Pacific Pinball Museum • Hacker News Board

Re: Pacific Pinball Museum

#71

Post by ts4z » Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 6:49 AM UTC

syntheweave wrote: post #69

chriscjcj wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't.... I was there with my family and just mentioned it to the person charging admission. Unfortunately, Black Knight wasn't the only machine suffering from it. I went back a couple months later and there was no improvement unfortunately. I have mixed emotions about it. On one hand, I feel like it's a shame to put these machines out there when they're not really working properly. On the other hand, I feel like…

I got the impression when I visited that the flipper strength on many games had been dialed down specifically to reduce the maintenance load on the rest of the playfield. It wasn't the same as wild instances of weak flippers where they tend to just be flaky and not trap up correctly. I don't mind, the goal is preservation after all, and a lot of the SS games can be played elsewhere.

It has not. The games just get a lot of play. (I occasionally volunteer to fix them.)

Re: Pacific Pinball Museum

#72

Post by ts4z » Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 6:56 AM UTC

chriscjcj wrote: post #35

I've been here numerous times. There's a lot to like. When you walk to the left side, there are some very old machines going back to the very beginning of pinball. They're interesting from a historical perspective, but not so entertaining to play. Still, it's neat to see how the art evolved and the fact that you CAN play the really old machines is really cool. I do have a few complaints about the place. 1. The place…

I’m an occasional volunteer. Sometimes I show up and fix games (although it’s been a a long time since I’ve done it). Machine rotation is an issue. They do change them out but it is always trading out somebody’s favorite for somebody else’s favorite.

Weak flippers are probably not the result of weak coils, but of wear of flipper mechanisms. A complete flipper rebuild is hard to do on a budget. Some games (and BK is one of them) have flippers that haven’t worn well. (I think BK might still have 25V flippers, for instance.) But next time I’m there I will make sure to look. It’s important to be able to kick the ball upstairs on Black Knight.

I will say noise is always a problem, but the museum isn’t always crowded. I’ve been going a long time, and it’s been ten years since I could go early in the afternoon, but it is worth a shot.

Thanks for playing. Do mention any issues to the front desk. They will get attention, albeit triaged, and fixed on a budget.

Re: Pacific Pinball Museum

#73

Post by ts4z » Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 7:00 AM UTC

system16 wrote: post #8

I'm glad this exists but at $22 admission I don't think you're going to attract anyone but hardcore pinball lovers and maybe the odd person trying it out as a novelty once and then never returning. Pinball for most people is not an all day activity so an hourly rate seems like it would be a better fit.

An hourly rate was tried and it was a pain in the ass for staff and now it’s gone. (Source: I am an irregular volunteer technician, and have been going there as a customer for 15 years.)