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Randy T.: Can an LED-Wiz be used to drive pinball solenoids ???
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Xiaou2:

 Would be great to have an  "all-in-one"  PCB solution.

 I believe a lot of BYOAC'ers would eventually take on a BYOP project.

 We probably would create tables that trump sterns latest... and even
give Williams machines a run for their money. 

 Would be popular in the Pinball groups as well.  Either as individuals, or
from sales from builders who will make and sell custom machines.


 I would love to help in the design of such a beast.  I have some great software ideas...
so even the non-programmer could create incredible tables in a flash...


 Show of hands:   How many people would like to BYOP?

whammoed:

--- Quote from: Xiaou2 on September 28, 2008, 09:25:09 pm --- Would be great to have an  "all-in-one"  PCB solution.
 I believe a lot of BYOAC'ers would eventually take on a BYOP project.
 We probably would create tables that trump sterns latest... and even
give Williams machines a run for their money. 
 Would be popular in the Pinball groups as well.  Either as individuals, or
from sales from builders who will make and sell custom machines.
 I would love to help in the design of such a beast.  I have some great software ideas...
so even the non-programmer could create incredible tables in a flash...
 Show of hands:   How many people would like to BYOP?

--- End quote ---

Something like this?:
http://acgamesystems.com/index.html
Just found it and haven't seen it mentioned before.  A little pricey if you are just looking to play around, but if you are serious about actually building a full machine the price seems really low for what you are getting.
Xiaou2:
 Actually, thats pretty cheap.

 However,  if Im reading it correctly... its only for Pinmame use.   Which means
that you couldnt really easily develop your own tables with it.

 (unless you knew how to program in Williams assembly code)

 
 Its also poorly documented for the non-electronics  mechanic/builder.

 It does not include a software program to Easily develop your own table.

 It does not have any 'display' output whatsoever.

 
 Id be happy with PC monitor output,  as one could use a pc monitor for displaying
animations, short movie clips, having mini-video games, and much more.   However, there probably should be an official add-on for true pinball display output as well.

 As for sound... well, windows is capable of anything you can record really.   From
Mp3 soundtracks... to short sound fx clips.   There wouldnt be any real hardware
limitations... which is great  :)

 The system should also be set up to be able to use LEDs as well as traditional lamps.



 The software should be Drag-n-drop  easy.   Basically creating point-loops by drawing
lines from one switch to the next on the virtual table you created.   Then assigning
sounds, points and triggering effects by assigning them appropriately.

 No complex scripting needed.   But, could be used for people who really want super
complexity that is hard to configure with drag-n-drop methods.


 **  Edit

 It also uses  Parallel port.   Such a port will probably vanish in the near future.

 *** Edit 2

 I already see new motherbaords that do not have any Parallel ports
mrjah:
About 10 years ago, I participated in building a pinball machine from scratch as an engineering school project.  I wasn't involved in the initial design, but rather came into the project after the big decisions had already been made (often badly!).

http://www.ece.umd.edu/pinball/intro.html

The electronics and electrical systems were actually really well designed.  But the folks leading the project were management neophytes and treated the mechanical designers and their needs like second-class considerations, making it impossible to design a table that either looked good or played well.  Lesson learned.

Anyway, at the end of the day it was a surprisingly difficult project.  I can't imagine designing and building the thing from scratch, solo, without going crazy... unless a LOT of the work had been pre-engineered and made buyable.


Edit: Forgot to mention that I am VERY interested in learning more about exactly what types of mechanical actuators you can control with a LED-Wiz.  I have some completely non-arcade applications for which it would be very useful.
solderguy1:
Why not just copy the circuit an actual pinball machine uses?  My Bally Mr and Mrs Pacman has plain vanilla transistor logic driving a TIP102 darlington transistor that can handle the high solenoid voltages.  There are also a few components added for slow turn-off to help fight the inductive kickback.
I'm sure a schematic is available somewhere on the web.
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