Wow! I like the one you made much better than the original. Nice job.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twister-drop-target-decal

Nice. Twister is one of those perpetually on my 'target of opportunity' list games. Would love to have one, just a matter of the right time/place/price...

Nice mod never thought if that!

tmp_13909-IMG_20141006_230918_557-1832778339.jpg

I do have one I'm willing to sell in Plainfield CT 06374

Hello,
picked up one wreck last week...
Misses complete DMD-Speakerpanel (but i got one from a JP), also some
parts which i bought and must buy later.
But this machine, was never set up anywhere or played since at least 10 years as
it served as a wreck for parts.
Translite, Spinning Motor are there, also some other parts, not shown in the pics.

WP_20150228_017.JPG

WP_20150228_018.JPG

WP_20150228_019.JPG

WP_20150228_020.JPG

WP_20150228_029.JPG

I've been in this club for quite a while now. Twister is one of my favorite machines I played on route back in the 90s. Someday I may install that NOS playfield I have, but the machine still plays fast without it.

Hello,
today i stripped the playfield except some parts.
They will be gone next week, as i want to clean the playfield and then
reassamble it.

I will keep you informed.

WP_20150423_101.JPG

WP_20150423_102.JPG

WP_20150423_103.JPG

for those having trouble blowing the magnet fuse there is a service bulletin.

Yes i know that allready, but before i get into the magnet thing, i will have to do many other things.

Hi all,
Hoping to join the club soon, have a chance on a machine that is missing the drop target. The mechanism is in place, but the target is missing. Can you tell me if there is anything special about the Twister target or is it generic and can be easily replaced?

Thanks all.

Hey all,
Not much action here so hopefully I'll help drum some up!

Got my Twister recently after some failed attempted purchases. Game was in great shape and setup with LEDs, except I knocked out the DMD during transport. Service narrowed the problem down to the Display Power supply board and I replaced that with a new $50 board and she works great.

Included some pictures below of:
- The game
- My 7 year old enjoying the game (Daddy I'm GOOD at this one!)
- Strange place I got the ball stuck after a few plays. Gameplay is FAST and it's not uncommon to have the ball rattle around, hit the glass, hop over some plastics... All normal?

After resolving the DMD my outstanding problem is the spinning disc. It works, meaning that it occassionally spins, but does not seem to spin as intended. Upon getting multiball, balls will drop to disc and stick to center magnet, but disc won't spin and launch them, it just drops them to the flippers. I'd like to get the disc spinning when it should, not sure what to tweak there, ideas?

Thanks all!
game.jpggirl.jpgball.jpg

Hello Rando,

your problem with the spinning disc is known and solved via a service bulletin No. 91 found here:

http://arcarc.xmission.com/Pinball/Stern%20Service%20Bulletins/sb/sb91.pdf

Then you should update your Game Rom to Version 4.05 or better 3.00, as this was found as the stablest one at all. If you have CPU Rom Version between 3.00 and 4.05, like 4.04 the bugs with the spinning disc happen all the time.

Other possible things are that your spinning disc motor is not working properley anymore. But before this, you should regard the things above.

The flying balls are known in pinball scene as "airballs", and can come by not properly aligned targets, ramp flaps, broken posts or at worse, a bad playfield.
Maybe you have the wrong coils mounted, when they are too strong/fast.

I spent a lot of money and time working on my Twister's spinning disk. It would spin fine, but the magnets didn't work. Flipper-Maniac gave you some great advice above on the service bulletin so follow that first if a previous owner hasn't already taken care of it. One other thing is a small chip on a small magnet board under the playfield. The chip contains code for the magnet. I bought several with no success until another Pinsider told me that he believed that the only source to find one without corrupted code was rompingirl on e-bay. I picked one up from that source and voila, it worked. If your magnets are truly working, your problem might just be a code issue. But at least now you know what to look at if the magnets fail.

Thanks all,
The magnets at the disc and in the back appear to work fine. You can make the skill shot to the disc center, and the disc holds the balls during multiball, it just doesn't spin at that time to send them out as I've seen in videos. I'll definitely check the ROM and see what happens!

And can someone talk me through this? Haven't updated a game before so this is new to me.

Also, would it make sense for me to try this update before replacing the diodes and resister as detailed in the Service bulletin? Asking because:
- Magnets appear to be working fine
- Updating code sounds much simpler & safer than me attempting to change diodes on a processor board

Thanks!

Silly me,
I was thinking this was some type of software update that I was going to download and install via a USB port or something like that, wasn't sure where to start...
But instead it's just replacing a chip on the board in the backbox, yes?

Pic of diagram showing what I believe is the chip location and a chip below to purchase. Simple as it looks, just remove and replace?

rom1.jpgrom2.jpg

Hello,

when updating, you should also change Display Rom A4.00, for proper work with the CPU Rom A4.05.
And yes, you can not update this Whitestar-System via USB, you must change an IC.
But that's all. Take care when inserting the new IC, do not bend pins, and also check for correct direction,
as you will fry the new IC if inserting in wrong direction.

The Display Rom sits on the PCB, that is mounted behind the Display.

Thanks Flipper,
Both Chips ordered.

It looks like it's not too uncommon for people to install the chip incorrectly. I've seen a few links to a Stern document that is supposed to describe the install (sb150.pdf) but the file doesn't appear to be found.

How do you ensure the orientation of the chip is correct before installing?

There is a notch on the chip and other on the board. Look at the other chips on the board, this chip should be orientated the same way.

here are a few pics of mine I changed the translite because I couldn't stand to look at Helen Hunt & Bill Paxton up there any longer geez they are plastered all over the game I like this version of translite the best , also had no sticker at all on my drop target for the canister so I looked around & found this lil Tornado guy had to buy them in bulk to get em & have several sheets left over if any Pinsider wants em P.m me & I will send you a couple in the mail , you will need to use a exacto blade or a good new pair of scissors to trim him down to fit & lastly BIG Thanks to Taz for the info on the magnet board Rom source mine is working but I had purchased a new one from Marco just to have a spare & for diagnosis of intermittent bugs but it never worked ! I called Marco to complain & ask for a replacement & at that time they said no more were available & that they were aware that the Rom is corrupted .. they gave me Chaz # @ Stern & told me to call him lol anyways ordered one today to put in my extra magnet board // sure wish I could find a plastic set for it

20151110_1800571.jpg

20151110_1759531.jpg

20151110_1803151.jpg

Hello, this happened even to friend, who knew how to do this, and he saw, how the Eprom was glowing inside like a lamp, after switching on the Pinball Machine. But only for a short time. This was for a Twilight Zone, the Eprom was burnt & done, so a new one was made, and this time, he made it right

I had never bothered to look before I came across this thread but checked mine last night & its running 4.05 newest version code but the display is running on the old 2.01 so I guess I will be looking into the updated Rom for the display //// Thanks for the info Flipper_ Maniac

Thank you much,
I sent you a PM and look forward to some tornadoes!

I haven't grown sick of Helen & Bill yet, but yours is a great option!

Got my ROM chips,
Went to remove the existing, didn't try TOO hard but they appear resistant to come out.

Any trick to removing the existing chips without damaging them and/or the board? Gentle grip with pliers? Small flathead screwdriver wedged in there to pry lose?

Probably a specific tool that I don't have... What should I use in it's place?

Thanks!

you need an ASIC puller tool

You do not need an "ASIC puller tool." You might want a EEPROM remover, but a small flat head screw driver, just a little nudge on alternating sides is fine for a chip or two.

Try and take it out as straight as possible, but since they are being replaced anyway, and you have no good need for the old chips (unless maybe the new chips don't work) it won't keep you up at night if you damage the old chips.

There is no way to damage the board unless you doing something really screwy like try and use another component as leverage to pry the chip up.

EEPROM puller (not ASIC), or flat head.

mine is for sale if anyone is interested ,nice players cond. game everything works as it should just need to make room for a new title

sold my Twister but I still have some hard to find parts if anyone is in need or interested I have a brand new membrane switch for the canister ball trough & also have a brand new magna board for the spinning magnet & it has the good ROM from ROMpingirl not the corrupted one that Marco's has been selling P.M me if interested I will get some pics this eve. and post these items up in the Pinside market place when I get a chance

Mine say 2.05. My magnet is screwy sometimes.

I'm looking for a set of plastics for Twister if anybody has any for sale or knows where I can get a set. Some of mine are broken.

Just got a Twister and it had everything but the top fan. Anyone got one? Marco and others seem to be sold out of everything but the plastic exterior and screens that cover the fan blade (cosmetics). Trying to find a complete fan or at least the assembly (bracket & motor with fan blade).

Unfortunately unless someone is parting one out or have a spare no one carries them as I'm sure your finding out... Goodluck!

Also just letting everyone know I have about 10 of the repo disc decals left if anyone is interested. $25 shipped for pinsiders just pm me, here's the eBay link. ebay.com link: Twister pinball disc decal

Broke the drop target, which was a good time to add the sticker from Tecumseh above (Thanks!). First time I've ever had to replace a target, and was more involved than I thought, as I had to remove the assembly. But I didn't have to disconnect any wiring, and having a magnetic tool/tray was quite helpful to keep from losing screws.

But got it installed and it looks/plays great! Wondering if my flippers are too powerful, they really smack the ball around. Will see if Anything else suffers or maybe I'll add some video for feedback. Luck all!

IMG_0509_(resized).JPG

New to the club as of this week. Been searching for awhile on this game. I have some questions for you experts on here. I picked it up and its currently running 4.05 , a couple sound bytes in the game have a really bad crackle white noise that goes over the real sound byte. Does this happen with the old un-updated ROM chips? Also I have to get the new ROM for the magnet because that is not working at all either. Is there anything other then the ROM chip to make the disc and magnet working???

How easy are these to install?

FB_IMG_1455306769093_(resized).jpg

Twister always has ridiculous flippers. I was playing with the glass off and the ball flew completely out.

there is a setting in part of the menu , cant remember for sure but I think might be under Sega settings anyway its in there somewhere & you can set coil pulse to one of 3 settings....... soft , medium ,or hard mine was always on hard so I could make the chase ramp with some consistency .... medium is the factory setting

I thought that I would see if we can get this thread revived. No Twister news from anyone?

If you haven't done so, be sure to look at Service Bulletin 91 and do the installation of the resistor to replace the LED and install the zener diodes (two in parallel) at D13 on the driver board. Also, you'll probably need to replace the transistors at Q3, Q5 and Q7 since there is a good chance they are fried if your diode at D13 had previously failed (you can easily test the transistors with your DMM to confirm their condition).

When I did my diode replacement at D13, I put one on the component side of the board and one underneath the board since room gets a little tight on the component side. Be sure that the bands are both oriented in the same direction.

IMG_1502 (resized).JPG

I just completed some work on my Twister wherein I replaced all of the lights with LEDs (except the flashers) and reworked the ramp attachment to (hopefully) forestall any more cracking to the ramp. The ramp cracks because it is attached to the playfield only with two screws through the plastic, and the walls of the ramp at the entrance are constantly hammered without any means of lateral support (that probably describes a lot of pinball ramps). The result is that they crack starting at the weak point (the holes for the screws) and the cracks continue up the ramp. I don't believe there is a replacement ramp available.

Here are a few pics. Note that the ramp is no longer attached with the wood screws into the playfield. Instead, there a two 2 1/2 inch #6 machine screws on either side of the entrance that extend below the playfield and are secured with nylock nuts.

I first glued the cracks in the ramp with Plast-I-Weld. I then fabricated a piece of clear plexiglas (the edges were sanded and flame polished) that ties the two walls together using the attachment holes already available on the SS ramp protectors. #6 machine screws and nylock nuts were used at all four attachment points (the ramp holes had to be drilled out) with the front screws (2 1/2 inch) used to firmly attach the ramp to the playfield (as described above). The whole thing is rock-solid and will hopefully head off any additional cracking.

IMG_1562 (resized).JPG

IMG_1563 (resized).JPG

IMG_1565 (resized).JPG

IMG_1566 (resized).JPG

IMG_1567 (resized).JPG

IMG_1568 (resized).JPG

IMG_1569 (resized).JPG

Wow your game looks great! Makes me want to add more LEDs than I have in mine (just some GI).

Where are the ramps known to crack? I haven't noticed any issues but maybe I should double check.

If you look closely at the ramp pictures you can see the cracks at the radius where the bottom transitions upwards to the sides of the ramp.

Oh - just above the black flap on the right and left?

Yes.

Just joined the club today! Have one issue I'm hoping someone else has had and fixed before.

The main spinner disc toy seems to be sunken down just a little bit lower than the playfield, resulting in major air balls. I've never seen air balls like this before. Does anyone know what I should do?

Thanks!

IMG_20170601_165336 (resized).jpg

On page 82 of the manual are drawings of the spinner assembly. You'll note a set screw on the sleeve underneath the disk that holds it to the shaft of the electric motor that spins it. You should be able to loosen that set screw and move the disk up or down relative to the playfield.

It should be noted that you'll still have airballs as the flippers are very strong. That's just part of the game with this one.

If your machine hasn't already had the upgrade, you should read Service Bulletin #91 and install the prescribed parts. It is a very simple fix and, if you don't, you risk a meltdown of the magnet board at some point with a lot more damage that just a couple of diodes.

Enjoy. This is a very underrated and fun game.

Thanks for the pointers! I haven't printed the manual yet, so I'm kinda flying blind. I'll try to adjust the spinner disc when I get a chance. Pretty sure that accounts for about 90% of my air balls. Hopefully once that's fixed there won't be AS MANY air balls. I understand this game is notorious for air balls, but the ones I'm seeing are ridiculous. I even installed a cow toy just to stop the ball from getting stuck on the plastic just above the drop target. She's taking a beating, but so far so good!

Congratulations! I miss my Twister, believe it or not. Does your spinner magnet work okay? If not, let me know. I fought that battle over a year before I figured it out.