The 2D Google Map provided no clue how high the road would go. Finally I encountered a dirt road and wooden fence leading to Paul who was standing in the driveway smoking a small cigar. We shook hands as he said, “Welcome to Pauly’s World”.
If New Jersey is the Garden State, then Paul’s place must be the Garden House. His property sits high on a mini-mountain surrounded by protected woodlands. His neighbors are few in number except for deer, eagles, the occasional black bear, and about eight classic pinball machines. I must say I’m digging this pinball-in-the-wilderness trend.
For people thinking this is Asbury Park, NJ...it isn't (and you can tell by the landscape that ain't no shoreline!). This is Asbury...period, which is in western NJ by the PA border. My daughter lives there (another daughter lives in Washington only 15 minutes away). I'd love to know where this guy lives - looks like it's literally down the road from my daughter's house.
Quoted from Otaku:Snooki from that godawful show Jersey Shore lives there...
Completely wrong! She lives in our town...and visits her mother in law with the kids literally around the corner from my house. She stopped by my house trick or treating this Halloween...
And btw, Nic...enjoy your visit to Pinball Resource. Steve is much more charming in person than on the phone. He gave me a full tour last time I was there. Saw all the Gottlieb design sheets and machines from the factory. That place is literally like the Smithsonian of pinball. Funniest part of the tour is seeing Jimmy--who takes the online orders--stuck in a small closet with his computer. Have fun and stock up on parts for the second half of your tour!
Quoted from DennisDodel:Great post! I just hope that Otaku and everyone else who bitches about Steve will read this and maybe, just maybe realize what an asset Steve is to the hobby. Pinball repairs were a very hard job before Steve came along. PBR customer #A801.
Thanks for your customer number. Future orders I place will be free for me!
Quoted from Darcy:Ya, but Dennis might notice you hanging out by his mailbox, while waiting for the mailman.
Um...Dennis moved to Jersey.
Quoted from NicoVolta:Visit #16 -> Mark Carvey and the Flipside Bar in Westerly, RI
The subjects: Mariner and Flip Flop
I am now firmly in New England and everything is different: Accents, faces, foliage, houses, ambient temperature… all markedly different from whence I came. But one constant remains: Pinball! Something which Mark Carvey and his wife Dana (yes, she’s quite used to generating excitement when making dinner reservations) know a thing or two about.Mark and Dana own Flipside, Westerly’s community pinball barcade. Where is Westerly? It’s that little notch in the lower left corner of Rhode Island. Hence, “west”… aha!
Flipside currently hosts a collection of about 10 pins from 1990 to the present. No hourly fee or entrance fee required… simply two tokens for a dollar (or 12 for five dollars). Each game requires two tokens to play.
$1 per game (or 83 cents with a $5 purchase) might seem high, but that is actually less than the inflation-adjusted amount since the arcade golden years. A 50-cent game back then would be $1.30 today!
The games are regularly serviced and play nicely, so your money is well-spent here (and a legitimate thrill when that replay knocker pops!).Flipside has been open for approximately six months and is doing well. Weekly tournaments for mixed ages and women’s-only groups are regularly hosted. In the near future, an expansion of the space is planned to include some classic SS and EM games. Which gets no arguments from me!
Mark works hard to support the local pinball community. In this photo, he cheerfully hands a multimeter across the bar as a gift to a new EM pinball owner. Could we be witnessing the first time an exchange like this has ever happened at a bar, anywhere? Es possible!
We begin with Mariner, the four-player version of Bally’s Sea Ray. None of the playfield lights work, but the coils are firing normally. We trace the issue from the fuse block to the jones connectors. One of the pins wasn’t making a good connection. Ah, Bally… you are so great at so many things… but not jones connectors.
After re-seating the connector, the light show resumes.
Mariner isn’t starting or stopping the game properly. A closer inspection of the game over interlock relay reveals a Home Depot plastic screw bag stuffed into the latch. Why? The latch wasn’t allowing enough horizontal travel to trigger the switches.
Whoever did that was a goofball. The bracket screw holes have enough slack to allow horizontal adjustments, see? Which we make, and lo, the game is starting and stopping again.We shall now tell the Tale of the Stubborn Stepper. No other hath challenged me to this degree, yet.
The Tale begins with a slightly mushroomed plunger and nylon sleeve worn down to the thickness of a human hair. No biggie… I retrieve a new ring and begin...
…we sand the plunger edge…
…shape it with the flapwheel…
…and burnish it smooth with the Magic Brush. After attaching the new nylon ring, all is good.
Ah, but what is this? The stepper bracket is worn and has… something… clipped to it?
Uh oh. Never mind the clip-thingy, we got real trouble ahead. The spindle on the other side is wobbling badly because the weld is giving way. Which means the whole thing is unreliable and could break off completely… and would render the entire mech useless.
Mark calls a friend who calls a friend who happens to have welding equipment. Who happens to be free at the moment. Who happens to be only five minutes away. WELDING TO THE RESCUE… YEAUSSS!
Yet the Tale persisted. The flapwheel is used to smooth away the wear on both sides of the bracket.
And persisted. The armature spring was too weak and had no slack left to tighten. A new Harbor Freight equivalent was tested and installed.
And persisted! A Williams coil had been substituted with a thicker plastic housing and slightly longer length, increasing the throw of the armature and thus double-clicking from 1000 to 3000 bonus points every time. ARGH! The plastic housing had to be painstakingly shaved and the coil stop bracket holes enlarged to shorten the travel. This procedure ate through two of our Dremel attachments and lots of time in the process.
AND DAD GUM PERSISTED! Now it was the metal coil sleeve which had registered a complaint about the dead parrot. It had developed sharp edges from the abrasion of the mushroomed plunger and wobbly spindle. It was removed and smoothed with a rotary sanding drum and the Magic Brush.
Finally, we had a working stepper. Damn if it doesn’t last longer than the original after all the work we did!Mariner was up and running (hooray!), so we had time to fetch a nice Flip Flop from nearby storage. A storage room full of solvent fumes, a long staircase, and no dolly. Whewewww am I feeling light headed or what?
Pictured, Mark uses the head-as-dolly technique to attach the rear legs.Flip Flop’s motor wasn’t turning except when certain relays were triggered, but everything else seemed to work. I used Mark’s laptop to scan the schematic and trace it to a bad white/red-white connection to ground. Props to Mark for finding it in the coin door. The credit switch wires were dangling in place.
Mark is going to be a pro at EM repairs. He’s got a natural aptitude and lots of experience fixing his modern games.The story gets a little fuzzy from this point onward. Beer flights were taken and delicious toasted pretzels spread with cannellini beans, pears, arugula, and relish were consumed. Westerly has an awesome selection of walkable bars and restaurants along the main drag.
The bartender recommended a new (to me) beer: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. It was OUTSTANDING. Tastes just like it sounds... bourbony and barrelly. Supposedly the maker is having uneven success with the brewing process, but mine was fan-freaking-tastic!I love oysters, but I don’t eat them in Texas because I’m leery of warmer temperatures (riskier) and pollution levels from the Gulf region. Seafood in the northeast on the other hand is a must!
I asked if any dollar oyster specials might be nearby and was led to this lovely riverside spot for a dozen and a brew. Oh my, it was just the ticket. I was so happy and relaxed.Too relaxed to focus, apparently! Mark and I went a round on Mariner (I lost) and two on Flip Flop (one win/one loss)… and Mark claimed the third win on the tour.
Tip: Never bet against a guy who literally lives above his own arcade and plays in tournaments almost every night! He blew away my score by almost 100,000 points! My record is now 10-3.
Challenge Mark at your own risk!Mark and Dana are proud keepers of the silverball. They’ve got a great scene in this little corner of the littlest state in the union. Nice games, drinks, neighborhood, and patrons… Flipside has nowhere to go but up.
Good times. I'll be back.
Next stop -> Warwick, RI
I will always remember Mark for two things:
1. He kicked my ass at PAPA a few years ago.
2. He sold a Nip It right out from under me at Allentown last week.
Yeah...Mark's a great guy. 
It's awesome, Nic. But keep it all in one thread. You can index it when you're home and rested. There is already a wealth of EM repair info here that I'd like to reference in the future.
You should also consider, when indexing your stop, referencing what fixes you discuss. It really is a wonderful wealth of knowledge here. Keep up the good work!
Quoted from djreddog:He wants to go to the next page, not start a new thread. This particular page is long to scroll through is what he was referencing. So here is one more post to get us closer to the new page.
Sometimes I have a problem with the English language. 
Quoted from Whysnow:Dont be intimidated by my stuning good looks and awesome new lubricant
That's what they said to me in prison.
Quoted from BanditBoy:This is an excellent thread, wish I lived in the USA........... Anyone fancy taking in an immigrant from England???
No. You guys spell "kerb" funny.
I was joking. You'll recall my distress at having missed you at Allentown. Figured I'd pull that asinine one liner out of the hat just before you got home. 
I'll save my Jacks Open repairs for your next trip up here...
Hey Nic? This thread was simply epic, and so are you. Bravo, my friend, and I hope to cross paths again (perhaps if you don't leave Texas before TPF!) so I can shake your hand again. It will have so much more meaning this time.
I'm just pissed you didn't choose Jersey. I could use a good EM tech.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:sleeping is for old people.
Tell that to the blue hairs that power-walk our local mall at 5 in the morning. If that's what retirement looks like, I'll be glad to keep working until I'm dead.
Quoted from CaptainNeo:you tell them when you see them tomorrow morning for your morning walk.
Dick.
Quoted from pinwiztom:I am this close to giving your last post a thumbs down.
Deb and the pets will be disappointed, if you chose So Cal.
It is not so bad here in the winter,
I am betting you will eventually end up here,
after you get your fill of Calif.
Good point. He'll have to get collagen injections in his lips regularly if he plans to stay in SoCal.
Quoted from Tsskinne:Lafayette, IN has plenty of games and beds for you to come and visit if you are rolling through the midwest, we'd love to have you.
And cow-tipping is awesome.
Quoted from NicoVolta:I will soon be sending out PM's regarding the Chicago tour. I don't think a venue will be available for a group class, so I will likely stick with the original plan of staying with one person per day. Will fit in as many as I can... might have to make a return trip.
I need to hurry up and move to Chicago.
Okay, so here's your next job, Nic...
You know all those streaming gameplay videos people do whenever they get their game? For God's sake...people actually donate to Jack Danger to watch him play pinball!
I'd happily donate to watch you stream live repair classes, then archive them for future access on a pay website like Pinball Ninja does.
You could also take questions from people and live stream fixes for them using machines that you have that are similar so that they would know where to look.
IMO, that would be one of the most interesting and beneficial aids to pinball hobbyists out there...and you could reach the world rather than just a roomful of people.
Quoted from VacFink:Credit to Jack Danger, he has to hustle and invest a lot of time and money into making that work as well as it does. Its no small feat to collect that many viewers and retain them, let alone get them to pony up money continuously.
No argument...I totally agree. But at the end of the day, people are paying money to watch somebody play pinball. 
Quoted from CaptainNeo:paycut. It's more like double my yearly salary now. Playfield restoration is a long slow process. You think i'm joking when I say I make $4 an hr sometimes. I'm not. There are plenty of playfields i've made $4 hr on. Couple was even $2hr. I've increased my prices but still my hourly rate is low. There is only so much I can charge before you outprice yourself. It's very very time consuming. If I had 4 of me, I could crank out 10 playfields a month and make a lot more.
You're lucky that people actually want 4 of you. Nobody even wants one of me.
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