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Episode 358 - 1973 Sega Galaxy

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·11m 41s·analyzed·Mar 3, 2016
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Deep technical dive into 1973 Galaxy's innovative EM design and mechanisms.

Summary

Nicholas Baldridge presents a detailed technical and design analysis of the 1973 Galaxy, a single-player electromechanical pinball machine. He examines its hybrid design philosophy combining Williams and Bally influences, highlights innovative mechanisms like the plastic pivot pop bumper, ball-walking magnet, and pressure-sensitive slingshot, and discusses the practical trade-offs of Sega's connector choices (Molex vs. Jones plugs). The episode concludes with observations on the game's space-themed artwork and scoring rules.

Key Claims

  • Galaxy uses Molex connectors instead of Jones plugs, which are smaller but less reliable than Jones plugs despite being used in solid-state machines.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge, based on years of repair experience across multiple eras and manufacturers

  • The pop bumper mechanism uses a solid plastic piece that pivots on contact rather than a standard rod-and-ring design, actuating a microswitch underneath.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge, describing Sega's unique playfield mechanics

  • The slingshot mechanism relies on pressure-activated microswitch technology rather than traditional designs.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge, direct observation of mechanism design

  • Games with Jones plugs tend to have fewer connection problems than games with Molex connectors based on years of repair experience.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge, empirical observation from repair work

  • Galaxy features a walking magnet mechanism similar to Bram Stoker's Dracula mist magnet.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge, design comparison

Notable Quotes

  • “What's really fascinating, though, is that instead of Jones plugs, Sega issued that and instead used Molex connectors. Now what's interesting about this is that Molex connectors are definitely smaller than Jones plugs. However, as we've seen over and over through the ages with solid-state machines, they are much less reliable than a Jones plug.”

    Nicholas Baldridge@ 1:30 — Core technical insight about Sega's design choices and their reliability trade-offs

  • “Their pop bumpers, instead of a standard rod and ring, actually were a solid plastic piece that would pivot when the ball hit it from any angle and this would actuate a microswitch under the playfield.”

    Nicholas Baldridge@ 4:15 — Description of a unique and innovative Sega pop bumper design

  • “You just don't see them in the US all that often.”

    Nicholas Baldridge@ 5:31 — Observation about rarity of Sega EM machines in the US market

  • “I'd really love to see the inside of one of these pops and what it looks like.”

    Nicholas Baldridge@ 6:55 — Expresses curiosity about long-term durability of plastic components under play stress

  • “Games with a really nice pattern in the background where the ball can move from left to right or right to left is always fascinating to me. I like artwork that brings that ball travel feature to the fore.”

    Nicholas Baldridge@ 10:46 — Personal aesthetic preference in pinball artwork design

Entities

Nicholas BaldridgepersonSegasacompanyWilliamscompanyBallycompanyChicago CoincompanyAllied LeisurecompanyFor Amusement OnlyorganizationGalaxygame

Signals

  • ?

    design_innovation: Sega Galaxy uses unconventional solid plastic pivot pop bumper instead of standard rod-and-ring design, with microswitch actuation underneath

    high · Nick Baldrige detailed technical description of the pop bumper mechanism and how it differs from standard designs

  • ?

    design_innovation: Pressure-sensitive slingshot mechanism that relies on microswitch activation rather than traditional designs

    high · Nick Baldrige described the slingshot as using pressure-activated microswitch rather than conventional approach

  • ?

    design_innovation: Molex connectors used instead of Jones plugs, representing trade-off between size and reliability

    high · Extended technical discussion of connector types and their reliability characteristics based on repair experience

  • ?

    product_concern: Uncertainty about long-term durability of plastic pop bumper and slingshot components under repeated ball impact stress

    medium · Nick Baldrige expressed concern about plastic component longevity and noted plastic EM pop bumper bodies break easily

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Host demonstrates deep technical knowledge of EM machine mechanisms, connectors, and repair procedures across multiple manufacturers

    high · Detailed technical analysis of sealed relays, connector types, soldered boards, and empirical observations from years of repair work

  • ?

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.035

0:00
What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only. This is Nick Baldrige.
0:15
Tonight I wanted to talk about a Japanese pinball machine. It's 1973's Sega Galaxy. Galaxy is a single player electromechanical pinball machine. and it's got some really interesting features and pretty fascinating mechanisms.
0:36
So, first let's talk tech. Alright, let's get through some technical stuff because I find it really interesting.
0:48
A lot of the mechanisms are similar to Williams EM, but some are similar to Bally. For example, their flipper coils are the odd double-terminal flipper coils of certain Bally EMs.
1:08
Their relays are all sealed relays that plug into a board. This is similar to an automotive application. and you did start to see those in, say, Chicago Coin or Allied Leisure machines.
1:30
What's really fascinating, though, is that instead of Jones plugs, Sega issued that and instead used Molex connectors.
Bram Stoker's Dracula
game

historical_signal: 1973 Sega Galaxy represents Japanese manufacturer's hybrid approach combining Williams and Bally design influences

high · Nick Baldrige directly compared Galaxy's design elements to Williams EM and Bally EM standards

  • ?

    content_signal: For Amusement Only podcast specializes in detailed technical and historical analysis of EM and bingo pinball machines

    high · Full episode devoted to single 1973 machine with extensive mechanism analysis and design comparison

  • ?

    venue_signal: Sega Galaxy machines are rare in the US arcade and collector market

    medium · Nick Baldrige noted 'You just don't see them in the US all that often' and stated he has never played a Sega EM machine

    • 1:42
    Now what's interesting about this is that Molex connectors are definitely smaller than Jones plugs. However, as we've seen over and over through the ages with solid-state machines, they are much less reliable than a Jones plug.
    2:04
    Each, of course, have their place, but what is interesting, or has proven itself out to me over several years of repairing various different eras of games from all different manufacturers is that games with Jones plugs tend to have fewer connection problems than games with Molex connectors.
    2:31
    You have much larger pins in a much larger area, of course, and it's a lot more noticeable when you accidentally destroy a Jones plug pin than it is when you accidentally mangle a molex pin Now you can certainly have Jones plugs off by one and various other things and Sega did try to prevent that by having keyed connectors which are different sizes. So there's three main connectors in the back box, and those three connectors cannot be interchanged. The relay boards had their incoming and outgoing connections hardwired, so they're directly soldered to the board. That's an interesting choice because it means that you have to desolder the entire board to remove it. Of course, that's not unusual. If you had to remove, say, a score reel board from the assembly, you would have to desolder 10-11 wires. But just an interesting choice. Now aside from the choices here with the wiring,
    3:59
    Sega also had some interesting playfield mechanisms that were unique. One was used on Galaxy, and it's their pop bumper assembly.
    4:10
    Their pop bumpers, instead of a standard rod and ring, actually were a solid plastic piece that would pivot when the ball hit it from any angle and this would actuate a microswitch under the playfield. When it did so, a coil would fire which would shove the plastic piece back into its default position.
    4:36
    This would have the effect of firing the ball, rocketing it around, very similarly to a rod and ring.
    4:45
    Likewise, Sega's slingshot mechanism was unusual. It relied upon pressure, which was put upon the mechanism by the ball, in a similar way to the pop bumper mechanism that Sega had, where it's a solid plastic piece, and if the ball hits it with enough force it'll actuate a microswitch which will activate a coil which will fire the ball away by forcing that mechanism back into the upright position. Very cool idea and it really makes me wonder having seen a YouTube video of this galaxy in motion I've never played one or any Sega EM for that matter. You just don't see them in the US all that often. But having watched a video it makes me wonder how these mechanisms held up over time Obviously with a single switch underneath there really not a whole lot to break It would be harder for the mechanism to lock on since it used a microswitch
    6:02
    It'd certainly be possible for it to, but you'd probably discover it before things got out of hand, because you'd hear an interesting noise. But more than all that, I wonder how the plastic holds up, because if you're smacking the ball around, how quickly until the plastic breaks? I'm sure many of you have worked on EM pinball machines and you've seen what happens to pop bumper bodies or even solid state machines pop bumper bodies that the rod and ring has bit into or the ball has been able to hit because the pop bumper did not fire or any other of a hundred possible maladies with pop bumpers well the pop bumper bodies being made of plastic break pretty easily.
    6:55
    But, you know, I'd really love to see the inside of one of these pops and what it looks like. So, moving on from that, this game has a third very interesting mechanism, and that is a magnet that will walk the ball all the way across the playfield. Very similarly to Bram Stoker's Dracula's, mist magnet, for any of you who have played that game.
    7:27
    There are two different kick-out holes, one on the left and one on the right, and depending on the position of the magnet under the playfield, and potentially some other units of which I'm not aware, the ball will start walking from one side to the other.
    7:47
    Pretty cool. It is pretty cool. so other than that this game has a ball saver post which comes up between the flippers and a ball gate which will return your ball to the shooter lane on the right hand side most of the switches will register 500 points with some offering 1000 and some offering 3000 Pops score 10 unless they're lit and then they will score 100 per hit but one of the interesting things which I'm unclear on is the bonus inserts there are 5 different inserts each of which are labeled 1000 points those are not rollover buttons and I have no idea idea how they incremented but they appear to be able to be incremented, and I'm almost positive that you can collect them by traveling from left to right or right to left. So let's talk about the artwork on Galaxy, because it's pretty interesting. you've got astronauts which are on a spacewalk or escaping from some kind of hideous monstrosity or several of them arranged across the playfield there's a rocket flying away towards a target in the upper right which awards your special or 3,000 points if special is not lit.
    9:36
    Up at the top, you've got a UFO-looking thing around the ball arch, and there's a lot of blue, yellow, pink, and orange on the playfield.
    9:48
    Very interesting color palette. Looking at the back glass, you have what appears to be a punk rock astronaut with spiky hair, which you can see through his helmet, and spikes around his boots.
    10:08
    Seems rather impractical for an astronaut to wear, but what do I know? And in the background you have stylized UFOs and rockets, mountains, and other items. I actually like this artwork quite a bit. I think it's pretty interesting. One of my favorite pieces is the explosion which is happening as the ball moves from left to right across the playfield. I think that's pretty neat. Games with a really nice pattern in the background where the ball can move from left to right or right to left is always fascinating to me. I like artwork that brings that ball travel feature to the fore.
    11:05
    Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at foreamusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS-1, 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 foramusementonly.libsyn.com Thank you very much for listening, and I'll talk to you next time.