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SDTM Cary Hardy: Installing Pin Stadium Fusion

Straight Down the Middle·video·24m 30s·held·Aug 13, 2019
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Cary Hardy demonstrates Pin Stadium Lights LED install and programming on Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Summary

Cary Hardy from Straight Down the Middle provides a detailed step-by-step installation guide for Pin Stadium Lights LED lighting kits on pinball machines, using Tales of the Arabian Nights (Totan) as a demo machine. The video covers the three components (PinStadiums, Orion's Belt, InvisiShields), wiring, power setup, app-based programming via Wi-Fi, and cabinet mounting, concluding with before/after footage showing the dramatic visual enhancement. Hardy advocates for the product's versatility and customization potential, addressing common criticism about aftermarket LED lighting.

Key Claims

  • Pin Stadium Lights combine three products (PinStadiums, Orion's Belt, InvisiShields) into one light bar totaling over 480 LEDs

    high confidence · Cary Hardy, explaining Fusions product composition

  • PinStadiums can be installed on essentially any pinball machine

    medium confidence · Cary Hardy, product capabilities discussion

  • Polarity doesn't matter when connecting alligator clips to flashers and GI for PinStadiums

    high confidence · Cary Hardy, technical installation instruction

  • The Orion's Belt comes with four different color options (orange, red, yellow, blue)

    high confidence · Cary Hardy, unpacking and explaining Orion's Belt components

  • Pin Stadium Lights app uses Wi-Fi connectivity to program and control the lighting systems

    high confidence · Cary Hardy, demonstrating app-based programming workflow

Notable Quotes

  • “Are PinStadiums for everyone? No, they're not for everyone. But they are definitely for those of us that want to brighten up our game because they want to be able to see everything.”

    Cary Hardy@ 3:02 — Directly addresses the divide between supporters and critics of aftermarket LED lighting in the community

  • “The thing is, majority of the people that hate them, their reasons are really not valid.”

    Cary Hardy@ 2:56 — Commentary on community sentiment and criticism of PinStadium products

  • “The Fusions are actually three products in one. The PinStadiums, the Orion's Belt, and InvisiShields. They can be purchased separately, but the price is much better when buying the Fusions.”

    Cary Hardy@ 4:32 — Clarifies the bundling and pricing strategy of the Fusion product offering

  • “Not only is this a product that can enhance the view of your playfield and brighten those colors, but it's also very versatile. So that way it can go on almost every pinball machine.”

    Cary Hardy@ 3:29 — States key value proposition of PinStadiums regarding universal compatibility and versatility

Entities

Cary HardypersonPin Stadium LightscompanyStraight Down the MiddleorganizationTales of the Arabian Nightsgame[name withheld pending review]productPinStadiumsproductOrion's Beltproduct

Signals

  • ?

    product_strategy: Penn Stadium bundles three separate products (PinStadiums, Orion's Belt, InvisiShields) into 'Fusions' offering with better pricing than individual purchases, appealing to customers seeking comprehensive lighting upgrades

    high · Cary Hardy explicitly explains that Fusions combines three products in one at better pricing, though components can be purchased separately

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Content creator actively defending PinStadium products against community criticism, suggesting ongoing debate about whether aftermarket LED modifications enhance or detract from pinball aesthetic

    medium · Hardy states 'majority of the people that hate them, their reasons are really not valid' and spends significant video time justifying the product to fence-sitters

  • ?

    content_signal: Straight Down the Middle uses affiliate discount code 'SDTM' to drive sales for Penn Stadium products, indicating sponsored or affiliated content relationship

    high · Hardy explicitly offers '$30 off by using the code SDTM' at video conclusion

  • ?

    technology_signal: Penn Stadium ecosystem includes hardware (light bars, control modules, cables) plus Wi-Fi enabled app-based programming, representing mature aftermarket LED customization infrastructure for pinball machines

    high · Video demonstrates multi-component system with wireless connectivity, app interface, individual channel programming, and cable compatibility options

  • ?

    product_concern: Installation requires multiple steps: playfield removal, cable management, power setup (sometimes requiring additional AC cables), Wi-Fi app connection, and individual flasher programming, suggesting moderate technical difficulty

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.073

0:00
But I want to be able to kind of ump up the game and just give it a little more pop. that makes it stand out. Something that makes it look like... I wonder.
0:35
Oh my god it worked! This is amazing and hopefully this effect looks good in post. Otherwise I'm just completely wasting my time trying to pull off this effect. I'm hoping it looks good. We'll see. We'll see. He who summons me, what dost thou want?
0:55
I want to really improve the lighting on this game. I want... Penn Stadium Fusions. You cannot handle so much power. This game is already beautiful as it is. Why on earth would you want this beauty to be enhanced? One cannot handle it.
1:22
That's a chance I'm willing to take. I don't know about you guys, but I'm willing to take that chance. If you can get me a set of Penn Stadium Fusions, I will show people how to mouth these things on this game and what it can do.
1:36
Let it be done! No way. I'll be damned. What's going on guys and welcome back to another episode on Straight Down The Middle. My name is Kerry Hardy and I talk and do everything pinball. So if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below. Most, if not all of you that are watching this video have at least heard of Penn Stadiums and let alone the Penn Stadium Fusions. I'm pretty sure that all of us that have internet access and a pinball machine are aware of what Penn Stadiums are. And like any product or anything in general, you're going to have people that either love it or hate it. And the thing is, majority of the people that hate them, their reasons are really not valid. Are Penn Stadiums for everyone? No, they're not for everyone. But they are definitely for those of us that want to brighten up our game because they want to be able to see everything. And that's the issue with pinball going from back in 1970 and up to even now is that games do not have the full potential of showing off those bright and beautiful colors as this product can provide. Not only is this a product that can enhance the view of your playfield and brighten those colors, but it's also very versatile. So that way it can go on almost every pinball machine. I don't know of one that it can't, but it can go on essentially a pinball machine and give it a drastic improvement when it comes to lighting. And not just basic lighting. This is going to give you the ability to alter colors and fading effects, gradient effects, have it beat to music. There's so much that you can do with this product, guys. So when I say that it's not for everyone, maybe it is. You just don't know how versatile this product can be. This video is not going to entail me going every single detail on what you can do with this product. This video is primarily going to be showing you step-by-step on how to install a Penn Stadium, Orion's Belt, as well as the Fusion set on your older pinball machine. So let's bring out Totan and get this show on the road.
InvisiShields
product
Pin Stadium Lightsproduct

high · Hardy demonstrates extensive troubleshooting (multiple AC outlets, cable management, two systems appearing in app requiring disconnection to identify), notes requirement for documentation of flasher assignments

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Penn Stadium products emphasize user agency in customization—colors, brightness, flasher selections, and effects are all configurable per individual machine and user preference rather than fixed defaults

    high · Hardy repeatedly states 'This product is completely versatile,' 'you get to decide,' and demonstrates individual color/effect assignment for each of four Orion's Belt channels

  • ?

    community_signal: Aftermarket LED lighting installations appear to be a standard customization option in home collector community, with significant enough adoption to warrant detailed tutorial content from major pinball YouTubers

    medium · Cary Hardy assumes audience familiarity with PinStadiums and addresses community divide over the product, suggesting it's a known and debated option within the collector base

    • 4:32
    The Fusions are actually three products in one. The Penn Stadiums, the Orion's Belt, and InvisiShields. They can be purchased separately, but the price is much better when buying the Fusions.
    4:46
    The Penn Stadiums are an excellent product by themselves without a doubt, so don't feel like you have to get the Fusions. The Fusions set is for those that want the full experience at a much better price.
    5:00
    Penn Stadiums are designed to bring you enhanced lighting across your entire playfield with the very popular UV Glow Flasher. The Orion's build is like the Penn Stadium's, only they are designed to enhance to four designated flashers by the user. The Fusions are these products combined in one light bar for both sides of your machine, totaling over 480 LEDs. So let's walk through all of the items that you will find in your Fusion's purchase. Let's start with your Fusion's light bar. On the opposite end of your lights you will find the magnet strip that allows you to stick this to the side of your cabinet. Here is the Orion's belt control module. This is the breakaway cable portion for the power. On the control module you will find four separate channels and a program button Each of these alligator clips will go to a separate flasher underneath your playfield Here we have your Penn Stadium control module Three ports
    6:16
    one for power, general illumination, and flasher. Here is your goodie bag that will incorporate all sorts of items that you may need in certain situations. Here is the power block for your Orion's belt. Plug power into the control module then utilize the AC cable and plug it into the power box. Here is the power cord to your Penn Stadiums. Plug it in like so. Utilize your alligator clips. I typically use blue and white for the middle and green and red for my flashers on the side. breakaway cable Penn Stadium Orion's Belt
    7:40
    so first thing is first we're going to get our playfield ready as well as the fusion set Pull your playfield out like so. Then we are going to be merely setting the fusion set in position.
    7:58
    I'm going to be using rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth right now. We're cleaning the area back here so we can install the clamps that hold your cables in place. Clean the areas very well, peel out the adhesive backing, and then place it on the backboard like so. Now granted this is going to be a little tricky because there are a lot of cables, but it can be done. Start by getting these cables inside the ring and giving it enough slack to be in the appropriate position.
    8:45
    Are these clamps a requirement? No, they're not a requirement, but they definitely make things easier whenever you have to lift up your playfield. Okay, remove the balls from your playfield, try to remember that, get your playfield up, and let's start hooking everything up. All right, so here's my Penn Stadium set, here's my Fusion set. Orion's belt. Son of a b****. Some of your machines will have a basic outlet and if it does, bravo. Unlike this one, I'm going to have to have an additional cable as I install here. And in order to use the fusions for both sets, I will need an ACY cable to give me the ability to have AC power going to both of my systems. Now, if you have the ability to hook up your own little extension cord or additional outlets that will work too. But Penn Stadium's website sells all the cables that you could possibly need. So make sure you look at your machine and see what you're going to need in advance and make it all in one purchase. I then plug both of the systems into the outlets and now the Penn Stadiums as well as Orion's Belt have power. So now we need to hook up the Penn Stadiums. Now when it comes to connecting the Flasher and GI to your Penn Stadiums, There is no particular spot that these need to go. That is the great thing about this product is that you get to decide what kind of effect you want your machine to give you. So for this particular game, I want the major accent to happen whenever I cause the lightning lamp flasher to go off. That's going to give me more of a lightning effect with the UV glow. So I'm going to be connecting my UV glow from my pin stadiums to that flasher, utilizing both of the lugs on that particular flasher. Polarity doesn't matter for these alligator clips. Now, for utilizing the GI, which will be on all the time whenever your game is turned on, unless the GI is cut for cinematic purposes of that particular game, then you're going to want to find a GI bulb pretty much anywhere. and I'm going to utilize the one that is right here. Something else to note is whenever you're connecting your alligator clips to make sure that when they connect on there they're not easily gonna slide off whether it be to a shaker motor in the machine or moving it you kind of want to get it clamped on there to where it's not gonna go anywhere so I'm showing you right now the differences between me clamping it on this way and I figure out that that's not going to hold very well so I decided to clamp them on a different way. Once I've got my flasher and my GIs connected via the alligator clips I will do a little bit of wire management to feed the wires through where I already had them at and that's pretty much it for Penn Stadium. So if you have Penn Stadiums installed and that's it you're pretty much ready to go on to the next portion of the video but if you have the Orion's belt or the Fusion set then you want to continue on to this next area When connecting your Orion Belt to your play it essentially what you just did with your Penn Stadiums only this time you going to be doing it more So what I would do personally is play your game a lot Get an idea of what flasher bulbs you want to basically be magnified. Is there a certain portion of your game that you wish would give you a little bit more of an effect whenever a certain moment happens and a flasher goes off? That is something that you're going to have to figure out for yourself. I have figured out four different flashers that I'm going to utilize on this game for a particular effect. Not only do you need to figure out which bulbs that you want to use, you need to write down what colors you want those bulbs to flash. And also write down what color the wire is going to that flasher. So for instance, the Orion's Belt comes with four different colors. orange, red, yellow, and blue. Documenting this now is going to be key when it comes to programming this board very quickly.
    13:28
    Once you have figured out which four flashers that you want to connect to and you have connected them appropriately, just like I did this first one, follow through with the same ones. Then we can move on to the next step.
    13:42
    As usual, I like to do a little bit of wire maintaining, so I will make sure I run these cables accordingly to where they are snug down here at the bottom too. I'll zip time. That's not mandatory, but that's just my own preference. I'm going to be getting my pin stadiums and my fusions kind of just set up right here where I want them. And as you can see, right... So as I'm going over this I can see that my cables that I've wired are gonna be completely in the way of my lamp spinning around so I'm gonna fix that don't worry. So now it's time to lower this playfield down and I'm not gonna immediately stick these things to the cabinet. I want to basically get them in position and then I'm going to turn the machine on and we have power. So now that we have power you can tell that we are at factory settings because it's doing a complete RGB flash. Whenever it's flashing to multiple colors like this that means that no one has control over it. It is completely open to connection and it's not programmed yet. So we're gonna resolve that now by booting up the Penn Stadium app. In the application you want to utilize the top right hand corner click add Penn Stadium. Now you want to make sure that you're on the exact same Wi-Fi network as your Penn Stadium's. So also I have two right here. I don't want two. I don't know which one is the Orion's Belt and I don't know which one is the Penn Stadium. So in order to resolve this I'm going to go over here and unplug the Orion's belt. Disconnect the power to that. I'm going to refresh the application. Now I know for sure what I'm connecting to is the Penn Stadium portion. I'm going to click on that, choose a wireless B connection, and then I will be in connecting to the system.
    15:48
    Once you connect, your lights will turn a solid green color. That means it is no longer at factory settings. Now I'm going to retitle this thing so I know what the hell it is. I'm going to put it as Totan. And bam, I now have the ability to completely control my Penn Stadium set for my Tales of the Arabian Nights. So I typically like to keep my games around the whitish bluish hue color and I turn that warm white all the way up to 100% but like I said that this product is completely versatile you do what you want. Now I've connected the power to Orion's Belt I have re-scanned just like I did earlier was a Penn Stadiums and connected and added it to my list. So now I've also named my Orion's Belt OB at the end so that way I know which one is Orion's Belt and which one is Penn Stadiums. So in order to program your Orion's Belt now you need to get in position with your app, press the preview button in your Blightful Flash a single time letting you know that you are in program mode. Now is whenever you want to utilize the documentation that you did earlier. For instance, I know that this particular flasher, I want it to be red. So I go over to the red and then I hit the first button because that's the particular flasher that I know it's going to. You can see me panning over on my phone because that is my documentation that I know what color I want these to be. I want this one to be purple, so I'm going to push that flasher as purple per switch two. My next one, I want that to be red as well. So I'm going to hit that. Bam. Button three has now been pressed. So now it's been programmed for button three. And finally, the last one, I want it to be a white flash. So, and I'll push button four. Now, whenever you've chosen all four your colors, hit the program button again. Your lights will flash twice. The system is now programmed and ready to go. Now you can lower your playfield back into the cabinet. We are now on to prepping the cabinet.
    18:19
    So in your little goodie bag with your purchase you will find an alcohol wipe Utilize this to clean where you going to be sticking the Penn Stadiums You don't want any dirt, grime or anything like that. It's gonna keep your Penn Stadiums from sticking. Once it's all cleaned up I'm going to basically get them in position right underneath to where the playfield glass goes.
    18:47
    I want my play-fill glass obviously to go sliding into place so I'm carefully sliding it and attaching it to where it's at now
    19:09
    then I will pull out the Penn Stadiums and I'm going to press that stuff down even further where the magnet strip is now at to make sure it's got good contact. And that is where I keep my pin stadiums. Just a couple of millimeters below the line for the glass. Now that both sides have been done all you have to do is easily attach one side then you can walk over and easily magnetize the other one. to the other side. Bam! You're done. You've installed Penn Stadium Fusions or just regular Penn Stadiums. You're ready to go. So of course as any other product we're going to be showing you some before and after footage. Let's start with the before.
    20:13
    Thank you. Let's start out by just showing you basic gameplay differences right here. On the left is quite obviously the one that does not have the fusion set. Now let's activate the Lightning Lamp Mode. Now let's activate the Make-A-Wish feature in this game. A drastic difference. And lastly, here is whenever your game is over.
    22:48
    So there it is guys. There is how Totan looks with a set of Penn Stadium fusions on it. Now remember this product is completely versatile so if some of these lights seem too bright you can always turn them down. This is just full guns blaring right now to basically enhance the effect and the camera also adds a little extra brightness to it than what it actually is to your eye. So if some of these shots look a little too bright then that's part of the reason it's the camera. But you can always tame this down to where you see it fit. If you're interested in getting your own set of Penn Stadiums then you can get $30 off by using the code SDTM. So there we are guys I'm hoping this video will be useful for those of you out there on the fence on whether or not you should get a set of these or not. Let me know what you think about the light scheme that I did with this Totem. Good? Bad? Particular place that you think I should try instead of where I've got it set? Let me know down in the comments below. If you liked this video and you learned something, be sure to give me that thumbs up to let me know. And if you haven't already, do not forget to hit that subscribe button down below. That way you can be notified of whenever we post something for your viewing pleasure.
    24:03
    Until next time, guys. Peace out. Outro Music