technohat Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 My PinDMD has arrived. Too bad the DMD displays are backordered for 6 to 8 weeks. It will be a long wait. I'm surprised at how small the board is though, I'll have to be careful I don't misplace it. Also, the board came with the cable to connect it to the DMD, but it did not come with a USB cable to connect it to the PC. Fortunately, I'm a bit of a pack-rat when it comes to electronic stuff, so I dug through one of my boxes of cables and found one that should work. The credit card bill also arrived and the total price with shipping for the PinDMD board was $96.61. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkay Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 When you do get the DMD and plug it all in, power it up, and load a table. Be sure that you're not standing over or near any electronics as the resultant drool that will ensue from your mouth upon witnessing real DMD on a pincab can have detrimental effects to any surrounding equipment It really really is just so much better than DMD on LCD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 I should probably mention that the Crucial 64 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT064M4SSD2 I'm using has a bug in older versions of the firmware where it will start locking up and giving Blue Screen of Death errors after 5184 hours of uptime. Once it locks up, you can reboot and it will work for an hour and then lock up or blue screen again. The updated firmware that fixes this issue as well as discussion about it can be found here. The fixed firmware came out in January, so if you buy one now it should be fine, but I thought I would mention it. I have this drive in both my main machine (bought last december) and my cabinet (which I just purchased). I wasn't aware of this issue until this week when my main PC started blue screening and locking up on me. It was very annoying trying to figure out what was causing the error. Once I flashed the new firmware it went back to running normally again. Also, on an unrelated note, I found a really cool article about the creation and design of the original Dr. Who Pinball cabinet. Check it out here. When you do get the DMD and plug it all in, power it up, and load a table. Be sure that you're not standing over or near any electronics as the resultant drool that will ensue from your mouth upon witnessing real DMD on a pincab can have detrimental effects to any surrounding equipment It really really is just so much better than DMD on LCD! I can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mameman Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 interesting read on that link. now i need to go complete my restoration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 My DMD has arrived!!!! The power supply I ordered from Virtuapin to go with the DMD however doesn't come with a power cord to plug it into the wall. A quick trip to the hardware store to pick up a power cord and some spade terminals. The power cord was $3.17 including tax. The 16-14 AWG spade connectors(#4-#6 stud vinyl insulated) were $2.43 including tax for a box of twenty. I crimped spade connectors onto the ends of the power cable with a pliers as well as the cable wires that connect the DMD to the power supply. The power cord connects on the left side of the power supply. BLACK = HOT or LIVE WHITE = NEUTRAL GREEN = GROUND This is for power cords sold in the US. If you live elsewhere they may be different. The cable that connects to the DMD connects to the -V and the +V. Red is positive so it connects to the +V and blue connects to the -V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurich Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Nothing like a real DMD, you just don't get the same feeling from running an LCD screen emulating it. Your patience has been rewarded! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 Nothing like a real DMD, you just don't get the same feeling from running an LCD screen emulating it. Your patience has been rewarded! Agreed. A real DMD is the way to go if you can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 I just picked up 9 SIEMENS 3TH80 31-0B CONTACTOR 24V DC 660V 31E R11846 from an ebay auction for $39.99 plus $14.42 shipping. I hope these will work for my build. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-9-SIEMENS-3TH80-31-0B-CONTACTOR-24V-DC-660V-31E-R11846-/290839470652?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b762223c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 I picked up a 24V 14.6A power supply off of Ebay for $39.99 shipped to power my contactors. The part number, S-350-24 sugggests it's a Mean Well brand power supply. Since it's being shipped from China, who knows if that's true or not. Hopefully it is because Mean Well power supplies are very well built. http://www.ebay.com/itm/110961551301?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinuxBozo Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 BTW, just thought I would pitch in a bit with a lead on a 3D model of the Dalek. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32858 I'm actually still waiting on my 3D printer to arrive, so can't just run one off for you, but maybe it will give mameman something to play with in the mean time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeGor Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Those 3d printers are badass. I saw some guy on pinside use one to replicate hard to find pieces for real pins. The cool thing is they're not insanely expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 3-D printers are pretty slick. I wish I had one. I don't have any cad software so I couldn't open the stl file, but I'll certainly save a copy just in case. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mameman Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Cool i will take a look, been looking at a print head for my cnc. Would allow me to print pretty large. Will have something sorted this year on the 3d print for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 I picked up a Curtis HTIB 1002 5.1 Surround sound system at the local thrift store for $10.87 including tax. It seems to work well enough for what I need it for. I'll probably ditch the extra speakers and use it only as a 2.1 system. Though now that I think about it, I could split the sound going to the speakers in the backbox and use the extra speakers in the front of the pinball cabinet next to the coin door. I'll have to think about whether I want to do that or not. The only catch with these speakers is when they lose power they default to the ST.BY setting and I have to toggle over to the 2.1 setting to get the sound to work again. I currently have it plugged into the wall outlet instead of into the smart strip so it stays on all the time and stays on the 2.1 setting. One of these days, I'll have to tear it apart and see if I can do something about that. If I could get it to default to the 2.1 setting instead of ST.BY I would be good to go. edit: I added a link to the amazon product page for this set, since my local thrift store doesn't have a web page for me to link to. ;-) edit 2: I decided to not use these in my build as they go into standby/mute when they lose power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 My contactors arrived as well as my 24 volt power supply. As I suspected, the power supply is not a Meanwell but some odd chinese brand. I tested it out and it outputs at 23.9 volts. There's an adjustment knob for the voltage but I didn't bother fiddling with it as it's close enough for what I need it for. All of the contactors work and seem to make enough noise, though I won't know for sure until I put them inside a cabinet. I also finished updating the tables I had installed to not display the dmd on the backglass. In the script file you have to change hidden=0 to hidden =1 (or Controller.hidden =1 depending on the table script). You will also want to update your backglass images to not show the DMD display area. I recommend downloading the new backglass images from Chriz's illuminated backglass stash located here. Then download the updated UVP scripts for 3 monitors, if you want UVP, from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 I picked up four IKU-12 GE 12 Pole Terminal Blocks brand new in the box for $10 shipped off of Ebay. It looks like the seller has some more up for sale if anybody is interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140908782709&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:3160 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 I scavenged a power connector and power switch as well as a couple of nice metal handles off of a large wall mounted LCD display pulled from the trash. The power connector and switch I'll use on the cab. I'm not sure if I'll use the handles or not but they were so nice I couldn't just leave them in the trash. Since I pulled them from the trash, the price was FREE! I went ahead and purchased a female electrical plug to wire up to the end of the power connector and switch. That way I can plug the smartstrip into the switch and be able to kill the power from the outside of the cab without having to unplug the power cord if I need to. The female plug cost me $3.71 shipped. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VPP286/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003VPP286&linkCode=as2&tag=theforgarch-20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 What do you do if you want to wire up a pinball cab, but can't afford to buy wire? Go scavenging of course! A good source of 18 AWG wire are your standard three-pronged PC and monitor power cords. The nice thing about power cords is they're really easy to come by. Just ask your local I.T. guy/Dept. and they will probably give you a whole box full for free. Every PC, monitor, printer, etc. they buy comes with a power cord. Every time they replace a piece of equipment they end up with another power cord. The wire gauge should be written or stamped on the side of the power cord. Most power cords are 18 AWG or 16AWG, though if it's a power cord intended for a server or something heavy-duty it might be 14 or even 12 AWG! You're going to need a utility knife. DON'T use a cheap one! They will break and you will likely end up in the emergency room. Spend the extra two or three bucks and buy one that's decent quality. The one I have, as shown in the picture, is really nice and costs $7.95 at your local Menards. Here's a link: http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/hand-tools/cutting-tools/folding-utility-knife/p-1478855-c-9123.htm First hack off both ends of the power cord. Oh and do it on a workbench or other surface you don't mind getting dinged or scratched up. Your spouse might not appreciate it if you gouged up their kitchen countertop or brand new wooden dining room table. ;-) Here you can see the three strands of 18AWG wire inside the plastic sheath. Lay the cable down on a flat surface and cut through the plastic sheath with your utility knife. You want to put enough pressure to cut through the sheath but not too much otherwise you'll slice through the wires inside. Once you've cut through the sheath, slide your utilty knife all along the cable from one end to the other. It's sounds more difficult that it is. You don't even have to cut all the way through into the interior. You can even leave a thin bit uncut. Once you've made your cut, take one end of the cable and separate the wires from the sheath. Then grab the three wires in one hand and the sheath in the other and pull them apart. The cut you made should split open and the wires should pop right out. Once you've separated the wires from the sheath, your done. You now have three 18AWG wires to use, one black, one white and one green. If you're from a country other than the USA, the wire colors might be different depending on your wiring standards. You will also notice some white powder on the wires. Don't worry, it's just talc. They use it when manufacturing the cables to prevent the wires from sticking to the plastic or rubber sheath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottpe Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Good idea! Thanks for the tutorial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 Good idea! Thanks for the tutorial. You're welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 I don't like how the curtis sound system goes into stand by/mute mode after losing power, so when I found a Logitech Z3 2.1 sound system for $10.59 at the local thrift store, I picked them up to use instead. Here's an Amazon link for those without an awesome thrift store nearby. The sound is much better on this unit, especially the bass. I also like how the volume control is a potentiometer instead of digital buttons. There's also a separate bass volume control on the back of the sub as well. The speakers and bass unit are also a lot sturdier and don't feel so cheap as the curtis unit does. I think this will work out a lot better. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 To simplify wiring, I decided to go with Zebulon's amazing LEDWiz Booster Boards. [LINK] I also ordered his shaker and gear motor board as well. [LINK] The cost was $450.00 Canadian shipped. Unfortunately for me, the Canadian dollar is actually worth more than the American dollar at the moment so the total for me came to $458.57 USD. I still need to order the LEDWiz to hook it up to, but there's no rush. With these boards, I'll need to purchase a PC power supply to power them and the various toys, including the contactors. So I probably won't be needing the 24 volt power supply I bought. Oh well, what can you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arngrim Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 sell your 24v psu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 sell your 24v psu Yeah, I'll probably end up selling or trading it, but I'll wait until I actually start wiring everything up in case it turns out I actually need it for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohat Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Newegg sent me an email with a bunch of Presidents' Day promotional codes. One of which was for $12 off a CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply [LINK]. Since I need a decent power supply to power my booster board from Zebulon, I checked it out. The original price was $79.99 with free shipping. There was an instant $10 rebate which brought it down to $69.99. The $12 off coupon code brought the price down to $57.99. Lastly, there is also a $20 mail-in-rebate which (assuming I receive the mail-in-rebate) brings the price down to a measly $37.99. For a 600W Corsair power supply, that's a steal! It should arrive sometime next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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