I'm at about a 10:1fix/restore versus play ratio, but no doubt I love playing too.... There are so many aspects to this hobby that hold my interest, and it's soooo gratifying to bring dumpster finds to life.
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I find it fascinating and extremely satisfying to get a crusty, neglected game home... put it up on it’s legs, set it up and just look at EVERY little detail about.

It might sound stupid, but just seeing what was done to it over the years; mismatched parts, on the fly flipper mechs repairs, unexplained jumper wires, miscellaneous deck screws, horrible playfield touch ups. Even stupid stuff like “wow look how dirty this <insert part> is!!”

Then, after you found all the dirty little secret repairs that were done in the back box, and then touched and poked everything under the playfield for an hour...you look at your buddy..

“You ready?

“Yeah, let’s plug it in!”

Knowing full well that even if it does boot, you’re not going to get a decent game out of it. Not today anyway.

As much as I love playing pinball, getting to mess around with mechs, fixing boards and making a crusty heap of plywood and metal look good and play again makes it that much better.

I guess it depends on the situation. I enjoy repairing since I'm a EE but every once in awhile there's that one simple gizmo that's needs replaced or cleaned, and you need to take a lot of hard stuff out to replace. Rewarding when done, but boy - don't want to do that again.

I had a '78 World Cup (solid state, Sys 3) tho that beat me to a pulp. I fixed most the numerous problems, but everything I fixed just allowed a 2-3 problems to reveal themselves. It simply never ended. If I wanted to keep, then that would have been a different story, but I bought for a friend to get in the hobby cheap. Never even sold it to him, just wasn't reliable and gave up. I knew I'd be fixing forever.

I like fixing things, but my fingers are like bunch of sausages and my fixing skills are basic at best. Still, the feeling when you successfully troubleshoot and fix something is very rewarding so I keep on trying

I generally like fixing a little bit more overall, but the curveball is the thrill of buying a new pin.. cmon' that's it right there.. even if the pin lasts a month.

Playing>=Fixing

I find repairs satisfying. Especially if not time challenged to complete the repair . Advise though is to avoid repairs for other people . The potential drama others can induce in your life can spoil your hobby .
Enjoy the day Shane

Not sure it qualifies as 'fixing', but part of restoration process I like 2nd most, is re-creating a sorry, drab backglass and turning it into a translite. It's not as good as a replacement glass but reasonable facsimiles I think. Sometimes upwards of 40 hours of Photoshop to redo every line from the original, but hey, it passes the time!
Not having seen a Grand Prix in the wild before I was surprised to find there was supposed to be RED on it!

20200102_124038 (resized).jpg

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Or you could learn how to fix your pins......

People are always asking me to fix their pins (for free of course). Restoring/fixing
my own pins is fun. Doing the same for others is *work* and I'm retired.
Do others here feel the same way?

My collection is up to 51 now (limited only by space) and only one didn't need
any work when purchased.
Steve

For what I charge, let's just say my day job is not in jeopardy !

Yes, fixing more than playing, but haven't restored one in years. And I'm a mediocre player! I've sold dozens that I just got tired of or they turned out to be not great or downright dogs to begin with, but I never thought afterwards "damn, I sure spent a ton of time, effort and parts on that turkey" because the fixing and diagnosing problems is fun by itself. Even if a game totally sucks it is fun to bring it back up to snuff and make it look and play the way it used to. Plus you're never really sure if you will like a game or not until you play it even if reviews give it a 10, or a damn zero, trust me.

I have a couple of good friends I would do free stuff for all day long. Funny thing is, they're the ones that feel the need to bring me beer when I've told them not to. My other friends expect the help for free, which is why they get no help.

In answer to the question, I would fix all day long as opposed to playing.

This is very interesting, and I don't recall reading about this process on Pinside before. The Grand Prix translite looks great. There are many threads about backglasses and also various places where replacements can be purchased. This is an alternative that has to be a lot better than a flaked-out and trashed original bg. But yes, I can see where the Photoshop time can add up. Photoshop is one of the tools that can be used very efficiently once you get good at working with it. But some stuff is just difficult and tedious to do. It all depends on the artwork. Of course, once something is digital, it is now done, and can be shared if the creator is so inclined, and copyright issues dealt with.

Have you shown your work on these translites in other posts?

I also am in the fixing camp. Of course, playing is great also.

However, I seem to have a slight variation on the condition, I'm not sure how common this is. Fixing the borken things is fine. But then, I get an obsession about figuring out every detailed aspect of operation of the machine. This has been all on EMs so far. I want to understand exactly how every function works, every relay, every switch, every stepper unit, etc. I can't stand it if there is some thing going on with the machine and I don't understand exactly how it works. Then, I have to dig into the schematic, observe things, test things, etc, until I figure it out.

That is how the ridiculously overdone circuit descriptions I have made came about, if you have read those.

Lately, I have been thinking beyond that, and wanting to delve into details even more. As one example, not just working on a stepper unit to get it cleaned and tweaked to perfect condition, but also looking at the details of how it was made, what it does, and how it does it. Kind of like what you see here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-em-00-90-match-unit-torn-down-analyzed-and-demystified#post-5470034

I have been working in the background on an expansion of these ideas, combining circuit analysis and descriptions with pictures and also the addition of animation and video for a complete detailed lesson on a pinball circuit. Maybe one day the first one will come out, if I get it done along with the other 100 projects I am working on.

Oh, I know how, I just don't find it the zen process that so many of you claim to. Fixing feels like work to me, regardless of the pin's ownership.

I suppose if I was bad at playing, I might find fixing more enjoyable than playing. I agree fixing is guaranteed to be more rewarding overall. It's kick-ass brain exercise, figuring out what's wrong, researching and deciding what to do, dealing with unforeseen impediments, getting things back together, all that. Sense of satisfaction and pride that comes with a job well done.

And while I've never gotten as pissed off at a game while fixing it as I have when playing it, I have just never gotten anywhere remotely near the thrill, the rush, the "Shit, yeah!" I get from playing, from making something simply look and function like it is supposed to. *shrug*

Of course i enjoy playing but fixing and restoring is by far more fun for me. Do a full teardown and restore of a pin is soo relaxing to me. Music on in the garage and some cold beer and let me dig in !!!

Yep, I enjoy fixing more than playing but I do enjoy playing/drinking beer with friends quite a bit.
Wally

I pretty firmly fall into the fixing camp. I enjoy a good repair job, like my recent resurrection of a old System 7 board that is now running Firepower Deluxe. I always have a few projects waiting around the shop.

I also have gotten pretty heavily into restoration. Ive done a SF2, FH, Sorcerer, and FTs in the last few years. I am currently working on a TZ. I do admit restorations can be come tedious, and by the time I am done with them, I am ready to part with the machine. I really hope TZ is an exception to this rule, as I really like the game.

TZ is cool, maybe if you do get tired of it when its all done...if I can find room...well who knows. But either way I am following your thread, I always like me a good resto thread.

Yes, Fixing for me is #1. Playing is fun but restoring and bringing a pin back to life from the dead is rather satisfying. Sharing the repair process is also fun as is seeing other fix and repair posts.

Looks terrific! I wonder if a person who never played your game would even notice it if they didn't know, unless they put their face right up to it. Maybe print another one but with the original orangey reds and see if they say "Oh so it's the original backglass, they all faded like that."

I would group things in this order for myself:

[Like the most]
-playing competitive pinball with groups of four in league or tournaments
-"fixing pinball"
-playing pinball alone
[Like the least]

I'm using this term of fixing pinball very broadly. My preference would be "tweaking to make play perfect". Game "condition" is great of it's there but not all that important. I don't like to "restore" games but I have restored a few. I prefer above average player quality games.

I totally thought I was alone! I actually SUCK at pinball (I think), but I love to get broken ones and fix them. Playing is fun too, but mostly fixing them

I definitely fall into the "Fix" category as well. Been in pinball as a hobby for close to 40 years and my fondest recollections are of bringing games back from the dead. In all honesty I've probably owned 500+ machines over the years, and like another poster stated, I don't think I've ever owned one that didn't need some work done to it to make it playable, at least to my standards.

I'd also suggest separating the "Fix" category into four sub categories. Art Fix, Mechanics Fix, Electronics Fix, and Cabinetry. My pin friend and I share complementary "Fix" skills. He can do art and cabinets exceedingly well, I can do electronics and mechanics. We labor swap all the time to get games we want working to the best of our abilities. Those of you who maybe have owned or played a game I've touched know the work that goes into my games. I'm not boasting, but rather saying I enjoy the process. When the game is fully functional, playing and looking it's best, my work is done and I've moved on to the next project.

As a side note I also really enjoy taking dead electronic sample games and restoring them to full functionality again. My avatar tells the story