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    Repair log: Johnny Mnemonic (Williams, 1995)

    1995 Johnny Mnemonic Repair log Williams

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

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    I've never met a Johnny that didn't have issues with the Cyberglove assembly. This one was no different. It's an awesome mechanism, but finnicky. This one was having issues with the motor that drives the hand forward and back. It would randomly lock on, sending the glove forwards or backwards until it crashed into the end of the worm drive, blowing a fuse.


    So, time for a full rebuild. Disassembled and cleaned. Gearboxes cleaned and lubed. Encoder boards serviced. Turns out, the issue was faulty optical switches on one of the encoder boards. They were oddball optos that were not the correct part, and there was some hackery on the board. Installed new optos, new connectors, new transistors, and we're good to go again!


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    TCXPO (Trading Card Expo) 2026

    events johnny mnemonic maverick star wars tcxpo
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    Last weekend, Fiona and I headed to TCXPO! We attended this event last year, and had a good time! So, we decided to bring three different machines to the next event. TCXPO is focused heavily on trading cards rather than other types of collectibles, so we weren't expecting them to be the biggest part of the event. Nevertheless it's a great event to promote pinball and make it accessible to fandoms that may otherwise not have any exposure to it.

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    Repair log: Stern Stars (1978) and Stern Dracula (1979)

    1978 Dracula Repair log Stars Stern

    ο»ΏRepair logs are quick summaries of workshop and on-site repairs. If your machine needs a service, πŸ“¬ Contact Us to discuss how we can help!

    ο»Ώ


    A couple of Stern MPU-100 boards came in for service. Both with similar corrosion damage which required significant abatement. Once the corrosion was dealt with, the boards were repopulated.


    A couple of small mods were done, too. Batteries and RAM were replaced with NVRAM modules from Tangles Pin Parts. A nice product from an Aussie supplier. One of the ROM chips was damaged on the Stars board, so I combined the two 2716 ROM images into a single 2764. Some modding of the board was required to accommodate the 2764 but it works well.


    Before and after photos of one of the boards below!

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    Leisure & Allied Industries "Skill Tester" (Type 2)

    Arcade Claw Machine Leisure & Allied Redemption Skilltester
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    No, you're not seeing double. My last machine restoration post was also about an LAI Skill Tester. ​​It's not often I get a double-up of machines, but while I was in the throes of finishing up repairs to the first LAI Skill Tester, I saw an ad on Facebook from someone who was giving another one away. Sweet! These machines aren't worth much, and there don't seem to be many people who have the desire or ability to fix them. But I'm a sucker for retro technology, so it's right up my alley!