EM Pinball Journeys Podcast

In this episode, I am joined by Gabe Pribil of Pribs Pinball Repair. In this interview, we talk about Gabe’s journey into the pinball hobby and how it led to starting his own pinball repair business. We talk about his large pinball collection. Gabe shares a lot of details about EM pinball including games that he has on location in and around his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska. Gabe’s collection is mainly games from the 1950’s and 1960’s but he has a variety of games including some solid-state era pinball machines and some non-pinball arcade games. Gabe plans to open a pinball museum someday.

YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@PribsPinballRepair

Website:

https://www.pribspinballrepair.com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/pribspinballrepair

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This is the second episode in my pinball spotlight series. John Lee joins me again to talk about Spanish Eyes which was made by Williams in 1971 and 1972. I also talk with John about owning EMs and we talk briefly about another game called Granada which is not the same game but the art is very similar. 

Find Spanish Eyes On Location

Spanish Eyes on Internet Pinball Database

Spanish Eyes On Pinside

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In this episode, I am joined by John Lee. In this interview, we talk about a wonderful charity called project pinball and his involvement. We also talk about pinball tournaments including John’s experience as a tournament director for standalone tournaments as well as leagues. John is a cohost and tournament director of a tournament that I played in called The Doldrums, an annual event held in upstate New York every February. This interview took place just after The Doldrums tournament this year. John’s enthusiasm for the pinball hobby is inspiring.

This is the third episode in my beginner series. Non beginners may enjoy this episode as well. In this episode, I talk more about EM pinball terminology and anatomy. The focus is more about the inner workings of EMs. 

If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about what is going on inside an EM, please visit funwithpinball.com and browse for a while. You will be glad you did.

Check out this YouTube video from 2019. It is Todd Tuckey of TNT Amusements walking through Mark Gibson’s Fun With Pinball exhibit at Pinball Expo. Enjoy! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHP2jzW33_I

Good pinball glossaries:

Internet Pinball Database's Pinball Glossary

PinWiki Glossary

Kineticist.com Pinball Terms & Glossary

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This is the second episode in my beginner series. Non beginners may enjoy this episode as well. In this episode, I talk about EM pinball terminology and anatomy. These terms are not exclusive to EM pinball and are good to know for pinball in general. Spoiler…this is part 1. The next episode will be part 2 and will cover terminology related to the inside of EM pinball machines.

I reference the IPDB pinball glossary in this episode.

Internet Pinball Database's Pinball Glossary

Other good pinball glossaries:

PinWiki Glossary

Kineticist.com Pinball Terms & Glossary

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This is the first episode in my pinball spotlight series, I talk about Drop-A-Card (1971) and Pop-A-Card (1972). I cover some of the main differences between these games and a bit about replay vs add-a-ball pinball machines. Pop-A-Card was my first pinball machine and I talk about getting it and some of the tasks that it took to get it going after years of disrepair.

Internet Pinball Database – Drop-A-Card

Internet Pinball Database – Pop-A-Card

Image from IPDB.org credit Jean-Pierre Renault

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This is the first episode in my beginner series. Non beginners may enjoy this episode as well. In this episode, I talk about pinball maps. Finding pinball machines on location can be a challenge if you don’t know where to look. The pinball map app will help you find pinball machines near you. Pinside.com also has a great pinball map. 

Links referenced in todays episode:

https://www.pinballmap.com

https://pinside.com/pinball/map

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In this episode, I talk about some of the EM pinball resources that have been part of my pinball journey.

Here are helpful links that are referenced in this episode. 

Pinballvideos.com

Pinballmap.com

Pinside.com

2025 Pinball Show Schedule on Pinwiki

Funwithpinball.com

Technology Connections - Part 1 - Old pinball machines are amazingly complex

Technology Connections  - Part 2 - The step-by-step, mechanical logic of old pinball machines

Technology Connections - Part 3 - Tilting, taking turns, and winning free games: the many tricks inside old pinball machines

Otaku's Ultimate Electro-Mechanical Guide & EM Theory Of Operation

Havepinwilltravel.wordpress.com

Mr. Pinball Classifieds

Pinballprices.com 

EM pinball relay maintenance and good practice at Roanoke Pinball Museum

Pinwiki.com

Pinrepair.com

Homepinballrepair.com

IPDB.org

Planetarypinball.com Reference Books

Pinball Resource - Pinball Books and Parts Catalogs

Pinball Resource – Encyclopedia of Pinball Parts 1 & 2

Marcospecialties.com

Thepinballscientist.com

The History of Pinball Part 1: The Electromechanical Era

Kineticist.com

Your Pinball Machine by B. B. Kamoroff
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764361807

If you are having trouble finding any of the resources that I talked about, feel free to reach out to me. I can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

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In this introduction episode, I talk about what you can expect from this podcast. This is a podcast for pinball enthusiasts who have an interest in the electromechanical era of pinball from the 1930's to the late 1970's. EM is short for electromechanical.  No matter where you are in your EM pinball journey, there will be something here for you.

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