# Episode 361 - Bingo Modifications **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2016-03-06 **Duration:** 8m 48s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-361-bingo-modifications --- ## Analysis Nick Baldridge discusses several modifications for electromechanical bingo pinball machines, including adding chime boxes for audio feedback, replacing back glass incandescent bulbs with LEDs to restore faded artwork colors, and more complex modifications like adding game features. He shares examples of factory chime kits available on eBay and a notable UK conversion project (Golden Gates) that added the Futurity feature from other games. ### Key Claims - [MEDIUM] Factory chime kits for bingo machines have been available for sale on eBay for some time — _Nick Baldridge noting availability of aftermarket chime kits that appear to be factory original designs_ - [HIGH] Any 50-volt coil chime box can be retrofitted to a bingo machine, including Bally flipper game chime boxes — _Nick Baldridge explaining technical compatibility of chime box installations_ - [HIGH] Replacing 55-watt bulbs with 47-watt bulbs in bingo back glass reduces heat output at the cost of brightness — _Nick Baldridge referencing previously discussed modification technique_ - [MEDIUM] Chris Howard in the UK successfully converted a Golden Gate bingo machine to include the Futurity feature from Bikini or Lido — _Nick Baldridge describing a complex conversion project called 'Golden Gates'_ - [HIGH] Sun Valley bingo games have triple-deck scoring with independently moving odds for red, yellow, and green — _Nick Baldridge explaining technical details of Sun Valley machine design during LED back glass discussion_ - [MEDIUM] LED lighting can effectively replicate incandescent lighting appearance behind faded back glass artwork — _Nick Baldridge's observation from visiting Robert's Sun Valley machine with faded back glass_ - [HIGH] Early bingo machines featured a 'sounder' attached to the side of the head at ear level rather than a knocker — _Nick Baldridge explaining historical bingo sound design evolution_ - [HIGH] Nick Baldridge generally opposes modifications that change manufacturer's original game design with very few exceptions — _Opening statement of podcast philosophy on bingo modifications_ ### Notable Quotes > "The noises that they make are, in fact, quite musical. So if you hear a Magic Screen Game searching for winners in the sections, that's what you hear at the beginning of every podcast here, you'll know that that noise brings a certain emotion with it." > — **Nick Baldridge**, early > _Establishes the aesthetic value of original bingo mechanical sounds and connects to the podcast's signature opening sound_ > "I prefer the mechanical sounds personally." > — **Nick Baldridge**, mid > _States his personal design philosophy and reasons for not pursuing chime modifications despite acknowledging their merits_ > "Adding that feature to a game like Golden Gate would be highly difficult. First of all, there's no room to put the stepper in the head, so it would have to go in the cab." > — **Nick Baldridge**, late > _Explains the engineering challenges involved in adding complex features to original bingo designs_ > "This person has spent untold hours developing this feature, and I think it is super cool." > — **Nick Baldridge**, near-end > _Expresses genuine appreciation for Chris Howard's complex modification work despite generally opposing design changes_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, enthusiast and expert on electromechanical bingo machines | | Chris Howard | person | UK-based bingo pinball enthusiast who converted a Golden Gate machine to add the Futurity feature, creating 'Golden Gates' | | Robert | person | Ohio-based bingo machine owner who experimented with LED back glass lighting to restore faded Sun Valley artwork | | For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge | | Golden Gate | game | Bingo pinball machine that was converted by Chris Howard to include Futurity feature, renamed to 'Golden Gates' | | Futurity | game | Game feature from Bikini or Lido bingo machines that allows red letter games to be banked and played later | | Bikini | game | Bingo pinball machine featuring the Futurity feature that was adapted for the Golden Gates conversion | | Lido | game | Bingo pinball machine featuring the Futurity feature that was adapted for the Golden Gates conversion | | Sun Valley | game | Bingo pinball machine with faded back glass artwork and triple-deck scoring that was modified with LED back glass lighting | | Magic Screen | game | Bingo pinball machine referenced for its distinctive mechanical sound during the search-for-winners sequence | | Key West | game | Bingo pinball machine that features a sounder (early audio device) that Nick Baldridge appreciates | | Bally | company | Pinball manufacturer whose 50-volt coil chime boxes from flipper games can be retrofitted to bingo machines | ### Topics - **Primary:** Bingo Machine Modifications, Audio Modifications (Chimes and Sounders), Back Glass Restoration and LED Lighting, Feature Additions to Bingo Games - **Secondary:** Electromechanical Bingo Design History, Modification Philosophy and Design Principles, Aftermarket Parts Availability ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.72) — Nick approaches modifications thoughtfully and respectfully, acknowledging merit in various mods while maintaining his personal preference for original designs. He expresses genuine enthusiasm for exceptional projects like Golden Gates while remaining measured in his critiques. Overall tone is educational and appreciative of craftsmanship. ### Signals - **[restoration_signal]** Use of LED lighting behind faded back glass artwork to restore color appearance without invasive restoration work (confidence: high) — Robert's Sun Valley machine modification using LEDs to replicate incandescent appearance and restore faded red/green colors - **[design_innovation]** Conversion of bingo machines to add game features from other machines (Futurity feature ported to Golden Gate) (confidence: high) — Chris Howard's Golden Gates project adds Futurity feature from Bikini/Lido to Golden Gate, requiring extensive engineering including Jones plugs and stepper relocation - **[product_concern]** Chromatic fading in bingo back glass artwork, particularly red and green color leaching over time (confidence: high) — Sun Valley back glass experienced complete color leaching leaving only white, creating readability issues for triple-deck scoring odds - **[aftermarket_innovation]** Availability of factory or factory-style chime box kits for retrofitting audio to originally silent bingo machines (confidence: medium) — Nick references eBay listings for chime kits that appear to be factory original designs, with flexible coil compatibility (50-volt systems) - **[community_signal]** Discussion of modification philosophy in EM bingo community, balancing restoration/enhancement against preservation of original design intent (confidence: high) — Nick's opening stance against design modifications except in specific circumstances demonstrates active community discussion around modification ethics - **[design_philosophy]** Host's personal philosophy favoring preservation of manufacturer's original designs with narrow exceptions for practical restoration (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge explicitly states 'I'm not in favor of changing the manufacturer's design on any game with very few exceptions' and 'I prefer the mechanical sounds personally' - **[technology_signal]** Experimentation with LED bulbs as replacement for incandescent back glass lighting, balancing aesthetics and thermal/brightness tradeoffs (confidence: medium) — Discussion of 55-watt to 47-watt bulb replacement for heat reduction, and Robert's LED experiments to match incandescent appearance - **[community_signal]** UK-based enthusiast (Chris Howard) engaged in innovative feature conversion projects, potentially representing broader international EM/bingo community (confidence: medium) — Chris Howard's Golden Gates project referenced as noteworthy example deserving documentation and video coverage --- ## 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 tonight i wanted to talk about mods and bingos now in general i'm not in favor of changing the manufacturer's design on any game with very few exceptions. But, with bingos, there are some mods which bear speaking about. One of which is the ability to add chimes to the game. By default, bingos, of course, are purely mechanical noises. The noises that they make are, in fact, quite musical. So if you hear a Magic Screen Game searching for winners in the sections, that's what you hear at the beginning of every podcast here, you'll know that that noise brings a certain emotion with it. Expectation, excitement, all that good stuff. And because on a screen game, the search is player controlled, you know that it's coming, you know it's going to make this noise, it's pretty great. But, in certain circumstances, it's nice to have a little audio indication that something good is happening. On earlier bingos, there would be a knocker. The knocker would go off both with added replays and with features as they came up on the machine. In early bingos, it wasn't called a knocker, it was called a sounder, and it was attached to the side of the head, and therefore would reverberate through and be at ear level for the players. Cool idea, and I really enjoy it in a game like Key West However chimes are something which never came in the bingos from the factory But a person on eBay has been selling chime kits, which appear to be factory kits, for some time. now another thing worth noting with this particular mod is that you can do it with any kind of chime box that you want as long as the coils are 50 volt coils it does not matter you could throw in a Bally chime box from one of their flipper games all those coils are 50 volts, no big deal but in this case it's a single chime bar with a chime box and a variety of wires, cloth wires, which attach to various points in the system. Now, you can attach to one or multiple points, and each one can sound the chime when it happens. You know, you just have yet another coil that the thing fires when something happens. So the 50 volts passes through whatever switch enables the feature, and then you hear a ding. that's pretty neat. But if I were to do that, I might want to take it a step further and put in a full three chime box or maybe even a six chime box. And so you would tie various chimes to various features and you would know, you know, ding, ding, ding. It would depend on what you were awarded. This would also allow you dual tone and tritone awards if the machine stepped up multiple features at the same time. But I will likely never add that to any of my games. I prefer the mechanical sounds personally. So another mod which has come to my attention, I've talked previously about replacing the 55s with 47s behind the back glass, and this will cut way down on the heat at the cost of brightness But I recently visited Robert up in Ohio and he had a Sun Valley back glass that was incredibly faded. Almost all the red was completely leached out of the back glass. And so he decided to experiment with LEDs. and he put a few different kinds behind the odds on the back glass in order to bring them out. The other issue, if I recall, perhaps green was also leached, and so essentially all he was left with was white everywhere. Well, Sun Valley has a triple deck scoring, so it's important to know where your odds are for red, yellow, and green, because they move independently. So he tried a few different LEDs, and one of the LEDs he was using looked perfect. I mean, it almost completely replicated the incandescent look behind that particular odd number. So I'm not sure what it was, and you've all heard my typical stance against the LEDs and EMS, but in this particular case where the back glass artwork has been robbed of all of its color, I think it is a good way to bring that back without having to modify the back glass. Doing that kind of touch-up is very difficult. and will likely result in something that is less than optimal. So, next on the line of modifications, there's the big one, adding features to a game that didn't previously have them. The best example I have of this is Chris Howard over in the UK has converted a Golden Gate game to have the Futurity feature from Bikini or Lido and he retitled the game Golden Gates Now your red letter game can be banked and then played at a later time. Adding that feature to a game like Golden Gate would be highly difficult. First of all, there's no room to put the stepper in the head, so it would have to go in the cab. That means that you're running Jones plugs and so forth. So there's a whole lot of complexity involved in just engineering what you need to do, much less actually doing it, especially on the basis of when is this feature locked out, yada yada. Of course, all that can be driven by the OK logic, but it's still quite the feat. in the show notes I'm going to link to an auction from eBay for the Chime Bar but note that because it's an eBay auction I really don't have control over when that listing disappears and how I'll also link to Chris Howard's Golden Gates project because it is amazing I mean this person has spent untold hours developing this feature, and I think it is super cool. I hope to one day perhaps see it in operation. If I ever get in touch with him, I'd love to have him upload a video, perhaps. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at foreamusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS1 724-246-4671 You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at Bingo Podcast. You can follow me on Instagram, also at Bingo Podcast. 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)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: cf2d5aee-0a84-4a6f-a193-cb7637d76141*