Tomy / Palitoy Blip LED game

What the listing stated:

Boxed Tomy Palitoy Blip Vintage 1977 LED Game 

Good condition and powers up but need to shake it to make ‘ball’ move.

Could be a spring tension has weakened or something

Box is very worn

EBay

This purchase kind of excites me as it was a couple of years before games started to go truly digital. The year was 1977 some 48 yrs ago from the current time of writing. It was labelled as a digital game however that was a bit of a misnomer, it was more an electro mechanical game as the battery source in this unit had only one purpose, to power the LED light source. The main guts of the unit are mechanical being powered by a wind up motor that does the majority of the work. However the mechanics within this unit are superb and it’s worth a look under the cover just to revel in its construction.

These units were released at the time when pretty much the only video game available was the tennis game “Pong”. The TV game units produced at the time were selling for around £70GBP where as this unit was priced somewhere around the £8GBP mark. Hence, it was a cheap option for the children and didn’t need extra hardware such as a TV and a power supply. However, it wasn’t a match for the far superior “Pong”. It was in theory a totally different and far more frustrating game.

Want to give it a try? There is a really good true to life version available from the App Store to play on your phone. Believe me it will have you cussing as it’s not as easy as it looks. So realistic right down to the motor noise and light movement. It’s really addictive and annoying in equal measure.

This video below by Randi Rain shows a total refurbishment start to finish and is a great source of information regarding the breakdown and repair of this item.

Some history:

Blip was designed by Hikoo Usami for the Tomy Kogyo Co., the patent being filed in 1976 and awarded on December 19, 1977.

Tomy marketed Blip in the U.S. starting in 1977. In Japan, Blip was marketed as World Tennis and differed from the U.S. game by having the words “World Tennis” emblazoned on the screen and replacing the 1, 2, and 3 on the screen with silhouettes of tennis players. The Blip name remained on the Japanese version. In France, the game was marketed by Meccatronic. The German version was called Blip-o-Matic, although the Blipname remained on the case.

It is the timer which provides the motor function to the game. Upon the timer dial being turned, a spring is wound which then, via several gears, drives the arm upon which the LED light (the ball) is mounted. The movement repeats after the ball hits each player’s side 36 times, so it is possible to memorise the sequence of buttons to press.

Wikipedia

I’m really looking forward to receiving this unit and can’t wait to get it up and running again. I’ve been after one of these for quite a while.

For those who may be interested and who have a photographic memory this is the sequence that the movement repeats in its 36 movement cycle:

Assessment:

The unit is in good cosmetic condition considering it is 48yrs old. The box is tatty but usable and as always smells a bit musty (To be honest as expected). The mechanical condition is not as described and is a total non starter. It seems the winder may have even been overwound, I hope this is not the case. The “Ball” light does come on when batteries are put in but only intermittently and when pressure is applied in the battery area. However the contacts do look clean with no sign of battery leakage or corrosion. And I know someone has been in this unit prior to me as one of the four body securing screws is missing. God knows what I will find awaiting me within. The seller has been a little, how can I say it, inconsistent with the truth in his description of this unit.

But that’s why I buy these things. Let’s get inside and find out what is needed to get it back into being a working game.

Repair:

Open the case and this is what you are faced with.

If you remove the left and right control paddles you can get to see the mechanism running unhindered. However this one has an intermittent fault where the movement stops mid travel, there is something restricting its movement.

There is an inherent issue with these units where the gears have to be set up in exactly the right position or else it does not work. Similar to changing the timing belt on a car. This confirms to me that someone has been inside previously and messed with the gearing.

I also noticed a cog with a tooth missing, this was strange as to be honest it didn’t look as if there had ever been a tooth there in the first place!

Looking at its motion it transpires that this is another cog that just has to be in the perfect position and the “Missing tooth” corresponds with a flat post on the rear of the gear train. It’s missing for a purpose. This pleased me somewhat.

I put the cogs back in place paying special attention to their positioning and tried the unit once again. Here is the result.

Next I’ve taken the light switch to pieces, I’ve cleaned all the contacts with IPA, reshaped the contact and put back together.

I’m pleased to say this did the job, the light works fine and there is no longer an intermittent fault. It’s all that was required.

I have reassembled the unit, given it a good clean and it looks pretty smart if I say so myself. It was already well oiled so there was no need to add more at this point. It is now fully working and will last a good few more years yet.

Result:

A successful repair of a 48yr old toy game. I’m really pleased with my purchase and it’s another cracking example to add to my ever growing collection.

Repairs on these games need approaching from a different point of view. The electronic content is minimal and mechanical workings are the order of the day. Look how it has all reversed in today’s gaming world, that’s advancement for you.

Really pleasing positive result here. Another one saved from landfill.

Thanks for passing by and reading this post. It’s always very much appreciated.