I am now having theater throw problems too.

When I got my Dialed In 1.5 weeks ago, I adjusted the theater magnet and thought I had the magnet set correctly. It seemed to throw around very well after my initial adjustment to -75. Now, 1.5 weeks later, I was noticing that it grabbed the ball, pulsed and actually threw it downward a bit. (Yes, this was in something like package drop that is supposed to whip it around). I then readjusted with the magnet test and got it working. Then in gameplay, it acted up again. I then tried so many settings during the magnet test with no consistency that the magnet actually stopped working completely for 5 or so minutes. I can only assume that it overheated.

I now have it working that it slowly throws it around but I have no faith that it will work again tomorrow. I am almost afraid to touch the settings. This is really bizarre. Could it be that my magnet is overheating and affecting the performance with gameplay? I have a call into Frank but I am completely puzzled as to why I would see such varied and inconsistent behavior.

I was told in another thread it could be due to the Mylar still over the magnet and I need to cut it out. I looked at it and it does appear to be bubbling and cracking a bit around the magnet but not terribly. Could that really be causing this kind of inconsistency?

If so, what is the best way to remove. I read that taking magnet out from underneath playfield is the easiest.

Other than that I just have cosmetic issues. Game came with shattered lightning bolt, disconnected BOB sign (plastic connectors broken) and scratched glass right above BOB. JJP is taking care of those.

Love the game and SIM is a pain but we have all made it with a direct upper flipper shot. But definitely not a consistent and reputable performance.

I know that part but the theater magnet is under the theater. I was asking the best way to access the magnet so it could be cut with knife. I read that someone suggested removing magnet from underside of playfield and then cutting Mylar from below. I haven’t seen instructions and efforts for removing theater to access from above.

What’s involved in lowering magnet with relation to playfield. It seems only 3 screws hold it to the underside of playfield.

Thanks to all on theater Mylar advice. I sure hope that removing it from magnet will solve the inconsistent behavior that has begun.

For what it is worth, I have no problems making he VUK phone shot with factory protectors. Can make the shot forehand and backhand.

What was your fix? Have you removed Mylar on magnets?

Based on the advice here, it cut out the Mylar above the theater magnet. As suggested, I took out the magnet from below and cut the Mylar from the hole below. After cutting it out, I cleaned all the goo off the magnet and put it back in. My magnet was perfectly flat with playfield so no need to adjust. I then had to change my magnet setting to -110. It is definitely much more consistently throwing around the top. Not 100% but pretty good based on several plays.

We’ll see how it goes over time.

The Mylar was definitely cracking and bubbling so it was good that I removed before it ended up removing itself.

I will have to check this. My DialedIn only has sound on one side of my headset. I have been focused on other minor issues so nes to check this next. Thanks for the info!

I think I give up on getting theater magnet working consistently. Some new observances. All balls in machine not equal. Some that work well at -80; others don’t. -110 seems to be about the best compromise for me. However, now on almost any setting, fast direct hits up the theater sometimes go straight through. Magnet doesn’t catch it in time. Optos seem to work fine. Could the magnet coil be weak?

I guess it is something I live with as I haven’t been able to get in touch with JJP during a time I can be near my machine. Luckily it doesn’t greatly affect game play.

Chaos in Quantum City almost gives me seizures! . Lots of flashing going on with that multi ball mode!

And #2 is far from consistent on many machines despite the settings. I tried different setting and it works more often than not. But not 100%. I also found that every ball is a bit different. Some worked at -80 and others didn’t. Since there are 5 balls, you have that variability. At first I thought it was just my machine but then I saw that many see this. Just today, I saw this on tilt forums from Ted, the lead programmer. I wish I knew this prior to banging my head numerous times.

“Regarding the “catch and toss” behavior:
I put the functionality in as an experiment. I couldn’t get it to work consistently on my development game, and expected that I would likely disable the function before production. However, it worked well enough on a handful of prototype games that I decided to leave it in.
The tossing works by releasing the ball, then pulsing the magnet after delay while the ball rolls away from the magnet. That delay is adjustable in Magnet Test.
For the tossing to be reliable, the ball motion as it rolls off the magnet has to be fairly consistent. I haven’t figured out what conditions contribute to inconsistency. Some games work better than others, but I’m sure that the behavior for any particular game is subject to change over time because of dirt, wear, etc.
–Ted”

Add me to the phone LED out club. The upper right LED #24 is out on mine. I thought maybe that was by design since ther is a connector there but in the LED tests it states one should be there. Filed a ticket and we’ll see.

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Unfortu

Unfortunately for me, my malfunctioning LED is #24. I hope the fix is simple. I can’t imagine it being wiring outside the phone, it must be internal to the phone which means at least a replacement of the PCB with the LEDs in the phone.

Yep, subwoofer pops and noise during boot sequence very normal. Happens on both my Hobbit and Dialed In.

I know this response is late but I just received a replacement InvisiGlass free of charge.

For those of you that have an LED out on your phone and/or intermittent phone screen going blank, here is an update. I had both problems. LED 24 on phone burnt out and on about 3 occasions, the phone screen went black and the only way to fix was rebooting machine.

JJP sent me a replacement phone which was very easy to swap out. All the lights now work.

When taking out the old phone, I noticed a lot of rattling. I could see two screws completely loose inside the phone case and they would roll around. I can only assume that those screws could periodically short something causing the black screen. We will see if the new phone remains flawless.

Based on a couple new users reports, they are definitely different and much more like the cliffys. (Maybe they even are cliffys). I am fine with my phone scoop, I can hit that all day long. However, I do want to try a cliffy in the SIM card hole.

Check the pics near the end of this thread.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dailed-in-by-jjp/page/32

I have contacted cliffy twice in the last week to get at least the SIM card protector but haven’t heard back. I guess he is really backed up and may become moreso if JJP is using Cliffys on new productions. It’s a bummer that mine was just a month or so away from getting the Cliffys.

I have emailed him twice and haven’t heard back. He must not like me.

I haven’t tried this yet, but wouldn’t adjusting the flipper power have some affect? I played a Dialed In other than mine this weekend. It has the factory protector but the upper flipper power seemed less than mine. It required an almost perfect shot to get it around the side ramp but seemed easier to get the SIM card with less rejects. I am sure there is a happy spot where the side ramp is make-able but not over powered for the SIM hole.

Ditto here. December build and I have no problem with phone scoop rejects with JJP protectors. Both backhand and forehand. If it doesn’t go in, my shot was way off point.

SIM card - completely different story.

I have tried multiple times to order the SIM cliffy but to no avail. He must be so busy as I get no replies. . Anyone install the slightly smaller post runners on the two posts next to SIM hole?

They will send new phone. Mine had a dead LED and they sent a whole new phone. Very simple to replace.

Yes they will. I believe they are a bit backed up but they will get them to you.

Also check to make sure the phone and all LEDs work properly. I had to replace my phone due to a faulty LED in it. Some have had far worse issues with the display.

The only thing that is still a problem on my machine: When the SIM card is lit, it takes an act of god to get a ball to drop in the hole. It is like there is a giant force field that corresponds to the SIM light. Sure enough, after I lose the ball and the light goes out, the ball drops in the hole all day long. Go figure.

Sounds like yours was broken in half. It has always been one piece and there is no reason for glue, it pressure fits in there.

Mine was broken on delivery, JJP sent me a new one.

Well. Encountered my first problem since getting all NIB stuff resolved. My theater enter switch is stuck on. I have pulled off the theater and looked at the optos and they seem like they are in the right place. I followed the four wires down (two on each side) down to where it connects to a connector and that seems fine. Where to go from here? Bad opto?

I checked all connections and all is good down to opto boards.

On the right side, the opto is definitely in the hole and I saw hot glue on it (from factory). On the left side, the opto was farther back however, I could swear it was held on by two screws so it couldn’t move. I stuck my finger back there and it didn’t seem like it moved. Should the left side opto be IN the hole. If so, I will have to disassemble again tomorrow.

Are you sure the left side snaps in? It seemed to be on a bracket with two screws just like on one of the ramps. Just want to make sure before I take it apart again. See below in Manual.

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I will definitely try this tonight. Seems like phone scoop enter is immediately next to the theater enter opto port.

Nope, not the opto board. I swapped the scoop enter opto to the theater enter and the theater enter switch triggered when a ball went into the scoop. Problem definitely on the sensor side.

Here are two pictures. One of the right side opto where you can clearly see the opto in the hole. When I had the theater off, this was hot glued in place.

The other picture is of the opto on the left side where you can see it mounted sideways on the left opto bracket. When I had the theater off, the bracket was held in by two screws and the opto was in it.

Seems all the optos are in the correct place but I will take theater off again tomorrow or the next day to be sure.

I already swapped phone scoop and theater enter on opto I/o board and when doing so a ball in the phone scoop triggers the theater enter switch open and then closed. No problem on the opto I/o board so it has to be the sensor either bad or out of alignment. But I am less and less convinced on the alignment being the problem.

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Had the machine since first weeks of January. So about 4 months. According to their warranty, stuff like that is only 30 days.

Like this? Can the original connector be salvaged and reused?
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/tt-electronics-optek-technology/OPB100Z/365-1628-ND/1636780

99-030032-00 Smartphone Assy 1 EA 224.99

My replacement phone was free but that was the item cost on the invoice before zeroed our for warranty.

Do those only work with the connector on the opto board? The opto to the theater actually connects to an optical extension cable. That connector is much smaller than the one on the opto board.

I called and left a voicemail at lunchtime. Awaiting return call. Also filed online ticket for good measure.

You are correct. Frank is sending me a new opto pair.

Playfield pitch and right flipper strength are the two biggest variables aside form a solid shot up the orbit.

Exactly how mine plays too.

I just got in there and fixed my theater enter opto. However, now a new problem.

My left orbit LED light (the one for the arrow) colors are off. When I test it, white is yellow, red is red as expected, green is green as expected and blue is very dim. I suspect the dim
Blue is the problem since white requires R G and B LEDs all bright and if blue was dim that would make R and G dominant which is yellow. Also explains why the purple in alien invasion is closer to red. All other lights on that led board are functioning properly. Also the bottom pop bumper LEDs is acting the same.

Any ideas other than replacing the LED board?

For those interested in my opto issue in the theater, it had to be replace. The transmit opto was not working.

I also just tried reversing the plug into my headphone jack and now my headphones have sound in BOTH ears. 2 steps backwards but at least one step forward. Thanks LTG for that tip.

I love my Dialed In but the amount of problems in 600 or so games is getting frustrating.

On arrival:
Broken lightning bolt ( Fix - new lightning bolt)
Broken BOB sign (Fix - new sign)
Headphones have sound in one ear (Fix - connector on backwards)
Scratched invisiglass. (Fix - new invisiglass)

Later:
Mylar bubbling over theater magnet (removed Mylar over magnet)
LED-failure in phone (replaced phone)
Theater opto gone bad (replaced opto)
Now an LED not functioning on playfield and pop bumpers. (Fix unknown yet)
Looks like my middle and lower drone propellers aren’t working either. Or very sporadically even in test mode. (Fix unknown yet)

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This is exactly how TWO of my drones are acting. Are they sending you a new one?

I now also have two LEDs not working properly. Sigh....

Pressing both flippers will also bypass some animations.

Yes they can. I believe it is in the coils menu. That is how I determined two of mine were defective. Also try plugging the defective drone into one of the harnesses that is deemed working. That will help isolate whether the wiring harness or drone is defective.

I have had lots of out of box issues and several after delivery issues. Service through the online ticketing system works well sometimes and not well others. Calling is usually more effective. When new parts are needed, quite frequently I would have to follow up.

With all the above said, ultimately JJP has made things right and got me the parts and support that I needed.

Frank in support is a great guy and he has been out of office recently due to a death in the family. Paul in the parts department quickly jumped on a confusion in one of my parts orders and got me the parts I need.

They are a great bunch of guys that want to make things right. I do believe they are sometimes overwhelmed but are trying to do all the right things.

I need to get some of those flipper button protectors. Seems like a good preventative measure.

Since when? I just worked with Paul on June 20th.

Definitely more than possible. On mine I can backhand left ramp more often than not. Also love backhanding phone scoop.

No. An open switch is one that doesn’t form a closed connection. For an opto to be closed, the receiving side of the opto needs to see the light from the transmitting side. If an opto fell out, the receiving opto will never see the light and therefore be open. Optos are normally in closed position and when a ball rolls through, it opens for short period of time when the light beam is interrupted.

I had this exact problem, unfortunately for me, it wasn’t an opto that came loose. My opto was bad. JJP was good about sending a new one but it took a while and I got impatient. I ordered parts from arrow electronics (optos, molex connectors and pins) and made my own. Let me know if you need any advice as I am very familiar with removing theater and replacing the opto.

Be very careful removing and inserting the optos. They snap into the metal and the little plastic snaps on the opto break easily. Don’t ask how I know.

When you do replace and reinsert optos, put some hot glue on to keep it there. They do this from factory and because this is under the theater, you can’t see it.

Just today, I am now getting a periodic behavior upon boot up where the phone screen test pattern is only displayed on the bottom part of the phone screen and then after boot up, the screen is blank. See pic where entire screen should be filled with that a pattern at boot up. If I shut the machine off and turn it back on again, it goes back to normal and all works fine. I thought it might only happen after machine is unplugged (all power removed) but I have not been able to consistently reproduce. I had it happen several times.

I haven’t changed anything since yesterday. Any ideas? Love this machine but every month I seem to have a new problem to fix. The good news is that JJP helped me fix issues up to this point.

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Grrr. If I have to replace the phone it will be my third phone. The previous one had bad LEDs. I guess if this problem persists, I can try my old phone with bad LED.

Haven’t seen instructions in the user guide on how to do that.

I have plenty of that. Built many home computers in my younger years. I was trying to be funny. I assume hook up a keyboard and hold down one of the function keys on boot to get into the BIOS menu.

I can’t agree with the phone. Many of us are going on our third phone. Being unlucky once, fine. But twice and some three times? Not saying that quality isn’t top notch overall but there have been numerous issues with the phone displays.

Unfortunately it reflects on quality, regardless. One could say all my issues couldn’t be caught. Bad drones, replaced bad theater opto, replaced left shots LED board, replaced phone two times, headphone jack installed backwards, skill shot switch too stiff, broken QED guy bolt.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge JJP supporter but my second hand hobbit hasn’t had nearly the issues. I have owned my Dialed In 6 months and almost every month it is something. Just got done replacing opto and light board a month or two ago.

I may be the “lucky” one but the phones are definitely one of the usual topics and they seem to be phones from various batches. I am glad yours has been perfect so far.

I have had my share of issues with my DI but the flippers were never one of them. The only inconsistent thing in the flipping of my game is me. .

Always backup your settings before ANY install. That way if anything goes wrong, you can restore them. Too late for this update but good advice for the future.

Not necessarily true. If there are additional changes to the OS, it may require another full install that wouldn’t need 1.60 installed first.

For Hobbit, they came out with 3.00 which included the same OS updates to support new motherboards. It introduced a few glitches and they will be fixed in 3.10 which will be another full install. Likely due to some changes at OS level.

I am going to have to try this. I have the same issue. No real pattern to it. Sometimes ball ejects fine and then sometimes a few tries are needed. Could settings really don’t seem to improve much but too hard definitely makes it worse. Thanks!

I just did this on my DILE and it has completely eliminated the failed ejects from the tough VUK. I noticed that the flap was more toward the player than on my Hobbit. The flap on the Hobbit was almost directly aligned with opening in apron. So with a pair of plyers I bent out the flap to match the apron on DI. I now have 0 rejects. Not even one in more than 100 trough ejects. The whole effort only took 10 mins tops.

Thanks so much. While it wasn’t a big deal, it was irritating.

How well did you do in the 6 modes that qualified CIQC? I believe I read that scoring is proportional to your success in the modes that led to CIQC.

Hot glue works great for this. I had to replace my theater opto completely. Actually made my own from parts online since I was impatient to wait for the actual replacement. The stock one had some hot glue on from factory. They snap in but a little dab of hot glue will prevent them from popping out in future.

nevermind. . I see it is mentioned it is available above.

Can’t wait to install.

Same here. I was still on 1.57 but decided to take the leap.

I can consistently backhand the phone scoop but now occasionally the flipper will be very weak and it won’t have the same trajectory.

Noticed the phone scoop sometimes dribbles out and even the skill shot kicker kicks out lightly.

None of this happened previously on the 1.5x code.

Not coincidence. Going back to 1.5x code resolves the problem.

To be clear, this is very intermittent and minor. Anyone that walked up to the machine to play would not notice. However, I am very particular and notice the slightest changes. After a year or so on previous code, I can tell the subtle difference and inconsistency. I would bet most have the same “issue” and don’t even notice. No biggie, it still plays great but something is definitely different in a very minor way that may only agitate the highly critical people.

Please post your results when you are done. What made you choose that processor in particular? Good deal on it somewhere?

I am just surprised that there is no response from JJP on this. Neither here nor the google groups. I think there is enough evidence now to point toward the lower processing power of the earlier builds. Either the new OS Kernel changes to support new motherboards introduced a performance issue or the additional animations are taxing the old CPU (or maybe a combo of the two).

People shouldn’t have to buy processor upgrades to get the machine to work as intended.

JJP support has be more than great for me. Just silent on this issue.

Dang, I need one of those processors.

Out of curiosity, do you have SIM card rollover set?

True and almost all would agree. However, CPU upgrade is the only “solution” the end user has at this point. We can’t fix code and no one has been able to get JJP to even acknowledge that there is a problem. This has been reported for months with zero response thus no faith that it will be addressed.

For mine, my fan is working quite fine and has no massive dirt build up. Yet, I experience the problem.