Latest update...

It has been over a year since my last blog, and nothing much has happened with our table.
In short, something appeared to be wrong with the right flipper diode. The right flipper now only works with half-strength. Dad soldered it once and it was fixed, but it has broken down again.

1st blog of 2009!

Well... it's sure been a long time since my last blog! Not that nothing happened to PinBot in the mean time.

We have a new item to be concerned about: the plastic over the skillshot has a habit of breaking down. It's terrible! It's broken in 3 different places, and because of its shape, it's hard to glue. Worse, because of its position, we need to remove half the table in order to reach it. At the moment it's broken again, and occasionally breaks balls that are going up the skill shot.

Anyway that didn't stop me from breaking my high score! Today I discovered:

1. There is a maximum bonus of 99,999 for this table. As the bonus multiplier is 5 max, this makes the maximum total outhole bonus: 499,995. I knew it had a special reward programmed for the top multiplier, but it also has a small program for the 99,999 bonus. I scored both at the same ball, quite possibly the best ball I ever played.
2. The table keeps track of more than 1 extra ball at the time. This is not on every table, but it is on PinBot.
3. The maximum Superkraft (= bonus for re-shooting a ball through the shooter, after putting a ball in the visor, letting a ball in through the ramp, or extra ball) is 10. I knew that, but I didn't know there was a special programme for that as well.
4. Even more fun: there is even a special programme for scoring 1,000,000 when you combine the 10 Superkraft with the 100,000 Skill Shot. It is kind of distracting though.
5. It is very well possible to make it into the HighScore without having at least 5 million in the Solar Power Score. I had 2,3 M points stored in there when I won it.
6. There is another extra ball for the 5th time you open the visor. There is no extra ball for the 10 Superkraft.

Anyway I just scored BIG! 9,4 million at least, close to the table's maximum! I made a video of me scoring the last few secs, and entering my name in the HighScore. I'm as proud as a duck can be.

Cheers, BB

Pinbot Restauration Update, 25 November 2008

After putting PB back together again, we had one screw too many, and the cover over the blue ramp (the robo head) missed a screw in the middle.

Because it missed a screw, it pressed heavily onto the plastic that covers the vortex (skill shot snailhouse). When I was playing, the ball landed on the plastic dealie with great speed, causing it to break.

Dad managed to fix Humpty Dumpty, and it's now back in place.
Dad also scored 5.4 million, and ended in the high scores.

Today on playing, the wire of one switch let go. It now looks like it's back in place.
And today I broke another record: 7.4 million. Quite good considering there was under 5 million in the jackpot!
Poor Dad only spent two days in the high score list. It's my revenge for his cheating-making of the top score and being there for weeks.

Pinball Pictures

For your entertainment, I'll place the pictures of the ball getting stuck. Above one is what I described in my 16 Nov update.

Wait! Update 16th November 2008

So we just installed new rubber bands everywhere, and we have new balls.

At playing, the ball got stuck in the right lane (path that leads to the right flipper), between the rubber bands on either side. We're now wondering whether the elastics are too thick, or the balls are too big.

PinBot Restauration Update 16th November 2008

Last Tuesday, my father and I went to the Flipperwinkel in Arnhem, to purchase parts for our table.
Getting there was not easy: we had used instructions from Google Maps, which told us to exit the highway, drive to an industrial zone, drive a circle there, then go back the same way, and get back on the highway at the same place. It was mildly frustrating to say the least.

We got there, and purchased a solenoid, lamps, rubber bands, a post, two locks, balls, several nuts and bolts, cleaner and table wax. We spent over 100 euros, which is much considering the money it took us to get it to us in the first place, and the maximum value which is 400 E. At least we've had a lot of fun from it!

So over the course of the week, we had installed several of these. And today we made the Big CleanUp: removing particles from every section (sectionwise so it wouldn't get mixed up), cleaning, and replacing rubber bands.

It took several hours. Nasty bits were a lamp in an awkward position, and of course the little rubber bands around the pinned section with the female android on it. On screwing that back together we needed help from on-line pictures, because we hadn't written anything down and we had dinner between the removal and the reinstallment of the parts. It was a major pain in the neck, but for now it seems like we're done!

Except we're thinking we may need a new plunger. And the top broke on one of the pins.

PinBot Restauration Update: Nov 2nd, 2008

It's been a while again, but this time, I have news!

Our left slingshot was not working for quite some time. The same was for the outlanes.
It turned out to be one dirty latch, that stopped the low voltage current flow to the slingshot, so it didn't give points, but it did bounce the ball back. There are namely 2 currents that go to the elements: a low voltage one for the electronics, and a high voltage one to cause the movement.

So, the left slingshot works! And we will soon go to the Flipperwinkel to get a rubber band set. Our flippers need rubber bands, apparently.