FAQ - The Questions That Get Asked on RGP Every Week

FAQ - This page is intended as a light hearted, yet useful page to help with questions that seemed to get asked on RGP all the time.

1. Q. What is Michelle Bianchi's phone number?

A. Current info from Pinside as of 8/8/16; 800-959-8880, cell is 630-344-3093, email address is michelle.bianchi@beltmann.com

2. Q. OK, then who is Michelle Bianchi?

A. By all accounts, a great gal who works at Precision-NAL and specializes in shipping games.

3. Q. My WPC game "resets" when I flip one or both flippers?

A. Before you fish out your soldering iron and replace BR2/C5 as is routinely and presumptuously suggested, see the section that describes a disciplined process to eliminate WPC resets.

4. Q. Will a pin fit in a.....

A. Click here for a BIG list of prior responses. :-)

5. What is my (insert pinball game here) worth?

A. You can read this section of the WIki: What is a Pinball Machine Worth?. However, be aware it's biased towards modern DMD machines.

They have some advantages:

• Deep 'Rulesets'. These rules can include the ability to stack modes and multiballs together for extra scoring, and ultimate goals such as Wizard Modes.
• Newer, so more parts are available for repairs (although the situation is improving with reproduction parts for the earlier games).
• The playing surface can be Diamond Coated or some other form of protective surface.

Disadvantages of the DMD games are:

• They can be harder to repair, with more complicated electronics and toys.
• More expensive to buy and maintain.
• Less nostalgic for many older owners who want games they played when much younger.

At the end of the day, a game is worth whatever it's worth to you! No one can gauge that for you. This may not be a good answer to the question in terms of a hard cash value, but it's nonetheless true.

6. Q. What are the dimensions of playfield glass?

A. The "standard PF glass is 21" x 43" x 3/16" thick.

• Widebody glass is 43" x 23.75" x 3/16" thick.
• A few Bally's from the early 70's had frames around the playfield glass. This glass is 21" x 41.5" x 3/16".
• Be sure to get TEMPERED glass for safety. Tempered glass can be purchased with the tempered "watermark" typically located on the corner of the glass or without the mark. Specify when ordering from a glass shop or pinball dealer that sells glass.

7. Q. Is RGP down?

A. No. If you post via Google Groups, you are subject to the fairly frequent outages that are the result of Google Groups failing to keep up with the Usenet feed. To continue enjoying RGP, use www.rgparchive.com, or see if your ISP supports Usenet news feeds, and use a newsreader like Mozilla Thunderbird. Some ISPs no longer support news feeds. A free Usenet feed is available from www.eternal-september.org that can be configured as a newsgroup server under Thunderbird or Outlook Express. For a comparison of RGP access methods see rec.games.pinball Access Methods .

8. Q. What pinball parts are hard to find?

A. A PinWiki article is available discussing Hard to Find Parts.