First target on my hit list for this update was the broken opto on the 3 bank drop target PCB. As mentioned in my previous update, the opto component had been ripped off the board. I had originally thought the whole drop target assembly needed to be removed from the machine to work on the PCB, but on closer inspection I found the board is attached to the drop target frame with a set of e-clips. Removing these allows you to slide the board off the back of the assembly – nice! Now that I was aware of this, I decided to push this up my priority list and repair it. A replacement opto was ordered so this issue could (hopefully) be resolved sooner than I expected.
assemblies
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A good way to continue working on pinball machines (without going broke buying them), is to work on other peoples machines and bestow to them the same love I give mine (the machines that is, not the owners..). I’m always on the look out for a new Pinball project to work on as I love giving them a new lease on life, but pickings have been slim lately. The universe has other ideas though and through a chance message, I was asked if I could work on some machines that needed a bit of TLC, with Whirlwind being first on the list. How could I refuse? 🙂 This isn’t a restore but also not a simple service either. I’ll be doing my usual rebuilding and cleaning of all assemblies, along with fixing any game play issues and giving the machine a bit of a face lift along the way. I don’t have plans to do any board work and the owner has a few requests on specific things he wants addressed, which i’ll be following. Whirlwind is a great game and I’m very excited to be working on it. Once complete, it’s going to be hard to let the owner take it home.
While the finish line is in sight for the playfield swap, there is still a fair bit of work to do as I have playfield parts spread across two pinball machines which need to go onto the new one. With the underside of the playfield back together again in my last update, it’s time to sort out the top. The playfield was put back into the machine and the connectors all joined up again. I then installed the 6 flasher lamp sockets, four of which required wires to be soldered back on. The holes were drilled using Brad tipped drill pieces to remove some of the clear around where the screw goes into the playfield to prevent any cracking of the clear. I then moved onto installing various plastic posts, ball guides, pop bumper rings, apron clips and trough guides. I also added LEDs to the playfield, along with a few of the Titan rubbers. The flippers were aligned and tightened in position. Populating the new playfield had begun well and was starting to take shape.
The second lot of crap pinball parts I picked up was less exciting than the first. This one was actually very specific and there was a good reason I picked it up. Not a ‘box’ of parts this time, but a small group of 3 target assemblies. I put them in a box when I got home – if that counts 🙂 For the price of $9, it was more expensive than the box in my last update. But there was one part here I specifically wanted. The first (and most important) was the target bank from Pinbot (the very machine I’m currently restoring). Ignoring the state of the missing and broken target, the frame is in much better condition than the one in my machine now and it’s a part you can’t just go out and buy. This one is not broken. It needs a good clean though.
