Southeast Michigan, Mid Michigan, Toledo Ohio.
I get a lot of email asking,
"Will you come to my home and fix my pinball or coin-operated arcade game?"
The answer is YES! And the price is less than you may think.
In-Home Pinball Repair Service.
If you live anywhere around the lower part of Michigan
I can travel to your home and fix your pinball or
arcade game (EM or Solidstate) in your home or business.
This includes the South East Michigan and Detroit metro area like
Brighton, Detroit, Novi, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills,
Grosse Pointe, Taylor, Dearborn, Farmington, Shelby, Macomb, Sterling Heights, Bay City,
Troy, Royal Oak, Monroe, Kalamazoo, Battlecreek, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Howell, Walled Lake, Pinckney.
Basically from the Port Huron (thumb of Michigan) down to Toledo Ohio, and up to Kalamazoo,
and across to Detroit Michigan, and all points in between.
Also Toledo Ohio and surrounding areas in north west Ohio.
I specialize in pinball games from the 1940s to present. That means I can fix an old EM (electro-mechanical) pinball, or the most current solidstate pinball games. I also fix old shuffle alley/puck bowling and ball bowlers, arcade baseball pitch and bat games, arcade mechanical gun games, and other similar arcade games. This includes coin operated games made by Gottlieb, Williams, Bally, DataEast, Midway, Sega, Stern, Chicago Coin (CCM), Genco, Mutoscope, United and many others. Newer Solidstate dot matrix display games to the oldest electro-mechanical pinballs.
I bring all tools and parts for your game with me (I would say less than 5% of the time I have to make a second trip back because I am missing a part).
Note I am animal friendly! That is, if you have a dog or cat or two at your home, that is not a problem. I can fix your pinball game at your home with no worry about pets.
Generally a 120 mile trip is about as far as I can travel to do a game repair (basically two hours each way). There is of course an additional cost if you live over 50 miles each way. I have traveled up to three hours each way to fix someone's games. Also I only travel at most 60 miles each way during November to March, because the winter Michigan weather is too unpredictable. So if you are in Kalamazoo and need a game fixed for Christmas, please let me know if possible by October so I can make the trip before the winter weather comes.
I also repair and fix Chexx and Super Chexx Hockey games (domed bubble hockey) from 1983 (when introduced) to present. Can also repair many slot machines (email for more details), ranging from old 1930s-1950s mechanical slot machines, and newer 1990s IGT and Bally slot machines (like IGT Double Diamonds or IGT Blazing Sevens or IGT Wild Cherry).
04/02/08 Pinball Repair Update.
Made it through the winter. If you need repair now feel free to call or email. Weather is good, so if you're more than 60 miles away, I can do those repairs until the fall (October). Maybe a Traverse City trip this summer? Not sure, email me for details.
Contact Info for In-Home Pinball Service.
Feel free to send me an email at
cfh@provide.net
or call me at 248-390-5382 to discuss your needs. Please only call
if you are in the Michigan/NW Ohio area. That is, I really can't help
fix your game if you live in California!
Also if you have a broken game you want to get rid of, I do buy broken games. This
includes pinball machines, gun games, bowling games, slot machines, and Chexx hockey games.
But frankly I would rather fix these games in your home if at all possible!
Video Game Service.
Though I do not specialize in coin-operated video games, I
do sometimes repair classic arcade video games like Pacman, Ms.Pacman, Centipede, Millipede,
Galaga, Qbert, Defender, Stargate, Robotron and other similar coin operated arcade games.
Video game repair update: I have teamed up with a friend in the Detroit/Flint area. He does in-home video game repair. We can't repair every video game title, but we do try and concentrate on the 'classics' like Pacman, Centipede, Defender, etc.
Please do NOT call me for Tech help or parts if you are outside of Michigan/NW Ohio!
I just can not give tech help to everyone on the phone, there just isn't enough
time in the day. Now if you are in Michigan/NW Ohio and are considering using
my services, feel free to call or email and we can talk. But outside
Michigan I just can not help everyone fix their game on the phone.
Thanks in advance.
Commonly Asked In-Home Pinball Repair Questions:
Q) When do you usually schedule repairs?
A) I try and schedule repairs for 10am on weekdays.
Also sometimes early afternoons, but generally not after 3pm as I
like to be home for my family at that time.
I do weekends sometimes, but generally try to avoid weekend repairs as
this is time I spend with my family. There are exceptions to this
though - please call or email to discuss your situation.
Q) How much does it cost to fix a game at my house?
A) This is difficult to determine without seeing the game, but I can
give a general range of what most games cost to repair (cost based on time).
There are some caveats to this. For example, if you have more than one game
obviously this usually takes more time. Older games (1950s/1960s) can
also take longer to fix. Shuffle and Ball bowlers tend to take more time too.
And 1978-1985 solidstate pinballs with
batteries on the CPU board sometimes cost more to repair.
I know now you're asking, "Batteries? Why would my game have batteries, and
what does that matter?" Well most solidstate pinballs do use batteries
to store high scores and book keeping functions.
And the batteries can leak their corrosive fluids and ruin connectors
and even the computer board (this is why I usually mount remote battery
holders on many games I repair to prevent this problem in the future.)
But generally speaking, 95% of all repairs fall in the eighty to two hundred
fifty dollar range.
Q) Will my pinball repair require multiple trips?
A) Ninetyeight percent of the time I can repair your pinball in one trip.
No one likes return trips, especially me!
Q) Would it be cheaper for me to bring my game to you for repair?
A) The short answer is NO. On the rare occasion when I have done it,
but generally it's just not necessary. When moving a game, there are lots of
considerations too. You have to disassemble the machine,
put it in your vehicle, and drive it to me. And then do it in reverse after the repair.
And there is a good chance the game will be damaged in the
process. Moving a pinball is no easy task. If you break the irreplaceable score glass your
valuable pinball is now nothing more than $50 worth of parts. And in the process of
moving or setting up the game once it's fixed and back at your house, there is a
chance it could be mis-connected, damaging the machine. So in the end, is it
really worth it? Wouldn't it just be easier (and cheaper!) to have me come out
once and fix it at your home? YES.
Q) A local shop is willing to fix my pinball, but I have to bring it
to them. Won't this be cheaper?
A) Heck No! Trust me on this, the shops in the Detroit
area that offer that service will NOT cost you less. Besides the fact that you have to
disassemble and move your game to AND from their shop, the bills that I have seen reflect
much higher repair costs than I do fixing your game at your home. Add to that the cost of a good
chiropractor, and the fact that they may have your game for *months*, well,
you get the point.
Q) I have lost the key to my game. Do you have a "master key"?
A) There really is no such thing as a master key. But I can usually
get into a locked game without too much trouble.
Q) Can I watch when you fix my machine at my home?
A) Yes you can. A lot of people watch and learn some things
about pinball machine care. I'm happy to share this kind
of information. That's another reason why having me come to your
home to fix your game is better than dropping it off at a local repair shop.
Q) I have several old broken pinballs from the 1960s and 1970s that have been
stored in our barn for 10+ years. Can you fix these?
A) Yes I can. But please have them set up on their legs and the inside
vacuumed (especially if stored outside, mouse house!), so I can get right to fixing them.
Hopefully water, rust and vermin are not big issues.
Q) I live in Lansing and have a Bally Bobby Orr Powerplay pinball from 1978.
Will you come to Lansing and repair it?
A) Yes most certainly. Lansing is within my travel area and
I am very familiar with that era of Bally pinball.
Q) I have a 1993 Bally Twilight Zone pinball that turns itself
off during play when I press both flippers. Can you your fix this?
A) This is a common problem for Twilight Zone, and yes I can
fix this.
Q) I have a 1980 Gottlieb Haunted House pinball that has not
worked in 5 years. No one can repair it so it works more than
two weeks. Can you fix it?
A) Haunted House is a great pinball, very enjoyable.
I am very experienced with older solidstate Gottlieb pinballs,
and yes I can fix this game at your home so it is reliable.
Q) I have an older 1972 Gottlieb King Rock EM pinball. It was the game in our
house when I was a child, and hasn't worked for 20 years. I am now 40 years
old and would like to have it working for my children to enjoy. I live in
Port Huron. Can you fix this machine? Do you carry parts with you?
A) Yes I certainly can fix it. And I carry all the parts I would need
with me for your game. I have lots of experience with older Electro-Mechanical (EM)
pinballs, and Port Huron is within my travel area.
Q) I have a 1963 Chicago Coin Grand Spare Lite ball bowler.
It has not worked for about 10 years, and we can not find anyone
to fix it. I am located in Farmington Hills, can you repair it?
Do you carry the parts?
A) Yes I repair ball bowlers and shuffle alley bowlers
from this era, and I carry the parts needed.
Q) I have a 1980 Williams Firepower pinball machine
that the lights turn on, but the score displays never come on
and I can't start a game. I am in Toledo Ohio, can
you come to my home and fix this?
A) Yes it can. I am very familiar with this era of
Williams pinball, and carry all the parts and boards with
me to repair your game.
Q) I live in Traverse City, Michigan and own a broken
Williams Earth Shaker pinball. Do you travel that far?
A) I can fix the Earthshaker pinball.
But normally Traverse City would be outside of my
travel area. Sometimes in the summer months I do a "road trip"
to that area for repairs. Contact me and we can discuss it.
Q) I have a 1977 Bally Eight Ball pinball. One repair guy told me
it's too old to fix, and would be unreliable. Do you agree and would you
repair it?
A) I don't agree with the 'unreliable' statement at all. Though yes
this is an early solidstate pinball, and it may require some work, I find
after repair this series of early solid state pinballs to run very reliably.
And yes I would be happy to repair this game in your home!
Q) I have a 1981 Midway Ms.Pacman video game and I live in
Grosse Pointe. When I turn it on, sometimes I just get a screen of "garbage".
Can you fix this?
A) Though I don't specialize in video games, I can attempt
to repair it at your home if you can not find anyone else that
specializes in video game repair. Or I can send your request to my
friend that does in-home video game repair.
Q) I have several an IGT Triple Diamonds slot machine. It displays a "12"
in the score area, and will not accept money. Can you fix this?
A) Yes I can. Email for details but I do work on many new and old slot machines.
Q) I have several old EM pinball games from the 1960s and 1970s.
Will you come to my house in Brighton Michigan and repair them?
A) Yes most definately. I love working on the older Electro-Mechanical EM
pinball and EM arcade games.