Ok, first question which I believe is fairly obvious but I'll ask anyway.

I put the head up and begin inspecting the fuses. F110 is missing so we search around and find a 5mmx20mm fuse in the back of the car. However, it appears this is a T2.5A, 250V fuse. If I'm reading things correctly that should be a fuse in either F501 or F502. The correct fuse for F110 should be a T4.0A.

Can someone verify that for me? I just want to make sure what I'm reading is correct and the documentation isn't incorrect (which has certainly happened before).

I have a feeling I probably should just pull and inspect every fuse just in case...ugh.

Thanks!

So I have now had several long play sessions on my AFM, and I am definitely seeing some flipper fade after about a half hour or so of non-stop play. When the fade occurs, the center shield and UFO shot becomes difficult. The current coils dont appear to be original, but for kicks, I will need to check that the right coils were used.

Do you guys notice this too?

Thanks

I've never had them go weak, so definitely check your coils. May as well just rebuild the flippers as well, I think the kit is like $25 from Pinball Life.

No I’ve not seen this on AFM and it’s been played over a 6 hour period including one game where 136B was put up on it

I thought coils very rarely go bad? Perhaps checking the coil sleeves and coil stops first makes the most sense. After that I might look at the EOS gap.

Joining the club soon
Have a friend that’s a trucker and it’s picking one up for me soon and bringing to me on his next trip to AZ probably 2-4 weeks
Can’t wait to play it

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Is this normal? Unplugged connector

Yes, It's an extra that never got used.

Another strange issue I'd not noticed before.

Sometimes I'll get a lock, or start multiball by getting the ball into the saucer hole behind the drop target.
One time I had the saucer ready to destroy but it's as if it skipped that switch.
Any ideas?

Thanks!

Happens to me from time to time too. I feel like I always get one or two "blanks" when I am conquering Mars. Just the other day it happened on what would have been my 10th and final saucer shot to conquer. Instead it didn't register and I lost the ball/game before I could shoot it back in.

Same here but it's rare and I've been putting off fixing it. I think there's an opto that needs cleaned, it detects the ball falling in the saucer. The ball then rolls to the VUK where there's a switch that detects locks. So when a saucer hit fails the opto is missing the ball and the VUK thinks it's a lock. The trough needs pulled off to get to the opto, which is why I haven't dug into it. I'm sure it's not very difficult.

Same happens here. Very rare and only from time to time. I too haven't gotten around to fixing it.

Good to know it's common. I'll have to look at how difficult it is to check the opto. I've got a tournament here next week and don't want any moans

Okay I finally ruled the universe. BUT I did it with the tilt bob pulled and on a hard floor which made saves dirt easy.

Is this a cheap win? Should I lower my head in shame?

Yes.

Nope my bob is out and it is on carpet sliders. I do have it at a little stepper angle though.

I'm assuming you've taken down all mirrors in your house?

I was happy to get 6.6B on a public machine yesterday.

My biggest challenge to RTU is getting through all of the saucers. Shooting the middle is fun but it's a drain monster. I have to open it up and then shoot for multiball, and THEN hope for some dirty pool to get through it again without all of the extra shots.

Anyone know what this option is? It doesn't appear in my manual.

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Used mainly for operators. On location, if a ball gets stuck somewhere, after 3 ball searches the game puts a “chase ball” into play to keep the game operational.

Aaah. I had assumed we were talking about the backglass mod.

Aaah haha I forgot that was there.

Not needed them and nothing exciting. Thanks

Anybody using Titan Glow bands on their AFM? Would love to see some picks and opinions.

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Big O Jiggly Martian sale on Mickspinball….

Now is your chance to replace your small and stiff playfield Martians.

2 for $35.00. Shipped…

https://www.mickspinball.com/big-o-jiggly-martian-add-on

Thank you..
Mick

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My SoL vuk kicks to the left ball guide or sometimes the bottom of the left sling. I think I posted about this before.
I tried washers underneath and making the spring stronger so it doesn't fire as hard. Varied results.
Also replaced plunger and sleeve.

slo mo vid

I guess the culprit could be the mech itself.

Does anything look wrong or bent out of shape?
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Question about the shooter launch.

Randomly, the ball is hitting something in the shooter lane, or is not being launched correctly. Sometimes, it goes through un-obstructed to the top of the PF, and other times, it does not make it out of the lane or hits something else and will roll down through the Atomic Blaster lane to the bottom of the PF. I have not looked at this in depth, but I have glanced it over and I don't really see what's causing it. The shooter mech looks fine.

Is this a known issue with an easy fix?

Thanks.

Coil sleeve worn ? Plunger has too much wiggle so it doesn't hit the same spot on the ball every time ?

LTG : )

Easy enough. Thanks.

Would love to see a normal speed video of your larger Martians.

I had the same issue. I tried various ways of adjusting the scoop including bending it (i.e. to change the exit angle). Nothing really worked - ball soon returned to annoyingly hit at the same spot as your video. So, I removed the mech and filled the bracket screw holes (2 IIRC) with wood filler. I let that dry and the next day I screwed it back in. I took note of where the new holes should go in order to have the ball eject to the bottom half of the left flipper. It has worked well for over a year. I can’t say I thought up this solution / approach - I read about it somewhere. Let me know if you have any questions or clarifications. btw - your mech looks fine as far as I can tell.

I tried a few more things this evening, including bending the mech down slightly.
I got it to hit the left of the flipper but it's still really inconsistent.

I feel if I did what you did I could get it more to the right but it would still vary a lot.
Is yours consistent in where it fires the ball? I've watched a few AFM gameplay videos and noticed it is mostly consistent (ignoring multiballs when there's more going on causing vibrations).

In one of my pictures you can see inside the mech and the part the ball sits in isn't a perfect circle anymore, it's worn on one side where the ball has flown and battered it over years.

I am hoping that would cause inconsistent launches because I'm lost for any other explanation.
When I place a ball in the vuk and manually push the plunger up with my finger sometimes the ball falls into the gap created by the wear as the plunger pushes it.

I struggle to see why it would make the ball go more to the left in the first place but it's not a stretch to see it would cause inconsistent ball travel as it might add spin?

I'd be interested to see a pic inside yours and others SoL mech. I just poked my phone toward it so the lens could see down into the vuk.

Anyway, after an hour of trial and error I decided to order a new mech in the hope it is the wear causing it.
I was watching a video on YouTube of Robert Gagno playing AFM and noticed he could live catch nearly every ball out of the SoL and it made me wish I could do that ! (He's playing afmr but it should perform similarly).

I've looked into it, it's not an opto it's a rollover switch.
I've tried adjusting it a few times but the issue returns.
I think I have to take the trough out and get the switch working right rather than try adjusting it with the pf up.

Replace it. Sounds like it has flux inside. Works in test fails in game play because it is slow.

You can screw with it forever and not gain any ground.

LTG : )

You might be right.
But it does seem to be how the switch is angled. It'll fail nearly every time the ball goes in at a certain angle like it skips the switch.

Somehow a ball can fall right next to the gate and not hit the switch.

I've tried bending it to get it to activate on the slightest hit and also be closer to the gate but you can see it's been messed with a lot.

If it still does it I'll try swapping the switch part with a spare.

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It's totally F'd up. That arm should be straight along the top of the switch body.

You can adjust that until the cows come home and never get it right.

Get a new switch and enjoy your game.

LTG : )

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I have an AFMr decked out with Titan GITD rings. Also, Eric (the owner of Titan) has his beautifully restored original AFM configured with GITD rings (where I got the idea).
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I think I see where you are coming from - ball goes too far to the left (annoying) BUT it is also very inconsistent (harder to fix). I didn't have that second issue - it kept bashing into the return lane just to the left of the flipper. I took a picture on my game down from the playfield into the SOL - it looks a lot cleaner than yours (I guess I was wrong about your mech being ok...). So, even if you adjust the screws/bracket more to the right, you may still have a problem with the range of where the ball hits. After I adjusted my SOL it kicks out very consistently within a narrow range - it never hits the return lane or goes anywhere near sdtm. I took a quick look at the Robert Gagno video - my SOL kicks out in line with his game (I have an original). I think the ball's trajectory on his game has a bit variability and also reminds me of the Bowen tutorial.

So, a new mech is good way forward. When you get it installed let us know the results.

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My saucer trough switch is working all the time after a lot of tweaking! At first I got it working well but occasionally a ball would get stuck, unable to depress the switch.

The mech hasn't arrived yet, was hoping it would come today!

I have got my current one kicking out towards the flipper more often by adjusting the bracket that holds the coil so it's at an angle. It's so satisfying when you can do those catches. It's still not ideal so hoping the new mech fixes it..

Finally finished my custom scratch build today...what a mission!
Lots of custom stuff....will do a full video soon with my interactive apron mod I built.

Phone blows out colours a bit..not pukey in real life!

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Bump to see if anyone happens to have one of these plastics. Thanks!!

Was playing just now....entered video mode and saw the number 3 coming down instead of a spaceship.

Can anyone enlighten me on what that is. First time I've ever seen that.

A 3? Are you sure it wasn't a cow? Moo

Yep it's a known easter egg https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/attack-from-mars-orig-or-remake-easter-eggs#post-3880405

Here is a short video of my build...the apron mod is at 2:50 if you want to skip to it.
If you would like one let me know via pm.
Happy Friday

Anyone own attack from mars and revenge from mars?
AFM is pretty much the best game i've ever owned and truly the only pin that has ever kept my attention (i get some pin ADD).
Wondering what it would be like to own RFM too.
I'm not expecting it to be as good as AFM, just thinking it would be cool to own both, at least for a while.
I'm guessing some of you guys have had the same thought and owned both at the same time.

I owned both and they are both fantastic games, but I sold the mint HUO RFM and still have AFM which is the GOAT. The reason I sold the RFM is I was concerned about that original display failing in the future, plus it’s an easy to beat game and can get repetitive. However, the animations and callouts in RFM are damn hilarious. If you have the money and space, there are plenty of RFMs available. Just be sure to find one with a well functioning original CRT monitor or proper LCD conversion.

Thanks,
I have a pretty decent arcade collection and can rebuild monitors. Even if i have one outside my range of expertise i have experts that will do chassis fixes for what is essentially peanuts in pinball money.

I'll have to see if i can sell off or trade the terminator for one. I like the unique factor of RFM too.

The bottom third of my playfield GI isn't working.

I checked the manual and it looks like F114 is the fuse for GI#1. I inspect the fuse and it looks fine however I noticed the fuse is T4.0A 125V instead of the 250V the manual states. I'm guessing this is the potential issue. My plan is to swap that fuse with another to see if the problem persists.

Will replacing the GI with LEDs affect the requirement for voltage? I have some laying around and interested in trying that route as well.

Fuse rating is fine. Pull and check fuse with a meter.

Lower left area of the driver board - any burned connectors ?

LTG : )

Ugh. Sorry, but you were absolutely correct to check the fuse with a meter. Sometimes it is the simplest of things...

Thank you for the sanity check--I'll need to remember that one.