Episode 16 - Double-Up Fixed and Fuses are Great

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·13m 1s·analyzed·Mar 27, 2015

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

EM bingo tech: fixing Double-Up's lights via fuse replacement, plus fuse maintenance best practices.

Summary

Nick Baldridge discusses fixing a lighting issue on his Double-Up bingo machine by replacing a faulty fuse, then provides an in-depth technical segment on fuse maintenance, proper fuse values, fuse holder quality issues in Bally machines, and common mistakes that lead to fuse problems. He emphasizes the importance of correct fuse values, proper installation technique, and using schematics for troubleshooting.

Key Claims

The feature lamp circuit fuse on Double-Up was making intermittent contact due to poor fuse holder quality, appearing to work when tested but failing in operation.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing his troubleshooting process on Double-Up; he tested continuity at the fuse and found power, but lamps were dark; replacing the fuse solved the problem.
Bally fuse blocks are low-quality, made of bakelite that warps over time, with thin metal clips that bend easily during fuse insertion/removal, increasing resistance and heat.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge's technical analysis of Bally-era fuse holder design and materials degradation.
Increased resistance in fuse clips due to bending or dirt causes the fuse and clips to heat up more, compounding the problem and leading to fuse failure or circuit malfunction.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge explaining the physics of resistance heating in worn fuse clips.
Using a fuse value that is too high bypasses the protective function of the fuse and allows dangerous overcurrent to flow into the circuit.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge warning against overfusing; describes it as similar to having no fuse at all.
Double-Up has three separate illumination fuses: one for GI, one for score lamps, and one for feature lamps; the feature lamp circuit powers the backbox letters, star zone, mystic lines, and time tree.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing Double-Up's electrical circuit structure during troubleshooting explanation.
The Red Letter game and Star Zone features on Double-Up have nearly identical trip/relay noises with no audio cue difference, making it impossible to know which feature was lit without visual backbox indication.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing the limitation of playing without feature lamp illumination on Double-Up.
Pushing a fuse too hard into the fuse holder can deform the metal clips that hold it, increasing resistance and causing fuse problems.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge providing installation best practice guidance on fuse insertion technique.

Notable Quotes

“The fuse itself was fine, so I replaced the fuse, and everything was fine.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~0:45 — Paradoxical finding that solved the Double-Up lighting problem — the fuse appeared functional but was causing contact issues due to worn holder.
“The fuses are there to protect various circuits. If there is an overload condition where a particular circuit is drawing more current than it's supposed to, the fuse filament will heat up and break.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~1:00 — Core explanation of fuse function and safety purpose.
“On Bally machines of this era, the fuse blocks are terrible, terrible, terrible. They are very low quality, and they're essentially just stapled to the side of the cabinet.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~1:20 — Strong critique of Bally manufacturing quality in fuse block design; identifies systemic design weakness.
“If the fuse value is too high you doing a similar thing to having no fuse in there at all. And you're allowing much more current to flow into that circuit than it was designed to handle.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~3:30 — Critical safety warning against overfusing as a shortcut to circuit problems.
“I'm lazy, but I'm not stupid.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~4:00 — Self-aware aside acknowledging his tendency to defer maintenance (fuse holder replacement) but refusing unsafe shortcuts.
“When you bend metal like that, it increases the resistance, which causes more current to flow into the circuit to try to overcome that resistance.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~5:30 — Explains the feedback loop that causes failures in worn fuse holders.
“The fuse just clips right onto the surface. You push it in, and it snaps in, but you don't have to push very hard.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~6:00 — Proper technique for fuse insertion to avoid deforming the clips.
“The schematics are one of your best friends when trying to troubleshoot a problem with the game.”

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonDouble-Upgame BallycompanyFor Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball PodcastorganizationRed Letter gameproductStar Zoneproduct

Signals

?
restoration_signal: Nick identifies poor-quality Bally fuse blocks as a systemic failure point in EM machines; advocates replacing worn fuse holders to prevent contact issues.
high · Extended technical discussion on fuse holder degradation, including bakelite warping and thin metal clip failure; recommended best practice for fuse installation and clip preservation.
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product_concern: Bally fuse block design is inherently fragile with low-quality materials; thin metal clips bend under normal use, creating persistent contact and heat issues.
high · Nick's characterization: 'The fuse blocks are terrible, terrible, terrible. They are very low quality.' Explains how bakelite warps and clips bend with fuse insertion/removal.
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operational_signal: Nick establishes best practices for fuse maintenance: verify correct fuse values against schematics, handle fuse insertion gently, mirror wiring when replacing fuse blocks, and suspect solder joints if fuse problems persist.
high · Detailed technical guidance on fuse installation technique, voltage/amperage correctness, and troubleshooting methodology.
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gameplay_signal: Double-Up's feature lighting is critical for gameplay; without backbox illumination, players cannot distinguish between Red Letter and Star Zone features that have identical trip relay sounds.
high · Nick notes: 'Without any of that information, it makes it very hard to know what you've got' and describes having to guess between Red Letter (3 stars) and 4 stars for 600 replays.
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content_signal: Episode 16 of For Amusement Only focuses on EM bingo tech; Episode 17 will cover schematic symbols as a troubleshooting tool, teasing ongoing series on schematic literacy.

Topics

Fuse holder design and degradation in Bally EM machinesprimaryElectrical resistance and heat buildup in worn fuse clipsprimaryProper fuse values and overfusing risksprimaryTroubleshooting intermittent electrical contact issuesprimaryBingo machine feature mechanics and lighting circuitssecondaryEM schematic reading and symbolssecondaryDouble-Up restoration and gameplaysecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.039

what's that sound it's for amusement only the em and bingo pinball podcast welcome back to for amusement only this is Nicholas Baldridge tonight i have good news double up is fixed now the bad news is what brings me to our tech segment for today Okay, so I went through and cleaned and adjusted every switch that's in the path for the feature lights. As I mentioned last episode, that includes several switches on the mixer and the anti-cheat relay, the tilt trips, and elsewhere. so I'm tracing my power through the machine to the lamp sockets and with my meter this is another one of these frustrating my meter is terrible and really I should spend the extra $5 and get a nicer one but when I push on the tab for the fuse which is providing the power for all of the lamps that were out, there's continuity. When I go to look from the front of the machine, there's no lamps. And the only thing that was tying them together was the fuse. And so I would clean these switches and sit and I'd think about it for a minute and I'd say, you know, it's got to be the fuse. and I came back to that a few times. Then I looked, took the fuse out, replaced it with another one, and it worked. The fuse itself was fine, so I replaced the fuse, and everything was fine. So that leads me to two points about fuses, and there's more to talk about with them as well. So the fuses are there to protect various circuits. If there is an overload condition where a particular circuit is drawing more current than it's supposed to, the fuse filament will heat up and break. And this breaks the circuit, preventing damage to the machine. So, on belly machines of this era, the fuse blocks are terrible, terrible, terrible. They are very low quality, and they're essentially just stapled to the side of the cabinet. They use bakelite as their backing, and that warps and twists over time. and the fuse clips themselves are very, very low quality, thin metal so when a circuit has a load applied it will heat up the fuse and the fuse clips And if there is dirt or deterioration or grease or whatever on those fuse clips it's going to heat up more because, as I mentioned in my last podcast, those things increase your resistance. So when the fuse clips bend over time, because when you insert and remove fuses, it's going to bend the clips. That's going to increase the resistance and create more heat, thus further compounding the problem. So I went into this knowing that Bally fuse clips were bad, fuse holders, and yet I've never changed it because I am lazy and cheap. so here's an example of where it came back to bite me and just one scenario where a simple troubleshooting job you know I opened this up because the replays weren't resetting and the start was not functioning appropriately turned into a much larger job just because the fuse clips are so bad so of course I haven't replaced the fuse clips or the fuse holders and it's wheeled back into position so I'll just have to remember this next time I put in a parts order and then I'm sure to do it so I mentioned that fuses are there to prevent an overcurrent scenario so what can cause that really, it can be caused by almost anything failing. If you have a bulb which ends up somehow shorting in its socket, or a bad socket, or a socket that was good that went bad, or a poorly manufactured bulb, all these things can cause extra current to be drawn trying to light that lamp, or pushing current into the wrong circuit, which can cause the fuse to heat up and blow. This is a very good thing. This is exactly what you want to happen. If the fuse didn't exist, then what would happen is eventually the machine would catch on fire, and that's not something any of us want. So, part of the reason that paperwork is so important is that it gives the fuse values for the machine. And when I say paperwork, I mean the manual and schematic. especially the schematics on EMs. You want to review the fuse values even if the label which is printed and posted in the machine is no longer there. You want to review what the schematic shows and ensure that the fuses which are in the machine are correct for the machine. If the fuse value is too little then the the circuit will most likely not operate as designed and the fuse will blow almost immediately If the fuse value is too high you doing a similar thing to having no fuse in there at all And you're allowing much more current to flow into that circuit than it was designed to handle. One must be very careful not to overfuse. Resist the temptation. If you have fuses that are blowing, that means that you've got a problem and you need to find it and take care of it rather than trying to put in a higher fuse value and allowing the machine to come to harm. I'm lazy, but I'm not stupid. So, I'm excited that I get to play Double Up again. And after I got it working, I played my first round got a hit for 6 and got that old feeling again that I get when I made my first hit on a bingo just brings me right back to that day it's just as enjoyable now as it was then as I mentioned earlier I was a little cooler on double up and hadn't been playing it much but now I think I'm going to start trying to get that elusive four in the star zone for 600 hits. 600 replays. So, remember, the lesson for today is to ensure that your fuse values are correct. And that holds true for any machine. If you have a fuse holder where one of the pieces is weak, it tends to flip open or a piece moves aside as you're putting the fuse in, that means that it's getting ready to break. And as I say, when you bend metal like that, it increases the resistance, which causes more current to flow into the circuit to try to overcome that resistance. And so your fuse will end up blowing or you will wind up with problems. Another issue is if you push your fuses too far into the fuse holders, it will deform those metal pieces that hold the fuse in place, the actual holders. And this is something you want to avoid as well. Basically, the fuse just clips right onto the surface. You push it in, and it snaps in, but you don't have to push very hard. If you're pushing hard and parting the metal, then you're doing it too hard. You need to back the fuse out and make sure that it is appropriately tensioned. However, again, if you're bending the fuse clip, then you're increasing resistance, and there's no way around that. So in a worst case scenario I already changed all of my fuse holders but I still have fuse problems Well, the first thing to suspect are your solder joints. In Double Up, for instance, the bingo that I was just working on, there are three illumination fuses, one that provides the GI, one that provides the score lamps, and one that provides the feature lamps. Score lamps were working, GI was working, but the feature lamps were not. And that feature lamp circuit holds most of the backbox in its grip. There's the red letters for the red letter game. There's the star zone stuff, there's the mystic lines, and there is the time tree. And so without any of that information, it makes it very hard to know what you've got, and when your time is running out to use a particular feature. You basically just have to guess. And as far as the Red Letter game, well, most likely it's going to be Red Letter and three in the star zones. But sometimes, maybe, it's four in the star zones for 600 replays, and you would have no idea which was which. The trip noises are almost exactly exactly identical. So there are no audio cues to figure out what you got. You just have to play it and see. So those three illumination fuses are wired together on the fuse block. When you're changing the fuse block, you need to make sure that you completely mirror the wiring. And the way that I normally do it when I'm changing a fuse block is to move one wire at a time to ensure that I'm doing it correctly. This will also prevent you from miswiring the fuse block and causing all kinds of weird problems and hopefully blown fuses. I've worked on a game where the fuse block was miswired and the only way to correct that is to read the schematics. so next time we'll talk about some of the symbols which are located on the schematics and how you can use them as a map to the inside of your game this is a topic that we'll take fairly slowly it's fairly complex and a lot of people are freaked out by the schematics but really they are one of your best friends when trying to troubleshoot a problem with the game so until next time This is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com 4amusementonly.libsyn.com is our web address. You can also find us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, RSS, and even on the dreaded Facebook. Talk to you next time.