My speculation for the bars is to add support to the back of the foam in the speaker hole area. Gary Stern, feel free to chime in and let me know if I am right on that one, but after much, much, too much thought on it....that is the best I can come up with.

Some people like that "Jail Bird" look of the bars in front of the tiny lit speaker holes (off center in the large rectangle grill area). I don't know if people still buy my SPIKE 1 (Type 10) Speaker Light Kits for that or not? To each their own....that is appreciated over them buying knock offs from various mod copier hacks for $64+.

In any case....get that washer out of there (SEE ATTACHMENT) and tape up those mounting slots in the speaker plates (SAME ATTACHMENT). I thought Stern taped them up from the factory now??? Kidding....I know better than most on how easy it is to drop washers down in that area. Luckily, I usually notice and get them dug out before putting everything back together.

PS: Sweet ramp lights. I saw the cutout on my friends BK:SoR the other night and thought having light under them would be pretty nice.

Doug - SpeakerLightKits.com

10 The Jailbird (resized).jpgBK (resized).jpeg

The type of hardish plastic protectors you have on there were originally meant for games with screen printed cabinets or painted cabinets. They were meant to protect and also cover up damage that was already done by the legs digging in the cabinets. People started using them on games that had decals.....and that was bad. It would make the decals wrinkle. Then Stern started using the metal corner brackets that are screwed into the cabinets....which they later cheaped out on and went to plastic. Having the corner protectors (metal or plastic) will prevent the legs or those hardish protectors from even touching the cabinet.

So in summery....your plastic protectors are fine. As long as you didn't remove the plastic corner protectors that were there from the factory....you can leave them there and it won't hurt (or even touch) the cabinet.

I am hoping to have 5.25" speaker plates (as well as various colored speaker surrounds) available in the future to make the 4" to 5.25" speaker upgrade a more affordable option. The target goal is to make it so a person can do the speaker WITH speaker light upgrade for a comparable price to what the speaker upgrade alone is currently.

Also... I already have 2 different style of Speaker Light Kits that are designed for BK:SoR Pro on my website now. I should have the BK:SoR acrylic design from the video listed on my website next week sometime.

http://www.speakerlightkits.com/SPIKE-2-Standard-or-Deluxe.html

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Did those spacers come with the backbox speakers? Did you order them directly from Flipper Fidelity?

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Thanks for the info. If FF is now using spacers that are not attached directly to the speakers, it would seem there is really no need to even ask if anyone is using speaker lights or not. If you are using speaker lights, you probably will not need to use the spacers. If you are not using speaker lights, you probably will have to use the spacers. Pretty simple and straight forward and much easier than having to wonder, deal with or remove the attached spacer rings that are sometimes on aftermarket speakers. Especially if someone decides to go from not using to using speaker lights or vice versa.

Thanks again for your reply,

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

I don't know. I gotta believe every LE game that Stern releases with the visible 5.25" speakers and the speaker surrounds were intended to be lit, but cut for cost. Why not pick up better than factory speaker lighting for those LEs?

Individual addressable RGB LED lighting with 358 different color / color transitions and adjustable brightness and speed. These "Deluxe SPIKE 2 - 5.25" Speaker Light Kits" should be listed soon at http://www.SpeakerLightKits.com

- Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

BKSoRLE (resized).JPG

As I said:

These will only be for use with games with 5.25" speakers. After these light kits are available, I do plan on offering 5.25" Speaker Plates for a more affordable price than they are currently available for. This will allow a user to do a 4" to 5.25" speaker upgrade (including this light kit) at a lower price than the 4" to 5.25" speaker upgrade currently costs (not including a light kit). I will also be selling different color acrylic speaker surrounds for 5.25" speaker users.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

PS: If you just want speaker lights to light up the holes in a SPIKE 2 game with 4" speakers...you can get one of my Type 10 Speaker Light Kits (example: for Ghostbusters) and put it behind the factory speaker plates (SEE ATTACHMENT and ask for "The Jailbird" when ordering). That looks bad in my opinion. Tiny lit round holes in a larger rectangle grill area. The lit holes will be off center in the grill area. The lit holes will have bars running through the middle of them unless you cut them out yourself. I honestly don't like the look of them at all and that is why I don't have them listed on my website for that type of use, but they can be installed and used for that purpose easily enough.

If I were a fan of only the speakers being lit up....I would wait and do the upcoming 5.25" speaker AND Speaker Light Kit upgrade. The speakers will be bigger / better. The speakers are centered and fill the width of the rectangle grill area and no bars to cut out or go across the speaker holes.

10 The Jailbird (resized).jpg

I think that have made up my mind on removing that picture of the Stern manual from my website. Though I did see Stern had a slightly less complicated diagram for one of the later SPIKE 2 LE games.

The picture may look complicated, but all you are doing is taking off the speakers, removing the gaskets and spacers that are there from the factory and putting the speakers back on again.

On these Deluxe 5.25" kits you take off the speakers, remove the gaskets and spacers that were there from the factory. Then slip on the light rings and put the speakers back on. This is, by far, the easiest Speaker Light Kit install I have ever seen.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

I was playing at a friend's house and thought Black Knight would be the perfect game for a "talk back" mode. Basically when the Black Knight taunts you, you have a very limited (as in a second or less) and specific time to hit the lockdown bar button to spout a retort. It could award you with various things for doing this. Kinda like the "Thank You Mr. Data" on STTNG when you press both flipper buttons to cut off Data in the post ball, bonus sequence.

Yes, I now have light kits that are made specifically for SPIKE 2 games with 5.25" speakers (like many of the SPIKE 2 LE models.....like Black Knight: SoR LE). It is called the "Deluxe 5.25" Speaker Light Kit for SPIKE 2 games (Type 13).

Here is a video of them in an Iron Maiden LE and The Munsters LE. Putting them in a BK:SoR LE should be a mix between these two. It will have the red surrounds that allow light to shine through them (like the Iron Maiden LE), but have the lighter coned Kenwood speakers (like The Munsters LE) that show the light from the light kit better. That is really the best of both in my opinion.

http://www.speakerlightkits.com/Type-13.html

For people that already have the 5.25" speakers, this is the easiest Speaker Light Kit install that I have ever seen. Remove the speakers, remove the gaskets and nylon spacers, put on the light rings and put the speakers back on. All of the connections and wiring are very simple and all of the connection are in the games backbox. No need to raise the playfield or even open the coin door. The light kit comes with it's own power supply so it does not grab any power from the games boards. Here are the install instructions as I like to allow my customers to see what is involved before making a purchase. No "install instructions will be e-mailed to you after I get my money." from me.

http://www.speakerlightkits.com/Deluxe-5.25-SPIKE-2-Install.html

I can get custom color speaker surround sets if you would like ($22.50 a set) and I hope to offer the 5.25" speaker plates in the future so Pro, Premium and other 4" speaker users can do a 4" to 5.25" upgrade at a more affordable price than is available now.

If you have any questions feel free to send an e-mail to the support e-mail on my website.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)
Deluxe 525 features (resized).jpg

The LE is built to show off those 5.25" speakers and they already have the decorative surrounds around them. Yet they stopped lighting them from the factory after Deadpool LE? Why not add the lighting that they dropped from the LE bill of materials at Stern? Plus...it's way better lighting than what they did have with the games they did light from the factory (Batman 66 Super LE and Deadpool LE).

Speaker Light Kit (Deluxe 5.25" - type 13):

or maybe a Speaker Light Kit in a Speaker Light Kit (Deluxe 5.25" - type 13 in a Deluxe - type 12):

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

How do those Pyles look lit up? I've had some installed in an empty speaker panel, but that's just not the same as seeing them in a game.

I'm kinda with you there. I'm in for the flipper button protection more than the bling. Having said that, I did get some official Stern JP siderails. I should have checked the price on the PBL lollypop rails before ordering them. I just didn't want to go with mylar or the slap on button protector plates. The lollypop rails would have been a nice looking , and much more affordable alternative.

I've never seen it before, but it looks like it was well done. I have seen others attempt to use addressable LEDs and a programed board to control backbox lighting before, but it was so poorly done you couldn't really tell any difference from what they were doing and just having random LEDs lighting behind the translite.

This looks very well done, especially the spinning flail lights. Personally, if had the know how for that kind of programming, which I do not, I would be integrating some color changing sweeps in the lettering. As stated....at least this backbox lighting has purpose on it's addressable lighting. It also has part of the lights (and the speaker lights) wired to the GI, which is a nice touch. I would imagine that backbox light board is quite intricate on it's light layout, programing and wiring. I'm going to guess it as a 1 off DIY project.

Speaking of the light frames...try not to copy the hard work that I've already done in designing my light frames while you are at it.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

I think your statement can be edited (as I did on this post) to be pretty much true.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

If you don't want to figure them out........I should have an easy to install "Flamin' Frames" Speaker Light Kit available soon.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

A higher quality clip.....I finally figured how to properly export video clips from my 9 year old iPhone 5!!!

No, the "Flamin' Frames" Speaker Light Kits I will be selling are not game specific and do not connect to the games boards. They will work in any SPIKE 2 game, but obviously be more fitting for some themes and art packages than others.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Yep, all of my other 13 light kit types are being shipping in the normal 0 - 3 days of their orders being placed.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Stern did not start adding a connector to the CN9 cabinet node connection until Avengers: Infinity Quest. I guess before then, it was up to folks to find or make their own connector to plug in there.

Out of curiosity, you are looking to use it for a +12vdc bill validator? I know that is what it is intended for, but as someone that has sold light kits that has used that CN9 connection for power since SPIKE 1 was released.....I have never heard of anyone needing it or anyone using a +12vdc bill acceptor for that matter. All of the ops that I have sold light kits to have used +110vac bill validators (which obviously, do not use that +12vdc CN9 connection).

I can only be of limited help here, but I can confidently say that, yes...people have installed Speaker Light Kits in their BKSOR games before. I have installed them in at least 3 different BKSOR myself, without issue.

Those small screws can sometimes be a pill from the factory, either from being over tightened or cross threaded when installed. If the screwhead is already stripped, I don't really have any suggestions, but what may help or keep the issue from getting worse is to use a screwdriver that has a longer shaft so the grip is past the speaker panel so you can get a straighter shot at the screwhead. I have found this one to be good for the job:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FW63FE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

It has the proper #1 Phillips tip size, and the shaft is long enough for the grip to clear the edge of the speaker panel.

Sorry I don't have any better advice to help you with removing a stripped screw, but hopefully someone on here has some good tips on that.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)