Any chance for an impromptu EM score reel session sometime during NWpinball? Or perhaps just a group meetup time for this thread? I'm new to EMs and eager to get up to speed with how to diagnose and fix my wedgeheads as well as meet others with similar interests.

Can someone explain what's happening on that Dogies backglass? Why is it called Dogies?

Ok thanks. I'm also wondering about the details in the Dogies backglass. Is the man holding the right reign with his left hand and falling off the horse? These look like bulls to me and not calves. Looks like he's rubbing his back on the bull?? Is he shooting a gun in his right hand? I guess what I'm saying is the pic makes no sense to me so wondering what I'm missing here and what others might see.

Of the current Dremel cordless models (https://www.dremel.com/en_US/tools/-/search-tools/find-by-category/27343/rotary), which do you recommend for EM repair Nic? Is the 8220 overkill? Is variable speed necessary or 2 speeds enough? What do you think of the 8050-Mirco which is only 2 lbs?

Thanks Nic for your positivity and for all you have done for the EM community - truely a joy to follow you along your journey. Best wishes on your upcoming move and looking forward to hearing about your future adventures. This was the best thread ever on pinside!

Was just thinking... you know what would be great Nic? If you would consider, at your convenience, doing a full day EM workshop at a pin show of your choice. Entry fees would cover your airfare and expenses and you could share your knowledge without having to kill yourself traveling and as a bonus you could enjoy the show too. Could do a day before a show and cover all aspects of how they work, cleaning, electrical etc.

What are your thoughts?

Sign me up for school Nic! Since I have to fly out would be cool if it was before or after a show but no rush since you need to take a good long rest - you deserve it! Thanks again for all you've done

Wow, epic amount of energy Nic! Already planning the next trip. Someone should contact Energizer and let them know about the bunny's replacement!

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Nic, what multimeter do you recommend?

Hi Nic,

Searched your entire tour and can't find what solder you recommend for EM's- also couldn't find mention of your soldering tools/supplies in your end-of-tour tools list. I only have Gottlieb 70's wedgeheads and saw that http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index1.htm#tools states:

"Rosin Core 60/40 Solder. This can only be bought at an electronic store like Radio Shack (hardware stores only sell 95/5 lead free solder, which won't work for EM games). Radio Shack's solder is made by Kester, and is good quality. I prefer the thinner sizes (like .037"), but that's me. "

I'm new to fixing so appreciate any tips - Cheers!

Great thanks! - you didn't have any soldering iron or soldering supplies listed in that list so thought I'd ask. (and thanks for link).

Great thanks. In other news, on another thread we are debating best (dry) Gottlieb decagon score reel cleaning method (so we don't wash off numbers) and we are currently between A. White Bread(!) and B. Magic Eraser. Your thoughts?

Thanks willbeEM! Very difficult to find 443's on amazon.ca so this is very helpful indeed

Nic, so many people say they use exactly 91% isopropyl alchohol but I have 99.9%. Why 91 and I assume both are good right? (Thanks)

Nic, from your experience, what is your view on the tension between these two approaches to fixing a non-working machine?:

A. Fix the minimum and don't touch the rest (Top-down approach) For example:

https://havepinwilltravel.wordpress.com/intro-to-em-pinball-machines-and-their-schematics/

"Don’t clean switches willy nilly, because you will create more problems. And the only thing worse than a problem is multiple problems, which can make troubleshooting VERY difficult."

B. Methodically test/rebuild every component (bottom-up approach)

I can see benefits to either approach depending on the situation. For example, if only one switch is broken, then might be best to get fully working before rebuilding components (then if problem is introduced will likely be last thing touched). On the other hand if there are many components not working it might take less time to go through them all in detail than it would to try to diagnose a very complex issue caused by interaction of many factors. Your thoughts? (Thanks)

Hi Nic, I read through all your stepper rebuild posts and have some questions as I'm getting ready to do my first (while we wait for your rebuild vids hah).

Q1: When you do a total stepper rebuild, sometimes I see the stepper removed from the machine and sometimes work is done while it's attached to machine. Isn't it best to completely remove (unsolder if you have to) in order to fully clean/rebuild it?

Q2: During your travels, sometimes stepper parts were cleaned using an ultrasonic cleaner, sometimes washed and sometimes only some parts were swabbed with alcohol to clean (springs, rivets). What is your ideal, time is not an issue, method for cleaning stepper parts? If wash, what solution do you use? (Simple Green?) Do you own an ultrasonic cleaner/would you recommend one?

(many thanks again for answering questions about your approach - invaluable to newbs like me)

Link not working for me

Hi Nic. You list the "Pin Wrench" in your tool list (a flex head ratcheting wrench 5/8 & 9/16ths). Could you comment how important you think the flex head part of it is? Also, only place I can find for sale is Marco - is that true? (Thanks)

Nic, you've raved about multiplayer EMs thoughout your tour and I want to learn more details. I'm new to EMs myself and currently into mid-70's Gottlieb wedgeheads (single players lots of drops).

What is it about these multiplayers you speak of that you love so much and what are your top 3 favorite?

My knowledge is so limited that, at least in the Gottlieb world I'm aware of, multiplayer has become synonymous with games that reset all targets each ball which I'm not sure I like. Also I have almost no familiarity with Williams EMs.

I'm trying to broaden my horizons so want to pay more attention to these next show I go to. Thanks.

Yes agree ^^^^^^!!!

Can't wait Nic! Thanks.

Nic, I'm relatively new to pinball repair and have been using the (your?) alchohol-swab, Dremel polish, alchohol-swab (lightsaber) method used on this tour and it works great.

Learning all I can from pinside lately and came across this post:

For me, so much black crud is removed from the alchohol swabbing, I just don't get why vid, who expertly advocates such detailed use of so many chems in such detailed ways, would be against some alcohol when cleaning switch contacts.

What are your thoughts on this other approach? (Not trying to be controversial just for the sake of it but rather to understand differing viewpoints - thanks). What have you heard others in the other camp say say about dremelsaber approach?

Nic, earlier on tour you mentioned you were still evaluating Finish Line Dry Bike Lubricant over synthetic grease. What are your thoughts on it? Have you switched over now?

EM training course at TPF Nic?

Maybe this emoji will be the start of more pinball in this thread...

(or let's talk more taxes)

Good luck with the new gig Nic and thanks again for sharing your journey with all of us! You are a credit to this hobby and we all wish you the best

Pace yourself friend as one's passion can exceed one's physical limits - if not now then someday. At least limit work to 80 hours per week until you let some of that local pace sink in. This is a great move for you - all the best Nic!

Nic, I'm assuming that your first job is to get all pins working 100%. Now I've come to realize that "working" means a lot of different things to different people. To a casual player this may mean that all parts function correctly enough so that the logic and scoring of the game proceed as designed. To others it may mean tuning a game so that it plays and even sounds exactly like it did when it first left the factory (or even better). Importantly, if someone has never played an expertly tuned game they often can't tell how crappy many games are. When they do experience a finely tuned one though, even a familiar game feels like something they've never played before - it's just feels great.

Could you talk about how you approach prioritizing how you work on games? Do you keep a list of things to come back to after other things of greater importance have been addressed? (like "this pin could use a flipper rebuild" or "score reels work but are a bit sluggish" or "chimes could sound better" or even "this stepper is very dirty and could use a rebuild" etc).

Also wondering at what point do you stop tuning to perfection vs looking for new games to get to just basic level of playability? What is your ultimate goal for these pins here under your care?

Can't wait to check out PHOF. Can anyone comment on maintenance quality there?