Sad to report my Grandpa Switch broke today like another posters switch. Stern is shipping out a new switch and I will need to do some soldering when it arrives. So the game will be down for a few days. Guess I will show my other pin some love in the meantime though but not playing this is killing me a bit.

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If you look closely the green wire broke off the switch. It should be lined up with the unused lug and the black wire. Would have been nice if the wires were not soldered to the switch. Then the fix would be extremely easy.

I may just add push on connectors and see if they stay attached. Then if the switch goes again it’s a 5 minute fix and no need for a soldering iron.

Looks like the metal was already fatigued during manufacture And maybe stressed more during install. They the constant vibration of the ball hitting the scoop and it just gave out from vibration.

You can get the Stern shaker from Stern for $99 if you want to stick with Stern add ons. Not sure why other sites are selling it for $149.
https://shop.sternpinball.com/products/stern-shaker-motor-kit-for-spike-system-games

I have an early Pro and had occasional ball hop on the plunge. Shaved the ramp a bit and it’s smooth a butter now. It was interesting that there is a nice script under the ramap on the play field that reads The Munsters. Kinda like a art Easter egg.

While I was in there I cleaned and waxed the play field for the first time. I thought the game was fast before, now it’s incredibly fast. I actually turned down the flipper power as it was shooting so fast it almost always bounced out of the scoop. Moving from the factory setting on Hard to Normal was much better with the slick play field.

Then I broke my first plastic on a Multiball. The piece that protects the spot ramp sensor by Herman #19. Time to call Stern and order a new plastic.
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It didn’t crack. I broke off and slid down the play field mid ball. If it were just cracked I would live with it. It provided some protection for the ramp sensor so I will replace it. I put some tape over the exposed sensor connectors to provide some protection until I get the piece. I can’t see me not playing the game until the piece arives so I will hope for the best and flip away.

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What I have noticed with Super Jackpots is stack as many as you can and don’t cash out until you have a high a multiplier as possible. Then you can get an incredible reward. Only issue is if you don’t cash out before your last ball you lose it all. I find myself trying to increase the multiplier with a bunch stacked on my last ball and it drains and I lose it all. Risk, reward screnario. My scores are high enough now that’s the only way to get your initials up.

Sometimes I ignore score and try to get both Munster Madnesses complete and sometimes it’s all about jackpot stacking and playfield multipliers. Still hard for me concentrate on both strategies at one. It keeps me coming back time and time again. Same for the kids too.

Updated the code on my Pro after work and got a few games in. Besides what’s in the Read Me I noticed some new call outs and they sped up some of the animations of the video clips like the Herman Hurry Up when he falls into the hearse to go to work. Also seems like they calmed the flippers down a bit. I changed my back to the default setting from Soft.

My 11 year old loves the new code. On his third game he got 213 million and now owns the machine.

Stern has been great too on sending out replacement parts quickly. The switch for the Grandpa scoop arrived two days after I called. Called today for a replacement plastic that broke just in front of Herman. They are sending an updated part with some metal protection so it wont happen again. Its great to see they are addressing the weak point in the physical design with updated parts in short order. Still loving the game and looking forward to seeing what else is new in the code and undocumented.

January 25, 2019.

With the new code the light show for Muster Madness seems much better than what I remember. It looked amazing today when I reached it.

I have the same issue after about 400 plays. The lower protection in the hole starts bending up and prevents the ball from going in. Lifting from the play field does not help either. I called Stern and they said this was not a common issue and use the same protector on other machines. I bet those machines don’t have the ball flying from right to left after the ricochet off the metal protector into the hole like in this game.

They are sending me a new scoop protector I will install. If it does the same thing again I will look for an aftermarket solution that is stronger. Not sure if Mantis and Cliffy are making protectors that fit this hole.

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The screw striping seems more related to using an allen head vs the correct Torx bit to remove the screws.

It seems to hit Kitty you need a really clean shot at it. If it hits any of the surrounding obstacles it just bounces around and never gets to the target. Frustrating for sure when you have a bunch of super jackpots stacked up. I still can’t consistently hit Dragula yet either so that adds to the challenge. I can still get a 200mm game on occasion but that’s more luck than pure skill.

My local pinball gallery just got a premium set up. I have convinced myself the pro is great and I don't need a lower play field. Maybe I should not try the premium. I would rather add a Iron Maiden to the collection vs upgrade my pro.

I think as the protectors get beat up the part that lines the inside of the hole on the left and right starts to bend in and narrow the hole. It helps spring the ball out of the hole. Mine is much worse and rejects the ball a lot more than when new. I have a new protector to install to fix my situation. I also changed my flippers to normal from the default hard setting to hopefully preserve the new protector.

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In the last few version of code there is now a new utility that you can save all your scores and settings to a usb stick and load them back in after a code update. That’s what I have been doing. You can even add them to other Munster machines too. The basic adjustments can be used across all current machines. Must be very useful for establishments that want all the basic setting the same across all of their new Stern games.