A Pin for a Pin & Vid, would you do this?

keithsarcade

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
8,875
Reaction score
160
Location
St Peters, Missouri
So I see this ad on our local CL, advertising a mostly working Blackout Pinball and a working X-Men COTA game:
I have a 1980 SS pinball and an arcade machine that I'm interested in trading.

The Arcade machine is a Capcom X-Men COTA. It has a 25" monitor, is in good shape, and works well. I alsohave a Marvel Super Heroes game cartridge that could be swapped back and forth.

I also have a 1980 Williams Blackout Pinball. The machine is in pretty good shape, considering it's age. Brand new pinball, rubber, and flippers were repaired recently and work very well. It has a couple of issues that need to be fixed to get it back to 100% operating condition. It does power on, and recently did work perfectly fine. I have identified what is basically wrong with it to anyone wanting the machine.

I am interested in trading these two machines for one working/ semi-working pinball, maybe something from the 80's to early 90's. I give you a working arcade and a project pinball for a decent condition pin in return. I am flexible regarding transportation of my machines, and would work something out.

Please email if you have any interest.
Out of curiosity, I contact the guy and ask him what the Blackout is doing and what he thinks is wrong with it, heres his response:

If you know much about System 6 machines, it has a 40 pin connector between the CPU and Driver board. The connectors tension is wearing out, and a couple of the connectors of the 40 have fallen off altogether. Therefore, it needs to have the pin connector fixed. If you know how to do circuit board soldering, or know someone that does, the 40 pin kits cost around $10 to $20.

I suspect that this would cure most of the issues.

Thanks for your interest.

OK, seems legit, what do you think?

Only pin I have is Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man, and its pretty much been overhauled, working all the way. Sue mentioned she has played Blackout in the past (I dont think I have) and thought it was OK. I have no desire to hang on to the X-Men game if I did offer this deal up, but it might make a good sale or trade for another game, who knows?

Your thoughts? Anyone?
 
Last edited:
its not an even trade
and
i wouldnt do it either

at the grandview auction i bought 2 cabs each with 25 inch monitors for 85.00
wouldnt take much to make one into a CPS2 game

the broken pin - if he gave it to you would it be worth it to fix ? probably barely
 
Thanks for the input. Anyone else care to share opinions?

My thinking is, whatever the seller is claiming is wrong with his machine is just the tip of the iceberg. If he is willing to trade that machine + a video game for a "semi working" pinball, then the "semi working" one he has probably needs major work.
 
So I see this ad on our local CL, advertising a mostly working Blackout Pinball and a working X-Men COTA game:

Out of curiosity, I contact the guy and ask him what the Blackout is doing and what he thinks is wrong with it, heres his response:



OK, seems legit, what do you think?

Only pin I have is Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man, and its pretty much been overhauled, working all the way. Sue mentioned she has played Blackout in the past (I dont think I have) and thought it was OK. I have no desire to hang on to the X-Men game if I did offer this deal up, but it might make a good sale or trade for another game, who knows?

Your thoughts? Anyone?
Maybe i missed it , but what were you thinking about trading for the two machines?

Glennon
 
I was thinking about letting my working pin go for these 2 games. Looks like the landslide response is "don't do it" though.
If blackout is a must have pin for you then it may be worth it. I personly wouldn't do it though.
Glennon
 
If blackout is a must have pin for you then it may be worth it. I personly wouldn't do it though.
Glennon
Not really a "must have". Looks fun on YouTube, but we enjoy our pin just the same. My only thought was flip the X-Men COTA and still have a pin. Cash could always come in handy, especially now.
 
How strange is it that I join a forum to get some advice on fixing a pin, and in looking around for fun I discover a topic concerning my own machine.

I'm the one that put that ad up, and please do not think I was misrepresenting what I have. I posted the ad because I have a X-Men CPS2 that I'm trying to get rid of, and considering the age of the Blackout I was reluctant to do board work on it. So, I simply thought that maybe I could essentially do a 2 for 1 deal and get back a decent pin that didn't need board work, but maybe something I was more comfortable with like a "flipper rebuild" and other playfield based fixing.

I'm not sure why everyone puts down Blackout. I've had a lot of interest in it by itself, and I think it's a great early SS machine. Just as interesting as Gorgar or most early Ballys or Gottliebs IMHO. Meanwhile, the X-Men is hard to get rid of. I don't know why, as there is a fairly large CPS2 library that can be swapped out with it. My problem is that the X-Men is pretty big and I have nowhere for it.

For what it's worth, I have dived into fixing the Blackout, and so far have fixed the 40 pin interconnect, fixed a few driver transistors and a coil, and it looks like it may just need a new PIA chip and it's ready to go. All in all, I'll maybe have $40 worth of parts in it (and that includes buying a desoldering pump for the work and a DMM for the first time).

I think these two machines would have been a fair trade for a 80's or early 90's pin that was in around $500-600 condition.
 
How strange is it that I join a forum to get some advice on fixing a pin, and in looking around for fun I discover a topic concerning my own machine.

I'm the one that put that ad up, and please do not think I was misrepresenting what I have. I posted the ad because I have a X-Men CPS2 that I'm trying to get rid of, and considering the age of the Blackout I was reluctant to do board work on it. So, I simply thought that maybe I could essentially do a 2 for 1 deal and get back a decent pin that didn't need board work, but maybe something I was more comfortable with like a "flipper rebuild" and other playfield based fixing.

I'm not sure why everyone puts down Blackout. I've had a lot of interest in it by itself, and I think it's a great early SS machine. Just as interesting as Gorgar or most early Ballys or Gottliebs IMHO. Meanwhile, the X-Men is hard to get rid of. I don't know why, as there is a fairly large CPS2 library that can be swapped out with it. My problem is that the X-Men is pretty big and I have nowhere for it.

For what it's worth, I have dived into fixing the Blackout, and so far have fixed the 40 pin interconnect, fixed a few driver transistors and a coil, and it looks like it may just need a new PIA chip and it's ready to go. All in all, I'll maybe have $40 worth of parts in it (and that includes buying a desoldering pump for the work and a DMM for the first time).

I think these two machines would have been a fair trade for a 80's or early 90's pin that was in around $500-600 condition.

I can't understand all the Blackout bashing myself - it's a decent pin from the era. Working and in nice shape and would put the value around $500+ alone - not sure the street value of the vid but I imagine together it would a been nice deal to make.

So what's with all the 'non-love' here for Blackout people? Did one molest you as a child? Run over your dog? Sleep with your mom? Sure, it's not a Medieval Madness or a Big Bang Bar but nevertheless it's a nice addition to most any lineup - especially at the average price they can be found at.

I've read your repair thread vipe155 and if you follow the advice there I'm sure you'll have it figured out and running soon.
 
Back
Top Bottom