tilt.blog

So, I've finally got the machine unpacked. Right now, it's sitting on the borrowed dolly as attaching the legs to it will put it too high in my basement to open and close the playfield. I've got the dolly lowered to about 19" off the ground. Tomorrow, I'll have to build two little saw horses to hold the machine at that height so I can return the dolly. Turning It On So, I had taken a look at the guts of my machine, and to my untrained eye, I didn't see much wrong with it. I decided to turn 'er on and see what happened. Well, it booted! The sound sprung up, the lights turned on, and it seemed to start. The riverboat even turned a bit. Opening the coin door caused it to "moo" at me. Apparently my machine is alive, and it's a cow. It's not fully working, the flippers seem busted (I think it's a fuse), I don't have any balls to test a lot of it, etc. But, it's not dead. Displays & Parts Typically, when you put a pinball machine...

 My awesome neighbor helped me move my machine, and it went smoother than I thought it might. More pictures to come soon on the state of the things, but I'm so happy I finally got it out of the car and into the basement. Stay tuned!

I'm almost to the point where I can remove the pin from my car. I have had to rearrange a lot of my basement in anticipation of this project, and they guy selling it wanted the machine gone. I can't wait to get started. I had promised to discuss the project plan, and, without pictures, it will mean less to people, I'll do my best. Perhaps I'll do a followup post to discuss issues. Below is my project plan, copied verbatim from by Google doc: Guts of Machine: Investigate fuses Pg 4 of doc Figure out what that extra fuse is on the PSBoard. Can I buy that fucked up cable or do I need to remake it?No need to do this now, but start the process while you clean the playfield. This step likely requires parts. Take pictures! Stretch cable New (to me) cable Wire butt connectors Remove battery from PCBoard NVRAM? Check that ground strap, add to order below Playfield: (should be done early, stuff will be ordered from this) Remove everything. Take pictures! If you fuck up, the manu...

Let me start this entry by apologizing. The machine is still in the back of my car, and I am still making space for it in my basement. Also, until I bought one, I didn't know that pinball machines weigh 200-400 pounds. I don't have the people and equipment necessary to move the machine right now. For now, you'll have to be satisfied with the manual: RTFM Pinball machines are made to be serviceable by the owner, and many machines come with incredibly detailed manuals. As someone new to the hobby and who doesn't really know what he's looking at, I would classify my manual as excellent. It goes into the essentials on gameplay, settings, diagnosing and auditing the machine, part numbers for when things break, and incredibly detailed schematics. For example, below is a picture of two pages of the electronic schematics from my machine, next to a yard stick for scale. Remember this is two pages of the twenty-six  pages of detailed electronic schematics! All ninety-six pa...

Welcome to tilt.blog, a place where I hope to chronicle my journey fixing a pinball machine. I'm going to restore a  Maverick pinball machine. I have never owned or restored a pinball machine before – this is all new to me. I'm expecting to make mistakes and have successes, and I hope you'll follow along. First, I'd like to introduce myself: About Your Author I retired from a career in software and electrical engineering in mid 2022 when my company instituted the post-pandemic return to office plan. I did not want to start commuting again, and I had been wildly successful in my work-from-home job during the pandemic. I didn't feel a return to the office was necessary. Additionally, as a manager, it was my job to tell my people to toe the line and come to the office. I didn't believe it was important for their work or career. So, rather than live with it, I decided to quit. My wife and I had always lived frugally, and we felt we could make it work. But, Why Pinb...