Bingo Overhaul - United Caravan Cabinet
Caravan |
| inside the top of the cabinet |
|---|
Looking into the top of the cabinet you immediately see differences from the bally way. The rectangular cutout for the cables to pass between the head and cabinet is similar, but united has reinforced this section with a large piece of wood the full width and height of the cabinet. You can see the smaller rectangular hole the cables pass through to enter the middle section of the cabinet.
This middle section contains the power supply and fuse block, which you can see part of before it disappears under the ball board. This middle section of the cabinet is also completely partitioned from the front section, which contains the coin box and ball trough. There's only a couple holes in the partition to allow cables to route through.
caravan |
| the ball board |
|---|
Perhaps the biggest difference between united and bally is the ball board. On a bally, the board is removeable, and in fact you have to remove it to access the ball lift motor. On the united, the ball board is permanent, and is part of the cabinet structure. There's nothing underneath it.
Caravan |
| ball trough |
|---|
The ball trough looks pretty bally-ish. Same metal rail design, same rollovers. However, the trough switches (see pic below) are full sizes leaf switches and are conveniently mounted where they can be easily cleaned and adjusted. United wins on this approach.
Caravan |
| inside the coin door |
|---|
Like all the wood in there? there's a nice little cave for the back of the coin box to slide into!
Caravan |
| the coin door |
|---|
The big thing on the left in the picture is the mechanism related to the knob on the game used to choose a number to spot. The metal junk on the right is the united way of mounting the coin mech. It's perpendicular to the door. The coin is inserted into a slot in the coin door, and it rolls down a chute before dropping into the mech.
Due to the design of the mechanism, the coin switch needs to rotate counter-clockwise. This is opposite bally and most other coin op machines, so usually the pinball parts people don't have this switch. You have to get one from a electronics parts supplier.
This chute design probably helps eliminate coin fishing, but it also
tends to jam more. Note the brass screw on the top of the chute. You
can remove it to separate the chute into two halves to clear it out.
I think bally wins for a more reliable design.
