Episode 2 - EM Pinball Resources
In this episode, I talk about some of the EM pinball resources that have been part of my pinball journey. Here are helpful links that are referenced in this episode. Pinballvideos.com Pinballmap.com...
Highlights
- David Gottlieb designed Baffle Ball in 1931, widely regarded as the first commercially successful pinball game
- David Gottlieb and company introduced electromechanical flippers in 1947's Humpty Dumpty
- Harry Williams released Aztec 29 years after Humpty Dumpty (placing it around 1976)
- The Aztec machine featured a fake sixth digit on its score display to inflate the appearance of scores
- Harry Williams pioneered jet bumpers in 1948
- Aztec uses a score motor with eight cams and switch stacks as its central control mechanism, functioning similarly to a CPU
- Only the bumpers and slingshots on Aztec are powered by DC current (via rectifier), while everything else including flippers runs on 24V AC
- Flipper coils use a center-tap design to operate at two power levels: full power initially, reduced power when held to prevent overheating
Notable quotes
“pinball machines are a fascinating tribute to humanity: artists musicians game designers and even voice actors work alongside machinists Fabricators Crafts People and Engineers to manufacture these elaborate Contraptions made purely for our Amusement”
“this Rat's Nest of wires and stuff...somehow that's all being accomplished with this Rat's Nest of wires and stuff how why it's easy just look at the schematic I'm sure you can figure it out I'm kidding of course”
“Pinball is called pinball because in the earliest days it was a simple game of balls and pins an evolution of the French game Bagatelle”
“This would be useless the moment any 100 point target were hit the relay would lock itself on and be stuck but that circuit path travels through a switch on the score reel called the end of stroke switch”
“It takes two to tango, and to make something happen, the machine performs a dance where it constantly rewires itself on the fly. And what does it use to make that happen? That's right: relays.”
“with the exception of the motor run switch, the rest of these switches aren't connected to anything. Even when the game is on and in play, they're just there clicking away without accomplishing a thing”
Entities
- Bally· company
- Gottlieb· company
- Aztec· game
- Baffle Ball· game
- Bagatelle· game
- Humpty Dumpty· game
- Theater of Magic· game
- EM Pinball Journeys· media
- Straight Down The Middle: a pinball show· media
- David Gottlieb· person
- Harry Williams· person
- Microsoft Pinball Arcade· product
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