Chicago, IL
Reaper802 am not familiar with it and STL file. Is it for 3D print? How can I use the file to make them? This is a lost World for me, lol. Please let me know
(Topic ID: 124724)
Linked Games
Flight 2000
Stern Electronics, 1980
Topic Gallery
DanMarino, going back to that annoying sound coming consistently from speaker, I first toughed it was speaker doing it as I bought it with a small hole punched thru. Replaced speaker and nothing. After I burned the VSU-100, that humming noise was still there the same, so I toughed it must have been sound card. I replaced it with new sound card, but that noise continued till recently ended with replacing VSU-2.
Quoted from emsrph:Having pinball machines you either have to learn to fix them or pay someone to fix them.
Ain't that the truth. I say that to everyone who thinks they want to buy one even if it's one I'm selling.
Quoted from turboburt1:DanMarino, going back to that annoying sound coming consistently from speaker, I first toughed it was speaker doing it as I bought it with a small hole punched thru. Replaced speaker and nothing. After I burned the VSU-100, that humming noise was still there the same, so I toughed it must have been sound card. I replaced it with new sound card, but that noise continued till recently ended with replacing VSU-2.
This is good to know. I have the humming on f2k and catacomb which is even louder. It does go down when I lower the volume pot when the game is powered up but idle. Picking up a vs2 tomorrow as I am local to these guys.
I have zero hum coming from my f2k. I think it comes from a ground issue. I am still using stock sound and speech boards but I have recapped the sound board. Also repinned entire game's connectors.
One improvement I made was to the ground strap from the head going to the grounding plate behind the boards. The strap just had a single staple there so I added a screw to make a tighter connection. All boards are screwed down and grounded.
Another cause may be from the large caps on sol driver causing some feedback imo.
Make sure your cab grounds are solid and most importantly the AC plug has it's ground prong. You can also try grounding the speaker frame. I don't think Stern did that lime Bally did.
Quoted from Lovef2k:I have zero hum coming from my f2k. I think it comes from a ground issue. I am still using stock sound and speech boards but I have recapped the sound board. Also repinned entire game's connectors.
One improvement I made was to the ground strap from the head going to the grounding plate behind the boards. The strap just had a single staple there so I added a screw to make a tighter connection. All boards are screwed down and grounded.
Another cause may be from the large caps on sol driver causing some feedback imo.
Make sure your cab grounds are solid and most importantly the AC plug has it's ground prong. You can also try grounding the speaker frame. I don't think Stern did that lime Bally did.
Thanks f2k. I tend to agree with your angle here. Definitely sounds like some type of ground issue. I'll start with the actual power cord and work my way back and try the vs2. I have a hum on centaur too so I think itz a ground pronlem
Quoted from turboburt1:Reaper802 am not familiar with it and STL file. Is it for 3D print? How can I use the file to make them? This is a lost World for me, lol. Please let me know
Yes, normally you would use an STL on a 3D printer. It could also be used on a CNC machine to cut them out of stainless steel.
About the humming noise, thanks for the tip about improving the grounds. I'll look into that. I also need a new speaker. My original speaker is torn and doesn't look so great. haha. Can any 6 inch (just a guess on size) speaker work down there?
Also thanks for the inlane plastics traced on the graph paper. I've printed it out to scale and will try to use it to make a clear Lexan version to fit under my broken original left inlane.
Quoted from DanMarino:Can any 6 inch (just a guess on size) speaker work down there?
full range with matching impedance (ohms). Pretty sure they are 8 ohm. I can check. I found some decent replacements on amazon for cheap. Like 9 bucks I think. I will take a look in a bit. I would avoid the car speakers with the separate tweeter. Tried one of those in my embryon and it sounded tinny.
RB
Quoted from rcbrown316:full range with matching impedance (ohms). Pretty sure they are 8 ohm. I can check. I found some decent replacements on amazon for cheap. Like 9 bucks I think. I will take a look in a bit. I would avoid the car speakers with the separate tweeter. Tried one of those in my embryon and it sounded tinny.
RB
Awesome rcbrown. Yes, an Amazon link would be fantastic for the speaker.
Quoted from DanMarino:Awesome rcbrown. Yes, an Amazon link would be fantastic for the speaker.
20210430_112442 (resized).jpg20210430_112503 (resized).jpgQuoted from DanMarino:Awesome rcbrown. Yes, an Amazon link would be fantastic for the speaker.
Canberra
Got my new VSU2. 2 days from order to delivery. Great service from Glodstone. I can't wait to try it out.
The past 2 or 3 evenings I have been playing our Flight 2000 with my 23 year old son. He has a pretty stressful job and usually hits the basement when he gets home from work to unwind watching YouTube. However, my son really seems to be enjoying the machine now that our Flight 2000 is getting more reliable. The last several evenings we have struggled to "BLAST OFF". Typically we get the letters spelled on ball #3, but end up draining while doing the count down or before we can get the ball up into the launcher mechanism. Last night my son blasted off and got the multi-ball, only to have 2 of the balls drain down the middle almost immediately. haha. After about 6 games together I bailed out and he told me that the game is a lot of fun now that it is playing so well and we've fixed it up so much. I was talking to him to see if he was interested in getting rid of the game and upgrading to something modern and he certainly thinks Flight 2000 is a keeper.
Quoted from DanMarino:The past 2 or 3 evenings I have been playing our Flight 2000 with my 23 year old son. He has a pretty stressful job and usually hits the basement when he gets home from work to unwind watching YouTube. However, my son really seems to be enjoying the machine now that our Flight 2000 is getting more reliable. The last several evenings we have struggled to "BLAST OFF". Typically we get the letters spelled on ball #3, but end up draining while doing the count down or before we can get the ball up into the launcher mechanism. Last night my son blasted off and got the multi-ball, only to have 2 of the balls drain down the middle almost immediately. haha. After about 6 games together I bailed out and he told me that the game is a lot of fun now that it is playing so well and we've fixed it up so much. I was talking to him to see if he was interested in getting rid of the game and upgrading to something modern and he certainly thinks Flight 2000 is a keeper.
haha I get multiball on f2k about 4 times a year and they all drain almost immediately. Don't sell it. All the new stuff is too easy with the ball saves and multiball pretty much every game. I went through a bunch of them and now most are gone. I bought my f2k years ago and did a full restore with clearcoat and the whole nine yards. Yesterday I went through it tweaked it up, adjusted the flippers, waxed it and put some 1x4's under the back legs. I'd much rather play that then metallica.
I have trouble getting BLAST OFF on a 5 ball game let alone 3 ball. F2k can be a drain monster sometimes. That upper left kicker shoots ball to right outline gets be often and makes me so mad lol.
But every once in a while there's that game where everything falls into place and you have great game. My high score is in the 6 million range so far.
Quoted from DanMarino:The past 2 or 3 evenings I have been playing our Flight 2000 with my 23 year old son. He has a pretty stressful job and usually hits the basement when he gets home from work to unwind watching YouTube. However, my son really seems to be enjoying the machine now that our Flight 2000 is getting more reliable. The last several evenings we have struggled to "BLAST OFF". Typically we get the letters spelled on ball #3, but end up draining while doing the count down or before we can get the ball up into the launcher mechanism. Last night my son blasted off and got the multi-ball, only to have 2 of the balls drain down the middle almost immediately. haha. After about 6 games together I bailed out and he told me that the game is a lot of fun now that it is playing so well and we've fixed it up so much. I was talking to him to see if he was interested in getting rid of the game and upgrading to something modern and he certainly thinks Flight 2000 is a keeper.
Although a multiball can be exhilarating on F2K just acheiving one is the fun , after 2 drain , left spinner ALL DAY !!!!! ... it can be a lot of just "chopping wood"
6 million sounds crazy. The saved high score on our machine is over 5 million. My son's goal is to beat that score.
I didn't realize people play on the 5 ball setting. What other dip switch settings do you use?
I think ours is set to all the standard settings.
Switch 7 "on" gets 5 balls, 14 "on" gets you background sound, 17 "on" gets speech.
Do you have a manual? Switch settings are on page 10 and beyond. If you don't, look here: https://www.ipdb.org/files/887/Stern_1980_Flight_2000_Manual.pdf
Our game is on 5 balls, and my wife is the high score owner at about 4.7 million. 7 really is good.
Quoted from DanMarino:6 million sounds crazy. The saved high score on our machine is over 5 million. My son's goal is to beat that score.
I didn't realize people play on the 5 ball setting. What other dip switch settings do you use?
I think ours is set to all the standard settings.
Yeah 5 ball is for wimps but it's my game lol. I also set awards for extra balls instead of free games to make the game last as long as possible.
Quoted from Lovef2k:Yeah 5 ball is for wimps but it's my game lol. I also set awards for extra balls instead of free games to make the game last as long as possible.
I usually just "Eddie Murphy" the thing https://funwithbonus.com/new-pinball-dictionary-eddie-murphy/
Quoted from Xtraball:What’s everybody’s settings for certain features such as the spinner (sw.22), Apollo lites (sw.24), bonus multiplier (sw.30)...
carry spinner, so you have a continuing ball to ball goal
reset multiplier, so you have a this ball only goal
apollo lights off, otherwise carryover game to game of locked balls unfair
Since I have the modified software in mine multiball can be slightly easier to obtain due to the skill shot spotting letters, but I also have that set to progressive mutliball launch - first one is 5-4-3-2-1 only but subsequent ones require full countdown (drops in order twice)
Also I have the center special set to payout extra balls but the outlanes ones pay out specials. There's no spot blast on the center drop anymore (just single letters with the quick shot)
Off the top of my head, these are the dip switch settings I can remember.
3 balls.
No extra balls awarded.
Speech and sounds on.
The right spinner value is reset after each ball.
The multiplier is reset after each ball.
I think Apollo lights are off after each game, but light up after spelling "BLAST-OFF".
However, locked balls stay in the launcher between games.
Quoted from DanMarino:Off the top of my head, these are the dip switch settings I can remember.
3 balls.
No extra balls awarded.
Speech and sounds on.
The right spinner value is reset after each ball.
The multiplier is reset after each ball.
I think Apollo lights are off after each game, but light up after spelling "BLAST-OFF".
However, locked balls stay in the launcher between games.
Mine is set the same with the addition to spot each "f" independently
The balls DO stay in the walker between games until rebooted (still have to light the lock even if the ball is there)
I would think this is the way the machine would be setup for tournament / location play
Quoted from slochar:carry spinner, so you have a continuing ball to ball goal
reset multiplier, so you have a this ball only goal
apollo lights off, otherwise carryover game to game of locked balls unfair
Since I have the modified software in mine multiball can be slightly easier to obtain due to the skill shot spotting letters, but I also have that set to progressive mutliball launch - first one is 5-4-3-2-1 only but subsequent ones require full countdown (drops in order twice)
Also I have the center special set to payout extra balls but the outlanes ones pay out specials. There's no spot blast on the center drop anymore (just single letters with the quick shot)
I want to install your new code & try it , but I'm trying to decide between rewiring the machine or not ( I probably will and place tags on the swapped conductors ) I'm also trying to decide on burning over the existing ROMS (they have the window on the chip) -or- finding replacement chips.
THEN I'd have to have to have a friend burn them for me, he said he's got the stuff to do it 
Quoted from rcbrown316:so after i went through and tweaked it up my gal, as usual, destroyed me on the first game. We do play all of our games on 5-ball but they are insanely fast. I'm a pretty decent player and usually dont break 600k-700k.
[quoted image]
3 of my favorites in your pic. I'm jelly
Quoted from Lovef2k:3 of my favorites in your pic. I'm jelly
seeing you and your f2k at pinfest quite a long time ago inspired me!
RB
Quoted from rcbrown316:seeing you and your f2k at pinfest quite a long time ago inspired me!
RB
If I change one life for the better it's all worth it. Hope to see you in July. F2k is staying home this time. It's set up in the mancave now and I don't want to move her.
If I can get it finished in time, I'm bringing a nice HS with a new hardtop and possibly a Spy Hunter.
3ball game and F's independent is a Scifi for me. I have seen pro playing in on Youtube, it was insane. Am the opposite, lol. I thing I have all advantages switched on MPU. I would not less long. 5ball more chance to reach multi. Just saying.
Our game came to us years ago from a guy who's now very high on the Stern Pro Tour. He had it set at 3 balls, no advantages and jacked up so high the playfield looked like a ski jump. His high score was still higher than we've managed with 5 balls and friendlier set-up.
How do you guys like to align your flippers? I see there are pins in the playfield below the flippers, but I'm not exactly sure what those are for. Visually, I think it looks best when the flippers align at the same downward angles as the in-lanes. Is there a flipper position that is ideal for playing the game?
I'll just leave this here with my fingers crossed. Sometimes owners have 2 games on hand to make 1 good one, then have a project left over
Quoted from DanMarino:How do you guys like to align your flippers? I see there are pins in the playfield below the flippers, but I'm not exactly sure what those are for. Visually, I think it looks best when the flippers align at the same downward angles as the in-lanes. Is there a flipper position that is ideal for playing the game?
The pins are there to align the flippers to. I generally align differently depending on the game, and how I want it to shoot. Outside shots work better with the flippers lower, so games with outside shots like the spinners on f2k will work better there.
It all comes down to if you like it or not, you do it. Some say the designer of the game wanted the flippers there, but they also probably designated where how and what kind of rubber and size a game gets, and operators or me change them all the time to change the way the game plays.
Quoted from DanMarino:How do you guys like to align your flippers? I see there are pins in the playfield below the flippers, but I'm not exactly sure what those are for. Visually, I think it looks best when the flippers align at the same downward angles as the in-lanes. Is there a flipper position that is ideal for playing the game?
Mine are set so they rest on the pins.
If the ball is rolling down the in-lane, if you let it roll down the flipper, it will bounce off the center-post (or chill-post) over to the other flipper.
Another anomaly occurs though when you flip and release, the flipper bat will bounce off that pin. I had heard there was a term for this but I forget what it was.
Quoted from DanMarino:How do you guys like to align your flippers? I see there are pins in the playfield below the flippers, but I'm not exactly sure what those are for. Visually, I think it looks best when the flippers align at the same downward angles as the in-lanes. Is there a flipper position that is ideal for playing the game?
I had the same opinion on the flipper alignment on the sterns. i didn't like the look of the droopy mom-tit flippers so I perked 'em up. As it turns out though, with classic stern flippers as well as actual mom-tits...your chances of scoring are way better.
RB
1 week later
Can someone snap a picture of the trough switches and diodes? I want to confirm the way the diodes are installed.
I happen to have my playfield inverted so easy pics 
Quoted from Robotworkshop:Can someone snap a picture of the trough switches and diodes? I want to confirm the way the diodes are installed.
Quoted from Robotworkshop:Could also use reference photos of the two switches for the ball walker assembly.
hope they help
These did help. Thank you! Someone had a switch wired wrong with the wire on the wrong side of the diode. The diode was completely out of the circuit. All fixed now.
1 week later
My 2nd highest score. Almost had a second BLAST OFF on ball #3. The machine continues to work reliably for us. This summer I'll do some work on some light sockets, and figure out why the 2nd Stage Go light is always on. Other than that the machine just has some cosmetic issues that would require paint touch ups to the play field. It's a fun machine and a keeper.
Last night I changed out the left flipper bushing, plunger, and coil stop on my Flight 2000. Can someone post a photo of their left flipper? The wiring on mine looks strange. After putting everything together, the plunger is very weak now and eventually began to not work. I'm wondering if the end of stroke switch is not working properly? I have new switches I can put on that came with the rebuild kit.
The coil has 3 places on the tab thing to connect the wires, but I don't remember seeing any diodes on it. I'll try working on it Friday evening to see if I can get it all back to normal. I did notice that some strands of wire have broken off of at least one soldered connection.
Thanks for the assistance.
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