Exit? You sure it doesn't say "excellent, an extra ball"

That's the one!

Topper here yet.. SW Flashback but not such a burn

I had problems with Munsters LE updating to 1.02 - same issue as described above. I tried renaming from ...spk.001.000 to .spk, and got told it was an invalid file. I reformatted my USB and did exactly what they say to do in the README and it worked. Copied the munsters_le-1_02_0.spk.000.001 file -- didn't rename it. Worked fine. Hope reformatting works (mine was already FAT32, but that seemed to do the trick). The USB came with Black Knight code on it from a dealer I bought the Munsters pin from -- bizarre that it wouldn't work without reformatting the USB stick.

Where did you get it ?

Hi all, few quick questions...

I've had the screw fall out holding the shield in twice. Sucks because you have to take the whole housing off to fix it. Any tips on how to secure it better?

Also, I really can't figure out what to do to fix this. I still lose at least a ball every two games on the ball going over the flippers and outlanes. I dialed down the slope, set the flippers as soft as possible, what the heck else can I do here? Love this game but it's starting to drive me nuts.

I think it was meant to be a question of "Is the topper here yet?" I'm sure people who are signed up to the Stern Newsletter will probably post on here to spread the info.

You can mount it with Loctite 270, the green one.

I was getting an insane amount of airballs off the slings, misc posts, etc. Discovered that basically EVERY post in the game was loose. In some cases barely finger tight or less. Went through and tightened them all and it plays much better now. Still get an occasional airball, but no where near as bad. At minimum check your sling posts and the posts around the knight, ramps, etc. But it wouldn't hurt to check them all. Not sure what Stern is thinking, but they really need to check and follow their torque specs. Most of my newer machines have had this issue, but none quite to this extent.

This! My location pro has needed virtually every post and screw going into the playfield tightened.

- Shield fell off first, then the posts around the centre of the PF beside the knight all came loose. Games plays so much faster with these nice and snug.
- Then the ball guides next to the flippers came loose, and last week the flail started hitting the ramp. The entire knight assembly was loose and rocking in place. 4 giant machine screws with nylon nuts and it still worked its way that loose. Had to take the entire area apart to get at those and used blue-loctite on them.
- Finally the left spinner upkicker guide was flopping in the breeze.

I'm pretty sure they didn't tighten things down very well at the factory when these were being produced, possible due to the PF pooling and chipping issues?

In any case, definately check everything on your games and keep them nice and tight.

My LE just came in a few days ago, out of the box the shield was not functioning. I lifted the board and one of the wires was not soldered and just left hanging. Also after about 10 games a screw came lose and flew across the board. I love this game but am very disappointed with the build quality, for the amount of money I dropped on this I should not have had to bust out my soldering kit and spend 30 mins trying to find where this screw flew off from.

I've had my game since May and just recently it's been making a clicking noise that is coming from the catapult area. It only does it when no one is playing and not all the time. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. Don

I assume it isn’t the lock pin retracting and resetting?

My only thought is if it’s the lock pin, maybe an opto is messed up and the game things there is a ball still in the catapult? It ejects all the balls when the game ends, so if it’s thinking there’s one in there, it might keep activating that pin.

One way to test it a bit would be to unplug one or both optos up there. I’m guessing unplugging they main harness clip up at the catapult on the right side would stop the sound, but it’s one way to guarantee it’s the catapult making the noise.

For the last few evenings of extended play, I am feeling like my right flipper is struggling a bit. Even with a perfect shot, the ball BARELY has enough oomph to get up the flail ramp. It will even disappear for over a second and JUST creep into view and plunk down on the upper field.

It’s not like the issue many of us had where it’s hit almost too hard that it bangs back and comes back down the ramp. This is making it up smoothly but is just seems weak.

The coil does feel really hot but I’m guessing that’s normal with 10-20 games in a row.

The flipper doesn’t look sloppy or saggy when pressed or unpressed so I’m not sure it’s a coil stop issue. Other than the coil stop being obviously broken, is there another good way to double check that? Naturally, I do have lots of copper fairy dust from the coil stops all in the bottom of the cabinet below each coil.

The issue does seem to get better the next day when the machine starts cold.

You can usually check the coil stops with them still installed. Just put you finger on the center of the backside of the stop where the actual stop is riveted in. See if you can wiggle it with your finger or if it feels loose at all. If you're seeing brass dust in the cab, I would just replace them both. They are easy peasy and like $3.50/each from Pinballife. While at it, clean the plungers and inside the coil sleeves with alcohol.

Anyone else move the outlane posts? I moved mine down, which I assumed would make it harder to drain, but it seems to me that they drain easier, especially the right one. I'd be curious to hear anyone else's feedback.

It should definitely make it harder to drain. I saw video a page or two back where the guy had it moved down on both sides and it saved a ton of balls that would be dead on my factory set one.

Personally, I don’t think BKSOR is a lethal setup with them in the middle stock setting. On AC⚡️DC, I had to move them to the lower post hole. It was just killer with them in the factory spot.

I moved mine to "easy" setting. I think it helped a lot. Also changing the rubbers for Titans made the ball bounce more around that area, which make it easier to nudge.

Topper video

how much is the topper?

Question is will it actually work once unboxed?

Still not on Stern's website to purchase.

That’s the nicest topper Stern has done to date. Hopefully no delays or mechanical issues like SW, but this will be an instant purchase for me.

Makes me want a bksor pro actually.

Been delayed for 6 months already

How so? The first official video came out an hour ago. There were some location test videos and SR mentioned it in a YouTube video. The timeline seems consistent with R&D and test.

The SW topper, on the other hand, was perpetually announced and delayed based on licensing.

I like how Stern announces that it's available now and to order from your local distributor,but when I checked my local one they don't have it yet. Probably will take awhile before the shop gets updated. But I rather buy from Stern directly if it will be at a lower price. Since they accidentally had it on their website showing it at $400 before they actually had the product.

It looks damn good!

The pro is a great machine.

$449 now I guess

Ordered from my distributor yesterday.

Anyone get it for $399 ?

I don't think so. Stern bumped the price up to $450.

I just ordered my topper from JJ, he told me ETA is 3 to 4 weeks. I hope these work better than the Star Wars topper!!!

Received a message today, "Your topper is ready for pickup". Luckily the storm went south so the drive in/out was nice.

Be mindful of the head while unpacking and prepare for feather installation before placing the header on the cabinet. My feather's quill is a bit tiny for the feather-hole and lock. I rolled electrical tape around the quill to provide a firm installation.

I play HCUO (home credit use) and was surprised to find the top-knight has something to say about each coin deposited. I couldn't catch the exact call-out changes, but noticed the knight's eye-flashing-while-talking were swapped from the play-field to the topper. At game's-end; he head-bangs until the music fades. It's pretty neat. I'd have to say this topper and the R2 unit are freeaaking nice. I'm thankful and lucky to have 'em.

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Anyone who has the toppers IN STOCK or knows where they are in stock, please post here or IM me. I am tired of waiting for my SW topper and not going to make the same mistake this time. I will order one immediately if I know it is in stock and ready to ship.

You might have to check in with websites who sell the topper if you can be put on the waitlist for one. I reserved a topper today from Pinball Pirate by e-mailing them and they said they would inform me once mine would come in so I can pick it up. They do shipping as well if you want to reserve from them.

Where did you get it ? Lucky you nice !

Awesome! RockfordReplay can you tell me the height of the BKSOR topper with and without the feather? I have some ceiling height limitations, so want to make sure it would fit before ordering. TIA!

A friend of mine (non-pinball person, but a regular player of my games when he drops by) surprised me - like REALLY surprised me - with these as a Christmas gift back in December. When I asked him where he got them, he said that he made them himself! I told him that I might know a few other folks who just possibly would be interested in getting a set, but he didn't think I was serious. So nothing ever came of it.

This morning I showed him the official Stern video of the BKSOR topper (I had previously told him about it, so not really a spoiler for him.) He loved it. So I pressed him again about his speaker accents. He finally gave me the OK to post a few pics and see if anybody else liked them.

So here are photos of them in front of red, yellow, green, and teal LED speaker lights along with what one looks like with the game turned off.

These actually stand out from the speaker grills; they are not mounted flat or essentially flat against them. The other really nice thing is that they are mounted totally from the OUTSIDE - you do not have to open the backbox, mess with removing speakers, etc. to put them on.

Right now he just wants to gauge interest and, if there is sufficient interest, said he would consider doing a run (and I'd lose my exclusive - damn it. ) But at this point there is no price set or store or orders being taken or any other sets even made; all of that would be figured out should there be enough interest. He said that the mounting hardware would be included if he does do a run, of course.

So if you might be interested in getting a set, send me a Pinside Mail message and let me know. I'll pass along the tallied level of interest as of Friday March 6th and update everyone on what he decides from there.

Thanks for taking a look.

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Quick Update: we would also be able to do a smaller version for LE owners that would fit inside lighted speaker rings should this get the green light.

Looks great! I think red backlight is best

Those look great! Maybe a shade of purple that matches the backglass for the lighting?

The local dealers are at an advantage when driving in to Stern and picking up their machines, parts and accessories. They have quick access to information and vendor/supplier chains like Pinball Life. I wonder if a dealer search using Chicago zip codes will provide a dealer for your in-stock needs.

Very easy and identical to their other headers. The Stern machines have a wire plug and (4) screws pre-installed. Simply remove the (4) screws and plug, slip the wires thru, place the topper and re-install the screws. There's (2) connections; one for power and one for signal.

My local dealer is Hemispheres. Kurt and Mark are pretty cool; they've provided most of my Stern machines and accessories.

It looks like 7-1/2". I'd suggest 7-3/4" at a minimum and push for 8". The head is a high-point and the movement needs to be considered.

My apologies for the pics. I've got my speaker lights set to rapidly go through a sequence of colors and repeat, with each one starting low then pulsing to a peak intensity only to fade back down to start the rising pulse of the next color.

I used my phone as best as I could to capture a sampling of the colors at peak brightness, but between my phone's camera and timing skills, I most likely didn't get it very exact. The "teal" one in particular looks bad because of the darker "box" around the helmet. But I think that's one where I caught the rich blue (like the box) fading away en route to the next color in the sequence.

But these were the best ones I got in my excitement to get something posted ASAP once he said I could ... and before he changed his mind!

They look killer!
Put me in for a set.