I brought home a really, really nice but slightly grubby SW last week and I just read through this entire thread. Wow. Great mod/restore ideas, and gorgeous games.

My SW is getting bulletproofed to go on location -- it's not going to a bar or anything, it will be treated with respect. That said, it seems like there are tons of breakable things on the playfield, everything from those pesky yellow targets to plastics (plastics seem to hold up switches and other plastics a lot in this game instead of metal hardware, ugh).

One thing I just can't track down is a plastic protector set. Anyone know who originally made those or a way to source them? I'd love to protect the Falcon plastic instead of replacing it all the time!
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/CG1717

My positive contribution to the thread:

This site has some much-needed SW plastics. I just received a set and they are of good quality (not perfect color matches, but good) and will work fine: http://www.pinballuniverse.com/starwarsparts.htm

On the opposite side, Marco's decals are unbelievably bad, avoid: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/820-6090-00

Ha, I had emailed pinbits last week when they were out of stock and sure enough ... they restocked. Awesome! Now is the right time for DESW pinball parts, all the yellow targets are in stock, plastics and protectors. Good stuff.

Hmm, the set I got, including slings, looks pretty good. Admittedly, they have two sets and I haven't seen the other. The death star triangle plastic greys are kind of dark but that's the only thing I've noticed.

I might grab the Up/Down handle plastic from pinball center but hoo boy you are right: With shipping it's really expensive!

http://www.pinballcenter.eu/catalog/star-wars-fire-plastic-p-7207.html?language=english

Marco has the targets and I linked to the plastics above.

The shifter can be up or down at any time during play, but if you keep it up, you can to shift it down to start the Death Star mode at 5 moons.

You also use the button for some other stuff, like shooting the ball, and killing Storm Troopers in one of the random modes.

Apparently, the shifter WAS used for a video mode that was cut out, which I think we all hope gets added back in with some future update

The parts blow-up in the manual is pretty good for the shifter, have you checked that out? I'm sure we can get some pics for you if you need 'em, though.

Can anyone ID this part? It's a thin metal ball guide on the larger plastic ball guide. I checked the manual and Marco. Nothin'. Right angle metal wireform in the middle top of this picture:

image2.JPG

Also, how do you all handle rivets in plastics? Two plastics in SWDE are riveted together. I was thinking about replacing the rivets with nuts and bolts for future convenience...

Some examples of rivets:

image1.JPG
IMG_8807.JPG

Yes, my lefty is missing. I was also wondering why it would be needed and it occurred to me that the end of the plastic ball guide is where you do a lot of nudging, so perhaps the metal part reinforces the plastic end and the bolt through it. Perhaps coincidentally, that ball guide is shattered but the other with the metal is intact. I'm replacing the plastic part so we'll see how it goes.

Re: Rivets --

Good point. I will look into tube rivets if a bolt looks unpractical or interferes.

Nah, that's just an illusion. You are seeing the outlane and shooter lane sides which are black.

http://www.aaarpinball.com/StarWars/DSC_0514.jpg

Ugh. My DESW knocker is completely missing -- I hope whoever cut it out entirely didn't do it because it was causing problems elsewhere.

I want to make 100% sure I wire/orient the new one properly, anyone have a quick pic to upload of their working knocker assembly? (That request sounds kind of dirty)

Also, my coin door is a disaster. I've learned so very much about coin doors working on this one. If any one has a DESW three-slot coin door wired properly, I'd love to see a picture of its backside! (That ... sounded dirty as well)

Thanks in advance!

Hmm, I think I understand the orientation and wiring of the knocker now -- funny how it's not even noted in any of the cabinet diagrams in the manual.

Coin door pics would still be welcome.

On the topic of X-Wing fly balls, I bought all new targets, with new foam included, and I still get super fly balls. They are pretty nicely padded up with foam. I tried angling the targets down towards the playfield but no dice. Any other suggestions?

Hey that's a great trick, my wire gate has definitely had issues. Will try this!

I was looking for a ball guide wireform a few pages back and I found it with the help of Stern, since I noticed the same part in the TWDLE at work (funny it's still in use!). It's unfortunately not stocked anywhere but here:

http://www.bestofpinball.de/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/7552/language/en

And for future generations, the part # is: 535-5642-00

Indeed! I was pretty surprised TWDLE uses the exact plastic ball guide (and wire part) as SWDE, after all these years:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=3202

I think that's a really interesting idea -- I've seen the wireform kits and I have been wanting to give it a go. I'll have to do some Pinside research.

I noticed recently that airballs from those pesky targets became nonexistent when I lowered the angle of my playfield -- no more glass hits, etc. Of course the game is a bit slower, which is a sad tradeoff.

Related Q: Where should The Force scoop shoot balls? Mine has started firing right at the left slingshot since it's been on location, which seems wrong... And it makes for some painful drains. Anyone adjusted their scoop? I'm thinking of some adhesive felt before bend the metal or anything drastic.

Left flipper would make more sense. Time to experiment!

Speaking of flippers: I think I just solved a sticky flipper issue and thought I'd share. My flippers would occasionally stick up. Powering off the game they were still seized, so it's definitely mechanical. I did a Data East rebuild kit on DESW a few weeks back and it didn't solve it. I replaced the coils and sleeves once more since they were a bit warped. Motion of the flips is as smooth as can be, and I made sure to leave a little play on the flipper shaft using the Williams flipper adjuster. Interestingly, I was unable to simulate the sticky flipper without powering the coil -- like, I couldn't jam it by hand. When stuck, I could dislodge the seized flipper with the slightest touch.

What I did to fix this was shorten the flipper return spring, adding slightly more tension to pull the flipper back down. I did this after noticing the springs in my kit were very different than the original ones; slightly, perceptibly looser.

Enough tension was added to overcome the stickiness.

This also solved another problem -- my flippers in their rest position tended to be terrible at dead flipper bounces. They absorbed all shock. Now, with a bit more tension, the ball rebounds more.

Yeah, they all have the V/peace sign. An Easter egg! Might be a Rocky & Bullwinkle reference...

Got a quick Q: Can anyone tell me the part number for the metal posts that hold rubber sleeves around the ramp and death star? The ones that hold the common rubber sleeves like this:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/39-6556-7

I'm thinking it's something like this:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/530-5332-04

Annoying there aren't post IDs in the manual like on more recent machines!

Anyone ever consider a mod to make the pop caps less susceptible to cracking? They take a beating -- 1 year in and the one I operate already needs 4 new caps. Thinking about foam or rubber somewhere...

Thought you fine folk could save me $130:

My DESW suddenly has a problem I believe is related to the L/R relay on the PPB board. Flashers are firing instead of their coil counterparts. It's not consistent: In coil test it might do an L flasher for 3 to 5 times before the associated R coil fires. Everything is fine if I power cycle, then the flashers replace coils starting with the trough, eject, shooter, and scoops.

Should I just grab a new PPB?

Anyone have a simple fuse list for DESW? The values are easy to find, but between the minimalist manual and the cabinet stickers, I find myself doing a lot of wire tracing and extra BS when a list of which each fuse protects could be much easier to navigate.

If anyone has any ideas about why my Q28 GI transistor is violently exploding it would be much appreciated, too. Started a thread in tech:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/data-east-star-wars-burning-transistor-literally-q28

I'll check that relay and connector for sure. Great stuff, thanks much!

Is it possible to set the drop target bank height? I added a playield protector and the drops are a little low and cause ball traps. I looked at the targets for 10 minutes but could see anything adjustable. There is a mysterious nut and bolt on the side...

Just so awesome, Chad. You rock!

Wow ok I was wondering about that line screw with a nut. I will give it a shot.

I've seen a weird message twice and I was wondering if anyone here could explain: I enter credits with an open coin door (my DESW is on location) and, after closing the door and hitting start, a replay adjustment menu pops up. I hit start to clear it, and it eats the credit. I really need to get a pic. How am I triggering this? Kinda freaks me out that any service menu stuff can appear with the door closed -- and to the public. Running the second-to-last code update.

I had to resolder this switch recently. You must pry the button housing out of the lever with a flathead screwdriver. The manual shows how this works. It just pops out sideways. Under the button is a basic micro switch setup, just like an arcade machine or whatever. Could be a bad switch but maybe it just needs cleaning or soldering. May the force be with you.

The launch button simply didn't work in game or switch test. Yup, fixed it.

I have a DESW in operation and I have to switch out the balls every 6 weeks or so. They get hammered! I have a PF protector on the game and nice Titan rubbers, it's in great shape. But I cannot figure out what's dinging the balls so much. Any ideas?

Anyone know if these ribbon cables are interchangeable? One is a bit shorter, but if the terminal is the same -- should be fine. Not sure if the U terminals ever vary.

Out of Stock:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/036-5001-34

In Stock Possible Replacement:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/5795-10938-27

This conversion is a thing??? Is it the whole shebang? Or just the cap? I must know! In operation the stock DE caps crack yearly

Hey just wanted to let you all know a solution to a longstanding problem I had putting a Color DMD into DESW:

The problem: The DMD would drop certain graphics elements, including the score, after hitting the ramp consecutively.

The solution: I replaced the ribbon cable from the driver board (the shorter one from Marco I posted above worked fine) AND updated the code to the latest unofficial — I was one update behind. It was most likely the ribbon cable, but just in case.

Crazy problem — I’ve swapped lots of boards and stuff sorting through this. Hope this helps someone else.

I’ve had this problem with DESW and had to put shorter (standard) legs on the front. I’m not sure if there are variations on this cabinet, but getting 6.5 degrees was impossible with my initial legs. Maybe that’s intended, but maybe this cab had different leg front/back lengths for some runs?

Anyone in the US have a Boba Fett plastic they’d sell me? Used is fine!

95C95FC3-737B-40CB-BF09-0D642C1A891E (resized).png

I have these new plastics to trade if that helps!

image (resized).jpg

Anyone have scans/vector of the Star Wars letter inserts for some insert decal repair?

Doing a full Bally/Williams flipper conversion after many, many cracked caps. Really liking the results. Cheaper parts for future replacing too!

02CFAF71-3BFA-4912-B08B-B746762054FD (resized).jpeg

Yeah we shall see. There are so many lighting options that I think it will be manageable. I know DESW has both clear and blue pop cap versions, but I e always liked red/orange and have WMS caps to try out in that hue if blue isn’t ideal.

This sounds right. Wonder why mine had blue? It wasn’t exactly restored when I got it.

I actually swapped in Williams plunger rings too — the welded ones

I need the blue cabinet paint code. Who’s holdin’? Thanks!

THANK YOU ☺️

I’ve got this project in my queue — what exactly needs to be altered? Can you give a step by step guide?

What’s the main difference between the parts? I can see you did some grinding of, what, some extra plastic lip? What’s the glue for? I haven’t had a great record bonding plastic parts in pinball machines so that makes me wary.

Just bumping this. Are we talking sawing the part in two, then gluing it back together? If so I’ll just epoxy my existing target bracket.

Results of my B/W pops mod: Look-wise I like the pops but don’t love them. I put dim blue LEDs in there and that region just seems like it needs to be warmer. Switching to red I think. But damn the well adjusted Bally/Williams pops are a thing of beauty play-wise. Recommended.

04A622B4-F495-466B-8CD7-D14381E13AC2 (resized).jpeg510D5822-5419-4CCE-B32C-E209E4E705E7 (resized).jpeg

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Well my friend, BEHOLD:

https://twitter.com/Samuel_IGN/status/1102447228667387905

Well I cleaned and replaced everything, then adjusted, and yeah that took maybe 45 minutes a pop. The wiring is SO TIGHT for the pop lamps. A whole afternoon — but fun!

And cost was maybe $20?

No physical changes made to lighting. It could be a code thing? You have the latest?

YESSSSSS. You rock, Chad!

Can someone confirm if pin 19 on this header on the Star Wars MPU should be missing?

IMG_2336 (resized).jpeg