Howell, MI
Quoted from stumblor:[quoted image]
I see mine in the third row!!!! Super pumped.
(Topic ID: 335062)
Linked Games
Foo Fighters (LE)
Stern, 2023-
Foo Fighters (Premium)
Stern, 2023
Topic Gallery
1 month later
London
Firstly, thanks so much for everyone's patience in waiting for the Area 51 mod to surface. Although we've still been tied up on the Godzilla mods for the past few months, I've been spending time where I can to make sure the lightshows are as good as they can possibly be for this mod, which has meant a bit of a redesign to how the spotlights works (the three sets of two forward facing lights). Previously, these picked up on the ambient light coming from some downward pointing LEDs, but I wasn't happy with the effect, so decided instead to create an independent LED board to drive each section.
You can see the 3 new (tiny) boards in this video:
The effect is a vast improvement, brighter, and allowing for much more interesting and varied patterns. The 3 spotlights are linked together when 'at rest', showing a continuous cycling pattern:
Then when each of the targets on the upper playfield is hit, it triggers the corresponding spotlight. The spinner triggers the siren at the top, and all three sets of spotlights.
In terms of where we're at with the build - I've just ordered the production PCBs and the remaining outstanding parts, so we're looking at a late Dec/Early Jan start. This is a few months later than I would have liked, although I'm hoping with the changes and improvements I've been able to pack in during the interim, everyone will okay with waiting just a bit longer. As always, massively appreciate everyones support and patience.
looks great man. Are the "spot lights" RGB? and if so are they controllable? If they are just cool white I wonder if I can fit a gel behind it. I just swapped all my lighting to warm in my FF and I'm a little worried about clashing. Then again the inserts are all cool white and I live with that (for now)
Calgary, AB
Quoted from Fiddler:Wow! Fantastic work.
Quoted from Jamesays:dig it.
Quoted from pingod:Looks fantastic
Quoted from Kkoss24:Killer!!! Looks great Davey it will go perfect on that Upper .
Thanks a lot guys - super proud of this one.
Quoted from Sorokyl:looks great man. Are the "spot lights" RGB? and if so are they controllable? If they are just cool white I wonder if I can fit a gel behind it. I just swapped all my lighting to warm in my FF and I'm a little worried about clashing. Then again the inserts are all cool white and I live with that (for now)
Yes those spots are RGB (and currently pinkish), so fully controllable and colourable just like the other lit sections. Likewise, if the rotating flashing effect that is currently there isn't to your liking, you can just change it.
Love the spinner effect. Was just wondering why this effect isn’t used more in games. LZ has a real cool lighting effect with the spinner that raised out of the playfield on Prem/LE’s.
Quoted from Kkoss24:Love the spinner effect. Was just wondering why this effect isn’t used more in games. LZ has a real cool lighting effect with the spinner that raised out of the playfield on Prem/LE’s.
Totally. LZ was a pretty big disappointment all things considered, but that center playfield spinner is incredibly satisfying to shoot. I think the sound FX on the spin helped a lot with that also.
I think generally speaking, these type of effects would have to be managed by a custom LED PCB, and a custom controller - which is probably why they're avoided for the most part. Normal playfield lamps tend to be either white or RGB, single lamp, and the commands that control them restricted to on/off, timed fade on/off, and timed blinking. When anything custom is needed, such as the furnace in BKSOR, it's usually done using a simple timer/delay circuit, rather than a controller to do fancy stuff. Budgets and overheads innit. At least that leaves to door open for me!
Quoted from stumblor:Totally. LZ was a pretty big disappointment all things considered, but that center playfield spinner is incredibly satisfying to shoot. I think the sound FX on the spin helped a lot with that also.
I think generally speaking, these type of effects would have to be managed by a custom LED PCB, and a custom controller - which is probably why they're avoided for the most part. Normal playfield lamps tend to be either white or RGB, single lamp, and the commands that control them restricted to on/off, timed fade on/off, and timed blinking. When anything custom is needed, such as the furnace in BKSOR, it's usually done using a simple timer/delay circuit, rather than a controller to do fancy stuff. Budgets and overheads innit. At least that leaves to door open for me!
Thankfully so 
.
Hey Davey, I’m incredibly happy with this offering after your upgrades. The upper is so important at times and will be great to have the eye candy back there. Starting A-51 multi is one of my favorite moments of the game. I was wondering what the effect is when we hit that target, hear the “Boing”,it gets dark and only inserts are lit?
4 weeks later
We're building !
Really appreciate everyone's patience with this one, it's taken a while to get to this point (mainly due to everything else refusing to get off the line) but it feels great to have finally sat down with Danny today and assembled our first two Area 51 mods. As always, a couple of little tweaks required (why production runs always seem to differ from the prototypes remains a mystery) but fortunately nothing major, all things that we can correct over the next couple of days. I'm really proud of this one, and am really looking forward to hearing peoples reactions to it. I'm a sucker for an upper playfield, and the Foo Fighters upper is super gnarly and fast (I think my record is 3 maybe 4 loops max) so excited to be adding some much needed sparkle to it.
Area 51 is also shipping with our brand new, hot of the press sensor PCBs. These are wafer thin boards that sit between the node boards and the switches to trigger patterns on the mod. Easy, fully reversible install, super clean wiring, and a vast improvement on our usual t-splice approach. We'll be using these as much as possible going forward. Let me know what you think!
Again, really really appreciate the continued support, advice, enthusiasm and awesomeness that we get from everyone, like, everyday. Pinball is rad. Super rad!
PMs incoming!
Quoted from stumblor:We're building !
Really appreciate everyone's patience with this one, it's taken a while to get to this point (mainly due to everything else refusing to get off the line) but it feels great to have finally sat down with Danny today and assembled our first two Area 51 mods. As always, a couple of little tweaks required (why production runs always seem to differ from the prototypes remains a mystery) but fortunately nothing major, all things that we can correct over the next couple of days. I'm really proud of this one, and am really looking forward to hearing peoples reactions to it. I'm a sucker for an upper playfield, and the Foo Fighters upper is super gnarly and fast (I think my record is 3 maybe 4 loops max) so excited to be adding some much needed sparkle to it.
Area 51 is also shipping with our brand new, hot of the press sensor PCBs. These are wafer thin boards that sit between the node boards and the switches to trigger patterns on the mod. Easy, fully reversible install, super clean wiring, and a vast improvement on our usual t-splice approach. We'll be using these as much as possible going forward. Let me know what you think!
Again, really really appreciate the continued support, advice, enthusiasm and awesomeness that we get from everyone, like, everyday. Pinball is rad. Super rad!
PMs incoming!
[quoted image]
Great work, very excited to get this!
Quoted from mikespins:Great work, very excited to get this!
+1! This will be fantastic! Thanks for the updates!
Is there only 1 model of this mod?
I went to check out and I had to select which model but it only showed standard. 
1 week later
Quoted from stumblor:Install Guide is live!
https://stumblorpinball.com/docs/a51
Still have to update board wiring / onboard LEDs section. Will do tomorrow. If you notice anything weird, please let me know!
Awesome directions, I know that took you a long time! Very much looking forward to getting this mod!
1 week later
Installed!! For those on the fence, I honestly believe this might top Davey’s GZ offerings. The interactions really liven up the upper. Really nice action when you rip the spinner. The Alien head is high quality and as always very, very fair priced for what we’re getting. Touch all the bases on A-51, this ball has left the park !
IMG_6193 (resized).pngIMG_6197 (resized).pngIMG_6201 (resized).pngIMG_6205 (resized).pngInstall instructions were real easy to follow. Went over a couple things with Davey but if you start install from the directions on his site, remember to install the head (it slides in a groove and is a very cool detail) and to remove the old flasher prior to mounting the building. Other than that, all was smooth sailing.
Thanks so much for the amazing write up @kkoss24!
Lots of Area 51s should now be either in transit or arriving at destinations, really excited to hear what everyone thinks. Any feedback or install issues, send me a PM and I'll get the docs updated. Thanks so much for the support.
Now would be a great time for a Foos code update Stern!
Quoted from Capn12:Received mine yesterday Davey, I'll work on getting it installed soon. Well packaged, despite USPS's best efforts to not have it survive the trip!
Oh god, I don't know if I want to see! This is the reason why we double box
Quoted from stumblor:Oh god, I don't know if I want to see! This is the reason why we double box
And its a good thing You packaged them well ,My box was wiped out .
But inside everything looks safe.Doing the install now.
Thanks Davey
Quoted from HB_GAMER:Mine is in local customs. Getting excited!
You should be, the spinner rips up there are a sight to behold .
Personally I love the upper on this game as it has just enough to do with the option to let the flow go. This mod has really done wonders for the look of this pin. Highly, highly suggest getting one.
Not quite done with the install yet, finding this one incredibly frustrating. I thought nothing would top getting those connectors on but I’m at the point of getting the building in and it just won’t seem to fit. Hopefully it looks good when done!
Quoted from TheBeefSupreme:Not quite done with the install yet, finding this one incredibly frustrating. I thought nothing would top getting those connectors on but I’m at the point of getting the building in and it just won’t seem to fit. Hopefully it looks good when done!
Hey - I'll PM you to find out what's going on
Quoted from stumblor:It'd be great to get everyone's feedback on those sensor connectors also, since this is the first time we've used them. Is everyone finding them difficult? What's the hardest part of fitting them?
I had no trouble with the connectors the hardest part was the
actual building when you put the screws in and adjust it over.
Collywobbles video was helpful.
Quoted from Dahawk007:Can't wait to get mine soon! I paid for it a couple weeks ago but haven't had any tracking info yet. The install video will help greatly
That build round should be going out on Tuesday.
So appreciative to the amazing Colywobbles who always puts together a great and engaging video for me. Really helpful as not everyone likes having to read my long winded install docs
Quoted from stumblor:It'd be great to get everyone's feedback on those sensor connectors also, since this is the first time we've used them. Is everyone finding them difficult? What's the hardest part of fitting them?
The small pcbs are ingenious however they are so tight I thought I was going to break them putting them on I found the easiest way was to use the molex connector and use it to push them down over the pins thenwiggle them back and forth until they got down a little bit and just kept repeating over and over and over but it was definitely nerve-racking as a thought surely this thing's going to split in half... I tied molex connectors together with a zip tie to keep the pieces together and give it support.
The building was easier but was also a little tricky getting it lined up I think from the factory they were coming in a little bit crooked so I had to use some needle nose and bend that bracket back and forth until I got it... took about 7 or 8 times to get it just right
In the end, it was a 6 out of 10 on the difficulty scale but just requires time and patience. This is not a mod you can knock out in 30 minutes so take your time
20240210_112041 (resized).jpg20240210_114444 (resized).jpg20240210_114810 (resized).jpg20240210_114836 (resized).jpg20240210_164420 (resized).jpg20240210_164430 (resized).jpg20240210_204333 (resized).jpgScreenshot_20240210_223751_Photos (resized).jpgScreenshot_20240210_223827_Photos (resized).jpgScreenshot_20240210_223953_Photos (resized).jpgScreenshot_20240210_224014_Photos (resized).jpgQuoted from stumblor:It'd be great to get everyone's feedback on those sensor connectors also, since this is the first time we've used them. Is everyone finding them difficult? What's the hardest part of fitting them?
I installed mine last night. The build quality is top notch for sure. Like others have mentioned, it takes A LOT of pressure to push those connectors into place. I too thought I was going to break them. Take your time at this point of the install for sure.
My only critique would be to add another foot of wire to the wiring harness on the cabinet node board side. Once I had everything installed I put the playfield back down and it pulled the connector off the cabinet node board. This was after I had already taken everything apart once to gain more slack so I could comfortably plug in the mod up top. Luckily I ordered the power splitter board but did not need it, so I had that extra little foot of connector wire to lengthen the harness.
Not the easiest mod to install but well worth it in my opinion.
Thanks, Davey!
Quoted from Jakers:I installed mine last night. The build quality is top notch for sure. Like others have mentioned, it takes A LOT of pressure to push those connectors into place. I too thought I was going to break them. Take your time at this point of the install for sure.
My only critique would be to add another foot of wire to the wiring harness on the cabinet node board side. Once I had everything installed I put the playfield back down and it pulled the connector off the cabinet node board. This was after I had already taken everything apart once to gain more slack so I could comfortably plug in the mod up top. Luckily I ordered the power splitter board but did not need it, so I had that extra little foot of connector wire to lengthen the harness.
Not the easiest mod to install but well worth it in my opinion.
Thanks, Davey!
Thanks and completely agree on the cable length - that was a mistake on my part - hence the extender! Will definitely correct that next time around, thanks.
Quoted from stumblor:Thanks and completely agree on the cable length - that was a mistake on my part - hence the extender! Will definitely correct that next time around, thanks.
I chose to skip the extender. Had enough cable somehow without.
The interposer was fine. I do think that for this usage it made a lot more sense to reverse the position of the connectors on both, which was suggested as a contingency in the instructions but should just be the instructions. In the bottom photo here it's awkward to have the stock cables stretched over the interposer cables
Screenshot_20240214-181330 (resized).pngReally appreciate the feedback guys. I'm currently working on a little 3D printed tool that should make that initial 'push' of the sensor PCBs a lot easier on future builds.
One other thing I also wanted to raise - a couple of people have mentioned that their building arrived with the roof slightly lifted on the front left corner. See the below picture for an example of what that looks like:
This is our mistake - the first 100 units were sent out without an internal M3 16mm screw to fasten that roof piece down. This won't affect everyone - but in situations where there is a slight difference in the outer shell and resin, it can form this gap that requires the screw.
If you are experiencing this issue with your building, the quickest way to solve it is probably to pickup the screw on US ebay (ebay.com link: itm) - although I'm also happy to send them out to anyone who wants one, just let me know!
Quoted from Kkoss24:The overlords eyes look bright red like there’s lights in them. It has a real cool effect.
This is one of the subtle details I appreciate the most. How the eyes pop when the light is just so.
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