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First Job 1975.

Ms Pac-Mac.

8 Balls.

Capt. Fantastic

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Welcome to Eric's Pinball Repair & Service

Are you dealing with a pinball technician? Looking for repairing excavation? Call the experts at Eric's Pinball Repair & Service: the finest technician in Denver, Colorado. I am also excavating contractors and specialize in pinball part replacements. If you have had your pinball scoped and told it was broken, I am happy to review your case for free. I will gladly come out and provide an expert second opinion, with no charges whatsoever. My service cover both the Denver areas and Aurora areas. Pinball issues aren’t something to be guessed at—you need concrete evidence of a problem to ensure the right solution is put forth.

Eric's Pinball Repair & Service is a fully licensed repairing company located in Denver, Aurora, and Metro, equipped to service all your pinball needs. At Eric's Pinball Repair & Service you can count on me for professional advice, top quality work and comprehensive business and residential pinball services.

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I guarantee the quality of my work 100%, and always offer environmentally friendly products and services.

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Outside Edge Products.

This is a story of an unsung hero of Gorgar, the first talking pinball machine.

When you're a vendor at pinball shows, you meet a whole lot of cool people. In 2016 at our booth at Pinball Expo in Chicago, we met Eric Kamen and Ray Gay. It didn't take long to realize that they were both deaf, but that didn't stop anything. We chatted back and forth with a combo of phones, scraps of paper, and the little bit of sign language I knew.

I found out Eric was a pinball restorer (and still is!) Then I found out Ray had worked for Williams, and had helped design the electronics behind Gorgar's voice. Ray shared the story of how he would stand next to the machine with his hand on the speaker underneath the cabinet, feeling the sound vibrations. This way he could test his work and make sure the right sounds were happening at the right times in the game. It was amazing to learn that the speech board for the first talking pinball machine was designed by a deaf person!

I remembered that a couple of serious Gorgar fans had visited our booth before Eric and Ray showed up. I ran off, found them still in the vendor hall, and convinced them to come back to the booth. Ray then got to share his story again. The pictures say it all.

Eric came back to our booth the next year, but without Ray. I later looked up Ray online, and found how important he had been to the pinball industry.

From 1965 to 2002, Ray Gay designed circuit boards and did technical illustrations for Seeburg, Bally, Williams, and Midway. He designed the first solid state board system for Williams. He was instrumental in the transition from hand drawing to CAD to design the System 9 boards. He taught CAD to fellow engineers at Williams. He even designed boards for video games like Defender and Cruis'n USA. The reason we developed Hardtops was to help save these great games. The more we learn about the people and stories behind the games, the more we want to keep doing it. If you're considering installing a Gorgar Hardtop, we thought you might like to hear one of the hidden stories behind it. Maybe you could even dedicate your next project to Ray.

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About.

A dream comes true! I was seven years old and I went with my parents to Coney Island in New York. There I saw all the old-fashioned styles and things from the past, such as pinball machines and other games (because of this, I started to get interested in mechanics). I later went back to New York in 1990 to a store I had seen, in search of pinball machines so I could add them to my collection back home, but the machines were gone. I was really disappointed.

In 1958, I was born in Brooklyn, New York, but despite my disability, I showed aptitudes of putting things together and mechanical ability. At the age of 2½ I attended Lexington School for the Deaf until the age of 12 and continued to show my ability in mechanics.

My interests really got started when I was 12 years old, while a student at the New York School for the Deaf, also known as Fanwood. The school had a game room and whenever a game or piece of equipment would break, the school authority called upon me to repair whatever was necessary to keep the game room operating. At this point I vowed that some day I would own my own game room!

While attending Fanwood, I was sent to West Chester Community College where I took a course in House Wiring. After a year, the instructor said I was #1 in my class. But due to my disability no one would hire a deaf man. Despite my frustration, I continued to improve my ability in working with wires and tools.

At 16 years old, I got a job at McCann Amusements in the Bronx, working on Saturdays repairing pinball machines and other mechanical games. While working at McCann, I learned to cannibalize various machines for the parts, which became useful and important. My boss, George McCann, gave me a Gottlieb Play Mates (1968). I now have the back glass on the wall and added a scorekeeper, which is also a clock that I made myself. My boss also gave me a Midway Golf Champ (1972), which was a wall-mounted electromechanical game.

I appreciated the gifts very much. After graduating from Fanwood, the encouragement of other deaf boys helped me to decide to go to Westminster Community College. Two years later, I relocated to California where I worked for a distributor of mechanical games. The distributor was C.A. Robinson Amusement Co. The technicians who worked there were classified as "professionals." I worked for Robinson for six years, learning my craft and improving my skills. They would say I was one deaf person who is a rare breed in a hearing world.

I now live in Denver, Colorado because I love the outdoor activities, the mountains, and the weather. I have been working for the post office for the past six years. I do get job working part time repairing pinball and slot machines.

My first love is amusement and mechanical games and over the past several years I have been buying and selling various machines. This is my game room and I'm proud of my accomplishment.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Eric Kamen visited Coney Island for the first time at the age of seven. He called it, "a dream come true." Although Eric is deaf, his disability hasn't affected his love for mechanical amusement devices. He is a prop at mechanical game repair.

Contact.

Do you want me to repair your place? Give me a call or send me an email. I love meeting new people!