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Visual Pinball cabinets..... build service, and assistance offered...

Pick Holder

Pick Holder

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5Years
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Jul 18, 2016
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Bournville, Birmingham.
Having sold a couple of my visual pinball cabinets on here, it seems there is a market and interest in these machines.

I know that a lot of folk here will take a ‘sharp intake of breath’ and mutter ‘its not real pinball – go away – its not real pinball go away’ repetitively. I will state it is emulation, it is never as good as the real thing. But this way it allows you to play most games – even ‘try before you buy’. For example having not played a World Cup soccer, I tried the emulation before getting the real table to see if I liked it. You can also play games that you are likely never to own unless you are very rich. Like Big Bang Bar or Cactus Canyon….

These emulations use real roms for the games so it is like playing the real thing. It is also possible to colour DMD displays and use PinSound audio as well.

I do enjoy playing these machines and after a bit of time, you get used to it amazingly quick.

This is a rough 'list' of what is required.


VISUAL PINBALL SHOPPING LIST - APRIL 2018

PINBALL CABINET:

Grab a used one and redecal it! Or cover it with vinyl wrap (I used the carbon fibre ones with fantastic results).
You will obviously need:
Hinges, legs, bolts, coin door, lock down bar and mechanism.


PC SPECIFICATIONS (Minimum).
3.5ghz Intel i3 processor - minimum of 3rd generation!
Motherboard to suit
8 to 16GB RAM
120 to 480GB Solid state hard drive
Windows 10 home
750watt ATX power supply
400watt ATX power supply (for additional things!)
500 gb normal hard drive (optional for back ups)
Today (9th April 2018) I purchased a used PC with solid state drive on ebay along with a GTX 1050 TI - above the specification quoted. It cost me £375. Again for reference on pricing your build.

GRAPHIC CARD
Nvidia 960, 970 or 1050ti 4GB DDR5 ram. THE 4GB VERSION

SCREENS FOR A BALLY WILLIAMS STANDARD CAB WPC
39 inch LED or LCD screen for playfield. Can use 37 inch with bezel. Some 40 inches fit but touch and go! MAKE SURE IT IS FULL 1080 HD and NOT 720 HD.
28 inch widescreen maximum for back glass.

AUDIO:
8 inch sub (minimum) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fenton-8...299753&hash=item258e1ee844:g:9EsAAOSwk1haGZBp

4 inch car speakers (2 way) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-4inch-...770602&hash=item3cc3782057:g:81AAAOSwxCxT9e~N

2,1 Lepal amp - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lepy-Lep...248488?hash=item2848b0f528:g:STkAAOSw2cVaoA7-

MUST be the 2.1 version with Left/right and sub out.
Noise filter/isolation transformer: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RCA-Audi...614643?hash=item283c417533:g:qGUAAOSwT-9akpMl

DMD display – options:

1 – Pin2DMD device http://pin2dmd.com/
2 – PinDMD3 device (not the best!) - edit - since new software has been developed PinDMD3 is just as good as Pin2DMD.
3 – normal monitor
4 – 14.9 inch 1280 x 390 LTA screen (£80 from china. The best option!)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DVI-VGA-...691576?hash=item3aa617f6f8:g:WUMAAOSwsE5ZlRIz

PINSCAPE DIGITAL PLUNGER:
https://os.mbed.com/media/uploads/mjr/the_pinscape_controller_20150304.pdf

FRDM-KL25Z PCB - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FRDM-KL2...542417&hash=item1ec2682b50:g:4l4AAOSw32lYpro6

Normal pinball plunger - what is used on most pinballs!

Analog plunger kit - http://vpin-shop.com/en/vpinshop/toys/plunger/analog-plunger-kit/


You will also need ‘arcade’ style buttons with 12v or 5v LEDs – china do a packet for about £20 for 10
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pcs-12...027696&hash=item239b6ce2d1:g:YeoAAOSwR31anB5Y


This unit is specific to pinball and it controls all the lights in the buttons and trigger other things:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultimarc...467447?hash=item1c5d6c5e77:g:G80AAOSwbdpWWIqQ

You will also need extras if you want feedback or LED devices added as extras.
Also allow for monitor cables, mains cables, connectors, signal cables etc. Would put £50 on for this.

The build cost for me to put these together starts at £400. That is a ball park figure. This does not include any cosmetic work to the cabinet (ie decaling). Your equipment would have to be delivered to me in Birmingham and the build up time would be approx 10 days as I do not do this for a living it would be over long evenings, days off and weekends. I would guess there is 100 hours work in getting one of these going.

You will find visual pinball sites give a minimum specification for PCs, but having built around 8 of these machines so far – I have not had trouble with what I have quoted. Yes, you can go higher specification – if you can afford it, then why not.

You will have to go to a higher spec only if you want 4K monitors, but it is MUCH higher spec and it will probably double the cost of your build.

In reality – it is best to buy used monitors and used pinball parts. The only thing I would exclude from this is graphic card, just in case it has been used for bit coin mining and worn out, or the solid state drive.

At the moment most games are emulated except for any Jersey Jack pinball, Stern Spike or Spike 2 games, and Heighway pinball games. Pinball 2000 is not emulated, but someone has modified the RFM playfield to play with AFM roms.

P-Roc games like Cactus canyon continued can be installed.

Apart from offering the building service – I would give advice out to anyone wishing to undertake this himself (or herself).

Please get in touch should you want any information or help.
 
Last edited:
Yes - you need the PCB (1st item) as that interfaces all buttons and plungers to your PC, as well as giving the games proper 'nudge and tilt' function. 2nd item is a normal pinball plunger that I have not linked to as I presumed we all know what one looks like and may have one knocking around somewhere. 3rd item is the bracket and potentiometer which tracks where the plunger position is.

If you look up the Pinscape v2 project all info is there, but the other way is using a light source and sensor but at the moment this sensor is not avaliable very easily. Plus I prefer the pot/slider way of doing it.

Basically its a lot cheaper than the virtuapin kit and works 10 times better.
 
Pick Holder said:
Having sold a couple of my visual pinball cabinets on here, it seems there is a market and interest in these machines.

I know that a lot of folk here will take a ‘sharp intake of breath’ and mutter ‘its not real pinball – go away – its not real pinball go away’ repetitively. I will state it is emulation, it is never as good as the real thing. But this way it allows you to play most games – even ‘try before you buy’. For example having not played a World Cup soccer, I tried the emulation before getting the real table to see if I liked it. You can also play games that you are likely never to own unless you are very rich. Like Big Bang Bar or Cactus Canyon….

These emulations use real roms for the games so it is like playing the real thing. It is also possible to colour DMD displays and use PinSound audio as well.

I do enjoy playing these machines and after a bit of time, you get used to it amazingly quick.

This is a rough 'list' of what is required.


VISUAL PINBALL SHOPPING LIST - APRIL 2018

PINBALL CABINET:

Grab a used one and redecal it! Or cover it with vinyl wrap (I used the carbon fibre ones with fantastic results).
You will obviously need:
Hinges, legs, bolts, coin door, lock down bar and mechanism.


PC SPECIFICATIONS (Minimum).
3.5ghz Intel i3 processor
Motherboard to suit
8 to 16GB RAM
120 to 480GB Solid state hard drive
Windows 10 home
750watt ATX power supply
400watt ATX power supply (for additional things!)
500 gb normal hard drive (optional for back ups)

GRAPHIC CARD
Nvidia 960, 970 or 1050ti 4GB DDR5 ram

SCREENS FOR A BALLY WILLIAMS STANDARD CAB WPC
39 inch LED or LCD screen for playfield. Can use 37 inch with bezel. Some 40 inches fit but touch and go! MAKE SURE IT IS FULL 1080 HD and NOT 720 HD.
26 inch widescreen maximum for back glass.

AUDIO:
8 inch sub (minimum) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fenton-8...299753&hash=item258e1ee844:g:9EsAAOSwk1haGZBp

4 inch car speakers (2 way) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-4inch-...770602&hash=item3cc3782057:g:81AAAOSwxCxT9e~N

2,1 Lepal amp - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lepy-Lep...248488?hash=item2848b0f528:g:STkAAOSw2cVaoA7-

MUST be the 2.1 version with Left/right and sub out.
Noise filter/isolation transformer: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RCA-Audi...614643?hash=item283c417533:g:qGUAAOSwT-9akpMl

DMD display – options:

1 – Pin2DMD device http://pin2dmd.com/
2 – PinDMD3 device (not the best!)
3 – normal monitor
4 – 14.9 inch 1280 x 390 LTA screen (£80 from china. The best option!)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DVI-VGA-...691576?hash=item3aa617f6f8:g:WUMAAOSwsE5ZlRIz

PINSCAPE DIGITAL PLUNGER:
https://os.mbed.com/media/uploads/mjr/the_pinscape_controller_20150304.pdf

FRDM-KL25Z PCB - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FRDM-KL2...542417&hash=item1ec2682b50:g:4l4AAOSw32lYpro6

Normal pinball plunger - what is used on most pinballs!

Analog plunger kit - http://vpin-shop.com/en/vpinshop/toys/plunger/analog-plunger-kit/


You will also need ‘arcade’ style buttons with 12v or 5v LEDs – china do a packet for about £20 for 10
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pcs-12...027696&hash=item239b6ce2d1:g:YeoAAOSwR31anB5Y


This unit is specific to pinball and it controls all the lights in the buttons and trigger other things:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultimarc...467447?hash=item1c5d6c5e77:g:G80AAOSwbdpWWIqQ

You will also need extras if you want feedback or LED devices added as extras.
Also allow for monitor cables, mains cables, connectors, signal cables etc. Would put £50 on for this.

The build cost for me to put these together starts at £400. That is a ball park figure. This does not include any cosmetic work to the cabinet (ie decaling). Your equipment would have to be delivered to me in Birmingham and the build up time would be approx 10 days as I do not do this for a living it would be over long evenings, days off and weekends. I would guess there is 100 hours work in getting one of these going.

You will find visual pinball sites give a minimum specification for PCs, but having built around 8 of these machines so far – I have not had trouble with what I have quoted. Yes, you can go higher specification – if you can afford it, then why not.

You will have to go to a higher spec only if you want 4K monitors, but it is MUCH higher spec and it will probably double the cost of your build.

In reality – it is best to buy used monitors and used pinball parts. The only thing I would exclude from this is graphic card, just in case it has been used for bit coin mining and worn out, or the solid state drive.

At the moment most games are emulated except for any Jersey Jack pinball, Stern Spike or Spike 2 games, and Heighway pinball games. Pinball 2000 is not emulated, but someone has modified the RFM playfield to play with AFM roms.

P-Roc games like Cactus canyon continued can be installed.

Apart from offering the building service – I would give advice out to anyone wishing to undertake this himself (or herself).

Please get in touch should you want any information or help.
Click to expand...
40” seem to be more available for next to nothing.samsung and toshiba going for sub 100£ I thought these would fit but you have to remove the casing? Sometimes have to router out the cabinet as well?
 
Routering out the cabs is in my opinion not that good practice as you do need to make your cab easy to get into incase you have to do maintenance. 39" TVs are just as cheap! You also have to choose a TV that will power on without the remote, or build another circuit to power that up....

Also - if you remove casing from a TV it becomes VERY delicate. One slight bend and your screen is knackered. For the sake of 1 inch I do not decase unless I really have to. Also one inch in diameter on a screen only adds about 1cm to the width of the screen area.

Having done the routing bit before and breaking 2 screens I no longer use 40 inch.

Would always recommend SAMSUNG TVs
 
Pick Holder said:
Routering out the cabs is in my opinion not that good practice as you do need to make your cab easy to get into incase you have to do maintenance. 39" TVs are just as cheap! You also have to choose a TV that will power on without the remote, or build another circuit to power that up....

Also - if you remove casing from a TV it becomes VERY delicate. One slight bend and your screen is knackered. For the sake of 1 inch I do not decase unless I really have to. Also one inch in diameter on a screen only adds about 1cm to the width of the screen area.

Having done the routing bit before and breaking 2 screens I no longer use 40 inch.

Would always recommend SAMSUNG TVs
Click to expand...
1” doesn’t make that much difference.........I think you know the answer to that already...:D
 
Lose the windows os and replace with Linux ;)
 
astyy said:
Interested in this approach for the cab. Which wrap do you use? Does the cab need the same prep as per decals?

Thanks:)
Click to expand...

I used in the past the black or colour change vehicle carbon fibre style wrap. If you choose black you can cover the cab for £40 in materials.

You do have to prep the cab, some vinyls are thicker and once I just sanded off the designs from the old cab, filled up the odd hole/dent and went over. It was a about £70 in vinyl for the thicker stuff but it was not a perfect job. But the customer did not want a 'mint cab'. It was going into a line of a few games and you barely could see anything on the side. It just saved him paying for 30 hours labour for me to prep the cab as I normally would. It takes 40 hours work usually to fully prep a cab.

I have also used a vehicle sprayer who just did a cab 'black' for me. Looked okay and they just keyed in the paint by roughing up the surface and filling holes.

I am not overly keen on branding a cabinet the same as a real pin. But I have also in the past used a 2nd hand cab and fitted it with VP 'as-is'. Really up to you and your budget.

A chap exists online in the VP community called Stuzza. He does free cabinet artwork, or you can pay him for a custom job.

Here are his free files:
https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=!AJ09yieMeJ0pWaE&id=D0B13AB5C8ABB0B5!993&cid=D0B13AB5C8ABB0B5

Here is the thread:
http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=26497&page=1

Please do not use for profit making! Retro refurbs can print them but you have to mess with his templates as there is very little over print for the cab and he puts holes in for the buttons. You can remove them in Photoshop before sending to printers.
 
Can you post some info on getting a screen into a cab then, back box and PF, I can’t imagine how this goes...
 
Adajam4 said:
Can you post some info on getting a screen into a cab then, back box and PF, I can’t imagine how this goes...
Click to expand...

Not really - no set way exists. Some games I use brackets, other games I put in wooden rails to rest screens on. Other games I put braces across. Really does depend what you have to work with.
 
This gives me an idea of what to do with the routing etc though... thanks
 
On the PC side of things - I would buy a good used system. The specs I have given on this are NOT for 4K screens so if you want all singing and all dancing then I will do an upgraded PC spec for 4k.

Only go for a great graphic card - beware of CHEAP COPIES FROM CHINA promising you all the spec for £40-90. They are bios flashed older 1gb cards. I will do a post on these. IF the card you are looking at has the OLD VGA BLUE CONNECTOR - it is FAKE.

Please also do not purchase old i3 1st or 2nd generation. Remember - an i3 3.5ghz is better than an i7 3ghz. Get the most power per core.
 
Hi .. recently acquired a visual mini pinball machine .. was made by perpetual retro .. been told hasn't been touched under the hood since built ...
Are there any mods or updates I need to do to keep up with the times and having a good play ..
Before I make the jump to bigger and better ..
 
Hi after some info on a pinball build
If I sent you say £500 through PayPal friends and family could u source materials ?
I seen a 3d one on you tube can build one of them is £500 enough and what would be Ur price for all singing and dancing machine if u want to what's app me 07534636930 thanks
 
Hello @john echo , please message me directly if you want costs.

I do not know which one you have seen on you tube. Perhaps you could add a link?

Sadly I do not offer a 'sourcing for parts' service. The price I quoted above (£400 upwards) is the price if you drop to me all the parts with a nice condition cabinet. i.e. it is a labour only charge. These things take a lot of time to build and configure.

I do not do whatsapp anymore - so you will have to send me a direct message on here - highlight my name with your cursor then a box will open with 'start conversation' as an option.
 
john echo said:
Hi after some info on a pinball build
If I sent you say £500 through PayPal friends and family could u source materials ?
I seen a 3d one on you tube can build one of them is £500 enough and what would be Ur price for all singing and dancing machine if u want to what's app me 07534636930 thanks
Click to expand...
To be honest I think you'd barely scrape the materials for that price even if you got a lot second hand let alone any extra money to consider the hours of work required to build it.
 
Mercifull said:
To be honest I think you'd barely scrape the materials for that price even if you got a lot second hand let alone any extra money to consider the hours of work required to build it.
Click to expand...

Quite correct. The graphic card is £170 to start with!

If someone would build one of these for £500 I would have a dozen :)
 
Pick Holder said:
Quite correct. The graphic card is £170 to start with!

If someone would build one of these for £500 I would have a dozen :)
Click to expand...
Hi
The 3d pinball software is called bam and u have to have a kinnect linked to pc
How much do u think it will all cost
Can a cabinet be made to suit all the parts or do I need to source a non working cabinet
Thanks for your time
John
 
BAM is utter rubbish, it does not work properly and it will make you want to be physically sick after playing it for 10 minutes (it did with myself and 3 others I know who tried it out).

BAM only works (well sort of works!) with Future pinball which is the worst emulation out there - plus they do not use the real ROMs for any of the tables - they are not accurate ruleset wise.

I would not personally install BAM or Future pinball, and I would also not build a cab with this software in for anyone as I would be permanently on the phone to you trying to talk thru errors.

If you do insist on this software being installed I am not the man for the job.
 
Pick Holder said:
BAM is utter rubbish, it does not work properly and it will make you want to be physically sick after playing it for 10 minutes (it did with myself and 3 others I know who tried it out).

BAM only works (well sort of works!) with Future pinball which is the worst emulation out there - plus they do not use the real ROMs for any of the tables - they are not accurate ruleset wise.

I would not personally install BAM or Future pinball, and I would also not build a cab with this software in for anyone as I would be permanently on the phone to you trying to talk thru errors.

If you do insist on this software being installed I am not the man for the job.

Haha no problem as I said I'd seen it on YouTube but hey ho Ur the man who can.
So could you tell me exactly what is the best way to go as I am only gonna do this once and would prefer the best spec etc so if new games come along I could put them on system . What ball park money wise would I be looking to spend ?
Once again thanks
Click to expand...
 
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