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All posts for the month October, 2016

Playball has come along nicely since it was first dropped off for repair and it’s a satisfying feeling each time a forward step is made. Getting old machines back into a fully working state is what I love most about this hobby. I finished up my last update with an initial look at the three man on base relays. These are the interlock style relays, which have 2 coils to toggle its switches between state. In Playball, these control if a man is on the base or not. The specific problem I’m looking into is why the man on base relays do not reset as part of the game reset sequence. Currently, their state is carried between games.

Gottlieb Playball Pinball
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One thing that is common to many X-Files pinball machines is they often have a broken filing cabinet plastic. The cabinet takes a real beating during play since it’s used to unlock one of the two multi ball modes. The plastic doesn’t have much protection and over time it begins to crack and shatter. Sadly, the part is almost impossible to replace. If you do manage to find one, they are often several hundred dollars. When I purchased my X-Files machine, it’s filing cabinet was broken in the lower section. It wasn’t too bad though and I was happy to live with it.

X-Files pinball cabinet
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