January
“Virtual Pinball” solenoids
I haven’t ordered a case to verify this…
…but I’m about 99% sure that the item sold as a “Virtual Pinball solenoid” for $20+ is, in fact, a starter solenoid from an old Ford.
They sell for under $5 on alibaba, and about $10 shipped on aliexpress. Search for “SW-3”.
Also, they don’t sound like a pinball bumper…they’re not nearly as authoritative. They sound like when you try to start your car, but the battery is nearly dead and all you hear is “click,” because that’s what they are — the thing that goes “click” when that happens.
It’s better than nothing, I suppose. But considering the effort to wire them up, and the hundreds of dollars worth of controller boards we must buy in order to trigger them at all, I feel like there has to be a more satisfying solution. Why don’t we just put a few actual pop bumper solenoids in there? Am I missing something?