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Part 6: 1977 Allied Leisure Getaway Pinball Project. Rebuilding the power supply!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·18m 44s·analyzed·Apr 29, 2026
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Restoration of 1977 Allied Leisure Getaway power supply and cosmetic repairs.

Summary

Mike Diamond works on restoring a 1977 Allied Leisure Getaway pinball machine, focusing on rebuilding the power supply by replacing capacitors and other components. He documents the process, including testing a transistor, soldering new caps, and performing cosmetic restoration work on the coin door and flipper buttons while waiting for a replacement potentiometer. He also mentions selling his Gammatron machine to Chad Cowen and his one-player Alaska EM machine to Corey.

Key Claims

  • The original capacitor is only 8,000 microfarads when the manual calls for 9,000 microfarads, and someone had already attempted a piggyback fix

    high confidence · Mike Diamond describing the power supply capacitor he found in the Getaway machine

  • The 2N3055 transistor tested good using a multimeter with expected readings of 0.56 one direction and OL the other way

    high confidence · Mike Diamond testing the transistor during power supply rebuild

  • Allied Leisure flipper buttons have a smaller point design compared to modern or Bally/Stern style buttons, making direct substitution impossible

    high confidence · Mike Diamond examining flipper button compatibility during restoration

  • Multiple Getaway machines (at least 2 of 3 examined) have had their original shooter housings replaced, suggesting the original plastic housing is not a long-term solution

    medium confidence · Mike Diamond researching Getaway variations on Google while assessing his own machine's shooter housing

  • Gammatron was sold to Chad Cowen and picked up on Friday in Sarnia

    high confidence · Mike Diamond announcing the sale of his Gammatron machine

Notable Quotes

  • “What I really should have done first, but you know, I got a little ahead of myself as I do occasionally, is uh rebuild the power supply.”

    Mike Diamond@ 1:10 — Establishes the core focus of this restoration episode and acknowledges the proper sequence for troubleshooting vintage pinball power issues

  • “You can go up to 10,000 uF on this thing. This is used, but I tested it in my capacitance meter tool thingy. And it appeared to be good.”

    Mike Diamond@ 3:15 — Shows proper testing methodology before using salvaged capacitor components in restoration work

  • “Allied Leisure likes plastic. You being a good kitty?”

    Mike Diamond@ 18:29 — Observation about Allied Leisure design philosophy using plastic components, demonstrates the brand's cost-reduction approach

  • “I really should have done first, but you know, I got a little ahead of myself as I do occasionally, is uh rebuild the power supply.”

    Mike Diamond@ 1:13 — Explains why previous MPU board swapping attempts failed—the power supply needed rebuilding first

Entities

Mike DiamondpersonChad CowenpersonCoreypersonAllied Leisure GetawaygameGammatrongameAlaskagamePinball ShenanigansorganizationJoe's Classic Video Gamesperson/content_creatorEllieperson

Signals

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Detailed documentation of 1977 Allied Leisure Getaway power supply rebuild including capacitor replacement (8000 to 10000 uF main cap, two 220 uF 35V caps) and transistor testing methodology

    high · Mike Diamond replacing main capacitors, testing 2N3055 transistor with multimeter, adding thermal paste, extending fuse wire for slack

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Salvaged capacitors from parts stash tested and verified before use; need for specific 1k ohm trimmer pot sourced from Corey; found through examination of parts inventory

    high · Mike Diamond testing used capacitor in capacitance meter, sourcing replacement parts from personal collection and from Corey

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Allied Leisure flipper buttons use proprietary smaller point design incompatible with modern Bally/Stern style buttons; original housings can be reused but buttons cannot be directly swapped

    high · Mike Diamond examining button point size differences, demonstrating that modern buttons' points are too large for Allied Leisure's metal plate

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Original Allied Leisure Getaway shooter housing cracked; research shows multiple machines have had housings replaced due to plastic degradation; original design not long-term durable

    medium · Mike Diamond finding cracked original housing, discovering 2 of 3 Getaway machines examined have replacement housings, planning crazy glue repair but expecting eventual replacement

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Using steel wool, Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish, Windex, and Dremel on corroded metal components (coin door, light sockets, carriage bolts); effective for restoration of crusty hardware

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:03
Yes, I'm randomly eating cabbage. Very weird, I know. Do you think I'm weird, Ellie, [laughter] for eating cabbage? She don't judge. I'm [music] Mike Diamond and this is Pinball Shenanigans.
0:22
All right, Shenaniganders.
0:22
All right, Shenaniganders. It is time for some more Allied Leisure Getaway action. On the last episode, tried to get this thing to boot up, failed miserably. That's cuz I was using three different MPU boards.
0:45
Trying them all out and um not having any luck. What I really should have done. Oh, look, new addition to my shelf here. Pinball Wizard beer. Drank that on Saturday. 6.5er, it's a little little strong, but it was definitely drinkable. Uh so, what I really should have did first, but you know, I got a little ahead of myself as I do occasionally, is uh rebuild the power supply. Should have really started with that. When I watched Joe's Classic Video Games, he did a power supply rebuild. Basically, replace the three main caps. Uh someone's already tried to do this one here and like piggybacked a second cap onto this cap to try and get the correct value, cuz this is only um the one that's on here, this blue one, is only 8,000 microfarads. And the manual calls for um 9,000, so this must be 1,000 or more. Let's see here. Yeah, that is 8,000. So, I guess you can do that, but uh anyway, I got to change this guy and then there's two of these orange guys and I got to change this uh trimmer pot as well. And you know, maybe reflow some solder, check on this transistor here. I think I have to remove it in order to remove this board in order to get at the caps. So, if I do that, then I'll give it some fresh heat sink compound and make sure [clears throat] it's on there nice and snug. So, I think that I'm going to have possible success after rebuilding this, but we won't know until I've done that. Now, I did go digging in my stash and fortunately, I found exactly what I need. You can go up to 10,000 uF on this thing. This is used, but I tested in tested it in my capacitance meter tool thingy. And it appeared to be good. And then, I also have the two smaller caps, which are What are they? 2,200 uF 35 V. Or 220. That's what it is. 220. 35 V. So, I can at least replace those and then I'm going to be seeing Corey tomorrow. He and I are going to load up my one-player Alaska EM and he's going to take that to Allentown and uh that is getting sold. So, I'll be seeing him tomorrow to load that up. And in other news, Gammatron is officially gone. Chad Cowen picked it up on Friday. We met in Sarnia and here's a photo for you. He made it across the border, no problem, other than having to get cavity searched multiple times. Okay, that didn't actually happen, so if you want to buy a pinball machine off me and you live in the states, don't worry. You aren't Your cavities shouldn't be searched, but no promises. So, anyway, I guess it is time to um remove the board. Okay, I am in the middle of things here and it is slow going, but someone came down to say hi and check things out.

high · Mike Diamond demonstrating coin door cleaning progression and using steel wool with polish on rusty coin return buttons and carriage bolts

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Allied Leisure machines feature a hackered shooter rod with adjustable nut angle to improve plunger-to-ball alignment; non-standard design suggesting manufacturing adjustments

    medium · Mike Diamond discovering and questioning the purpose of the nut on the shooter rod, noting it appears to be an aftermarket adjustment for ball angle

  • ?

    content_signal: Pinball Shenanigans is a long-form restoration documentation series with multi-part episodic structure; Part 6 of ongoing Getaway restoration project indicates sustained audience interest in restoration content

    high · Video title indicating 'Part 6' of Getaway project, reference to previous episodes where MPU boards were tested

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Proper sequence for vintage pinball troubleshooting: power supply rebuild before attempting MPU swaps; power supply issues can mask or cause other component failures

    high · Mike Diamond stating he should have rebuilt power supply first before trying three different MPU boards; emphasizing the proper diagnostic order

    • 5:06
    Yes, I'm randomly eating um cabbage. Very weird, I know. Do you think I'm weird, >> [laughter]
    5:13
    [laughter]
    5:13
    [laughter] >> Ellie,
    5:14
    Ellie,
    5:14
    Ellie, for eating cabbage? She don't judge. All right. You chill up there. I don't know, it's kind of getting cool, but I'll let you play in your window for a little bit. But yeah, I am um
    5:36
    just about to solder some stuff. Got my soldering iron cooking. Got a couple caps in. I'm going from a um axial to a radial style, so I'm going to have to uh add a bit of wire. Also, I had to This is the wire that went to the fuse and it's really short, so I'm going to extend that a little bit. Give myself a little bit more slack, but I shall report back shortly. Okay, I've got my caps soldered. Before I proceed, I really should check this um transistor here. It is a 2N3055.
    6:26
    Commonly used on Gottlieb machines and we just test the two leads here like so. One is collector, one is emitter. And we got a point five six reading one way
    6:47
    and should be OL the other way and it is. So, it is good. I've added some thermal paste to the other side.
    7:00
    On the backside here, there's also a little like plastic spacer. So, that is good to do and I've um extended this wire here to the fuse, which will give me a little more slack. Okay, I've gone pretty much as far as I can go. So, I've got the new cap here, here and here. I just added leads
    7:28
    for this cap here. Uh I can't really proceed any further because I want to replace this 1 k ohm trimmer pot here. Uh but I don't have one in stock and I know Corey has one, but he says it's a lot smaller and I'm not sure how that's going to work, but I'm going to have to figure it out. And uh yeah, so I can't secure this back to the uh heat sink plate or heat sink until I have this component replaced, but yeah, so this is all the uh shrapnel. It's all the garbage. And there was this piece of tape here on the transformer there, I guess, to prevent >> [groaning]
    8:24
    [groaning]
    8:24
    [groaning] >> the shorting of anything.
    8:25
    the shorting of anything.
    8:26
    the shorting of anything. So, I added a new piece. And that's about where I'm at with this, so I can't proceed until I get this part. Okay, so I've gone as far as I'm going to go with this thing until I get my potentiometer tomorrow. So, in the meanwhile, I'm going to mix it up and maybe just work on couple sort of cosmetic things. This coin door is a little crusty. I just tried some Windex on it and that didn't do anything. So, I'm going to bust out some heavier dutyer stuff like my steel wool. And I'm going to steal this shooter housing from the other body that I have and swap in the original housing. And also, I noticed this flipper button is cracked. So, I'm going to steal that from the other machine as well. And while I am waiting to deal with power supply, I'll keep being productive with uh some other cosmetic details. All right, starting to clean up the coin door. It's going to look a little better. It's not going to be perfect, but just got to remove one little e-clip and you can access these coin return buttons. And um they were pretty rusty, so they're going to look a little better. I now interrupt this program for the following messages.
    10:18
    Okay, just wrapping up this coin door here. I'll show you shortly, but Allie's come back down to say hi and check things out. You were so squawky a minute ago, but soon as I hit record you go into chill mode. Well, she's been chilling for a little bit, but she definitely announced her arrival. Okay, let's show you what things are looking like here. I used uh some cloths, some steel wool, and where is my polish here? I used some of this Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish, aluminum. And things are looking better. Look at that. I just installed this lock. I haven't even tested it yet. And much better. I used the Dremel on the carriage bolts. You saw me remove these coin return buttons. This was very rusty and this one is like brand new. So, I Dremeled that pretty good. And uh that is a significant improvement. Cleaned up the coin plastics as well. So, what time is it? It's getting near 10. Uh I also did check on these light bulbs. And they work. They I've never seen them work, but in my tester they work, so there's something going on. Either sockets or wiring or who knows what, but I'll address that at some point. And uh should I tackle this shooter rod before I wrap things up? All right, maybe no, maybe I'll do something a little more simple. So, I want to wrap up shortly. I will replace this busted up flipper button. All right, I had to remove the shooter rod after all to access the screws. But, this is how these Allied Leisure flipper button mix look like. That's how they look. Definitely a little different. And I did look into changing the housing and button all together on the other side. But, the issue I had was that see this little point here that goes through that metal plate? Well, it's pretty small compared to the modern style flipper buttons or at least Bally Stern style. So, can't use those. I could probably use the housing though if I needed to. They are pretty identical.
    13:39
    But, they had to get all fancy with their flipper buttons, so I took this one off just to clean it and make it look nice like the other one. I mean, it's got a little burn mark in it. And it's a little faded, but at least it looks better than this. Right?
    14:05
    So, I'll install this on the donor machine, so it is not without. Um I'll clean this up and then I did polish the contacts with the Dremel. Okay, I've got the contact here all cleaned up. And installed. Looks about the same. Doesn't really look a whole lot different. Uh at least we got the chip resolved on this one. So, that's done. I Here's what's going on with the shooter rod situation. This was just kind of stuck right there, this nut. I'm guessing that is to try and angle the plunger to the ball better, so there's been some hackery. Here is the original plunger housing that I was going to use. Literally, when I removed it this spring was also crammed onto this rod here, so it was like double springed. Seems very unnecessary. Sadly, my housing is cracked here. So, if I want to use this I'm going to have to at least crazy glue it. Or I go with a new one of these. Cuz I think I have one somewhere. Where is my shooter stuff? Check this out.
    15:56
    What do we got here? That is gently used. But, I think I remember seeing Look at this. Uh no. Oh, wait, here we go. Look at that. Maybe I could use that instead. That is definitely a different shape though. So, maybe that's not going to work. But, this guy here
    16:25
    could work. So, I would really like to keep it original, but I don't know how long this would last for, so we'll see. But, I think crazy glue will work, then I'll do that. Because like why did they put that nut there? I don't want to have to add hackery to the situation if I can avoid it. And if using the original shooter housing avoids hackery, then I'm more interested in using this. So,
    17:03
    I bet someone could 3D print that up, but uh I'm not going to go through that trouble. I think I will just maybe before wrapping up this video, add some crazy glue, clamp it together, and then I will assess tomorrow. But, that's where I'm at and that's where I'm going to leave it for tonight. So, more baby steps. Thanks for watching. That's looking pretty darn good though. We'll see it soon. Okay, I was just checking and for sure that black housing is original. But, looking on Google here, look, that one's been changed out.
    17:53
    Uh there was one here that had like Where was it? Yeah, look at this. Like almost like a Williams style.
    18:01
    So, and like what? Two of the three getaways that I have also have them replaced, so despite crazy gluing this and it potentially being okay, it's probably not going to be a long-term solution, so I probably will end up going ahead and replacing it because it's plastic. Allied Leisure likes plastic. You being a good kitty?