I'm interested in seeing if there are more members local to Nashville, Tennessee. So far I've met jayhawkai and mystic. The reason I'm interested is Nashville has an awesome arcade with many classic video games and probably upwards of 15 pinballs by now. It's called Game Galaxy, and you can check it out at www.gamegalaxyarcade.com. Also search for their Facebook page as that's where most owner-to-player discussions happen.

It seems so crazy now, a Pinsider visiting our locations. Not sure if you noticed but T-Rex on JP doesn't work anymore, just a couple of months ago the gearbox finally stripped. We don't have the money for replacements. And again, these aren't my locations, and I don't run the route. I tag along with my dad and help clean, repair, and of course, play test.

Yeah, I plan on jumping on Hook and giving it a good cleaning as much as I can, but I don't have the time to tear anything down. Our company simply can't spend time and money on the more detailed cleaning and maintenance anymore. Especially since we're pulling in only a small fraction from the route as we used to in the 90's. Not to mention a bunch of locations have closed as well. Plus the economy. It's just not good.

Did you notice the left flipper button on Hook is sensitive? I need to adjust the leaf switch, and please pardon the mutant flippers.

It must've been jay who was wanting to play JP again. Yes, Hook's plastics are trash. Even if we could afford replacements they're far too difficult to find at a down-to-earth price. I wonder if we have some spare sling plastics in the cabinet... we actually have a second Hook in the shop and I wonder if we could pull some plastics from that one. Or actually swap out machines if the other one is in better shape and just include the best parts.

Wash World? We have several games there, but they don't get played too often. The laundromat's owner is a nutcase and the place has no A/C. He's actually the one who moved Hook against the wall. Did it seem cramped?

Crime isn't really a problem in Lebanon, especially not like Nashville (recall the shooting one of our Pinsiders witnessed). Holiday Wash has internet cameras that are watched all day, and the visitors know this. I can't really say anything about Wash World though. Thanks for playing our games, and be sure to come back!

Did you visit Lebanon yet?

Pintucky, maybe some day if I ever get a machine for myself.

jay, checking in where?

I hope you enjoyed Hook mystic, because the power supply is now shot. It got down to the 30's one night. Now Wash World has no pinballs. Removing the Pinside listing...

You wish! If we do sell something one day I may arrange a thread on the site, but no guarantees. If we start selling it will be years from now. Sorry, no rescuing right now!

It's not my decision.

I'll be sure to keep Pinside in mind.

Jay, I never heard back from you. I'll see if I can plan another visit to the arcade. I'd like to get some sweet Tron footage in 1080p (I have the iPhone 4s). Also need to spend more time with BR!

Where did everybody go? Has anyone been to GG lately? What machines do they have right now? I would really like to see Pinbot, Funhouse, or Scared Stiff return one of these days!

Wait, so he sold Dr. Dude? I only got to play it once!

While you were there how did things look? How many people were there?

I want to get back to TAF. It plays so much better than the one we have on route, ours is really starting to show its age. The main problem is weak flippers.

By the way, was WH20 there?

Dang, how long is it going to be out? FYI, a friend and I will be visiting the arcade this Friday, November 18 just after noon, if anyone wants to stop by and possibly meet me during that time. Jay, you guys are always getting good tips on what's current with the place. Where did you find out about WH20, and will it be back up by Friday? Really what was wrong with the game? Other than the small broken Lost Mine kickout switch issue it played good when I was there.

Thanks. Do you think you'll be at the arcade Friday?

Mystic, Pintucky, Nate, Eric? Any of you guys?

I don't know an exact time yet, but most likely it will be more like 1:30 or 2:00. Hey, might as well hang around to make the trip worthwhile!

Jared, how will I know to look for you? Will you just be playing pins? Any specific clothes? Any specified social security #?

TZ, can you text him to find out? Thanks. BTW, are you free Friday afternoon?

Probably around 1:30 or 2:00. Perhaps we can all do some 3 player games.

Seriously though, how will I find you guys?

TZ has to get a game repaired so he can't come.

By the way, I'm bringing a friend but I don't think he's too big into pinball.

Holy crap. Indiana Jones. I never thought I would see it again in person. I have some fond memories of playing IJ when I was really young. The sounds are the most nostalgic.

Pinside Map updated!

Needless to say we didn't visit GG, some school work came up at the last minute. The next meeting will be 2 or 3 weeks into the future, on a Saturday. Weekends make the most sense for everybody. We can do some flash mob multiplayer!

On Thanksgiving weekend? I'm pretty sure my friend will be tied up Saturday... doesn't look like I'll be able to make it until 3 weeks from now. And that's if I get him to go with me.

By the way, how does Indiana Jones play? There's gotta be all kinds of pinheads swarming around that one!

Edit: Asked him for the heck of it. This Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday afternoon should be good for me. Waiting on response.

Possible gathering this Saturday afternoon. Nothing for sure yet. I've sent PMs to you guys.

mystic, evidently I made a mistake. I thought it was you, not futurepinhead, who had a 6 hour drive. If you're good for Saturday afternoon then there's a chance we can get together.

If any of guys find out you can make it please don't make concrete plans. I don't know for sure if my friend will be available Saturday, he says he "should" be. But if it's not too much trouble to head to the mall on somewhat short notice, I say go for it.

I would play the game more if it had a coin mech. Are you saying it would be 3 plays/dollar otherwise? There are too many other machines I like, so my $10 has to spread out.

I usually don't spend over $10 so that's why. And the coin door is good. The last time I played Earthshaker there was a solenoid constantly firing near the far left area of the cabinet. It sounded like a VUK, so if that coil was firing a lot it possibly could've overheated, melted, and is now blowing fuses. But, I don't believe the CPU would fire the coil often enough to do any damage.

We might have something guys. Tomorrow at noon, or just after. I'll confirm tomorrow morning.

Just got back from the arcade, and Mike showed up not too long after I arrived. Great guy, evidently he hasn't seen as much of the popular games as I had thought. This was his first time playing Addams Family, and many others. We played some multiplayer and old school split multiplayer on Elvira (one flipper per player). Great fun!

I also met Jason for the first time. He showed us the new games, and Mike eventually wandered off to the museum. There weren't that many people there, surprisingly. Jason, the rear gate on The Getaway was contantly opening and closing. And the ball in IJ was getting stuck behind the left ramp, it still seems a bit confused. For some reason there was a ball constantly locked in the idol.

I got some footage but I'm not entirely happy with it. I shouldn't have left my stand at home! But anyway, I had some decent games and maybe I can get them uploaded within the next week or so. Pics:

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More pics:

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Don't tell me you're taking Indiana Jones out! Although I do remember you saying you hoped it didn't give you too much trouble. But if you're considering it, why? The problem was fixed, or are there other reasons for it? No disrespect here but announcing a popular game on Facebook and pulling it out two weeks later just doesn't make sense to me.

Really! I had no idea, that is a major issue. Disregard that post then, Jason. If anything I hope you get it sorted out, try reseating the chips on the CPU board. It would be a shame if you had to pull it out, but I can see your reasoning now. Have enough people been playing it to justify keeping it in the arcade?

Pintucky, the details you have provided are much appreciated! I always want to know things that go on in the arcade.

Edit: Perhaps the stuck ball was confusing the system. It could've been just another unexplained thing that happened, like the game starting after you cycled the coin door instead of displaying "pinball missing." The software is full of bugs, even though you're running a newer version of the game ROMs (I know this because the game returned the ball to me after a wild bounce landed it in the outlane, I read about this). I did notice the fraying rubbers but didn't think they would cause any problems. Like Pintucky said, maybe all it needs is cleaning, or just some new rubbers. There is an explanation for it.

Edit 2: Ok, here we go. This thread talks about an issue with the game merging a video mode with normal gameplay. If you press start during Choose Wisely, the machine will start a new game while the current mode is running. The background music will continue to play, and the guy makes it appear as if you get locked out of the game. Is this what happened? What mode were you playing, was it the one where you had to watch the cups shuffle around and choose the right one? Something important to consider.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bug-discovered-in-indiana-jones-1993

In that case, there is nothing wrong with your IJ, Jason! It's a common bug. The only thing that remains is those rubber bits, but all games can have this problem.

By the way Pintucky, the object of the game was to follow the glowing cup and choose the correct one after they were shuffled using the flipper buttons and gun handle. They move fast but I got it on the first try! 20 million points for that, I think.

Ha! I wouldn't visit Incredible Dave's for nothing. You don't kick out the only remaining arcade in the state with 15 pinball machines, over 100 video game cabinets, and who also happens to be a member of Save the Arcades. It's nothing but money. The people who worked at the mall had a really awesome place to spend a couple of dollars playing new and classic games in excellent condition every day. Now you would have to pay $20 or so for a "card" just to get in to play for some plastic crap prizes that will either go in the trash or sit on your shelf and collect dust. Besides, a local Best Buy should have Tron on free play!

Take my word for it. If you want to play some REAL arcade games, visit Game Galaxy in Hickory Hollow mall, Nashville.

I called the Best Buy Magnolia locations in Brentwood and West Nashville and neither has machines on display.

I've had this up for the past couple of days but forgot to link to it here.

It was my stand. I left the good one at home. I'm getting a new flexible one that sits about 4 or 5 inches tall, so that one will get better results. If IJ is still there when I visit again in 2012 I will film it again. And possibly the other two games as well. Check my previous three videos, they have better angles and a full shot of the DMD.

Great! My last game on Indy ended with "This is how we say goodbye in Germany." Oh yes, the machine knows who I am.

My favorite machine on 25 cents?? Oh yeah! mystic, you must not have seen the post. We pulled it last month because the power supply went out. We also pulled JP from the Holiday Wash location. Earlier when Frankenstein was on location at the rec center its PSU was destroyed by yet another power surge. We put JP Lost World in its place and pulled it because of a locked on transistor. I know, not enough reason to pull a game but the winter months literally don't make any money since the place is obviously more summer-centric. Now the only pins we have left on route are Cue Ball Wizard and The Addams Family at Wash World. I doubt we will be routing any more before the company collapses, possibly next year or the following year.

Edit: Come January I'll be GG bound if the weather isn't bad!

Not anytime soon. If we do ever sell the stuff the plan is to sell everything off as a whole to a single party. But that's too far into the future to be seen right now.

I like the idea Jason, but I really can't come during the weekdays. The best time is the weekends, so the best thing we can do is try to get some guys together on a Saturday. Mike, we must get together again soon. I'll see if I can make a late January trip if it isn't too cold. Most likely we'll get some snow during that time but we'll see.

Good grief, I hope it can stay. White Water's calling my name though. Also Indiana Jones!

mystic, great find. Let all Pinsiders always help all Pinsiders.

Stop the pinball talk guys, this has me worried. Is the mall the only place in Antioch with a Sears? If so this means one of two of the mall's major remaining anchors has now jumped ship. Macy's is likely to follow too. Jason is Sears still open, or do you know anything about it? If it's closed, what will this mean for the mall and the arcade?

Edit: The site lists the mall as the only location...

Is this Mike in Gallatin? Pintucky this is the guy who was working on your Frankenstein right? Anyone have any info on the mall?

Holy crap, did things just turn really bad for pinball around here! Good grief Mike, you still have emails rolling in I still need to read! God bless him and I DO hope he has a good road to recovery.

Well evidently the mall is NOT in any danger of closing. Thanks DreamTR for clearing that up. More pinball for everyone!

The bottom line is the economy is not good, the market isn't there, and the mall has been rotting for years. There is some reason for concern but it's not as big of an immediate issue as I thought. I recall you talking about the arcade being profitable but that's been over a year ago. The main issue is most likely the fact that there is no appetite for arcade games in this country anymore. Especially since 95% of the regulars of the late 90s don't want anything to do with the new demographics that frequent the mall. We have several pinheads just in the Nashville area on this site but the issue is participation, and there doesn't seem to be a good answer to that.

Did that GMX Expo a few months ago do anything for Rivergate? I notice all you post on Facebook is about pinball. Do you really think interest in pinball is outpacing interest in video games right now, especially with the resurgence? Have you thought about holding pinball tournaments?

ALL HAIL THE ALMIGHTY TRON. *angelic music follows* Man, I've never played such a fresh and new machine. I'll be putting some more quarters in that one.

I see that. Looks like our days are numbered. Did they announce a date?

Edit: They're closing in the spring. Here's a snippet from Wikipedia about the classroom plans for 2012:

"It has been discussed with Nashville State Community College that a campus would begin classes in 2012 in the former Steve and Barry's wing, but nothing has been finalized."

This should be finalized soon now that the mall's officially losing its remaining major anchors (I read there is still a junior anchor, what is that?). It may not mean the arcade will have to leave because it's located in the Sears wing. I would like to say the student regulars would be a great thing for the arcade but that is way too far off at the rate we are going at now. It's simply too little too late.

Hold off on IJ please until I make a final encounter tomorrow! By the way, what exactly was done to WhiteWater? Just a shop job or other things like flipper rebuild or wax? Did you replace the Lost Mine kickout coil with something slower or will it still shoot out like all guns blazing, testing my ball trapping skills to the limit?

Update: I visited the arcade today and the tournament was going on. Of course that meant there were craploads of people there, I dare say 60 or 70. That's the most I've EVER seen in that place at once. Jason, congratulations on getting such as big thing together!

I tried out the shopped White Water, and wow what a difference! The upper right flipper has enough power to send the ball all the way down Insanity Falls now. And the Lost Mine trough switch was ok. I didn't see any more issues with the game. Got some great footage of this, Indy, and Funhouse as well! Hopefully I can get the Funhouse video up tonight. The game is georgeous, plays great and Rudy looks "glamorous!"

The only issues I found were these:

1) Whirlwind often fails to eject the ball into the shooter lane properly.
2) The rear gate on Getaway was still firing when it shouldn't be.
3) On Indy the ball gets stuck on drop target in front of captive ball. Had to nudge this free a couple of times.
4) The right flipper spring on Elvira MIGHT be loose, not sure if it just looked off to me.

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Edit: Wow, you were there mystic? What time? We arrived at 3:15 and stayed until 4:45. I did see one person playing White Water while I was playing Elvira. Was this you?

Oh! Oh! I saw him! Were you the one with the bag of quarters?

Wow... we totally could've introduced ourselves and played some games together.

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I was going to invite someone but I wanted to get "in the zone" with Indiana Jones one last time. The Funhouse video should be up in a couple of hours. Did you play Guns n' Roses and get multiball? I saw that kid watching. I was playing Fish Tales right next to it (to the left).

YES! Haha, that was me! That's crazy, we've got to meet up sometime.

I brought 2 5's and they both worked fine for me. Last time I was there about 2 months ago Jason just gave me a $10 roll of quarters in exchange because I was told before the change machine wasn't working. I offered a bill to the guy at the desk but he said he didn't have any change in 1's. He obviosly misunderstood the fact that I wanted quarters. Lol!

By the way did you also see my friend and I playing some 2 player pinball?

I did see an older short man playing Black Rose when I got there. Interesting to say the least. I seriously almost said something to you while playing Elvira. Something along the lines of, "Is White Water one of your favorites?" Now I wish I had!

Wait, we have those?

Funhouse video!

By the way, and this is really minor, but the Lost Mine flasher on White Water is out.

I should have the White Water footage up by this evening.

White Water action is up!

Yeah, it's great that you're investing in the arcade's future. I clearly will never get to visit the Huntsville location but I wish you the very best of luck. By the way, as far as non-tournament games go how did the huge crowd turn out for the arcade in terms of earnings? Was it considerably better than usual? I have NEVER seen such a monsterous crowd there until Friday.

And finally, the Indiana Jones footage!

Well if we are doing anything I may have to pass. If enough interest forms to start this thing (and if Jason is willing to set it up) it will likely be too soon for me. I'm shooting sometime in March to be my next visit. But if this works out and I can make it I may not actually participate. I like to play pinball casually and that's about it. Plus I would most likely get owned in the scores anyway. But who knows. If this works and I can make it I may think about filming parts of it and putting it on YouTube if everyone is cool with that. Mainly playfield shots, no close-ups.

We ARE taking about a pinball tournament right? Mike I just can't see you making throwdowns and taking names in Street Fighter.

If it's late February/early March I'm in, but most likely just as a spectator. Don't worry, I will still be spending money. Who else?

And what took Indy's place? Dr. Who I assume, since Freddy is in the museum? And how is the musuem coming along?

How was the museum mystic?

Mike Chestnut? Wow, he's making a great recovery then! I'm glad BK2K is up there in earnings. I definitely don't want to see it leave. I NEED to spend more time on it to get better, I've just been so distracted by all the DMD games! It's just too hard to find these days. Might as well enjoy it while I can.

So I understand that once the Madison Square Mall location is a done deal you'll be planning to move machines from the museum to this location? Sounds like a good start. What are your plans for Hickory Hollow in the coming months? We all want the local GG to stay as long as possible. I also recall you mentioning another mall that would be a great choice that's 70 miles from your house. Just curious as to why you chose Huntsville instead since it's over 200 miles away. Is Madison Square still kicking? Do you think you'll find anywhere near the success here as you did at Rivergate?

How long is Dr. Who going to be there? I definitely want to check out the most complex toy in pinball (the Time Expander).

I've been watching the original Dr. Who series. How does it play?

Visited the arcade today with a friend. First we had issues with the changer, didn't take any of our 5's. We asked the guy up front for some change but he just told us to try the changer. We told him it wasn't working and I'm 100% sure he knew that already. He gave us 1's in exchange and the machine still had trouble in taking those even. Took us forever just to get $5 in quarters. He was going to spend more but basically said screw it because the changer is screwed up. So again, you lost a few dollars from us. I expected the changer to be fixed by now.

So once I got some quarters I decided to check out Dr. Who. Put some quarters in, no credits. Tried the other coin slot and still no credits. The coins weren't jamming up, they just weren't registering. I asked the guy for help, he opened the coin door and fixed it for me. I started a game and soon after noticed things started going crazy. All kinds of things were happening, flippers started flipping, random warnings on the screen, flipper buttons didn't respond. I turned the game off and tried again, the same thing happened. I let the guy at the desk know about it. At first he gave us that "I don't give a crap" look but he understood what was wrong with the game. I just turned it off. If the desk guy was actually doing his job it would have an out of order sign on it to begin with. He never offered to give us quarters directly, something he should be able to do if the changer isn't working.

Something has to change. The changer is still broken and the guy wasn't much help. We were both excited about playing Dr. Who for the first time. The desk guy was texting most of the time rather than checking if everything was working properly. You'll need to find someone to look at the machine because something about the CPU is all screwed up. It's unplayable.

Video of the problem:

Ok, that makes more sense. I had no idea the issue had just started, and didn't realize he didn't have quarters on-hand. The reason I assumed he did is the last 2 times I was there you and him gave me quarters from the front desk. I believe I saw someone grabbing them from the coin boxes. If it sounded like I was angry, I'm not. I was just confused and as you know I can't come up there that often, so I don't know all of the details of the day-to-day routine. To me it appeared Richard wasn't doing his job but that was just because of the timing of what happened I guess. The chance Dr. Who would fail beginning with me is pretty small but it's not impossible. After hearing about the museum guy sleeping on the job I kind of had low expectations for the guys watching the place. Please don't take offense. I appreciate your help!

As for the actual problem I would check the backbox connectors. Was the fuse message "Check fuses F114 and F115"? If so here's a bit if information on that:

This message is sometimes displayed when the game boots and a game cannot be started. Most of the time, F114/F115 will be found to be just fine.
The game issues this message because it cannot read the switch matrix normally. The crafty designers at Williams inserted an “always closed“ switch into the matrix as switch 24. Switch 24 isn’t a switch at all, but instead provides the game software with a “known closed” switch matrix return. Switch 24 is actually a diode across column 2, row 4 of the switch matrix and is located on the coin door interface board.
Since the WPC switch matrix circuitry on the MPU uses 12V to determine switch state, the game assumes that the 12VDC power has been interrupted. F114/F115 fuse the 12V generation circuit; F114 on the AC side of BR1; F115 on the DC side of BR1. Hence, the game assumes that one of these fuses is blown and the message is displayed.

Well if it's not fuses you could have an issue with the switch matrix. If that's the case that would certainly explain the crazy behavior as random switches were being tripped. Also explains the coin problem and flippers flipping by themselves as the game was possibly thinking the flipper buttons were being pressed.

As for the changer it just seems to reject bills too often. I don't know, maybe all of the 5's we were using were the new ones. And I guess our 1's were just old.

No hard feelings Richard. As I said Im still learning on the regular daily routine. Please realize that who I was with does not reflect what kind of person I am, for the record. He just doesn't have a lot of patience. I appreciate your help with us. Most of the time when I see someone texting I assume it's on their leisure. I didn't realize you were actually talking with Jason! There was definitely some ambiguity there, thanks for clearing things up.

That sparked some conversation! When I saw the Dr. Who problem I either came to the conclusion that the CPU was damaged somehow (battery corrosion can happen but I know Jason takes care of the machines) or there was a data cable loose. If it's not a problem with the actual electronics then yes, loose cables can cause some really weird stuff to happen. What's going on is the CPU doesn't have a consistent connection to other components of the system and basically gets confused. Heat is main culprit. The connectors and header pins on the boards fatigue over time to heat buildup. It's basically the equivalent of cartridge-tilting your pinball machine. Jason, I would reseat the ribbon cables in the backbox just to be sure. You learn more and more things about this hobby with me around! I've become a pretty big pinhead as of late.

The expansion of the game "store" is a good idea. Heck, I don't even play the video games while I'm there. If I want to play a video game I'll install MAME on my computer. I know that sounds like defeating the purpose of visiting an arcade but if it wasn't for the extensive pinball lineup I wouldn't be visiting as often or spending near as much, that's for sure. Pinball is one of those things you can NEVER replace, while you can play Marble Madness on your iPhone at the bus stop if you want (if you jailbreak, that is).

Svengo are you the one with gray facial hair? I only saw one other person playing pinball while I was there. I saw him playing Guns n Roses.

Thanks for the compliments guys! I've been working with Mike lately on some various issues he's been having with his games. Phantom of the Opera has been giving him a heck of a lot of trouble lately so that's what we're focused on right now.

Jason, the Wizard of Oz isn't supposed to start rolling out until sometime in May. The wait is killing me!

EARTHSHAKERRR!! Didn't expect you to bring this back in. I see longer ball times in my future.

I'd certainly like to plan a trip to GG with Mike/Andrew/Mystic if possible. I asked my traveling friend if he could do Sunday the 4 of March or the week after. I vote for Sunday because that would be better for Mike rather than during the week. I will be spending some family time that Saturday so I can't do that. Just an idea, I'll update when I get a response from him.

He responded, said Sunday would probably work for him.

What about you jay?

Nice! Looking forward to playing it. And Whirlwind's display was in pretty rough shape last time, glad it's good now. By the way, how do you find so many affordable NOS displays? And yeah I saw where you owned Dr. Who.

By the way, Pintucky might be coming too.

Yeah, Ritchie's voice as the skull is awesome. "Dont even move!" By the way, jayhawkai will be able to make it if he doesn't have a school project meeting Sunday.

I will try and shoot for 2:00. I think we can easily be on the road by 1:00.

Just found out jay can't come, he'll be out of town. Don't leave on us mystic!

Added both games to the map location. Did you have to move anything out or was there enough room already?

By the way, what's going on with the museum? You said you were reorganizing it or something?

Sure, go for it. I'm still not sure even one Pinsider can make it otherwise. Again, the target time is 2:00pm on Sunday, March 4 (this Sunday).

It's ok. If you can't make it we can plan another visit.

Seriously, sell it to Jason. That way we can at least meet up and play some games. Plus, it would be interesting to see how it plays in the arcade. You already have a seller, and Jason pays retail prices. That way it's out of your way and there's cash in your pocket for your next game.

Nice, I'll be looking for you. Svengo, don't worry about it if you can't come Sunday. We will soon have SIXTEEN machines in the arcade so come check it out this weekend!

Jason you've really come a long way with the number of pinballs in the arcade. I'm guessing one of the reasons for this is your garage? Is the back wall you're talking about the one you're facing when you enter the doors and walk to the left and all the way back? You say the entire WALL is used for pinball now? I'm having trouble visualizing that for some reason. Is this another reason you're getting rid of video games (besides for more store space)?

Cool! I knew you'd find a buyer. See you then.

Are we still on for tomorrow?

DreamTR what kind of behavior are you seeing on the display? Just random images or lines/static? I've been wanting to meet you again.

You should do a memory page test for the display. Usually issues like this are due to backbox connectors or bad DMD memory. I don't know where the test is listed but look under utilities and you might find it.

And Pintucky had to drop out by the way.

I really enjoyed our Game Galaxy visit today. mystic, williams, you guys are very cool. Jason don't be surprised if you find a crapload of quarters in No Fear by the end of the day. mystic I found myself waiting on you several times to play it! Now you have a good idea of how it plays. It kicked my butt for sure. Are you still thinking about buying one?

As far as MY skills go: Earthshaker, Getaway, Funhouse, No Fear, and Elvira are still kicking my butt. The Getaway seems to be a little too fast for me, maybe I just need more practice. I'm getting pretty good at Fish Tales, Black Knight, Tron, and White Water though! Heck, I knew I wouldn't have enough time to spend all of what I originally planned to spend talking and playing with you guys.

My riding buddy is also an up and coming pinhead. He now says Black Rose is his favorite game, just ahead of Black Knight 2000. I started explaining to him how kickbacks and Magna-Save worked on BK2K, but I didn't actually get to show him a Magna-Save (the ball moves too fast)! I managed to lock ONE ball and lower the drawbridge a second time. I'm getting there. After all these years he's starting to realize that pinball isn't just about flippers and silver balls. He's really starting to like the game in general and appreciate the storylines/rules. I'm also explaining to him the difference between Stern, Bally, Williams, and Data East, as well as some nudging tricks.

And as for your machines Jason, White Water isn't neccessarily displaying random images, the picture is just distorted a little with missing pixels and evidence of vertical stripes during some scenes. Usually when you see something like this it's either bad connectors or bad display RAM. I thought about showing you the display RAM test but really it's pretty straightforward. I just don't know what diagnostic menu option it's under. And keep in mind the test can also pass even though the DMD isn't right. I believe you told me you already tried reseating connectors so I'm guessing the display itself is going bad (the RAM). Does anyone know if it's possible to replace DMD memory chips? Also, you need to consider a better connector for that Rottendog display in Whirlwind. I don't know if this is just Rottendog's questionable quality or if the cable is bad or something. You don't have to remove the playfield glass to get into the backbox either. And thanks for helping me out with the other little things. Oh, and that sucks about Dr. Who. A flipper rebuild kit is probably the best option.

Today was awesome and I look forward to meeting with you guys again.

The earliest I can do is April. I limit my trips to once every 2 months, saves money. I will be looking forward to our next visit though.

Jason the display test is T.11 for White Water under "TESTS" in the diagnostic menu. Let it run through the line test then you will see a RAM paging test. Tell me what the results are.

A couple of other small things: Whirlwind has a really weak ball eject solenoid so it often takes several times just to eject the ball into the shooter lane. Also, another ball wasn't served to the shooter lane when I locked ball 1, and all I could do was wait for a ball search to kick it out of the left lock lane. I would check those lock switches and rebuild the kickout mech, or at least replace the coil sleeve.

Also, Elvira has a stiff plunger, but I like it as it makes the game feel more solid. I'm sure Elvira herself doesn't mind it either.

Mystic that's awesome you sold Baywatch to Jason, now I can't wait to try it out. I have doubt about the old Baywatch we have. I think display is dead and it has other issues... may have to end up parting it out despite the fact that it's in great condition like Frankenstein... By the way, any White Water updates? I recently reseleeved the upper right flipper on ours, it was getting really sluggish. It's strong again now. I should really do the same thing to Addams Family hopefully tomorrow if I have enough time.

Hook will eventually come to Holiday Wash. I began work on our second Hook (we've actually had 2 all this time and the one previously on location is the crappy one). I got it to boot and play but just needs some coils, fine tuning, and general prep work. It will go in Cue Ball Wizard's place once we send it to another location. Seriously, the second one is much better. No mutant flippers, better cabinet, better plastics, less wear and dirt, no more air balls coming off of the plunge, and all drop targets are present. Should clean up nice. It needs a rubber overhaul. That's all I can do to it for now since my spring break is over. Oh, and the old one is going to parts. I've already started breaking it down.

Yeah the RAM test isn't always consistent but it was worth a shot. Radical is nuts, ramps everywhere. Definitely has that crazy 90s "skateboarding dudeness" to it, like Dr. Dude. That'll be interesting. I don't know if you saw where I posted about this a while back but when I played Earthshaker before you moved it out there was a solenoid continuously firing in the back. It sounded like a VUK. The switch for that was stuck closed and the CPU just assumed the ball was stuck there. It eventually gives up and stops but it put more stress on the driver transistor than normal. Something to consider. Test the transistor for that coil and see if it checks out. What's weird is the problem was gone when I last played it a week ago and everything seemed to be working.

Mystic those plated habitrails look awesome. I hope the game doesn't get too much abuse for the amount of work you've put into it. I'm actually surprised you sold it for use in an arcade.

What's new in the arcade? Anything? Do you have a date on Baywatch?

Yeah I've seen a couple of people playing Monday Night Football. Seems to be a popular game! Though of course I guess football will always be popular in this country.

I'd say the Wizard of Oz is the farthest game from his mind. He already made a special effort to get us Tron pro, and I greatly appreciate that. It's the first time I've ever gotten to play a game that new.

Haha, split the losses on WOZ because pinball doesn't make money. Good one! In all seriousness, I am certainly more than happy with what we have now. I suppose you could say I'm a "bang for your buck" player since the last 2 times I spent over 2 hours there I didn't even blow $10. I suppose part of that is because I had Pinsiders to talk to, but I still spent about 80%-90% of my time playing.

I'm finding out that I'm really beginning to like Elvira, more so than I ever have. I'm sure that's because I'm playing a machine in great shape and I can understand the rules more now, compared to playing it 10-12 years ago when I was only 8 years old on our beat-up fixer-upper machines (which is what I'm used to in case you didn't know). I enjoy the nostalgia but it's mainly the sound and music. Now I'm trying to actually get somewhere with the game so I can see more.

Ah! So that's why I had trouble! I think I lit video mode once but couldn't start it for some reason.

Dude that's like, totally rad! I'll be back sometime in mid/late April. That's a good idea to move Bride of Pinbot out if it can't be played right now.

Oh and this is now PAGE 7 you guys! 300 posts! Awesome!

So is air conditioning a main reason for the rework of the museum? What exactly was so major about the changes? Was there some remodeling, or just strategizing what games will go in there and their locations?