I joined the club last weekend. I'm finding that I like this game A LOT more than I thought I would. However, it has some major airballs off the turntable targets. To the point where the magnet barely ever catches the ball because it's sailing through the air. I'm pretty sure a big reason for that is because my turntable is a little higher than the playfield.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for leveling this thing?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/batman-66-official-club-thread/page/33#post-3603697

think so! thanks.

I just loosen the screws that mounts the front part of the turn table from the underside ( the side towards the flippers and action area, not the rear so with the PF up it's the top two mount brackets) and dropped a washer or two between the playfield and mounting bracket on the screws. That lowered the disc just about even with the PF and airballs are no longer an issue.

Hey Guys, I love this machine and have been following this thread since I got it in February. Today I notice I have a different start button then all of you, at least in all the pics posted here. Mine is not flush mounted. Did they run out the day they made mine? What kind do I have? Should I change it?

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Did you buy it NiB?

That start button is definitely smaller than it's supposed to be. The proper sized button covers the entire hole. That little notch in the wood at the top of the hole is for a bump in the correct button that keeps it from rotating.

If the game came from the factory like that I'd definitely call your distributer or Stern to get a replacement. Heres a pic showing the proper size button (Note: the Batman TV show logo is something I made, the factory Stern Buttons says "start" on it).

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Just joined the club today, amazing so far. Wife played 2 games and said it's a keeper. It kind of makes up for my first JJP NIB Wonka experience, which isn't going well. Stern and CGC is where it's at.

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This is the one on my Catwoman edition....guess I should call as well...

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My catwoman doesn't have that notch, but looks like the same button. Can you loosen it and push it up?

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I will try.... not that big a deal for me...whats the blank below for???

On my other Sterns I put an external volume control switch there.

Pinball Life sells a really nice blue Start button. Much better than the stock one.

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Congrats (and you are correct, btw)....excellent Vikings photo beside it!!!!...enjoy...great game!!!

You have the right button, the hole just has some slop to it. If you losen the plastic nut behind it you should be able to bias it up and cover the notch.

The hole below the start button is where you could install a tournament mode button. As mentioned in the other post it's a convenient place to out an external volume control.

https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PBL-100-0062-00
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Some people have put an external USB input port there to make firmware updates easier.

https://pin-port.com/stern-external-buy-now
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The external volume button is far more useful. Put that in and run a USB extension cable from the CPU to the coin door.

The external volume control costs $30 but for just $20 more you can get the spike2 headphone jack plate which also gives you external volume control along with the headphone jack.

Headphones on Batman66 sound great!

https://www.pinballlife.com/stern-spike-2-headphone-jack-assembly.html

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New owner here, got my Premium as a new show game deal thru Marco at Cal Extreme. Left the show with 447 games on it and no major issues other than dimples and greasy glass (maybe you played it in the Marco area while you were there?). Stoked to have this machine at home as my first and only pin. Was the only one I could convince the GF to be OK with, and who knew playing pinball in your undies drinking coffee at 6am would be so therapeutic?

Had just a few questions for you BM66 veterans:

-My premium came with a signed Adam West card, I thought that only the LEs came with those, did they have extra and are now just throwing them all on there?

-The piece of pipe / wire routing that is under the playfield is just dangling and not attached to anything (zip ties are just hangin out). Any details on where that should be attached under the playfield? Can't seem to find any detailed image...

-I'll have to deal with the misaligned crane ball on return soon as mine is pretty far off and traps the ball when in the first position. Thanks for those who posted the info here. Tried the timing adjustment in the settings with no improvements so going to have to fiddle w/ the opto flag.

-Is there any shame in moving the outlane bumpers to the easiest position? Where do you guys keep yours? If I move them forward will I ever be able to bring myself to move them back?

-Getting tons of airballs off the ramp rubber bumpers (mine are blue). Is this the norm? The one I play often on locations doesn't seem to have that much of an issue...

-Why does it take so long to kick out the ball for the 2nd batcave shot up the left orbit? Is there a way to reduce that delay other than flipping both flippers? I looked in the setting but didn't seem to find anything...

Next up is installing the PBL headphone jack as I am contractually obligated to do so by my GF... Also Cliffys are on their way.

Did you reset the machine after making the Penguin motor lag adjustment?

My "Bat-Tube" was also loose and dangling upon delivery but I was able to put it back on the metal brackets and slide the original zip ties back in place. Here is what it should look like.
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Ha, they’ve started labeling that cable tube. That’s cool.

yeah, my previous BM66 did not have... honestly the decal doesn't stick very well to the smooth PVC but a cool little bonus detail that they definitely did not have to add.

Also - on boot my machine shows v1.04.0, but I thought the latest was 1.03. Maybe it's a factory test code or something? Mfg date is June 27 2019, I didnt set it up as it was a show game and have not manually updated...
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Mine was June 25th 2019 and has 1.03, this would be interesting to find out any differences

That's very interesting, I guess we can assume that 1.04 will be released soon.

We saw 1.04 at California Extreme. I was told it was mostly around adding the coin door interlock (high voltage turn off) feature for new machines that support it, but who knows what else it had going on.

I think that it is time for the "Villain Vision" to start showing The Villains in our next code update

So, update on my recent addition of BM66 and questions for the community:

1. Had my BM66 for about a week now. Playing almost every day since and for the first time today, played a different pin (DI).
2. First thing I did was install playfield protector. As everyone knows, lots of air balls and the playfield takes a beating . All the more reason for the protector.
3. Installed shaker. Love it. I think the code uses the shaker just enough, but doesn't over do it. I think it adds to the game experience.
4. Installed flipper fidelity speakers. Not sure I see a huge difference in overall sound. The manufacturer suggests cranking up volume, but I was hoping for a more rounded experience even with lower volume. Compared to my Dialed In, it's not as good of a sound package. DI has more "stereo" sound. I have not tried to tweak code settings for audio, so maybe that might help. Any suggestions or is this about right from everyone else's experience?
5. I have Stern blades coming Saturday. That's the only major "artistic" mod I've done to date. I'm not too interested in "pimping." I do have a free spotlight coming, so I will add that too.
6. I'm on the fence of getting pin stadium lights. I think they are great, just don't know if I want to add another $280 to the overall cost.
7. Has anyone used any of the shooter/eject protectors? Worth it? What do you recommend?

I don't see BM66 leaving anytime soon. Like many have said, great code, great theme integration, and great pin in any line up.

Thanks,
Stan

Regarding the Flipper Fidelity speakers you Need to tinker with the settings in the menu. It will make a HUGE difference in sound.

Pin Stadiums are nice but I dont like how they reflect off the metal ramps. Plus my room lighting doesnt really require them. But I can see how some people cant play without them. Theres many lighting effects you can have.

I have a shooter eject protector on my KISS but not on my BM66. I just put some clear mylar down. Plus you can lower the trough eject power so the ball doesnt slam into the shooter lane.

My Catwoman has the coin door interlock....but is on 1.03

I also have flipper fidelity speakers installed and there was an improvement especially in the bass. However I've since found the best listening experience to be via the acessory headphone Jack with a decent set of headphones.

Not sure if this is due to being able to hear the more more subtle sound effects more clearly or maybe it just sounds better because the headphones block out the mechanical sounds of the game more ( flippers clankings, coils firing, etc) so you just here the games soundtrack.

Good advice. I tweaked the system settings and added bass to both the backbox and cabinet speakers. Sounds much better.

Do you happen to know where that setting lives in the menu system? I was looking the other night and couldn't find it.

Go under Utilities, then audio. There, you can adjust sound settings and tweak how much bass you want for all the speakers.

Atomic Pile is a must have mod !

It's a cool, "look at me mod," but I put most of my extra money into things that have the most value, like the play field protector, speakers, and shaker.

Yea price is only thing keeping me from buying right now.......

All those other things are good, but if you plan on keeping the game you will regret not having the AP mod.

Is/has anyone had trouble with the Batcave gate?
90% of the balls that have a direct shot bounce back, a lot of the time the get stuck between the gate and the Batmobile disk on the edge..

That happens to me a lot too. Whats more frustrating for me is when you shoot the batcave with a direct shot and it doesn't register.

Lots of stuck balls in general with this game. Luckily, a ball search has always cleared them up so far.

Have you checked the wiring isn't getting tangled underneath? When I added the atomic pile mod and phone mod, one of the wires was hanging where I couldn't see it and caused the problem for me as well. After I pulled out the turntable to look at it, I found it and haven't had the issue since. Hopefully it's something similar and an easy fix.

Would you consider sharing the settings you used or PM. I have updated to the FF speakers long ago and never felt the difference was noticeable but I have no clue how to adjust them as you suggest. Would appreciate any input! Thanks

Mine was bad with the bounce outs and non-registering switch (didn't get stuck though). I discovered my turntable was just a HAIR high. Adjusted it down maybe 1/16". It isn't perfect now, but way better than it was. I must have been getting just a slight airball, so it wasn't going all the way through the gate. This also helped my phone magnet grab a bit more often.

As for getting stuck on that edge, I would make sure the Batmobile disk is flush. If so, I would check your machine's level and pitch. If it is hanging up on a flush edge, it might not be steep enough. Make sure you are at 6.5+ deg.

Absolutely! Here's the settings I changed from default. All other sound settings I left alone.
Speaker balance -(minus) 15
Backbox treble gain +2.625 db
Cabinet bass gain +10.125 db
Volume to your preference

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to post this. I will dial mine in tomorrow per your settings. Really appreciated thanks!!

Why would I miss having “eye candy?”

I’m now rocking with super sound!

Wow, one setting I didn’t do that you recommended speaker balance. That helped adding more bass for all sounds.

Awesome!! I think that's the most important one. It transfers alot of the sound to the cab subwoofer which is where you want it.

I guess you won’t know.

Made your custom changes and it Does sound much better! Thanks again for taking the time to share this.