Pinball Pick up Adventure! One of these items almost killed me!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·11m 12s·analyzed·Feb 15, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

Mike Dus acquires second Mars God of War machine; stuck coin switch and PSU issues require restoration.

Summary

Mike Dus picks up a second Mars God of War (1981 System 80 widebody) machine from a seller. The acquisition includes a heavy 1940s fire-resistant filing cabinet that nearly injures him during transport. The machine shows signs of life when powered on but has issues including a stuck coin door switch causing constant credit accumulation, power supply hackery, and unknown operational problems. Mike plans to restore it as a garage spring project.

Key Claims

Mars God of War machine plugged in shows signs of life with weird noises and credit accumulation
high confidence · Direct observation during machine power-on; coin counter continues racking up credits even after machine is turned off
The coin door switch is likely stuck, causing continuous credit counting
high confidence · Mike's diagnosis based on hearing weird noise from coin counter continuing after power-off and seeing coin door that appears closed
Original battery was removed from MPU with minimal damage visible
high confidence · Direct inspection of machine interior; new battery pack installed
System 80 widebody backglass uses four pressure clips for fitting rather than traditional mounting
high confidence · Mike's direct experience removing and transporting the backglass; notes difficulty popping it out
The filing cabinet was significantly heavier than the pinball machine and nearly caused injury during transport
high confidence · Direct physical experience; Mike notes it was 2,000 lbs and top-heavy

Notable Quotes

“I just recovered from a massive headache. I don't know if that's because it was so cold out that I got brain freeze or because I just moved a Mars God of War—got 1981 widebody machine up some stairs, followed by a filing cabinet that was like a hundred years old that's fire resistant that almost was the death of me.”
Mike Dus @ 0:00-0:20 — Opening hook establishing the physical challenge of the acquisition and setting up the 'nearly killed me' narrative
“Big money, no whammy. Big money, no whammy. And then he says, Mars God of War. And I'm like, uh, okay. Well, I've had that machine before. Nothing too crazy exciting.”
Mike Dus @ 0:30-1:00 — Establishes Mike's prior familiarity with this exact game model and lack of enthusiasm for the acquisition initially
“It's a one from the '40s. It's a really heavy steel.”
Seller @ 4:15 — Context for the filing cabinet's weight and construction; explains why transport was so difficult
“Stan told me other times, you have any problems, plug it out.”
Seller @ 7:45 — References the now-deceased Stan who had worked on the machine; indicates previous repair attempts
“Results are in. This thing was way heavier than the pinball machine. Partly because it's so top-heavy, but this one is the near death of me.”
Mike Dus @ 11:30 — Confirmation that the filing cabinet was the actual life-threatening element, not the pinball machine
“I'm not going to bring this into the basement. Already been there, done that. It's never going up or down another step while it's in my possession. It's going to the garage.”
Mike Dus @ 14:00 — Project planning decision; Mike commits to keeping the machine in garage to avoid stairs after traumatic transport
“That is not good. Oh, I'm going to drop my phone in here if I'm not careful. Sorry, this is like some of the worst camera work I've ever done in my life.”
Mike Dus @ 20:15 — Self-aware commentary on production quality during technical inspection; shows frustration with access challenges

Entities

Mike DuspersonMars God of WargameStanpersonSellerpersonPinball ShenanigansorganizationSystem 80productXenongame Old Chicagolocation

Signals

?
community_signal: Mike Dus continuing documentation of machine restoration projects through Pinball Shenanigans content series demonstrates ongoing community engagement with vintage machine preservation
high · Mike plans garage restoration project for spring; created previous video series on Mars God of War restoration; documenting entire pickup and initial inspection process
?
product_concern: Mars God of War shows signs of significant internal issues including stuck coin door switch, power supply hackery, and unknown operational problems requiring full restoration
high · Machine continuously accumulates credits due to stuck coin switch; power supply shows visible hackery; MPU required new battery pack; multiple issues require garage restoration project

Topics

Machine acquisition and pickup logisticsprimaryMars God of War restoration projectprimarySystem 80 widebody technical characteristicssecondaryPinball troubleshooting and diagnosticsprimaryCoin mechanism failure analysissecondaryContent creation and production challengessecondaryVintage machine preservation and transportsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Mike maintains a lighthearted, self-deprecating tone throughout despite the physical hardship of the pickup. He's enthusiastic about the machine acquisition despite initial lack of excitement. The near-injury with the filing cabinet adds dramatic flair but doesn't diminish overall positive tone. Some frustration with technical challenges and camera work during inspection, but overall adventure-positive framing.

Transcript

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Okay, I just recovered from a massive headache. I don't know if that's because it was so cold out that I got brain freeze or because I just moved a Mars God of War got 1981 widebody machine up some stairs, followed by a filing cabinet that was like a 100 years old that's fire resistant that almost was the death of me. My headache's finally gone, but I got me a Mars God of War. I'm Mike [music] Dus and this is Pinball Shenanigans. [music] I was just sitting at home minding my own business. I got a phone call. He says he's got a pinball machine for sale and I'm just like, "Big money, no whammy. Big money, no whammy." And then he says, "My god of war." And I'm like, uh, okay. Well, I've had that machine before. Nothing too crazy exciting. I mean, it's a cool game and all. It's just I've already had my Mars God of War experience. I did a whole restoration video series on it. So, I wasn't even going to record anything. I just kind of combed over the condition of the machine, chatted a little bit with them, and then uh nearly died moving up this filing cabinet. But I didn't. I'm alive. and got me a second Mars God of War cabinet. Oh, okay. I can do that. That's all. It's a It's a It's It's a It's a one from the 40s. It's a really heavy steel. Oh, yeah. Okay. Hey, I got the cart. So, uh Yeah, that's might come in handy. [snorts] Uh yeah, looks to be in nice shape overall. Uh I My son didn't want I said, "You know what? I told him it'll be running. You got a good machine." He's so freaking not interested. to each his own. I don't pinball is just not his thing, eh? I mean, I'm sure he played it when it was here and functional. Absolutely. [laughter] And do you know uh what is wrong with it? I don't know. Just to tell you, Stan, he's the guy I I went to. He's passed away again. He's like, "Oh, it's just nothing." I go, "Sure, Stan. Whatever you say." Okay. I I have no idea. He seemed to think that he'd be able to fix it up. Uh I was going to set up a business with him fixing machines, actually, cuz he fixes things quickly. Okay. Most people hum and haw. He's got the knack for being an inspiration guy. He's an old Czechoslovakian guy. Oh yeah. And so he you said that's the guy that passed away. So he's no longer Hamilton. I didn't write like a dealing with it, but he's passed away. Go. What the freak? I'm not going to phone anyone else up. So you wanted to see if there was any uh money in the coin box. Oh, I saw the keys here actually. Yeah. Yeah. Let's uh let's see for fun. Let's see. I don't know what the other keys are that came with the machine. Oh, yeah. There's a couple extras in there, it looks like. This doesn't look like Well, let's see if there's uh big money or or whammies in here. I probably emptied it out. I can't see. I haven't. Oh, we got big money. Look at that. There's at least four or $5 in there. Yeah, might as well grab that. There's some miscellaneous uh stuff there, too. Here we go. We got um coil and some blinker bulbs, a whole ton of fuses, and uh some miscellaneous uh e-clipips and whatnot. I thought so. Yeah. Cool. Just to tell you, it was working. Is it plugged in? No, no, no. Stan told me other times, you have any problems, plug it out. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Should we plug it in just for fun? Oh, no. No. For sure. You can take your hand out of here, please. Yeah. [laughter] Oh, man. Don't want to get zapped. Okay. There's another quarter here. All right. Well, hopefully you left one quarter in there for me. I tend to find one quarter in every pinball machine. So trying to keep Oh, really? American. Oo, big money. You're going to do well here, sir. All right, I'm plugged it in just for fun. I just want to see what happens. See if there's any smoke. That makes me nervous. Shocks. Uh-oh. Oh, that's good. Actually, it's doing some weird things. It's not supposed to be doing that. Got a It sounds like the reset button here or it changed the programming. It sounds like it's like adding up credits or something. Yeah, that's probably from all the quarters that was put in there. Who knows? Well, there's there's some signs of life anyway. Uhoh. There it is. This is the source of the noise. There is a coin counter in here. And the machine is turned off, but yet this thing is just racking up credits. And if we believe the reader, it says, I don't know, 3,641 or is that 36? No, 364,175 plays, but I don't know that I believe that, but I've never seen like a coin counter like that before. That's uh that's interesting. Like said at Old Chicago, the women like that. It was okay. I I like my xenon. I wish I get that back. That's divorced. What else is new? And I Oh, another game. The wife got jealous of xenon. Oh, probably. Another [laughter] game. Okay. So, what do you think is going to be harder? Having pulled this out or uh the 50-year-old 2,000lb filing cabinet? I [laughter] don't know. I don't know. We'll find out shortly. Here's the filing cabinet in question. She's an oldie. She's a She's a beefy one, too. So, we'll find out shortly. It's for medical it is. It's for medical medical records. Okay. Results are in. This thing was [ __ ] way heavier than the pinball machine. Partly because it's so topheavy, but this one is the near death of me. Okay, Mars God of War is loaded up. I um got the back glass kind of precariously perched. I don't even know if you can see that. It's hanging out in the front seat with me because I didn't really want to transport it in the head, which is normally a safe place for it, but it's weird the way the inner back glass on these system 80 wide bodies fit in. Well, especially Mars God of War. It's got these like four little pressure clips that you kind of just pressure fit the glass in. And I had a bit of a challenge popping it out. So I just thought I would transport it separately, which is probably not any better than just having left it in the head. So hopefully I uh knock on something, get this thing home safe. So just drive slow and steady and uh should be fine. Yeah. So the condition of the machine looks to be good. I didn't really video anything on the inside, but there's definitely some hackery going on there on the power supply. Oh, and I was right when I suspected at the beginning when we first turned it on that it sounded like credits were just being added non-stop. Well, after turning off the machine, hearing a weird noise in the cabinet to find out it was that weird coin counter still counting up after the machine's turned off confirms my suspicion that there's probably a coin door switch stuck. And you know, maybe that's all it's going to take to get it to boot up. But the MPU looked to be pretty good. The original battery was removed. I didn't see much damage. There was a new battery pack on there. So, hopefully it's nothing too crazy to get this thing up and running. This is going to be like a garage spring project once the Carl Weathers uh picks up. I'm not going to bring this into the basement. Already been there, done that. It's never going up or down another step while it's in my possession. It's going to the garage. I'll set it up in there. I'll get it running and then it can leave the garage. Okay, I made it back safely. Back glass is intact. Although it's still in the car and still has to make it to my house. There's just one last thing to do and that is see if we can find any quarters in this machine. If so, they would have fallen down here. And uh I don't even know. I'm going to almost have to like lie on my belly. Oh, it's not looking too good over there. And really nothing. Nothing. All right, I got one more idea. Okay, last chance. Is there anything floating around in there? Nothing there. But let's open up the coin door. This wires in the way. This is very enthralling footage. Oh, wait. I need got to push down on this one, too. That's what it is. Push down on both these. This is not easy. I got to tell you, this is a whole puzzle in and of itself. Here we go. Uh, there's nothing. One last hope here. This is good though cuz if the coin mech the coin switch is stuck then this is how you access it. Nothing. Does it look stuck closed? No. And Well, that could be part of our problem. That does look closed. Well, I guess no quarter for me. What about this ledge? Those little bits there. What about that ledge down there? Damn it. All right, I surrender. I don't see any quarters, but look at this. What the heck is going on there? That is not good. Oh, I'm going to drop my phone in here if I'm not careful. Sorry, this is like some of the worst camera work I've ever done in my life. Anyway, as expected, there's a lot that needs to be addressed. Anyway, it was a fun adventure nonetheless.