Never! New power supply + driver issue

Since the last update, there's been some progress and uncovering some more issues to solve...

If you're just landing on this post, all of my work on the pinball machine (part of my recent MA) is documented in past blog posts.

Progress
The new power supply (link to model) arrived yesterday and it was fitted right away. It's clear how much better quality it is, and I now realise the old one wasn't really suitable for the project. The advice is to always buy new (the previous was second hand) and to not go down the cheap and cheerful route.


Continuing my little self set assignment of experimenting with videoing progress and speaking to camera. Not perfect, but trying to find the balance between quick and quality.

Setbacks
Fixing this power issue made some other issues apparent - the solenoid (or coil) for the out hole kicker was burnt out. Luckily I have a big box of old parts and had a few spare. Once that was fitted, something still wasn't right...

The transistor on the driver board which relates to the out hole had also blown. I should have checked it closer before, but now is the time to fix these problems!

Will be replacing the transistor today, and hope to make another update tomorrow....

*EDIT* 18/11/16
After attempting to make the replacement myself, I damaged the driver board further. Lifting up the pads on the pcb board where you solder to make connections. I've been a bit flustered about making the fix, and also my solder iron is one of those cheap ones from Maplin. I should have thought through a bit more before diving in, I guess I was feeling a bit up against time, considering I will be on my way to the exhibition this time next week.

MyPinballs (who makes the boards) is stepping in to fix for me and should be turned around in a few days. I can take a breath, get on with a few of the other preparations.

Updates next week!


As always I welcome feedback, please comment or tweet @jonosandilands

Never give up!

After a busy summer since finishing the MA, I have finally found time to reflect on the process, including building Never! the pinball machine. 

If you're just landing on this post, all of my work on the MA is documented in past blog posts.

So where did we leave off?
It's been some time since I've given a video update about my progress on the pinball machine, so I just wanted to clear the air, documenting the progress to get back up and running again.




Last week I picked up after some time away from the project. I revisited some of the mistakes & parts that broke down during degree show. Still some work to do, which I am documenting in this progress post this week.

Documenting
Lately I've often found myself sat in front of a camera for interviews about my work. It's not something I've ever been comfortable doing, so I am using my own process blog as practice to make that go smoother and less scary!

Recording progress is really hard to do when so busy. Before it was motivated by being a journal for the MA. I'm trying to get into the way of making it ongoing, and video may be an easier way to do that.

Exhibition news
Very happy to be getting the pinball machine out in public again. It's going to be at none other than the V&A on 25 November as part of their monthly Friday Late programme, which is titled "Parallel Worlds" this month. The machine will be placed alongside my recent Playable Prints project, which has been the focus of my summer residency at the Watershed in Bristol.

As always I welcome feedback, please comment or tweet @jonosandilands

Stay tuned for more updates during the week.

Never: Playfield Art

In true pinball fashion I'm 'leaking' the playfield artwork. It's been a busy week of finalising the artwork and printing, I'm so excited to share the high res pictures of the printed playfield.

The aims with the artwork was to have references to traditional pinball machines, while retaining links to my own style. I wanted to do something which wasn't 'safe', but also doesn't overpower. I felt it important to leave areas of unprinted wood, to remind of the materials which make the physicality of pinball I've fallen in love with.

Four weeks left! Stay tuned for some serious progress on the final assembly.

Let me know any questions about the art or my ideas for gameplay and I will answer them! Leave a comment or tweet @jonosandilands.

Full Playfield