My trip down the rabbit hole...

[ejvfx]

 

I’ve had several different virtual pinball cabinets over the years. I started off with the Toyshock Haunted House, then upgraded to the Arcade1Up pinball but I always had my eye on the AtGames Legends Pinball due to the expandability and modding opportunities it offered.

 

So, earlier this year I was able to pick up a used ALP HD and thus began a bit of an obsession to mod the unit. Looking back, I probably would have saved money and definitely a lot of time just investing in a ALP 4K or more likely a proper vPin cabinet. The thing is, I liked the ¾ form factor because my room is small.

 

Anyway, it’s been a journey and I thought I’d share the mods I’ve done so far in case it’s of use to other folks.

 

 

AtGames Arcade Control Panel

https://www.atgames.us/products/arcade-control-panel-for-legends-pinball

 

Mandatory upgrade for my needs. Your milage may vary but it’s a great addition.
 

BuyStuff Arcades Control Panel Graphics

https://www.buystuffarcades.com/products/alp-hd-and-4k-custom-control-deck-graphic

 

I went with the Gottlieb Collage since it went with the rest of the cabinet. I guess in hindsight I might have gone for a whole re-skin but that ship has sailed at this point, LOL.

 

Leaf Switch Button Upgrade

https://www.ebay.com/itm/167693116628

 

It was pretty quick and easy to upgrade the flipper buttons with these leaf switches and I like the feel of them over the stock buttons.

 

Solenoid Flipper Button Control Boards

https://www.clevelandsoftwaredesign.com/pinball-parts/p/solenoid-flipper-button-control-boards?srsltid=AfmBOopLz_3lun7qbZqk9ojZvGWdOWBVZQXZ_jYPu9M3aiMGr0o0nnJp

 

I added these to provide a more realistic haptic experience for the flippers. They were easy to install and work great. One thing I added is an in-line power switch so I could turn this feature on and off. Another note is that I mapped my Popper navigation to the nudge buttons so I didn’t fire the solenoids when navigating tables, etc.

 

VIBS - Video Input Backglass Switchboard for Legends Pinball HD

https://www.atgames.us/products/video-input-backglass-switchboard-for-legends-pinball

 

Required to use a PC, which is what I wanted to do.

 

BuyStuff Arcades Backbox 2.0

https://www.buystuffarcades.com/products/deluxe-backbox-2-0-for-atgames-legends-pinball

 

Easy upgrade and totally worth it (especially because I was able to pick up a used one!)  The bigger screen, DMD, etc are an excellent addition to the stock ALP HD cabinet. You definitely want the flat cables as well.

 

I also had BSA print up custom graphics I designed for the sides of the new backbox, which turned out great.

 

https://www.buystuffarcades.com/products/custom-art-for-alp

 

 

Upgraded Backbox speakers

Infinity REF-4032CFX Reference 4 Inch Two-Way Car Audio Speakers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8TKWS1

 

Simply replaced the 3” speakers that came with the BSA Backbox 2.0 with these. Simple upgrade and added some more range to the “stock” speakers. I did have to cut some spacers to fit them but it only takes about 1/2" so they sit flush. Very easy - you could probably use flat washers to do it but I used my laser cutter to cut some rings.

 

Amplifier

ZK-TB21 Bluetooth Amplifier Board,50W+50W+100W 2.1 Channel

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCN8472L

 

Everyone seems to use these amps and it’s worked well for me. There are better, more powerful amps out there so take this with a grain of salt, but it was inexpensive and has worked out fine.

You will need to get an audio signal from somewhere to run this. I had a BSA harness, so that’s what I did. There are other ways to do it though. HDMI splitters or a line-level converter would work too.

 

https://www.buystuffarcades.com/products/alp-haptics-upgrade-kit?variant=42891909660897

 

 

“Haptics”

Dayton Audio DAEX25 Audio Exciter Pair - Sound Exciter Pair

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EYEM8C

 

I added these to the amp along with a separate budget subwoofer I picked up at a thrift store. There are better ways to accomplish haptic effects, but I wasn’t feeling like getting into DOF and all that so this is just a cheap, simple approach.

BuyStuffArcades sells a kit with this stuff, but it’s kind of expensive and it was easy enough to go this route.

 

BuyStuff Arcades HD Playfield upgrade kit

https://www.buystuffarcades.com/products/alp-hd-playfield-upgrade-kit

 

This was a pretty disruptive and time-consuming upgrade. I still think it was worth it. I love the new display quality. The added resolution and refresh-rate are great.

 

I wanted to preserve the ability to play the ALP tables as well, and this kit allowed me to do that. I don’t love having to switch a DisplayPort switch for the playfield, VIBS for the backglass and select OTG from the ALP to get the rest of it but not a lot of options to make this easier (other than giving up the ALP internal tables).

 

Look, this is NOT a well documented upgrade. Yes, there are a couple YouTube videos and such but I ran into a lot of undocumented issues and BuyStuff Arcades doesn't really answer emails, LOL. For example, my LVDS board died during the install and it's not obvious when that happens. There's no visual indication that it's dead. I was able to pick up a replacement from eBay for about $40 but it would have been nice to have access to some support from BSA, since I bought it from them.

 

V1.5 LVDS To HDMI-Compatible Adapter Board Converter

 

The signal routing for the playfield upgrade is pretty crazy and apart from a few YouTube videos, you get very little clear guidance on what plugs into what. Super time-consuming to troubleshoot and with a dead board in the mix, it was even worse. It's a complicated set up if you want to keep access to the internal ALP games and OTG controls. I did get it working in the end, but geez.

 

I will say, the hardware side of the upgrade was covered in more detail. Prepping the cabinet and mounting the monitor was the most straightforward part of the upgrade. That's not to say it wasn't time consuming but at least everything worked as expected.

 

 

Another word of warning on this one. I ran into a lot of difficulty with things that were working fine before the upgrade. For example, going from an HD resolution playfield to a 2K playfield meant resetting a lot of stuff on the VPX side (the ALP tables worked great right away). Things like Popper's auto-record doesn't seem to like 2K playfields, for example. The higher refresh rate seemed to mess with some of the software as well. Even getting the T-Arc dimensions sorted for 2K was a pain in the ass.

 

 

Monitor Replacement

Sceptre 32 inch QHD IPS Monitor HDR400 2560x1440 DisplayPort up to 144Hz

 

 

I was able to pick one up used for $200. They're not stocked any longer so you might need to go 4K these days, but I didn't want to spend the extra $$ on an upgrade that was already getting really expensive.

 

Short HDMI cables

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9LLFPFZ

 

Helping to keep things tidy in the backbox.

 

HDMI EDID Emulator

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGDW65G3

 

I was having problems with VIBS signal stability (due to the addition of the HDMI splitter from the playfield kit) until I added one of these. I plugged it into the VIBS input. This solved a pretty annoying problem for me.

 

HDMI Panel Flush Mount Cable

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKBMYGL

 

I used these to get the HDMI signals into my cabinet.

 

In addition to all this hardware stuff, I've spent a great deal of time on the software side. Probably need another post for all that stuff but this covers the cabinet, at least!

 

Apologies for the lengthy post but perhaps it will be of interest to some poor soul who falls down the rabbit hole like I did.

 

-EJVFX

Edited August 9, 2025 by ejvfx
deleted an extra pic

[ejvfx]

I finally jumped into DOF and added some lighting to my ALPHD cabinet.

 

Replaced all the arcade control panel buttons with Spectra Eclipse™ Illuminated Bezel Pushbuttons. Also, replaced the coin door buttons, etc so pretty much everything lights up now.

 

 

 

Added RGB LED speaker rings. Had to 3D print new speaker covers for those but they turned out pretty cool and really add a lot of impact.

 

 

Building the 5 LED Flasher bar probably took a few years off my life, LOL. In hindsight, I should have just bought one from Cleveland Software Design but mine ended up turning out OK and it's a perfect fit. This was a non-trivial project but it looks killer.

 

 

All these toys are running off two LEDWiz boards. Looking back it probably would have been worth going the addressable route but this is working and it represents a major upgrade from where I was before.

 

[intuit01]

down the same rabbit hole but gutting my alp hd for most part.

Curios do you think the flasher bar adds much and how did you mount it to the BSA backbox?

[ejvfx]

I really like the flasher bar. It's a really cool addition. Highly recommend. For mine, I just used double sided tape to attach it to the backbox and avoid any unnecessary additional holes. I ran the cables under the backbox. 

[bbrock1]

I really love your post. I am walking the same path as you. I have not gone solenoids yet or DOF but am looking to first work out a cooling solution. Have you done fans yet or know of anyone that has similar set up that did?