This afternoon I've soldered the stroboskop circuit... very tiny parts, but with magnifier it's possible.

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Who wants polished ramps?
https://www.free-play.se/en/playfield-parts/ramps/alien-polished-metal-ramp-set.html

What's the source for the mini beacons?

Looking for PETG plastic set if anyone has them or knows where to buy.

Has me rethinking my powder in black..I can polish mine, then leave chrome habitrails ( unused tabs getting ground off, regardless)

Yes, the Xeno flasher mod is available and I sent the first batch to German Alien owners. If their feedback is positive I will offer the mod here with shipment to the US.

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hell yes. Sign me up.

Same here.

Just let the US guys know!

Canada too please.

QSS

Sign me up.
Thanks

May

Just a simple post. For the holidays we had a few friends over, with some of them playing the pinball machines. My wife (who doesn't really touch the pins, but supports my hobby) went into the gameroom and started to play Alien. She played about 3-4 games and called me over, just to tell me how much she LOVED the pin. Again, remember, she's not a pinball fan and walked past the newer Sterns I had (IMDN. JP, Elvira, DP, BK3), but she couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had playing the game. She said the atmosphere and the shot(s) really pulled her into the game and she even brought it up several times the following day.

I'm telling ya, that's saying something.

She's in, man!
Same here when we celebrated the unboxing party in June... all the invited girls played the ALIEN and they were so excited... "Huuuhhh, Yeeahhhh, Diieeeeeeeeee sucker!
Friend on the last picture would win a lookalike contest for Sigourney, doesn't she?

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Great pics, exciting. Yes she does look a bit like Ripley!

Is there a topper? Seems like it.

Facehugger pillow I guess

This was a artificial pet from my collegue in the office.

Please reserve one for me also - UK shipping!
Chris

I am also looking for a PETG full set. Could anyone do a small run of these?

many thanks
Chris

New decals (attached) on the adjustable flipper fingers and a Cliffy made of carbon fibre.

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Flipperfinger Decals.pdf

Questions:
1: 3 out of 4 of my slingshot leds are out. The design is terrible. Any Solution for these leds? I believe to just replace with a NOS led/switch assembly won’t last.

2: I want to remove the top of the Xeno head. Where to start? I also want to remove the metal rod to drill a m3 screw hole in it and attach the magnets just like Averell did.

Tip: if you want to make your chestburster shot easier to shoot/not rattle just in front of the chestburster target bend the metal to the right of the chestburster lane to the right. To do so remove the lane guide and bend all 4 tabs 15 degrees. Re-assemble and tadaa!!!
Big difference a few mm make.

Got the replacement motherboard. Have not tested it yet. I think the problem was the psu I used. Can anyone send a pic of their psu? I know it is 12v, but how many amps and what size plug is what I am trying ot narrow down.

I've attached a couple pics of factory, 12v supply...whoafully underpowered ( 12.5a at 12vdc) ...A joke, given a lot of the game including CPU, lighting, etc. run off it. I used to get resets mid game many times before changing to a beefier version.

Note connections are barrier strip @ps, feeds mb w screw down, euroblock connections. Another poor choice, but locktite will at least secure the screws.

Have not had a single reset since changing the supply.

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That is not the power supply I am talking about. I am talking about the one that powers the computer in the bottom of the cabinet. Unless you mean to tell me they run the computer off that with newer style computer? The old style computer had a seperate power brick like a laptop.

That's the one that drives my CPU off the motherboard. Recall it's a barrel connector on the CPU, but that cable goes straight to euroblock on MB. I have no powerbrick

Don't mix up the 12 Volt power supply with the 70 Volt power supply or you will toast your ALIEN!
Take care about the wiring dimension and replace if necessary!
Be careful with the cable connectors, they have the same housing and can cause serious damage if mixed up by mistake!

Finally I can offer my Alien Xeno Flasher Board to you!

It will come already built and tested, along with 6 bright 5 mm LEDs, two LED connector cables and mounting hardware as shown in the attached picture. I also added my documentation below.

For the parts, the curcuit board and all my efforts, I ask for 35 Euros. The shipping costs (worldwide) are 13 Euros with tracking and insurance. I will declare the board as "pinball part", but US customs may charge additional taxes and duties (are there better alternatives?). I kindly request payment via PayPal using "send money to friends and family".

Please send me a private message with your mailing address if you want to buy one or more boards (shipping costs do not change). I will then reply with my PayPal address.

And please finish your orders and payments until next Sunday (15th December), as I will then buy all the components I need and start assembling. This may take a while, but I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Alien Xeno Flasher Board.pdf

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Still need help to improve the reliability of my Alien. IO-board 1 regularly is “missing”. Switch The game off and on and works 100%.
Replaced all USB cables for Oehlbach high quality ones: no difference.
These cables still “wiggle” in the connector sockets. I believe that is the problem but that is just a guess. The connection is not “tight” or firm. Are the cables still not the right ones or are all small usb connectors so poorly connected to the cable.
Added tape on the usb connector and cable end to stabilize the connection: no result. Still regularly get the error: IO-board 1 missing.
What else can I do? Hot glue the connector and cable with a small drop of glue to eliminate any interference?

I wish I was smart lol. Great job..

Is there a fix to the auto launches being super unreliable? Mine can take 5-10-15 tries to get up the wire form. I’ve turned the power up to +25 and still same as normal setting. I’ve recorded it slow motion and it appears the ball hits the wire ramp and just losses so much momentum due to the sharp angle. But I’m not mechanically inclined. I’ve tried adjusting the plunger etc but no luck there.

Anyone near Richmond VA with some good alien expertise? I also continue to have the insane led light flickering all over whenever holding the right flipper button or trapping up. Would love help with both of those items

Hey sorry. I just got back to pinside. I’ll pm you

Thank you for all inquiries and orders!
I got some more than I expected and I can no longer offer flasher boards for now. I need time to build and deliver everything. And I have no more PCBs available

Please keep me informed if you are interested. I can order the boards again if a reasonable number comes together (also from other projects).

I will buy the necessary parts next week and will then spend christmas and new year soldering in the dark and cold basement

@Maurice, there are some more things you can try, I described them here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/alien-pinball-official-game-thread/page/477#post-4852971
The harness support ladders limit the “wiggle” and the ferrites as well as the separate cable routing reduce signal "noise".
The tape or hot glue will not really reduce the movement of the cables...

BTW, you can check the effect of your actions by opening then Alien Service Menu > Audits > System Audits
There are some entries showing hardware errors, including the entry "23 IO Comm Errors".
Check if / how much this increases before and after your modifications.
Don't expect to bring this to zero, my Alien plays without noticable errors but already counted 6 Minor Errors, 139 Coil IO Errors and 719 IO Comm Errors
Would be interesting to know what other Alien owner can see there...

Is Alien being remade or should I try to pickup a slightly used one . opinions ?

I hope someone remakes it. I wish I had this pin so bad. But the money holds me back for now. Someday...

I speak for myself but once updaded last rev software, boards, pcb and some changes usb for instance, (i add caps and a new PS) the pin is pretty reliable. Never add any issue for months and the pin is played a lot.
There are still Aliens to buy but they are easier to find in Europe.
For the remake: if I remember well, the first talk start in around feb/march this year, it was supposed to be announced in may. There was some bets for this. Obviously nothing happened and then supposed to come later this year and then before end 2019 and then nothing (no date). Some people are positive about this with high level of infos. Good for them. Now if you want a pin, search for it and don’t prey for a hypothetical new release which could never happen or could be in years from now...

Agreed...Once proper strain relief deployed ( slight bend in cable, then tying to lace bar) it keeps the connector naturally seated in socket. I've had zero problems after doing this.

I do still seem to log minor errors in menu as well, but extremely random and low in nature. Recall Joe or someone saying that part of metrics capture was not accurate...Never got the final polish.

Important question regarding bridged IO-Bords.

Today i had something to do on my ALIEN and I took a closer look to the IO-Board refered to the powerdriver.
This is the only one board without bridged SMDs for the high power coils - can somebody explain why?
I don't understand Heighways tactics on this.
Every IO-Board beneath the playfield is equiped with bridged SMDs and every spare part board is also bridged.
I know that these SMDs have to measure the power coil current and switch them off, if any trouble is detected.
But with bridged SMDs there's nothing left to measure because the resistant is zero at all!
I'm really confused by this and I'm scared of possible damage due to burned Q6 transistors!

This is one of the IO-Boards under the playfield with bridged SMDs.

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Believe me I’m slowly saving to buy an alien. There’s a guy selling one for $13k and it’s all the will power I have to not just throw the balance of what I don’t have on a credit card LOL.

Please do I’m in !! USA!!

I also want mini beacons!!!!!!!!!!
Pls Santa !

Me too! Can someone please remind me where to get the mini beacons. Are they plug and play?

So I've heard of flippers on this game being weak or getting hot then not working but mine seem super strong especially top right flipper. Anyone else experience the same? It's great but not sure it's even necessary. Anyone downgrade the coil?

Btw still my favorite game. It's truly a masterpiece and I'm not one with a lot of Pinball patience

Last count 1870 IO comm errors! The game is all over the place at the moment.Cutting out mid play, multi ball for no reason, Xeno all over the shop and on and on. Not fun at the moment.Need to reassess how to overcome issues.

For the minibeacons .. you have to be brave now:
You have to read/search this thread and you will find the link to the store.
There is also a function in pinside, to search a specific thrae for keywords.

BackBoard PETG:

ALL payed orders are out now !
Due to the christmas and newyear days there might be a delay, but all boards are send out !
Remember on arrival: There is a protective foil on one side to be removed.

Now, a last improvement for a best optical result of all stainless steel parts in the ALIEN - Electro-polishing.
I expect the parts back by the end of the year.

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I wanna see before and after pics!

The picture above is the status before and you can see the welded stainless steel parts have discolorations and no glossy finish.

For some reason I like the harsh bad weld dilapidated ramps it came with. LV-426 abandoned outpost subject to moisture. It seems right. Also hit from seismic charges. Must have been a hell of a fight.

I've gone back and forth on this myself. If the wire forms weren't chromed and shiny, it wouldn't be such a tough decision for me. Been leaning to do all the metal in black w some sort of green splatter....Including the new metal spacers that are being made to replace the pos PVC ones. Might carry that through to the metal apron in the works....want to keep the dark nature of the game...