"Stan and Tom's Pinball Adventures." Friend and I drove 4.5 hours this Saturday to pick up not 1, but 2 NIB Houdini's. We are both excited and are adding all the key upgrades/mods (art blades, voodoo glass, shaker, real knocker, full Cliffy set). We both have heard about power supply. Is there an easy way to tell if we have the older or newer power supply?

Thanks!

68A4FF5D-6635-4C3D-9B35-09CC5B98B72E (resized).jpeg

C31045ED-180B-49FB-8C01-D14AA15E2CE3 (resized).jpeg

Thanks JimFNB! I see EOS kits are sold out. Will there be more made available?

Looks like I have the new power supply, right? Boy, as many have said, this pin is built like a tank. Limited Edition, at a "Pro" price.

IMG_1881 (resized).jpeg

IMG_1882 (resized).jpeg

OK, I fired up my game for first time. My 2 first issues:

1. Code was 18.8.5, so I tried to update to latest code. No joy. I reformatted USB drive to FAT32, but system looks like it goes through a reboot, but I never get message update in process or update complete.

2. I gave up on code update and tried to make sure game works. When I get ball in left ball lock, system doesn't recognize the ball is locked and thus doesn't kick me a new ball.

Any help would be appreciated.

Well, the drama continues. My first day trying to get NIB pin to work. I tried to update code from 18.8.5 to latest. First, I had problem with a USB drive. Got another one and this time I got the expected messages saying update in progress and update complete. Turned off machine and took off USB drive. Started back up and black screen of death. See picture that pops us back and forth.

I checked drive and I see and error log. Maybe that's a clue to what's going on?

IMG_1891 (resized).jpeg

title of stick was ""NO_NAME" That OK? I filed a service ticket which I assume you will see.

I’m stopping by my friends house who just purchased the same time and updated. I will use his same stick. I didn’t, but will double check all connections. I have not done that yet too. And yes, I did get count down and final message to cycle power/ audits. I get black screen after shutting down and turning machine back on.

Josh, now that I’m getting black screen, is it safe to plug in USB stick after powering machine on? I will also rename if my friends stick doesn’t work either.

Good news, I'm 90% there now. I used my friend's USB Stick and it worked the first time. I now have latest update. And, I think I found the other issue. The #1 ball lock switch is not quite centered and not always making contact. Do I bend it or can I adjust the the angle of the switch so that it leans further down by adjusting the 2 screws that hold the switch in place?

EF73F029-1CB4-4582-8D81-D3C06BA680D0 (resized).jpeg

Not much "play" with the screws, so just had to bend switch arm a bit and all is good, now working 99.5%

I have one small issue, occasionally the catapult doesn't fire unless I shake machine or hit flipper buttons. Adjust the catapult switch?

Now that I have my game running, time to get the key mods. I see EOS switch kit sold out. rosh will they be available again? I'm also ready to install my shaker and order side blades and real knocker. Any other key mods you all recommend?

Does anyone know if Mod Couple will be remaking some of the Houdini Mods? No "contact" link on their site to know any type of status.

Question on external Sub. I saw an old post for an external sub. Does it really help the sound and is it worth it? Do I connect directly or do I need to buy Pinnovators external sub connector?

Finally getting to play the game. I love that it's hard, even though that's one of the chief complaints. I've never played in tournaments, but I would seem to think it would be a great pin for tournaments.

OK, so my upper ball lock issue is more involved. I tried to bend the arm a bit, but it only lasted 10 games before it had issues again.

See my pictures. I compared to my friend who purchased NIB the same time from the same distributor. The first picture is mine and you can see the switch roller is to the left of center of the ball. Noticed his ball switch roller is on top of the ball. Mine is off to the side. So, the question is can the entire 3 ball lock hardware be shifted so it's completely over the balls? I don't want to take off the ramp unless I know it's possible for doing major "surgery."

Thanks.

IMG_1904 (resized).jpeg

IMG_5165 (resized).jpeg

Thanks guys for the tips. Looks like I need to make a few adjustments, but what you say makes sense.

I plan to take of ramp so I can get a good look at the ball lock switches. I like the idea of bending/leaning the ball guide a little towards the center to help align the switch "roller" over the center of the ball more. That's what I see the real problem is.

Thanks Bob, that's a perfect picture of perfection. I plan to attempt the adjustment tonight.

By the way, here's my "modest" collection of 4 pins. Just got WWLE yesterday. Now have WWLE, TZ, Houdini, and DILE. And, oh by the way, I like my Houdini as much as the other 3 I have.

13A0D18D-D5B0-4C6E-B657-EDE09BCF961D_1_105_c (resized).jpeg

Josh, OK, I can look at that. If it's not high enough, can it be adjusted?

Bob, not sure I follow, but if I take a close up picture, can you tell?

OK, I understand after looking at game. Both my friends and I have the opaque inserts. So, did I get the cheaper playfield?

Thanks Rosh, I can do it! If I can do a playfield swap, I can certainly make the adjustments.

Well, an update on my NIB pin. Here's what I did:

1. I talked to Dave at API. He recommended some WD40 tech spray to "Lube" up the ball contacts on switch. I did that for the catapult switch and VUK switch. Both were sticking some. I also tried to gently bend the wires on both switches. Seem to be a little better, but catapult switch still needs a little more adjusting.
2. Ball lock switches. I took off the ramp enough to get to the switch bank. After getting ramp out of the way, I just tried to bend/move the entire bank of switches back towards the center. After that, I went to switch test to make sure all 3 ball lock switches were properly activating.
3. While taking off ramp, I noticed 2 screws holding the ramp only had one washer each. The two most visibly screws holding the ramp had 2 washers each. One washer above the ramp and one washer below. You might want to check yours to make sure all 4 screws holding down the ramp have 2 washers each. If not, it could damage and cause the ramp to break/split at these points. See pictures.

So, after doing the above, the lock switches seem to be working. I still need to adjust catapult switch. 70% time, it works perfectly, the other 30% I have to shake the machine to make the switch activate. Also, while playing one game, ball just ended and flippers stopped working ending my ball. Happened for all 3 balls. Happened once and I cleared audit. Haven't seen it happen before, but is this a power issue?

IMG_1950 (resized).jpeg

IMG_1953 (resized).jpeg

IMG_1954 (resized).jpeg

IMG_1955 (resized).jpeg

IMG_1957 (resized).jpeg

I almost have my Houdini dialed in. My only remaining issue is the seance scoop. some times, it looks like the ball hits the top of the scoop and falls back into scoop. Adjusting power doesn't seem to help.

I read old post by Rosh. What have others done to address this?

Thanks.

OK, I will do the slo mo video with my iPhone 11 Pro...I think it's equipped to do that and report back. Although tonight, it came out ever time...hmmm.

Reporting back for duty....

1. Added the following:
- knocker
- shaker
- side art
- Cliffies
2. Adjustments:
- adjusted 3 switch ball lock. Just had to bend a little. At first, I pushed whole unit towards the pop bumpers and that restricted the pops. Move back and just bent individual switches to get right contact.
- Seance scoop. After playing with power and getting no change, I just used 3 thin washers on one side and now it works 100%. So, rather than bending the scoop, you might want to try using different number of washers to adjust.
3. Complaints:
- Sound seems to be a bit muffled. Not sure I can adjust or if installing a better sub would help.
- I have updated power supply, but like others, the flippers don't seem "snappy" like Stern games. My Willy Wonka also has relatively weak flippers, but not as bad as Houdini

Overall, I'm very pleased and this pin will be staying a long time. I'm leaving room for one more pin.....Jersey Jack...

IMG_2284 (resized).jpeg

which is the right Houdini water torture mod to get? What do you recommend?

I got the Hooked on Pinball one. That good?

I installed the water torture mod. Took a few pictures to help. One confusing thing was instructions said red wire, but both wires on the mod were black. If you followed the black wire, you could see underneath it was red. I took a few pictures of where the 9 pin molex is. After connecting up, and turned game on, the blue light for the mod stays on. However, during the water torture mode, it starts to blink several times during the mode. Pretty cool!

Heres a link to pictures I took including a short video of the water torture mod "blinking" when the mode is in play:

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0r5VaUrzZ7DMA

How did you connect up your subwoofer?

And....I have used these Polk subs before for Stern pins in conjunction with Pinnovator kit. So, it seems I can directly connect this sub to the amp in Houdini, right?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KVQBA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

I've reached out to Sandra at Pinnovators to determine if we need their kit to install external sub. Or, if using their kit makes the process easier.

Reach out to customer service at Pinnovators, they will help. Or, once I get my sub and kit, I will hook up and post pictures.

So here's a strange question. I purchased a brand new Houdini and just now tried to open backbox. I discover I have no key on the coin door. When you purchased, was the key already there? Also, I have a friend with same game, is it possible to use his key to open backbox? Hope I don't have to drill it out...

Spoke to Dave. Gave him number on the lock to see if he has spare. The good news is, a friend with the same machine has same lock. So, I have a spare key until I fix long-term or get spare set from APB.

hmmm, didn't think of that. Make copy at HD or Lowes?

Well, well. I have a relatively new Houdini and have installed most of the recommended "fixes." Most recently, I installed the power/capacitor kit. All seemed to be good until I installed Pinnovator subwoofer kit. Mark/Pinnovator said to connect kit to one of the speaker wires (red/black). I did and now my game keeps resetting even after removing the kit.

I'm confused if previous poster said he used kit, but it appears he did not connect the way I did. Any thoughts on how to troubleshoot or what might have happened?

Thanks.

E94F6B01-D6A7-4F3C-96F6-9011E5802E53 (resized).jpeg

Yes, I disconnected the Pinnovator kit and the APB capacitor kit. Still getting resets. APB suggested checking 5V connections...that's next up to check.

All is good. Dave at APB directed me to look at red and black wires in power supply. Black wire was really really loose. Crimped and now everything works as it should including Pinnovators sub kit.

51346126-CFF4-4905-B598-2B9356BC7BE9 (resized).jpeg

Well, I spoke a bit too soon. Although crimping the black supply wire terminal fixed most of the resetting issues, I now get the game resetting after the ball is launched into the trunk. I'm not getting any resetting for the rest of the game play/coils, only when the ball goes into the trunk.

Here's what's happening. The ball goes into lower catapult; trunk opens; ball shoots into trunk; lid closes; then game resets. I played about 5 games and the only time game reset was when the ball went into the trunk. Happened 3 times in a row.

I went into test mode to test all coils related to the trunk and all work and don't cause the game to reset.

I then took of glass and manually put ball into the lower catapult to see if it would reset. The first 2 times I tried, it worked fine. The third time, the game reset.

So, things are better, but the game still resets when the ball is launched into the trunk.

I'm reaching out to APB for assistance.

Haven't done that yet. Have you or anyone else ever had resets occur?

Thanks.

Thanks. Any help is appreciated. Seems reasonable to reinstall and/or reset back to factory settings, but maybe wait for the new update coming out soon.

More update on my resetting issues.

This morning, I was trying to get logs for Josh. When I plugged in USB stick, game immediately reset. Tried twice, and both times game reset.

After work today, I came home and started up game to see if I could replicate catapult resetting. But, this time, no resetting. Tried to cause catapult to reset, but tested about 8 times and no resets. Played two long games and no resets. Hmmm, so now it's intermittent.

Well, played a few long games including many catapults. No resets. But, during a long game, a reset occurred while a ball was about to come out of scoop.

Next test. Josh said to disconnect shaker. I did and turned off in menu. Played a few games and no resets. Out tomorrow, but will check connections and ground connections as you say. Not sure I know what Wal-nuts are, but I think I'm getting hungry.