Yes, it is a Stern for all BM66

There are two versions of the stern one. The did you get the $200 one with no node boards (for LE machines) or the $250 one with node boards (for premium machines)?

If you got the premium version with node boards it should come on in attract mode and briefly at the start of the game than go off. It should also come on when the bat phone rings and stays on until you make (or miss) the the penguin/left orbit episode multiplier combo. It should also come on when the big batsignal in the middle of the playfield lights up for villain escape multiball. Also comes on during bat turn mode as well.

If it's not coming on/off at those time you might have a bad connection or maybe a bad node board.

It does all that. What I am trying to see if there is a setting for is when I am not playing the game but the machine is left on, the signal stays on. I would prefer the signal not to stay on when not playing.

There is no setting currently to choose that the signal stays on or off during attract mode. I think it looks awesome always on in attract mode. You can email Stern software to request it be added as an adjustment.

[email protected]

My only experience using novus 2 to clean a small area on a pf protector gave the protector a bit of haze from the micro scratches, which makes sense as it has abrasives in it. I used it on a brand new protector so the gloss difference was very noticeable. While I wouldn't use it on a new protector again, I would use it on one that is already scratched up.

Ok fellow bat-fans looks like my Node9 is dead! If it don’t get a placement board which has ran less than 150plays I sure as shit won’t be buying anymore Spike based Stern’s.

Sorry to hear about your node board. Unfortunately I think the node boards are going to be the cause of many premature deaths for Spike games.

Stern seems to have no interest in having readily available inexpensive compatible node boards as the original marketing for the Spike system implied.

I now have two Spike 2 games but am not willing to gamble any more that I won’t have viable games in 5-10 years. I’ve got 3 node 8/9 boards as insurance which just means that the game specific nodes for Batman or Elvira are going to be the ones that fail on me

Is this a new board that has failed?

My Node 8 board failed immediately after I installed the last update. Stern was no help after telling me what I already knew. They didn't offer to sell me a board either. Hopefully you will have better luck with a replacement than I did.

A coworker is examining my bad board in his spare time. The 6V supply is out. So far several surface mount resistors in a row are bad. More testing on the board to follow.

Where did you buy the boards and how much were they? Node board 8 and 9 means 2 separate boards? Why did you chose those 2?

Node boards 8 and 9 are interchangeable aside from the Dip switches. So far they are the most common boards that fail on the Spike system.

So they will not sell you a new board..?? So as far as they are concerned you have a dead game and no repair is possible...??? Thats insane.....

Stern doesn't sell parts. He would have to go through a distributor, but I think/hope if he fights this via his distributor, they should replace it at no charge since it died during a Stern code update.

They didnt offer but I didnt ask. I was too pissed and it just slipped my mind. I asked if it was covered under warranty. I told them my build date and they said it wasnt covered. I bought my own replacement. I bought a couple extra boards for my only 2 games. If either one blows another board they will be fixed and then sold. I'm not keeping thousands of dollars of dead pinballs in my house. And I'm certainly not going to keep buying these Way overpriced boards either.

Only 150 plays? What is the build date?

J85M is the one who has 150 plays.

Heres a Mark Ritchie game called Indiana jones pinball adventure.
Williams pinball of the 90's.
With dimples.
A lot of games of that era had large sections of mylar on the playfield which most of us now take off.
I guess thats sort of help with regards to dimples but also added to the mind that they were resilient against it.

dimple ij (resized).JPG

Node boards can be repaired by people with the right knowledge, skills, and equipment. The schematics have been released.

And Stern doesn’t offer this repair service because?

Because they are a pinball manufacturing company.

And I understand that but when you build an expensive board with a higher than normal failure rate how is it you don’t want to keep your customers?

Stern has sent repaired/upgraded boards to customers free of charge under Warranty. Why dont they offer an exchange program? You buy a replacement board and send your non working board back as a "core".

I have received multiple node boards form Stern free of charge. Not over two years into ownership. That’s why I was wondering what that build date was. Almost all node board failures I have experienced personally or seen from a local operator friend have been early life failures. That’s why the only Spike used game I would be nervous about buying is one that is over 2 years old with super low plays.

Yes, but it’s a very tiny subset of those that can repair a WPC or SAM board. And Stern sold ops on the idea that these were going to be cheap throwaway type boards that were simply replaced when they failed. And, FWIW, not all boards have had schematics released and not all are complete.

For the most part these boards aren’t repairable by the typical hobbiest.

Well I finally received my 2nd mini spinning playfield. Owned the game for 4 months, haven't played it in 2 awaiting this part. Prior to that it never played correctly.

First thing was to transfer the little metal shields and change in some titan rubbers.

Now the game seems to be working 100% finally.

For kicks here are pics of the rubbers stern felt like putting on this new play field.

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Wait.....so you bought the game new and never played it because the spinning playfield was messed up and this is the rubber from that game?

I think it's more like the replacement turntable he was sent was not brand new. As long as it works, that's what is important I guess.

Rob

OHHHHH ok, I get it now. Thanks

Oh my.

Congrats on a finally working turntable though. I bet you're going to enjoy the game a HELLUVA lot more now!

They fabbed a brand new spinning mini playfield, and put these rubbers on it. I hate to call them rubber, they would crumble in my hand if I squeezed them.

Starting villain multi balls allows you the chance for a skill shot with a 5x eob bonus. You can do this three times getting up to a 20x eob bonus. Plus all the lanes that 1x bonus just let balls drain while ball save is on.

Playfield multiplier while multi ball is going on and complete 2 villains for extra ball. Complete all for and answer the bat signal for jail break

That’s as far as I have gotten 2.2 billion

Obviously the answer is going to be starting with Bookworm and Freeze to maximize potential of frozen timers for the rest of the game. Some players have been quite vocal about that being unbalanced, but the opinion isn't necessarily shared by others so there's been no urgency to change it. I absolutely love the theme and most of the gameplay mechanics. Players scoring hundreds of billions of points does seem a bit crazy, but not every one can do it either. Top players are just going to excel that much better with this game.

Rob

That was short-lived. 10-20 games in and neither joker target works. I am getting a joker target 2 error (switch 78 iirc).

Check one of the joker targets is not stuck behind the metal guards located between or either side of the targets depending on your build date. Either way you should see your target caught behind the little support/guard holding the switch closed.

Make sure you are on the latest code. In 1.05 it fixed a false Joker switch error. Some games have separate switches and others it was combined into one switch.

V1.05.0 - Nov. 7, 2019
======================

- Joker #2 switch will no longer complain in the tech alert, as some games
were made without this switch.

From what I've read in the node board thread, no one has figured it out yet. It would be awesome if you helped out those with dead boards by providing the name of the person doing repairs.

For those of you mounting the Hallmark figures.... where did you mount Batgirl? I have tried 4x times on the Batgirl ledge on the left.... lo temp hot glue.. a hot ball sends her flying every time..... lol

Holly-BatXmas Robin!

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hey guys so on my "new" mini spinning upper playfield, every single time I hit a ball around the right side to lock for multi-ball, the ball kicks out of the lock area, and into the 3 skill shot rollovers. Neither of the other 2 mini play fields ever did this.

Has this been a problem for anyone else? If so, was there a solution?

I am thinking of installing (with some double sided tape), some type of dampener, so when the ball hits that wall, it doesn't kick off with as much force. bad idea, good idea?

thanks!

Send Borygard a PM. He does repairs.

Right away or does it start a ball search first? Those lock switches are notorious for needing some kind of adjustment so they close when the ball is resting on them.

Rob

More like....I shoot the right orbit, the ball goes into the lock, and then immediately bounces out, back toward the 3 rollovers. It won’t stay in the locked area.

I never had this problem with the other 2 units.

There is a white, nylon up-post that holds the balls in the lock. It should always be up except when the turntable turns to release balls. Even the ball search rotates the playfield to release balls so I think that post is your problem.

Rob

20191214_004826 (resized).jpg

thank you for taking the time to respond.

That post is functioning properly. it's more like it never makes it down to that post in a resting position. It comes in hot, bounces off of the metal wall and kicks back out the direction it came.

Hmmm, now that is interesting. What pitch do you have the game set at? I have mine at 7 degrees. Can you post a picture of your ball lock area when the turntable is in position to lock balls?

Rob

First thing to check - is the turntable level with the playfield all the way around 360 degrees? Also make sure your diverter is functioning properly.

Has anyone else mounted the batgirl cycle and bat/Robin bike? If so where and how did you mount them? Thanks.

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I mounted the Batgirl cycle on Yelobird's mounting plate above the shooter lane. I drilled a hole in the plate and used the screw the Batgirl cycle already came with. I mounted the Batcyle on top of the pop bumper. Same location as the SLE. I bought Modfather's one cuz it came with a mounting bracket that uses one of the existing screws on top of the bumper plastic.

Any update on your bad Node 9 board? Did Stern send you a replacement?

I used a length of wire and looped it thru the hook on the back of her head.
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Ah okay, I’ve put my bat signal behind the top pop bumper, mini phone where the bat signal is on the SLE, mini bust over near Alfred which I’m going to fit a small red LED into the head and glue it open.

So because of that I’m probably going to mount the Batcycle w/sidecar on the plastic above the right ramp curve, batboat in shooter and batgirl over on the batgirl plastic as I’m not adding the hallmark figures.

Node board is on going, I have a replacement on the way through my distributor currently working out if I’m going to be charged for it. If I am I’ll certainly be speaking to Stern about it and they will likely loose all my future business.