(Topic ID: 28788)

Worst hack/repair you ever saw.

By mcclad

11 years ago


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  • 4,635 posts
  • 731 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 days ago by jibmums
  • Topic is favorited by 312 Pinsiders

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    You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider merccat.
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    #1238 6 years ago

    Shop light hanger mod?

    IMG_5623 (resized).JPGIMG_5623 (resized).JPG

    #1241 6 years ago

    LOL, yeah... we saved it but sheesh... perhaps more qualified as a "hack" would be the pennies secured to the coil with packing tape.... coil stop anyone?

    1 week later
    #1268 6 years ago

    Speaking of flaky wiring. Again nowhere near the worst example, just something I recently ran into... it was quite shocking.

    IMG_5877 (resized).JPGIMG_5877 (resized).JPG

    #1272 6 years ago
    Quoted from flynnibus:

    If these are the "worst hacks" you guys need to get your hands dirty. Direct soldering... wire nuts... this is real world... not worst hacks. Sometimes these posts make me think people have never seen anything but restored games or nib.
    This stuff is child's play and not really 'bad' - just not pure.

    Yeah it's common stuff, just trying to get the thread back on track.

    #1277 6 years ago

    Would I direct solder a pin to get a game running in the field when out of pins? Heck yeah and I did. Would I do it in a way that leaves exposed hot wires hidden in the middle of a bundle of wires that can potentially short against something else? Hell no.

    Would I secure a coil using packing tape and pennies? Probably not but I can say for sure that if I ever did it would just be for the afternoon while I ran to get what was needed for a proper fix.

    So ingenious field hack to get a game running? Maybe... but also terrible in that those pennies could have easily fell and shorted the coils lugs, the game still didn't play right.

    Heck... even just a couple weeks ago ran into a game where a target bracket broke. The owner has no spare available we just zip tied a flipper rubber into the hole so balls wouldn't jam then jumpered to a neighbor in the same column to keep the mode accessible for players. Got the game through the show and back home where it could be properly repaired.

    So yeah hacks happen all the time... doesn't change the fact that they are still hacks and should be fixed properly asap.

    1 month later
    #1345 6 years ago
    Quoted from CNKay:

    Bonus points for figuring out what product this is for.
    Its a hack of sorts. I can't believe it's that hard to get someone to proof their products.

    Would that be a solder tip cleaning wire sponge?

    2 months later
    #1423 6 years ago

    Goodness... thats a helluva rats nest

    #1436 6 years ago

    Not a hack, just kind of funny. Can’t find a replacement pinball? Any ol bearing will do apparently...

    85E743A4-22DF-434F-A53F-F72BBE9FB211 (resized).jpeg85E743A4-22DF-434F-A53F-F72BBE9FB211 (resized).jpeg

    Edit: I think that’s actually the level tilt ball they decided to load in the game.

    #1439 6 years ago
    Quoted from cottonm4:

    This is the third pin I have bought where I have had to replace connectors that were not crimped correctly.

    I suspect they were trying to use plain old wire crimpers instead of the proper tool for the job.

    1 month later
    #1502 6 years ago
    Quoted from MarAlb:

    Maybe she was very busy with this one:

    Wow! I think thats a winner.

    #1519 6 years ago

    Not a bad hack, heck, it was so neatly executed I don’t know if I’d even call it a hack. But alas there is no thread for well done creative repairs.

    Anyway, I just want to send a thanks out into the universe to whomever did this one. It was very neat, got the job done with parts on hand, no boards were harmed and was very easy to undo.

    16D1BFCD-82F3-4153-9B95-37963FD15258 (resized).jpeg16D1BFCD-82F3-4153-9B95-37963FD15258 (resized).jpeg

    #1525 6 years ago

    This is what I use. Its what Bob Roberts used to sell before retirement:

    https://vetco.net/products/molex-crimp-tool-for-062-093-100-156-pins?gclid=CjwKCAiAqIHTBRAVEiwA6TgJw8zeMDVeR7O72Zf4H830ttuBh4e5lYspvBlPLK5sakB65uXdcOXuHBoCzhAQAvD_BwE

    Notice the shape of the crimper in the head. There is a saddle the connector back fits in and the press is curved such that the blades upon criming will fold over and push into the wire.

    This is the cheapest tool I have found to reliably crimp molex pins. If I were doing thousands in a month/year I’d of course look at an official Molex crimper but those are pricey.

    #1529 6 years ago
    Quoted from uncivil_engineer:

    I may be in the minority here, but I hate crimped connection. I think it may be my years of working with RC airplanes before I got into pinball, where a crimped connections are not used at all due to reliability issues. To that end, if I do use a crimped connection, I always flow some solder into the joint after I crimp it.

    Regular crimps suck. A proper molex crimp the wire will nearly break before the wire pulls from the pin.

    #1530 6 years ago
    Quoted from Cheddar:

    I use an IWISS crimper. It does insulation and wire crimp at the same time, ratchets closed to hold the crimp and does a perfect job every time. Price is right too. GPE is thinking of carrying these. I bought one when he mentioned them. I hope he does start carrying them soon as I'd rather give him the sale.
    amazon.com link »

    That one looks nice, I may switch to it for the bench.

    #1535 6 years ago

    Doesn’t look to have the proper shaped crimp head to curl and press in one shot. I think that’s more of a general purpose crimper... it might work but won’t be as easy.

    9 months later
    #1855 5 years ago
    Quoted from Slugburger:

    HERE IS ONE
    [quoted image]

    Ooof!

    7 months later
    #2102 4 years ago
    Quoted from pinball_ric:

    Whelp. Better light that machine on fire.[quoted image]

    First thing that I saw there too... never-mind the wiring.

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