Quoted from pinballinreno:

Opto carrier report :
28 days in, 400 plays.
Its perfect.
Zero defects, zero mushroom target errors. Zero phantom switch closures.
The pindorabox opto boards and the Swinks carrier were the definitive fix for me.
My game is ROCK SOLID !
Still plays like a dream.
Thanks Jady!

Quoted from steve-o:

Thanks for the update. I'll be following your pindorabox opto boards and the Swinks carrier lead with my MPF switch error repair.

Quoted from pinballinreno:

Opto carrier report :
28 days in, 400 plays.
Its perfect.
Zero defects, zero mushroom target errors. Zero phantom switch closures.
The pindorabox opto boards and the Swinks carrier were the definitive fix for me.
My game is ROCK SOLID !
Still plays like a dream.
Thanks Jady!

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

So Jealous, my pindora boards are almost here.

Quoted from pinballjah:

Added a spotlight from Comet to the front of the playfield. Any other good areas on a Dr Who for a spotlight? Thanks.[quoted image]

Quoted from pinballinreno:

In my restoration I added a light behind the tardis. The plastic was dark, but there was a hole in the playfield for a lamp.
I also added the 2 sided light boards for the bumper caps and translucent bodies.
This lit up the upper corner really well.
I agree the game is a little dark.
2 spots on each sling and one on each side midway up the playfield would probabably work real well.
I did this on my WOZ and it helped a lot.

Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

THose are great ideas. There is a lot of documentation about how the game needed a LOT of corners cut. I think it fell in to a period where they were trying to get a particular low BOM for games in that quarter, and here comes an unplanned game with original actors VO, and the complicated time expander! There are probably lots of little areas where a light was removed (and what else we don't even know about!)

Quoted from pinballinreno:

In my restoration I added a light behind the tardis. The plastic was dark, but there was a hole in the playfield for a lamp.
I also added the 2 sided light boards for the bumper caps and translucent bodies.
This lit up the upper corner really well.
I agree the game is a little dark.
2 spots on each sling and one on each side midway up the playfield would probabably work real well.
I did this on my WOZ and it helped a lot.

Quoted from pinballjah:

Any chance you could post the photos? Thanks.

Quoted from pinballjah:

For those that have done Pinsound orchestrations, have you ever come across any audio folders that are never played by the game? There was some discussion of this in the Getaway thread where apparently 11 of the 31 audio folders are never used by the game. Just wondering if this may be the case for Dr Who as well. Thanks.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

All new boards, new repinned connectors, still can't get the mpf to go to home position and register the targets. I give up.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

All new boards, new repinned connectors, still can't get the mpf to go to home position and register the targets. I give up.

Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

Man that is frustrating. Do the targets register in test?
Home position is (I think) just based on the one Opto pair under the MPF.

Quoted from pinballinreno:

Check the height of the optos.
Does the cam completely block and unblock the opto beam?
Test with cardboard.
If that works, rsise or lower the optos
If not:
Take out the time expander.
Remove the optos from the MPF, leaving them on the wire.
Isolate the wires for each led.
Isolate the pins in the connector.
Can you energise the pair manually and get them to respond?
If so plug into the harness, locate the pins and energise the connector manually. Fazs guide has some great test procedures.
Can you light up the pair? Do they respond? If so:
Check voltages at the cpu and opto board.
Check for proper signal with a logic probe etc.
Swap out the cpu board or the opto board in a pinch if you have a spare.
I am a firm believer in manual testing.
Adding 6 to 10 volts can really help isolate a problem and send you in the right direction.
I would never have sorted out my topper lights without injecting power thru the harness.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

Already swapped out the MPU with another brand new board, same results. Pindora boards are new, just put them in today. Not sure why MPU is not seeing the optos. I am checking all connectors again tomorrow
Back to square one. Just a head scratcher since it was working 100%, then I put in new opto boards and now nothing.

Quoted from robgo777:

Greetings,
If you follow the TAF owner's thread by chance then you would have seen that I created a light board for the "THING" lamps that allow you to fit a ColorDMD LCD over top of them. I see that perhaps Doctor Who shares the same problem? I do not own a Doctor Who but I am willing to create one of these boards for this machine if you guys want me to. Below you can find all the photos of the one I created for TAF. It fits flush with a black colored board to prevent any light from leaking through. I am producing two versions, one with Warm White 3000K leds and one with Cool White 5700K ones. The photos below show the Warm White version. I did tweak the shape from the ones shown to allow an easy plug and play installation even if you have a set of flipper fidelity or pinball pro speakers without having to remove them. There is some slight ghosting but it ins't very bad IMO. If you have one of the OCD LED boards installed it should eliminate any ghosting although I do not have one to test that theory.
I am estimating them to be in stock by the end of February, and should only be around $10-$20 ea plus shipping as I am not looking to make anything off them, just wanting to help others out.
First step though is I would need someone to send me their DrWho light board so that I can replicate it as I do not believe it is the same exact one as what is in the TAF. Anyone willing to send me one so that I can get all the measurements will receive one of the upgraded boards I am making free of charge.
Anyways, if you want one please PM me with the following:
-Subject: Dr Who Light Board
-Full Mailing Address
-# of boards wanted
-Paypal Email Address
Once the boards are in production I will send you a paypal invoice for payment along with the total amount shipped. Any extras from the batch order will also go on my pinside shop if you prefer to wait until then. I do plan to keep these in stock as long as there is a demand for them so no worries on "Missing Out" from any kind of one time order.
Best Regards,
Robert Goebel
Pinshakers
www.pinshakers.com
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from pinballinreno:

These are the cam optos right?
Do the optos in the carrier work properly?
Or are all optos down?
If so check that a connector isnt off by a pin somewhere.
Do some basic tests.
Manually energize the the connector to check continuity.
You can see the emitter with a cell phone.
You can see resistance changes on the reciever with an ohmmeter.
Check the volage on the opto board, input and output, it's probably good.
Might be a ground fault.
Check the ground path of each of the optos for continuity all the way to the cpu board.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

The only thing I can think that may be the issue is that I replaced the IDC connectorson the Opto interface board with standard connectors and perhaps the pins aren't seated correctly, but I never have issues when repinning. I will buzz continuity back to MPU and report back.
The nice thing about this GLM Opto board is the onboard LED status leta me know where my issue is. I just got the manual for board and it explains how to identify board or wirings issues, so let me do some reading.

Quoted from robgo777:

Greetings,
If you follow the TAF owner's thread by chance then you would have seen that I created a light board for the "THING" lamps that allow you to fit a ColorDMD LCD over top of them. I see that perhaps Doctor Who shares the same problem? I do not own a Doctor Who but I am willing to create one of these boards for this machine if you guys want me to. Below you can find all the photos of the one I created for TAF. It fits flush with a black colored board to prevent any light from leaking through. I am producing two versions, one with Warm White 3000K leds and one with Cool White 5700K ones. The photos below show the Warm White version. I did tweak the shape from the ones shown to allow an easy plug and play installation even if you have a set of flipper fidelity or pinball pro speakers without having to remove them. There is some slight ghosting but it ins't very bad IMO. If you have one of the OCD LED boards installed it should eliminate any ghosting although I do not have one to test that theory.
I am estimating them to be in stock by the end of February, and should only be around $10-$20 ea plus shipping as I am not looking to make anything off them, just wanting to help others out.
First step though is I would need someone to send me their DrWho light board so that I can replicate it as I do not believe it is the same exact one as what is in the TAF. Anyone willing to send me one so that I can get all the measurements will receive one of the upgraded boards I am making free of charge.
Anyways, if you want one please PM me with the following:
-Subject: Dr Who Light Board
-Full Mailing Address
-# of boards wanted
-Paypal Email Address
Once the boards are in production I will send you a paypal invoice for payment along with the total amount shipped. Any extras from the batch order will also go on my pinside shop if you prefer to wait until then. I do plan to keep these in stock as long as there is a demand for them so no worries on "Missing Out" from any kind of one time order.
Best Regards,
Robert Goebel
Pinshakers
www.pinshakers.com
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from DudeRegular:

How long would you need a demo board? I may be able to send mine up for you to use for your design process. Very cool of you offer.

Quoted from ignat:

Hi Guys just picked up a Doctor Who. Has some faults but let’s start at the beginning.
How do I track down GND. Short Row 1 stuck closed?
MPF also not moving. I replaced the Cap on the motor drive. Seems to be intermittent
Thanks in advance

Quoted from ignat:

Hi Guys just picked up a Doctor Who. Has some faults but let’s start at the beginning.
How do I track down GND. Short Row 1 stuck closed?
MPF also not moving. I replaced the Cap on the motor drive. Seems to be intermittent
Thanks in advance

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

Find all the connections tied to row 1
Look for broken wires
Could be blown LM339 chip on MPU or Opto interface board.
Got a meter, start testing components.

Quoted from ignat:

Thanks.
Thanks pulled interface from MPU problem goes away.
Checked wires all good.
The opto PCB looks corroded. I have a spare chip. You recommend changing it?
I changed the larger cap on it last night

Quoted from ignat:

Hold on which PCB are you referring too?
My bidirectional motor drive is corroded.

Quoted from ignat:

Nope. It doesn’t.
Now it’s saying all 1-3 rows are shorted
Since I turned the machine on I think the mini pf has raised once.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

Unplug the opto interface board as well and see if the problem goes away or if it goes back to the MPU

Quoted from ignat:

With the opto board unplugged it doesn’t say ground fault but it’s complaining about the switches.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

Plug in your bi directional board and leave opto unplugged. If no faults, then I would say bad LM339 chips on opto board

Quoted from ignat:

With just Bi directional it just complains about the switches. Doesn’t say ground error.

Quoted from pinballinreno:

Yep, sounds like you are close.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

Believe I have a broken wire somewhere. What is correct voltage for pin 2-9 on J1 connector for Opto interface board? I am reading 3 volts on the pins. Kinda think these should all be 12 volts.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

Kinda think these should all be 12 volts

Quoted from pinballinreno:

Visually inspect all 3 harnesses.
2 on tbe mpf and the one that goes to the backbox.
I found tons of hacks and bare wire in mine.
I even found wires twisted together and taped in tne corrugated sleeves lol.
Then i ohmed out every single wire and connector.
I did this when i had the harnesses out of the game though.
I cut out all the nylon ties and replaced them.
Any marginal connectors, i repinned the molex or replaced the IDC's.
It was a bit of work.
But it was needed after 30 years of hacks and neglect.

Quoted from eyeamred2u:

So frustrated right now, but has to be done. I know the drill, have done it many times before. Just so time consuming.

Quoted from yellowghost:

Jeepers!!! My time expandor works like a well-oiled machine everytime. No fancy opto boards or 3D printed stuff. What Am I doing wrong?

Quoted from yellowghost:

Jeepers!!! My time expandor works like a well-oiled machine everytime. No fancy opto boards or 3D printed stuff. What Am I doing wrong?

Quoted from RocketFromTombs:

Got some time to work on my Doctor Who this week, got the mini PF taken out. One of the target optos is dead, and another one I think is really close to dying, so I plan on replacing the boards... pinballinreno - how long did it take for your set from PindoraBox to arrive? I think that's the ones I am going to go with. Are the receivers short enough that you didn't have to shave them down or anything? I may also spring for a new opto carrier from swinks, those look pretty stout!
I had a problem with my controlled lights, but that's figured out now. Once the MPF is done, I should be fully operational. That's going to be nice, I haven't played this game in about 6 or 7 years!