Awesome power management circuit for arcade and pinball machines!!

Tighe

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Awesome power management circuit for arcade and pinball machines!!

Jerry Ellsworth came up with this for her pinball machines, press a flipper to turn the machine on, and it will turn off after an adjustable minutes of inactivity.

I will build these for a bunch of my games, I can get rid of all those X10 units I have on all my machines!

 
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I think it would be a little less complicated for the player to wire it to the start button. Use the flippers to keep the power from shutting off.. Probably more complicated for the install..
 
LOL! I think this is for people who would be told that ahead of time. Of course a sign would work too.

Except that most people who play games either don't read signs or think the sign applies to other people and not them.
 
I think it would be a little less complicated for the player to wire it to the start button. Use the flippers to keep the power from shutting off.. Probably more complicated for the install..

Then the game would shut off while you are playing, since it uses activity on a button to reset the timer to zero. That would really suck if your were having a great game and it shut off on you! Best to have to connected to fire or a direction on the joystick. It wouldn't be any harder to connect to any button over another.

Except that most people who play games either don't read signs or think the sign applies to other people and not them.

Well I really don't ever have anybody over anyway! :p
 
Except that most people who play games either don't read signs or think the sign applies to other people and not them.
Sadly this. Really, it doesn't even matter if the game itself tells them about it, they won't care.

Were I given a single coin for each person that stands in the middle pad in Pump it Up and wonders how to select a song, I would be rich.
 
Sounds neat... but definitely not something I'd do to our games.

I like pressing a few buttons on our wireless remotes and having all the games on for as long as I want them on.

I couldn't imagine having a party and having games being turned off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on again. Seems like unneeded stress on them imho. :dunno:
 
Just like cars, turning electronics on and off numerous times is harder on them than just leaving them on.

My games get turned on, they stay on for the rest of the day, or until we go out.

I really do not see the point of this.
 
Electromechanical pinballs have had that for years. You either press the left flipper button, press start button (if credits are on the machine), or deposit a coin to turn on the machine. This is nothing new.
 
I think it would be a little less complicated for the player to wire it to the start button. Use the flippers to keep the power from shutting off.. Probably more complicated for the install..

not too hard.... Just tie both the start button and the flipper button to the control line... Use diodes in the right places to keep them from back feeding.

Sounds neat... but definitely not something I'd do to our games.

I like pressing a few buttons on our wireless remotes and having all the games on for as long as I want them on.

I couldn't imagine having a party and having games being turned off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on again. Seems like unneeded stress on them imho. :dunno:

I don't think it would be good for a party. But good for walk up. Bypass would be a must. Your remote switches are good to0.
 
Not useful for me, but for what she's got (pinballs in the workplace that inexperienced people get to fool with), it's probably just the ticket. For my home arcade, I just keep everything on while I'm playing, turn it off when I'm done, but in her situation, it's surely going to save lots of time and trouble.
 
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