Thomas the tank engine. TTTE.

[thegrunta666]

That's mighty purdy there Trev....even got nice blue mounting screws ! Love the attention to detail....Keep up the good work.

[Gemini2544]

Only issue I can see is, if that's the main on/off switch It's going to be a bugger to turn on or off once the machine is in a line up. Unless you have a second switch at the front underneath.

[BIG Trev]

I'm going to have another switch up the front in the usual place too.

[BIG Trev]

It's always great to get deliveries like these.

 

.

More parts to the puzzle. 😉

[Sartana66]

Its actually happening! :o

[oldhank]

Its actually happening! :o

 

You beter believe it:)

[BIG Trev]

I wired up the GI today. There might be a couple of mods to do to it but I'll have to think about the best way to go about it.

I've got a lamp under the metal case for the fat controller board. I might have to put some spacers under the fat controller case.

I have a question for you guys though. Should I have the pop bumpers and slingshots permanently lit or should the lights turn on when the pops and slings are hit?

 

​​​​​​​

[Gemini2544]

Looks great Trev. :)

[thegrunta666]

I'd permanently light them....

[BIG Trev]

Working on the power board today. There's a trip to Jaycar on the cards for tomorrow.

[thegrunta666]

Ppppfffftttt there AUTO fuse's , not pinball fuses..you Silly Billy ! keep up the good work Trev, full steam ( engine) ahead :)

[Gemini2544]

Ppppfffftttt there AUTO fuse's , not pinball fuses..you Silly Billy ! keep up the good work Trev, full steam ( engine) ahead :)

Better than a 30,000 amp nail Steve. :lol

 

[kress]

 

*I have a question for you guys though. Should I have the pop bumpers and slingshots permanently lit or should the lights turn on when the pops and slings are hit?*

 

 

1/4 bright then full bright when activated

 

 

[BIG Trev]

I finally made it onto the new forum. Yay. 

I've been working on the sounds and a bit of coding yesterday and today. I've uploaded the new code to the boards but there's still a bit of wiring to do on the cabinet before I can test it. As usual things keep changing, I've still got to write code for the attract mode and I'm thinking of adding a switch inside the coin door to allow the attract music to be changed or turned off. 

[Arcade King]

9 minutes ago, BIG Trev said:

I finally made it onto the new forum. Yay. 

I've been working on the sounds and a bit of coding yesterday and today. I've uploaded the new code to the boards but there's still a bit of wiring to do on the cabinet before I can test it. As usual things keep changing, I've still got to write code for the attract mode and I'm thinking of adding a switch inside the coin door to allow the attract music to be changed or turned off. 

Welcome mate. Hope you enjoy the new site.

[KJS]

Always keen to see how this project is going!

[BIG Trev]

On 28/08/2021 at 1:34 PM, Arcade King said:

Welcome mate. Hope you enjoy the new site.

I'm actually having issues logging in on my phone. Samsung Galaxy S9+

I'll be doing more on the machine soon but usually post from my phone.

[BIG Trev]

Unfortunately I had a voltage issue, I got 12v and 5v crossed over on a connector and blew all the mute inputs on the PIC chips on Mikes boards, Totally my fault the boards are great but I've had to wait for replacements to arrive, which they did today. I have a few spares now so the recovery time should be a lot quicker if I do anything else like that again. 

I do have a couple of other projects on the go at the moment but they should both be beneficial to future pinball projects. While I was waiting on the parts We decided to insulate and gyprock the rear wall of the Tech Shed (where I do most of the work on the Thomas pinball.) that'll make it more comfortable during the hotter weather. We also had a 1200 x 1200mm CNC router donated to the Tech Shed so we're working on restoring that next. It'll be handy for producing my own design playfields.

There's always plenty to do.

Sorry for not being able to provide more updates but there's not been much to look at.

 

If you're not aware. I created the Tamworth Tech Shed which is a Not For Profit Makerspace housed in the sheds on my property for which I'm the president.

The Thomas pinball is in one of the sheds where we gather weekly

[Arcade King]

1 hour ago, BIG Trev said:

I'm actually having issues logging in on my phone. Samsung Galaxy S9+

I'll be doing more on the machine soon but usually post from my phone.

Might pay to try doing a password reset mate clear cache etc.

Sent you a PM mate see if we can sort it.

[BIG Trev]

37 minutes ago, Arcade King said:

Might pay to try doing a password reset mate clear cache etc.

Sent you a PM mate see if we can sort it.

All good now. Thanks 

[Sartana66]

How is it looking for Pinfest 2022?

[BIG Trev]

I've done a bit more today. Trying to finish the cabinet wiring then it's on to finish all those little fiddly bits on the playfield. I should have the cabinet wiring done tomorrow after a trip to Jaycar.

Using the Homepin boards, which work without a microcontroller I've had the flippers  pop bumpers and slingshots working.

The Wav trigger is working, playing the correct sounds and the amplifier works after replacing a dead speaker. I now  need to tidy up a few things on the playfield and the train track and then I can try it with the main  microcontroller plugged in.

[BIG Trev]

I've been doing a few hours a day on the pinball where possible.

The cabinet is now fully wired with earth braid installed.

I've been fitting the wire guides on the playfield today, enlarging a few holes to fit the GI leds, fitted the shooter rod (it needs a stronger spring), I fitted the gates at the top end, all of the guides in the trough and Harold has been installed. I need to buy a few bits to finish the top side of the playfield but it shouldn't take long to complete.

I'm printing new holders for the neopixels as the previous ones were too fragile. I still need to setup some relays to operate the helicopter and fat controller motors under the playfield then it should be ready for a test with the Arduino installed. There have been a ton of fiddly little bits to do but I'm getting through them.

The last part will be to power Thomas on the track and to move the engines in the shed.

[BIG Trev]

I printed an enclosure for the power switch and a couple of vents for the back to keep everything safe. 

[BIG Trev]

Getting closer every day. I need to order a few parts for the next step.