Rare look at IO Moon (now with gameplay video)

After years of searching for this title. I have finally found one. I know of only 1 other one in the USA and know of another in South america. Took me 6 years to finally find one. Was dirty as all shit. Every lamp socket needed to be replaced because of the shit design lamp sockets that fell apart and would seize the bulbs in. Things are playing now, but still needs some tweeking. I will be posting video of the game soon, when I get everything working well. Love the sound package. The pop caps glow and pulsate with red between the rock cracks. I thought Jupiter rotated, but it does not....not yet anyway. I will be working to make that happen. Just thought i'd share a super rare DMD, most have never seen.

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#2 6 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,985 24 7

Glad you could add it to your collection !

LTG : )

#3 6 years ago

ART

OLDPINGUY

Arts Arcade

12y 171K 12,507 7

Sweet!

At first, I thought I needed to take the telescope out!

Pinside Astronomy Club!

#4 6 years ago

ODB

Gryszzz

Pinside+ Frequent

Indianapolis, IN

10y 120K 13,263 9

Guessing you play it with pop bumper caps off. Talk about unobtanium...

#5 6 years ago

DLS

bigd1979

Pinside member

Hagerstown, MD

10y 137K 14,191 8 78

Very cool thanks for sharing......

#6 6 years ago

CAP

lordloss

Blocked

10y 5,089

Lets hear a bit more about where it came from. Sounds interesting.

#7 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

Quoted from Gryszzz:
Guessing you play it with pop bumper caps off. Talk about unobtanium...

actually they are like a soft foam rubber type material. So they really can't break.

#8 6 years ago

TMC

extraballingtmc

Pinside+ Frequent

Maple Ridge, BC

12y 131K 4,340 23 107 1

Cool game. Looks better than new Star Wars lol

#9 6 years ago

JON

bigehrl

Jackbar

New York, NY

12y 97,150 3,829 79

'little multiball' sounds like a pretty bad-ass mode!!!!

#10 6 years ago

DAY

TwilightZone

Pinside member

Ottawa, ON

12y 44,300 700

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the video

#11 6 years ago

BIL

mrbillishere

Pinside member

14y 81,300 1,381

Very cool theme. Haven't heard of that manufacturer, what got you interested in searching for it?

#12 6 years ago

TPK

Kneissl

Pinside member

12y 126K 3,866 7 121

I'd like to see pics of the boards.

#13 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

Quoted from mrbillishere:
Very cool theme. Haven't heard of that manufacturer, what got you interested in searching for it?

another rare euro collector introduced it to me about 6 years ago. I wanted one ever since. Sound package is killer.

#14 6 years ago

DOG

Whysnow

Pinside member

12y 187K 35,339 30 1

I cant wait to play this!!!!!

#15 6 years ago

LEW

Pinballlew

Pinside member

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon)

Ok I am clueless here but what does IO mean? Great looking game would love to play that someday! I love space themed stuff.

#16 6 years ago

DOG

Whysnow

Pinside member

12y 187K 35,339 30 1

Quoted from Pinballlew:
Ok I am clueless here but what does IO mean? Great looking game would love to play that someday! I love space themed stuff.

#17 6 years ago

ART

OLDPINGUY

Arts Arcade

12y 171K 12,507 7

Its a moon orbiting Jupiter

#18 6 years ago

LEW

Pinballlew

Pinside member

Thank you guys!

That ramp that ends in a spin out is way cool looking.

#19 6 years ago

ART

OLDPINGUY

Arts Arcade

12y 171K 12,507 7

It also looks like a Modfather Shooter Rod!

pasted_image (resized).png

#20 6 years ago

BAD

BC_Gambit

PinMod Industries

Unknown

11y 70,550 3,532

Very cool, thank you for sharing and I look forward to your reveal video!

#21 6 years ago

megadeth2600

Pinside member

Pittsburgh, PA

10y 49,550 728 46 6

I had a Selic Bike Race a while ago. Got it for $20 at an auction (dead). Turns out it was never adapted for 120V use (I had a step up transformer). Fired right up.

The game was something between awful and puke worthy. It was the opposite of fun. There was literally nothing redeeming about it. The sounds were completely lame. While researching the game, I saw IO Moon and kind of wished Bike Race was that .

The game is Z80 based if I'm not mistaken. Also, I seem to recall that each driver transistor had its own fuse (or one fuse for every two transistors). It was a well built machine. I just wish it was fun.

¡Viva los flippers de España !

#22 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

yes, the boards have a crapload of baby fuses (T versions) all over the place. Which I guess is good to narrowing down where a problem could occur. Problem right now, is that I have no manual, or schematics and there isn't any documentation online anywhere. But I have a lead on a manual, so that is going to change soon.

#23 6 years ago

DAJ

angus

Pinside member

Highlands Ranch, CO

11y 65,900 578 34

Thanks for sharing! Really cool looking game. Lots of different space references. I love the Oblisk.

#24 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=4122

here's a pic (i didn't take this one) of what the pops look like when they are glowing.

glowing rocks (resized).jpg

#25 6 years ago

DSS

Haymaker

Pinside member

Rockford, IL

9y 125K 6,550 15 16

So cool! I love seeing these rarities. I hope you will upload video of it so we can see it in action and hear this killer sound package

#26 6 years ago

SAP

seshpilot

Pinside member

11y 112K 2,529 169 3

Wicked cool Neo. Can't wait for you to upload some video and finally give this game the limelight it's been needing for so long!

#27 6 years ago

POP

Nevus

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 129K 6,683 1

Too neat. Looks like an unlicensed take on 2001, A Space Odyssey.

#28 6 years ago

megadeth2600

Pinside member

Pittsburgh, PA

10y 49,550 728 46 6

OP
Quoted from CaptainNeo:
But I have a lead on a manual, so that is going to change soon.

I had that problem too. Bike Race had a 20 page or so manual (in Spanish), but no schematics. The system was very straightforward though ... Had there been an issue, repair wouldn't have been too difficult.

IO Moon looks like it has some great flow. Bike Race had anti flow . It would probably be a pinball machine I would design (i.e. terrible ... I can't get the basics of shot geometry )

One thing I regret to this day was passing on some Zaccharia machines at that Bike Race auction that we're going for $20 to $50. I had no large truck or room for them. In fact, I think many of them failed to get a bid. This was at the Winston Salem auction around 2002 or 2003.

Anyway, Bike Race had a ramp just for the sake of having a ramp . If you make the ramp shot, there's a delay as the ball bounces around a couple of lanes, then meanders it's way down to the flippers. You'd also have to hit drop targets and do other mundane things that felt more like a chore than a game.

Games that blow away Bike Race :

Spring Break
Millionaire
The worst mid 80s Bally you could think of
Home model pinball machines
That plastic Atomic pinball machine from '82 or so

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the video of this game.

#29 6 years ago

megadeth2600

Pinside member

Pittsburgh, PA

10y 49,550 728 46 6

Oh ... Does IO Moon have that plastic playfield clear coat like Bike Race?

Post last edited 6 years ago: “Added playfield”

#30 6 years ago

EDE

Ericpinballfan

Mod Magic!

8y 166K 10,435 7 1

Great Find neo, Thanks for sharing.
Love the space/art package.
Just missing Hal 9000 eye.
Thought this was a real IO moon jupiter thread when i saw it. Same as Art.

#31 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

Quoted from megadeth2600:
Oh ... Does IO Moon have that plastic playfield clear coat like Bike Race?

yes, the entire playfield is covered in a sheet of about 1/4" thick plastic, so wear is impossible. Taito did that on their games as well.

#32 6 years ago

---

ForceFlow

Pinside Moderator

9y 238K 31,366 268 14

Wow, quite a find. Interesting looking game.

#33 6 years ago

DOG

Whysnow

Pinside member

12y 187K 35,339 30 1

Just thought it great timing that you should all go outside tonight and look at our Moon in order to see a great glimpse of Jupiter nearby. It is currently close, big, and bright.

Neat that Neo found this game and posts the glory of the find on the best night so far to see Jupiter with the naked eye.

#34 6 years ago

LEW

Pinballlew

Pinside member

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

Quoted from Whysnow:
Just thought it great timing that you should all go outside tonight and look at our Moon in order to see a great glimpse of Jupiter nearby. It is currently close, big, and bright.
Neat that Neo found this game and posts the glory of the find on the best night so far to see Jupiter with the naked eye.

Thanks for the heads up!

#35 6 years ago

PMM

albummydavis

Pinside member

11y 57,800 667 12 10

Just out of curiosity--is the backglass signed Richard Corben anywhere. Looks like maybe an unauthorized use of his art

#36 6 years ago

JGI

John_I

Space Coast Pinball

19y 179K 9,076

Wow that is very cool. Never knew that machine existed!

One of the launches that I had a chance to work on down here at Cape Canaveral was the NASA Juno mission. It recently arrived at Jupiter and it is now starting to send back amazing pictures and data. The poles of Jupiter are sure cool looking! Follow this mission over the next few years and it will be checking out IO and the other moons up close!

#37 6 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,242 18

Quoted from Kneissl:
I'd like to see pics of the boards.

Not your usual set:

image-9 (resized).jpg

#38 6 years ago

JAS

polyacanthus

Pinside member

9y 55,050 659

Sweet game!

#39 6 years ago

MGP

mgpasman

Pinside member

8y 51,400 558

Cool find! I saw a Bike Race for sale a few months ago, but thought at €2800 it was a little steep.

#40 6 years ago

TPK

Kneissl

Pinside member

12y 126K 3,866 7 121

Quoted from vid1900:
Not your usual set:

Pretty neat, the wiring route is nice and clean. It looks like two power boards on top, CPU/switches mid right, sound mid left. Anyone know what's the lower left? Looks like the lower ones are both driver boards. I guess very bottom right is the DMD hv..
Thanks for sharing!

#41 6 years ago

ROB

Rdoyle1978

Pinside member

7y 117K 18,144 14 6

Quoted from John_I:
Wow that is very cool. Never knew that machine existed!
One of the launches that I had a chance to work on down here at Cape Canaveral was the NASA Juno mission. It recently arrived at Jupiter and it is now starting to send back amazing pictures and data. The poles of Jupiter are sure cool looking! Follow this mission over the next few years and it will be checking out IO and the other moons up close!
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

Way to drop a huge bombshell, John! That is really really cool you worked on Juno!!

#42 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

Quoted from Kneissl:
Pretty neat, the wiring route is nice and clean. It looks like two power boards on top, CPU/switches mid right, sound mid left. Anyone know what's the lower left? Looks like the lower ones are both driver boards. I guess very bottom right is the DMD hv..
Thanks for sharing!

I think the lower left is a lamp driver board.

#43 6 years ago

MLV

Pinball-is-great

Pinside member

Lafayette, LA

12y 147K 5,016 3 102

Cool find Neo.
Unknown production number for this machine just adds to the mystery of how many still exist in the world.

#44 6 years ago

MLV

Pinball-is-great

Pinside member

Lafayette, LA

12y 147K 5,016 3 102

Here is an action figure that could be added as a mod, or used as a topper.

monolith-action_figure (resized).jpg
.

#45 6 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 169K 40,242 18

Quoted from Kneissl:
It looks like two power boards on top,

I think one is audio amp:

image-35 (resized).jpg

I think other is a regulated PS:

image-34 (resized).jpg

#46 6 years ago

JGI

John_I

Space Coast Pinball

19y 179K 9,076

Quoted from Rdoyle1978:
Way to drop a huge bombshell, John! That is really really cool you worked on Juno!!

We just serve a small support role in helping launch NASA science satellites. This one was launched on an Atlas V booster.

#47 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

Here is a gameplay video.

I'm still experiencing some lamp matrix issues going on. During Lamp test, It seems to light 3 lights at the same time, and I think it's suppose to go light one by one. I have a lot of lights on that shouldn't be lit and the lights kind of do what they want. Hard to troubleshoot when you dont' have a manual or schematics. And they are not available anywhere on the internet.

#48 6 years ago

LEW

Pinballlew

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from CaptainNeo:
Here is a gameplay video.
» YouTube video
I'm still experiencing some lamp matrix issues going on. During Lamp test, It seems to light 3 lights at the same time, and I think it's suppose to go light one by one. I have a lot of lights on that shouldn't be lit and the lights kind of do what they want. Hard to troubleshoot when you dont' have a manual or schematics. And they are not available anywhere on the internet.

Thank you so much for sharing! That game is great. Love the music and looks to be a fun playing game.

#49 6 years ago

EDE

Ericpinballfan

Mod Magic!

8y 166K 10,435 7 1

Ok. Im officially jealous Neo!
It has the music from 2001!
Please put me first on list when you want ro sell it in 6 years, i came up with that time frame based on how long it took you to find one.
Since that lamp matrix is wonky...

#50 6 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo