Xenon (1980 Bally Mfg.)
Click on Backglass for IPD listing.
The Story: What a great old school pinball game. Up until recently with the addition of pinball games in my collection, I never really got into these games, as my passion has always been with video games. Xenon was one of those machines that really showed me what I had missed out on. Like most pins, I never even heard of Xenon until I saw it at an auction a couple years ago. It was the same auction that I aquired California Speed from, and at the time I was pulling games on a small trailer with a Mustang, not to mention I was short on funds, otherwise I might have brought Xenon home that day as well. It was in good shape and went for a decent price tag. But I digress. In a row of about 15 pins, Xenon was the one that caught my attention. The artwork, the backglass, the gameplay and, of course, the sound was truely something to admire.
Since that day I spent some time on the internet doing some research on Xenon. Quite a neat story on how this game came to be. It was not only the first pinball to feature a female voice, but that female voice happens to be that of Suzanne Ciani, a famous electronic composer who's works can be found in movies of the same era. Suzanne not only provided voice for this game, almost every sound this machine makes is her creation....
Since that day I spent some time on the internet doing some research on Xenon. Quite a neat story on how this game came to be. It was not only the first pinball to feature a female voice, but that female voice happens to be that of Suzanne Ciani, a famous electronic composer who's works can be found in movies of the same era. Suzanne not only provided voice for this game, almost every sound this machine makes is her creation....
It was also one of the first machines (although not "the" first) to feature multiball and a "tube shot". I also learned that although it's a pretty common machine, they are highly sought after, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, with that said, they do seem to be getting harder to find, much less in good shape for a good price. I had just about given up on the idea of ever owning one, let alone seeing one in person again, until I met a fellow collector nearby who had a project up for grabs.
The Score: Enter fellow pinball collector Jeff. I met him last spring and purchased an Olympic Hockey that he recently shopped out. My wife & daughter were with me when I picked it up, and since Jeff is an avid pinball collector, we just had to check out his game room. I must say, he has quite the collection, Over a dozen pinball's, many of which are either rare or highly acclaimed machines. Sue got to play a Tommy pin, Alli got into an old bowling game he had, meanwhile I was busy with Black Hole & Baby Pac-Man. In the heat of the moment, I mentioned how I wouldn't mind finding a Xenon, and it was that moment he led me to a dirty & previously neglected Xenon machine he had in his workshop area with a few other projects. The playfield needed some serious attention, and the backglass was beyond help. Aside from a few minor issues, the game worked and was acually playable. The cabinet was in good shape and the same goes for all the boards in the backbox. If there's one thing I have learned about Bally machines of this era, they are notorious for battery acid damage on the MPU. Not in this case, all the boards were perfectly clean.
Naturally I had to inquire on the availability and price tag. Apparently he had another buyer lined up to buy it for a good price and he was holding the game for this other party. He was selling it as a project, hence why he didn't fix it up himself. All I had to say from that point on was "if your buyer flakes, count me in". The months had passed, I have had several conversations with Jeff, as I was helping him unload a few arcade games he needed out of his garage. I had once again inquired if he still had Xenon. Turns out he did, the buyer stopped responding, and I was next in line. Jeff asked me if I was still interested. He had dropped the price even more since I helped him unload a couple game's he didn't want, and he even went out of his was to repair the small issues that were immediately found with this project. Well far be it for me to turn down this opportunity. Not only am I getting a game I want, but I'm getting a decent price on it and will get to beautify it with my own touch. The deal was made and it didn't take long for me to get this game in my house before the previous buyer had a chance to change his mind again.
The Service: The first thing I had to address was the backglass. Xenon has an inner backglass with most of the artwork, while the outer backglass mirror's the chasing lights sandwiched in between, providing what's affectonately known as "infinity" lighting. It's truely a work of art, except in my case. The inner backglass had bubbles everywhere and was badly flaked away in several key areas. This was not going to be a cheap and easy find, and reproduction, although thought of, hasn't come to reality for this game as of yet. The best price I could find on a decent backglass was a whopping $150, which soon became $250 by the time shipping, packaging & insurance were factored in. When it was said and done, the price of the backglass came pretty close to the price I paid for the entire game. Not seeing many other options, I bit the bullet and payed up, as this game was in dire need. The new backglass isn't perfect, but it is a nice example, and the game already looks alot better with that one improvement.
Now that the major expenses are done & out of the way, my next focus is on the playfield. It's "rough", as I am learning that most Xenon's are, however it has been touched up previously and still seems to play just fine. Still, theres years of dirt and grime caked on, and the plastics needed some serious help. Nothing some Novus & Turtle Wax couldn't solve, along with an oven, new lamps and some new rubbers. It still shows its fair share of battle scars and character, but it's definitely a major improvement over what I originally came home with. I also discovered I was missing a chrome piece which Jeff quickly found online and again went out of his way as a favor. Truely a class act. I also found a good deal on some good used plastics.
Eventually the game started having a problem with the sound, mainly, it would stop working from time to time. This is when having another Bally machine (in my case, Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man) comes in handy. After doing some simple diagnosing and board swapping, the problem was in the solenoid driver. Apparently a component somehow got smoked years ago and took a few traces with it. Someone had bridged the gaps, but since that time the solder joints went bad and lost contact with the voltage pot. After fixing that, I had sound that would crackle and was distorted, along with some glitchy displays. Apparently running the game all this time with nothing going to the voltage pot must have taken its toll on another component, which in this case was a small 10uf capacitor. Once i replaced that along with the HV pot, it's been smooth sailing with great sound.
From there, my only problem was with a few lamps that just refused to work. After replacing bulbs, sockets, connectors & header pins, I still had a select few that wouldn't light up. The problem was somewhere in the lamp driver board, most likely an IC. Jeff came to the rescue once again with a cheap and fully working replacement.
She won't win any beauty contests, but she looks decent, plays great and is fully operational.
The Score: Enter fellow pinball collector Jeff. I met him last spring and purchased an Olympic Hockey that he recently shopped out. My wife & daughter were with me when I picked it up, and since Jeff is an avid pinball collector, we just had to check out his game room. I must say, he has quite the collection, Over a dozen pinball's, many of which are either rare or highly acclaimed machines. Sue got to play a Tommy pin, Alli got into an old bowling game he had, meanwhile I was busy with Black Hole & Baby Pac-Man. In the heat of the moment, I mentioned how I wouldn't mind finding a Xenon, and it was that moment he led me to a dirty & previously neglected Xenon machine he had in his workshop area with a few other projects. The playfield needed some serious attention, and the backglass was beyond help. Aside from a few minor issues, the game worked and was acually playable. The cabinet was in good shape and the same goes for all the boards in the backbox. If there's one thing I have learned about Bally machines of this era, they are notorious for battery acid damage on the MPU. Not in this case, all the boards were perfectly clean.
Naturally I had to inquire on the availability and price tag. Apparently he had another buyer lined up to buy it for a good price and he was holding the game for this other party. He was selling it as a project, hence why he didn't fix it up himself. All I had to say from that point on was "if your buyer flakes, count me in". The months had passed, I have had several conversations with Jeff, as I was helping him unload a few arcade games he needed out of his garage. I had once again inquired if he still had Xenon. Turns out he did, the buyer stopped responding, and I was next in line. Jeff asked me if I was still interested. He had dropped the price even more since I helped him unload a couple game's he didn't want, and he even went out of his was to repair the small issues that were immediately found with this project. Well far be it for me to turn down this opportunity. Not only am I getting a game I want, but I'm getting a decent price on it and will get to beautify it with my own touch. The deal was made and it didn't take long for me to get this game in my house before the previous buyer had a chance to change his mind again.
The Service: The first thing I had to address was the backglass. Xenon has an inner backglass with most of the artwork, while the outer backglass mirror's the chasing lights sandwiched in between, providing what's affectonately known as "infinity" lighting. It's truely a work of art, except in my case. The inner backglass had bubbles everywhere and was badly flaked away in several key areas. This was not going to be a cheap and easy find, and reproduction, although thought of, hasn't come to reality for this game as of yet. The best price I could find on a decent backglass was a whopping $150, which soon became $250 by the time shipping, packaging & insurance were factored in. When it was said and done, the price of the backglass came pretty close to the price I paid for the entire game. Not seeing many other options, I bit the bullet and payed up, as this game was in dire need. The new backglass isn't perfect, but it is a nice example, and the game already looks alot better with that one improvement.
Now that the major expenses are done & out of the way, my next focus is on the playfield. It's "rough", as I am learning that most Xenon's are, however it has been touched up previously and still seems to play just fine. Still, theres years of dirt and grime caked on, and the plastics needed some serious help. Nothing some Novus & Turtle Wax couldn't solve, along with an oven, new lamps and some new rubbers. It still shows its fair share of battle scars and character, but it's definitely a major improvement over what I originally came home with. I also discovered I was missing a chrome piece which Jeff quickly found online and again went out of his way as a favor. Truely a class act. I also found a good deal on some good used plastics.
Eventually the game started having a problem with the sound, mainly, it would stop working from time to time. This is when having another Bally machine (in my case, Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man) comes in handy. After doing some simple diagnosing and board swapping, the problem was in the solenoid driver. Apparently a component somehow got smoked years ago and took a few traces with it. Someone had bridged the gaps, but since that time the solder joints went bad and lost contact with the voltage pot. After fixing that, I had sound that would crackle and was distorted, along with some glitchy displays. Apparently running the game all this time with nothing going to the voltage pot must have taken its toll on another component, which in this case was a small 10uf capacitor. Once i replaced that along with the HV pot, it's been smooth sailing with great sound.
From there, my only problem was with a few lamps that just refused to work. After replacing bulbs, sockets, connectors & header pins, I still had a select few that wouldn't light up. The problem was somewhere in the lamp driver board, most likely an IC. Jeff came to the rescue once again with a cheap and fully working replacement.
She won't win any beauty contests, but she looks decent, plays great and is fully operational.
