Bowling's Electric Brain (1946) - the world's first automatic pinsetter

[@ForYouPlays]

Damn it's crazy to think they made this in the 40s!!!!

[@BowlingOldies]

There were many pin boys who were seriously injured by flying pins. Pins were more the problem than balls. They could usually hear the balls coming. But pins could bounce almost anywhere, with very little warning.

[@YouthfulElf]

BowlingOldies One of my uncles who had that job in the past would certainly agree to that!

[@marcantoinegagne2591]

BowlingOldies i never saw a pinsetter like that on my lfie

[@toscodav]

Because this was just a prototype. Never actually used in production.

[@flint9889]

I would like to think even back then. People were mad that automation was taking people's jobs.

[@viper3378]

Once the semi-automatic machine can into play, the possibility of a serious injury dropped dramatically. I have set pins on both spikes and with the semi's and needless to say, it was very enjoyable workout, setting 2 lanes without worrying about pins in your face, etc...

[@Coderjo.]

Thank you! I have been curious for several years about this model. It seems crazily overcomplicated compared to even the 82-30.

[@toscodav]

Just a prototype. never used in production

[@keithchrysler3732]

Vaccum! Wow! I've worked with vaccum systems and it takes a lot more energy to do what air pressure can do. I'd wonder how big a vaccum pump it would take to run such a machine! A lot of moving parts there too. Fascinating

[@atomstarfireproductions8695]

Wow, it’s quite interesting how they went from this design to the 82-30 which works completely differently. Are there any 82-10s in operation or on display today?

[@BobbieBees]

I've worked on As A2s GS10s and 82-90XLs. I don't know if you could pay me enough to work on these.

[@parkerwise3895]

One of the last alleys with gs10s is about 20 mins from my house. They aren't open, but the building still has power for other businesses. I really wanna go in the back and check them out

[@Sean-mclaughlin]

AMF decided they were unworkable because of too many problems. 4 technicians had to stay with them to keep them running. Each pinspotter weighed 2 tons and had over 20000 parts. AMF went back to the drawing board and, a few years later, came out with the very successful and much more efficient 82-30 pinspotter, which are still around today.

[@PinoyBowlerGS92]

and eventually also the Brunswick Model A Pinsetter...

[@Bowlinginstaller]

Bloody hell. Pinspotters have come a long way in the past 100 years or so. Especially when you look at amfs newest creation the 90xli edge. Its amazing really. Ps, a really good find this video props to you uploader :)

[@trainman5371]

It hasn’t changed much since the sixties when AMF introduced the 82-70. It really was the moneymaker for AMF as it outdid it’s predecessor (the 82-30) in basically every respect. This is also why the most common pinspotter in AMF equipped centers is the 82-70, because it was hugely successful. The preceding models that AMF has introduced (the 82-90, 82-90Xli, and the Xli Edge) were all based off the 82-70, and really they’re just modernized 82-70s’.

[@f62darkstar]

@@trainman5371 don't forget the short lived 8800 Gold

[@BowlingOldies]

Yes, the 10 pin is absolutely knocked down, leaving the 1-3-6. Then they cut to a close-up of the pin deck and we see the 1-3-6-10. It's definitely a continuity issue. But to be fair, this was a newsreel, not a feature film (or even a short feature). Besides, as I mentioned earlier, in 1946, I can assure you, people's eyes were more focused on the modern marvel of the pinspotter contraption than they were on the pins themselves.

[@casualobserver2305]

Give them a break..this was James Bond type stuff at that time

[@jwade49127]

There is a 30 lane center in St. Joseph, MI that still uses 82-30's and they run very well for the most part

[@FurbyGaming125]

I Wonder What It Sounds Like Still Working Right Now

[@Zoomer30]

Vacuum.... Can't see that ever not working 😅

[@kurtvanzyl5218]

Are there any 82-10's out there on display at a museum somewhere?

[@seanburns9416]

Cool technology for that time and era,,,, cool even today!!!!

[@FranBushardt]

That is Pretty Neat with the Pins Upside Down!

[@Zoomer30]

I think the name on the patent for this machine was Goldberg, Rube.

[@brownasiankid1782]

No the original inventor (most don't know) was Mohammad Hussain an immigrant from the Pakistani area. His name just isn't mentioned much

[@Triley215]

@@brownasiankid1782 you totally missed the joke....

[@eascec8374]

I Think The 82-10 Is A Test Pinsetter. They Continued With The Pin Boys Or B-10's Until 1955 For AMF for the Famous 82-30, and 1958 with Brunswick with the Model A.

[@speedtoast]

Tbf. After watching a few vids of modern machines. This looks reliably simple in design.

[@Masterr59]

Whao!!!! @10 seconds....that's the highest back swing I have seen on a bowler from this time period!

[@caduceusjules]

Watch Carmen Salvino in his match against Buddy Bomar, his backswing beats this one

[@marteng55]

I consider them the first robot. A mechanized device that replaces a human.

[@therandomytchannel4318]

That setting table sure looks interesting, this machine kinda reminds me of the Quebec based company Mendez and their MM 2001 pinsetter with a folding setting table thing, quite the Rube Goldberg machine, I'll take an A2 anyway, there are also some off brand Japanese pin setting machines that look real wild.

[@JadeDragon407]

Given the era and lack of computer tech as we know it today, I'm guessing the cups that lift the remaining pins have some kind of little switches that it uses to indicate that all 10 pins aren't there in the case of a strike and lack of 2nd frame needed. Still, how it translates that to action in what could be called an OR switch to determine which action to perform in that day in age is dare I say, pretty well cutting edge tech. Not bad either considering this would have been only a year after the war had ended. Cool share!

[@173sawYT]

ngl, this looks better than modern pinsetters

[@MrBowling63]

i mentioned it because after i see movies, i see it again to find movie mistakes. i have a good eye for it.

[@rfs1701e]

It would be another 5 or 6 years before the first automatic pinsetters would be used everywhere. Nevertheless this model did show the pin boy era was pretty much at the end

[@BowlingOldies]

Strictly speaking, pinsetters have, indeed, been around for 100 years. It's just that it wasn't until 1946 when FULLY AUTOMATIC pinsetters came along. Before that, they were, to one degree or another, human-powered. :-)

[@keithchrysler3732]

Brunswick had prototypes in 1948 and were tight lipped about how they worked. They didn't make a real breakthrough until the A series in 1956. There's still debate over which one is better. I've worked on A 2s but I prefer to bowl on AMFs. Anyone of them are troublesome and none are perfect. GSX series have problems and so do 82 90s.

[@DaxVJacobson]

I read that after this machine or some variant was created, 11,000 bowling alleys were built in America, I miss bowling alleys, the one near my house is a dangerous dive I'd never set foot in.

[@MrKevinDBerry]

No, if you look at the initial contact she knocked the 10 pin down,then on the closeup the 10 pin is there. Continuity issue like BowlingOldies stated.

[@benwalker843]

I talked to a gentleman Friday that experienced this. He wis 85 years old now but he talked about how blacks back then wasn't allowed to Bowl during hours of bowling but could be the pin boys.

[@janchapman1969a]

i watched again, if you look closely the 10 pin is there, it is just dark because the light is being blocked by the offset one pin

[@Jhihmoac]

The prototype AMF 82-10s... Never put into production because of the problematic vacuum suction pin action and the full 180 mechanism alignment breakdown problems...

[@mariorocks9924]

That was cool back in its day! :-)

[@rfs1701e]

Do you know if the AMF 82-30 model is still being used today? That is the model I grew up around and I was always fascinated by it.

[@brucecarney4416]

The auto spotter is the same age as I am. At 73 I have set pins.

[@MichiganPeatMoss]

wonder why they did away with the strike sensing "technology". LOL - I was at a "modern" alley just last week and the pinsetter kept knocking over pins. Oh how far we've come. LOLJK

[@rfs1701e]

This is good for that time. But I wonder whenever that pinsetter had put down a new rack of 10 I wonder if another set of 10 was ready in case a strike was thrown that's bcuz now to my knowledge each pinsetter would have 20 pins 10 on the deck and 10 @ the top

[@toscodav]

Not good for that time either. this is a prototype that wasn't ready for production yet.

[@vittoriostoraro]

San Dee lanes in Malverne, NY is currently using 82/30's

[@PinoyBowlerGS92]

Those machines are more dangerous than A2’s XD

[@mariorocks9924]

This is very cool! :-)

[@BowlingOldies]

I have no personal knowledge of any bowling centers that are still using the AMF 82-30. But I have a hard time believing there aren't some 82-30 machines still in use somewhere today. I mean, there are still some old Brunswick A machines still in use, and I'm pretty sure there were more 82-30's sold. There's bound to be some still in operation. But I can't say I know where they'd be. There aren't any here in my area that I know of.

[@industriastroll3177]

Theres a bowling center with 82 30's in Satelite city in Mexico

[@colintca0949]

BowlingOldies Elmwood Park, NJ at Parkway Lanes has 36 82-30s that still run to this day

[@bananafishworshipper8172]

In Victoria, Australia (where i live) there are a few centres with 30s because bowling isn't as popular here they don't get enough money to upgrade to better machines. Unless they are maintained very well they will break down a lot.

[@tw3931]

BowlingOldies there are 82-30s running all over the place. And these in the video are not 30's

[@8230PinChaser]

See my videos of 82-30s from a 50-lane center near Albany, NY still in operation where I once worked part-time as a pin-chaser.

[@theamflitebowler]

8230PinChaser oh wow

[@janchapman1969a]

I would call it a minor blooper. It would have taken forever to wait for a pinslide scenerio, but I agree they should have left the 10 pin off the deck

[@BowlingOldies]

No one in filmmaking would call it a "major blooper." It's a continuity issue for sure. But remember, in 1946, no one had ever seen a pinsetter before. So the whole idea of pins standing before a machine picked them up was a whole new idea. I've watched this video a hundred times and never noticed it until you mentioned it. I'm sure that in 1946, viewers eyes were more on the modern marvel of the machine itself, and not the pins that were left standing. Just sayin'.

[@rfs1701e]

I very much appreciate your answer to my question above. But I would like to know if you have any idea if the AMF Magic Triangle with the Pindicator is still being used these days. This is because I recently saw a youtube clip of it in a small 6-lane center.

[@michaelalbert2614]

I hope you received your answer 8 years ago, friend. However if you didn't, even at the time of you posting THIS question the Magic Triangle was Replaced by Animations. very few centers still use them. They all got replaced by Animations from artists who took way too much LSD XD

[@cdrematt]

@@michaelalbert2614 There is a place in Sharon, PA called Thornton Hall Bowling Lanes. It is running classic AMF and Brunswick units (yes, they have one side that is AMF, and one that is Brunswick), and still have manual scoring. I've not been there, but am hoping to bowl there soon

[@生方みわ子]

す…すごい 夢でこのピンセッター出てきてびっくりしたよ〜このピンセッターって実際に稼働してたの？

[@aydengaines3924]

Why was the pins upside down 😂😂

[@rodneyjohnson6313]

Why do you have to have that timestamp in the middle of the screen where is so annoying

[@MrBowling63]

at the point where the woman rolls the ball and moves the head pin off spot, she knocks down the 10 pin. then a shot of the pins show she left the 10 pin. major blooper!

[@RejectedManiac]

The end of many jobs due to machines. Still happens every day today.

[@mikeswendrowski7337]

Many jobs were created. People had to build the machines! Dah

[@fryingmachine571]

I pretty sure the pin setter was made a decade prior in the 30s

[@ProdigyBowlersTour]

It was not.

[@gymnastix]

Do you know if there are any more lanes which actually still employ "pin boys" (or "pin girls," nowadays)? Or is that occupation truly obsolete?

[@industriastroll3177]

yeah, for example the holler house, opened in 1908 and the southport lanes alleys which were opened at the same time, those 2 alleys still use pinboys and brunswick b-1's

[@matkletamoravia8388]

in the San Antonio area there are several 9 pin houses and one on the south side of San Antonio that is 9 and 10 pin with pin boys/girls. a wonderful step back in time to visit.

[@YouthfulElf]

gymnastix In Texas where they still play a version of nine pines, they still employ people to reset the pins by hand.

[@vitaphonedisc]

Actually they use B-10's

[@IGNITION82]

Its kinda eerie when everyone in this video are dead…

[@FurbyGaming125]

0:13

[@rfs1701e]

Archaic big time by today's standards but never the less it ultimately led to the end of pinboys

[@4HBirtcher]

0:45 pins especially the head pin is not put back on spot!! It should be back on spot as in back on the black dots before a bowler throws a spare shot!!

[@lordofthecats6397]

I thought pins aren't supposed to be re-aligned during a spare. I could be wrong though, not much of a bowling expert.

[@jeffthebracketman]

@Henry Birtcher The U.S.B.C. (and formerly A.B.C.) playing rules specify that all standing pins remain where they are - think about it - when we used pinboys did we respot the pins that were moved?

[@BowlingDiseased]

Sounds like Billy Welu

[@kplinger]

imagine if the pin boys would break down. instead of a mechanic, we would need a doctor.

[@H0TWHEELS]

Well he'll these machines was better then the ones today. Wtf happened 😆

[@gymnastix]

This clip states that human pinsetters "risked life & limb." Is that true? Were bowling balls literally coming at the human pinsetters as they were reloading the manual pin-setting devices? I am just trying to picture how this might have gone. And , actually, I wonder if there was even a time before any mechanics at all were utilized, where humans literally went onto bowling lanes and lined up balls for the bowlers (as kids would maybe still do with plastic bowling games used at home).

[@YouthfulElf]

gymnastix I heard that there were bowlers who would bowl before the pin boy was done resetting the pins just to mess with them!

[@TJSSHORTS2]

i think thats MINE.....................CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT

[@GoldenL8mp]

uhhh.. technology sets the pins not science

[@mollies13]

thats is some bad oil....

[@drummachine434]

This bowling machine looks very inaccurate.

[@toscodav]

It is just a prototype. Still not ready for production.

[@STEVENVUEH599]

0:57 no it’s not placed at the spot… 🫤