I'll note that my Dredd has been doing 100% exactly as you've noted in your posts (since I installed the Deadworld mod with L1AT). I figured it was an opto/trough issue that I'd delve into at some point, but now I'm wondering otherwise. Hmmm.

Cheers At least i think i'm not going crazy now. For the time being i've switched back to regular ROM. Apart from aftermarket trough opto boards (the originals still seem to be ok though) and perhaps buying another DW Mod just for another ROM i don't know what else to do.
I will also point out that mine used to work fine with the DW MOD Rom, after i had the driver board repaired (blown bridge rectifier) it's been doing this and nothing in the repairs would make it do this......i think.

I fixed that exact same issue by resoldering the opto's where the ball drops from the crane. Like you both, my switches were registering in tests, nothing seemed wrong, but that ended up fixing it (and I tried literally everything else).

It's worth a shot!

Am I the only one that would love to see a new Dredd game based on the 2012 film with custom speech from Karl Urban.

Dredd (resized).jpg

I've triggered this a couple times, and felt like the Modes seemed to override my jackpots lighting and scoring properly. If anything it seemed to wreck the scoring potential for me... Were you actually able to get a jackpot with modes? Perhaps I had started blackout, but I was thinking it had been either impersonator or safe cracker last time...

I'll give it a crack and report back soon TY.

It was worth a shot, agreed, but sadly no change
I re-soldered the wires to both opto's and in doing so re-flowed the solder, cleaned the optos again and then checked in test with both Roms installed (worked fine in test), also manually dropped the ball through as if the crane was dropping it.
I keep coming back to the Rom, it's the ONLY thing being changed over and the trough opto's do not play up with the regular Rom at all, if they were the issue they would play up at some point during play. This is extremely mystifying, not to mention annoying. However illogical it may seem to think the L1AT Rom is dodgy, it just has to be the issue. I've tried everything i can think of that may be causing the problem Thanks for the suggestion though. Might have to email Pinbits and see if they can sell me just the ROM, sure don't need another ring.

The crane optos don't function in the same manner in the non-deadworld rom, so that's why it made sense to me that they were the culprit, but if it didn't fix things for you then I'm not too sure. The TROUGH opto's, however, are definitely not the issue here. It could still be a rom issue, but it seems like if that was the case, everyone would have this issue (unless the issue is a hardware issue on your board). If you do make any headway on solving it, make sure you let us all know!

I sure will. I have sent an email to Pinbits to see if i can buy just the Rom, no reply as yet. If that don't work....well.....geez i dunno!

Later releases of the ROM included better coding and error checking for the optos so they where not as sensitive to hardware problems. I would not suspect a bad ROM, but it is a cheap, easy thing to eliminate if you want to. Go through all of the optos and clean them, check solder joints and wiring and test with a pinball.

Yeah i have already done this, i've been quite systematic about the process, which is why it's been bloody frustrating

We need a hero to integrate the Deadworld code into the later fixed ROM

If I were the said "hero" would I be able to sell the ROM to get paid for the man-hours? What kind of copyright would be broken? Any? I assume the JD rom image is copyrighted and that a license would be needed from PPS in order to sell an updated version? What about selling as non-profit? Is that legal? Curious...

Any ROM being sold Rick would certainly want to oversee it.

He previously asked for bug fixes in code, but I doubt that would ever happen - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wish-list-of-bugs-in-wmsbly-wpcwpc95-code-to-fix/

That being said... there's various versions of code floating out there (Solar Value fix for Pinbot). While selling a modified ROM would certainly violate copyrights, consider the LED patcher. An executable that's freely distributed, you can feed whatever data you want into there and it modifies it. The executable itself isn't violating any copyrights, it's how users use it.

Kinda like buying a solo cup at a kegger, they're not selling you booze they're just selling cups

Bit of an update. A fellow Oz pinsider (newy16216) was kind enough to send me another L1AT Rom from a deadworld mod kit he purchased within the last 6 months. I've tried it in my machine and i'm still getting the same results >>

Super game is still ok but after multi ball is started in regular game the problem arises. In regular game it starts with just the one ball (as per normal), knock the targets down in sequence to start the ball lock mode (as per normal), roll 3 balls into the ring and the machine shoots the 4th ball whilst the crane starts to unload the ring (as per normal) (NOTE* i have checked the crane ball drop manually in switch test just to check that the ball is actually triggering the opto and yup, works), when all 4 balls are in play and you lose 3 it ends BIP (NOT normal). When you start the next BIP the machine throws out several balls into the shooter lane just like it would with a trough opto error

I guess that rules out a dodgy Rom, BUT......... where to go from here?
The only other thing that has been changed was the right hand flipper button opto board, the original seemed to be going bad. The new one is one of the Homepin boards, flipper works heaps better but i can't see how that would make any difference with my DW problem. Thanks to all the advice so far, i've tried all of the ideas but still no change. I'm starting to think i've got a ghost in the machine FFS

Hi looking for some help here - couldn't really find this part online yet as all suppliers seem to be out of stock, but i'm looking for a JUDGE DREDD (BALLY) CRANE CAM Part Number: 03-8998

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-8998

Anyone have any hot leads on where I could find this part?

Sadly, I do not think that part is going to be reproduced. Maybe in the
future, but I doubt it. It is a bad design. If you still have yours..... I assume
that the top collar area is broken due to over tightening. If so, and the plastic is still there, then you could have a collar sleeve made to slip over the part that is cracked/broken and epoxied into place.

The main issue is that the set screw won't tighten as it appears to be stripped, when I take the screw out of the plastic the hole is pretty big. Do you think I may need to buy a bigger set screw?

Try putting a tap through the thread first (the same size and pitch as the thread), this might fix it. I'm not sure what size that thread is off the top of my head. You might be able to go to the next size thread up but i don't think that metal collar insert has too much extra room to do that.

sorry i'm not sure what you mean by "try putting a tap through the thread first"

A tap is used for cutting a thread into a pre existing hole on various materials (usually metal) and the die part is for cutting a thread onto a shaft. You will need to know the exact thread size and the pitch of the thread (usually either CNC or CNF << coarse or fine ) it will be an imperial size but i'm not sure exactly what it is off the top of my head. Running a tap through an existing threaded hole can sometimes clean the thread up if a screw has been cross threaded. If that doesn't work you would consider going to the next size up in thread BUT it depends just how much metal you have to work with.

Or, you could try a piece of plastic wire insulation: sans the metal wire inside.
Like as you do for a stripped wood screw hole on the playfield. Or a piece
of solder. Or a piece of solder wick and maybe a dab of super glue.

Just so you know, I had the same results in my tests and I *think* what was happening for me was the ball was registering in tests, but in practice, the crane drop wouldn't trigger it (or fully trigger it). Resoldering fixed it for me, but you said you already tried that, right?

Yeah i re-soldered the wires to both transmitter and receiver opto's, gave them another clean and tested in the test mode. After that i manually rolled the ball across to drop through the opto (to simulate the crane dropping it) and it triggered in test. i have then started multiball with the glass off, grabbed hold of the trough ejected 4th ball and then made sure the crane dropped all 3 balls from the ring through the opto. It's actually finishing the BIP after losing just 1 ball of the 4. Bloody weird !!

True, also could possible use thread tape like plumbers do.

OK thanks - do you mean teflon tape? Also what are peoples thoughts on just using a bigger set screw? Thanks for the help!

Yep, PTFE tape, Plumbers tape, Teflon tape, different names, same beast

ok cool - got some of that tape, I'll try to give it a whirl tonight. Thanks again!

Mancave, if you haven't check your 18V and 12V. Also inspect the row and column connectors and make sure all of the wires are well seated. If you have a low-current connection you can have issues like this where stuff works in test but not during the game when there is a greater load.

So I tried the plumbers tape and no dice, but on closer inspection I noticed that there is no brass metal insert inside the plastic disc! Any tips on what to do next? Can you get the insert and glue it in or something?

Ahhhh, no insert is a problem, has the insert fallen out into your cabinet? there should be an insert in it as standard. I can think of a couple of options although others may have some extra solutions. Dodgy option* - you could potentially tap a thread into the plastic itself, it's not under a huge load BUT i'm not sure it would hold properly and could crack the plastic when threading it. Better option* - you can buy metal inserts designed to go into plastic, press in types and screw in also that could do the job and i think you can get them in small enough sizes (metric and imperial). You may have to drill a slightly bigger hole in the plastic to accommodate the insert though, which means being very careful when drilling. Other option is to find a used or NOS intact cam disc. I checked around for NOS one's but no-one seems to have them (including Oz parts suppliers)

Hey Presto FOUND them.
http://www.actionpinball.com/parts.php?item=03-8869

EDIT : SORRY, scratch that, my mistake, it's the other disc

Wouldn't i have similar issues like these when the normal ROM is installed? this is the thing i can't work out at the moment, with regular Rom i can play many games with no apparent problems. I'm really mystified

Thanks for the tips here! I checked the cabinet and didn't see the insert, when looking for the metal inserts, should I bring in the set screw in to home depot or something to see if someone can help me find the right size?

Yeah good idea to do that, it will be an imperial size but i'm not sure what it is. Probably a good idea to take the cam disc with you also so you can marry up an insert with it, plus it will give you an idea if you need to make a slightly bigger hole, press/glue fit the insert or screw fit. I'm not even sure if you guys in Canada use Imperial or Metric these days

Could be right, but I think that pattern is a little misleading. As I said earlier the later software releases updated a lot of opto stuff to correct/prevent problems. It may be an issue of two borderline issues combining to create a failure.

I'm not a Dredd owner but I am a fan of this pin. So let me understand, the Deadworld mod has been out how many years and everyone is just now realizing it doesn't work like it should?

Deadworld mod works fine. Been running it for a year. But as is always stated, your machine needs to be 100%. The game doesn't deal with problematic optos well at all. I did have some odd behavior until I get everything working 101% (http://www.aaarpinball.com/JudgeDredd/JD.htm)

I cannot explain why some people have trouble. I'd guess that they have intermittent problems that are hard to reproduce.

Just to be clear the deadworld mod works fine. The optos just have to be working 100%. In later software releases the system is more able to work around hardware issues.

Yep. I changed all my transmitter optos in my JD game and never had an issue with the game dumping out random multiballs in the year and a half I had it. Game moved to the next owner for a year and still had no issues and now it is with a new owner for about 4 months. Playing solid with the dead world mod the whole time, about 2 1/2 years now.

This has probably been stated, but the #1 action that absolutely must occur with the deadworld mod is...

WHEN THE CRANE PICKS UP A BALL, IT MUST FALL THROUGH OPTO ON THE FAR LEFT. If it EVER rolls down the front of Deadworld (meaning the crane drops it, but it doesn't go the expected path but rather rolls down the left of Deadworld), the game will be screwed up.

In short

1) The optos need to work 100% of the time
2) The crane must be calibrated correctly to drop the ball through the left opto 100% of the time

I had a rather unique problem. My crane's magnet core had become slightly magnetized and occasionally would hold onto the ball even when the solenoid was powered off! This caused the ball to not fall through the expected OPTO but rather roll down deadworld. The arm would swing to the left, the solenoid was "release" the ball --- but it will be stuck to the core. The arm would swing back and the ball would eventually fall off --- rolling down the front of Deadworld. I fixed this problem by heating the "core magnet" element with a butane torch (removing the magnetism). I just realized I didn't write this up on my site. I'll add it...

I'd say you need to have the crane test operate correctly at least 20+ times (in diags) in a row before you are good with the crane. This is the test that picks up a ball, moves it to the drop spot, and drops it into the correct opto opening.

Mine also worked fine for about 2 years. After a short hiatus where the driver board had a bridge rectifier repaired i've had the troubles i have been describing in previous posts.

Agreed, most likely correct, it sure has to be something not right. Very soon i'm going to buy a new blackout ramp/assembly (the original is cracked in a few places) so that will replace the crane drop opto and i'm also going to upgrade the trough opto boards to the Great Lakes Modular ones. Until then it will just have to stay regular Rom

bigger screw always works

Did the problem start immediately after the bridge rectifier replacement? And which rectifier was replaced. May be nothing, but I don't like coincidences.

Are referring to the problem I am having with my crane cam part?

More or less yeah, took a couple of months to get the board back to me due to a comedy of errors and it was BR1 that was changed over.

I would monitor TP8 under load and see if you get any fluctuations.

Just checked this today, i had a mate play the machine (including when in multiball) whilst i kept the DMM on TP8 and the ground braid. The reading went between 16.89 to about 16.95 with an occasional spike to 17.02. This is probably normal range i'm guessing but i'm not positive about that. This was with the regular Rom installed but i wouldn't think that would make any difference.

I already have an ad in the market place area of this site - but thought I would post it here as well. Looking desperately for a Judge Dredd Crane Cam Part# 03-8998. Willing to pay top dollar! See below link for a picture of the part I need. Thanks!!

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-8998

What's the static reading (go into diag so as little as possible is happening).