Essential Tools
There are just some tools you cannot live (or at least repair a pinball machine) without!
Here is a list of what we consider to be toolbox essentials.
Most of these parts are available from OUR ONLINE SHOP!
Don't buy cheap tools, stick to good quality makes.
Nutdrivers
4BA
5/16"
9mm
3/8" not a commonly used one, but occasionally useful!
Pliers
A pair of long pointed nose pliers, with the jaws measuring at least 2"
A pair of short pointed nose pliers, with the jaws measuring around 1 1/4" - 1 1/2"
Bent nose pointed pliers are very useful!
Mole grips with jaws around 1 1/4"
Screw drivers
Cross head screwdriver type #1 (in the UK anyway!), measuring around 12", another around 6".
A small cross head screw driver (for micro switch screws)
A small flat head screw driver, around 5"
Other tools
A decent pair of side cutters for general wire striping.
A small pair of side cutters for cutting IC's out of boards - a good pair will cost around £40
Wire strippers are useful.
Solder sucker (de-soldering pump), available from £6 upwards.
Electronic tools
A digital multimeter. These range greatly in quality and ability (and price!!). A basic meter will
cost around £20, don't go for the cheaper analogue meter, they are so much more difficult to read!
For an all singing, all dancing meter, you should choose a Fluke series (available from Farnell)
We use the Fluke 77, these have given years of faithful service! For this you get - autoranging (selects the correct voltage range rather than you having to select it), AC and DC current measuring (on cheaper meters, AC current is usually left off), Diode test, continuity test, resistance and of course, AC and DC voltage. Costs around £170! (But worth every penny) The only thing missing off the Fluke 77 is a capacitance test (which you would hardly ever use).
A logic probe - these are available for around £20
Soldering Iron. You should either get one with an adjustable temperature control or two standard irons, one at 15watt (for circuit boards) and one 40 watt (for under the playfield!). Don't forget good quality solder!!
Oscilloscope - A lot of people say these are a must for complex electronic repairs, but we have only had call for one on a couple of occasions, so for the cost, don't bother, the logic probe is quite sufficient. |
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