(Topic ID: 342757)
Pittsfield, MA
guess..some sort of replacement for chimes. Those appear to be lubrication tubes.
Quoted from rod90:Some sort of aftermarket air chime.
My theory also. Is the chime unit missing?
Quoted from Topcard:Just picked up a Triw Win and inside the cabinet are these little jars with tubes running to them. Anyone know what they do? I've had a lot of machines but I've never seen this before.
[quoted image]
More pics would help, what’s inside those glass jars?
Quoted from Pinplayer1967:what’s inside those glass jars?
Whisky.
My theory: Twin Win being a car racing theme, perhaps those red things are mini air blowers or pumps (like from an aquarium), the jars contain some gasoline, and upon fulfilling a certain objective in the game (special, extra ball), the blowers turn on for a moment, pump or suck a little air into or out of the jars, and the player is rewarded with a whiff of gasoline; it's just like being in the pits.
Very dangerous! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!
Quoted from jibmums:My theory: Twin Win being a car racing theme, perhaps those red things are mini air blowers or pumps (like from an aquarium), the jars contain some gasoline, and upon fulfilling a certain objective in the game (special, extra ball), the blowers turn on for a moment, pump or suck a little air into or out of the jars, and the player is rewarded with a whiff of gasoline; it's just like being in the pits.
Very dangerous! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!
They appear to be fuel pumps..or at least have fuel lines.
Quoted from sizteves:Maybe it's a limited edition Smell-O-Vision pinball?
I believe that would be OderOma!
Smelling is believing!
It might be interesting to take a better photo of the red devices and do an image search to see if anything similar turns up. The photo above doesn't come up with much.
/Mark
Malvern East
Quoted from Timerider:Maybe using air pumps of some sort, to simulate engine exhaust/revving noise???
I bet this is it! Tubes going to air echo chambers those mason jars
Thanks for all of the replies. To answer a few of the questions at once;
The jars are empty
The only connection to the jars are the tubes, some of which have fallen off
The original chime unit is in there and working.
When I played the game prior to purchase I didn't notice any strange sounds. Now, this may be because some of the tubes are disconnected. The owner said it was like that when he got the game twenty years ago. Whoever did it, knew what they were doing given they added four relays, the four gizmos, the jars, etc. This weekend when I have some time I will clean up the machine and try to reconnect the tubes and fire it up with the playfield up and watch and see what actuates those four relays and see if anything happens and report back. This could turn out to be the coolest hack ever or the worst!
Quoted from MarkG:It might be interesting to take a better photo of the red devices and do an image search to see if anything similar turns up. The photo above doesn't come up with much.
/Mark
I isolated one in Photoshop as best as I could from that pic and tried this, and got no hits. I also am curious to see what the heck this is. They do look like air pumps, maybe something like an aquarium pump. If so, it would seem the intake port is left open, then the outlet port is connected to tubing which runs into the jars. (It wouldn’t make sense to do it the other way because then you would just pump liquid onto the board). If the jars were filled with water, when the pumps are turned on, it would make air bubbles in the water. Now as to why you would go to all the trouble to do this, I have no idea. I guess for the noise as some have postulated?
If so, first of all who would think of that? I mean, that’s kind of a crazy idea if you think about it. But on top of that, that was a heck of a job to put all that together. I mean, someone was really bound and determined to make this happen. Built an add-on bottom board flush with the other one, built up 4 relays with switches and wired them in somewhere appropriate in the circuit (presumably), installed the pumps, and made the bracket for the jars. It’s all pretty neatly done too. I don’t know why the metal block with 2 holes is sitting there though.
Curious point: Why the 2 jars each with 3 ports, when there are just 4 pumps to connect? Why not one jar with 4 ports? There is plenty of room in one jar lid for that. Maybe experimentation showed better noises came from 2 jars?
It better make a pretty cool noise after all that. Well it all looks like it should still work, except the tubing is pretty beat up but that should be easy to replace. Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) this in action!
This is looking like some past owner told their 13 year old they could use it for a middle school science project. More work than just rebuilding a chime unit.
Okay, so I realized I never should have left the below metal block in the initial picture. I had just happened to set it there. But...I also realized this might be part of the puzzle. The cabinet had three holes drilled in the side where this machined block had been screwed on at one time and since there are two extra hose nipples on the jars, I'm beginning to wonder if they went out through this opening and into some kind of noise making device that was screwed into the metal block.
IMG_3389 (resized).jpgIMG_3392 (resized).jpgIMG_3393 (resized).jpgIMG_3402 (resized).jpgI also was able to get some better pictures and was able to read the label and identify the red units as air was detector switches. A google search gives me an idea what they were for but holy crap, this is the most complex hack I've ever seen.
I was also able to fire the game up quickly and while nothing actuated the four relays when I pressed everything on the playfield, if I manually actuated them, two of the relays controlled the left and right flippers and one registered a credit. Not sure what the other one did. So it all must have been designed to make what I'm guessing is a revving sound, but if the actual noise maker is missing, I may never know.
IMG_3403 (resized).jpgair wave switch (resized).JPGThose "air wave detection switches" are interesting...so, maybe a pulse of air from a tube could give credits to the game, and operate the flippers? And the legs are short, like you might be playing seated, like in a wheelchair? Those short legs are adjustable, too.
The little jars look like mufflers for the exhaust from the switches, so they don't go "psssssssstttt" every time you hit a flipper. Hook some tubing up to one of the open holes and blow into it. I'll bet it triggers the switch.
Maybe you've got a breath-controlled pinball machine that was designed for someone with little or no hand strength. I don't think it had anything to do with making sound. Whatever it is, it is a very cool find!!!
Quoted from DCP:Those "air wave detection switches" are interesting...so, maybe a pulse of air from a tube could give credits to the game, and operate the flippers? And the legs are short, like you might be playing seated, like in a wheelchair? Those short legs are adjustable, too.
The little jars look like mufflers for the exhaust from the switches, so they don't go "psssssssstttt" every time you hit a flipper. Hook some tubing up to one of the open holes and blow into it. I'll bet it triggers the switch.
Maybe you've got a breath-controlled pinball machine that was designed for someone with little or no hand strength. I don't think it had anything to do with making sound. Whatever it is, it is a very cool find!!!
I think you are right. This is really amazing. We were thinking the relays controlled those red devices, but it is actually the other way around. It appears they are called air wave pressure switches, and they generate a short pulse via an internal switch when an air wave comes to them. So they are actually activating those added relays, not the other way around. So based on the testing, you could blow into one and get a credit, and I'll bet another starts the game. Then 1 for each flipper. You can operate the machine by breathing into to the tubes.
After all of this, I really believe that you have hit it on the head. This is a modification to allow a disabled person to play a pinball machine.
Some more Googling later........ CHECK THIS OUT!
And some more Googling, probably not surprising, this has come up on Pinside before, check this post in this thread. Pinsider Mhulsebu says that possibly 10 were made, but most were destroyed. I have no doubt that this Twin Win is one of them.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/handicapped-access-to-pinball#post-3762469
Some more info:
Those air wave switches are not cheap items.
Quoted from xsvtoys:I think you are right. This is really amazing. We were thinking the relays controlled those red devices, but it is actually the other way around. It appears they are called air wave pressure switches, and they generate a short pulse via an internal switch when an air wave comes to them. So they are actually activating those added relays, not the other way around. So based on the testing, you could blow into one and get a credit, and I'll bet another starts the game. Then 1 for each flipper. You can operate the machine by breathing into to the tubes.
After all of this, I really believe that you have hit it on the head. This is a modification to allow a disabled person to play a pinball machine.
Some more Googling later........ CHECK THIS OUT!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/08/02/device-turns-disabled-into-pinball-wizards/4a4da2c6-8aa4-4718-be4d-92c1b5a08bad/
And some more Googling, probably not surprising, this has come up on Pinside before, check this post in this thread. Pinsider Mhulsebu says that possibly 10 were made, but most were destroyed. I have no doubt that this Twin Win is one of them.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/handicapped-access-to-pinball#post-3762469
Some more info:
https://smartaccess.bircher.com/en_us/detectors-and-switches-from-bbc-bircher-smart-access-delivered-worldwide/dw-pressure-wave/
Those air wave switches are not cheap items.
https://us.wiautomation.com/bircher/general-automation/other/dw20s?msclkid=8ca9982c6ae21b7b26abfcd55c5f4354&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US%20-%20Shopping%20-%20Full&utm_term=4588880503569688&utm_content=Full
https://www.radwell.com/en-US/Buy/BIRCHER/BIRCHER/DW20S
I think you and DCP hit it on the head. And with each of those red units costing almost $200 a piece, no average person is going to do that for the heck of it. I also forgot to mention that the ball automatically shoots into play right after the ball before it is over without having to press the button. I originally assumed it was just a stuck switch, but now I think it was done intentionally. The level of thought and effort that went into this is amazing.
That’s amazing stuff guys Well done 
I agree - you should get this back working as they had it modified. Possibly just missing the mouth piece(s) and tubing?
Imagine giving the ability to play pinball to someone that would require this. Worth all the while IMO
Quoted from Nikrox2:That’s amazing stuff guys Well done
I agree - you should get this back working as they had it modified. Possibly just missing the mouth piece(s) and tubing?
Imagine giving the ability to play pinball to someone that would require this. Worth all the while IMO
It might not be that simple. I definitely think I would need multiple mouthpieces to control the different functions. I'll have to play around with it when I get some time. At the very least, if I can't restore it to its former functionality, I will preserve it in its current state for someone more skilled than I to take on someday. The nice thing is that it in no way impedes playing the game the normal way, so there is really no need to alter it.
Interesting, found this link.
https://smartaccess.bircher.com/en_us/detectors-and-switches-from-bbc-bircher-smart-access-delivered-worldwide/dw-pressure-wave/
Used on automatic doors on trains and buses to prevent unwanted closures. Many other uses I'm sure. It says air into the the tube triggers the switch so the idea that you blow into it to activate something makes sense...
Quoted from Topcard:I definitely think I would need multiple mouthpieces to control the different functions.
Make a thing that looks like a "pan pipe" or a harmonica, with the 4 tubes leading up to a holder that's mounted to the front of the game somehow. You lean forward and blow.
Have the flippers controlled by the outer two pipes, and you could blow out one side of your mouth or the other depending which flipper you want.
Left pipe: left flipper
Second from left: Start button
Next: Credit button
Right pipe: right flipper
Make the flipper pipes longer than the other two so you can hold them both in your mouth (one at each corner of your mouth) without touching the other pipes. You'd lean in a little more to activate the credit pipes.
Amazing how expensive those air switches are. They're almost worth as much as the whole game!!!
Yes, definitely restore it with the air system intact! Pinside will help you figure how how to get it working 100%!
There are breath control headsets for midi instruments for like simulating a flute. My guess is this is a steampunk version of that. Prolly 3 hoses out of that block. One in each corner of your mouth, one in the middle. Flippers on each side, start a game in the middle. Prolly for someone partially paralyzed hence the low legs.
I found Dan Goodman on LinkedIn and he sent me a short message. This will provide some interesting information, however the mystery of this Twin Win will only be deepened by this information. Dan was the president of the Silverthorn Group and was the inventor of the ArcadeAccess pinball machine as shown in the pics, and referenced in the article I previously linked. Here is what he had to say. And you can see that he only did this for SS pins, no EMs. So the origin of this EM Twin Win modification remains a mystery still.
You also will see that he still has a Gold Wings ArcadeAccess machine that could possibly be purchased if anyone were interested.
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Here is a bit more info on ArcadeAccess, from the early 1990's. We never modified electromechanical pins, only digital ones. Our controls were solid state and included a infrared remote control box that mounted to wheelchairs and could be used with a sip-and-puff breath mouthpiece, large touch sensitive buttons, or specialty switches for any controllable body part including eyelashes or toes. The machines' bodies were heavily modified to allow wheelchair access and included armrests for folks with limited arm strength who could still use the standard flipper buttons.
We made about a dozen of these systems and took them around the country to rehabilitation hospitals for trials. We sold them to individuals with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries as well as rehab facilities.
The Washington Post article you found was one of the pieces of major media coverage we received, along with CBS Morning News, Sports Illustrated (attached), and many others. Occupational therapy researchers at Temple University published a paper validating the efficacy of using the system for improving patient outcomes.
Unfortunately, I don't know who made the Twin Win. I do still have one ArcadeAccess machine, which I'd be willing to part with, in case anyone is interested. It's a 1986 Gottlieb Gold Wings.
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