Years ago when I started down the rabbit hole of owning pinball machines about all I knew about them was how to push the start and flipper buttons. I'd like to think I've learned a few things since then. . . part of the challenge is learning new terms/vocabulary used in the hobby. I would remember reading numerous threads on Pinside but at times had to educate myself on what was being discussed. I thought it might be helpful to create a thread covering Pinball related terms and what they mean. For Example:

1. Re-Capping a Board.

The electronics age in our games and the Electrolytic Capacitors can dry out over time. This can alter the steady voltage needed to keep the pin running reliably. Replacing the old capacitors with new ones is good preventative maintenance on older games as I have done on this Bally Squawk and Talk Board:

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New, blue capacitors are soldered onto the board after the originals were removed. This board has been "Re-Capped."

2. Re-Pinning a Connector.

Wires are joined to circuit boards via connectors -- the white plastic as seen on this solenoid driver board:

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Inside those connectors each wire is crimped with a metal terminal "pin."

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Re-Pinning the connector involves snipping off the old pin and using a crimping tool to secure a new one to the wire. Both header (on the board) and connector pins wear as the connectors are removed/installed and the quality of the connection can degrade as they wear. Re-pinning eliminates many issues (restarts, non working solenoids/lamps/etc.) due to poor connections in the connectors.

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3. Cold Solder Joint.

When soldering two areas together, both must be hot enough for the solder to flow onto the surface and stick. Sometimes one surface may not be quite hot enough and the solder will break/crack causing problems. Removing/installing connectors on header pins can also flex the pins just enough to create stress and crack the solder joint. My picture is not the best, but perhaps you can see the small gap between the header pin and solder on the back of this lamp driver board:

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Whatever message the game is trying to send will not be received if the pin does not have a good connection to the board. Heating the area up, removing old solder, and reflowing with new solder will fix the situation.

So those are a couple Pinball Terms I thought might benefit new folks to the hobby. I am sure there are many more. . . feel free to add your ideas with a brief explanation!

True. We can call it "Vocabulary used in the Pinball Hobby" -- or something to that effect. The idea is/was to familiarize people with pinball jargon they might not already know.

Make it what you like, provided its pinball terms. Is Moonwalking what you are thinking of? I think that is when the ball rolls up the inlane then spins back to drain down the outlane.

Imamaculate.

The best possible condition a game can be after pulling it out of someone's basement and listing it for sale. No legs needed, the machine preferably should rest on a large sheet of cardboard. Ideally should have 600 plays or less in the last decade or so.

Imamaculate.

A couple more basics. Inlanes and Outlanes are usually located on the lower/lateral portion of the playfield. Outlanes lead to the ball draining while Inlanes guide the ball back to the flippers. There are two inlanes per flipper on this Cheetah.

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On some games like Fathom the inlanes and outlanes are inverted. When the ball is lost (or drains) it rolls down the Outhole.

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