Quick Update

I haven't had a hack of a lot of time to work on the new machine in the last week (or to take pictures), but I have had a chance to do some designing, and a little playing with the Magnext set to get a feel for what I can use it for.

I inventoried (kinda) the iCoaster set, and here are the bits that I can use:
- About 12 ramp pieces - banked curves, straights, and hills.
- A special trampoline ramp - think of a small down ramp with a flat circle halfway down that has rubber stretched across it. I'm not sure how I'll use it, but it has a ton of possibilities...
- A loop ramp. I don't know if I'll have height to make this work - we'll see.
- Two opto switches (they sense when something breaks the beam between the two sides, like a garage door safety switch) - That just saved me $15 - and they will be fun to find uses for.
- A motorized ball lifting tower. I haven't tested it yet to see if it can move a Zizzle pinball, but I'm pretty sure it can, since it is designed to move balls vertically, and I'll be using it to move the ball horizontally up the playfield (if I do use it).

The bad news about the set is that the balls that it comes with are about 1/2 the size of the Zizzle pinball. This affects the magnetic rail and the opto switches that come with the set, as the gaps are too small for the pinball to go through.

The good news is that the ramps all hold the pinball without problem, the magnetic rail is easily strong enough to hold the Zizzle pinball (I can pretty easily alter the ends so that the pinball can ride it), and the opto switch housings can be taken apart and I can then use them wherever I want.

I received the flipper guides in the mail this week, and as expected, they are a little large for the Zizzle playfield. The good news is that they will be easy to trim down, and it looks like they will fit without having to widen the playfield - so the geometry shouldn't be wildly affected.

I'll be out of town for Easter this weekend, but next week I should be able to get back to the project.

On a slightly side note - I'll probably have to use MDF for the whitewoods, as I can't get handy sized (2' x 4') 1/2 particle board nearby. When the time comes, I'll buy a big sheet and use it for the playfield and cabinet rebuilds...

Happy Easter!

Larry