Starship Troopers
Sega, 1997You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider Lithonion.
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Quoted from ryandimx:My brain bug will pop up and down up and down during play like it's getting stuck on the way up or teasing that it's coming out. Other times it pops up no issues. Anyone do that or is there something up with mine?
If you get yours working let me know what you did. I just purchased my SST a week ago. Worked great up till today. I have the Brain bug Whac-A-Mole game now instead and also the Super VUK takes 3 or 4 fires to eject the ball. 
Quoted from ryandimx:Mine is still doing it. He won't stay up. Not sure why. Not getting stuck on anything.
I hope mine is fixed. *knock on wood* I just cleaned it up real good and double checked the playfield level. Played about 20 or so games and it popped and stayed up on the first go every time it popped up. Super vuk is still the same even after a good cleaning and now getting hang ups on the normal vuk. I am going to replace the pinballs. Could be holding a little magnetism causing all my grief. Not sure how old these balls are.
Quoted from ryandimx:What did you clean that got it to stay?
I cleaned the plunger assembly, both guide pins and the slide plate assembly. I used a no residue contact cleaner that is safe on plastics and a lint free cloth.
I thought I had seen the toys on the pin somewhere and if anyone ever wants to replace any just look for SST Micro machines. Everything on the playfield was a Micro Machines toy. I think the Brain Bug is the only dedicated toy made for the pin. I might keep my eye out at yard sales and flea markets so I can get the figures to put into the ships.
Got mine tore down over the weekend and cleaned. Replaced all the GI lighting and finished the Cannon mods I copied from Cheese_WizardPQ. Only change I did was I cut a coil sleeve in half then sized it to cover the LED then threw a coat of red paint on it. My wife said it was to bright and in your face when she played so the little shields I made fixed that. Also thought someone on here might like this. I found this looking for SST stuff online. How cool would this be as a topper? It is a 19 inch model made by Roger Young.
I am having a weird issue I hope someone can point me in the right direction. When my ball kicks out of the trough it kicks them so hard they go up just far enough to past the gate and down ye ol drain. It started doing this after I cleaned everything. The coils are set to normal and I checked the coil on the kicker assembly and the correct coil is in place.
Added over 8 years ago: NM I got it fixed. I put in a Williams AE 26-1500 and it is not longer kicking it out into the drain. Sega coil is a 26-1200.
Quoted from billsfanmd:Just starting to tear into my SST. Cant seem to find the warrior bug switch number in the manual. The white rectangle target mounted below the bug. Anyone know this #? Does not register as a hit in test mode.
My bug moves smoothly but does to seem to know when to stop. Looks like I need to check on the 3-4 step optos that control it...
Page 57 on the switch layout. Switch 17 is the Warrior Bug switch. On the tear down diagram page 78 and 79 shows 15B as your part.
The whole assembly is part 515-6027-08
The only thing I know that stops the bug are two micro switches. One in the front and one in the rear. There are no OPTOS on the Warrior bug assembly.
The thick plexi on mine had a small crack on the backbox. So I cut a new piece and installed a new translite. Also added the speaker light kit from speaker light kits. You can really tell the difference in the colors on the old translite from my previous picture I posed with the topper. I also changed the fluorescent to an LED tube.
Quoted from nerdygrrl:That is looking pretty slick! Was it an SST specific kit on the speaker mod?
Yes it was. I got a hold of Dug (Speaker Light Kits) here on Pinside and ordered the kit from him. I want to say it took 3 weeks for him to make the kit and sent very good instructions on installing it. I also did add the right channel amp and the right speaker. I also replaced the left speaker to match the right. These are a drop in replacement and pretty good quality that I got off Ebay for 10 bucks each - BOSS Audio BRS40.
But as many have stated if you add the right channel amp most all the sounds where recorded in mono so you really don't notice the sound as it is so faint. So I added a potentiometer to the woofer and the left speaker and turned them down till you can hear the right channel. Now it sound stereo though it isn't.
Here is my newest mod. The sound has been really bugging me. I added the right channel amp to the board when I added the speaker light kit and you still could barely hear it. The only way you could hear any sound was put your ear on the speaker. I was already aware thanks to this thread the sounds where recorded in mono. But my OCD was kicking in and I had to fix it. In comes the idea of a tiny amp just on the one speaker. So I purchased a PAM8403 5V 2 channel amp rated for 4 Ohm speakers off ebay. It made a huge difference and I adjusted the one speaker to match the output of the left. I know it still is not true stereo but it sure sounds a whole lot better.
Quoted from Soonerbrink:Has anyone cleaned up the live fire assault range mechanism before? I am thinking this probably needs a full tear down, cleaning, and painting. Any suggestions/tips from prior experienceonce the silver rods are cleaned and polished, doesn't any type of grease go on them? What about the screw drive mechanism?
Tear down is pretty easy if you want to sand and paint it. Take the two C Clips off the front and slide the rods back. After you get the rods off remove the two lock nuts holding the worm gear motor and you can turn it by hand and spin the bug bracket off. Remove the little rubber stoppers if they are pliable. This should just leave you the frame. I don't have a tumbler or I would have put the rods in that. You should be ok with emery and a lube with Teflon on the rods and worm gear. This at Marco is what I like or if you have something else close that would work to.
I replaced all the 1/2 rubbers on ours. Most where so dry rotted they where coming apart while you played. So when I tore it down replaced every rubber in the game including the posts. But this pin will be in our home a very long time. It was an anniversary gift to my wife. If I try to sell it that will be the cause for the divorce. 
So I am going to keep tricking it out. Mine was missing a ship when I got it so had to rebuy one off eBay. If you buy the toy it comes with pilots and a few figures. So mine has pilots now and I took the extra figures and mounted them on the slingshot plastics. I will post pics when I get more time to take some. I also ordered colored post sleeves as the ones that came in my all in one rubber kit where to big. Also added a little bug over the shooter lane gate. Added Mylar over the flipper buttons.
Always thinking of that next mod.
First toy added in the ball shooter trough is the Chariot Bug that went under the brain bug to help move him along.
Second our pin was missing the Tac Fighter so I picked one up still in the box on eBay. It came with two pilot figures so I installed them into it. You really have to look to see them when your playing.
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Third toy mod was the three troopers that came with the warrior bug. This is the bug over the multiball assembly. I used my dremel and made holes just slightly smaller than the rare earth magnets I put in. If you look at the first slingshot picture you can see the magnets holding the troopers in place. The magnets that come with the troopers where not strong enough and had to mod with rare earth magnets as well. It holds them well in place and in the event of an wild flying pinball it will not break them or the slingshot plastics it will just knock the trooper off. I have two sets of new slingshot plastics so I was ok with making the mod on these.
And yes I noticed the leaf switch on the wrong side on the left slingshot.
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Next I want to find the cannon troopers that go in the seats but not wanting to buy a whole cannon on eBay for 50 bucks for one tiny figure.
Quoted from brianmcculloh:Guess I'll finally post here. I became a citizen about 4 months ago and have been playing my SST ever since. It's my first pin and I have to say, it's awesome! Definitely not a HUO but in pretty decent shape. I have already fixed a few things and gone full LED. The only real "mod" I've done is swap out the fluorescent tube light in the backbox with an LED tube light (removed ballast and starter too). If anyone wants to do so it's pretty easy, just ask and I can show you what I did.
Glad to be a part of the club!
Welcome to your new addiction! I am just over one year on pinball addicts anonymous! Joined Pinside in 2014 but didn't get a pin till late 2015. That was the first thing I did to my SST as well.
Quoted from Soonerbrink:Disassembled....drilled out rivets...cleaned...painted...polished... added new hardware to replace rivets, and re-soldered wires. I will need two of those clear rubber pieces that sit at the front, but I am not sure what they are for.
I could be wrong but I don't think they really do anything. Only thing I could think of is possibly stop an air ball from getting in?
You can still buy them but all they are is a self stick rubber bumper.
Two places you can get them or just get something similar at like Home Depot.
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/280-5012-00
http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RB-280-5012-00
Quoted from RTS:I'm an SST newbie with a question regarding the difficulty settings.
The manual only shows the that Extra Ball Memory is off when choosing the "extra hard" setting, and that each orbit, ramp and multiball difficulty changes without any explanation of the actual change between the settings.
Is there a count difference in bug kills required with each difficulty setting? The manual fails to provide any specific detail to the changes that are affected with the different settings.
Is there any documentation describing the specific differences to game-play when choosing the various difficulty settings?
The only thing I could think of doing is to take the glass off and set each difficulty and manually trigger each and write it down. The only thing I know for sure is each difficulty as you increase just increases the counts of each target you have to hit.
Quoted from tbmi:So I've been offered an SST, but the ramps are shot. I don't believe they make repros....or at least I cannot find them. Does anyone know if these are available? Also it needs a new "ball exchanger". I'm not sure what this is but am being told it is under the apron.
Not sure where you will find a ramp. Bay Area Amusements had a couple but I just checked and they are out of stock now so someone nabbed them. Also I think the "ball exchanger" is probably the trough assembly. K's Arcade has the complete trough assembly. The ramp though could be hard to find.
Quoted from Cheeks:I'm having trouble with the Warrior's movement. Everything seemed to be working fine, until I removed and replaced the Warrior mech. The game still tries to move him, but when he gets about half-way back, he stops moving. You can still hear the motor trying, but it's like there's too much resistance or something. After a few seconds it stops trying and I think he moves back to the front.
It's not obvious what might be different or what might be catching all of a sudden. Any ideas on what to check?
Almost sounds like he is hanging up on the rails it slides on. Maybe try to see if it slides back and forth freely without the motor or worm gear attached?
My newest add to SST. I have been toying with doing this for awhile. Friend of mine convinced me I should do it and sell it. The mod not the pin that is. The wife would kill me if I sold it. This mod has interactive blue beacon topper mod that is tied into the multiball as well as under cab that is tied into the bug flashers for that color of bug. Here is a video of it. You can skip ahead to around 1:40 when I activate the mulitball ready. And farther in as you watch you can see the under cab. Was a quick not trying at all game. Really I wasn't trying. 
Took me about 20 hours to put it together. About 20 minutes to install.
Quoted from brianmcculloh:This is awesome! What price are we looking at?
149.00 shipped in the lower 48. I am waiting on more LED strips to come in.
I have not started the back box mod yet but all the kits I make will have the plug for it. Better to have and not use then not have and want it later on.
Just a quick note I did remove the top transport support brackets. Don't think you need to but it gives it a cleaner look. I put my brackets in the coin box they fit right in.
So lazy me that has never read the rule set and hit a skill shot I didn't know. I hit a Hole skill shot and you would have thought I won the lottery because I didn't know about it so when I seen it on the DMD I was stoked.
So I thought I would copy the skill shots from the rules.
There are three possible skill shots:
1. Plunge the ball; a magnet will catch the ball above the B-U-G rollovers. One of the rollover lights will be flashing; move it with the flipper buttons. If you do it right, you're awarded +1 Bonus X. (This is very similar to the skillshot in Medieval Madness)
2. Hold the left flipper button as you plunge the ball; hitting the right ramp will award a 5M Ramp Skillshot. Holding the left button will disable the magnet that otherwise would've captured the ball.
3. Hold the left flipper button as you plunge the ball; plunge just hard enough to get the ball into the Orbit Multiball sinkhole. You will be awarded an Orbit MB letter. This probably isn't an "official" skillshot though.
That's not a deal, that's a steal!!! Welcome to the club. I paid 2k for mine missing one toy and needing a good cleaning.
I never liked the single florescent bulb in pins. First it ruins the translite and or backglass over time and the light is uneven. So I did this mod. Got a sheet of coroplast and cut to size. Three strips of natural white LEDs with a small 12v controller. Made my own tie in through the 12v/5v supply by the coin door. And set the lighting. The coroplast sits in there with the hinge bolts and the backbox lock plate so no mounting hardware is needed. The final picture doesn't do it justice. I took it with the lights off so the camera sorta darkened the whole picture. Wasn't hard to make and pretty cheap. The coroplast was the most expensive part. And I always have LEDs laying around waiting for the next LED project.
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Quoted from Akitostarwind:The toys used had other things with them. The fighter ship had people. To bad Sega left them out...
I had a toy missing on mine so purchased the actual toy. I put the people in it and I also found the people for the canons and put them in.
Quoted from Akitostarwind:SST has a color DMD now.
YES!!!!! So happy to hear this I just ordered one! My first color DMD. 
Quoted from Scorch:I'm in!
Picked it up this afternoon.
batteries were dead, but fine. Also noticed that the cabinet woofer was torn (didn't notice that until I had the cabinet up on it's back), so looks like I'm going to have to replace the speakers.
Red flashers are also not working, and while I don't have any 906 bulbs yet, I think the circuit is out. any suggestions on where to start with diagnosing this?
Also.... how difficult is it to replace the GI with LEDs? looks like I'll have to do a full tear down?
Congrats on your new pin!!
I will help where I can, I am still very green and learning as I go.
Everything on the game can be switched to LEDs with no problems at all. In case you don't already know if you switch flashers bulbs to LED the polarity does matter. So if you put a LED flasher in and it doesn't work just pull it and turn it 180 and put it back in.
As for your red flashers most likely a bad transistor. Q25 is the transistor for RED.
Do you have a manual? If not shoot me your email in a PM and I can send you a PDF of it. The paper manual is better some of the text on the PDF is blurry.
Here is a pic of the location of Q25. The transistor model is TIP102
SSTDriver (resized).jpg
Quoted from Scorch:ya... I figured it was a bad transistor (one is out on another of my pins).
I think I'm going to need a lesson in soldering circuit boards. I'll have to find some old ones to practice on and then take the plunge (how hard can it be right?)
It's actually not that hard to solder. But not a bad idea to practice a little. As with everything YouTube has a lot of tutorials on how to solder. But a quality soldering iron will help and everyone has something they like to use others might not. Personally I like to use desoldering briad or wick they call it instead of a solder sucking pump. I never could use one the right way. And I use a solder flux cleaning pen. That's about it in a nut shell. I usually clean the board I am working on after I finish soldering.
Must be something with the red flashers on SST. As you can see in my pic Q25 is new. lol As for flashers I have bulbs in all mine with the exception of the multiball bug flashers and the brain bug flashers.
Quoted from brianmcculloh:I have fully swapped LEDs on mine all except the flashers. Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't. What about using just standard frosted LEDs instead of LED flashers? Is that wrong to do?
You could if you can find 12v frosted LEDs. All the LEDs on the playfield and inserts are 6.3V
I left bulbs in all my flashers with the exception of the Brain Bug under the playfield and the bug multi-ball.
Quoted from DrkUno:Just picked up SST as my first pin.
The Brain Bug isn't secure on it's platform and moves when hit with the pinball.
Then jams the whole thing when it drops down with it's legs.
Can't tell from the manual diagram if there are any screws that should be in there or if it is secured in another way.
What can I do to keep the lil guy from wiggling his way out?
[quoted image]
If I get some free time this weekend I will look at mine. I am pretty sure it is screwed to the slide plate. The manual really doesn't show the assembly very well.
Quoted from ElCid95:Anyone have a colorDMD in their SST and have the following problem? I've noticed with the latest firmware that when I advance to Zegema Beach, the DMD will freeze and shows only half the trooper's head and show the words "Today" I unfroze a couple of times, once being when I advanced to Danatana.
Mine has been working fine.
Quoted from billsfanmd:Trying to bump the club . Back in again. I want to side blades. I did this on an earlier SST but can’t find anything about it in Pinside. If I recall it was a space /galaxy theme but I can’t seem to find any posts. Maybe it was done on my Facebook group. Anyone add a space theme side blade? Do stern side and mirror blades fit sega?
Something like this? I have only seen mirror blades on SST.
https://www.retrorefurbs.com/shop/starship-troopers-pinball-sideblades/
Quoted from mattosborn:I played around with colored LEDs under the planets, just so they were a little more distinct and different from each other. Turned out pretty good. Sorry, I don't have a pic to share.
I take that back. You can kinda see them in this video:
I did the same thing to mine. I tried to match the color LED to the color of the planet to make them really pop. I think it looks better than just a white incandescent or LED.
Quoted from xamindar:I doubt any other machines use this part. It's kind of an odd shape to fit around the nearby posts.
I bought some "music wire" form a local hobby shop that matches the thickness and plan to just make one.....but it's too hard to bend with just the locking pliers I have. I might need to buy a vice and use a hammer to bend.
I kind of wonder what happened to the original....did the owner at the time find it in the bottom of the cabinet and think to himself "huh, that's a strange piece of metal", and then promptly tossed it in the garbage bin?
all the guides on my Baby Pac Man were broken when I got it. I bent all new guides with this. All I did was screw it to a board and it worked great for me. Maybe it could help you out. It was pretty cheap as well under 12 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/SE-8593WB-Wire-Bender-Piece/dp/B005M5TSFG
61PuslW9PeL._AC_SL1500_ (resized).jpgQuoted from ProjektPat:Hey all, just joined the club. I took my playfield kind of apart so I could clean and wax everything. I'm noticing that in the middle of the playfield the trajectory of the ball will change suddenly. Maybe just needs to be waxed again?
Also It's giving me a switch 40 error in the tech menu. U trough Exit Hole. I played the game thoroughly and tested everything and everything seems to work fine. It says switch 40 is a DOTS switch. This is my first pin so I'm a bit of a noob.
Welcome to the club!!
First about the ball changing trajectory. Is it over the brain bug area or over the planets? If it's over the planets you might have a raised insert or cupped insert. If it's over the brain bug that is sorta normal. At least it is with my pin. I have changed the brain bug plexi and upper metal frame and it didn't really help.
As for your switch 40, it could be a few things. A broken wire, a bad switch, or a bad diode on the switch. It doesn't do much that I know of and if it does more then what I state maybe someone can chime in. All I can tell it has ever done is it add some points when triggered and can also stop the hurry up timer in nuke mode but the pop bumpers will also stop the timer. The switch is in the drop down hole in the pop bumper area. If I get a switch fault if there are no broken wires, I just replace the switch. They are cheap enough and easy enough to replace. New Diode, new switch and done.
Quoted from Pozzest01:Hello all, I have a chance to buy a Starship Troopers. I was wondering if you owners, past and present, had any advice of what to watch out for or look for when I inspect it before I buy it. Thanks in advance. Return to Battle soldier.
Don't do what I did. I was so happy to pick one up for the wife I failed to notice one of the toys missing. lol
Quoted from RaoulJuke:What sort of mods has everyone done on this to make the game better? I love the game, but feel like its not quite there. Have issues with launched balls auto plunging. Soundtrack is great, but the quality is ordinary. I feel like this game with the right tweaks could be well ahead of its time
I added color dmd, added the right channel to cpu/sound board and a right speaker. Had to add a separate mini amp with volume control as the sounds in the game are mono. But once done and volume set it made a huge difference. Made an led light kit under the pin that is tied to the I/O board that is linked to the flashers. So for example if you hit a yellow bug and the yellow flasher goes off the led strips under the pin flash yellow as well. I added strobes on top of the head that are tied to the loop and multi ball flasher. I included a pic of it, this was before the color dmd was installed. It's quite the light show now.
As for the auto plunger it is horrible. I replaced everything with NOS parts and it works better, but still at times fails to launch correctly. It's the only thing I have issues with.
SST Mod (9) (resized).jpg
Quoted from Lithonion:I actually added everything needed for the right speaker amp on the board. I also replaced the stock left speaker and with a pair of BRS40's. They were pretty much a drop in replacement.
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My first pin purchase I asked the guy if I could open the machine. I think he was just thinking the coin door but when I popped the lockdown bar off and pulled the glass he said, "Wow, I didn't know you could do that." I asked how long he had the machine and he said 12 years. 
I really blew his mind when I lifted the playfield. Almost all the lights were out, rubbers broken and it wouldn't boot. He was asking 700, I offered him 500 bucks and he took it. Was a Gottlieb Monte Carlo. Now he didn't say he knew it was a 1200 dollar pin working. We both left happy and he was glad to get it out of his storage unit. I learned a lot on that pin.
If he thought his SST was worth 3800 dollars most of us on here our SSTs are worth 5k or more. 
Quoted from tronlover: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?
I have never seen a Sega with a metal head.
Quoted from miracleman: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!
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).jpgQuoted from ryandimx:I really hate these clips
I know when I got my wife's pin I must have broke 20 or more they were so dry rotted.
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
Quoted from miracleman: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.
Quoted from pinballinreno: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.
Quoted from miracleman:Are the only protectors available the ones from Pinball Life?
Yes, that's the only ones I found.
Quoted from archimandrite:How is your Warrior bug attached? Mine was attached with black zip ties.
There should be a metal plate to screw into. Here is a post that shows what your missing.
Quoted from archimandrite:Thanks, but your link was for the brain bug.
Wow, don't I feel like an idiot. lol I just checked mine, it's zip tied in as well. As far as I know it's never been removed.
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Hudson, FL