Ultimate Leveling tool?

[Vengeance]

So leveling pinball machines correctly encompass way to much of my waking thoughts.

I always struggle with the unending question of on the PF or no the glass.

Right now I level on the glass, against the lockdown bar and the head. My reason is if you don't have a straight line, you might as well not bother leveling a machine.

I've tried leveling on a PF before I usually end up with a mix bag of results.

I find I have better consistency with leveling games against the lock down bar.

But still logically I understand that isn't correct, cause you aren't measuring the level on the actual thing that you want level.

I've played around with ideas in my head on what would be the best option.....

What I've come up with is I think a bullseye level would be the best option. Reason being, a bullseye level doesn't care about a straight line, it doesn't matter if it's a straight line or not, as long as the X axis is 0 it should be fine.

Problem is the conventional bullseye level's you find at your local home depot don't like to work on an incline, the bubble just shifts all the way to the top and is basically useless.

Then I came up with the idea of using a laser level to create a straight line on the PF. Problem is Laser Levels are EXPENSIVE! I bought the cheapest one I could find with a self leveling option but as soon as I point it down at the PF that option breaks as it's only meant to create these laser lines on objects directly in front of it, not on any angle up or down.

I thought about putting the laser level directly on the PF but again the incline creates the same issue and it can't self level so I can't get a straight line. Perhaps there are more expensive units, but the one I bought was already $100 with tax and I don't $200+ care about this problem to get some professional unit to do what I want

So scratch that idea.

So I finally start googling around a little bit more and I found this:



It's a digital protractor/level/inclometer built into one unit. I got it for about $50 US on eBay with free shipping and I'm hoping no tax on delivery *fingers crossed*

I'm hoping this will solve my leveling issue. The digital read out for the bullseye level with the X and Y axis means I should be able to perfectly level for X anywhere on the PF and get the Incline (Y) set exactly the same on each machine as well. No need for a straight line, just place it on the PF and read the display.

Time will tell if this works out, I just ordered it today and ETA is end of the month. But I'm hoping this will finally solve my leveling dilemma so to speak and I can finally stop thinking about if my machines are 100% level or not

 

[DRANO]

That's a fancy contraption

I use the digital mastercaft unit from CT and I've started just doing it on the glass for the same reasons you mention.... you need a straight lateral line and the top and bottom edge of the glass provide that. Obviously the side rails provide it in the other direction.

What I've done is set up games properly using the playfield method for pitch and then I put the glass on and see what the corresponding "glass-top" angle is. I don't know them off the top of my head but I think BW titles are around 13 or 14 degrees while classic Bally and Stern are almost identical to the playfield since the glass is pretty much parallel to it. I just keep the various degrees for each type of machine jotted down in my digital level case. Obviously level from left to right is universal so no issues there.

 

[a.stebel]

There is a very good app for the iPhone from PinGuy. It levels on pf or the glass. Has a voice too, for indicting what to do while under the machine.

Put the phone between the flippers and level away.

 

[Vengeance]

There is a very good app for the iPhone from PinGuy. It levels on pf or the glass. Has a voice too, for indicting what to do while under the machine.

Put the phone between the flippers and level away.

I don't trust phone leveling apps. Are phones aren't meant to be levels and won't be as accurate as an actual level.

 

[Menace]

The thing is you're not framing a house here, and fractions of a degree across the width of a PF isn't going to make that much of a difference, so using a phone based app (as long as you have it zero'd correctly to start) has been fine for me in this application.

It would be an interesting exercise to see the results from your new leveler against a calibrated phone app.

D

 

[a.stebel]

I have compared the phone app to the mastercraft digital level and they are within 0.1 of a degree of each other.

 

[dnewman]

I have compared the phone app to the mastercraft digital level and they are within 0.1 of a degree of each other.

Yeah, I use PinGuy as well, and have checked with my level and inclinometer afterwards, and found it to be quite accurate.

Also, from my own personal experience, levelling on the playfield doesn't require a straight line in the artwork (which could be skewed anyway), especially down at the flippers. You can rest your level evenly along the flipper edges, and it's pretty easy to see if it's aligned well. Perhaps it's not perfect, but even if it's out a degree of rotation or two on the horizontal plane, that won't result in any discernible difference in how level the playfield is.

That said, the levelling device that Adam bought looks pretty cool! Can't wait to hear how it works!

 

[meegis]

You can rest your level evenly along the flipper edges, and it's pretty easy to see if it's aligned well.

CHALLENGE!!

 

[brad808]

I don't trust phone leveling apps. Are phones aren't meant to be levels and won't be as accurate as an actual level.

This is just flat out wrong. The intended use of a device doesn't overrule the quality or accuracy of the hardware and sensors used in it. By that logic a camera will always take better photos than a phone because it's a camera. A dedicated level may be better or it may be drastically worse depending on the sensors used.

 

[Vengeance]

This is just flat out wrong. The intended use of a device doesn't overrule the quality or accuracy of the hardware and sensors used in it. By that logic a camera will always take better photos than a phone because it's a camera. A dedicated level may be better or it may be drastically worse depending on the sensors used.

Sure it does.

I'm suprised I even have to argue the fact.

I proper DSLR is always going to to take better pictures than a phone.

So to will a tool that's sole purpose is to level something would be more accurate than a phone.

The designers of the phone didn’t intended for it to be a level. It's an added benefit. Like hey these sensors that sense the position of the phone can also check for the level.

I'm positive most of you don't care about the level or your machines, but I do. That extra degree to the right or left does make a difference

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[Menace]

There is nothing more infuriating than a game that isn't level, and you've been to my place many times so you know all my games are leveled well. The point I was making is leveling a game side to side that has such a small footprint, the resolution of a decent phone with leveling app AS LONG AS IT'S CALIBRATED CORRECTLY will give you results comparable to the level you just bought.

Given your argument about the device you bought being better because it was designed specifically as a leveling tool doesn't hold water with me, simply because the tool you just bought was made in China by the lowest bidder with the cheapest components to maximize profit. How can you sit there and claim the sensors used in that tool are any better than the ones being used in phones that cost $800+? Sure it's not designed as a level but that doesn't mean shit. I've heard many a Chinese MP3 players that were designed specifically as such that sound horrible compared to almost every phone I've ever owned that is capable of MP3 playback. I also have seen many a phone with built in cameras outshine many dedicated point and shoot digital cameras so your argument is flawed. (You cannot compare a DSLR to a camera phone, they are two totally different beasts)

On top of that, the width of a playfield is less than 24" wide. I'm sure the phone apps tolerances are likely not as accurate as a stand alone level... but we are talking about leveling something that is less than 2 feet wide here. I'm sure if you sat and did the math you would find that even using the higher side of the tolerances the difference between using a good calibrated phone app and your dedicated level would be so minute it would be irrelevant. Now... if our playfields were substantially wider this would be a different conversatoin, but they are not.

The key to using any digital level is calibration, regardless of the packaging.

D

 

[Slam_Tilt]

I am a stickler for leveling as well and the phone apps work extremely well.