Episode 310 - Turf King Learning Pt 2 with Ava Baldridge 1-14-16

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·9m 41s·held·Jan 15, 2016

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

Father-daughter restoration of Turf King playfield lighting via schematic reading and fuse diagnostics.

Summary

Nicholas Baldridge and his daughter Ava discuss their restoration work on a Turf King EM pinball machine, specifically troubleshooting playfield lighting issues. They explain schematic reading, fuse testing with a multimeter, and identify a faulty fuse holder as the root cause. The episode emphasizes learning, safety precautions around high-voltage wiring, and upcoming restoration steps including scoring card replacement.

Key Claims

In most ballet/EM games, you'll find at least one bad fuse holder, and the best practice is to replace all fuse holders proactively.
medium confidence · Nicholas Baldridge discussing EM machine maintenance best practices during Turf King restoration
The Turf King's playfield lights weren't working due to a bad fuse holder, not a bad fuse itself.
high confidence · Direct troubleshooting result confirmed by both Nicholas and Ava during the episode
Bingo machine schematics are significantly larger than EM schematics—Double-Up schematic stretches across five or six machines.
high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge comparing schematic complexity and size between game types
High-voltage wires (115V) can be identified by plastic coating rather than cloth insulation.
high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge teaching Ava electrical safety identification during Turf King work
A beeping sound from a multimeter when testing a fuse indicates the fuse is good and electricity can conduct through it.
high confidence · Nicholas and Ava discussing multimeter testing results during fuse diagnostics

Notable Quotes

“It's like a map to the wires inside the machine. It's like a big map of the world.”
Nicholas Baldridge @ early — Teaching Ava the purpose of schematics as diagnostic navigation tools
“In most of these ballet games, you'll find at least one bad fuse holder. And what you should do is replace all the fuse holders.”
Nicholas Baldridge @ mid — Practical maintenance wisdom for EM pinball restoration
“They would have to have a separate place to make the parts and then use them to make the pinball machines. But the problem is they didn't build them to last these fuse holders. Why? Because it was cheaper.”
Nicholas Baldridge @ mid — Historical analysis of manufacturing trade-offs and cost-cutting in original EM production
“You can see on the schematic. You can, but there's another way you can see too. How? They're coated in plastic instead of in cloth.”
Nicholas Baldridge @ late — Safety education: identifying high-voltage wiring by physical characteristics
“I really liked it because my dad played this game and asked me numbers like 48 and that would be green black.”
Ava Baldridge @ early — Ava connecting schematic color codes to her father's original gameplay experience

Entities

Nicholas BaldridgepersonAva BaldridgepersonTurf KinggameDouble-UpgameFor Amusement Onlyorganization

Signals

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restoration_signal: Identification of bad fuse holders as a chronic failure point in EM/ballet games; best practice is proactive replacement of all fuse holders rather than individual repair
high · Nicholas states: 'In most of these ballet games, you'll find at least one bad fuse holder. And what you should do is replace all the fuse holders.'
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educational_signal: Father teaching daughter electrical diagnostics, schematic reading, and pinball restoration via hands-on learning on a functioning machine
high · Episode structure: schematic reading lesson, multimeter fuse testing, high-voltage safety, and restoration planning
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historical_signal: EM manufacturer cost-cutting: poor-quality fuse holders were built into machines because durability was sacrificed for production cost efficiency
high · Nicholas explains: 'They didn't build them to last these fuse holders. Why? Because it was cheaper.'
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restoration_signal: High-voltage wiring identification: 115V wires are visually distinct by plastic coating vs. cloth insulation—practical safety education for restoration work
high · Nicholas teaches Ava to identify dangerous wiring: 'They're coated in plastic instead of in cloth. Yeah, like the one back there.'
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restoration_signal: Turf King playfield lights restored via fuse holder replacement; A bumper light previously failed and required bulb replacement
high · Ava confirms: 'We found out that the A bumper wasn't on, the light blew out. Yep. And so we had to do what? We had to take off the cap and then we had to get a new light bulb.'

Transcript

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0:00

What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only. This is Nick Baldridge and... Ava. Hey Ava, how's it going? Good. You know how it's been going. Well, again, we have to tell the people who are listening. So, Ava, what did we do tonight? Tonight we did, we figured out the problem that was because the lights weren't lighting on the playfield but we fixed it. Yup, and how did we do that? And a fuse. Well, you jumped right to the end. So what was the problem? That the lights weren't working. C Bar),, Right. And how did we fix it? We did a bunch of stuff, didn't we? Yeah. Okay. So what was the first thing that I did when we came down here tonight? We, you read the schematic, you taught me how to read a schematic. Right. And why is that important? So you know what color the wire is so you can find it easier. It shows you how they're connected together. Connected. Remember how I said it was like a map to the wires inside the machine. It's like a big map of the world. Yes. Well, it's as big as the world. The map of the world. Not quite. So this schematic is pretty small actually. Seriously? Mm-hmm. Compared to one of the bingos. Like double up stretches across like five or six machines. Seriously? Yeah, it's huge. Seriously? Yeah, double up is big. Can you double up Bobby, make those details? Yeah. Alright, so Ava, what do you think you learned about reading schematics tonight? I really liked it because my dad played this game and asked me numbers like 48 and that would be green black. Okay, and what do the two colors mean? So it a body color and a tracer color So what was your favorite thing that you did tonight I liked testing the fuses And what did we use to test the fuses The digital thing? The meter. Yeah. And when we tested the fuses, what sound did it make? A beeping sound. Yeah. Is a beep good or bad? It's a good sign. It may, it shows that it can, energy is going through it. Electricity can conduct. Yeah, electricity. Right, electricity can flow. So that's good, right? Mm-hmm. Now, when we were trying to fix the lights on the playfield, and you mentioned earlier that there was a fuse, so what was the issue with the fuse? The issue was that it wasn't lighting up the A bumper. That was a different issue. Huh? Yeah, that was after we got the rest of the lights working. But the lights wouldn't work because the fuse holder is bad. Oh yeah, now I remember. Right, and I didn't tell you this earlier, but one thing about these ballet games, the jef Sound broadcasting? Speaker Olympic Ch Cenovic or $ spic marathon? What we gonna settle this with a Google Alright But yeah if they had to go to another company to buy them that costs a lot of money Because the other company is gonna charge more than it costs to make them. Did you say no? Google is a one with 100 zeros behind it. And that's Ava's tip of the day. So that costs them more than if they made it themselves, if they had to go to somewhere else to buy them. So... But if they still made them their selves, they would still have a lot more work on their hands. Correct. And there's still... There's a big trade-off there. And they would still have to do pinball machines but not as well. And manufacture parts, right. So they would have to have a separate place to make the parts and then use them to make the pinball machines. But the problem is they didn't build them to last these fuse holders. Why?

5:38

Because it was cheaper. Okay. Yeah. So, um, in most of these ballet games, you'll find at least one bad fuse holder. And what you should do is replace all the fuse holders. So you should go somewhere and get all these fuses? Well, we have new fuses in there, but we need to install new fuse holders, the things that actually hold the fuses. So was it cool seeing the lights light up? Mhm. Yeah? Because I have never, ever, ever worked on lights. Yeah. Except for the one time. Except last time. So... Except for the time before that. What did we find? We found out that the A bumper wasn't on, the light blew out. Yep. And so we had to do what? We had to take off the cap and then we had to get a new light bulb. So now that you've seen how to move around the schematic, are you ready to help me with other games when they have problems? Yeah! That's part of my happy dance. Yeah! Again, they can't see it. Oh, come on. What was the really important safety thing I told you? Don when it on don never in the playfield the count like the the inside of it if it out while it on never touch wires What kind of wires specifically? The volt wires, like 115. Right, and how do you know that they're 115 volt wires instead? You can see on the schematic. You can, but there's another way you can see too. How? They're coated in plastic instead of in cloth. Yeah, like the one back there. Right. The one we were looking at on the anti-cheat relay? I knew I had to take the plastic off for a minute. That was a shield that shielded the tabs. Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Remember? Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Alright. We still have a little more plastic cleaning. Are you ready? Yeeeeeeaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! And then should be able to print off some scoring instruction cards and clean off some of the paint that they repainted it with. And cut and replace the dirty old paper. Scoring instruction cards. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I was saying. We're gonna, we're gonna type it, print it, cut it, put it on. Okay, that's four steps. I thought that was only three. We have to scan it too. Scan it. Five steps. Alright. Well, thanks Ava. Thank you. Alright, goodnight. Goodnight. Thank you for being on my show, not my dad's. No problem. And that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. foreamusementonly.libsyn.com. Or you can call me on the BINGO's line. That's 724-BINGO's-1, 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on itunes, stitcher, pocketcasts, via RSS, on facebook, on twitter, at bingopodcast, you can follow me on instagram, also at bingopodcast, or you can listen to us on our website, which is foreamusementonly.libsyn.com. At which, at this very moment, you can buy your very own t-shirt. Thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.