First Pin Repaired, A New Addiction

[joenewberry]

I just wanted to introduce myself to the group. My name is Joe
Newberry. I'm a 30 year old ex-technical support operator turned
college student pursuing a degree in electronics. I purchased my first
pin, a Williams Fan-Tas-Tic, about a month ago. I spent three weeks
working on it, and it was some of the best, frustrating, fulfilling work
I've ever done. The results aren't as pretty as most of what I've seen
online, but I'm proud to have a pin of my own.

Now I want more, though budget prevents me from spending another dime on
pinball till I finish my degree and get a job. Fortunately, I have a
friend who has fallen in love with my game and wants one of his own.
Out of complete friendship, and not at all a burning desire to fix
another pin, I'm monitoring the Georgia Craigslist trying to catch a
fixer-upper/project EM for $0-$200. They go so fast we keep missing
them, but we're going to get lucky sooner or later, maybe at the Atlanta
Pinball Swap on the 28th. I look forward to fixing another pin and
turning to RGP for help.

Filename:-----------> post to rec.jpg
Link to attached PIC: http://rgparchive.com/rgpforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=959


--
joenewberry
This USENET post sent from http://rgparchive.com

[Mike O]

Joe,

Nice work. Don't discount your effort.

As for being hooked, that's how it works. One taste of success sucks
you right in.

Good luck on your next game.

Mike O.
Team-EM

[David Gersic]

On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:10:35 -0400, joenewberry <jdnew...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I just wanted to introduce myself to the group. My name is Joe
> Newberry.

Hi Joe, welcome to the madness. Start selling off your furniture now.
You won't be needing it, and it'll just be in your way in a few months
anyway.

--
| David Gersic http://www.zaccaria-pinball.com |
| AMD's new add campaign: 99% Pentium compatible. You don't want the other 1%.
| Email address is a spam trap. Visit the web site for contact info. |

[Mark]

Hi Joe,

Congratulations and welcome to the club. Working on someone else's game
is a great way to get your fix without filling your living space with
games. I often like working on someone else's games because I can be
done in a few hours and walk away. Working on my own games often turns
into working on long restoration projects. It's also a good way to work
on games you like or are curious about but don't need to own. And you
can't beat the good karma.

/Mark

[j.m.]

word of warning for you (which I didn't heed, and am now wishing that
I did ;)

never, NEVER keep a spreadsheet of what you are spending in terms of
parts, otherwise it may get the best of you and drive you to drinking
(if you already don't)
jk, welcome to the wonderful world of pinball!

[viperrwk]

joenewberry;1921669 Wrote:
> I just wanted to introduce myself to the group. My name is Joe
> Newberry. I'm a 30 year old ex-technical support operator turned
> college student pursuing a degree in electronics. I purchased my first
> pin, a Williams Fan-Tas-Tic, about a month ago. I spent three weeks
> working on it, and it was some of the best, frustrating, fulfilling work
> I've ever done. The results aren't as pretty as most of what I've seen
> online, but I'm proud to have a pin of my own.
>
> Now I want more, though budget prevents me from spending another dime on
> pinball till I finish my degree and get a job. Fortunately, I have a
> friend who has fallen in love with my game and wants one of his own.
> Out of complete friendship, and not at all a burning desire to fix
> another pin, I'm monitoring the Georgia Craigslist trying to catch a
> fixer-upper/project EM for $0-$200. They go so fast we keep missing
> them, but we're going to get lucky sooner or later, maybe at the Atlanta
> Pinball Swap on the 28th. I look forward to fixing another pin and
> turning to RGP for help.

Nice work! But of course like everyone else here you need more practice.
;)

It's especially bad when your wife/gf/so tells you "wow, you really did
a nice job on that pin." At that point it's pretty much over since your
new hobby is now sanctioned.

Enjoy the madness!

viperrwk


--
viperrwk

[Lloyd Olson]

You are off to a great start. Welcome to pinball ! LTG :)

"joenewberry" <jdnew...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:joenewber...@rrgparchive.com...

[Garrett]

Welcome Joe. I got hooked a couple of months ago. As you said, it's the
the challenge of getting a game runnign that is addictive. Almost done
my second pin and hope MPE or PaTZ has another EM beggin' to come home
with me.


--
Garrett

[Scott McClure]

jmratkos;1921700 Wrote:
> On Apr 12, 1:10*pm, joenewberry <jdnewbe... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
> > I just wanted to introduce myself to the group. *My name is Joe
> > Newberry. *I'm a 30 year old ex-technical support operator turned
> > college student pursuing a degree in electronics. *I purchased my
> first
> > pin, a Williams Fan-Tas-Tic, about a month ago. *I spent three weeks

> > working on it, and it was some of the best, frustrating, fulfilling
> work

> > I've ever done. *The results aren't as pretty as most of what I've

> seen
> > online, but I'm proud to have a pin of my own.
> >
> > Now I want more, though budget prevents me from spending another dime
> on

> > pinball till I finish my degree and get a job. *Fortunately, I have a

> > friend who has fallen in love with my game and wants one of his own.
> > Out of complete friendship, and not at all a burning desire to fix
> > another pin, I'm monitoring the Georgia Craigslist trying to catch a

> > fixer-upper/project EM for $0-$200. *They go so fast we keep missing

> > them, but we're going to get lucky sooner or later, maybe at the
> Atlanta

> > Pinball Swap on the 28th. *I look forward to fixing another pin and

> > turning to RGP for help.
> >
> > Filename:-----------> post to rec.jpg
> > Link to attached
> PIC:http://rgparchive.com/rgpforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=959
> >
> > --
> > joenewberry

> > This USENET post sent from *http://rgparchive.com

>
> word of warning for you (which I didn't heed, and am now wishing that
> I did ;)
>
> never, NEVER keep a spreadsheet of what you are spending in terms of
> parts, otherwise it may get the best of you and drive you to drinking
> (if you already don't)
> jk, welcome to the wonderful world of pinball!

Best advice ever. Just buy what you need, don't keep a tally, and don't
expect to make a killing fixing them and selling them, especially EMs.
Just enjoy it.

And one won't be enough. Neither will two.


--
Scott McClure

[Frank Furhter]

Welcome to the wacky world of pin restoration/fixin'/OCD-land.

[joenewberry]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I don't think my wife approves of me
selling off all the furniture. Even after I suggested we could use the
money we made to buy more pinball machines, she wasn't interested. One
will have to do...for now.

Just missed out on machine number two, a Dealer's Choice that was listed
April 5th for $200. The seller contacted me to say his buyer had backed
out. I called my friend that wants a pin, and incidentally has the
truck, for three solid hours. By the time I finally got him out of bed,
the game had been sold to someone else. Easy come, easy go.:(


--
joenewberry
This USENET post sent from http://rgparchive.com

[Chris Hibler]

Thanks for the introduction Joe, and welcome to a great group!

Nice work on your first effort!
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://www.Team-EM.com
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball.htm
http://www.PinWiki.com - The new place for pinball repair info

[William Brower]

Joe,

Fantastic job on the Fan-Tas-Tic.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Pinball.

It's nice to see a newcomer start out on EMs, good luck on your search
for them.

Bill

[#1junkie]

welcome aboard. you've now entered the dark side

[joenewberry]

William Brower;1921910 Wrote:
>
> It's nice to see a newcomer start out on EMs, good luck on your search
> for them.
>
> Bill

I love electromechanicals (much as I love wind-up phonographs, tube TVs,
and 8mm projectors). Each is a fascinating feat of engineering. That
designers made all those relays and switches work together as a computer
amazes me. Watching it all working inside the backbox and body can be
as fun as playing the actual game, and that seems to be lost in SS
games. I do hope to work on a solid state one day, but for now I'm
content to learn all I can about EMs.

[Uberhare]

David Gersic;1921678 Wrote:
> Hi Joe, welcome to the madness. Start selling off your furniture now.
> You won't be needing it, and it'll just be in your way in a few months
> anyway.

Funny you should say that! I just removed the couch from my living room
in favor of pins #5 and #6. The wife wanted Dr Who, so I bought it.
Now she can't complain about the others!


--
Uberhare

[bara...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, April 12, 2012 1:10:35 PM UTC-4, joenewberry wrote:

Wow williams tried some funky stuff. Pop bumper below the flippers

[joenewberry]

barakandl;1922022 Wrote:
>
> Wow williams tried some funky stuff. Pop bumper below the flippers

Yep, they did that on Spanish Eyes, too. It's actually a pretty neat
"save" feature. Sometimes the ball rockets around there between the
rubbers and the bumper and shoots back onto the playfield and other
times it bounces down to the bottom and is hurled into the outhole. It
also facilitates something I love to see. From time to time, the ball
will loop completely around the bottom bumper and land right on the tip
of the flipper ready for a shot up the A or B lane.

[NM]

Welcome Joe.

Just studied the IPDB pics: what a neat game you've got there!


--
NM

Current: AFM, CFTBL, HUO FGY, MB, NGG, HUO SM, SS, STTNG, TAF, ToM, TRON
LE, TSPP, TZ, WH2O, W?D, '54 Gottlieb Stage Coach.

[joenewberry]

NM;1922114 Wrote:
> Welcome Joe.
>
> Just studied the IPDB pics: what a neat game you've got there!

It is neat, isn't it? The artwork is kind of all over the place, but
the gameplay is great. I know a lot of people don't care for
randomness, which the roulette wheel brings in spades, but I find it a
lot of fun. The ad flyer isn't lying about the wheel bringing
"suspense" to the game. As the little ball spins around I find myself
hunching over to watch it and muttering, "Triple Bonus, Triple Bonus..."
under my breath, yanking on the machine to try to get it to drop in
place, and when it gives me a Star instead I can't help yelling, "I
don't want that!" And when it does multiple figure 8s between the
Triple Bonus and the Star spaces without dropping in, oh my heart.

I also like it because it puts my wife on equal footing. She's
encouraged to keep playing when a few big bonuses can easily crush me if
the wheel doesn't work for me. She was the first person to roll over
the score, which had her jumping up and down in glee. A game that makes
your wife happy is always good.

When I'm finished tinkering with it I plan to record a little video
explaining its features and showing it in action. I'm not ready because
I am still fine tuning the chime bars and I want to adjust the bonus
unit motor because it kind of jitters back a level when it's doing
"Advance Bonus to Top".


--
joenewberry

[Dana Mitchell]

joenewberry;1921956 Wrote:
> I love electromechanicals (much as I love wind-up phonographs, tube TVs,
> and 8mm projectors). Each is a fascinating feat of engineering. That
> designers made all those relays and switches work together as a computer
> amazes me. Watching it all working inside the backbox and body can be
> as fun as playing the actual game, and that seems to be lost in SS
> games. I do hope to work on a solid state one day, but for now I'm
> content to learn all I can about EMs.

If you like that, stick your head inside the backbox of an EM 6-player
bowler sometime and breathe in the ozone! Make sure and flick on the
little service light first....


--
Dana Mitchell