I also joined the POTC club since a week now! This is also my first pin and I'm very happy with it!

I still stuck gameplay wise and am not even close to four winds multiball yet. It's probably a matter of keep practicing I guess...

I'm trying to practice my shots now, and it seems that I've nailed the chest shot from the right flipper now. BUT! It doesn't seem to register all the time!

Is this just part of the gameplay rules or might there be something wrong with my machine? The "key" opto registers all the time, so it even adds letters to "K-E-Y" when the balls doesn't fully go into the chest. But when the ball gets locked inside the chest, it doesn't open up a lot of the time. So I miss out a lot of letters from "H-E-A-R-T", even when I'm correctly shooting in the chest.

It looks to me that the chest only contains an opto and a "switch lock" switch. So I did some diags on those switches but they seem to register all the time when I press them.
It seems to me that if the "switch lock" switch wasn't registering register correctly, the pin to release the ball from the chest wouldn't be lowered as well?

Thanks for your help!

Thanks! Will keep that in mind!

I know. Took the glass of and repeatedly put the ball inside the chest. First complete K-E-Y (works 100% = opto is fine) then wanting to complete H-E-A-R-T. But the chest only opens about 1 of 3/4 times. So it takes about 15-20 shots to start Heart Multiball instead of 6 shots.

Thought this was part of the code ("stick to the code!") but it appears there's something wrong with the chest switch.

Any tips on accessing it easily?

I think I've solved the issue by bending the metal plate from this switch a bit.
When I slowly rolled the ball into the chest, in which it barely made the turn, the switch was pressed and depressed. This did trigger the pin to release he ball. But to trigger a chest (and lighting extra letters) this switch needs to be pressed longer.

Now that switch doesn't bounces the ball back up so it stays in pressed state.

Thanks for your help! Chest multiball is easier to accomplish now.

By the way my machine was on factory setting so chest difficulty was set on medium. I changed this to easy now and the only thing that has changed is that I don't have to re-spell K-E-Y again after I loose a ball.

Can you share some details about the LED's you used. This one looks tasteful and I mostly hate LED jobs on POTC.

I see some colored inserts? Also curious about which brightness. It's doesn't seem overly bright which a like with a theme like POTC.

Thanks!

Thanks for the effort of making this video!

My local pinball LED shop doesn't has Cyan and deep blue. Just regular blue. I guess I need to look for those online. I'll check out cometpinball!

I tried green LED's in the chest inserts but those were to bright. Yours seem also a different color of green. But maybe that's the video.
But where's the blue light coming from at the ship? Are those blue spotlights with sunlight white GI's on the playfield? Or Blue GI's on the playfield? Unfortunately the color changing is not easy to see on the video. Also the red strip of the chest is not visible.

And can you ship your airball deflector to The Netherlands as well? I'm curious what the shippings costs would be.

Thanks for the effort of making this video by the way!

So sunlight white is warmer then warm white?

I'm still always having trouble with this one. A part of the metal rail from the upkicker (VUK) in back, is in a hole somewhere in the bottom. And at the same time the main ramp is in a groove on the backboard. Somehow I need a lot of force to get them both out in the same time...

Let me clarify with an image from the manual. Getting the pin out (1) and the plastic tab (2) together seems impossible to me. Unless there's some kind of trick to it.

SNAG-0116 (resized).png

By the way: can somebody tell me how to remove the compass spinner? There seems to be a tiny allen keyhole in the middle but I cannot seem to rotate it clockwise- nor counterclockwise. I tried to remove the whole assembly with motor and everything but I'm unable to fit it through the hole because the backboard is in the way.

Why would I want to remove it? Because it's very squeaky when it stops rotating. I'd like to see what's causing this and hopefully resolve it as well.

I already unscrewed the VUK wire from the playfield (4) but I'm unable to unscrew the VUK wire from the plastic ramp. Not sure anymore why I can't. I think the bolt is unaccessible when the ramp is in place.
But that's what you mean right? Remove the VUK wire as a whole first?

I don't know how you guys do this. I haven't been able to reach four winds yet even with 5-balls games! (which end up with aprox. 8 balls due to east arrow extra ball, treasures en a specific extra ball score)

Have ony make the super jackpot only once and never defeated Davy Jones yet. My highest score is 142 mil. so I guess I just need to keep practicing...

I do hate outlane drains. A lot of unexpected bounces (slingshots) drain thru the outlines...

Maybe my question got missed in the whole gameplay tutorial by Michi (thanks for the info by the way!) or maybe I just got ignored alltogether.

But I'd like to quote myself and hopefully somebody can help me get the spinning disc disassembled without damaging it. Thanks!

No Michi your input was greatly appreciated! And all this is exactly what this thread is for right?
Hopefully I'll be able to rack up such high scores.

Wow thanks for the info! That does spare me a lot of work. I'll leave it at is then.

I'm not even sure what sound effect this is, but no, it's definitely not normal.

Might there be soome switch that's stuck? But like I said, I'm not sure which sound effect you mean and what might trigger this.
It might be possible that someone altered the firmware to put in custom sound or music. You could re-apply version 6.0 firmware to make sure everything is default.

Yes that must be the sound he means! I can imagine that doubling up those sounds is also normal when the ball goes crazy. I try to get lock enabled before collecting crew. That way locking a ball in Tortuga make crew collecting a blast because the balls keeps bouncing against all the targets.

But I don't think it's normal is the sounds keeps sound when not in this mode

True! I had a similar issues with the ship's opto. Since I couldn't get a replacement opto from a local seller, I decided to bypass the two conductive tracks leading from the wire to the LED with two small wires. The opto works great again and since the wires are flexible, I will not have any new breaks in the tracks. Doesn't look very neat though, but since these aren't visible I don't really care.

A totally off-topic question but is there any way to get notified if someone posts a reply in a particular thread like this one? I'm quite new to Pinside and hate browsing to all the threads I'm interested in to see if there're any new responses.

Thanks Peter!

I ordered this talking skull from eBay and want to use it as a topper on my pin.

I was wondering if there's any way to replace the three AA batteries with a direct connection in the pin so it powers up with the machine. Is there any 4,5v connection somewhere that you know of? I'm no expert on electronics so I'm not sure if there's any easy way to reduce 6,3v or other higher voltages back to 4,5v.

Maybe I can replace the lights in the eyes with 12v flashers and hook them up to flashers in the machine as well.

I have BASIC understanding of electronics and are also able to solder some wires so thanks for the tip about the accessory socket!

I do need 4,5 (3xAA 1,5V battery) but do you think the 0,5V variance is small enough so it won't break?

Hi Guys, making some progress with the talking skull topper. Hooked it up to a spare 5V in the backbox but am still unable to make it interactive with the game.

This might be a bit off-topic but since my electronics skills fall short, I’m guessing you guys might be able to point me in the right direction.

The talking skull has a single IR diode in the nose that should detect movement in the room. It works miserably but I wanted to hook the skull up with either an opto of the chest made switch anyway and don’t use it again.

There’s a very small current running over the IR diode. When I short the leads nothing happens but once I disconnect the leads afterwards, this triggers the skull. So apparently that’s what he IR diode does? When light in the room changes (movement is detected) it shortly disconnect the circuit?

Is there any way to make a switch (like chest made) disconnect the shorted leads on the talking skull? Or are we talking more complex schematics here?

Thanks!

I have an alert setup on Marktplaats (Dutch Craigslist) That way I’ll receive an email for anything regarding ‘pirates’ in the pinball section. These machines come and go on a regular basis. You should be able to find one quote soon I presume.

Brilliant!

Nice! I thought changing the songs was complicated due to the exact length needed for the clips?

By the way, is your pincave open for visitors?

Haha didn't know you were THE Peter!
https://www.facebook.com/nfvpinball/photos/a.699701263376927.1073741827.372298969450493/1824540060893036/?type=3&theater

Nice collection you have there! I'll make sure to greet you at DPO!

Ok back on-topic...

With Pinball Browser you can modify the Stern firmware before uploading it to your machine. You can also edit DMD animations and other default machines settings. Check this post: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/acdc-display-and-modify-dot-matrix-images

Be sure to alter your MP3 audio file to the proper rate and make them MONO. See: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tips-for-getting-sound-files-ready-for-pinball-browser

I did some fiddling around with this to change the music during gameplay. The "Jack Sparrow" song seemed nice from the first movie. But the MP3's need the exact same length as the original song otherwise they're not properly looped. I also notice that there are two main music songs. After playing the first for a few seconds the machines switches to the second. This makes it very hard to create proper alternate song files to replace the original ones.
There is another Pinside user who managed to pull this off but he doesn't want to supply the MP3 files for some (obvious?) reason.

Keep in mind that you'll loose your high scores upon updating your firmware! However you can enter your current high scores inside Pinball Browser so these get 'hard coded' into the firmware file.

Good luck!

I thought you only changed the song which is looped before the ball is plunged.
If you shorten a song for your main song during gameplay, you'll get a weird loop once you pass the time the original song ended.

Three years ago Pinsider tbanthony posted in this thread https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-browser-for-stern-sam-games-what-have-you-done-with-it

Yes I also did Michi's baking paper trick! Work's wonderfull!

Did you remove the spinning disc to remove the last bits of the old decal and put on the new one?

Yes, I cut out two pieces of this kind of white baking paper. It's transparent enough to let light through and diffused it.

retail-baking-rolls-link (resized).jpg

I would be interested in buying them from if the shipping costs weren't that high...

Finally finished my own custom topper! I found a much easier way to make it interactive. It features a much needed mute button and It now triggers when the GI turns off during certain events like ship attack, chest and extra ball. And I think it looks nice stationary as well.

I'm very happy with the result! What do you guys think?

???

No I didn’t!

Nice! I'm still wondering if it's worth the extra money. It's quite a hefty price for something that doesn't improve gameplay and something I don't look at that much while playing. Let me know what your thoughts are!

By the way LED or LCD? I've only seen LCD's in real life and the backlight annoyed me when looking at it from the sides. Also the brightness of the colored dots seemed way lower then a regular DMD. These issues seems to be solved with LED though.

That sure does look good!

I read on ColorDMD’s website that LED is sensitive for ghosting versus LCD? But not sure what that looks like. Does that depends on the machine and the type of animations shown?

Haha, looks quite cool!

How do you make the machine show the credits and sound the music like that??

Nasty factory hack??

You do know that those audits can be reset. I find those low numbers hard to believe to be honest. I’ve reset mine in April to keep track of my own usage and I’m already at 732 plays. And it’s not like I’m using it daily or something.

And then there's some weird tiny bulb inside the tournament button. Don't know if there's a LED equivalent of that one...

Guys, I have a pinball newbie question here: is there any wat to tighten up the rail in which the glass slides back and forth? When I got my machine it was quite tight and stayed in place when I remove the lockbar. Now it slides down automatically and makes it harder to remove and place the lockbar.

Hi guys, I’m seriously considering selling my POTC to buy another pin.
Unfortunately I only have room (and the budget!) for one pin. And after a year of playing the same game over and over again I’m interested in getting to know a new game.

Prices of more modern pins like Ghostbusters, Metallica, Aerosmith and The Walking Dead are dropping so I’m discussing a few trades here and there.

The question I have for you guys is what do you think a very nice POTC HUO is worth nowadays? Mine is in mint condition with no wear at all on either the playfield or the cabinet. I installed Cliffy’s, replaced all lighting with LED and created a customs topper.

Please let me know what you guys think! Thanks!

Looks amazing!!
I’m not very handy with paint and weathering techniques so I shouldn’t consider doing this.
But I think there might be a few pirates here on who whisk to buy a couple of painted tentacles from you.

I went for warm white spotlights on the ship since it shows more details. My guess is that the Kraken looks better in white light as well.

And I did that as well But placed the at the top of the slings.

6DD57281-F4CB-43F8-AAB6-3ABCD9BF84DB (resized).jpeg

By the way, a friend of mine if having issues with his ship/sails. Sails don’t rise or lower most of the times. When he initiated a ship test, most of the times the sails won’t lower but the ship does try to lower. With as a result the ship can’t lower and forces itself toward the ramp.

Any ideas what might cause the issue with a malfunctioning sail assembly?

Nothing is stuck or in its way.

In my opinion you went a little overboard with the blues but to each it's own right?

But I do agree that warm white suit this game. Me myself went for sunset white from Comet. It's a white in between of warm and cool white. I used warm white for the spotlights at the ship and I only added some ice blue in the back below the ship and ramps.

In about a week someone will be picking up my POTC and it's time for something different. So I'm afraid I have to leave this club soon or otherwise I'd be keelhauled.

WhatsApp Image 2018-03-26 at 21.06.59 (resized).jpeg

Nope... unfortunately not...

Yes you have to destroy the sails first!
When you make broadside after that and hit the ship, it immediately sinks. I also like the callout “you cheating pirate”.

Especially useful when you need to defeat the more difficult ships. But unfortunately there’s no way to control the ball up on the upper playfield.

Nice! Much better then the original IMHO.

Looks like it doesn’t belong to this machine.

The socket looks like a socket from a start or tournament button. But they don’t have a connector on the other end if I recall correctly.

That wire comes with a connector indeed. But the socket for a lock bar fitting tournament assembly is much longer. I had a tournament button on my Pirates and had to remove it every time I removed the lock bar.

You should check the following optos:
1. Chest
2. Walk the plank (middle lane on upper playfield)
3. Compass (end of the left ramp)

The ship seems fine since that would trigger ship hits with movement as well.

Compare the sounds and DMD animations with the one that triggers randomly.

This thread has multiple posts about opto issues. Most of the times the problem should fixed when you reseat the connectors on the opto board.

I had an issue myself where one of the lines on the tiny PCB from the opto was broken. I had to solder a small piece of wire to relay the connection.

It all depends on a lot of other factors I guess. Like the size of your collection and how fond you are about Pirates themes. And maybe you'd like to modernize your collection as well? With all the great new machines produced with larger LCD screens, the DMD pins seems more outdated then before in my opinion.

I personally cannot imagine putting both machines side by side.

The first pictures doesn't do it any justice but the machine looks awesome! Those Pinstadiums really light it up nicely!

I'm also looking to purchase them for my machine but the price....

Nice! It was my first pin as well and I really enjoyed it.

Easy?! I don’t think so. I’ve been er seen the final wizard mode (Four Winds) myself.

Nice job!

EXACTLY what I thought!!

I’m not sure what you mean with 44,89 but 555 is wedge socket right? The backboard lamps all have bayonet sockets.

If I remember correctly all inserts have wedge sockets and all GI are bayonets.
Also all flashers are bayonet as well.

And then there’s that odd tiny sockets of the tournament button lamp which I’ve never replaced with LED.

I already answered your questions above. GI is all clear bayonet except for the red and greens on the backboard. I know some keep incandescents for these.
I used single SMDs with a frosted lens in the past myself.

1. Download the code here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4n1zupflwa248y2/POTCenglish-french.zip?dl=1
2. Put it on an empty USB thumbdrive.
3. Turn off machine.
4. Plug USB drive in the CPU board in the backbox (right one)
5. Move dip swith 8 to on (too switch to left)
6. Turn on machine, confirm update and wait...
7. Turn machine off, move DIP 8 back and remove USB drive
8. Turn on machine and test.

Find instruction in the manual as well:
https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean_Manual.pdf

Why would you want do that?! The decal on the compass needs to be ‘grippy’ to move the ball around. And the standup target decals get bashed at lot. Why not just buy the original decent parts?

Check out www.ministryofpinball.nl (The Netherlands) and www.pu-parts.de (Germany) to avoid expensive import fees from ordering from outside Europe.

Good luck!