Newbie q?: Are EM pins worth it?

Mango7

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Hi gentleman. I'm interested in collecting pins from the 70s, my era. I was a fairly serious player and probably played most of them. I even owned a '66 Mayfair back in '74 (It was great, but often broke down).

My question is, is it worth owning 3 EMs or am I asking for headaches? I want my favorite from each of the big 3, then a Stern Meteor or Galaxy. Thanks so much if u can help steer me. regards,

Kurt
 
Hi gentleman. I'm interested in collecting pins from the 70s, my era. I was a fairly serious player and probably played most of them. I even owned a '66 Mayfair back in '74 (It was great, but often broke down).

My question is, is it worth owning 3 EMs or am I asking for headaches? I want my favorite from each of the big 3, then a Stern Meteor or Galaxy. Thanks so much if u can help steer me. regards,

Kurt

EM's can be very reliable, heh no circuit boards to fail. Go through it good and get everything clean and adjusted and you will be fine.
 
I have 9 EM games at the moment. Yes, they can be a headache. However, Ibuprofen comes in economy-size jars. They're also fairly straightforward to work on, and amazingly reliable when correctly serviced. Go ahead and get a few.

Galaxy was a fun game for the years it was around. That space now occupied by Cue Ball Wizard.
 
imo once it's set up correctly, adjusted, .. you won't have more problems than with an electronic pin.. even maybe less. you need to play them regulary so contacts don't get stuck
 
If you love those types of games, my advice would be to get them. I would try to not pay too much for them, as they are usually pretty easy to find and kind of hard to get rid of if you want a premium price for it. I bought mine(Gottlieb Masquerade non-working and had working by the time I got home) for $175. Not a great price, but pretty decent little 4-flipper game. Good luck, have fun, and don't be surprised if you end up with 4-5 in no time.
 
I have a 67 Gottlieb Sing-Along my father gave me that he got in trade for electrical work back around 1975 and it has NEVER broken down, not even after 4 moves! I'd have to say EM's can be plenty reliable :)

Just don't go oiling everything or randomly adjusting leaf switches! I have an old United puck bowler that had all the score reels oiled by the previous owner, took many many hours to disassemble them all and clean.
 
Round up as many ems as you can. If you get tired of them or can`t fix them I`ll trade you arcade games or ss pins for them.
 
My question is, is it worth owning 3 EMs or am I asking for headaches? I want my favorite from each of the big 3, then a Stern Meteor or Galaxy.

Go for it. Owning 3 EM is no big deal. I know collectors who own several hundred EM's. Space becomes more of an issue than keeping only 3 EM's up and running. EM's easy to work on.

Stern Meteor or Galaxy is an early electronic game but with the new reproduction boards they are easy to keep going.
 
EM games are fun to collect. many of them have a story behind them. some are very common and some are rare. its fun to play a game or 2 of them but i always find myself going back to the newer dot matrix games for a challenge. i enjoy playing a game on an EM every now and then. however there are MANY MANY titles made in the mid and late 70's that have a hard time bringing over $400.

its too bad i didnt know you a few years ago. i had a stern meteor that we couldnt get working (when i knew NOTHING about pinball repair, i still dont know much haha) and i sold it for $75
 
Wow, thank you fellows for each of your inputs, I appreciate it very much! You've emboldened me to go for it, thanks so much. Now if I only knew what to steer away from when buying! :) Take care,

Kurt
 
One word of caution; if you're not able to work on them yourselves and are dependent upon others for any/all service, you may want to verify whether there are others locally who can assist or flat out do the work for you. With non-EM's, it's easy enough to pull a board and send it out for repair if you can't do it yourself - not something you can really do with an EM...

Once you have them working, they can be reliable; just make sure you play them regularly; most problems I've had personally were after a game sat for an extended period of time and oxidation affects some of the switches..
 
The great thing about EM's are: As projects, they usually come complete. Rarely do you need to scramble to find parts for them, and many times you can 'fix' things with nothing more than a sharpie, some sandpaper, and a pair of needle nose pliers. You can 'shop' the playfields in an hour or two, and once serviced, they are pretty reliable.

If you don't play them for a while, expect them not to work when you come back to them.
 
Hi gentleman. I'm interested in collecting pins from the 70s, my era. I was a fairly serious player and probably played most of them. I even owned a '66 Mayfair back in '74 (It was great, but often broke down).

My question is, is it worth owning 3 EMs or am I asking for headaches? I want my favorite from each of the big 3, then a Stern Meteor or Galaxy. Thanks so much if u can help steer me. regards,

Kurt


As Dr. Gonzo mentioned....do go through all parts of each game. I normally hit every switch to clean (all on playfield, backbox, and in the tray below playfield) , remove all old grease, and tighten down all screws (switch stacks) . Then when all is done tear apart the playfield and clean all of those parts. Reassemble and play a game or two at least once a week, (keeps all assemblies moving and free) Humidity varies from home to home so have a dehumidifier.
Hope this helps/
 
Thank you, gentlemen! I'm really getting excited to start a collection. I have a meteor in sight so far :) thx again for the fantastic advice,

Kurt
 
Thank you, gentlemen! I'm really getting excited to start a collection. I have a meteor in sight so far :) thx again for the fantastic advice,

Kurt

Good luck, let us know how it goes. Don't overpay!! Plenty of good deals on EM's out there, last one I got was freeeee!!!
 
Thanks Dr! I just let a beautiful Canada Dry pin slip through my fingers.....found it too late!

Btw, where is the best place to find'em outside of cl, ebay, and mr pinball? Regards,

Kurt
 
Im with everyone else, EM games are my choice when it comes to reliability. If you understand basically how they work, you can fix anything on them. You can have a total breakdown in the middle of a tournament with friends and have it back up and running in the time it takes to finish the next game. EMs are my overall preference when it comes to pins.
 
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