For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast

Jim Willing from the Spooky Pinball Podcast's EM Dungeon segment (spookypinball.com/podcast) emails with a question on an odd back door switch on a bingo. I give him the wrong answer and he graciously provides the correct one. To be fair, I was nowhere near a manual, schematic or bingo when he asked, but I tried!

...my hubris, in particular. I finally found and fixed the problem with my card #5 in Ticker Tape. It wasn't at all where I was looking, but I (re)learned a valuable lesson. I should actually read the manual/schematic if the game contains units I've never encountered. Also, Australian listeners - a call to action! Please contact me about the bingo scene (if there was one) in Australia. I know abso...

When you have a scoring problem in a bingo, testing can be a pain, if you don't know this simple trick. Dropping all the balls, and shooting a new winning combination, even with the glass off, takes forever. Pressing a couple of coil plungers and a relay plate are all that's needed to re-test.

The ball gate switch is a very important switch, indeed! It tells the bingo with a time tree that it should throw a trip relay based on the position of the timer unit. Without the trips tripping, the timer will no longer advance, and you will have crazy gameplay issues, including issues with registering replays, locking you out of various timetree-driven features, etc.

Bally and United were both manufacturing bingo pinballs in the 1950s. Since starting this show, I've been increasingly interested in the differences between the two manufacturer's machines. United's mechanics and circuits are engineered differently than the Bally ones, and I like 'em both!

Another deep tech episode - how to remove the unit (could be anything, score reel, search disc [I know, I know], bonus stepper) and safely reattach. Also a cautionary tale about fuse blocks!

Dennis Dodel is an influential bingo and flipper pinball collector that has many notable pinball credentials. He started the Pinball Trader newsletter, which became/inspired the Pingame Journal, and continues to contribute to various pinball publications. If you've ever been to ipdb.org, you've most likely seen a photo credited to Dennis. Dennis answered my questions via email on 5/21/15.

One of my favorite bingos - Sun Valley - this 1957 beauty has great artwork, and is jam-packed with features. Magic Squares and a single Magic Line row allow the player to move every number on the backglass. The challenge is in getting those features lit, along with a time tree that actually allows you to reposition your numbers well, without tilting! I love everything about Sun Valley - the knock...

Mini episode! Interview with my shy younger daughter.

Gottlieb's Vari-Targets were, as per typical Gottlieb fashion, simple yet sophisticated mechanisms that allowed for a new dimension of play. Hitting the target with differing speed/accuracy provided different point values, and would send the ball flying back to your flipper.

Tonight's topic is Roto-Targets - my favorite toy from the woodrail era, that carried through the metal rail era and into some early solid states.

Ball Bowlers (contact and non), shuffle bowlers, and mannikin bowlers are all unique games. In this episode I go over some of the differences between the various types of bowlers.

EM arcade games offered a level of physicality and beautiful artwork that is no longer seen. Uprights, simulators, slots, trade stimulators, and more are discussed (in brief).

Staples of EM arcades - made as early as the turn of the 1900s up through the 60s, these (mostly) beautiful machines are easy to understand, and fun to watch.

My final episode on search discs (for now!) - I also discuss the EM world championships at Clay's VFW, the Isley Brewing Company Triple Strike tournament here locally, and give a more lengthy explanation of the search disc, its function in a bingo and what is wrong with my game.

More issues fixed, and more appear with my Ticker Tape search disc. Search disc and scoring problems are some of the most difficult to troubleshoot and correct on a bingo.

Well, back to tech - I discuss a problem I encountered tonight with scoring on cards 4-5-6 on Ticker Tape, and recount various ways that the search disc can come out of adjustment and how to correct, as well as what to look for when trying to find a searching problem.

Episode 61 - The First Bingo - United's ABC United was the first on the scene with a bingo machine - one month before Bally. Featuring a unique design only seen once more in this history of bingos, United's ABC was more random chance than something that allowed for real bingo gameplay.

The two most interesting designs in the Bally bingo universe - Big Wheel and Magic Ring! A circular 'card' layout on the backglass that I think might have to be played to fully understand.

Full gameplay details on Double-Up - 20 hole bingo.

Gameplay and details on Bally's early 60's magic screen game Roller Derby.

Later EMs from all the major manufacturers used DC power to drive certain coils. Did you know that Genco games from the late 30s also did the same? And earlier games can be modified to use DC power, after transforming what comes from the wall. This episode is all about the technology that allows this to happen.

You've bought the stinky filthy game of your dreams. Now what? Follow the advice of episode 51, and then do this. Your olfactory sense will thank you.

My process for repainting cabinets, stolen shamelessly from Steve Smith. Stencil and the right amount of webbing, spatter and overspray are key!

Interview with Jeffrey Lawton, the pre-eminent bingo technician, and has been working on bingos for many many years. He is also the man that wrote the books - Bally Bingo Pinball Machines, and The Bingo Pinball War (Bally vs. United). Purchase online at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bingo+pinball&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abingo+pinball or catch Jeff...