Bingos have a special mechanism underneath the playfield which will trap or release the balls.
This mechanism is pretty neat and actually controls quite a bit of the game logic depending on state (open or closed).
Some issues that can occur with the shutter are discussed.
Had a productive evening. Finished cleaning and swapping parts that I had onto Night Club - enough to get the game to turn on.
I have two of the motors moving appropriately, and various relays are doing the correct thing. Very exciting!
I'm waiting on a few parts to get it fully working, but at the moment, it feels good to make progress.
Bally bingos have a button under the shooter rod that is only usable at certain times during gameplay. What is the function of this button? Why was it included?
Is there any difference between the various games Bally produced with regard to this button?
Bingo playfields are not all created equal. I have a bingo playfield swap about 90% complete, and note some differences between solid state bingo playfields and their Bally counterparts.
Pinside user btw75 just picked up his first Bally bingo! A Circus Queen magic screen game. He also provided me with a great tech tip (or TekTip) that I just had to share.
Thanks btw75!
I spent a bit of time tonight looking at my new Night Club project. I began shopping the units in the head, and have finished a good portion.
This is what is needed to get the game going.
I finished replacing the control unit motor on Gay Time, and the game roared to life!
I only had two items that needed tweaking, then the game started playing perfectly.
My first test game, when I wasn't really trying, I got a 5-in-a-line! I've been unable to replicate this feat thus far.
Bally actually made it very easy to swap units in and out of a bingo. Today I talk about how to remove a control unit motor from a Bally bingo.
I have a couple of photos of the removal up on the Facebook/Instagram/Twitter pages. But it is just about how you might imagine it.
Once I have the new motor installed (hopefully by the end of the week), I will likely have a working game!
Bally thought long and hard about how the player would approach and play their bingo games, but they also thought about the poor guy who would have to maintain them!
Learn some of the secrets of working on a bingo in this episode.
I finally made the trip up to NJ and met Vic in person.
Vic spent the whole day with me and shared his amazing collection and variety of gorgeous bingos.
We talk about the day, his truly fantastic collection and the unique and wonderful bingo gameplay of the games in his collection.
The best part: I drove home that night with two new bingos in my van - 1955 Gay Time and 1956 Night Club!