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Making A Pinball Machine — Parallax Forums

Making A Pinball Machine

pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
edited 2007-10-05 12:36 in General Discussion
So has anyone tried using parallax products to make a pinball machine?·

The basics are this:

There would be appox 80 switches some optical some mechanical.· You would need to send signals to fire solenoid's around the board.· Probably about 10 to 15 of those.· and then there would be the basic input output to do the scoring and such.

How would you do this with parallax stuff?· Is it too complicated?

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2007-10-01 15:13
    Have a look at the 74HC195 input shift register ([url=http://][/url]). You'd need 10 of these in series (they're cascadable) to read the switches. For the solenoids, you'd use something like the TPIC6595 which is an output shift register with built-in MOSFET drivers for handling DC solenoids. If you have to have AC for the solenoids, you'd use something like the 74HC595 shift register and an SSR (solid state relay) for each solenoid.

    I would suggest using any of the faster Parallax processors (like the BS2px or the Propeller) for something like this since the response time, even though based on mechanical operation, is pretty tight. If you're going to use a Stamp, plan on doing the switch contact debouncing using external components like an RC filter.
  • D FaustD Faust Posts: 608
    edited 2007-10-01 18:47
    Do you have experience with parallax products?· I agree with Mike, I think that a stamp would be too slow.·· Sounds like a good application for the propeller.· One cog for display, one for input and one for output?· If using that many IOs shift registers are definitly a must.

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  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-01 18:54
    I have no experience with parallax products, but got here through various means. Mainly these guys are working on stuff out of an old cabinet and my thought is there may be some of this stuff out there prefabed to take out some of the work they are going through.

    http://www.users.on.net/~spaners/Coconut Island/

    As you can see from their site they are doing alot of the board work out of the keyboard port and other such stuff...
  • D FaustD Faust Posts: 608
    edited 2007-10-01 19:06
    If you wanted to do what they are doing you would have to use the prop because it is the only parallax product that can handle a mouse and screen.· I don't think that there is anything prefabed for·a piball machine.· (What most people like is doing it themselves) What do you want on the board, you weren't very clear.

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  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-01 19:27
    I"m mainly concerned with the switches and their input/output with a computer. A pinball machine is really just about 100 switches and a set of solenoids. So as far as the game goes I would get the switches and wire them into a device that could interface with a cpu then have the cpu run a program that would be able to identify which switch is being activated and make corresponding actions such as fire a solenoid or light a lamp or give points. Make sense? Like I said green to this side of it. I've done alot of pinball repair and understand the wirning side, but don't really want to rework an old Williams cpu board to do my functions. it is actually quite difficult.
  • D FaustD Faust Posts: 608
    edited 2007-10-01 21:00
    It sounds to me like the propeller protoboard (and the accessory kit if you want to use a mouse or VGA monitor) is your best bet.· No need to rework anything, you just build what you need.· I would buy a PC board at radioshack ($5) to connect the protoboard to.· Look at the mentioned shift registers and decide how many you need.· (Get sockets for all of them so if you burn one you don't have to rework your board.)· Mount them on the PC board and make the necessary connections to the prop proto board.· You can either solder wires from all of the switches to the PC board or you could line it with sockets so that it is plug in play after you finish making the board.· Do you understand the electronics behind solenoids and switches and stuff like that?· If so this shouldn't be that confusing.· I hope this is clear enough.· I don't know of any prefab boards for such a purpose.

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  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2007-10-02 07:14
    You might start with a broken down pinball machine.

    First off, you will likely notice that they go through a lot of light bulbs. So you might want to shift the whole over to LEDs.

    And then there is the scoring and display razzle-dazzle. That would be a good place to provide the Propeller. Also a Propeller could provide the special sound effects, but you would need to have an audio amp to crank up the db.

    The last thing I would mess with is the electromechanics. Partly because they are well designed and partly because I suspect that there are a lot of voltage spikes that will upset solidstate devices. This area would likely need the most thought to revise.

    Have you considered Pachinko as an alternative?

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    "Everything in the world is purchased by labour; and our passions are the only causes of labor." -- David·Hume (1711-76)········
    ···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2007-10-02 12:00
    A group of us were discussing how one would build a modern "Retro" pinball machine about a month ago...
    Question:
    Where would you buy all those amazing ball whackers, paddles, ball routers, cellulous star shaped lamps and other fittings?
    John Bond



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  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-02 12:39
    John there are two great sites for this stuff and several others. Here are the sites I use for my refurb work:

    http://www.marcospecialties.com/

    http://www.bayareaamusements.com/

    On these sites you can pretty much get anything you want on pinball machines. You may also want to check out the google pinball group. There are a ton of experts there working on this stuff. Lastly, if you are looking at some sample electronic diagrams you can go the internet pinball database and often get the manual for a machine. I have a whitewater at home so as an example here is the page for whitewater. If you go about half way down to documentation you can get the whole service manual.

    http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=whitewater&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2007-10-02 14:01
    WOW!!!

    the renge of parts is amazzzing.

    John Bond

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  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-02 14:03
    Oh ya, there are alot of geeks out there reviving pinball machines daily. You can do a lot. Funny thing is they are decently cheap too.
  • pwillardpwillard Posts: 321
    edited 2007-10-02 15:02
    You might also want to save a lot of steps by buying real or close to real parts from vendors that supply this kind of repair/refurbish gear.· Take a look at what these guys offer.·They have solutions for people using PC's as arcade machine controllers.·I've dealt with them so I can say they are good.

    http://www.happcontrols.com/

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    There's nothing like a new idea and a warm soldering iron.
  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-02 15:55
    Hey nice site. Haven't run into that one.
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2007-10-03 07:14
    Hey - VERRRY NICE site...
    Thanks
    John

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  • pwillardpwillard Posts: 321
    edited 2007-10-03 17:02
    Yes... HAPP controls is very nice to DIY'ers... Hey, I think we fit that description pretty well, don't we?

    A while back I started a project to turn my spare PC into an arcade machine using M.A.M.E and this place was great for getting joystick parts and arcade buttons.

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    There's nothing like a new idea and a warm soldering iron.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2007-10-04 11:23
    Has it occured to anyone that there is a crossover into supplying robotic parts?

    Robots essentially rely on electro-mechanical devices to meet the physical world. A lot of what shown is here can extend your robotic creativity.

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    "Everything in the world is purchased by labour; and our passions are the only causes of labor." -- David·Hume (1711-76)········
    ···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-04 12:18
    You are very right. From this forum and talking to others I have moved forward with the project. There are also a lot of sites dedicated to making your own video games that have some interesting stuff.

    http://www.kendallvanpool.com/Caploungepinball/

    here is my project. Very initial at this point but getting started.
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2007-10-05 07:34
    I had exactly the same reaction as Mineer Herzog (Kramer). Plenty of good joysticks, motors etc...

    What about a sticky thread about good sources of robotic components in the Robotics forum. Obviously the tread starts with the Parallax electronic stuff then lists the best of the vast list of suppliers of mechanical stuff, motors bearings etc...

    ...or maybe the forum administrators could consider an additional forum called "resources" or "components" or something that only they (the administrators) can add threads to but that us users can add replies. The posts may for example be "Suppliers of Gears and Bearings" and "Best Posts on Memory" and "Stepper Motors".

    We have this amazing group of experts giving their experience freely and I feel that we may be squandering or wasting their knowledge by not recording it.

    Greater variety of things we do with Parallax stuff will cause greater enthusiasm which will cause many more users which will cause a greater variety and greater enthusiasm... (Hey I’m getting carried away! You get my drift though.)

    And as you all know, satellite Sputnik started the space race 50 years ago yesterday – 4 Oct 1957. What do you mean you don't remember? Didn't you even listen to the "ggg beep gggggg beep gggggg beep" on the radio? Oh I forgot, you’re not an old-timer.

    Kind regards

    John Bond

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  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2007-10-05 09:11
    Need to add some pinball sounds to your PC - Have a look at this post at Tech Republic

    http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-5995436.html?tag=nl.e064

    John

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  • pinball guypinball guy Posts: 8
    edited 2007-10-05 12:36
    John, Hadn't done the last one. kinda fun!
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