# Episode 158 - Night Club Inspection

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-08-16  
**Duration:** 9m 12s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-158-night-club-inspection

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge provides a detailed technical walkthrough of restoring a Bally Nightclub machine, a Magic Squares game with rotating number mechanisms. He documents his inspection and initial repair work on the machine's head, including stepper cleaning, lamp replacement, and clutch maintenance using Neatsfoot oil. The playfield requires significant parts sourcing, including switches, lamp sockets, and underfield mechanisms.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Nightclub is a Magic Squares game with four sets of four numbers that rotate in a circle — _Nick Baldridge describing the machine's mechanics early in the episode_
- [HIGH] Nightclub is the last type of moving number game that Bally made that Nick didn't have one of — _Nick Baldridge explaining his motivation for the restoration project_
- [HIGH] The steppers in Nightclub are in unusually clean condition compared to other Bally games Nick has worked on — _Nick describing the gear condition and lack of fossilized goo typically found in other Bally machines_
- [HIGH] Nick needs to source switches that sense balls in the 25-hole playfield, as he has no spares — _Nick identifying the biggest parts challenge for the playfield reconstruction_
- [HIGH] The machine requires a shutter motor, baffle, and ball return board that are missing or need reconstruction — _Nick listing underfield mechanisms needed for the cabinet_

### Notable Quotes

> "Nightclub is a Magic Squares game which means that it has four sets of four numbers that rotate in a circle it's the last type of moving number game that Bally made that I didn't have one of"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~1:00-1:30
> _Establishes the rarity and appeal of this restoration project_

> "It's an interesting dichotomy there, the harsh metal with the steel connecting with the soft leather in these clutches. It's very odd, but works very well."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~3:30-4:00
> _Reflects on the mechanical elegance of EM-era clutch design during maintenance_

> "I've not seen anything like it ever in any of the Bally games that I've ever shopped. There's usually a bunch of goo that's fossilized around the gear, but these ones look brand new."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~7:00-7:30
> _Highlights unexpectedly good condition of Nightclub's internal mechanisms_

> "What I'm doing is checking to see how responsive the steppers are, disassembling them from the spider side once I have the stepper in the reset position, cleaning the rivets with a Scotch-Brite pad then taking a drop of 3-in-1 and running around the rivets contact area"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~6:30-7:00
> _Details Nick's systematic stepper restoration methodology_

> "The biggest problem is the switches that go underneath of the holes to sense the balls. I don't have any spares of those for a 25-hole game, so I'm going to have to find somebody that's selling them, or a populated playfield somewhere"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~4:30-5:00
> _Identifies the primary parts-sourcing challenge for the restoration_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only podcast, EM/bingo pinball enthusiast, restoration specialist working on Nightclub machine |
| Nightclub | game | Bally Magic Squares pinball machine being restored; final moving-number game of that type made by Bally |
| Bally | company | Pinball manufacturer that produced Nightclub and other EM-era machines |
| For Amusement Only | organization | EM and bingo pinball podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge |
| Magic Squares | product | Bally game mechanic featuring rotating number sets; Nightclub uses this system |

### Topics

- **Primary:** EM machine restoration and mechanics, Magic Squares mechanism operation and maintenance, Parts sourcing for playfield reconstruction, Stepper cleaning and responsiveness testing
- **Secondary:** Clutch maintenance using Neatsfoot oil, Bally game design and manufacturing quality

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Nick expresses enthusiasm about the restoration project and optimism about the machine's condition. He appreciates the clean state of the mechanisms and takes a methodical, problem-solving approach to parts challenges.

### Signals

- **[restoration_signal]** Detailed documentation of Bally Nightclub restoration including head rebuild, stepper cleaning, clutch maintenance, and playfield parts sourcing strategy (confidence: high) — Nick documents cleaning steppers, rebuilding lamps, oiling clutches with Neatsfoot oil, and identifying missing playfield components
- **[restoration_signal]** Nick faces significant parts sourcing challenges, particularly for Magic Squares sensing switches and underfield mechanisms like shutter motor and ball return board (confidence: high) — Quoted: 'The biggest problem is the switches that go underneath of the holes to sense the balls. I don't have any spares of those for a 25-hole game'
- **[design_philosophy]** Nick reflects on the elegance and durability of EM-era clutch design, noting the paradox of soft leather engaging with hard metal yet achieving reliable function (confidence: high) — Nick's commentary on the clutch mechanism design and maintenance requirements using Neatsfoot oil
- **[restoration_signal]** Nightclub's internal mechanisms found in unusually clean condition compared to typical Bally games, with minimal fossilization or gear contamination (confidence: high) — Nick states: 'I've not seen anything like it ever in any of the Bally games that I've ever shopped. There's usually a bunch of goo that's fossilized around the gear, but these ones look brand new.'
- **[historical_signal]** Nightclub is identified as the final Magic Squares type moving-number game produced by Bally, making it a historically significant EM title (confidence: high) — Nick: 'it's the last type of moving number game that Bally made that I didn't have one of'
- **[collector_signal]** Nick's motivation to restore Nightclub is driven by completing his collection of Bally's final moving-number game type (confidence: high) — Nick's statement about it being the last Magic Squares type he didn't have

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## Transcript

 what's that sound it's for amusement only the em and bingo pinball podcast welcome back to for amusement only this is Nicholas Baldridge so tonight i started looking at the nightclub and figuring out exactly what's needed to uh get it back in running order I decided to start with the head as all the mechanisms will need to be cleaned and adjusted it had been sitting for some time so tonight I've been rebuilding steppers changing lamps and starting to shop the magic squares unit Nightclub is a Magic Squares game which means that it has four sets of four numbers that rotate in a circle it's the last type of moving number game that Bally made that I didn't have one of so looking in the head because it's an older game the beauty is that there's only a handful of steppers so shopping that took almost no time at all which is pretty great I'm going to have to look in the manual Bally put the appropriate coil sizes in each drawing of the unit. And the score stepper is missing a couple plungers and a couple coils, so I get those installed and then the head is otherwise complete I going to oil the clutches which I believe I mentioned before requires Neatsfoot oil and then a screwdriver and a syringe. And what I do is I squirt the Neatsfoot oil directly onto the rough side of the leather clutch. And then I wipe off any excess as it drips out. Let it sit for a while. And then put some more in. This is a good thing to do periodically because the clutches will dry out and then the metal will just tear into that leather. It's an interesting dichotomy there, the harsh metal with the steel connecting with the soft leather in these clutches. It's very odd, but works very well. So, aside from that, that's pretty much it for the head. The cab is a different story. So, I have what's essentially a playfield blank in there currently, and then I have a new playfield blank, but I don't have any of the switches, which sense the balls, nor do I have any of the lamp sockets or rebound springs for the lamp sockets or the lamp shields. So I'm going to have to scavenge for parts. And I happen to have another playfield, a solid-state playfield, that came with. But I actually have other plans for that So what I probably going to do is pull from my other parts that I have laying around and see if I can construct something from that. Now the biggest problem is the switches that go underneath of the holes to sense the balls. I don't have any spares of those for a 25-hole game, so I'm going to have to find somebody that's selling them, or a populated playfield somewhere, which shouldn't be too hard to find. but other than that the side rails need to be refinished and there's a missing mechanism which also goes under the playfield called the shutter motor along with the baffle and then the ball return board. All that needs to be either constructed or scavenged from somewhere. So I'll be on the lookout. But in the meantime I'll be playing a lot of gay time while I do this. So it does bear mentioning that once I have the appropriate coils I was mentioning, I can fire the game up, and even though the playfield's not connected, I'll be able to see if the control unit and the mixer motor are turning appropriately and doing what they're supposed to do. Turning it by hand, everything looks good, so I'm hopeful that it'll just kind of roar to life, and I'll be able to start messing around with the playfield mechanics and see what I can do there. But there a bit of cleaning ahead of me I have managed to clean all of the steppers already which I think I mentioned earlier And as I've talked about on a much earlier podcast, what I'm doing is checking to see how responsive the steppers are, disassembling them from the spider side once I have the stepper in the reset position, cleaning the rivets with a Scotch-Brite pad then taking a drop of 3-in-1 and running around the rivets contact area putting the spider back on now in most of these instances the gears themselves are in really clean condition. I've not seen anything like it ever in any of the ballet games that I've ever shopped. There's usually a bunch of goo that's fossilized around the gear, but these ones look brand new. So I haven't had to do a lot of cleaning of the shaft of the nylon gear, nor, in a couple instances, did I even have to unwind the clock spring on the back of the nylon gear. So that's been a pretty neat thing to experience here, and we'll see if my luck holds. For now, I'm working on cleaning the numbers that came off the magic squares, and we'll see what I can do. All right, well, thank you very much for listening. My name again is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Cast via RSS on Facebook. You can follow me on Twitter at bingopodcast. You can follow me on Instagram at nbaldrige. Or you can listen to us on our website, which is 4amusementonly.libsyn.com. thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3f20ef41-0426-444c-be8c-f34b9df89c53*