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The Classic Pinball Podcast
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#97 Williams Phoenix - The Classic Pinball Podcast

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago1 hr 11 min listenBy George
From the creator

Dave identifies the issue in a customers Phoenix and the fix needed. We discussed this initially in episode #95, Light the fuse. He then requires and buys a rare replacement part for the game. What’s...

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Highlights

  • The Williams Phoenix's 18-volt capacitor had previously leaked and the transformer was defective, causing overheating.
  • The Six Million Dollar Man had a 15-amp fuse (later found to be tinfoil) installed instead of the required 1-amp fuse, causing a burned-out solenoid coil.
  • The Eldorado purchased on Craigslist was in exceptional collector condition with perfect backglass and playfield, requiring only tilt adjustment.
  • The Paragon has a yellowed/dingy playfield likely due to shellac coating degradation and UV exposure over decades.
  • Orange dot coils (sold by Steve Young/Pinball Resource) provide 10% more power than standard coils; yellow dots provide 20% more and are generally too powerful.
  • The Eldorado owner used high-tapping (5% flipper power boost) combined with orange dot coils and rebuilt flippers, resulting in professional-quality restoration.
  • Anchor pricing strategy: quoting high initial estimates to make actual bills seem reasonable: prepared the Craigslist game buyer for potential costs.
  • The Paragon is missing two gates: the beast slayer gate on the left flipper side and the waterfall gate, affecting playability.

Notable quotes

“The thing was like hot iron hot...that capacitor leaked out all kinds of crap.”
Dr. Dave
“Who has one of these? And I got about two people in Pinside said yep, have one here works perfectly available.”
Dr. Dave
“Guess the fuse value...15 amp...how's a 15 amp sound stupid...mother put tinfoil in it.”
George (introducing the game show bit); Dr. Dave (answering)
“Louis basically approached this game with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch instead of maybe some proper tech equipment.”
George
“This guy did what I would do. This guy did the work.”
Dr. Dave
“If this guy wanted it, he'd probably get $4,000 or $5,000 for this game. I mean, this game is worth good money for the right collector.”
Dr. Dave
“Orange dot is their awesome coil. So if you've got a game that you've just gone through, it sounds like the 10s work pretty well.”
Dr. Dave
“Anchor pricing is kind of like when gas goes from $2 to $5 a gallon, then back to $3 feels like a bargain.”
Dr. Dave
“The beast slayer doesn't it's not your friend it's not slowed down it'll if it's hit right it'll just go right through.”
Dr. Dave
“I was trying to make something work, but I didn't have it...I'm going to have to look at mine and try to match it up and find another a spare or two.”
Dr. Dave

Entities

  • Pinball Life· company
  • Pinball Resource· company
  • Titan· company
  • Eldorado· game
  • Paragon· game
  • Six Million Dollar Man· game
  • Williams Phoenix· game
  • Classic Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Pinside· organization
  • Barry Oursler· person
  • Dr. Dave· person
  • Dudley· person
  • George· person
  • Guido· person
  • Jeff· person
  • Louis· person
  • Maureen· person
  • Steve Young· person
  • Stew· person
  • Craigslist· platform

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