Part 15: 1985 Pinstar Gamatron Project! Cabinet & Body Unite! First Game!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·49m 1s·analyzed·Oct 2, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Gamatron restoration reaches playable state with first game test; 90% complete.

Summary

Mike Dus documents the final assembly and first gameplay test of his restored 1985 Pinstar Gamatron machine. After installing LED lamp adapters and resolving various electrical issues, he reunites the playfield with the cabinet and successfully plays the first game, discovering minor mechanical issues with drop targets and a few switches that need fine-tuning during the remaining 5% of restoration work.

Key Claims

Every single light bulb on the Gamatron is now working after 10 hours of troubleshooting
high confidence · After installing LED adapters and connecting lamp driver: 'After 10 hours, every single light bulb is working, I think.'
LED lamp adapters cost $63 and are a requirement, not just a nice-to-have, to eliminate flickering
high confidence · 'for $63, you need it. It's not a nice to have. It is a requirement cuz that flickering would drive you crazy.'
Drop target #3 is warping and not staying up reliably; similar issue exists on the newer Deadpool machine
high confidence · Multiple references to drop target issues; experimented with cleaning and capacitor installation; posting on Gamatron thread for solutions.
Gamatron uses identical code to Flight 2000; no different rules, only different settings
high confidence · 'There's literally no difference in the code...some smart dude ran a binary code test...deemed that the code is identical.'
The playfield was previously in a rotisserie/working position for restoration; this is the first time the cabinet and playfield have been united since restoration began
high confidence · 'Playfield and cabinet united for the first time since the restoration since the head was a rotting piece of mush.'
Purchased a newer Deadpool Premium (under 1,000 plays) from Rob Ellison, which comes with various mods and upgrades
high confidence · Detailed description of new Deadpool Premium with custom shooter rod, flipper toppers, mods, and accessories.

Notable Quotes

“If you cannot figure it out from the data sheet, you probably ought to be in a different hobby. That is how games get started on fire.”
Mike Dus @ Opening — Humorous criticism of online repair group responses to a basic transistor orientation question; sets comedic tone.
“After 10 hours, every single light bulb is working, I think.”
Mike Dus @ Mid-video — Major milestone in restoration; immediately followed by a flickering light breaking the streak.
“for $63, you need it. It's not a nice to have. It is a requirement cuz that flickering would drive you crazy.”
Mike Dus @ Mid-video — Strong endorsement of LED lamp adapters; practical advice on necessary restoration components.
“There's literally no difference in the code...some smart dude ran a binary code test or whatever it was called and deemed that the code is identical.”
Mike Dus @ Gameplay section — Confirms Gamatron shares Flight 2000 code; relevant for understanding game mechanics.
“Can you guys believe we're playing Gamatron? Can you believe we're not playing Gamatron?”
Mike Dus @ First gameplay — Expression of amazement and slight confusion during first game; captures emotional milestone of the project.
“We have a freaking Gamatron, boys and girls.”
Mike Dus @ End of first game — Celebratory statement marking successful completion of major restoration phase.

Entities

Mike DuspersonGamatrongame Deadpool (Premium)gameRob EllisonpersonAndrew SpitlerpersonEddie DazziopersonKevinpersonBigfoot BrucepersonEllieperson

Signals

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community_signal: Active pinball community providing repair support and technical guidance through repair groups and forums.
medium · Andrew Spitler provided transistor orientation guidance; Mike posts on Gamatron thread seeking drop target solutions; response quoted in video indicating community member already suggesting solutions.
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design_philosophy: Gamatron uses Flight 2000 code unchanged; game design philosophy emphasizes left/right spinner play patterns over multiball.
high · 'The exact same code as flight 2000...There's literally no difference in the code...some smart dude ran a binary code test...deemed that the code is identical.' Mike notes tournament play focuses on spinner shots rather than multiball strategies.
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market_signal: DIY pinball restoration projects require methodical troubleshooting and community support; one-component-at-a-time approach essential for success on complex machines.
medium · Mike credits gradual, systematic approach to wiring and connector work; seeks community input on drop target issues through forum posts; acknowledges intimidation from complex electronics initially.
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market_signal: Pinball enthusiasts trading up to higher-condition machines; Mike sold original Deadpool in favor of higher-play-count, mod-equipped Premium version from collector.
medium · Mike purchased newer Deadpool Premium with under 1,000 plays from Rob Ellison; newer machine includes factory parts plus numerous aftermarket mods; original Deadpool listed for sale.
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product_concern: Drop target warping issue affecting both Gamatron and newer Deadpool Premium machines; target #3 consistently problematic; targets warp over time and lean backward.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:15

Watch out for the robot. He will hurt you. Okay. Which way? Which way does this transistor go? Does it go this way or does it go this way? Let's ask the uh pinball repair group and see what they have to say. Get the data sheet and figure it out. Okay. Okay. Interesting. If you cannot figure it out from the data sheet, you probably ought to be in a different hobby. That is how games get started on fire. Okay. Q49 right next to it is screened with how the part goes. Maybe looking at a schematic to figure it out is just too much these days. Okay. What a helpful bunch. I'm Mike Dus and this is Pinball Shenanigans.

1:05

[Music] Okay, I kid. I kid. Uh, 90% of the time or better, you get some wonderful, wonderful, helpful people on the repair group like Andrew Spitler who laid it out for me on which way the transistor went. And I've installed that and I talked about that on my last episode. But I thought you might find a couple of those responses humorous. So, it's been a few days since I've been in the basement. Time to get back to the gamutron action. Look at Check what I got. LED adapters. So, what I'm going to do is install the LED adapters onto the board. We're going to install the board, connect it, and see if indeed every single light bulb is now officially working. Oh, check this out. No, I'm not going to show you just yet. Um, I did uh get sidetracked a little bit. I went and bought me a new Deadpool Premium off my buddy Rob Ellison because it is nicer than mine. It has under 1,000 plays. I think it's got a custom shooter rod insider connected, which I didn't have on mine. Some flipper toppers. You got the little like orange and green slingshot dress kit. Got some mods. Uh gun there. We've got juggernaut. We've got um what is this called? I forget the name of the dog. Rob mentioned it. But we got that dude. We've got that guy. I don't know who that is. Wolverine, I think, is not on the original. I think that's a mod. We got the ninja star, the metal ninja stars. Oh, and look, chimmy chonga. That is cute. We've got the art blades, which you can't really see right now. We've got speaker lighting. We've got a topper and um shaker motor. So, yeah, I got a little distracted by bringing home a new toy, which means that this Deadpool is now for sale. So, if you want to buy it, come on over. Get you some chim chungas. I got mirror blades. I got a shaker motor. And I also have the metal ninja stars. Oh, see how I put the like plastic caps back on over top of the ninja stars, but Rob did not Oh, you know why you're supposed to put those on? So the ball doesn't get stuck. I remember now. So, we'll see if uh the ball gets stuck there. So, I think I actually still have them kicking around in a bag perhaps. So, anyway, that happened. Oh, and the thing that I didn't show you that I'm going to show you now is uh Rob tossed in this pretty cool stern pinball sign. It is pretty large. There's your perspective there. There's your, you know, it's good uh foot and a half by a foot. And I just got it plugged in and boom. So, just pop that on there for now. It's not my favorite spot, but I don't have a whole lot of spots for things anymore. I'm running out. I was thinking of putting some shelving along this wall. Just like a row of like four or five or six shelves. Remove these two posters and translates. And then I could load up all kinds of little miscellaneous trophies and smalls and this kind of stuff that's compiled up here. And what I would like to do actually is put all these promo plastics up there. Got the medieval madness. I got the Congo. I've got Lethal Weapon 3 Nitro Ground Shaker. The Getaway. And also back there got Creature from the Black Lagoon. So it would be kind of cool to have all those promo plastics. Oh, look. And Ghostbusters. If I could have them all in one space, that would be pretty cool. All right, so I think that's about it. Oh, the reason I have that machine torn apart is because I was having one single drop target that wasn't liking to stay up on my Deadpool. And it took me a bit to figure out what was going on, but I think what it is is that these targets actually kind of like warp over time. And this one is just a little bit warped and is leaning back further than the rest. I tried to bend it forward and it worked temporarily but in short order it would go back to its original warped position. So I don't have one of these in stock. So I stole the entire bank out of my new Deadpool. Put it in the old Deadpool. So now it is 100% and then I'll order a single drop target uh pinball life for like three bucks. Replace it. Got the decals and then uh you know no panic on that. But I do have that Deadpool listed right now. So, if somebody wants it tonight, then they can have it. I don't need to wait for a drop target. I think I got it pulled up right here. Yeah, that is your stern drop target. Took me a bit to find it. I was checking part numbers cuz there's two different drop targets with different widths. This is the 468 wide top variety. That's what you want. Okay. So, let's uh put on some adapters. see if we've got all of our lights working. All right, so bring you along for this enthralling excitement. Some people actually uh were happy that I had an hourong video on Game ofron a few episodes ago. I thought people would be like, "Oh god, that is just too long. Let's uh just pass." But you, some of you guys are just gluttons for the shenanigans, and I appreciate that. So, and also getting lots of comments about Ellie. Everybody loves Ellie. She's becoming a household favorite. I won't tell her. It'll just get to her head. But, uh, she does love the action, too. Okay. So, easy enough to install. You just match up J2 to J2. How hard can it be? Right. Like so. This is J1. Hopefully Ellie will make an appearance. She's uh Jaime's got her mother over and she's hanging out with the ladies upstairs right now. She likes to be where all the action is at. If Jamie goes outside, then Ellie will be down here in no time. We've tried to put her on a freaking harness and a leash and uh two, three, four different times. She's escaped every freaking time. So, little turkey cannot be trusted. She escaped from the leash, just bought a new one, like a whole harnessy thing. And she's sitting there for an hour. She wouldn't budge. She was like in paralysis mode. And then all of a sudden, here we hear a clunk. That was the leash coming off. And then she immediately took off into another Ne another Netherland. Came back a few hours later. had some stories to tell. Didn't bring a home a mouse this time, though. So, last time I installed some adapters, these two were like really tight together. So, I think I just like filed them a little bit cuz it is pretty close and snug, but I didn't have to this time. You can file the top if you need or the bottom of J1. Okay. And then we've got this wire.

Pinball Shenanigansorganization

pinballledds.cacompany

high · Mike removed entire drop target bank from new Deadpool to replace warped target in original Deadpool; identified target warping as persistent issue across machines; multiple references to drop target #3 not registering or staying up.

technology_signal: LED lamp adapters ($63) required for eliminating flicker in classic pinball machines; described as mandatory upgrade rather than cosmetic enhancement.

high · 'for $63, you need it. It's not a nice to have. It is a requirement cuz that flickering would drive you crazy.' Mike observed blue lights flickering most prominently and noted dramatic improvement after connecting lamp driver.