Convert pinball to virtual pinball

[MBZ6301]

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What's it like playing Revenge on a virtual table? I thought there was a big hoo-ha regarding this table and Phantom Menace...

[BillyCarpenter]

What's it like playing Revenge on a virtual table? I thought there was a big hoo-ha regarding this table and Phantom Menace...

It played fine. I didn't spend a lot of time playing though. I was mostly interested in getting it up and running and installing the pup pack. Besides, there are much better tables than Revenge.

[MBZ6301]

It played fine. I didn't spend a lot of time playing though. I was mostly interested in getting it up and running and installing the pup pack. Besides, there are much better tables than Revenge.

True enough, it's just a guilty pleasure is all

[BillyCarpenter]

I'm happy to report that I have the solonoids, strobe lights and other hardware installed and working. It makes a HUGE difference when you're playing. It's so close to a real pinball table that it's scary.

But getting it to work wasn't without numerous setbacks. At one point, I had to tear everything down and start from scratch. That included wiping Windows and reinstalling. There's so many damn programs that need to be installed and so many settings that need to be changed. It's easy to screw something up.

I went through a lot of frustration but the feeling I get when it finally works makes it all worth it.

[BillyCarpenter]

Now that I've connected all the electronics on my workbench, it's time to do a mock-up inside the pinball cab.


mock up pinball.jpg


PS - There's a lot that I still need to mount inside the cabinet. I hope it fits.

[BillyCarpenter]

I wasn't happy with the sound of the VP cabinet, so it was time for a major upgrad.


-Kenwood amp
- (2) Memphis 6" speakers.

I will be add a subwoofer but haven't decided on which one.


kw3.jpg

[BillyCarpenter]

UPS delivered the MOSFET drivers and a bunch of Ford starter solonoids. I'm using the Ford solonoids instead of the contactors.

I have them working. This is a been a long and sometimes brutal learning curve but I'm getting closer to the end.


I like the mosfets 10x more than the relay board.

[BillyCarpenter]

I don't know if I've mentioned this but all the wiring and getting things working thus far has been done on a my test bench. Much better to figure it out on the bench and then mount in the cabinet.

This has definitely been a learning process. I've had a couple of setbacks. I ordered the wrong contactors and that fried the relay board. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I upgraded from relays to mosfets.

There were other setbacks...most caused by mistakes I made but, hey, shit happens.

I pretty much have it all figured out. My virtual pinaball machine will have all the bells and whistles.

8 solonids
2 beacons
1 gear motor
3 chime units
4 LED strobes.
1 shaker motor
3 addressable LED strips
1 plunger with nudge sensor
A bunch of LED button
Audio amps, speakers & subwoofer

Not only does all of those parts need to be hooked up electrically, it also must be setup thru the sofware.


This turned out to be a massive undertaking. Much more involved than I envisioned. Seems like I always say that.

I've invested a bunch of hours in this build and I'm getting burned out. I'm gonna take a break this weekend. I still need to run wire trays inside the cab (there's a ton of wires that need to be run) and figure out the best location for the hardware.

[BillyCarpenter]

Since I'm waiting on my PC parts, I moving all the parts from the test bench to the cabinet. Lot of wiring and labeling.





wiring9.jpg

wiring8.jpg


wiring 7.jpg

[BillyCarpenter]

Wires, wires, wires. And many more wires to go. Before it's finished every wire and part will have a label. Otherwise, I'll be F'd if I have to troubleshoot an electrical problem.



wires.jpg