Bingo Pinballs

This Page Last Updated 5-21-2010

~ Ernest Rocks! – Helpful / Fast / Responsive – You Name It ~

Ernest R. Anderson, Jr.

President

Micro Systems, Inc.

6095 W. Overland Rd.

Meridian, Idaho  83642-6402

(208) 888-1620 hm  (208) 631-0053 cell

http://www.msi-idaho.com

I received this email from him today when I asked permission to steal

the bingo detail from his webpages – Once you read the article, you’ll love this!

Sure... go for it.  I still have and enjoy the machine.  I have a lot of pictures of it... process of restoration, etc. if you would like them. 

Interesting side note is that a guy in Boise brought me another one that I restored for him... what are the odds... only 450 of them

made!  His was a much bigger challenge... needless to say I got very intimate with the workings on that one... previous attempts to

repair by someone that used wrong parts, etc.  I even restored the backglass on it as the bottom area was completely gone...rest

was pretty good... scanned mine , made a decal and applied it to his... looked fantastic when done.

“I have always had a fascination with pinball machines.  It started when I was about 4 years old when my father would give me a roll of nickels and let me play the machines in

his tavern while he cleaned up on Saturday mornings.Being mechanically inclined anyway, and with help from some old dear friends, I leaned how to rebuild and repair

teletype machines used by amateur radio operators and was, for many years, the teletype parts bank for the Air Force MARS (military affiliate radio service) in the region.

A couple years ago another friend (my children's godfather to be exact) gave me an old pinball machine.  It was a 1957 vintage Bally bingo machine called "Showtime". 

Seems only 450 of this machine were ever built (very low number as pinball machines go) so I knew finding parts, etc. could be challenging at the least...

it was also in pretty poor condition.  For those of you who are not familiar with bingo pinball machines, they are essentially a gambling device like the ubiquitous "one arm bandits"

but instead of pulling the handle for objects to line up, you shoot five balls onto a field of 25 holes to try to make a three, four or five in a row on a bingo card shown on the backglass

display.  Different machines have features to make things more interesting.  The more money you put in at the start, the more features and/or payout odds are activated. 

Needless to say, this is about the most complex mechanical monster ever created by man! I found some support and parts from people with similar interests on the web and after a

couple months of work had completely restored the "Showtime" machine to good working condition. I have my own wood shop so fabricating new wood legs was not a big problem. 

I also made a stencil of the original artwork on the case so I could restore the pattern after stripping and repairing the bottom case before repainting it with good oil base enamel.

I must say that my favorites are the old electro-mechanical machines.  They are the hardest to diagnose, but do have their "favorite" problems that are easy to fix. 

Parts are getting pretty scarce so it is sometimes necessary to fabricate a new custom part on occasion... all the more of a challenge!  Fortunately, circuit diagrams

are available for most of these old machines for about $15 each... the possession of such greatly helps in trouble shooting.”

~ Obviously these guys know their way around pinballs – Who else rips a bingo down to the bones for repair & maintenance! ~

~ Awesome / Thanks MSI ~

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