Thanks for the answers. The plunger needed adjusting (it was mounted too high and catching the autoplunge assembly) and I moved the shooter guide slightly with the adjustment screw under the playfield and now it plunges great! Thanks for the help!

Another happy ending!

What do you think of my new cabinet decals?
I’m going with the retro wood grain look lol

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I have been troubleshooting my NGG for over a month and can’t figure it out. Nonetheless, I have some form of hack on my wiring from j2 on the 8 driver aux board to the power driver board I want to unwind

Can someone take a pic of the connections between j2 and j139 and j137?

Thanks in advance

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Hey all.

I just realized I’m in version 1.2

What are the changes for 1.3 that I’m missing? I tired to look up the change log but I wasn’t having any luck.

Software Release - Rev 1.3

G11 checksum Rev 1.3: $6213
ROM date is: 04/06/98

Changes from Version 1.2:

- Improved ball search and missing ball compensation.
- Improved Hole-in-One Challenge interaction with Ripoff and
Pop-A-Gofer.
- Some display and speech improvements.

If you want a potentially faster response, consider posting images of what you have.

Yeah I figured that but I have something completely different as my smaller board does not connect as listed in the schematics . When I trace things out by schematic it looks like there are 2 wires going to one spot on the connector on the main power board which i definitely don’t have. I’m not certain if it matters. I’ll just work and figure things out. Thanks for the suggestion.

I am curious to see what crazy stuff people do. Sometimes, it's mind-blowing.

I'll post a pic later. Thanks for your comments. i wrote my prior note after having a few drinks from my phone and away from my machine and was afraid it did not really show appreciation for your input as well as respect to the community. I am especially grateful that someone as knowledgeable as you has taken interest.
I have been working on a problem for so long that part of me wants to figure the rest out on my own but the other part of me wants to get to the problem finally. I am not certain the smaller driver board is the answer but with the alternative connections I figured I would take a look. I think those cables are really just grounds and power to the small board and I just started troubleshooting this board and i think I can do some simple things first before rebuilding the connector. Not that rebuilding the connectors would be difficult, but I am thinking maybe the reason the connector was rebuilt is that my games main driver board has issues and this was a workaround. At present, I have another main driver board in the game to eliminate that board as the source of my issue.

My issue has been that the right popper randomly goes off during play and the right upper flasher as well as the normal thumping sound indicating the ball will be released to the playfield goes along with it. If I unhook the solenoid, it still continues but without obvious activation of the solenoid, if I unplug the mechanism, it stops everything initially making me believe it might be an opto issue despite no flickering or any way to provoke the issue in the switch matrix nor any other problems with all the other switches , however after replacing all the optos, the connector, the 10 opto board and all connectors leading to the opto board the issue persists. also when jumpering the switches pins on the opto board it still persists. I swapped in a new RD cpu board, I have tried 2 different main driver boards from my other machines, and I replaced all the ribbon cables and the CPU Rom all to no avail. I also tested all diodes and replaced just in case about a third of them on all switches. I activated all switches while in switch test mode and was unable to create any issues with the opto in question.

It looks like the 8 driver board controls the right upper flasher so I might look at the schematic to see if it is possible that a faulty 8 driver board could cause this or more easily just disconnect the connectors to the flasher and see if the problems follow, which I have yet to do as simple as that is.

Attached pics. The 8 driver board is connected to connector j134 and j136

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The images you posted are the power inputs to the Auxiliary 8-Driver board as well as the main Power Driver board. I don't see anything incorrect about your connectors and they look to be factory. Those attached sticky labels are factory.

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It does sound more like an opto issue rather than an issue with Auxiliary 8-Driver board.

Have you considered a problem with the +12VU (unregulated +12V circuit)? This is used by the 16-opto board as well as the Auxiliary 8-Driver board. Often, modifications (mods) to the system tap this as a power source and this causes an excessive draw on the circuit and results in the voltage level sagging. When this happens, it can interfere with opto functionality.

Extremely unlikely. The flashers on this board are under software control. When things go wrong on this board, it's more likely to be complete failure (flasher does not work or is locked on). Errant flashing (under incorrect circumstances) is more likely to be errant input to the software causing errant response.

The manual lists J137 but J136 and J137 are ground. They are identical. Note the board also separates "power ground" and "signal ground" but they are tied (and used) together as a single common ground reference.

Have you considered a problem with the +12VU (unregulated +12V circuit)? This is used by the 16-opto board as well as the Auxiliary 8-Driver board. Often, modifications (mods) to the system tap this as a power source and this causes an excessive draw on the circuit and results in the voltage level sagging. When this happens, it can interfere with opto functionality.

I have considered this as voltages at connector to right upper opto is approx 11.5 volts but figured swapping in 2 different functioning power driver boards and a new opto board might take care that. That is an assumption however and you know what they say about assumptions.

Oh yeah and I have no mods

It is possible (but not extremely likely) that your functioning power boards have a problem with the +12VU but the problem only manifests under load. The 16-opto board places a bigger load on the +12VU circuit than either the 10-opto or 7-opto board. Each opto transmitter draws 0.04A (40mA) and they add up quickly.

Starting with +11.5VDC is not high enough. It should be in the order of +14VDC. Check your AC ripple on this circuit. It's possible there is excessive AC ripple and the smoothing capacitor needs to be replaced.

This helps a lot for the load reasons mentioned above.

I’ll look through that today if I get a chance but if I’m gonna work on a board it won’t be the one I have on machine now as that was entirely functioning in another game of mine. I wish I had a bench tester for boards as it would make things so much easier. Maybe in future I’ll build one or something

I wonder if I could hook up an old 12 volt power supply directly to the pins supplying power to the optos in question and see if problem goes away. I think I have one of those possibly lying around from my led light strips

Each game places its own load (draw) on the circuits. If the board is performing to specification, it should be able to handle the load. If the board is out of specification (partial failure), the different loads may or may not expose the failure.

Bench testing is good for logic functionality but doesn't place the load of the machine on the boards. I have tester boards available but there are also other manufacturers that provide this testing functionality. It really depends on what you want to test and how you want to test it. These testers are good to answer the question "is it on the board or is it in the playfield?".

Bench testing is good for logic functionality but doesn't place the load of the machine on the boards. I have tester boards available but there are also other manufacturers that provide this testing functionality. It really depends on what you want to test and how you want to test it. These testers are good to answer the question "is it on the board or is it in the playfield?".

Certainly tester boards come in handy for figuring where the issue is coming from, thus why I also swapped boards in from other machines (poor man’s tester board). Once you know where the problems lie you can narrow down the electronic issue

For me, Bench testing would just make it easier to test each component for things like AC ripple and might make it easier to rebuild the flawed components. so if I swap out a capacitor and the voltage is still low I can go to the voltage regulator etc. without having to pop it back in the machine which is a bit of a hassle and a harder work surface. If the voltage is low not under stress, it certainly will not perform under stress

I have not done the quantity nor quality of work that you have by any stretch so I may be wrong, but that was my thinking

Also, the aberrant behavior of my NGG occurs even at the start of the game even before I plunge the ball often so I don’t think my system needs to be placed under much stress to figure this one out. I’m gonna work on getting my voltage up at the optos and see if it changes things. Would be nice to eliminate that as a potential issue

Agree 100%. Board swapping is a good quick differential diagnosis method.

You can bench test power. For rectification you will need an appropriate transformer secondary. This will allow you to measure the AC ripple on the bench. You can deduce there is potential AC ripple if the DC voltage is lower than the expected value. If you replace the capacitor and the DC voltage goes up that's good evidence, but it's not proof. Proof would be to re-install the failed capacitor and see the reduced voltage. A repeatable experiment. Of course, that's not practical and not worth doing but it's what a true scientific experiment would entail.

Without wanting to go the full Monty with this, the next best thing is to actually measure AC ripple before you replace any components. It could also be the rectifier that has partially failed. It's a full wave rectifier and half of it may have failed. I like to measure before I do any work to know what my baseline is so that I know what has changed after I do my work.

I have about 140 millivolts of ripple which I think is reasonable. Voltage into the opto board is approx 12.5 volts but down to 11.5 at connector. It is a brand new opto board and I repinned all connectors from board to opto. Test point 3 voltage 12.6v.

I’m going to have to continue to ponder this one

Swapped in new c8 and voltage without connectors on tp3 was 13.5 but dropped to 12.5 with connectors plugged. Seems like a pretty fair drop but I guess it is unregulated. Has not fixed my problem though. I’m going to figure this out sometime somehow. I feel like maybe I am just missing something stupid

updated the kit information sheet

No Good Gofers: Battle For The Green (NGG:B4G)
A Licensed “2.0” Upgrade Kit by Cardona Pinball Designs
Available NOW
MSRP $1999US

Includes everything you need to install No Good Gofers: Battle For The Green into a No Good Gofers Pinball machine.
• Speaker panel with (2) 4" Flipper Fidelity speakers, an industrial 15.6 inch monitor, and associated cabling.
• FAST Interface controller board (to be installed in the removed CPU location).
• CPU panel that includes CPU, FAST audio and accessory controller, and associated cabling (to be installed in the removed audio/video board location).
• Power Supply with fuse block and associated cabling.

Note: Interface controller offers the ability to add future expansion components such as shaker motors, RGB lighting kits, and the "Gofer Motion" Topper .

About No Good Gofers: Battle For The Green:
A wandering bear is head-struck by a golf ball and loses all his memory--even that he is a bear! Buzz, a mischievous munchkin of a gopher hates all golfers. When Buzz discovers the bear, he names him Bud and convinces him that he's really a gopher too. With Bud's raw strength, Buzz hatches a plan to take the golfers out and reclaim the course!

The music, animations, voice work, and sound effects follow this comical and cartoon-ish vein and were made to be accessible to all. Buzz tends to be critical and confrontational of the player's shots. Bud, on the other hand, is the comic relief of the team. He's a bear that thinks he's really an over-sized gopher. Let’s just say he’s a little slow on the uptake.

Resellers:
https://cardonapinball.com/products

https://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PPM-KIT-NGG-BATTLE

cardonapinball.com contains the below links to videos of game play, installation of a kit, pre-installation steps, troubleshooting, and a demo video as well as manuals, flyers, promo material, and other documents.

Questions:
Does your kit include side art or a new backglass?
Not in the kit, however, we have contacted an industry leading artist to create new backglass artwork and we plan on offering this as an upgrade option for those who want it once the artist is done.

Can your kit play the original game?
Yes. The NGG:B4G upgrade kit will not only play the new game but players can also select the original game from a menu. Additionally, in future updates we plan to add functionality to the original game where appropriate.

About Cardona Pinball Designs:
Cardona Pinball Designs is licensed by Planetary Pinball Supply to create 2.0 game kits for Bally-Williams titles and has been working toward this end for approximately four years. Our main expertise is software and we subcontract or partner with professionals for other specialized work. For example, FAST is creating our hardware and we also use several artists and voice actors for content creation. We expect to release another licensed title in 2023 and two more licensed titles in 2024.

Our titles receive heavy public beta testing. NGG:B4G has been at The Pinball Gallery in Malvern, Pennsylvania ( https://pinballgallery.net) and at the Delaware Pinball Collective in Wilmington, Delaware since September 2020 ( https://www.delawarepinballcollective.com).

NGG:B4G has also been to several pinball shows such as:
• White Rose Gameroom Show ( http://www.theyorkshow.com)
• PinFest (http://www.pinfestival.com)
• Golden State Pinball Festival (https://www.goldenstatepinball.org)
• Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show (http://www.nwpinballshow.com)
• Pin-a-go-go (http://www.pin-a-go-go.org)
• Texas Pinball Festival (https://www.texaspinball.com )

game rules

game play

installation video

troubleshooting videos

Interesting! Weird that this is my first clue that this even existed! Looks pretty cool!

Owned NGG for a year now. Did a full mechanical rebuild and shop. Plays like a new machine. Still really enjoying this game. Even with its pretty good rep I think it’s underrated and under priced. One feature I really like that I think is very unique are the two gofer shots. Each is really three shots in one. Gofer up-bash. Gofer down, ramp down-hit the ramp. Gofer down, ramp up, hit the scoop/subway. I can’t recall another game that has these features all combined in this way. And these states change continually adding a lot of interest and surprise. Everyone talks about the upper pf and hole in one (yes, cool) but this aspect is more interesting for me.

After just over a year of ownership I finally got around to replacing the busted pop wafer that my game came with. Night and day as far as looks and pop action now. That whole area got a nice cleaning as well. Love this game! Still find lots to enjoy and reasons to play at least one game daily. Oh and while I had the left ramp and upper playfield out I was reminded of this little playfield easter egg! (photo below)

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Thanks!

main thread is here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ngg20-new-code-for-your-no-good-gofers-2020