(Topic ID: 319931)

Pinball score reel clock

By The_Time_Bandit

1 year ago


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    #1 1 year ago

    I'm new here so please be gentle.
    I'm about half way through the design and build of a pinball themed clock.
    I'm a bit of a clock addict.
    The stranger the better.
    The idea for this clock has slowly evolved in my head. The first big problem I had was finding a set of 4 reels. I'm in the U.K and parts like this are difficult to find unless you have very deep pockets. But after some persistence a set was found. I have absolutely no idea of their origin. Maybe someone here can tell me their manufacturer.
    So the project is born and working to the point I have a functioning clock.
    The plan is to theme the clock on abra-ca-dabra.
    I have a grandmother clock case found on ebay. Its an ugly case but will fit the bill.
    The clock will have a "Westminster" chime. Every quarter hour the clock will play an original game sound via an embedded MP3 player.
    There will be light effects to accompany this.
    The case is still in the planning stage. But the thinking is only the theme from the original pinball. So a more human like witch from the playfield on the long part of the case. All will be custom airbrushed. Modified back box graphics in the glass case with the clock reels.
    If there are people interested I will start posting pictures of the build process along with details of the electronics and microcontrollers code.

    Also any one interested in my previous creations take a look at The Time Bandit and Father of Time clocks here.


    and

    There is also a build video for the Time Bandit Clock.

    #2 1 year ago

    Your time bandit clock is pretty cool! PhilGreg builds score reel clocks that are awesome - I am lucky to have one! He is continuously making improvements - check out his thread here:

    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gottlieb-score-reel-clock-project

    As an alternate, there is a thread called Run DMD (digital matrix display) that uses DMD's that were in pinballs starting in 1991 (the first in Terminator 2), and still in some pinballs today.

    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/run-dmd-the-most-amazing-clock-ever-released

    good luck!

    #4 1 year ago

    Cool stuff. I’m addicted to clocks as well. Built a nixie a long time ago (kit). Was gathering parts for an EM reel clock but never got very far. Here is two that did make.



    My wife pokes fun of all the clocks I have built or kits I built. We have so many all around the house.

    2 weeks later
    #5 1 year ago

    Wow, I hadn't caught this thread before... Awesome execution.
    So, if I understand correctly, the positioning is based off electrical contacts between the reel and the PCB?

    pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png

    11 months later
    #6 7 months ago

    Hello again.
    Sorry Im not very active on this forum.
    The Time bandit uses a punched card with leds one side and photo transistors on the other. It makes a 4 bit binary code along with a strobe so the blank spaces get ignored and the stop points are accurate.

    Back to the pinball themed clock
    After many hours its finaly finished.
    I used pinball reels. A grandmother clock case was found and airbrushed to capture the essence of the Abra Ca Dabra table artwork. I wanted the clock to have a slightly more human witch. I modified the backglass from the original tables artwork for the clock face.

    I made to control by reading the reel positions. These are converted to Binary and compared with the ouput from an Arduino binary clock. A PIC then matches the binary clock and the reel position feedback. The advantage of this is the clock can be put to sleep but will reset to the correct time when woken. Also it makes the On the hour tricks possible.

    The clock "Chimes" at 15, 30, and 45 minutes past with the original machine sounds. On the hour the reels reset to zero with more game sounds and then reset to the correct time.

    I made a video here.


    Its a bit over the top, but it was fum doing it.

    If anyone wants info on the build Im happy to share what I can, pictures etc. There are plenty

    The next creation is an analougue voltmeter clock with chimes and strike mechanism from an old wind up mantle clock.

    There are a couple of pictures of my pinball clock attached.

    Any critical feedback is welcome.

    nice full clock (resized).pngnice full clock (resized).pngface (resized).pngface (resized).png
    #7 7 months ago

    Holy crap this is incredible!
    I'd like to see some construction pics, how you built it, what the electronics are like, how you made the effect on the colon between the hours and minutes, etc.
    Great work!

    #8 7 months ago
    Quoted from The_Time_Bandit:

    Hello again.
    Sorry Im not very active on this forum.
    The Time bandit uses a punched card with leds one side and photo transistors on the other. It makes a 4 bit binary code along with a strobe so the blank spaces get ignored and the stop points are accurate.
    Back to the pinball themed clock
    After many hours its finaly finished.
    I used pinball reels. A grandmother clock case was found and airbrushed to capture the essence of the Abra Ca Dabra table artwork. I wanted the clock to have a slightly more human witch. I modified the backglass from the original tables artwork for the clock face.
    I made to control by reading the reel positions. These are converted to Binary and compared with the ouput from an Arduino binary clock. A PIC then matches the binary clock and the reel position feedback. The advantage of this is the clock can be put to sleep but will reset to the correct time when woken. Also it makes the On the hour tricks possible.
    The clock "Chimes" at 15, 30, and 45 minutes past with the original machine sounds. On the hour the reels reset to zero with more game sounds and then reset to the correct time.
    I made a video here.
    Its a bit over the top, but it was fum doing it.
    If anyone wants info on the build Im happy to share what I can, pictures etc. There are plenty
    The next creation is an analougue voltmeter clock with chimes and strike mechanism from an old wind up mantle clock.
    There are a couple of pictures of my pinball clock attached.
    Any critical feedback is welcome.[quoted image][quoted image]

    Wicked well done! Nice Job! Congrats.

    #9 7 months ago

    Thank you for the positive feed back.
    Heres a bit of background and build history.

    The story of the Abra Ca Dabra clock started over 12 months ago. That’s when I first created an account on Pinside in an effort to find some reels to start some experimenting.
    In the UK, pinball parts are like gold but after a lot of searching I bumped into someone selling parts.
    Because the project was going to be a one off, everything will be built on veroboard for fast prototyping.
    The reels were stripped, cleaned and tested. I decided to use the encoders on the reels to give me a reel position feedback. I can then use a binary clock for my real time and compare the reel position with this. If there is a discrepancy the reel position can be corrected.
    The reel feedback is converted from the decimal form to binary with a diode matrix.
    The Binary clock is Arduino. It generates binary code for each reel along with flags for 15,30,45 and on the hour times.
    The reel solenoids are pulsed with AC through relays.
    A suitable case eventually turned up on Ebay. It was cheap and not the most attractive case, so I wasn’t worried if this all went wrong. The stained glass was removed and an MDF board put in its place.
    Meanwhile, the programming of a PIC microcontroller commenced. I’m a novice at programming so this and the Arduino code gave me sleepless nights.
    I decided to use sound clips from the original machine and used an MP3 module to play them, all under PIC control.
    I like the idea of keeping all of the display elements electromechanical so decided on flipdots for the hour / minute divider.
    Another PIC was programmed to control lighting effects and flipdots.
    With things coming together electronically I started thinking of case artwork. I was lucky enough to find an artist nearby and together we tried out some ideas. I wanted a more realistic witch. I also wanted to bring some dark elements into the overall theme.
    So that’s the short version of the build.
    I hope the pictures tell the story.

    #10 7 months ago
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    #11 7 months ago

    The reels cleaned up good.

    #12 7 months ago
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    #13 7 months ago

    This is the Arduino binary clock and the Binary comparison circuit.
    The connector blocks at the top of the board are connections for the reel binary inputs.
    The second picture has an LED board in place. This helped a lot when testing and debugging the binary comparison circuit.

    #14 7 months ago
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    #15 7 months ago

    Tis is the complete control card.
    The Arduino clock on the left. Right of centre is the Main control PIC.
    To the right of that is the MP3 module.
    Below that the lighting and flipdot control.

    #16 7 months ago
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    #17 7 months ago

    This is the board where the decimal to binary conversion diode matrix and reel pulsing relays are mounted.

    #18 7 months ago
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    #19 7 months ago

    Artwork development

    #20 7 months ago
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    #21 7 months ago

    Final assembley including a light board to get a decent illumination.

    #22 7 months ago

    Sorry for my bad spelling errors

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