alt Hacker NewsLol, nice! It depends on what you mean by "owning a bowling center," but it looks like there are at least two of us into this :D
I bought a really old fully mechanical (and automated!) mini bowling lane. It works without a CPU, except for the score display, which originally used a 1970 Intel D8749H (MCS-48)!
Just like yours, the only thing that turns this machine on is a single relay :D On my model, I also get feedback on the pin status and a "ball received" signal, so I can trigger the scoring.
I dumped the firmware and replaced the display PCB with a more recent DIY PCB with an Arduino that speaks a modern, documented protocol. It's now compatible with ScoreMore software, and I can do a lot more with it.
Here are some pictures and more info on the Bowltech forum (you should post your stuff here too!):
* https://www.bowltech.com/forum/small-scale-bowling/small-sca...
@vik8 on discord if you need :)
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Can you explain the significance of the single relay? My car starts with a single solenoid.
I’m just going to say I am going to find a way to be the third person in your bookclub. This is so cool!
Hah! I remember playing a couple times in one of those Alf Minibowling machines in Madrid in the early/mid nineties... It's a string machine, isn't it?
Kind of funny that factory is in a small town next to Zaragoza...
I love it! I actually looked at integrating with scoremore myself, but once I crossed into hardware world, I still couldn't get over how much fouling alone cost. $750 / unit and they're -ancient-.
Definitely will post on bowl-tech as well. I'm just new enough to have a lot of that new-guy anxiety around posting OpenLaneLink there yknow? Those guys know -everything- about this stuff.