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The Classic Pinball Podcast
The Classic Pinball Podcast
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#30 Harlem Globetrotters - The Classic Pinball Podcast

PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago1 hr 11 min listenBy George
From the creator

Artist and Designer. Rolling Stones. Chuck Webster. Sonic the Hedgehog. Harlem restoration. Harlem gameplay. Paragon fix. Extra ball or Twack! Harlem set-up. Do you Remember? Harlem cartoon. Curley...

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Highlights

  • Harlem Globetrotters was released in September 1979 with 14,550 units produced
  • The game was designed by Greg Mayak (not 'Kemic' as George initially thought)
  • Margaret Hudson served as the screen/playfield artist for Harlem Globetrotters and other Bally titles
  • Greg Mayak's signature design element is an opaque red post strategically placed on the playfield
  • New linear 5-volt regulators (PU5-style) used in WPC ramp games do not work reliably in older Bally/Stern applications due to excessive current draw
  • George owns an original day-one mylar on his Harlem Globetrotters that he has not removed
  • The Harlem Globetrotters playfield features inline drop targets with a post/rubber that can cause unpredictable ball feeds
  • Dave charges $100 for Andrew Weebly's custom soundboard with adjustable pitch, sustain, and volume controls

Notable quotes

“The K is silent. Like Knife.”
George
“This thing has to go back here where Greg put it. You know, I'm not going to put it somewhere else. I'd like to hide it where he hid it so it stays original that way.”
Dave
“It puts out 2 volts, and wah, wah, you don't get the game to boot... The game just sits there, and the MPU says, I need 5 volts. Dude, I'm not going to boot up until I get to 5 volts.”
Dave
“Wow, these spinners, you've done it again, these spinners spin better than new.”
Dave (quoting PJ's comment)
“It's almost done at that point. I had Maureen come down and look and she goes, wow, this thing is gorgeous. It looks like a clear-coated new old stock playfin.”
Dave
“I just tweak the pitch a little bit, and boom, it's like, ah, that's Harlem right there. That's what you sound like. It's perfect.”
Dave
“The one thing that I wanted to point out was the Harlem bumper caps. I have a set of three that are the reverse of what comes with the game.”
George
“You just have to line it up so that it's not buzzing on you and make sure that it's – it's two stop points are stopping where it should.”
Dave

Entities

  • Bally· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Harlem Globetrotters· game
  • IPDB· organization
  • Pinside· organization
  • The Classic Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Andrew Weebly· person
  • Chuck Webster· person
  • Dave· person
  • George· person
  • Greg Ferris· person
  • Greg Mayak· person
  • J.R.· person
  • John Day· person
  • John Toast· person
  • Marco· person
  • Margaret Hudson· person
  • Matrando· person
  • Maureen· person
  • Mike Salpedro· person
  • PJ· person
  • Ryan· person
  • Steve· person

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