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Part 13: 1978 Interflip Alaska 4 Player EM. Killing the smaller Gremlins!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·44m 3s·analyzed·Mar 26, 2026
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TL;DR

Mike Dus debugs drop targets, pop bumpers, flippers, and bonus unit on 1978 Interflip Alaska restoration.

Summary

Mike Dus continues restoration work on a 1978 Interflip Alaska 4-Player EM pinball machine, focusing on addressing smaller mechanical and electrical issues after previous work on major problems. He systematically tackles drop target switches, pop bumpers, light bulbs, flipper height adjustment, and the bonus unit stepper mechanism, incorporating guest advice and documenting solutions. The video includes a tangential segment featuring a podcast submission about cruise ship-themed pinball games and concludes with testing of score reels and ball count mechanisms.

Key Claims

  • When the score motor is turning (which happens every time you score), nothing else can register on the machine.

    high confidence · Mike Dus, citing advice from Mike Hanley and Cory Cook about EM pinball mechanics

  • The Alaska machine has approximately 100 switches on its relay system.

    high confidence · Mike Dus, directly stated while searching for the triple bonus relay switch

  • Two different high score levels are controlled by jumper settings on the apron card, set for 720,000 and 890,000 points.

    high confidence · Mike Dus, reading from the apron card documentation while adjusting score regulation jumpers

  • Saucers on the Alaska machine are worth 50,000 points each, which significantly impacts game strategy.

    high confidence · Mike Dus, discovered during gameplay testing and verified through repeated play

  • The bonus unit stepper was installed one position off from correct, causing it to start at 10,000 instead of the off position.

    high confidence · Mike Dus, troubleshooting the bonus unit malfunction after 20 minutes of diagnosis

Notable Quotes

  • “Gremlins... switches, light bulbs, score reels, adjustments, pop bumpers, drop targets, rollovers, you name it, and try and just go one by one and get this thing as close to 100% as possible.”

    Mike Dus @ early in episode — Establishes the systematic restoration approach and scope of work for the episode

  • “I don't think that is anything to be concerned about.”

    Mike Dus @ during rogue wire investigation — Conclusion after identifying multiple unused wires in the machine, demonstrating troubleshooting methodology

  • “That is darn near perfect. Might even be a little bit high.”

    Mike Dus @ after flipper height adjustment using hammer on L-bracket — Successful resolution of flipper height issue using unconventional but effective techniques

  • “10 for 10. That is a first.”

    Mike Dus @ during bonus unit testing after repair — Successful proof that bonus unit stepper mechanism is now functioning correctly after extensive troubleshooting

  • “I've been going at this for maybe six hours and I'm done.”

    Mike Dus @ episode conclusion — Indicates the extensive labor and persistence required for restoration work on vintage EM machines

Entities

Mike DuspersonCory CookpersonMike HanleypersonInterflip AlaskagamePinball ShenaniganscontentSlam Tilt podcastcontentLondon PinballorganizationEllieperson

Signals

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Mike Dus discovers drop target switch issues through manual testing, identifying intermittent switch closure problems. Uses Dremel tool to clean switch contacts on both sides and adjusts switch gap tolerance to resolve registration failures.

    high · Direct demonstration of switch testing, cleaning with Dremel, and verification of proper function after adjustment

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Multiple unused wires found throughout machine wiring harness, including ones near pop bumpers and relay systems. Mike Dus documents but determines they are non-functional remnants.

    high · Visual identification and tracing of five distinct rogue wires with notation for future reference

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Pop bumper switch sensitivity issues addressed through Dremel cleaning and gap adjustment to prevent stuck-closed conditions while maintaining responsiveness.

    high · Before/after comparison showing improved registration rates and reduced switch sticking issues

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Illumination problems resolved through spring tension adjustment and tab tightening to ensure proper bulb seating. Approximately 40-70 LEDs retrofitted into backglass area.

    high · LED count verification and demonstration of improved lighting uniformity across playfield

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Flipper adjustment attempted through multiple methods: WD-40 application, butane torch heating, washer installation, and eventually L-bracket bending with hammer. Final result described as 'darn near perfect.'

    high · Documented progression through failed attempts to successful outcome with visual verification

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:01
Oh, Ellie's down here. I guess it means it's time to do another episode of Alaska. Time for me to get to work. Ellie, do you want me to open your window? Here, you get over there. All right. Here you go. You watch for uh Jay the neighbor, and I'll get started on Alaska. That's when you're supposed to say meow. I'm Mike Dus and this [music] is Pinball Shenanigans.
0:38
All right, in the last episode, Cory Cook of London Pinball was here. I hope you enjoyed the inside look at London Pinball and he killed the greatest of Gremlins on this machine. Hopefully, he's still dead. If so, I'm going to proceed on to all of the smaller Gremlins. switches, light bulbs, score reels, adjustments, pop bumpers, drop targets, rollovers, you name it, and try and just go one by one and get this thing as close to 100% as possible. Has this been bugging you? It's been bugging me. I need to adjust that flipper a little bit higher. It's a little too low for my liking. So, we'll get that resolved. And yeah, so that's the game plan for this episode. And uh if I make some good progress, maybe I'll even possibly put the back glass back in and play another play test game and see how that goes. Is there any reason why I couldn't put the back glass on? I guess I just got to make sure all my bulbs are working. Uh especially the controlled ones, just general illumination ones. If a couple are not working, I can probably live with that. I don't want to fight too hard. It's plenty bright with 30 LEDs in there. Actually, there's more than that. It's probably like 40. Let's count. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 20 1 2 3 4 5 26 72 9 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 4 5 6 7 3 9 14 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 15 35 6 7 8 9 16 160 darn near 70. LEDs. So, uh, if a couple aren't working, it's going to be okay, boys and girls. You'll still be able to see the back glass. Anyway, I'm going to get started. Okay, another gremlin killed here. So, this one drop target just wasn't scoring when dropped. There's two switches per drop target. And for whatever reason, I just assumed it was this switch because it was dirtier. So, I cleaned it. Nothing happened. I cleaned this one and nothing really happened. But what I noticed is that see how it works now. But on the way up, when I was just pushing it manually, [snorts] that second switch on the left, oops, wrong one. It closes really quickly. But when I push it up slowly,
  • ?

    restoration_signal: Bonus stepper unit malfunction caused by incorrect disc installation position (one spot offset from correct position). Additional issue of inadequate spring tension and disengaged spring hook discovered during repair. Solution involved correcting disc position and modifying spring tension.

    high · Direct observation of stepper behavior, Sharpie marking verification, and testing confirmation of correct operation

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Score motor operation identified as blocking mechanism that prevents simultaneous target registration when multiple targets are hit in rapid succession. Understanding this mechanic is essential for proper EM machine operation and troubleshooting.

    high · Technical explanation attributed to Mike Hanley and Cory Cook, verified through gameplay testing

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Paint degradation observed on target artwork and playfield decals, with small red and blue flakes appearing. Suggests either age-related paint failure or environmental damage.

    medium · Visual observation of flaking paint on red wolf artwork and green/blue target areas

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Mike Dus discovers saucers are worth 50,000 points each, fundamentally changing game strategy from target-focused to saucer-focused play pattern.

    high · Documented gameplay observation and strategy adjustment based on point value discovery

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Score reel mechanisms cleaned and adjusted for smooth operation. Sticky reels resolved through cleaning. Score regulation jumpers verified against apron card documentation for 720,000 and 890,000 point levels.

    high · Testing of all four players' score reels, identification of sticky mechanisms, and jumper configuration verification

  • ?

    content_signal: Mike Dus incorporates podcast segment from Slam Tilt featuring 'Ball Bag' listener submissions into restoration work, creating crossover engagement with pinball community content creators.

    medium · Extended segment featuring Slam Tilt podcast submission about cruise-ship-themed pinball machines, read aloud during restoration work

  • ?

    community_signal: Mike Dus actively incorporates technical advice from community members (Cory Cook, Mike Hanley) into restoration methodology, suggesting collaborative knowledge-sharing culture in pinball restoration community.

    medium · Multiple references to advice received from other pinball enthusiasts and documented implementation of their suggestions

    • 3:27
    it would register. But dropping down quick, it wasn't. So, I gave it a thorough cleaning and adjusted it a little closer. And as you can see, she works now. So, all right. All right. Just for good measure, I went ahead and cleaned all of these switches with my Dremel on both sides cuz I imagine if the issue is present occasionally on one, then it could be on others. Because this one, I retried it and it didn't work. Then I retried it again and it did work. So, it's a little intermittent. What is this wire doing? There are a few instances of rogue wires. Now, I don't know. That looks like it has solder and went to something at some point. Let's see.
    4:31
    Uh, same color wire on this switch, but it's possible it's just extra. So, I better write that down just in case. Uh, there's that one. There's another rogue wire here. Oh, look at that. Is this the same color? This is like brown, red, brown, red. Okay, so this is probably not used. And then there was one other somewhere down here. I think it was the extra ball relay J Bola extra. This brown one here. Check it out. Another not used one. Oh, wait. And then there's one more. Where is that now? I'm used to the playfield being on the rotisserie when tracking these wires down. It was Oh, yeah. It was near a pop bumper. Here it is. This purple one. So, I don't think that is anything to be concerned about. Anyway, let's uh try these drop targets now. All right, let's see how these behave now. And let's watch the bonus, too, and see if that's working. Okay, so far so good. I wonder if cleaning those switches would also help with registering bonus, but not so sure on that. We'll find out here maybe. See, that didn't advance. Probably got to reclean the bonus unit, which I thought I already did. So, I guess I didn't do a good enough job. Okay, that one worked. So, ripped us off one bonus. Five drop targets should be at 50,000. And I noticed that when you knock down a set of targets and they all register, you light a special in the corresponding saucer. So, let's try this side.
    6:51
    Did it advance? Yes, I think it did. Yeah, that's right. Okay. Lost track. That did not. There we go. And save the best for last. Excellent. So, we got ripped off two bonuses. 10 drop targets. Should be 100,000. But it did light the corresponding special. So, let's stick our fingers in these holes and not get whacked and test those out. And sure enough, let's try this again. Watch the credit unit pregame. So, that's working well. Okay. So, going to have to investigate the bonus unit. But first, uh let's deal with these pop bumpers cuz watch sometimes,
    7:46
    especially when coming down through here. See that? Neither of those registered. So, I'm just going to make them nice and sensitive. Okay. So, I reddrumled clean the three bop bop pumpers switches here. There's two for each. One is for boopping and the other is for scoring. So, the one here is for scoring and this one is for popping. So, I got them as close as I can. Like, it is tight. Let's see. Whoa, baby. Where did you go? All right. See if I can even show you.
    8:45
    But I did that to all three. So, let's see how that works now. Okay. Fun fact. When you drain, that's not what resets the targets. It's when the ball passes over the switch here into the shooter lane. Watch this.
    9:02
    I guess that was hard to uh hard to tell, but whatever. Anyway, I think it's true. Don't quote me on it. So, what are we doing? Pop bumpers. All right, let's see if she goes now. Hey, there we go. That's an improvement. Other side. Perfect. Okay. What about this guy [snorts] and this guy? Oo, very poppy. Zoom out here. So, less nausea inducing.
    9:48
    And the switches are not getting stuck closed cuz they're too close.
    9:56
    I think my center light though is a little bit flaky, my red wolf. But yeah, I'm very pleased with the pop bumpers now. All right, so I already addressed this bulb here and then I thought, hey, it's out again. But you know what? I think it's a another bulb entirely that is not working. So let's see if I can get that working. Oh, of course. Now I look at the other side and both those are not working. Okay, I'll see if I can remedy that. All right, this will be a problem here. Kind of a running theme for this machine. I'm going to loosen up the springs and clean these up a little better and see if I can get these uh seated in properly. Okay, I loosened up the springs and I tightened the tabs so that they're snug up against the base of the bulb. And let's see if they work. All right. Excellent. Okay. All right. I got those bulbs reinstalled. Let's see if they're all working. Looking good. Check all the bulbs. And look at that. Much better. I want all the GI on the playfield working. So, I think that mission is accomplished. I should probably tweak this pop bumper bulb a little bit. It can be a little flaky.
    11:39
    Looks like I could do a better job. Okay, I think I got the bulb.
    11:46
    all happy. And I was just going to blow out some crud. And I found a new way to test switches.
    12:12
    They're all working. Let's try this one. It works, too. Okay, I'm just listening to Slam Tilt podcast while I try and loosen up the flipper bat. That ain't working. Tried some WD40. I might have to use some heat. It's first time busting out this little torch here. So, just filled it up. Apparently, I got to wait 10 minutes before I can use it. So, while I'm fighting with that, let's listen to um the ball bag. I made a submission and it looks like they're about to uh go over it right now. I sent them an email and let's see what uh they say. I haven't heard it yet. So, here we go. >> Uh next one is from Mike D. You know
    12:58
    Uh next one is from Mike D. You know
    12:58
    Uh next one is from Mike D. You know Mike D? >> Mikey D.
    13:00
    Mikey D.
    13:00
    Mikey D. >> Yeah. Rogers.com.
    13:02
    Yeah. Rogers.com.
    13:02
    Yeah. Rogers.com. >> Yes. Where's the uh domain? So, you know
    13:04
    Yes. Where's the uh domain? So, you know
    13:04
    Yes. Where's the uh domain? So, you know it's Canada. >> Oh, Canada.
    13:10
    Oh, Canada.
    13:10
    Oh, Canada. >> Hey, Bruce and Rod. Firstly, Bruce, did
    13:13
    Hey, Bruce and Rod. Firstly, Bruce, did
    13:13
    Hey, Bruce and Rod. Firstly, Bruce, did you ever get the Viper turret motor running? Did you? >> No. Nope. Still digging with that. I I
    13:18
    No. Nope. Still digging with that. I I
    13:18
    No. Nope. Still digging with that. I I have to work on the board part of it. The the actual touching of the fingers. >> We're off with the Trudeau subject, so
    13:28
    We're off with the Trudeau subject, so
    13:28
    We're off with the Trudeau subject, so >> Yeah. Oh, darn. Sorry. [snorts]
    13:29
    Yeah. Oh, darn. Sorry. [snorts]
    13:29
    Yeah. Oh, darn. Sorry. [snorts] >> Okay.
    13:31
    Okay.
    13:31
    Okay. All right. Yes, that's what I have to play with next. >> Well, maybe you should talk to Mike
    13:34
    Well, maybe you should talk to Mike
    13:34
    Well, maybe you should talk to Mike because >> he says, "I got mine working fairly
    13:37
    he says, "I got mine working fairly
    13:37
    he says, "I got mine working fairly consistently, but had my fun with it and posted it for sale and someone drove all the way up from Tennessee to London, Ontario, Canada to purchase it." Wow. >> Jesus. [laughter]
    13:50
    Jesus. [laughter]
    13:50
    Jesus. [laughter] Poor Tennessee. >> Uh, yes, they're playing it right next
    13:55
    Uh, yes, they're playing it right next
    13:55
    Uh, yes, they're playing it right next to the banos, Bruce. Yes, they got a banjo topper for it. They got the banjo people from uh Chuck-E-Cheese, [laughter] the animatronics. >> Oh, yeah. [clears throat] See,
    14:05
    Oh, yeah. [clears throat] See,
    14:05
    Oh, yeah. [clears throat] See, >> that's right. Uh, anyways, I know Bruce,
    14:07
    that's right. Uh, anyways, I know Bruce,
    14:07
    that's right. Uh, anyways, I know Bruce, you are a big time cruise enthusiast. >> Yes, I is.
    14:11
    Yes, I is.
    14:11
    Yes, I is. >> And it seems like you got to go on a
    14:13
    And it seems like you got to go on a
    14:13
    And it seems like you got to go on a cruise every month. Yeah, it does. >> I would like to understand Okay, I
    14:17
    I would like to understand Okay, I
    14:17
    I would like to understand Okay, I understand where Mike's coming from here because I would like to I would like to understand where the fascination of cruises comes from. >> The concept of a cruise does not
    14:25
    The concept of a cruise does not
    14:25
    The concept of a cruise does not interest me at all. A whole crowded mess of people. A mass of people in a tight confined space floating on a mini city with the prospect of seasickness. None of this sounds interesting to me. I most like the uh Yeah, I most like the idea of getting off the boat to explore areas. >> Mhm. So, here's three things I love
    14:46
    Mhm. So, here's three things I love
    14:46
    Mhm. So, here's three things I love about it. One, all the food. I can eat, I can drink, I do I want. I can veg out. I can go dancing. I can uh go play do karaoke, do trivia, go see a show. All cool. Second thing is when you're cruising, it's like your hotel. So the ne one day, poof, I'm in St. Martin. Get back on the ship, next day, poof, I'm in St. Kits. It's like I'm not stuck at one place. I want to see things around the world. And it's the easiest, cheapest way to do it. I feel where you're not always packing and unpacking. Three, you have a casino on board when [laughter]
    15:37
    it's just I love it. It's just very relaxing. Like if you one day if you just want to sit by the pool and just veg out, that's great. Next day if you want to go casino, that's great. Next day you want to go, you know, play bingo, that's great. You can do trivia, cool. You want to just sit by and watch the sea go by? Perfect. Want to go get a dinner or I mean a lunch, they serve it right for you. Awesome. >> I mean, who doesn't want to play bingo
    16:04
    I mean, who doesn't want to play bingo
    16:04
    I mean, who doesn't want to play bingo next to? >> Yes. [ __ ] yeah. Then when I say bingo, I
    16:09
    Yes. [ __ ] yeah. Then when I say bingo, I
    16:09
    Yes. [ __ ] yeah. Then when I say bingo, I can [ __ ] [clears throat] give her the old finger like I [screaming] won. That's why I like cruising. It's not for everyone, don't get me wrong. It's not for everyone. And my wife actually got seasick this time. She got really sick. She But we had a 14-day cruise and she lost about 2 and 1/2 days of it. She wasn't too happy. But guess what? I wasn't bored either. I would do things while she was in the room not feeling well. I went out and did things. I enjoyed it. I had a great time. >> Okay. Says to Bruce, convince me a
    16:41
    Okay. Says to Bruce, convince me a
    16:41
    Okay. Says to Bruce, convince me a cruise is awesome and see if it can sway my opinion. Well, there you go. >> Yeah.
    16:45
    Yeah.
    16:45
    Yeah. >> Uh, another free drink. I get four free
    16:48
    Uh, another free drink. I get four free
    16:48
    Uh, another free drink. I get four free drinks a day. So, >> ah, name five cruise boat pinball
    16:53
    ah, name five cruise boat pinball
    16:53
    ah, name five cruise boat pinball machine themes. Answers are below, but no looking until after your guesses. >> Monaco,
    17:03
    right?
    17:03
    right? >> Uh, how about cons?
    17:05
    Uh, how about cons?
    17:05
    Uh, how about cons? >> Oh, cons. You can do that. Yeah,
    17:07
    Oh, cons. You can do that. Yeah,
    17:07
    Oh, cons. You can do that. Yeah, >> there's two. I just I I don't know if
    17:09
    there's two. I just I I don't know if
    17:09
    there's two. I just I I don't know if they're boats. Are they boats? >> Uh, well, they have boats in the
    17:11
    Uh, well, they have boats in the
    17:11
    Uh, well, they have boats in the background, that's why. >> I mean, Black Rose.
    17:13
    I mean, Black Rose.
    17:13
    I mean, Black Rose. >> Black Rose. Yeah, Orgasy. Black Rose has
    17:15
    Black Rose. Yeah, Orgasy. Black Rose has
    17:16
    Black Rose. Yeah, Orgasy. Black Rose has a boat. You see? >> Yep. But he wants cruise. Cruise boat.
    17:20
    Yep. But he wants cruise. Cruise boat.
    17:20
    Yep. But he wants cruise. Cruise boat. Okay. >> I don't know what cruise.
    17:28
    Isn't there a showboat on Maverick?
    17:28
    Isn't there a showboat on Maverick? >> Yes. And there's also uh Riverbo Casino.
    17:31
    Yes. And there's also uh Riverbo Casino.
    17:31
    Yes. And there's also uh Riverbo Casino. Riverbo Gambler. >> Uh Pirates of the Caribbean.
    17:34
    Uh Pirates of the Caribbean.
    17:34
    Uh Pirates of the Caribbean. >> I'm just naming boats now. [laughter]
    17:37
    I'm just naming boats now. [laughter]
    17:37
    I'm just naming boats now. [laughter] >> Let's [clears throat] see. What does he
    17:38
    Let's [clears throat] see. What does he
    17:38
    Let's [clears throat] see. What does he say? Uh acceptable answers are Gilligans Island. >> No, that's not that's not a fun cruise.
    17:45
    No, that's not that's not a fun cruise.
    17:45
    No, that's not that's not a fun cruise. >> That's not a It's a three-hour tour.
    17:47
    That's not a It's a three-hour tour.
    17:47
    That's not a It's a three-hour tour. tour, not a cruise. >> Okay. A riverboat gambler.
    17:49
    Okay. A riverboat gambler.
    17:49
    Okay. A riverboat gambler. >> Yep. Got one.
    17:50
    Yep. Got one.
    17:50
    Yep. Got one. >> A fishtails.
    17:52
    A fishtails.
    17:52
    A fishtails. >> That's true. They do have skiers.
    17:54
    That's true. They do have skiers.
    17:54
    That's true. They do have skiers. >> Yeah. But Maverick, you got my Oh, I
    17:57
    Yeah. But Maverick, you got my Oh, I
    17:57
    Yeah. But Maverick, you got my Oh, I don't believe I missed this one. Popeye. >> The whole [ __ ] upper plate field is a
    18:02
    The whole [ __ ] upper plate field is a
    18:02
    The whole [ __ ] upper plate field is a boat. >> Boat. I know. [laughter]
    18:04
    Boat. I know. [laughter]
    18:04
    Boat. I know. [laughter] >> Always happy to contribute to the ball
    18:06
    Always happy to contribute to the ball
    18:06
    Always happy to contribute to the ball bag. Hope you enjoyed expelling. Keep up the great work. See you all at the next tournament, >> Mike. Thank you, Mike.
    18:14
    Mike. Thank you, Mike.
    18:14
    Mike. Thank you, Mike. >> Thank you, Michael.
    18:16
    Thank you, Michael.
    18:16
    Thank you, Michael. Cruising cruising. If you notice, Rhonda's >> Well, that was pretty cool. Hope y'all
    18:24
    Well, that was pretty cool. Hope y'all
    18:24
    Well, that was pretty cool. Hope y'all enjoyed the slam tilt shenanigans. All right, I'm going to try and uh get this stupid flipper released. It is not uh cooperating. So, I think I'm going to have to bust out the heat. I haven't used a butane torch before, so this shall be interesting. All right, here we go. Here goes nothing. Uh, I think I got to turn it. Let's see. There we go.
    18:57
    Then I got to push it in. Let's see. Oh, it works. Okay. And I can adjust the level of heat. Oo, that's dangerous. I don't know if I can uh do this without melting wires. All right, let's see what happens here. I don't know. This seems like a bad idea. I got to get a better angle here.
    19:25
    I'm going to melt melt like that plastic bushing, aren't I? I don't think I like this uh strategy anymore. Let's try just a little bit right there. And I did. Okay. did add a little WD40, which is flammable. So, I'm not sure I'm loving that, but I'll give it a try now that it's been heated up a little. Okay, I'm just not having any luck with uh loosening these Allen screws. So, I think before I break something, I'm just going to um Hey, wait. This whole adjustment here, will that do anything? Oh, look at that. That's all I have to do is slide this thing forward a little bit. Okay, I did a little lep job here because those top two screws, you know, they're not adjustable. Only the middle one is. So, I'd have to like move those holes 16th of an inch, which not really easy to do. So, I just added a washer behind it to force it forward a little bit. And uh let's see the results.
    20:47
    All right, here we go. Maybe down still a little bit. Yeah, I thought it was good. It's a little bit better. Maybe I'll try and bend that whole bracket. I mean, it's pretty beefy. Probably can't do that. So, I may adjust it a little bit more. Um in the up position, it the left definitely goes way up. So, you know, I'm not going to rebuild these flippers. They're they're working fine, and I can't unstick them. I mean, if I fought hard enough, I probably could, but I think this is uh good enough. I may try and get that up just a little bit more, though. Another bit of leage going on here. Take said hammer and smash L bracket. And here are the results. There you go. Look at that. That is darn near perfect. Might even be a little bit high. [clears throat] It might even be a little bit high, but I'm not going to bang it up and down and up and down. Get your minds out of the gutter. I'm going to live with that. Okay, so check this out. Interestingly enough, when I activate the flippers [snorts] with the flipper buttons, the height is actually about the same.
    22:22
    So, even better. Now, I think I'm going to try and work on the bonus unit. Test that a little bit more. see what it's doing and try and get it to uh function properly. Play out this last ball here. Bounce pass and pop bumpers are definitely very active now. It's great. Oh boy. Ah, stuffed myself. Okay, I have a little wolf gremlin here that I got to resolve. This bulb is just being flaky and it's important. It denotes that you have triple bonus. So, here are the wires that go through the playfield right here. And there's a little bit of slack there. So, what I'm thinking if I can push the wires through where's the other one here? I don't know if you can see this, but this brown wire here, I might be able to get some slack, just enough to uh possibly wire in a new lamp socket. So, I think I might just be able to pull that off. So, I think this one needs a new socket. No leapping on this one. I don't know why this h this is happening, but little tiny red flakes are coming off. I swear my my wolf was in much better shape at one point in time. Look at this. Look how good this looks. And I think the same is kind of happening to my blue paint. Like little tiny flakes.
    24:14
    Maybe I'm sneezing on it and that's the problem. See if I can blow these flakes away.
    24:25
    Anyway, don't love that. But here is a semile lab job for y'all. Just wired in an LED and soldered it direct. I kept the plastic housing on cuz I just didn't want the wires to short to anything or to each other. So, I just kept it as is like that. And uh Oh, see I got to not touch this thing. Just so delicate right now. Okay, I feel like that's going to work. Let's give it a try. Okay, we need to start a game
    25:11
    now. We need to get triple bonus. Now, what we need first is for the switch somewhere around here to be activated.
    25:21
    Now we can hit trouble bonus. Woo, that's bright. Oh my god. Don't look at that. Let's cover that up immediately. But I think it ain't going to be flaky anymore. Just the paint. But let's try double bonus. It does look a little bit brighter, but you can never have them on at the same time, so you'll never notice. Perfect. Okay. Okay, on to the bonus unit. This spring looks awfully stretched. I think I know why. I think someone tried to um do that on purpose because check this out. So, uh how was I doing this? Like so. Wait. There we go. Okay. So that's going to what is that? Retract the bonus count when I do that. No, that's advancing the bonus. Is that right? I'm upside down here. Yeah, that is advancing. Okay. And then this is retracting the bonus. Okay. So, let's go back to the top here. Uh, check this out. So, we'll move this one step. And that is uh No, let's get to the actual rivet portion of the stepper here. Okay. Oh, you know what? The fingers
    27:00
    down here start the um the process. So there. So that is 10,000.
    27:12
    That's 20,000. 30 40. But look what happens when we get to around here. Well, it didn't do it that time, but
    27:33
    it was getting hung up. there wasn't making it all the way to the rivets. It was kind of getting stuck like half between halfway in between like that. So, I think that's probably my problem. That one was a little sluggish.
    27:52
    I did clean these rivets and I lubed them, but maybe this spring is not strong enough. Definitely looks like someone messed with it. So anyway, I think that is where the problem lies. So I'll uh mess with this a bit and try and get it working perfectly. Okay. So I released the spring and I've concluded that the plunger and the arm are completely fine. They are free and clear. I just cleaned the plunger some more. There is no resistance there. It's um
    28:36
    once you start trying to engage this cog wheel, see the lever here?
    28:50
    That's where the resistance is. So I think got to potentially somehow clean this cog wheel. I mean, or is it the tension of the spring on it? Either way, that's where the resistance is coming from. So, see if I can figure out something. Okay, so I removed this piece and
    29:21
    I um recaned all these rivets, relubed them, but what I think is going to be Possibly the solution is I took one winding off of this spring. I just unhooked it and then swung it around once and rehooked it in there so that it's not as stubborn. So that might be the trick there. So I'll put it all back together and we will find out. Okay, let's see if this works. Okay, that's all the way down. Activate this solenoid now.
    30:19
    Oh, that was the flipper button. Seems to work in this position. Now, let's actually try it in the game. Okay, I've been fighting with this for good 20 minutes. I think what happened is that I actually installed this disc on incorrectly, which is weird because I marked it. I put a notch here with a Sharpie and I marked it right here and I installed it the exact same way that I had it, but it was um not working at all. It was just kind of stuck at 10. So, I think I was one spot off. It was supposed to be in the off position, not the 10,000 bonus position. So, I messed with that for quite a while. Think it's in the right spot now. and I had put the spring back to the original tension um cuz it wasn't working, but that wasn't the spring's fault. So then I grabbed the spring to put it back to the lesser tension and then it kind of like flung away on me and then this spring came flying. So I had to reattach that. So I don't know what tension this spring is now at, if it's the original or one step down. But then I just noticed that this spring had come off of one side as well. So I don't know if that was a problem all along. I'll have to watch back my editing and see if I can notice that off. But maybe it'll work now. Okay, I just started the game and we're off to a good start cuz it's not on 10,000 at the beginning of the game. So, I'm going to uh just hit this advance bonus target. See what happens. [snorts] There we go. 10,000. Did I point to that as 10,000? No. Was that okay? All right. I think that's back to normal. Thank goodness. Cuz it wasn't working at all. [snorts] Okay. and then step it all back down. Okay, now to see if uh it works with the playfield down. Okay, here we go.
    32:46
    So, one thing I've learned from people is that like from Mike Hanley, he mentioned it, Cory Cook, he mentioned it. when the score motor is actually turning, which it happens like every time you score, nothing else can register while it's turning. So, if you like nail this target and it bounces off into that target and nails that target, it's only going to give you credit for one cuz it's not that smart. So, I will slowly hit some advanced bonuses. We'll do targets. We'll do a little bit of everything. Good start. Let's just do targets for now. It's easy to keep track. This feels like progress here cuz sometimes it gets stuck around this zone. Five for five. That might be a first.
    33:49
    Man. Oh man. Might just be able to pull this off here. Look at that. 10 for 10. That is a first. So, whatever I did seem to work. I don't know if I ended up increasing the tension of that main spring or not, but possibly the recaning could have helped. But I am going to uh call that good until it isn't. Okay. My next Gremlin triple bonus light. It's being flaky again, but this time I don't think it's my bulb or my socket. I believe that it is probably a dirty switch on the triple bonus relay. Let's see if uh I can find it. All right, what do we got? We got Diana's extra ball. Special Pekabas, special peekab-bas. That's probably the two saucers left and right. Uh, what does this say? Generic picabolas. Not sure what that is. Uh, dichio. [music] Dichio. What do I need again? I need to find triple. What is triple in Spanish? I think that's Oh [ __ ] dropping my balls. Um, I'm going to have to look up triple in Spanish. Okay, triple in Spanish uh is pronounced triple. So, that's not very helpful. But what I can do is just activate the switch and watch these relays and see which one does anything. Oh, none of those. Okay. Oh, well, I guess it probably is that one then. So, I think I just need to uh find which one of these switches is responsible for the light and give that a good cleaning. Okay, it took me a bit cuz there's 100 switches on this relay, but I managed to find it. The switch responsible for the light. So, it makes me wonder if it was the socket in the first place, but doesn't really matter. New LED didn't take much to install and it will be super reliable. So, I have the light on right now and I'm going to separate that switch there. like so. Okay. Oh, this is going to be awkward.
    36:38
    And watch light comes on and off. So, that's how I know that is the switch I need to give a good cleaning to. Okay, let's give it a shot here.
    36:53
    There we go. And it's not flickering on and off anymore. Okay, just a quick little update. I've moved on to score reels. I put it in a four player game and just went through all the reels. And for starters, player number one's pretty good. Player number two, these two score reels were being sticky, so I just cleaned them up. And let's see.
    37:21
    They were definitely having a hard time turning over. working great now. Okay, let's do one more. So, I'm happy with players one and two. The other thing I did was um I messed with the uh jumpers for the score regulation, and there are two of them. So, I'm guessing that those are the two different high score levels. So, I just went according to the apron card, one was like 720,000. So, that's one, two, three, four on the right. One, two, three, four on the right here. And then down to on the left, one, two. So, there we go. That's set for 720. And the other is set for 8 90. And I believe that works. But that's what I have on the apron. So I think that is a match now. So I but I do believe I believe it gave three free games. Maybe there was three knocks and I don't know if that was high score to date or that was the second level gives you three games. First level gives you one game. I'm not really sure. But anyway, I'm going to deal with the uh next two score reels. Oh, and I did uh have a spring fly into the neck hole and it is gone forever. I cannot find it. So, I just had to make a new spring. This is the other half of it. And uh yeah, it's gone forever. So, that's why my towel is down now. This is probably becoming a long video, but I feel like I'm near the end and I'm just trying to push through to get to the end. So, that is why I just keep on going and going and going. But now we have to check player number three. I'll show you. Oh, that score reel is not too bad.
    39:42
    Okay, let's go to the uh what is that? Hundreds, thousands, 10,000s, 100 thousands. Uh I'm I'm hitting this switch here cuz I've learned that that's like 50,000 points for going in the saucer. It's kind of huge. And I got to be careful cuz I almost keep getting zapped by the kicker. It just keeps grazing my finger cuz I didn't learn my lesson the first three times. You know what? Player three might be fine.
    40:30
    Oh, switch stuck. Switch stuck. Okay, that has been sensitive before. That's this guy right here. I need to maybe uh adjust that a little more, but I think score reel number three or player number three is good to go. So, I'll move on to player four and I'll be back. Look what I just noticed. My target paint is starting to just disintegrate. What is happening? These were in good shape.
    41:10
    The paint is finally dying. It's just starting to go. But my green wolves are okay. Red wolf, not so much. That's sad. Okay, so I'm going to end this episode because I've been going at this for maybe six hours and I'm done. I did clean the rest of the sticky score wheels. I cleaned the sticky ball count unit because sometimes it wasn't changing over when it should. So, I also changed it to a uh three ball game just so that when I'm, you know, in the middle of testing score reels, I can't seem to figure out. Maybe you can tell me how do I end the game in the middle of a game? Like, if it's a four-player game, I'm on ball two. Can I just end the game? I thought I should be able to do that by pressing the start button, but doesn't let me do that. So, I have to run the ball through. I'll go like grab the ball, hit a target, drain it, grab the ball, hit a target, drain it, etc. until I've gone through the whole game. There's got to be an easier way. So, I just put it three balls so that I could process quicker when testing my ball count unit and score reels. So, we're going to finish this episode on a three ball game of Alaska and see if there are any more gremlins outlane. I got to solve that little rubber band will work for that. I do got to set it back on five ball though cuz this game is too brutal. to be a three ball game.
    43:04
    Yeah. So, once I learned that those saucers [snorts] Oh, I should have nudged better. Once I discovered those saucers are 50,000 a pop, that changed everything. This is like a saucer all day game.
    43:26
    And If you miss, [snorts] maybe you'll hit that target in the middle, which is worth a bonus advance and 5,000. So, it's like 15,000 points. So, that's not too bad.
    43:43
    Drop targets are okay, except the man won't always give you credit. But there you have it. The Gremlins are slowly dying. I will save the back glass for the last episode which is not this one. So stay tuned for the next episode.