Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines • Hacker News Board

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#101

Post by dewbrite » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 12:55 AM UTC

fourteenfour wrote: post #77

dewbrite wrote: post #74

I spent a lot of time playing Bally Twilight Zone at the Munich Maker Lab a few years back. I still miss the tungsten bulbs which lit the ball consistently, as opposed to LEDs which tend to "blink" rapidly (at 60Hz?). It makes the ball much easier to track at high speed, and has such a nostalgic soft glow which gently fades off into nothing. I also miss reading the manual and fixing little things every so often. It l…

The early LED replacement bulbs were bad and flickery, they are better now. They even make add on boards to smooth the on/off state to mimic incandescent bulbs https://www.cometpinball.com/collections/led-ocd-boards

I would believe it - I just don't think I've seen it. All it would take is better PWM controllers right?

I wonder if the places I've been to just don't know, or just haven't upgraded yet (waiting until the originals die?), or are trying to save pennies on the dollar on repairs?

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#102

Post by twic » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 12:57 AM UTC

Two nearby venues in North London have The Getaway: High Speed II. I wonder if that's true, or if it moved from one to the other, and the map reflects an inconsistent state.

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#103

Post by weaksauce » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 12:58 AM UTC

dewbrite wrote: post #74

I spent a lot of time playing Bally Twilight Zone at the Munich Maker Lab a few years back. I still miss the tungsten bulbs which lit the ball consistently, as opposed to LEDs which tend to "blink" rapidly (at 60Hz?). It makes the ball much easier to track at high speed, and has such a nostalgic soft glow which gently fades off into nothing. I also miss reading the manual and fixing little things every so often. It l…

> use LEDs to save on electricity

a lot of places switch because it produces less heat damage as they stay on for long periods of time and make a lot of heat. this can negatively impact longevity of the backglass and plastics

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#104

Post by weaksauce » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 1:01 AM UTC

twic wrote: post #102

Two nearby venues in North London have The Getaway: High Speed II. I wonder if that's true, or if it moved from one to the other, and the map reflects an inconsistent state.

it's crowdsourced so it may not have been removed from the other location. it's possible though that they have the same machine though... you can call them and find out if you're motivated to update it

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#105

Post by karlgrz » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 1:10 AM UTC

amcpu wrote: post #65

busterarm wrote: post #36

Guided by the pinball map... The driver - still unknown to me

Came here to scan the comments for someone else who would have posted that reference. So glad I found it! :)

Me too

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#106

Post by vikingerik » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 1:23 AM UTC

mumblemumble wrote: post #89

Boogie_Man wrote: post #64

There is zero (0) reason I don't currently own a pinball machine. There are several listed on my local Craigslist right now for between $500 and $2500 USD. I could simply play pinball whenever my heart desired. The fellas who bankrupt early and rode with someone else when we play cards could have something do. I could maintain it obsessively, finding original manuals and schematics. They don't depreciate significantl…

The organizer of a pinball tournament league I used to participate in expressed regret about buying his own machine. The up-front price of buying one isn't terrible, no. What he disliked was that he felt committed to that one single machine, and ended up playing it so much that he was thoroughly bored of it within a year.

You're not committed, though. It's not that hard to resell and buy another one, or even find a partner to trade machines with. I've done that quite a few times. I have 5 machines at home, but have rotated through close to a dozen this way in the last couple years.

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#107

Post by sixothree » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 1:29 AM UTC

bdash wrote: post #31

sixothree wrote: post #10

What amazed me on my trip to Seattle was just how many pinball machines are available to play there. And not only that but just how insanely well maintained 50 year old machines are. These are machines getting played on a daily basis. Where are they finding parts for these machines? It's just crazy to think about.

Folks in the industry bought licenses, tooling, and parts for games from manufacturers that shut down. Others were reverse-engineered after the fact. Between https://www.pbresource.com , https://www.pinballlife.com , https://www.marcospecialties.com , https://www.actionpinball.com , and https://www.planetarypinball.com you can find parts for many machines going all the way back to the 50s.

Great stuff. Thank you very much for sharing.

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#108

Post by feedsmgmt » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 2:03 AM UTC

mumblemumble wrote: post #99

feedsmgmt wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you been to Galloping Ghost's pinball arcade?

I haven't. Brookfield isn't really accessible if you live in the city and don't have a car.

It's less than a mile from a train stop. That isn't accessible?

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#109

Post by CoastalCoder » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 3:37 AM UTC

bdash wrote: post #72

larrik wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You people? I have 4! :P They require enough maintenance that you'll need a back up ;)

That's how mine started getting out of control. I had one non-working machine that I rescued from a family friend's barn. My wife decided we should get a newer, working one so we would have something to play while I kept working on the first. A year later and I'm at over a dozen…

> My wife decided we should get a newer, working one so we would have something to play while I kept working on the first.

Does she have a sister???

Re: Pinball Map: Crowd-sourced worldwide map of public pinball machines

#110

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS » Sat, Feb 03, 2024, 3:38 AM UTC

soupfordummies wrote: post #27

SnooSux wrote: post #4

Reminds me of similar tools for DDR machines near you. https://ddrfinder.andrew67.com https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcades.php

Sadly, it's REALLY uncommon to find both pinball AND DDR at the same place. Logan Arcade in Chicago has it. One of the best arcades period.

Pinballz on 183 in Austin also has both DDR and of course pinball machines. I can’t remember if the other locations in Austin and Buda also have DDR but I know that one does for sure.