Is this one of them Stern bashing threads?... im so sick of the bashing.. so so sick... 
Please don't help another thread go to shit :)
I wasn't..
Ok cool but I'd love to hear some stories of how regularly ops maintained games back in your day :) not saying your old lol but how different was it? Where ops only interested in coin and not maintaining games? Where coin boxes emptied them Pf was wiped over? I couldn't imagine they would spend much time on a game as there would have been so many sighted games the tech guy just wouldn't have time?
There was actual documentation with Bally and GTB EMs about keeping the playfields clean, re rubbering and re globing to increase takings.
Not all operators knew what they were doing. Many went broke, and I remember there was a female operator based in Geelong that had only Sterns onsite, and she went broke very quickly. Dad bought all their games (Big Game, Meteor, Galaxy, Dracula and a heap more). I remember the day as it was hot and several trips had to be made. The machines were filthy. Dad also bought out another operator in the SE suburbs. An Egyptian guy that had no clue about repairing them.
The 70's was a boom time as the machines were built to last - especially EMs. Every school holidays was spend stripping and cleaning games. No games were ever moved from one location to another without being brought back to the workshop and serviced. So I played many games during the holidays. In these days, no one was selling parts. There was no internet and the only way to order parts was either by calling the USA suppliers on the phone or by this strange Telex setup. I still have some of these original manifests. They would be sent by boat - so everything was SLOW. Or it came in the next container. I remember that when Dad ran out of rubbers, he re used the old ones by stretching a handful across a panel with pegs (for each size rubber) and then spraying with Nifti (this is the 70's - way before it became so popular), and washing with an old paintbrush. Then rinse with a hose and leave in the sun for a while. They were simply re used. Did the same with the Jukebox records. Filled a washtub with warm water and Nifti. Scrub with an old paintbrush and then hang on some fishing line between poles. The middle section never peeled off - I could never work that out - it was like it had a layer of wax !
Every single machine on route was presented 100% working. This was a small operation of 200-300 machines on site with just my Dad and my Uncle covering the northern suburbs. Every wog cafe in Melbourne had a least one of his bingos and a Jukebox. I used to spend HOURS as a teenager holding a lamp behind a Miami Beach, or Showtime - whatever the Bingo was. In his own Amusement Centres (not called "arcades" yet) - He had up to 12 Bingos against a wall, 10 pinballs, a Jukebox, a soccar table, 2 billiard tables and EM Gun games. The bigger places had over 20 games easily. some just had 5-6 Bingos "behind the curtain" out the back. Every Monday, machines were emptied. It took all day, and sometimes 2 days. Over a week period, all the games were cleared.
The SOLE reason why Dad's operation was successful was because he worked VERY hard - sometimes 16 hours a day. He was the definition of a "workaholic". Between him and my Uncle (Ex PNG), they knew EVERYTHING about ANYTHING Electromechanical. The SS era changed a lot of that. But that is a story for another time !
In their day, Dad's operation was easily the best. Best machines that very seldom broke down. Dad was affectionally known as "The Professor" as he ALWAYS wore a dustcoat, carried a massive toolkit, and he always fixed any game onsite. Part of his success was also buying straight from the factory - he was always putting money back into the business. He owned some of the Amusement Centres and the cafes.
Back then, the industry was at it's peak. Imagine asking 2 technicians to look after 200-300 machines on location and have them all in perfect working order ? If the games are presented well - it could work - but if they are poorly maintained and not fixed the first time - then it would be like watching the Benny Hill song from location to location..
It was like a different planet in the 60's - 90's. But the 70's was easily the best time period for me.
Great story, it must have been awesome having a dad in this industry ad a kid and getting to play all those games as they came in for repair/clean.
