Phonoland

Knisley,
"Built to last" ?? I MIGHT agree on the radio--I honestly do not know there--
The jukebox--most companies building them hoped that they would not last over 5-7 years, as that was the "replacement market". The "pin ball companies",--well, they mostly wanted a 6 month lifetime for their product--why else would you build something out of mostly "plastic", then run a steel ball into everything at higher, and higher speeds ?? Neither the Jukebox, nor pin ball companies had any interest in "home use" at all -- Ron Rich

Ron, I tend to agree.
Capitolism, and planned obolescence, go hand in hand basically.
True, manufacuring techniques and build quality were "beefier" decades ago.
And styling was much nicer.
And also true is the fact that today, these relics, once restored, are capable of outlasting current production models.
But they need regular maintainence - they did back then, and surely they do now.

I used to fix pinball machines. I put myself through college doing that, and invented the original "Multiball" device in a computer hardware class during that period.

If properly taken care of, they lasted quite well. But weekly maintenance was needed if the game was in constant use, including cleaning the playfield with a non-water solvent, and renewing the rubber o-rings regularly.

The problem today is getting the replacement parts. They still make the O-rings, but they switched from AC to DC in the late 1970s, so coils for the earlier AC ones are hard to find. I rewound a few, using the specs in parts catalogs (wire size and number of turns).

Record-changer wrote:The problem today is getting the replacement parts. They still make the O-rings, but they switched from AC to DC in the late 1970s, so coils for the earlier AC ones are hard to find. I rewound a few, using the specs in parts catalogs (wire size and number of turns).

There's quite a few people still keeping EM pinball machines in home service use. Some have quite extensive collections. There's a few companies making new reproduction parts including back glasses, plastic and decal sets and most parts you'd ever need.

Here is a great source, and Steve at Pinball Resouce can get it including coils, relays, stepper parts. You name it...
http://www.pbresource.com/
I don't work for Pbresouce but have done some business with them and as a customer I can say they are top-notch. You can't say that for many venders these days.