I've had my Abra ca Dabra since 1982 but am new to Pinside. Gottlieb released the game while I was in high school and it quickly became my favorite machine. When the Surf Side Arcade in Rehobeth Beach, DE put the game for sale, I used the money I had gotten for a college graduation award to buy her. The arcade was asking $150 but knowing they had paid the license for the year I offered them a hundred agreeing to let them keep the machine til the end of summer so it could make money for them all through beach season. We shook hands and I picked up Abra Ca Dabra on Labor Day.

Besides replacing all the burned out bulbs and putting on a new rubber kit when I got the game home, she hasn't asked for much to eat these last 35 years. A friend broke the glass when he picked up the front and slammed it on the ground (dumb) and the speaker I had on the head (dumber) toppled forward. Fortunately the playfield wasn't damaged and $75 for a used glass ACD was rolling again. The machine went wonkers not long after that. A week of pulling out my hair trying to make sense of the schematic and she just started working fine again. Shrug. I figured a chunk of tempered glass got stuck somewhere and worked itself loose.

The machine fell into disuse as I got older but was always ready to play if you had a spare quarter. I have always made everyone pay to play. It keeps the incentive high and I used to break open the cash box for an annual party. I was really bummed when I fired up the game while we were getting ready to move two years ago and the flippers and play field were dead. After my last attempt at trouble shooting 30 years before I couldn't muster the effort to look at the machine til last weekend. I got lucky again this time. An afternoon of head scratching narrowed things down to dirty contacts on the ball count unit.

I have basically had the old girl since the end of her original arcade service, so the machine is virtually untouched (the counter shows right at 50,000 plays). She shows her age, but we have sort of grown old together. Other than a light bulb here and there or new bumpers I would never change a thing.

My playboard info sheet only specifies color, but I've had my machine since 1982 and the guides are all opaque. The upper green guide is single sided.

That's it. Each hit of the pop bumper advances the "I" relay (mini stepper on the bottom of the play field) by one step. There is no reset logic to drive the relay to a home position, so it will maintain whatever its last position was between balls/games until it receives a next signal from the pop bumper. The erratic behavior of that relay has plagued my machine for 35 years, but adds a neat unpredictability to play. Great article on rebuilding/setting these guys: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gtb-as-match-stepper-rebuild-step-by-step#post-1721644
I relay (resized).jpg

Dang, I've had my machine since 1982 and although I hold the current Pinside ACD High Score (223,320 set October 13, 1985), I bet my average game ain't but 25,000...

?!? That thing is sweet; I wouldn't touch it!