Convert pinball to virtual pinball

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Still waiting on graphics but otherwise I'm completely done. Whaddaya think?



pncab2113.jpg

[blackcat4866]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Amazing! =^..^=

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Amazing! =^..^=

I appreciate that, bro. It means a lot coming from you.

[Gift]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Nice, I'm a little bit jelous

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Thus far my virtual pinball machine has played flawlessly. And that's why I stripped it down to bare wood and will rebuild over again.

Why?

There's a couple of reasons.

1.) There are many different components you can use to build a VP machine. Being new to the VP world, I gathered as much information as I could and finally settled on the "LED WHIZ" as my main controller and I used individual TRIAC's to boost the signal for my solonoids and other high current devices. This required adding diodes on the solonoids and motors to prevent any back-current from flowing back to the controller board. It also required me to run a massive amount of wiring inside of the pinball cabinet.

Also, the LED Whiz is limited on the number of devices that can be connected to it. The LED whiz controls everything - motors, solonoids, beacons, lights, ect.

I haven't had any problems but I kept researching and found that there were better alternatives. Unfortunately, most of the boards and components that were once available had been discontinued because it was one man building the electronic boards and it got to be too much for him.

But finally, I ran across another dude that desinged and built an all-in-one solution that is expandible....meaning unlimted devices can be added.

His dedicated boards incorporates all the saftely devices on the board so there's no need to add diodes or use individual triacs.

This time around I'm adding a blower motor that will blow air in your face on pinball games like twister. There's about 30 tables that use the blower motor.

In short, this build will have EVERYthing. And this time I know what I'm doing. I think.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

PS - I'm getting the legs, coin door and side rails powder coated. I also orded new glass that sits over the playfield because the one I have has several scrathes. I also added a 7.1 surround sound card to the gaming PC and last but not least, I'm adding a Klispch subwoofer that will give it plenty of bass.

I almost forgot. There are 2 led strips that run along both sides of the playfield and the visual effect is fantasic but they're just laying out in the open and I don't like that. So, I'm adding a black LED aluminum channel with and black translucent cover. You won't be able to see them unless the LED's are on. Also, there's a LED matix on the rear of the playing field and I hid it buy putting it behind a 10 x 4 piece of plexiglass that I cut and tinted.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Isn't that always how it works? You build something for the first time, using the best of everything ... and it turns out that you could have done it better/cheaper/quicker/faster ... but you won't know until you tried. =^..^=

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Isn't that always how it works? You build something for the first time, using the best of everything ... and it turns out that you could have done it better/cheaper/quicker/faster ... but you won't know until you tried. =^..^=

Ain't that the truth. It's hard to make the best decison on parts when you've never done it before.

[allan]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

You are going to have to post a video.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

You are going to have to post a video.

I'll do that when it's completely finished. At the moment I'm having trouble getting the vinyl wrap for the cabinet. This company is trying my patience. I'll never do business with them again.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

A ton of parts were delivered today for my new build. The fan that I ordered is sick. It's small but man does it move some air. It's a bilge pump that is used in the engine compartment of a boat to remove toxic fumes.

The model is: Atwood Turbo 4000.

When I turned it on, it sucked up a screw that was laying close to the intake. Kinda caught me off guard when the screw hit the wall on the other side of the room. lol

I have it mount on the top of the backbox and the air hits me right in the face. That's gonna be a nice effect.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Thought I'd give an update.

I'm glad that I decided to redo the electronics in my VP. It's much better in that many of the ports are now PWM - Pulse Width Modulated. So, instead of every output port being a 1 or 0 (on or off) the signal on the PWM ports can be vaired to control the speed of a motor or the brightness of a light.

Also, I bought the expansion board and am now able to add more devices such as stobes, fans, or whatever. The new boards also offer more protection.

I have been working on this rebuild every chance I get. I'm going to painstacking lengths to make sure it's perfect. Or as close as I can get it.

Any wires that need to be spliced are being soldered and heat shrink applied.

It's surprising the chanlleges that I've run into. Here's an example.

There are 2 kinds of push buttons that I'm using. On is the micro-swith type. That works for navigation thru the software (games) but not so much for the flipper buttons. It causes a delay and throws the time off pretty bad. The solution is to use a leaf-spring switch. That's what's used in a real pinball machine. But after installing, I still had to adjust the "contacts" on the leaf springs. They look like "points" on the old car that used a distributor cap. Some of you know what that is? Anyway, I adjusted until I got the "points" almost touching. With the naked eye, it's hard to tell because they're that close. I pulled out my ohm meter to make sure they weren't. The end result is now the signal is sent from the button to the PC as soon as you press down...you don't have to fully press. The timing is now perfect.

I also encounter a lot of drama getting the AC/DC graphics printed for my cabinet. This is partly my fault for sending all the money upfront. I thought I got ripped off. The owner stopped answering my calls and would occassionaly respond by text. I got excuse after excuse. This has been going on for a couple of months. I think. I've lost track of time. We're talking about $375.00 so as you can image, I was upset. I had to play it cool and FINALLY he refunded my money. Except for $50 that he kept. He's a fucking crook but I was happy to get most of my money back.

I found a new company to design and print my graphics and he's almost ready to ship. He's a good guy.

Well, that's all for now.

[allan]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

The solution is to use a leaf-spring switch. That's what's used in a real pinball machine. But after installing, I still had to adjust the "contacts" on the leaf springs. They look like "points" on the old car that used a distributor cap. Some of you know what that is? Anyway, I adjusted until I got the "points" almost touching. With the naked eye, it's hard to tell because they're that close. I pulled out my ohm meter to make sure they weren't. The end result is now the signal is sent from the button to the PC as soon as you press down...you don't have to fully press. The timing is now perfect.

My family have this old Nissan mini pickup that had been serviced by the same guy for the last 6 years. It struggled to start for a while and its been in for repairs but does not get any better. Talking to the mechanic he explains that he just can't put his finger on the issue and it must be a wiring bug. So i had a look at it the point were so covered in carbon it was ridiculous. Went back to him and ask him when last he changed out the points and condenser. To my surprise he did not know what I was referring to. He actually did not know how this basic system worked he assumed it was an electronic system with a distributor for timing. 30 years later and that Japanese motor still runs flawlessly.

Yea fair of you to assume that even mechanics in these times does not know what points are.

So when are you starting on the next VP?

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

So when are you starting on the next VP?

I never say never but unless pigs start to fly, I don't plan to build another one. Between the hardware and the software, it's a real bear of a challenge. Not to mention that finding the parts is an adventue. To be fair, a lot of that had to do with this being my first build and doing the trial an error thing until I found what works best. Did I mention the woodwork? My last name is Carpenter but I mostly suck at capenter work. Not no, but hell no.

My family have this old Nissan mini pickup that had been serviced by the same guy for the last 6 years. It struggled to start for a while and its been in for repairs but does not get any better. Talking to the mechanic he explains that he just can't put his finger on the issue and it must be a wiring bug. So i had a look at it the point were so covered in carbon it was ridiculous. Went back to him and ask him when last he changed out the points and condenser. To my surprise he did not know what I was referring to. He actually did not know how this basic system worked he assumed it was an electronic system with a distributor for timing. 30 years later and that Japanese motor still runs flawlessly.

Yea fair of you to assume that even mechanics in these times does not know what points are.

I spent a lot of time working on vehicles back in the day. It went from points to a rotor cap to coil packs.

[slimslob]

Re: Convert pinball to virtual pinball

Thought I'd give an update.

I'm glad that I decided to redo the electronics in my VP. It's much better in that many of the ports are now PWM - Pulse Width Modulated. So, instead of every output port being a 1 or 0 (on or off) the signal on the PWM ports can be vaired to control the speed of a motor or the brightness of a light.

I remember decades ago either Popular Electronics or Electronics Illustrated had an electronics project for slowing down electric windshield wiper by pulsing the voltage to the motor in stead of using a rheostat to limit current. It applied full voltage during the pulses to avoid having the motor stall.