The craftsman kit is standard and metric in one kit.

A couple popular sizes are missing from the standard side.

5mm is equivalent to 3/16" and 9mm is equivalent to 11/32".

Ah, okay! That makes sense now.

I'd be okay with either that Craftsman set or the Harbor Freight?

Yeah, 3" shafts are good for most stuff, longer 6" shafts are also really handy.

But in most cases you want the hollow shafts.

Definitely picking those up tomorrow! Thanks again.

Looking at some Cliffy Installation photos, and for the rail guard, do I need to drill into the side rail for that installation? Do I need a specific bit to do so?

No drilling required at all.

Oh cool! So do the screws just go into the soft wood? I noticed there were two in the rail side guard.

Is Sparkle okay for cleaning wax away before installing?

I encountered an annoying bug: Once you finish all stage missions and collect the bonus, after that when you restart any of the missions I immediately got points for that mission but then my machine freezes. No more music. A ball search starts kicking a ball out but the rest of the game is not responding. It happened twice and just before I was able to collect other stuff. I drained the ball and I was able to enter my Highscore. So that's good at least. Please fix this. It ruins a 45 minutes game. Thanks!

I just had a roller actuator fall off of the lock 3, upper lock switch.

Tough to get to unless you jack up the playfield rear while its in the service position.
I used a couple small heavy cardboard boxes under the rear edge and it seemed stable enough.

Pretty easy to remove and inspect now with a 3/16" nut driver and a finger over the nut plate to keep it from falling into the game.

Upon examination, the tiny plastic pivot bearing on the switch was non existant near the metal mounting bracket.
Its possible that it was broken off during assembly.

I think its been inconsistant for awhile as I have had a few odd 4 ball multiballs and 2 ball multiballs for a couple months now.

These 3 lock switches have to be working perfectly, or you get balls stacked up in the upper lock lane, and they wont release until you get a ball search.

I called the API help line and Barry answered immediately!
Our conversation was pretty brief but it was nice to talk to you again Barry! I hadnt talked to you since we met at TPF 2018.
Barry said it was no problem and they would send me spares right away.

I made a request on the API website and I beleive they are going to send me a couple spare switches.

Ill report back later about the installation, It looks harder than it probably is, I can install the switch without removing any of the ramps or plastics. the key is the jacking up of the playfield rear.

One thing of note:

Immediately answering the phone was AMAZING! I know this is how it should be, but I have called JJP 50 times now and cant get someone on the line to order parts, nor do they respond to emails or phone messages.

This attention to service puts API well over and above JJP in my opinion as far as service and support!

JJP has fallen down on the job quite a bit as far as ordering spare parts, as they have grown. They used to be stellar, now? not so much.

Again Thanks Barry and team for an amazing game and over the top service and support!

I can help with the tech stuff. I can't send parts.

Please keep calling during their NJ business hours.

LTG : )

No question API is top notch on the support which is Very important but I would have to disagree a bit on the JJP support statements. Hell I have called at Midnight (yes I don't have a life) on a Sunday and Lloyd has Never let the phone ring more than 2 rings. Almost scary how on point he is with helping Anyone at Any time. Can't remark on parts as my JJP titles have yet to break (knock on wood) but that has been my experience in comparison.

I absolutely agree, Tech support from JJP is way beyond exceptional! The best in the business, hands down.

But trying to order parts however is ridiculous right now. Near impossible unless you win the lottery and someone actually answers the phone...ugh!

Before they got busy with multiple titles etc, they were awesome! But now its really tough to order parts.

They really have to make an online parts store that you can search by part number and get everything you need just like Marco or everyone else if they want to serve the public.

Or farm it out to Marco or Rick at PPS etc...

I have always heard that JJP is a horror show to order from - but I've placed 3 separate orders on the support ticket system, and every single one was responded to and I had parts shipped out within a few days. I'm just lucky?

I'll see if I can replicate this.

As a heads up, heard over lunch that most of the Houdini parts have been boxed up, put on palettes and shrink wrapped so they can be sent over to the new location. So, there could be a little bit of a delay as they are going to have a hard time finding things until everything gets organized put into the proper place.

This is to be expected, although Barry said they could be sent out today.
I hope they get sent out soon so I can play my game

Humm I get 4 ball multiballs at times and wonder why even in seance. I know my subway switches can be a little slow to register at times. The top lock seems to usually work right.

My question is: What circumstances should I be getting 4 ball multiball?

What's the problem? You have 12 other games to play.

Although my other game have been shuttered since Houdini has been in the house.

Having some weird problems. Fairly often. For example, during Bullet Catch, if the ball goes in the stage again...it just sits there until it times out. I think's because the stage curtain is not closing at times (it's open a lot). Is the curtain not closing the culprit? Seems to close at other times just fine.

Running the latest code.

Edit about 5 min later: And now the scoop is causing me grief too. Doesn't seem to know a ball is in there at times. Will run the switch test. Related?

Houdini is possessed tonight!

Edit 2: Switches, including stage and scoop, seem fine.

Seem fine and work fine could be two different things.

Assuming these are micro mini switches ( I don't have a game to check ) i'd get my finger in there and trip them 6 times or so, to be sure inside the switch body isn't gummed up. And adjust if a ball isn't triggering it. If optos, I'd clean them. And follow wires and reseat any connectors along the way.

LTG : )

I think I found the culprit...this sucker is suck in there and doesn't want to come out. Wonder if the servo is not working?
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Sorry I can't be more help. Hopefully the AP guys see it and post.

https://www.american-pinball.com/ I'd ask for help on their website too.

LTG : )

Check the left lock switches. That’s always what it is for me when this happens. I am getting pretty good at nailing that inner loop, and the balls come in FAST. Usually it seems like it knocks the switch out of alignment or the ball doesn’t quite catch the switch enough to trigger it. Frequently this happens with 2 balls locked, but the game still seems to get confused .

NP LTG - you help plenty here and always appreciated.

This is extremely weird. Raised the servo up to where the ball should roll out. Nope. Finger push...nope. Needle nose...nope. A screw driver underneath for a little assistance...nope. It's like it's arc welded in there.

Awhile ago I posted about having two balls in the stage. Ah...it's making sense now!

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Isn’t there a test for this in the menu?

I'm not 100% sure but I think that ball is permanently mounted there. If my memory serves, it was supposed to be part of an illusion where the ball would appear at the stage and then disappear. The illusion was changed but the ball is still part of the stage assembly.

I am having trouble following this exactly but can confirm there is a ball permanently mounted inside the stage. It is welded to a post, like a captive ball. It does go up and down via a motor though, as you see occasionally during some of the stage modes.

rd,

For what? A stage switch registering? If so, it seemed to register, but (edit: maybe) a fluke? Just mystified why the ball is not coming out. Time to get the manual out and see what I'm missing. Not sure of the stage mechanicals. Hope removing the stage is not my entire Saturday.

Ahh..I was wondering that since it didn't seem to be stuck, but I didn't think I saw it in the manual. Thanks goodness I was gentle. Making more sense now. Hmmm...ball eject only spit out 5 balls (sort of why I thought that was the problem). Wonder where ball 6 is at?

Maybe this is the 'welded' ball?
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Ball number 6 found.

I think the 'welded ball' in the stage threw me (and maybe others) off course. Thanks GSones for your comments. Apologies if needed to others - didn't know about that. Will investigate what I think is the stage not closing properly Saturday. Maybe I just need to calibrate the stage.

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Definitely start there.

LTG : )

Thanks LTG.

Did that. I'm thinking the stage door is one of the real culprits - not shutting properly allowing another ball in when it should be closed. Saturday's job I guess. I've tested all the switches and coils, no issues. I recall earlier versions of code allowing to adjust. May try to revert to I can test/adjust if I can't find it in the current version.

Uh, no. That's a "dummy" ball. It's not a ball and is welded to the mechanism.

How old is this Houdini? The very early ones had problems with the servo that stripped out the gears so the curtain would not close when it should. Does the curtain open and close reliably in the test?

#359, June/2018

Found the curtain recal. Will give it a spin.

I made the same mistake at first when looking for a missing ball but that one is a permanent ball like part that belongs there. Other than that I have not had to dig into my stage mech.

try the stage calibration. it will at least confirm the fixed ball servo is working.

It's in the utilities menu

Code 18.12.12 removed the complete stage calibration sequence. Some people were screwing up the mech playing with it.

You will have to install earlier code to get the full sequence back. Be careful with this.

If you have only 5 balls, run the clear balls utility in the utilities menu until you gather all 6 balls.

Sometimes a ball will be found in the subway or in the cabinet. Anywhere really. Raise the playfield and see if one drops out or rolls around. Run the switch test and see if something is depressed after removing the balls.

The game is supposed to have 6 balls to run right. It will do odd things with less than 6 balls

The fixed ball in the stage is decorative at this point and would be ball number 7 if it came out. It doesnt. Its attached to the stage as a part of the mech to allow stage ejects feature.

The stage eject feature if you enable it, is random and at this time doesnt work very well.

Basically it seldom actually ejects the ball and when, or if it does, the ball usually dribbles out and goes SDTM.

E-mailed Barry about the curtain. I ran the stages tests in the utilities. Ball up/down works fine. Curtain -nada. I put my hand on the servo to see if I could at least feel it run, but felt nothing.

I did pull the servo connectors off of PCB5 and checked the resistance between the two black wires (which I believe is the gnd and 5V, the white wire being the PWM signal) - they measured the same (~7.8K ohms) as the other stage servo. Of course, that measurement isn't conclusive - more of a sanity test.

For now, I'm in a holding pattern. I asked Barry if I should check the PWM signal or reload the old software and see if it just needs recal'd, etc.

No sense in tearing things apart until I get some feedback from AP.

They are tops in their field. They'll get you going.

LTG : )

Yeah, don't tear the stage apart. The servo is pre-programmed for a specific range of motion and has to sit in a specific orientation that will be lost if you tear down the stage. When I had to replace it, they sent a pre-assembled assembly and I just replaced the whole thing.

Does anyone else find the end of ball bonus speed up to be too fast now? Not that the speed is too fast but the audio is really grating and annoying to me. I would rather not have the sound rapid fire sound clips playing.

No doubt about that! I had a minor hiccup a while ago, and they (Barry) were excellent w/helping out. Couldn't have asked for better customer support.

rosh ,lets says the stage ball eject worked, do you think the SDTM issue could be solved by using the magnets to redirect even if random?

Id also love to be able to control the left and right magnets with the flipper buttons even momentarily. that would be fun. Have you ever experimented with that?

To make the stage work properly you would have the ball caught by a magnet and dropped into the hole ala-theatre of magic.

Adding a magnet to the rear of the stage like on the TZ diverter mod would certainly slow the ball bounceouts a bit.

Maybe a square of self stick magnetic business card stock. Its deadening and magnetic at the same time?

It's not super durable, but It's a great idea. Thin dead drop might be better.

I'll have try it, I have some here somewhere...

I believe WW2GURU was suggesting pulsing the Houdini hand magnets on release from the theater as a possible redirect from SDTM. Rather smart idea if it works even just a little redirect.

I was looking at the helper cutout on my MM ramp.
I'm wondering if a similar stepped plastic would help the scoop to be more consistant on my houdini.

I believe he's referring to just using the magnets in the PF.

One of the problems with the stage eject function was that the prototype didnt have a coined front edge on the stage mech hole.

Engineering added the coining I think to reduce bounceouts.

Coining the edge makes it difficult for the ball to roll out properly for the stage eject. You would have to get the stationary ball to raise much higher and a little bit more towards the front for it to work.

Or dremel off the coining and polish it down.

SDTM's could be handled by leveling or nudging.

Bounceouts are the biggest problem right now with the mech.

If you have flippers set to make the ramp properly they are too strong to stick the stage shots.

I think working on stage bounceouts and coming up with a solution would really enhance the game.

Weren't they doing player controlled magnets on oktoberfest?

The powerfield on TZ was amazing.

I’ll post a video, but my stage eject seems to work just fine - it rolls out the front as expected, and usually hits a pop bumper or otherwise rolls to the side eventually - I don’t think I’ve ever had it go SDTM. Could this be something to do with the pitch ?

Yes the pitch has a lot to do with how well it works.

I think the coined edge adds a bit of randomness to the eject angle.

My stage eject worked pretty good at a 7 degree pitch but got worse as I lowered the pitch to 6.3 for other reasons like lowering the flipper power.

I also had no trouble making the ramp at high flipper powers of 28.
But stage rejects became a problem, so I lowered the flipper power. But now the ramp is a bit harder to make. Still doable but takes a very solid accurate shot with the lowered pitch.