NEW PRODUCT COMMISSIONED 4 PINBALL RESTORERS !

[Caveoftreasures]

NEW PRODUCT COMMISSIONED THAT I BELIEVE WILL HELP ALOT OF PINBALL RESTORERS !

I have commissioned Beaky (Andy) to design me a power scouce/wiring harness/kit that allows u to activate the lights (General Illumination, Flashers, Inserts) all seperately when the machine is completely OUT of the cabinet. This will work without having to have the games electronic boards connected to the playfield/wiring harness. This will be a small stand alone kit. We will then look at selling these units to pinball restorers.

WHY COMMISSION THIS PRODUCT/KIT & IDEA ?  

Well, you pull a playfield out, u strip it down, u want to replace all/or at least MANY light bulbs/555/44 n 47/flashers etc etc, BEFORE you have to put all the plastics/ramps/endless layers of parts back on. U want to check every bulb n connector is 100 percent before adding the layers of plastics/ramps and the many removed parts back etc, BUT you cant test everything with the playfield out cause its away from the cabinet, and testing/checking/experimenting with LED';s etc, is PAINFULL when having to lift n close the playfield 100 times.
  Then u have the voltage/shorts/electrocution issues with the machine having to be turned on and connected to 240 v with the playfield up etc. You have to go in n out of the menu etc, its just painfull. Working on a playfield whilst it is in a cabinet is so much harder than having the playfield on a rotisserie, espescially for good reto's n cleaning jobs.  So why not design something that COMPLETELY BYPASSES all this, whilst the playfield is completely away from the cabinet and boards etc.  

So what i said, is lets have a switchable 6 volt/12 volt/etc etc stand alone power supply that can be wired via male/or mostly female plugs that can plug directly onto the pinball machines wiring harness whilst it is sitting on the rotisserie. It wil make life SO MUCH EASIER and u dont have the higher voltages/shorting/blowing boards etc to deal with. What i propose is a switchable and fused power supply/wiring harness adaptor kit that can be easily switched to allow for the power requirements to run firstly General Illumination, then say all Inserts, then flashers etc, at a flick of a switch.
Coils n other higher voltage stuff can be checked later when the playfield returns to the cabinet. We hope to do a version that suits DMD Bally/Williams WPC and WPC 95  etc etc first. Maybe DMD Data East next.  

* With this new product/kit, u can much more easily replace n check all globes/LED's etc BEFORE top playfield re-assembly whilst u have a clear uncluttered view of all inserts/G'I's/flashers etc etc.  Ever did a teardown and rebuild to find some bulbs play up or die to then have to go thru the pain of restripping n rebuilding/pulling off
plastics n ramps etc.  

This will fix all those issues and since the rotisserie/playfield spins or can sit easily and completely on its side, even by yourself with a mirror, u can check different colour LED's n normal bulbs etc without lifting the playfield 100 times, or even walking around or flipping the playfield on the rotisserie etc.
I might call it "Freedom Light Checker -Playfield kit" or something like that.

I rang Beaky (Andy) tonight and explained my requirements, we talked for a while and we came up with a good general design which Andy should be able to finalise this next week or so, then we will put it together and test it. Andy is busy so i will have to persuade him with half the distribution profits.lol  
Once it is right, we will can it and clone it for sale etc. Because we are going to use an already approved power supply that is already on the market, electricity design approvals/patents/etc etc shouldnt be an issue. We are also looking at a unit that can run off a large 7amp 12 volt Alarm battery to make it fully portable in case running an extension chord is to painfull etc. .If anyone can pull this straight forward kit off, it will be Andy(Beaky). STAY TUNED. Thanks for reading.

[Strangeways]

The idea has merit and is worth at least investigating a prototype. Keep in mind production costs and the fact that you may need to move a lot of units to break even.

The only "sticking point" I have after the initial post is that from personal experience, I drop the playfield back in the cabinet as early as possible - with minimal hardware. This is for one key reason - weight. I cannot lift a fully populated playfield into a game. I tried doing it once, with a helper, and I nearly dropped the damn thing on my toes !

When I drop the playfield into a cabinet, I repin J120 and J121 and switch the game on and test each "layer" of GI. So I don't run into the issue where the playfield is fully populated and I have on light out.

I don't want to discourage your initiative, but I would be discussing this with prospective buyers first, to ascertain a "business case".

[Caveoftreasures]

I have had half a dozen people already express interest in buying a kit, and only in the first few days. 

The playfield is heavy, but with one other person I got it out and it was heavy, but not to the point we couldnt easily carry it. The cost to design and make one proto-type will be less than $150 at the very outside top cost, perhaps even half that. Dont ya find working on a playfield in a cabinet very restrictive. On a rotisserie, it is a breeze.

I just find lifting a playfield up n down fifty times is painfull, espescially when u are trying lots n lots of different LED's etc compared to standard bulbs.

I think the kit will be a winner. I will update the post when Beaky (Andy) and I are a little closer to finishing the first proto-type. 

[ddstoys]

Interesting idea.   Good luck boys