Escalera saved my ass last week. Had a big mamma jamma guitar cabinet delivered that weighed about 350 pounds and was unwieldy as all hell. The forklift attachment was the only thing that allowed me to pick it up and roll it from the garage to the front door. Nothing else would have been able to do that. My wife complained about the price when I got it but agreed it paid for itself with just that one move. I'll be using it for Elton, too...

(See how I got back on topic?)

The pincrawler would navigate your sketchy basement steps better than that Escalera !

Yes and your back will thank you too!

That's the other good thing about the Escalera, the many attachments. It's like the Swiss Army Knife of carts!

Elton has now turned into the motorized moving dolly competition. Can we all agree that it is a matter of preference? I much prefer the pincrawler rather than the Escalera. The Escalera definitely takes a bit more getting used to due to the balance issues and technique it uses. Much more so when going down the steps. Arguing which is better is moot, they both do a great job and it is a matter of preference and need.

Sure but you are wrong. lol

A very experienced pinball mover tried to move a GNR up this 18-step staircase with an Escalera and gave up. Not sure the pincrawler would do better...just important to note that JJP games are very heavy and for certain staircases, it's not a slam dunk with either device.

IMG_5899 (resized).jpeg

Basement steps are a straight shot, so not an issue.

I would have got it up there for ya.

It's actually easier with a Escalera to go up stairs than down IMO. I will say that with the Pincrawler that may not be the case.

ps. Nice House

Yeah. I have those stupid Bilco doors and the biggest obstacle is the step up/ step down as the entrance is not level with the ground. Pain in the ass!

Buying one of these this week. Life is short, let’s party.

That's what I love about you .... so open minded.

"Love" is a pretty strong word, I'm touched.

Ha same problem for me. Bilco doors with the step up and steep first step down. Always a pain.

Thx. Interesting. Yeah, I think the mover was worried about the Escalera damaging the fancy stair wood/stain (which doesn't have carpet to protect it). I ended up keeping it downstairs, which worked much better since it wasn't a keeper for me. All good.

I would forget putting any pinballs upstairs if I had that beautiful house. They have to come down someday.... If it was the only choice, I'd probably stick to lighter games that I could remove the head easily. Sorry for the off topic.

I guess it's a PA thing. Lot's of basements here in PA but yeah, I'm actually thinking about building a ramp or something to make things easier. It would be nice to have a platform that met that top step and then a ramp from there to the ground.

Yeah... Understandable. He was probably more worried about the damage he could cause, makes sense.

I built a 2-piece platform so I just lift up on the platform, turn it 90 degrees, and start right down the stairs. Makes life much easier.

When you get time or if you have a picture, please post it.

Thanks

I seen that sketchy set up! Now I can’t unsee it!

Totally agree with you...currently only have 4 upstairs (Centaur, Paragon, WH20, LOTR). Actually bought another house in MD with a massive sound proof basement. My herd will be moving there over the next month. For me, basements are where pins belong...my wife is really cool about my games, but really sensitive to sound (so having them away from the main living area is a huge win, since I like to play them loud Home also has an elevator just in case the pins decide to invade the main house

IMG_2524 (resized).jpeg

Good move. Nice to be near family and have your pins in an area you can enjoy. Best of luck with the new house!

Nice. Do it once, do it right! Kinda like buying a Escalera instead of a.... lol

GOT MY NOTIFICATION TODAY FROM JASON @ CLASSIC GAMEROOMS !!!! will be shipped out today... georgia to south carolina.. might have it tomorrow.. anyone have any issues so far to chat about ??? TIA, mark

Can you tell use about your stair climber please?

heya. that stuff starts happening when your balls get magnitized. If you changed yours out thats likely the case.

we use raw horse/man power.. i have a raised beach house so no stairs.. if something needed to come upstairs we have an elevator..

When I was younger I lived in a Studio Apartment on the 3rd floor, me and a friend use to dead lift games up 3 flights of stairs into my apartment. IT SUCKED! There was 3 landings, we even had to take the door and the banister off. To this day, my hip still suffers from my carelessness but you know... Young and Dumb.

Thanks for your reply.

Ok I will , it's The Pinski , My EJCE should be here in a Month

Man i spent a lot of time with my brother lugging pins up to the 2nd floor game room, switchback stairs. Then new purchases started going in the garage.

Then i sold that house and bought another one, all one-story, 5,200 sq ft. That didn't suffice. Garage started filling up.

Built an add-on casita, another 3,500 ft, with a huge game room. Now all is right with the pinball world. Highly recommend if you can.

All i had to do was get an escalera! See what this F ing hobby leads to.

Now I've got to get the perfect spot to display this gorgeous EJCE. Can't wait! At least it will be an easy setup.

Damn Son! Check you out!

Slick

Great mods Mageek! Check em out guys.

Fantastic

well anyone have to do any tweeks to anything or overall all is well out of the box ????

No tweaking necessary.

A few setup items.
With the CE there is a polycarbonate piece of the topper that is shipped uninstalled. It is in a manila envelope and shipped on top of the glass and lockdown bar, if memory serves. I suggest installing it before raising the backbox. It is a simple install but easier when you're not on a ladder. Make sure to remove the steel topper brace as well. There are some foam inserts under the glass that need to come out and my game shipped with the cabinet art protectors installed, which I was very happy to see, but those need to be removed as well.

I backed down the solenoid on the kickback so it makes the croc lock shot frequently. I also backed down the slings a bit due to airballs but it didn't help. I think I need to try larger rubbers. Sometimes the ball ricochets between the slings until it is ejected into the outlane or ball launch.

Lastly my rocka-box lights started freezing. The game still played and scored as normal but the lights quit doing their thing. A power cycle cleared the issue but eventually it would return. A pinsider suggested reseating the USB cable to the pcb with the affected lights. This solved the problem. for me it was the USB plug in the hub that was loose, but I reseated both ends of the cable JIC.

Do JJP machines (Elton John specifically) need to have their trough-eject power lowered from factory settings like some modern pins from other manufacturers often do?

EJ feeds into a habit trail directly and with a metal side wall.. so no tough wood to get chewed up by the ball feed.

Picked up my CE last week. What a beauty. Saw some early posts about Elton’s head not operating properly (head locking in the up position (toward the back of the machine), Exorcist head backwards, etc. Mine is doing this too. The stepper test is acting a bit wonky too. Is it a code issue? Is it widespread?

Thanks.

This is how I moved EJ downstairs by myself without a dolly

Loaded up on pinskates and wheeled it into the lift in the garage and it goes straight to the basement.

So I did a thing this week… Steve was so cool in person. He signed everything.

IMG_0424 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0432 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0434 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0435 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0439 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0445 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0448 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0449 (resized).jpeg

IMG_0450 (resized).jpeg

Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Steve seems very cool! Did you see any clues on what the next game is??

Nope they had work stations under wraps. It was a great tour. Nice to spend one on one time with the King

Damn... Remote control and all! Some of you guys aren't messing around a bit!

I enjoyed the JJP tour years ago. I liked the Tool balance retracter dodad. I found them on amazon and ordered a few. Works great for quick playfield swaps. https://www.amazon.com/SA-2203-Spring-Balancer-1-3-3-3lb/dp/B000I5NNGA/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0

IMG_9364 (resized).jpegIMG_9368 (resized).jpeg You would like this on your Mobile rotisserie @beelzeboob.

I love how there's a sofa and a grand piano in their factory assembly line. Now that's classy.

anyone else have issues with ball jams in the left saucer/VUK?

It seems there is too much room between the dead pad to knock balls down in the saucer, and the saucer itself. Because it's possible for a ball to sit on top of the ball in the saucer... no biggie.. except because the ball gets behind the ball in the saucer, and since the hood is slanted forward.. it causes the VUK action to try to kick the ball directly into the dead pad/hood... which will never work when there is no play for the ball to move. It gets really jammed in there.. hard to even remove by hand.

I tried adjusting the height of the ball sitting in the saucer to basically reduce the opportunity for the ball to get behind it in that jammed position... but there is so little room for adjustment before the opto doesn't work. Plus, the adjustment is kinda sketch, because its just the set screw holding the plunger, there is no way to adjust the rest position of the plunger from the other end.

Any others experienced this yet? Seems like changing the design of the blue pad would be a solution.

stucky (resized).png

Has anyone hooked up a subwoofer to their EJ or other JJP pin? Is there a jack or easy way to do so? Does it meaningfully enhance the experience? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

well , mines up and running well .. very happy ..

I usually just clip it the the lower cabinet speaker.I have all pins hooked to Polk 10” subs.GnR is a must have