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No Longer Available Gottlieb BLACK HOLE £2k firm

steve brum

steve brum

Site Supporter
5Years
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
6,498
Location
Nuneaton
Was one of Courtneys lock down projects and was made from the best cosmetically of 3 machines.

Lots of subtle blue LEDs added

Has PASCAL boards and was playing fine but on finding a switch error on a bumper it decides to shut itself down!

Sometimes you could get a game out of it , sometimes only a ball

Was set down to make room for a Haunted House and now sits unloved.

Is standard UK version so no speech etc

Realise this is a bit old/of the wall for most on the forum but others will remember how special this game was when it was released!!

Cash on collection preferred from Electric Circus Nuneaton or Martin due "soon"

At the moment it will boot and play but has this shutting down issue

Video took last time it was set up

https://youtu.be/ixLm61QuAKs


BH FULL.jpg
 
Would look great next to my none working Haunted House! If I knew I could get it working, I would be tempted!
 
steve brum said:
Has PASCAL boards and was playing fine but on finding a switch error on a bumper it decides to shut itself down!

Sometimes you could get a game out of it , sometimes only a ball
Click to expand...

That's weird, my (US) BH with a Pascal board does exactly the same thing, it will play fine for 20ish games and then shut down with a SW-06 pop bumper error. @myPinballs is making some new pop bumper boards for this (hopefully soon) so I'm hoping this will cure it.

Great game BH, Gottlieb's best of this era IMO 🤗
 
Such as shame it's not working and for sale - I'd been hoping to make a trip to Electric Circus to play a real-life Black Hole!

I'd be tempted if we had space, it worked, and - mostly importantly - it was the US version... I absolutely love this pin on Pinball Arcade.
 
If it worked 100% and was US version the price would reflect it. Being a commercial setting we just don't think its suitable for being on all day and the lock up issue sending customers to the bar for a refund constantly. Alice Cooper lost the balls only every 10 games but became a ball ache. Some machines are just more suited for the home setting
 
steve brum said:
If it worked 100% and was US version the price would reflect it. Being a commercial setting we just don't think its suitable for being on all day and the lock up issue sending customers to the bar for a refund constantly. Alice Cooper lost the balls only every 10 games but became a ball ache. Some machines are just more suited for the home setting
Click to expand...
There's a real 'home setting' myth on this forum... I don't know how many people you have playing the average machine, per hour, but we have our machines on all day. There are usually only two working at a time and they're being played 12+ times a day - the kids, during coffee/lunch breaks, after work, and by my husband after I go to bed.

As a result, we deal with constant breakdowns. It's a rite of passage by now that pins arrive working, and break down about a week later - usually with a really weird/dramatic fault. Fish Tales broke down every week for the first seven months we owned it. If you carry on repairing pins, they do get more reliable eventually (Fish Tales currently only has one non-fatal fault), I've noticed, but I've got Cliffy's and plastic protectors on literally everything now to try to increase the lifespan of the parts and playfields.
 
But when they do fail, the player isn't pestering the bar staff about it.

I have games here that havent missed a beat in 3 years . I have tron and batman dark Knight on site in pubs without any issues for months on end . When l put theatre of magic in a pub , the trap door broke 4 times in 2 months

90% of issues are coin mech related

Some machines are just troublesome. Generally try to avoid data east/sega. Older bally are real troopers but flipper rebuilds break the bank.

A game you don't have isn't noticed. A game you do have switched off is always the one people suddenly want to play. At the moment that's tales from the crypt. And l tried to hide it in the corner!
 
steve brum said:
But when they do fail, the player isn't pestering the bar staff about it.
Click to expand...
You haven't met my sons (aged 6 and 2)... At least your punters don't hurl themselves on the floor, thrashing and weeping, whenever there's a ball jam. We've had to brief our babysitters on how to remove the lockdown bar and take the glass off... :eek:

[Sorry for the thread derail...]
 
Solar Sailer said:
Would look great next to my none working Haunted House! If I knew I could get it working, I would be tempted!
Click to expand...
It would look gawwgeous next to my nice and working HH having to hold myself back especially since paragon has thrown a wobbler (I anit tryna fix it after 3 red wines and a couple of JD's!)
 

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PUP said:
It would look gawwgeous next to my nice and working HH having to hold myself back especially since paragon has thrown a wobbler (I anit tryna fix it after 3 red wines and a couple of JD's!)
Click to expand...
Love the idea of a Novus and Whiskey evening 🤣
 
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steve brum said:
If it worked 100% and was US version the price would reflect it. Being a commercial setting we just don't think its suitable for being on all day and the lock up issue sending customers to the bar for a refund constantly. Alice Cooper lost the balls only every 10 games but became a ball ache. Some machines are just more suited for the home setting
Click to expand...
I have an Alice Cooper in The Pinball Office for over a year now. Fixed the ball lost issue very simple. It was just a loose connection on the ball lock opto board. Since then, it’s played every weekend without any issues.
 
VeeMonroe said:
You haven't met my sons (aged 6 and 2)... At least your punters don't hurl themselves on the floor, thrashing and weeping, whenever there's a ball jam. We've had to brief our babysitters on how to remove the lockdown bar and take the glass off... :eek:

[Sorry for the thread derail...]
Click to expand...
You've obviously never seen me play 😅
 
why do people break into conversation about kids throwing tantrums and all sorts of experiences they have had in life on a for sale thread? surely face book is a better place to waste your time,
 
vr46 said:
why do people break into conversation about kids throwing tantrums and all sorts of experiences they have had in life on a for sale thread? surely face book is a better place to waste your time,
Click to expand...
It's a hobby that appeals to a spectrum
 
Could you add the speech (and whatever else is missing from the US version) to it ?
Just curious (I quite like this - but I have no room or spare cash for it .. still curious though )
 
HomerRamone said:
Could you add the speech (and whatever else is missing from the US version) to it ?
Just curious (I quite like this - but I have no room or spare cash for it .. still curious though )
Click to expand...
I've looked into this before. You can add the speech quite easily. The spinning disk is a major conversion job where you need to either source spare parts (from another Black Hole or a Mars: God of War), or have them custom manufactured.

I estimated that would cost about £2k to do, at which point it's more cost-effective to import from the USA.
 
it is a game that is far more common in the US. Here they were just landfilled when they reached the end of the commercial life (like most pins)
 
The Spinning disc be cool - but I think the speech would add more to it (but then I do like a bit of speech on my pins)
 
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