Pachinko newb

[Rambo]

Hi all,

I'm a huge pinball fan, but don't have the space for a large pinball table. Having played modern pachinko on my trips to Japan, I thought restoring a pachinko machine would be the perfect alternative!



I found a Nishijin Model A at an antique store for $80. Not the cheapest I'd seen, but it was in perfect mechanical condition, and not knowing how these worked, I didn't want to start with a broken one.

It was missing both panes of glass, so I bought two sheets of acrylic cut to size. I also went through and cleaned out all the dust, grime, and rust spots, then oiled all the moving parts with bicycle chain oil (doesn't attract dust). The electrical momentary switches were shot, so I removed all the electrical bits and will replace them with modern LEDs, micro switches, and an 8-bit microcontroller to add some additional functionality like flashing lights, a servo to activate the ball ejector (I'm mounting it in a wall cabinet, so I want to limit having to access the back).

Just wanted to stop in and say hi!

[Drunkenclam]

Welcome Aboard

[SteveFury]

Wow Rambo that sounds like some really cool mods! Is it possible to post some pics or vids? That would be great. I've made an animation explaining the mechanical workings of the "A":



Last but not least: WELCOME to Pachitalk!

[Moparformances]

please do at least post a few pics ... we love pics

and of course

Welcome to Pachitalk

[Rambo]

Wow Rambo that sounds like some really cool mods! Is it possible to post some pics or vids? That would be great. I've made an animation explaining the mechanical workings of the "A":

Wow! That's a neat video! I'm a mechanical engineer, so I actually figured out all of the major workings on my own fairly quickly, but that video was amazing!

Now for some pics:





After cleaning out the built-in dirt and grime:

[mxfaiman]

to Pachitalk

Looks like you got a fairly nice 1971 Nishijin Model A Kyoto, Aoi-Umi (Castle). Yeah mouthful isn't it. Just so info about your machine, Kyoto was the factory it was built in, Aoi-Umi means blue sea in Japanese which explains why you have dark blue plastic on the front, and castle is the center feature.

If you have any questions feel free to ask. And once again welcome to PT.

-Max

[MrGneiss]

WELCOME!!!

[Drunkenclam]

Wow. I love the look of that machine why don't we have them in the UK

[hanabi]

Hi there!!

Welcome to PachiTalk!!

[Rambo]

Looks like you got a fairly nice 1971 Nishijin Model A Kyoto, Aoi-Umi (Castle).
If you have any questions feel free to ask. And once again welcome to PT.
-Max

Wow! Thanks for the heads up! Since you asked, I do have a couple questions:

1. I searched and searched on this, but is there any hope of having a key made for the door lock? FWIW, mine has a "3" stamped on the back. I know the backstory on why keys are so scarce, and that there has been very limited success with locksmith replacements. If the keys aren't an option, is there a good replacement lock? I don't want to have to make some goofy rope mechanism to open it once it's in the cabinet.

2. What's the best source for replacement balls? Ours came with around 400, but there were quite a few black and pitted balls I couldn't clean up (the rest came out pretty good though). I'd like to add a couple hundred extra to keep the reserve hopper happy. I've seen a few sites that offer them, but I'm wondering if there's a "Patchitalk-preferred" vendor.

Other news:
I got a functional-spec, parts list, and wiring schematic put together on how I want my lighting scheme to work. I'm keeping the specifics under wraps as everything is subject to change, but I have parts on order, and it involves lots of LEDs, an Ardunio Pro Mini, and some other neat bits. While it will retain all the original electrical functions, I'll be adding quite a bit extra for more "pizazz" during play.

When finished, I'll post a writeup on what I did, and the code I'm writing to the Pachinko Modifications forum.


Thanks again to everyone for the warm welcome. Looking forward to being an active member here!

[Moparformances]

ball are best bought on e-bay... use to be 6 cents a ball was a good deal.. but i have seen people get them for 4 and 5 cents delivered... pay attention to shipping they will get ya every time..

as for a key i have taken a few machine locks to my local (old school) lock smith and he has always done me right... 25 bucks for a new key is easy money if you have to have one..

[Rambo]

ball are best bought on e-bay... use to be 6 cents a ball was a good deal.. but i have seen people get them for 4 and 5 cents delivered... pay attention to shipping they will get ya every time..

as for a key i have taken a few machine locks to my local (old school) lock smith and he has always done me right... 25 bucks for a new key is easy money if you have to have one..

Yeah, I found some on Ebay; they should be here this week. I'll remove the lock and see what the local locksmith can do.

The new firmware is coming along nicely. It should be a simple matter of building the circuit and dumping the firmware on the new controller when it arrives.

[mxfaiman]

I'll remove the lock and see what the local locksmith can do.

If your locksmith can't do anything for you send me a PM. I have made keys for many Nishijin locks, they are the easiest to make keys for.

[Rambo]

Hello all, it's been on heck of a long time, but I'm back!

After sitting in the garage for several months while other projects got done, I've finally come back to this one, and got further with it. It's mounted and playable!




The more keen-eyed might notice the non-original lock. After taking the original lock to a local locksmith, he said a new key would be about $60, since he'd have to make it from scratch. As an alternative, he found a modern lock with a very similar actuation that fit in the same spot with just a couple modifications.

The electronics hit a serious snag when none of the reed switches I could find were sensitive enough to the machines delicate touch, and just stopped the jackpot and empty ball mechanisms from working. I tried to salvage the old ones, but they were too far gone. Finally, I think I've found pinball machine replacements that are nearly identical to the old leaf switches: http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=261

I also had issues getting the more permanent circuitry to work properly, so I'm getting a new Arduino board, and using pre-fab shields to simplify the build.

Issues aside, the game is mounted and fully playable, and our family and friends have already gotten a kick out of it. The great thing about these old machines is that they still work great using their mechanics alone. As an engineer, I have a certain appreciation for that.

[MrGneiss]

Welcome back..Looking good!!

[Moparformances]

pictures of the back with the mod's you did would be neat to see