looking at getting my first pinball

Fatality83

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Hi I am looking to get my first pinball machine. Unfortentely all my budget will allow for is machines that don't work or that need small repairs to be functional. I am looking at two pinball's Bad Girls and Eldorado City of Gold. The seller says that when he plugs it in, the lights light up but the balls don't come out. I have sent him a message asking to be more descriptive, does the score board light up ect and I will post back his response. My question is, he is selling these for $300. What are the chances these may be an easy fix? I don't mind putting some time and a little money into them to get them working. Any ideas what may be wrong?
 
take it from a noob that learned the hard way.
if you don't have any idea what you are doing and don't have a nearby person to come over and help, then you need to start with a pinball that mostly works.

and you need to get a pinball that includes all the schematics and manuals.

otherwise you are going to end up spending more money on the "cheap" project than if you started with a little better one.

wait and look in the 700-900 range and you'll be much happier at the start, especially if money is a concern right from the start. :)
 
is that 300 for the pair? yes, thats a good deal. BUT if your working blind be prepared to do long hours of research and troubleshooting to figure out whats wrong with them, and be prepared to have a board or two repaired or replaced. Yes, it could only be a fuse, but what blew the fuse:D.

short story, if your wanting something to add to your collection, wait for a working game in your price range. If you want something to take apart and figure out what makes them tick, go for it.
 
I understand where you are coming from. My reasoning was, no matter what pinball I get, something is eventually going to break. And since there is no places around me that work on them, I am going to be the one to have to fix it. Now I don't have any experience, but a game that doesn't shoot the ball into the ramp probably has either a wiring issue or an issue with the thingymabob that shoots the ball into the ramp. I know how wiring issues can be but if the thingymabob is bad, alls I have to do is replace it. Also can't I get schematics online for them. I really don't mind getting something and tearing into it and seeing what makes it work and fixing what is bad. Also If I end up screwing something up, I would rather it be on a $250 pinball than a $1,000 one.

He said the batteries are in good shape and there is no leakage or anything and it is in good condition. He would take $250 for it.
 

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have you ever played either one of those games?
if not, you might wanna try it on virtual pinball.
when i was choosing i ran across a lot of interesting deals, but when i experienced the playfield i wasn't impressed.

have you tried to find sources for the various parts in either of those titles. on the main pinball part sites i see a lot of williams and bally stuff for sale, seems like the gottlieb stuff is a little harder to come by, unless it's old EM gottlieb stuff.

worst case, lets say you have a shot board. can you find a new one, like an MPU? let's say it costs $300, you cool with that?

what are either of those worth? let's say you put 700 total in the restore and hate the game? can you find a buyer?
 
yea I see what you mean. How do I get that virtual pinball thing. I tried before and it said I had to register for it or something. To be honest all the pinball machines I really want are selling for $3,000 or higher. I pretty much accepted the fact that I won't ever be able to justify spending that much and that I was going to have to settle for something cheaper and possibly something I may not enjoy as much as my favorites but atleast something I can have fun with.
 
Pins have been easier for me once you understand the mechanics of them. I say go for it, expect a lot of learning.

Pinrepair.com is the best resource EVER for coin op repair. Those guides alone will walk you through many different issues across eras - check to make sure they cover the make / model / era of Pin you will be buying, see how in depth the guides are before doing it.

You may end up not needing to replace boards / etc. And boards on a pin are subject to the same issues as on vids, its fundamentally the same except vids have monitors and pins have many switches / solenoids and cosmetics (like Playfield).
 
i wrote these instructions to remind myself quite some time back. i presume they are still accurate:

1- Save the installer found by clicking the scrolling marquee at this site:
http://www.pinballnirvana.com/index.php
2- Right click on the file you saved and Run as administrator.
3- It will install the vpin program to your c drive in a program files folder.
4- Inside that folder you will find a Tables folder and Roms folder which are important later.
5- Go to this site which might require a free registration: http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?&CODE=00
6- Click Search, Downloads, enter a pinball name like "Addams" and click Go
7- click on the item called "The Addams Family VP9 1.02" http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?automodule=downloads&req=idx&cmd=viewdetail&f_id=3181
8-download the file to your desktop, clicking on the file on your desktop will open the zipped file. Save the .VPT file to your desktop
9-drag the .VPT file to your Tables folder mentioned above
10-scroll down on the webpage and download all of the ROM files to your desktop (lots of them for Addams family)
11-drag the roms you downloaded to the ROMs folder mentioned above.
12-double click the silver pinball icon on your desktop to start the Virtual pinball program.
13- use File-Open to browse the Tables folder for the Addams family pinball
14-click on Play button and click through screens
15-usually 4, 5, or 6 button adds credits to game
16- the 1 or S button starts games
17-flippers are the shift keys
18-ball plunger is the enter key

In some other thread I think these guys recommended a certain name of a designer for fun pinball games, if you are on a limited budget.
I have a Black Knight by Steve R. and it's brilliant. so many little nuances that make it super fun.
I think these guys are onto something when they recommend certain designers.....
 
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Pinrepair.com is the best resource EVER for coin op repair. Those guides alone will walk you through many different issues across eras - check to make sure they cover the make / model / era of Pin you will be buying, see how in depth the guides are before doing it.

Pinrepair.com *WAS* the best resource - unless the OP has a copy of the content saved off (or digs one up online), they're going to want to reference:

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Gottlieb_System_80

Pinrepair.com has been offline for about 7 months otherwise.

$250 sounds like a good price for what is shown, assuming a complete set of boards, no missing parts, etc - game looks dirty but complete. A good start pin at that price - just be prepared to spend more (and possibly more than it's worth) for any work (board repair) that you can't do yourself.

Read the guide - for that pin, the odds that it's wiring or a bad coil/part is low, and much, much more likely to be something board-related.

If you're handy with a soldering iron, have at least basic electronics knowledge (can use a multimeter, logic probe, understand what a capacitor, resistor, and diode are), then I say go for it.
 
Sprout -

Clay H. (Shaggy?) has restored (and updated) pin repair site - check it out - its all nearly back (just waiting on WPC era games).
 
is there some kind of self test I can boot the game up in to test for any issues? If so how would I get to it? I would like to go look at it and have it run a test to see what issues come up. If the screen shows nothing, I will assume the board is shot. Just a quick look on ebay and I don't see any pcbs for it listed at the moment.
 
I emailed the dude about these machines too :) I was more interested in the El Dorado than the Bad Girls one.

I'm with you on the money situation also. I go back and forth on getting one of these cheap ones or squirreling away $100 bucks a month and get a more modern one that works.

I'm not a threat to buy these out from under you though. Good luck to you if you do get one of these.
 
Seems to me those prices are just so-so for a non working machine. Bad Girls books at $600 and Eldorado goes for about 700, those are for working games in good condition. For a game that doesn't work and you don't know the problem I wouldn't go over $200. If you can run the self test and make sure the processor boots then 250 sounds good, as long as the artwork, playfield and backglass are in good shape. I think the issue is that they may have boards that are shot. When you hear a game 'lights up' that doesn't tell you much. The GI (general illumination) isn't always controlled by the processor, some lights coming on just means it has power. In your case it could be anything from a wire that fell off to a corroded board that needs to be replaced.
You really need to make sure the machine boots and doesn't have a major problem, unless you're ready to replace the boards. Replacements are available but by the time you buy those you might be looking at the same price of a working game. A manual will show you how to run the self test.
Schematics and manuals are usually available, but of, not always. Since you're looking at Gottliebs the documentation is harder to find. Steve Young at PinballResource owns the Gottlieb rights and he restricts the free access to the manuals and schematics. Do some searching around the web and see what you can find. Also check your messages and see if any good ideas come your way.
Bottom line, if you like working on stuff and can figure out the problem a low cost non working machine can be a good way to start. If you get frustrated easy and have problems figuring out electronics you might want to wait for a working machine. I wouldn't recommend getting a 300 lb paper weight that just makes you hate pinball. I generally say get something old, dirty and working and start tinkering with it if you need to start with a small budget.

Jerry
 
The system 80 stuff is available on the TOPS videos, not as much detail on the boards though.

Jerry
 
Nah, he doesnt have them up yet.

BUT if you donate a few bucks to him, he will provide it - its worth it.

If you wait though, he will be putting them back up.

Also, if you post on RGP, some members there can send them to you. And finally, pin wiki was created as a counter to his pulling that stuff - thats a good resource too.

Ultimately, everything one needs to fix a pin is out there and can be had - go for it dont let the unknown worry you if the price is right.
 
From another noob to pinballs, I'd suggest holding out for maybe not a 3k machine, but maybe a later 80's/Early 90's DMD game. I went that route with my Getaway and I still had some things to do, some needed, some to make it look better, etc. but much happier I got one that as mentioned by others, more complete/better working.

Some of the later 80's early 90's games are still a blast and not much coin. <pun intended!>
 
I have a EDCOG pin - very fun pin! If you played a Target Alpha or El Dorado, just think it's the solid state version of them. Be warned though, since this is a low production game - parts are impossible to find!

I played Bad Girls a couple of times. I like the gameplay, but like Gottlieb's Genesis, the artwork blows!

Also note these both are Gottlieb - not for the faint of heart as repair goes...
 
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