At our club, we take pride in giving classic pinball machines a second life. We carefully source older machines, repair and restore them with expert craftsmanship, and ensure every detail is fine-tuned for smooth, reliable play. Once fully refurbished, these pinballs are added to our club’s collection, where members can enjoy rare and vintage titles that might otherwise have been lost to time. This process not only preserves the history of pinball but also creates a constantly evolving lineup of machines for our community to discover and enjoy.
Our pinball maintenance service ensures your machines stay in top playing condition, whether you need routine cleaning, repairs, or full mechanical checks. We can arrange an engineer to visit on site, diagnose issues, replace worn parts, and fine tune gameplay to keep everything running smoothly. Whether it is a single machine or a full lineup, we make sure your pinball setup stays reliable and ready for action. Contact us for help and advice.
We recently swapped out the original DMD on The Addams Family pinball machine and upgraded it with the new Eliodot screen from our friends at PinSound. While colour DMD upgrades are popular, this is one machine where we prefer to keep the classic dot matrix look intact. That said, the original display was showing its age and clearly needed a refresh.
The Eliodot screen delivers a noticeable improvement in contrast, making animations, scores, and game information much clearer without changing the original visual style. Blacks are deeper, dots are sharper, and the display is far easier to read during fast paced play. It feels like the game looks how it should have always looked when it left the factory.
Another big advantage is the improved brightness control, allowing us to fine tune the display to suit the room lighting and surrounding machines. This makes the screen comfortable to look at without being overpowering. Overall, it is a respectful upgrade that refreshes the machine visually while preserving the classic character that makes The Addams Family such an iconic pinball table.
See for yourself the new product and other cool stuff at Pinsound's website. 
We were not idle over the Christmas break, and while the doors were closed, plenty of work was happening behind the scenes to get the lineup back to fighting fit. The downtime gave us a great opportunity to tackle issues, fine tune gameplay, and make improvements that are not always possible during busy open sessions.
On Getaway, we tracked down an issue with the Supercharger that had been affecting gameplay. After investigation, the problem was identified as blown transistors on the accelerator board. These were replaced, restoring the Supercharger to full working order and bringing back the fast, satisfying shots the machine is known for.
Champion Pub also received some attention, with a slight layout adjustment made to prevent balls from becoming trapped during play. The changes are subtle but effective, improving flow and reducing interruptions so games run more smoothly from start to finish.
We also carried out routine mechanical maintenance across the lineup, including replacing worn flipper springs on ABBA. Fresh springs make a noticeable difference to responsiveness and shot consistency, helping keep the game feeling sharp and reliable.
All of this work means the machines are in great shape and ready for action as we head into the new year. We are looking forward to welcoming players back to enjoy a lineup that has been carefully serviced, adjusted, and prepared for many more great games ahead.
While playing my James Bond pinball machine, I noticed the top lane switch wasn't registering any points. At first, it seemed like a simple switch adjustment issue, but testing the switch in diagnostic mode showed it was working mechanically - the problem was electrical. Tracing the wiring back to the node board revealed the culprit: a worn-out connector pin that had loosened over time. The switch's signal wasn't reliably reaching the board, causing the game to miss every shot through that lane.
The fix was straightforward but required some patience. I carefully removed the damaged pin from the connector housing, crimped a new Molex terminal, and reinserted it into the housing to restore a solid electrical connection. Once reassembled, the top lane registered perfectly again, and scoring returned to normal. This kind of issue is actually pretty common on modern Stern machines, as their node boards and connectors can experience wear from vibration and repeated service. A good repinning now and then keeps these games playing like new - and saves a lot of head-scratching during troubleshooting.
Fixing the X-Files pinball machine turned out to be a straightforward repair . The problem began when the machine started behaving unpredictably during gameplay - cabinet hits weren’t registering. After some investigation, I discovered that the issue traced back to a few broken opto LEDs on the playfield. These opto sensors are used throughout the machine to detect ball movement without mechanical contact, so when they fail, gameplay logic gets confused.
The next step was to remove the faulty opto LEDs. This required carefully accessing the affected circuit boards beneath the playfield and desoldering the bad components without damaging the traces. Opto assemblies can be delicate, and the infrared LEDs aren’t always visibly burnt out, so each one had to be tested with a camera or multimeter before replacement. Once confirmed, I desoldered the non-working LEDs, cleaned the solder pads, and prepared the board for the new parts.
After sourcing the correct replacements (MT5000UR TLRH180P 165-5100-00 165-5052-00), I soldered in the new opto LEDs and reinstalled the boards. I double-checked alignment, polarity, and solder joints before powering up the machine. The moment of truth came when the machine booted smoothly, and all the previously unresponsive switches worked flawlessly again. Watching the X-Files pinball come back to life with smooth, accurate ball tracking made the effort completely worthwhile. It was a satisfying repair that not only solved the problem but also deepened my understanding of the game’s optical sensing system.
“We had our local society meet and greet at Skillshot. A great venue and something different, we had our highest turnout for a meeting.”
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