Old pinball machines are amazingly complex 

I used to work with a guy who repaired old electromechanical elevator systems. His previous job was a pinball repair tech, before they all went electronic. He said although elevator tech paid a LOT more, it was much easier!

As an arcade technician for 42 years( yeah- I can't believe it's been that long) this is the most concise video for beginner collectors or techs. Thank you for what you do!

I'm a full time pinball engineer and am honestly mindblown by the level of detail you reached in this video whilst also still making it really understandable to outsiders to pinball engineering. Incredible filming too, I cannot begin to imagine the tedious process of filming all of the intricacies of the machine. This video is such a huge credit to the pinball community 👍🏻👍🏻

Creating the script and coordinating the shots must have been a major undertaking. The fact that something so complex flowed so smoothly is very commendable; well done!

This is the most accessible, thorough, and comprehensive overview of pinball I have ever seen and maintaining a pinball collection is literally my job. History, theory, technology, it’s all here. Truly extraordinary work!

A 1 hour Technology Connections video on pinball machines that I never knew I needed? Sweet.

Thanks! I'm working on an 70s motorcycle and know that old wiring harnesses get brittle and faded. Can only imagine trying to decode a 60 year-old pinball circuit while being gentle and not cracking insulation. Don't want to let the magic smoke out!

Fun facts: The first computers like Eniac used over a thousand relays. The term "debugging" started when a real bug (moth) got stuck between two contacts of the Harvard MKII and caused it to malfuction.

This is why I love youtube, an entire hour of utterly nerdy stuff about a pinball game, and not hacked up in 15min bits with 10min commercial in between. Thank you for sharing this, it's absolutely amazing to see and I'm so damn impressed by old engineering like this

Its amazing to me how much of an engineering marvel a pinball machine is. No matter what era it's from. They are a perfect example of art, engineering, and design being merged together perfectly to just entertain people for a few minutes at a time. Can't wait for part 2.

This dude at 11:00 had the score at 420690 😂😂😂 Alec you are hilarious and informative. Love the videos, been viewing for at least a year if not more. You make such high quality videos on things I am curious about. Also your episode on Steve Ramsay’s podcast about pinballs was great.

Hi Alec. I owned a Williams pinball from 1975 and it reminds me when I fixed it, greasing, cleaning contacts, changing the light bulbs and the rubber bands, and even the flipper solenoids. Fun fact, in France we don't call those machines pinballs or "bagatelle électrique", we just call them "flipper" and we also invented the verb "tilter" which means breaking bad

As a technician i am absolutley fascinated by all those relays and switches. Also as a tech i am absolutely horrified by those arcing contacts

As a software developer it blows my mind how reliable this is with so many relays and contacts. The amount of stuff which can fail in this is enormous. Yet, it's still working. Amazing. This is one of the pinnacles of your channel by the way, a great way to celebrate 2M+ subscribers.

I used to repair these crazy things back in the 70's and 80's. The owner of "The Machine" was one of the brothers that created Aladdin's Castle that was later bought out by Bally. He gave me a phone number one day of a guy that came in to ask if anyone repaired old machines. So I call and go out to his house and he's got a very old low serial number (2 digits) Gottlieb that is all 18V AC relays, steppers and solenoids and I have to disassemble all the relays, burnish the contacts and manually cold rub silver on what is left of the contacts. They are all octal base and varnish cambric woven wire coating. Took me two days and a couple of hands full of my hair. I had to improvise a few things like lights. I found 21V lamps with the same socket, but no 18V. Made things a bit dimmer, but at least they worked when I was done. I remember I got careless, thinking all the relays were 18V AC and grabbed one of the ball return solenoid wires and wiggled it. It was 90V AC, just enough to remind me to be more careful. Other than being a rats nest of dust and loose wires (someone else had been in there before me) it was in really good (exceptional) condition. One of the worst I ever worked on was the F14 (or F16) fighter with the motorized chair that swiveled when you moved the life size joystick. All of the contacts were actually made from paper binding "brads" with the contacting surface having the same thing. When the screen (a contraption like a player piano scroll) made a contact and the chair was in the right position making a contact and the joystick was in the right position making another contact and THEN the trigger was pulled, you got points. The grease they used between all the contact plates was filled with what was left of all the brass brads that had worn down to powder and everything made contact including the power rails that almost started the thing on fire. I had to replace all of the brads, remove the grease and then repair the gearbox and slip plate in the chair. Two weeks and lots of money. lol

Oh, I played a LOT of pinball in my childhood. Best use of time ever. Once in a while, you would get to watch someone working on a machine, and that was REALLY cool. Pinball was probably my first use of a computer, and to tell the truth, became a career in computer engineering and software development, sadly none of it having anything to do with pinball. Retired now, but it was a real journey.

I'm not only impressed by the mechanical stuff - let's just pause a moment and appreciate the employee who has drawn the schematic. This is art by itself.

As a former pinball repair tech, this was not only fun to watch, but it left me wondering how many times you shocked yourself making this video. Especially holding the relay units. Brave!

This feels a lot like redstone in Minecraft, building complex behaviour from simple parts. Relays are so powerful because you can build logic gates from them, especially NOT-gates (using normally closed switches) and Latches (self powering switches). Just with NOT-gates and OR-gates (parallel wiring) you can perform any (finite) logic function and Latches can be used as memory. This means you can build programable computers with them, which was actually done before semiconductors took over.

I enjoyed this far more than I anticipated - clicked on it on impulse, thinking I'd probably skip through it and found it completely riveting. Loved the discussion of the various mechanisms, all so gloriously analogue, answered all the vague, half-formed questions regarding pinball machines I had accumulated over the years. Great work, very much appreciated.

I really find electromechanical stuff like this fascinating because it kind of shows where the whole idea for integrated circuits came from and like, what they're doing on a more macro scale.

As a programmer, this is very straightforward and very satisfying. I wish more code was this well organized

I do industrial wiring, it's great seeing this vintage ladder logic with the relays. Maybe i should go into restoring old pinball machines!

Been a pinball fan for over 50 years. Facinating and informative operational overview. There must have been a tremendous amount of ozone in those cabinets.

I love how with every topic you cover, you start at the super basics and slowly work up through progressively complex explanations. There are times I watch your videos on a topic I consider myself very knowledgeable about but because of your detailed explorations of that topic and well-structured development from history to early models then to more complex modern technologies, I find that I learn a lot about the things I thought I already fully understood! Definitely one of my favorite channels of all times.

Even with the modern “it’s a computer” one has a lot of cool stuff to look at. I’d love to see an explanation of how it keeps track of the ball through electromechanical devices, or how the bumpers work.

I'm an old electronics tech. A friend gave me an old Delta shuffle alley bowling machine. Just getting the beast to my house was a big job. Good thing I was able to obtain schematics. I had never worked on anything like that before. After weeks of cleaning, adjusting, rewinding, lubricating etc. it was a great feeling to have it working like new again. It's truly a work of electomechanical art.

I LOVED this video. I was the luckiest kid on Earth and had a full size Williams pinball machine in my bedroom growing up as a kid. I remember opening it up to replace the rubber and polish the board, it even smelled like vintage tech inside. I loved every minute of that machine. You mentioned a (part 2) but I can't seem to find it. Thanks for the memories!

Currently my absolute favorite part of the schematic is at 16:28 "NOTICE: Due to wire shortages beyond our control, some wire colors may be other than indicated on wiring diagram." A window into the past and relatable! In retail, some bottle manufacturers have struggled to keep cap colors uniform in the past couple years. I'm sure many things have examples like that, nifty!

With all these switches, arcing, moving parts, friction, it is absolutely amazing that this machine survived for decades. I mean how rubust these flimsy copper sheets and plastic rotors have to be to withstand years and years of abuse, rapid activation sequences during a game. And how crazy expensive it must have been to assemble all this (mostly by hand I presume). A true work of art. Absolutely incredible.

Fascinating! I remember a pinball machine named The Surfer. I liked that it had an asymmetric design. The artwork on older machines (like the Aztec) are wonderful to look at. Thanks.

I became a pinball and jukebox repairman at 19 years old from 1975-1977. This means I saw the transition to semi-electronic machines and the last and most complicated electro-mechanical Bally machines (Playboy, which had a 4th chime and Captain Fantastic) They were only 500 each of these machines and the rest were semi-electronic. I worked on Bally and Gotlieb but never on a Williams. I think their score motor is a little nuts. The Bally one is so much more straight forward, although they look similar. For really complex insanity, try a shuffle alley. That is the bowling game where you slide a puck down a 'lane' and the pins go up on hinges.

As a retired industrial electrician, the relay logic schematic is a memory hole I really enjoy reliving. I spent many an hour troubleshooting machines using just such a drawing. You have taken me back a few years to my working career. I have really enjoyed this video and cant wait for part 2.

Alec, your genuine gift is how you break down the concepts and organized your presentation. Your camera work, editing, and audio... all have steadily improved, too, as you've advanced the scope of your channel. Well done, as always!

Professional Arcade Technician here Congrats. You made the best beginner's-guide to pinball machines ever created. It goes into as much detail as necessary to diagnose almost any pinball machine on the market, and I'm glad you got one with all the bells and whistles.

As a pinball player from late 60's and early 70's, the older machines were much more fun to play as the later models had a lot more space between fewer devices. I have enjoyed your presentations and this one is probably the best which resonates with me.

My dad and I are restoring an old Bally Space Time machine off and on that sat in my Grandpa's workshop for decades. We've been completely in the dark, just using logic, wire-tracing, screw drivers and tooth brushes to figure everything out and it's about 85% functional. This video will probably actually really help a lot, thanks!

I genuinely cannot express how excited I got when I saw the title and who it was from! You videos are so wonderful and I’m depth that personally i find them to be a treat

My neighbor Chaz (RIP) had worked for for a pinball manufacturer for about 30 years ( Stern Pinball, previously Sega, previously Data East). They'd do a lot of movie and TV show games. He gave me backboards to the Star Wars and Starship Troopers games.

My father was one of the few electronics experts in the area of Kentucky where I grew up. He also worked on analog computers which were similar in many ways. I have great memories of helping him fix these and then he and I playing a game to make sure it worked properly! You did a beautiful job in putting all of this together I know it took a lot of time!

As a long-time pinball technician and current arcade owner, I commend you on this video. I was very impressed that you explained some of the more complex circuits so well that I actually understand them better myself. When you’ve got your head in the back box (light box / head) it’s difficult to see what’s happening under the playfield and on the score motor all at the same time. Excellent job on that! While I like most pinball machines, the older “EMs” (short for electromechanical) are especially fun to work on and play. I recently added a 1933 bagatelle style pinball to my arcade and it is purely mechanical without any electronics, similar to Baffle Ball and Bally Hoo. I’ve also got two 1947 flipperless “woodrails” and a 1954 impulse flipper woodrail that I’ve been operating since 2018. I’m also working on a few EM rifle and driving games. They work similarly to Aztec but have some impressive visual effects using projection or other lighting and colored plastics as well as printed targets that flip over and stylus type of contacts to determine if a target is hit. They are fascinating to watch in action but also teach in a visual way how solid state circuits work on the microscopic level in integrated circuit chips.

You know, there are some videos that I see from you when they drop in my sub feed that I think "that probably won't be my cup of tea"...but god damn do you have a talent for making any topic entertaining and educational. You truly are a gift to humanity. Thank you for what you do ❤

I know what else is incredibly bonkers: the attention to detail in the shooting and editing of this video. Congratulations. Honor is due.

I always loved playing pinball, but the new "solid state" ones just don't have the same feel. Since I was a kid, I knew about all the relays and solenoids (my dad was an electrician and relays were my toys). But I've never been able to look inside and fiddle with all that cool stuff. I can't thank you enough for this great video explanation. And I was a CAD draftsman in electronics, so I really loved the schematics also. I would love to have a copy of that on my wall! i know I've played Aztec at some time, but my first true pinball love was a "Knockout" game at the Woolworth at Greenwood Center Mall in Greenwood, Indiana. I'm 64 and 3 quarters now, but I would still love to have one of those old machines. I'd be willing to toss a lot of stuff out of my house (including my nephew ; - ) to make room for it!

It was proposed that if Babbage had used relays (which existed at the time) instead of cams, he might have set computer science years ahead.

This video is a good example, why videos on this channel take so long. Imagine how much work it is, to analyze such a machine to the detail, then write a logic and comprehensible script and do all this video work in tight and and uncomfortable spots. Great work.

Fascinating! As a programmer it's crazy to see the roots of programming here in physical form, using the same basic logic. Excellent video!

I already loved it when you did the mechanical Jukebox videos. So much details of whats going on! I'm excited for the second part of this video like a small child for christmas.

My dad used to collect and fix old pinball machines and arcade games. He passed away a little while ago. This gives me some great flashbacks to watching him fix up the old games and passing him the tools he asked for. Thanks for all the great content and bringing back some good memories.

70 years ago, or so, this is how the telephone system worked too. That's why we had to rotate the dial on the rotary phone. Then you pulled to dial down it would pulse a series of relays to connect you to the person you were calling. Most of the relays used in this pinball game were invented by the phone company. I used to work for an elevator company and the old elevators all used a similar relay logic to operate. Relays are fun and it is amazing what can be done with them.

I really enjoyed this video on explaining how the relays and switches form logic to do the pinball machine functions. The schematic does make a lot sense to me, for its Boolean Logic & because I use to program a Texas Instruments 5TI sequencer to automate machines. The programing language was Ladder Relay Logic, hence it made it easier for someone familiar with wired relay logic to transition to programming an electronic controlled processor (known as Programmable Logic Controller/PLC) that had hardwired inputs and outputs.

I have never seen anyone explain anything so well. You are an incredible presenter indeed Sir!

I think it would be really cool if Technology Connections did a year-end blooper reel. Just an entire video made up of bloopers from all the videos that year.

Technology Connections is one of the best channels on RU-vid. This video satisfies so much of my inner childhood curiosity. It's like hanging with your friend who's got a pinball machine, you both open it up and take a look and your friend just explains how it all works. It's seriously perfect.

This video alone has sparked an interest in pinball in my friends and I. Just got a Williams Big Deal from 1977 to gain a better understanding of how these work! Thanks so much for making this video!

Thank you sooo much for your videos. Your energy in taking things apart and teaching all of us how it works is priceless!

I've watched a lot of Technology Connections, though I'm far from a completionist, however this episode comes across as a magnum opus and distills everything I love about this channel, well done!

I've come back to this video four times. Worth it. My mind boggles at the sheer tedious detail of filming and editing all these clips together. Bravo explaining. Bravo filming. Bravo editing. I always appreciate it when BIG Clive gives you your dos. He really respects what you do. LOVE to see my favorite tech creators thumbing up each other. Bravo.

I have 4 mid 70's machines. I learned all this info the hard way and now your video pops up making it easier! Thanks, this was extremely detailed.

"All these parts are from the 30's", or something like that. And it took 40 years to chain them all together to come up with this machine! Thanks for the fun show.

I hope it doesn’t offend you to know that I could tell from a mile away you appreciate pinball, and I’ve been waiting for this video for years

My side job is a pinball tech, one of the few in my area who works on EM games (which are my favorite) in the Houston Texas area. Have followed your channel for years, fun to see you tackle this subject...I should have contacted you sooner! We recently held our 3rd annual Electro-Mechanical Only (EMO) tournament, with games spread from 1948 (El-Paso, with those jet bumpers!) to 1977 (Mars Trek). I make little videos showing highlights of how they work afterwards and share them here so that those who played in the tournament can get an idea of what they were actually make happen inside the games. I am only half-way through watching, but you are doing a great job on this, very impressed! Sharing now with the local pinball discords :)

Gosh, thank you for going in-depth into EM pinball machines, makes me appreciate them even more than I did before! :D

As a kid in the 80s my grandparents had several pinball machines and a few arcade machines that my grandpa had in the basement. Needless to say I have always been impressed how much wires and electrical relays and switches each machine had. It still blows my mind someone invented it and knew every switch and wire in it. Wow

Love how the schematic is basically a simple PLC ladder program. This was a fun watch, looking forward to the next part.

This is awesome quality content! I don't usually donate, but the level of detail is mind blowing. Thank you for decoding the unholy mess.

Wow. Mechanical logic (pinball machines / telephone exchanges / elevators ) have always fascinated me. I have watched a number of videos that explain how pinball machines work but, this video takes it to the next-level. It starts exactly where it should and progresses through everything in the perfect sequence for making it understandable and it's filled with "Light-bulb" moments when something clicks into place. Thanks for such an educational AND entertaining video

I learned so much more about HVAC controls from this video than I have from any of the actual HVAC control classes I’ve sat through

Love these electromechanical vids. I’m sure they’re a HUGE pain to script, film, edit, etc. but man is it cool to see and understand.

I miss this old machines. As a kid, I used to open up any electronics I found just to observe and they used to look just like this. The cloth insulated wires and those relays really brings me back. Every single connection was hand soldered with minor imperfections but was still beautiful.

Hahahaha, I love the Pinball Wizard outro. When I was very young, I believe my parents sold it when I was 3 or 4, we had an old electromechanical pinball machine from I believe the mid-to-late 50's. I loved playing on that thing. If they'd have held onto it for another decade, I could have learned how to fix it when it broke instead of my uncle who apparently would do it for them. Loved going to the arcades and playing pinball, though it was the 80s, so I played a lot of the arcade games as well. Theatre of Magic is one of my all-time favorite pinball tables. First discovered it in the game room in the campground store at the place we would go every summer by the beach. I almost bought one in excellent condition off eBay around 2001. Was going to split the cost with a friend of mine but it fell through and I didn't have enough to cover the other $1500. Still kick myself to this day as I've not been able to find even one in bad condition for under about 5K the last I looked. Still on my bucket list to get one eventually. Have almost bought parts for it a few times when I've seen a good deal, but have managed to resist so far since I don't actually have the table. Definitely will do the tiger saw mod so that the blade spins like the original prototype. Have also seen a color DMD for it as well. On the fence about doing an LED swap. Once saw a beautifully decorated table that put velvet fabric in it to frame the play area so it felt like it was on a old stage. My oldest moved to NY and when I got to visit a couple months ago, she took me to this music store that has about 30 pinball machines in the back, including Theatre of Magic. The table needs a little TLC as there was somehow a ball trapped on the side of the trunk that prevented it from turning and it was a little off balance, but it was good to get my hands on the table again. They also had a Medieval Madness table there which is the first I've seen one in person. It was a lot of fun to play as well. $20 in quarters goes by way too fast, even if it was a couple hours. Medieval Madness is also on my bucket list of tables I'd like to get as well.

36:21 I love listening to the sounds of the pinball machine as you turn the score motor in slow-motion...

Congratulations on so expertly describing such a complicated subject; I can only imagine how difficult it was to plan this video. This is some of your best work.

This was a blast from the past for me. In the '70s I worked 5 years at a company (in Seattle) that sold all kinds of coin-operated entertainment machines. We had a shop and a warehouse also, and that's where I worked. Much of my time was spent assisting the pinball mechanic, cleaning and adjusting and testing the used machines that came in. Testing was of course my favorite part, as I was told to spend ~15 min. playing the game to be sure it 'felt' right. When you opened up your machine it sent me right back!

What a fabulous video ... loved every second of this. I had a bowling machine with the puck on a sanded table that I loved watching "it" work almost more than playing it. This is the best (and first) recap of how and what goes on in a similar machine.

Nobody else can make the banal and mundane more interesting and entertaining than this guy. His humor alone is worth the watch.

I made a living programming PLCs and CNCs using primarily in "relay ladder logic". Amazing that that experience let's understand most of what it does. Can't wait for part 2!

My dad was an old school pinball mechanic, so I got to see plenty of these machines opened up when I was a kid. This video brought me a lot of nostalgia, and I will be unbelievably hyped to see more videos about pinball machines.

Absolutely fantastic video. The amount of engineering, both electrical and mechanical is mind boggling to me. Plus the incredible coordination between them. I wish I had a nickel for every quarter I ever put into one of these. I cannot thank you or praise you enough for this outstanding video. I hope I can find part 2.

this is by far the best video that details every aspect and facet of the pinball machines. A lot of my questions were answered. thank you! you are doing a great job.

I'm blown away how anyone could ever read a schematic like that. This video is really great, and I'm amazed that you could break this down so well! If I could quadruple-like I would 😂

I can't tell you how happy I am that you decided to explain EM pinball machines. They are what I grew up with while I watched it evolve into what we have today.

Absolutely astonishing how all that fascinating art is just hidden in a box. Perhaps in the future people will open an old PC and admire the beauty of circuit boards and micro chips the same way.

This is one of the classic RU-vid videos that I love.

When I attended technician's school in the early 1970's,we learned how to configure logic using relays, tubes, & discrete transistors. Integrated circuits were a wonderful leap forward when we learned about them. At that time, I played a LOT of pinball. Later, while using punch cards to write programs in FORTRAN, we learned about Herman Hollerith. Over the years it's dawned on me that much of our computational systems are quite mature in concept, but needed a whole semiconductor industry to catch up and allow the miniaturization we enjoy today. Next step - tri-corders! I'm pro-Star Trek, anti-Mad Max.

Working on my grandfathers pinball machine as a kid is how I decided I wanted to be an electrical engineer... So glad you made a video on this

Absolutely brilliant & fascinating. Probably the best video you've given us and that's some stiff competition. I look forward to a part two.

I love mechatrinic stuff. I work on generators and switchgear controls. Always a treat to find a computerless install still working great. Pinball machines take that logic to the extreme, so I always respected them.

Relay logic. Used in pin balls, and computers. Our IBM 1401 computer peripherals (the tape drives, the card reader), use plenty of it. My IBM 029 card punch is entirely based on it. We collectively fear debugging these relay circuits. You did an incredible job explaining them!

Outstanding! As a fellow pinball nerd I've watched a lot of videos on this subject, but I think this has instantly become the gold standard for introducing people to electro-mechanical machines and their circuitry. I cannot thank you enough for the amazing amount of effort that has gone into this. Hats off sir. Hats. Off.

I can’t even describe how amazing this video is! We have a Williams machine as well (another game), and this just really hits home for me. It’s literally a beginners guide to these older pinball machines, with references to the schematics - WHICH IS AWESOME! Thank you thank you thank you!!! I’ll be watching part two also!

The design and function of the score motor was such a treat to learn about. Thank you!

This is your Magnum Opus. The way the "computer" works to lock out new input while it's processing the current job is nothing short of breathtaking. Thank you for making this something we can understand and enjoy.

I am flabbergasted, in awe and frightingly curious all at the same time. On the one hand I wish I had such an classic pinball machine, on the other hand I would never have been able to troubleshoot it or follow the shematic. I applaud your attention to detail and your sheer power of patience.😮

Haven’t been able to stop watching your videos since finding this channel. I’ve often felt curious about how things work, and love the way you encourage that sort of curiosity and go into such detail explaining the mechanisms. Plus it’s just fun listening to you talk. In the most respectful way possible I think I have a bit of a crush

I've always been fascinated by pinball machines and the Windows '98 pinball. It's so interesting to watch one of these on the inside in action and understand how these work!

Hour long episodes... This is my new favourite show! Also, doing your own closed captions is amazing.

Old telephone switchings centers (Rod and Panel,Step By Step) were almost 100% mechanical. 48 volt DC. I loved standing in a central exchane or large PBX and just listen to call progress happening. At one point the US telephone system was considered the largest single purpose computer. It CAN all be done with relays I even saw a DTMF decoder built with tuning forks. Not at 20 ips, but it worked.

Kudos to you for explaining the concept of operation so well, and so well organized, building on topics covered! As a mechanical engineer and machinist, mechanical watches are my favorite machines but pinball machines come a close second due to the melding of electric control, logic, and mechanics.

The mechanical nature of these machines is so intense and incredible, having it all explains is an interesting journey.