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What goofy mistakes do you always make?

By HHaase

4 years ago

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55 posts
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Latest reply 4 years ago by HHaase
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#1 4 years ago

HAN

Figured I'd see what other things other guys out there keep goofing up when working on machines. We all have our little foibles, so let's have some fun with them. For me, the two most common ones I do that drive me nuts are these....

1: Flip up a playfield, without forgetting to take out the balls first. Thankfully I haven't broken anything yet.

2: Older solid states, I keep putting the heads on with the power cord still inside the cabinet. So I have to take the head off again to get it out.

What about you guys?

#2 4 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,991 24 7

No idea why. When I shop my original MM, I always forget to plug the ramp connectors back in.

First person that plays it and mentions things not working, then I go do it. Every mother lovin time.

I don't do it on MMR for some reason.

LTG : )

#3 4 years ago

PHB

Chisox

Pinside member

Frankfort, IL

9y 129K 4,278 9 37

Take mechs and such apart and forget to take pictures so I have a pile of parts and a short memory.

#4 4 years ago

DRL

QuietEarp

Pinside member

Stroudsburg, PA

11y 87,300 708 9 26

Besides the previously stated forgetting to take the balls out before lifting the playfield, I often forget to put the ball back in after working on it!

#5 4 years ago

JLD

JayDee

Pinside+ Member

Elk Grove Village, IL

5y 114K 5,540 4

Not really a mistake, but every time I clean the playfield of my pins and get everything buttoned up again, as soon as I start my first game, there it is, a piece of fuzz right there in the middle. Pisses me off something fierce. I can’t continue until it’s gone

#6 4 years ago

HAN

HHaase

Siegecraft

14y 89,550 3,100 5 12

Oh yeah, another favorite of mine is the big greasy hand-prints I always leave right in the middle of the playfield glass..... on the inside.

-Hans

#7 4 years ago

DIE

underlord

Pinside+ Addict

14y 133K 9,047 49

Damn you guys suck.

#8 4 years ago

BAD

ImNotNorm

Pinside member

6y 143K 6,948 98

I drop the tv remote once a day. Every. Single. Day.

#9 4 years ago

/M\

starfighter

Inactive member

12y 112K 3,308

According to my wife the most consistent mistake I make is logging onto pinside everyday.

#10 4 years ago

BUZ

Buzz

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 106K 3,115

I wear gloves when handling the glass, but forgetting the balls before and after definitely. I take tons of pics, again there is always that one shot that is missed in all 50 pictures. Always a loose boogle after cleaning for sure that will drive you nuts. Or one little spot of wax. Good stuff guys and totally relate.

#11 4 years ago

DIE

underlord

Pinside+ Addict

14y 133K 9,047 49

Alright, I’ll join in. Putting any tool or item down, then, a split second later, having to spend 20 minutes looking for it to either find it in LA LA land or not at all...

Until you DON’T need it.

#12 4 years ago

DRL

QuietEarp

Pinside member

Stroudsburg, PA

11y 87,300 708 9 26

I have left a few screwdrivers in my machines to find much later.

I have also put my beer in the machine while working on it and then wondered where the heck I put it for a while after putting the playfield down..

#13 4 years ago

TOM

Rascal_H

Pinside member

Cumberland, RI

12y 138K 6,567 2 36

Nudge the wrong way when a ball is teetering on the outlane.

#14 4 years ago

JLD

JayDee

Pinside+ Member

Elk Grove Village, IL

5y 114K 5,540 4

Quoted from Rascal_H:
Nudge the wrong way when a ball is teetering on the outlane.

Everytime!!!

#15 4 years ago

BUZ

Buzz

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 106K 3,115

Holding a wire in place while soldering and thinking it won't burn your fingers this time.

#16 4 years ago

MAG

Completist

Pinside member

8y 91,850 1,436

When rebuilding a flipper - i perfectly install the coil back in the base, coil stop nice and tight. Then disassemble it to put in the plunger...

#17 4 years ago

JJB

jbovenzi

Pinside+ Addict

Sparks, NV

9y 112K 1,385 34

Setting up EMs. Put the Backbox on without pulling out the power cord first.

#18 4 years ago

GMK

grantopia

Pinside member

Fairview Park, OH

8y 99,600 3,565 8

Quoted from underlord:
Alright, I’ll join in. Putting any tool or item down, then, a split second later, having to spend 20 minutes looking for it to either find it in LA LA land or not at all...
Until you DON’T need it.

Ha! This is my trademark. Use tool X, place tool X in back pocket, use something else, do about 50 laps around the basement looking for tool X muttering profanity, finally realize I am an idiot, put tool Z in my pocket while using tool X...and the circle of life continues.

#19 4 years ago

DOC

TractorDoc

DPS

Ashland, OH

7y 245K 2,923 33 106

Mentioned this in another post, but after working on rebuilding a board/new connector pins/etc. I put everything back together, push the button to start a game, then nothing happens. I'm ready to tear back into everything again, check voltages, check fuses, etc. (and maybe have once or twice) before I realize the credits zeroed out and need added back in before a game will start. My old Sterns don't have a free play option. . .

#20 4 years ago

DOC

TractorDoc

DPS

Ashland, OH

7y 245K 2,923 33 106

For the non-pinball category I tend to eat temperature extreme foods too quickly/before I should. Too hot and I burn the roof of my mouth, too cold and I get one of those brain freezes -- I hate those things!

#21 4 years ago

COS

cosmokramer

Pinside member

11y 120K 8,467

Remembering something I needed from Marco right after placing an order...

#22 4 years ago

???

RTS

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 94,050 3,129 17 1

My repairs would be done in half the time if I didn't include all the time spent searching for all those tiny screws that I drop.

#23 4 years ago

AMS

barakandl

nvram.weebly.com

12y 132K 10,418

OP
Quoted from HHaase:
Figured I'd see what other things other guys out there keep goofing up when working on machines. We all have our little foibles, so let's have some fun with them. For me, the two most common ones I do that drive me nuts are these....
1: Flip up a playfield, without forgetting to take out the balls first. Thankfully I haven't broken anything yet.
2: Older solid states, I keep putting the heads on with the power cord still inside the cabinet. So I have to take the head off again to get it out.
What about you guys?

put the glass back on but forget to load the balls. I now try and use the lockdown bar to store the balls.

button up a game but forget to plug a connector in. there is one plug on the bally driver board i always miss for some stupid reason like its a mental block.

#24 4 years ago

aeneas

Flippers.be

11y 76,050 1,525

2 times when assembling the head back on onto a Sys11 pin - plug in a connector for the GI into the powerboard instead of the interconnect board (I think thats my mistake I already forgot the exact connectors involved) - the result is shorting the coil power onto the GI, burning all GI lamps on the playfield immediately..

#25 4 years ago

CGE

too-many-pins

Pinside member

Carlisle, PA

11y 97,800 4,485

My typical three are:

Head on without pulling the power cord.
Forgetting to put balls back into EM's then wondering why game will not start.
Hell I forgot the third already - I hate getting old!

#26 4 years ago

DDD

Dantesmark

Pinside+ Frequent

Louisville, KY

7y 83,550 1,578 8

Removing pinstadiums b4 lifting pf.

Shutting coin door before moving the lockdown bar to the right.

Putting balls back in the pin.

#27 4 years ago

???

wdennie

Inactive member

Canandaigua, NY

8y 37,350 1,321 17

Quoted from cosmokramer:
Remembering something I needed from Marco right after placing an order...

I feel your pain on this one!

#28 4 years ago

CGE

too-many-pins

Pinside member

Carlisle, PA

11y 97,800 4,485

Quoted from too-many-pins:
My typical three are:
Head on without pulling the power cord.
Forgetting to put balls back into EM's then wondering why game will not start.
Hell I forgot the third already - I hate getting old!

Now I remember the third - not closing coin door on Gottlieb system 3 machines then wondering why they don't work!

#29 4 years ago

CRW

crwjumper

Pinside member

Safety Harbor, FL

8y 103K 1,542 4 24

Not pulling the coin door interlock switch when testing.

#30 4 years ago

CAM

Jediturtle

Pinside member

Plymouth, WI

12y 109K 4,482 14 66

Mine are all repeats of those already posted, but it's good to know misery has company! After a couple of near disasters early on, I no longer forget to pull the balls out, but I'll be damned if I do not forget to put them back in probably 90% of the time! I've also lost tools only to find them months later in the bottom of the machine. And dropping screws that magically disappear is another good one.

#31 4 years ago

JMR

pinballplusMN

Pinball Plus Inc.

11y 84,800 2,591 1

On a Kiss several years ago I was repinning the lower left plug on the cpu board. When I encountered the 2 grey wires I assumed they were the same. I clipped and repinned both and inserted. Little did I know one is 5vdc the other is 45vdc. Lots of smoke and burnt out all boards.
Lamp driver all ic,s all displays, sound board,cpu,driver etc.
No I always donone wire atba time assuming nothing.

#32 4 years ago

ROB

Rdoyle1978

Pinside member

7y 117K 18,144 14 6

Working my ass off for my company, measurably increasing their market share and doubling revenue in our space, but then expecting a raise, a bonus, or literally any recognition.

#33 4 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Springfield, VA

11y 181K 8,678 5

Quoted from QuietEarp:
Besides the previously stated forgetting to take the balls out before lifting the playfield, I often forget to put the ball back in after working on it!

That’s part of my ritual! The glass is back on, lockdown bar snug, and when I hit start, the coils all fire for the ball search.

#34 4 years ago

SKY

Skypilot

Pirates Life Pinball Co

11y 155K 6,677 32 1

Using pinball funds on a random machine purchase,thinking I'll sell it at a profit. The machine never leaves, funds depleted.

#35 4 years ago

AAA

pintechev

Inactive member

11y 91,300 4,437

Forgetting to remove the pinballs before I raise the playfield is my Achilles heel

#36 4 years ago

DCH

dc2010

Inactive member

Natalia, TX

12y 62,600 954 35

OP
Quoted from HHaase:
Oh yeah, another favorite of mine is the big greasy hand-prints I always leave right in the middle of the playfield glass..... on the inside.
-Hans

This! Every freaking time!

#37 4 years ago

DRD

DennisDodel

Pinside+ Addict

St Louis, MO

12y 90,050 2,643

Re-rubbering a bingo playfield, sliding the glass in, screwing down the front rail (which is sometimes a headache) and then noticing I missed a playfield post rubber.

#38 4 years ago

DBLM

Pinside member

7y 125K 15,361

Finding a screw that I misplaced rolling around the playfield after a ball frees it.

#39 4 years ago

AMS

barakandl

nvram.weebly.com

12y 132K 10,418

Here is a good one I just remembered from years past. I once left a soldering iron plugged into a service outlet and turned on for about two weeks until I finally found it. Besides the iron tip corroded out to hell no harm came of it. I even played the game numerous times not knowing the iron was in the cabinet turned on.

#40 4 years ago

BAC

Blake

Pinside member

Vergennes, VT

10y 68,550 2,205 1

I make the power cord in the cab mistake all the time.

One I use to do that I have since smartened up on, is to solder wire leads to switches, coils, exc. before mounting them. I would literally have the iron in one hand while trying to hold/balance whatever I had just replaced and the wire all while feeding or carrying over solder. Then kick myself for it looking too sloppy.

Those days are over but the kicking is still happening.

Thanks
Blake

#41 4 years ago

HBO

Luzur

Pinside member

8y 53,700 1,276 5

Quoted from QuietEarp:
Besides the previously stated forgetting to take the balls out before lifting the playfield, I often forget to put the ball back in after working on it!

Pretty much this, all the time LOL

#42 4 years ago

KPC

Gornkleschnitzer

Pinside+ Frequent

8y 70,100 951

You're also supposed to remove the balls during transport.

As our collective can attest to, we've set up pinball events in the park several times, sometimes as many as three machines brought to and from the tent - and not remembered to remove the balls even once.

"Oops, there go the balls!" has become a running joke.

#43 4 years ago

NWB

bingopodcast

For Amusement Only Games

Richmond, VA

11y 131K 5,844 26 9

Forgetting to pull the power cord out from inside the head before bolting the head down on a Bally bingo.

#44 4 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

7y 185K 13,220 70

Quoted from starfighter:
According to my wife the most consistent mistake I make is logging onto pinside everyday.

Searching every morning for pins to buy.

#45 4 years ago

TIM

Tuna_Delight

Pinside+ Frequent

14y 178K 7,264 1

Quoted from barakandl:
... I once left a soldering iron plugged into a service outlet and turned on for about two weeks until I finally found it. ... I even played the game numerous times not knowing the iron was in the cabinet turned on.

Yikes!

#46 4 years ago

???

ChippyWonka

Frozen

4y 28k 87 10

Buying NIB JJP’s.

#47 4 years ago

???

ccbiggsoo7

Pinside+ Frequent

10y 91,050 6,065 37 10 2

leaving my brand new roll of plastic at the guys house I bought the pinball from.

#48 4 years ago

YBX

yancy

Pinside member

West Dundee, IL

11y 122K 7,208 25

OP
Quoted from HHaase:
2: Older solid states, I keep putting the heads on with the power cord still inside the cabinet. So I have to take the head off again to get it out.

Clicked on the thread just to post this. I've done it dozens of times, usually at pinball shows.

#49 4 years ago

TSH

Travish

Pinside member

Greensboro, NC

11y 98,800 3,348 6

Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:
leaving my brand new roll of plastic at the guys house I bought the pinball from.

Or my lockdown bar in Chicago.

#50 4 years ago

BIT

flynnsbit

FlynnsBit

Mckinney, TX

7y 61,300 229 5

OP
Quoted from HHaase:
1: Flip up a playfield, without forgetting to take out the balls first. Thankfully I haven't broken anything yet.

I do this about 90% of the time, curse at myself for doing it, remove the balls, do the work, clean the glass, get everything back together and turn it on and then realize I didn't put the balls back in. Curse at myself, finally play pinball...

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