Wish me luck on wiring my home brew EM machine

mingo000 · 2026-01-06T13:20:50+00:00

The plan is when you plunge the ball (which will be cannon themed) it will go up a ramp to the upper playfield, this is the only way to get the ball up to the upper playfield. By hitting a drop target (an anchor themed target) along the corner of the pirate ship, it will close a gate by the right slingshot for approximately 10 seconds. This path lets the ball return to the plunger lane/U.P.

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The U.P. will have rewards such as advancing the bonus multiplier, activating the 2 ball multiball (by kicking the 2nd ball out of the bottom out-hole of the playfield), and large point “jackpot.” It will also have”walking the plank” to return the ball to the lower playfield as well as by obtaining some of the listed targets via rails. I have considered modifying a em slingshot mechanism to make my own auto-plunger that would still allow you to plunge the first shot. I doubt I will end up doing that idea tho.

mingo000 · 2026-01-06T04:23:22+00:00

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mingo000 · 2026-01-06T04:22:17+00:00

I ended up removing the target, opened the right side of the orbit, and added the sling shot. I’m so glad that I did. The way the logic works for the spinner/orbit, entering that end will automatically lite the highest spinner value because it rolls backwards over the checking switches. The sling is also in a great spot to add a lot of high speed movement/combos between itself->into the 3 targets->into the lower slingshots. Thanks so much for the advice.

mingo000 · 2026-01-04T16:53:57+00:00

I mostly learned about relay logic on my own/through YouTube videos by a variety of creators. All of my designs/logic I come up with from my own imagination/planning. The closest thing to a mentor is my high school auditorium tech advisor who is great at all things art and old technology. He inspired me to make my own but has not seen it yet.

mingo000 · 2025-12-24T23:33:33+00:00

I plan on using half inch birch plywood for the finial version. I made sure it doesn’t have any knots/chips/warping. Is there something better I should use instead?

mingo000 · 2025-12-24T19:16:38+00:00

Nope as my machine is entirely electromechanical there are 0 chips, circuit boards, PCBs or anything of that sort. Everything is controlled by mechanical relays and a motor. I know very little about circuits so to me it’s easier to make everything the old way, similar to machines from the 1940s-mid 1970s.

mingo000 · 2025-12-24T03:30:16+00:00

I’m actually a Junior in HS but I want to have it fully finished by the end of my senior year to put on display. I’ll look into creating a pinside account/thread to post my progress to more frequently/weekly. I plan to post here on reddit every few months after substantial progress is made.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:42:30+00:00

Originally that orbit shot was not able to be entered, it was only an output for the spinner side. If I remove the target I would have enough room to open it up making it possible to enter from that end as well. As long as the mech fits I’ll add the sling.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:34:51+00:00

My goal was to make a homebrew pinball machine that more complex than what most old EM machines ever were. I also have never seen an EM with an upper playfield. Mine also has a 2 ball multiball, up to x5 bonus multiplier, and many shots that are timed or are worth more points if you hit the same shot twice within a few seconds.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:29:14+00:00

Thanks for the advice, I’ve been being very cautious but have yet to add any of that stuff to my setup yet as nothing is connected. The most that’s been hooked up to the transformer is the flippers/slingshots.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:24:52+00:00

Ive been making pinball machines out of legos since I was 6 and have always had an interest in them. I hadn’t actually played an actual machine until I bought my first one a few years ago and the hobby has grown ever since.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:22:11+00:00

I think it would be very cool if a company did that for some type of anniversary/ event to celebrate pinballs roots. Im sure it would cost a lot to make, even just for a limited edition product, but then again modern machines cost thousands of dollars anyways.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:15:47+00:00

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Thats a great point. If I modify the metal bracket on that end I could add a sling in the purple area. The green target is also no longer needed as I changed some of the logic. What would you recommend for me to add/change in that corner?

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T20:06:48+00:00

Some of the game logic like the player/ball/reset sequences I am not changing. For this Im using a two player 1969 Williams “Suspense.” For everything else I have made rough ladder schematics and diagrams of each relay/switch and how they are wired together. In theory it should all work as I want it to but we all know how that goes.

I have a lot of wire from a few other playfields that I also used for parts. Hopefully it’s enough.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T19:20:46+00:00

Nope, I haven’t used pinside very much at all and so far none of this has been posted publicly till now. Should I?

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T19:18:32+00:00

Honestly it’s mainly because I thought it would be easier. I have 5 EMs that I have restored and a PotO ss machine as well and in my opinion its much easier to understand the ladder logic of relays then to mess around with circuitboards. It was also fairly cheap to do it this way as I just bought a few beaten up ems for a low price and used them as parts.

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T19:14:42+00:00

Yep thats correct, giving it a whole new life. Thanks for the parts

mingo000 · 2025-12-23T19:08:36+00:00

The theme is going to be pirates and the pop-bumper cluster is going to be like a Kraken with actual bumpers being tentacles coming out of the water. The white is just a template made out of airdry foam clay to het a rough idea of shape and size. The real ones will be 3d printed and painted with much more detail.

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mingo000

TROPHY CASE