Now that I have a source for balls to replenish the quarter strike magazine, it is time to make it.
Balls coming through the excess ball diverter make a sharp left turn into the magazine. The idea behind the magazine is to separate the number of balls needed for the quarter, half and three quarter strike mechanism. It needed to be controlled by the feelers that sensed the position of the quarter flips on the time track.
The magazine is like a small gauntlet with tabs that can come down from the top and stop the balls from passing through. With counter weights, very little effort is needed to block the movement of the balls.
There is a lower tab that moves away last after the upper ones have had a chance to get into position and also blocks balls outside of the magazine from entering until the others have left.
It was a tight space, but I was lucky enough to have just enough room. I guess I need to have a heart-to-heart with the designer… oh wait that’s me so I can’t complain.
Once the magazine is mounted and operational, it is time to extend the feelers so they can operate the selection of the number of balls to release in the magazine.