Has anyone had issues putting a rottendog CPU board in their game?

Just wanted to add this old but good SST reset thread here in the main SST thread, good info.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sega-whitestar-reset-sst

I'll post more about it soon, but after a long number of years I finally got another SST, and I've learned to go slow while starting to clean/explore new games. I saw when I lifted the pf to lean it against the head that a clear raised plastic in the upper left corner starts to touch the rail and bend when vertical, and I feel like it will crack/break if tilted back any further. What have other owners done to avoid breaking this plastic?
SST L Rear Plastic 1 (resized).jpgSST L Rear Plastic 2 (resized).jpg

Yeah, I've got that on both sides, but once you go past 90 degrees vertical it starts to bend the plastic.

I have an NOS Starship Troopers Manual for sale in like new shape that came with the game I just bought. Slight curl from being in the goody bag for 20 years. I'd already bought a NOS manual last year.

$35 shipped Priority Mail
USA buyer only
1st to pm gets it

1 (resized).jpg

2 (resized).jpg

Sold.

Howdy all! I just got my SST out of storage after 5 years and had a question. I asked this before in another thread but I cant find it so figured I'd ask here. I understand the SEGA backboxes were all Metal but the SST I have is all wood and part of the corner on the backbox door is chipped. I was looking to repair it but wanted to know if the backbox is wood because someone else made one by hand and replaced it or is it supposed to be wood? Looking at the pics on Pinside's SST page it looks like that one was wooden backbox as well but I've had many people say it should not be. Can anyone reconfirm wood or metal on there's?

Mine's wood

IMG_2469 (resized).JPG

I have never seen a Sega with a metal head.

Not all Sega Showcase cabinet games are the same as far and the backbox goes. I know Space Jam and Star Wars Trilogy have the metal backboxes. I think the rest are wood. I know SST and X-Files are wood and I'm pretty sure Viper Night Drivin' is. The Lost World would be the one I would be most unsure about and my guess would be wood on it

I figure I'd ask this kinda general question here since the SST group are the smartest peeps

My SST has 2 reflector/bulb/sockets, and the wires are factory soldered/heat shrinked to the socket lugs instead of crimped to the slide-on-things like on my TFTC and most other modern games from that time period. I need to know what those specific crimped on things are called and where to get them. I've done plenty of.156 wires/connectors/etc over the years, but never these, and I didn't see them on Great Plains Electronics ether.

I've been swapping out any original crappy spotlights with these cool AF one-piece black (or silver) spot/sockets at Pinball Life, hence my issue on SST. They hold bulbs a lot better, too.
https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-reflector-and-socket-assembly-black.html
blk reflector (resized).jpg

Any help appreciated!
MM

The black spot look way better.

I bought these to fit on micro switches, I think the size is 110 (.5mm x 2.8mm):

https://www.amazon.com/Baomain-Insulated-Connector-Electrical-Terminal/dp/B01962MW2G/ref=sr_1_4

Measure the lugs on the sockets to see if they will fit.

I soldered JST connectors on all my spots on this and my RFM.

You were SO close!
SPADE Connector is the term I couldn't remember. These are the ones we need because they cover the entire female terminal to prevent shorts etc...

Baomain Red Female Insulated Spade Wire Connector Electrical Crimp Terminal 18-22 AWG 2.8 x 0.5mm Pack of 100 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2O2CS4/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_T4ND8CXRDTWJ1P257K8X

This pic of an original one in my TFTC is what I've always seen, kinda pink clear/frosted...

20220511_180432 (resized).jpg

The ones I linked above at amazon might be a bit long on the crimp end for where they go on the SST ramps, but they look like they have some space inside before the wire crimp that could be trimmed off if need be. I'd prefer black covering, but that's what the Pinball Gods made black sharpies for

I like the idea, like the Matrix connectors Comet Pinball sells, but did you replace the entire wire and the connector under the pf with JSTs? I'd like to see pics for the heck of it, but crimping on the spade connector to the wires seems like less work to me

Thanks to both of you for the suggestions!

EDIT:
Did some more spade research and ended up buying these, see post below.

amazon.com link »

EDIT:
AGH, working link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FNKNSTP/

Here is the JST connectors I use. Same thing on my small RC planes. I get packs of them off ebay. They are very small so can be pulled through the playfield holes when doing tear downs. I don't replace factory plugs unless they are bad or I have a diode go bad that needs replace.

JST connector (resized).jpg

Did some more spade research and ended up buying these

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FNKNSTP/

They have a clear NYLON covering you slide on the wire first, crimp connector, then slide nylon cover over the whole thing. This is the same cover I've seen on games forever, the two we linked to above have HARD plastic covers and not really what we want in pinball games. The connector goes on TIGHT, which is good, but I'll likely run them all on and off an old socket before using them, to loosen it up so you can push them on by hand. Out of the bag I had to use small pliers.

MM
20220516_202723 (resized).jpg20220516_202747 (resized).jpg

Almost positive the lost world is metal.

I’d like to see someone covert the bubble box to a standard stern headbox, I think it’s very doable

Hello,

I am wondering what screen size is starship troopers?
Where to get one for spare?

Get the colorDMD, you will never go back to the red....

I really hate these clips

PXL_20220702_222046290.jpg

I know when I got my wife's pin I must have broke 20 or more they were so dry rotted.

WOOT!

https://collider.com/starship-troopers-4k-ultra-hd-steelbook-release-date/

I couldn't find any pictures of the pin with these art blades so wasn't sure how they would look. These are from Tilt Graphics Inc. I have to say they look way better in person then in these pics. So glad I got them! Thought I would share with the group in case anyone ever wanted to see how these looked.
SST Art Blades (1) (resized).jpgSST Art Blades (2) (resized).jpg

I like the other two space-scenes better, but my big question is...
How does everybody deal with the 3 stapled backbox bolt hole covers?
I'm guessing everyone removes them, but do you put anything in the hole to fill it up flush?
Or are most pinblades thick enough to not show the edge of the bolt holes?

MM

I removed the covers and staples and didn't fill the holes. These art blades are a fairly thick material and you can't even tell were the holes are.

Those look wonderful!

Tilt Graphix are amazing. They are super thick and very forgiving to install.

In my opinion, they are the best, hands down, they have never let me down.

These are really great art blades. Never ordered from Tilt Graphics so I was worried as I know others are just printed on normal vinyl.

I got a set from Flyland Designs for my Revenge from Mars and they are thicker than these. After putting a set of blades on my RFM made me want to get a set for this pin. I never really liked the mirror blades so thought I would try art blades on my RFM. They look like they are meant to be on it. Think I will get a set later on for Simpsons.

I also ordered the blade protectors when I need to lift the playfield.

Are the only protectors available the ones from Pinball Life?

Yes, that's the only ones I found.

Jay designed those for me. Posted them in here when he did. Several conversations took place about the vagina bug.
I was supposed to send him pictures of them in my game but as a terrible as I am I haven't put them in yet.

hi, Just got a SST and would be interested in this board, but I cannot see his email anywhere in these posts? Could someone help me with a way of contacting him?

You can order them from Marco now too

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/520-5166-00-C

"This is The Way..."

I thought my bug counter board was going out. So I ordered a new colored one. Then I remembered I just installed the LED OCD. Went in with my laptop and programed the LED bug segments to 100% and all is good again before the new on is even here. If anyone needs a original board cheap let me know.

The way to do it is KEEP the color display, sell the OCD board or use it on another game, and get non-ghosting bulbs from Comet for the controlled lights, game GI has reg leds and they do not flicker. The new color board looks GREAT but it will conflict with an OCD board and flicker.

I kept my orig working orange led display as a backup.

Don't know if anyone has put up a color DMD picture yet but it's fantastic. Because of the backbox though you can't add an lcd without cutting the box itself. So sst joins desw as the two games in my collection with color dots. But it's still a million times better than orange.

IMG_20220911_120905.jpg

Wont the LED version fit with no modification to the backbox?

I programed the led ocd board to give full power to the bug counter board. Will see how the color one looks when it comes. I do have non ghosting bulbs. But they still flicker. The ocd board fixed all of that.

Yes. That's what's in the picture.

Thats exactly the way I want mine to look!

Odd, never had a flicker prob on mine.

Color bug counter does not work with LED ocd board. Even if board is set to 100% brightness with no delay. The blue segment is garbage with it. The other 3 work. The original works with the board too if you set it to 100%

Thats really too bad.

I love the LEDOCD system, its really good.

I love the look of Comet sunlight frosted LED's.

I have one of the original colored bug counter boards but havent installed yet.

I wonder if there is a mod for the board, to get it to work at the higher frequency of the LEDOCD board?

Hi, new to the Starship Troopers Club.
I will pick up a (hopefully) nice SST this weekend.

What are the special things to look for on a SST?

What I know is:
- Wear at the magnets in the top
- Wear at the holes
- Warrior bug moving check
- Brain bug comes up and down easily

Anything else recommended to check?

Those are the top items on SST to look for, well done! You should also make sure that the playfield LED bug counters are working. There have been modern replacements for them, but you should check on the availability of them in case they are missing/non-functional in the game you are looking at.
PF-LED (resized).jpg

Overall the DE/Sega playfields hold up great. I have the hole protectors for SST, as well as the carbon fiber magnet protectors from Cliffy many years ago, not sure if he is still selling them.
sst4 (resized).jpgsst5 (resized).jpgsst6 (resized).jpg

I've had SST for about 16 yrs in my collection, and it gets regular play. Very solid game, I've only ever had to do the usual housekeeping to keep it clean, rebuild flippers & replace bulbs. The brain bug switch needs adjustment once in a while to register a solid hit, but that's about it. The Sega/Stern Whitestar boardset has been very reliable and I have not needed a single board repair since I've had it.

On every un-shopped SST I've seen the plastic ramps can look very smokey, I actually thought they were factory tinted. I stripped the playfield a few years ago for a thorough cleaning, and I wiped down the plastic ramps with some Sparkle cleaner to remove all the grime. After cleaning with the Sparkle, I flame polished that huge ramp with a propane torch and it looks fantastic, it is crystal clear as you can see in the photo of it against my walkout door.

The plastic on the SST ramp is pretty thick, much more robust than the plastic ramps on my CFTBL.

Before:
20180225_214823 (resized).jpg 20180225_214845 (resized).jpg

After:
sst1 (resized).jpgsst2 (resized).jpgsst3 (resized).jpg

Thanks Guys

A very nice Starship Troppers has landed today in my mancave
Fantastic playfield no wear at the magnets on top and at the holes.
Only a little wear on the Cab at the left Flipperbutton, the right side is perfect.

Some Pics

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