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Old pinball machines are amazingly complex

Technology Connections · 3.5M views · 2023-10-14 · 50:09

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Overview

Technology Connections takes a long, detailed look at how a 1970s electromechanical pinball machine works, from relays to stepper motors and mechanical logic. It is the first part of a series.

On Hacker News

HN points people to it as a deep dive showing how complex logic was built without computers.

Recommended by 6 HN people across 6 months · HN mentions 2023–2026

Topics

Mechanical & precision engineeringElectronics & circuit designGame history & retro gaming
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pinballrelaysstepper motorsmechanical logictechnology connections

What people said

bsimpson · 2025-08 · Strong recommendation

YT recently recommended his explanation of how pre-computer pinball machines worked to me - a series of 3, hour-long videos. Gave me something to look forward to on my commute. I shared it with everyone I know, and now I'm sharing it with you: [VIDEO] Fascinating (and insanely impressive) to see how a bunch of switches and stepper motors implement complex logic.

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roskelld · 2026-02 · Recommendation

I would have loved seeing this as a kid. I was obsessed with wanting to build a pinball machine when I was young. At the time my skills only stretched as far as cardboard builds with elastic band bumpers and pencils for flippers, but I got a huge kick out of making different layouts for the balls to travel around. It would be great to see some home made efforts now with so many amazing off the shelf bits of tech and 3D printers. The site is also a nice compliment to the Technology Connections series on old pinball machines [1]. 1. [VIDEO]

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exhilaration · 2025-01 · Recommendation

Related - Technology Connections has several videos about old pinball machines that showcase how incredibly complex they are, here's the first video: Old pinball machines are amazingly complex [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Technology Connections, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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