Yikes

+1...I couldn't do it. The risk verse reward is not in my favor.

Spoke with Chaz and he 100% agrees it should be a roller switch just like the trough switches used to be. Either way mine is flaky so its getting changed out when it arrives. I will let ya know

OUCH ! but its your pin after all...

well, again, its so easy to just insert some small rubbers on the existing steel lane
or, if you wanna drill (!?), why 2 holes for a complete new stell lane ? 1 is enough if you just put in a post, with again a rubber on it, else you still get no "rebound"
and finally, the space added is very great (well it seems), even if you open the external post at max

(even didnt talk about the Yoyo mod for there)

give us more feedback, but for having tried few things already, i imagine it will be to closed now...

I did push the outlanes up a bit, that did the job, I never ever had a ball jumping over the lane anymore.
I could add a rubber ring on the outlane, like so many did, but do not think it is needed at this time.

I would never drill my playfield....yikes....

Wtf?? All you had to do was tap the existing ones up a few mm from underneath!

One of the few 50 cent mods out there that instantly drops the value of the game by 1k. Ooooooof Too many other ways to accomplish the same task with drill into the PF, As long as your happy is all that counts.

Looks like someone will be owning their ghostbusters forever.

You guys got it all wrong. Drilling a hole or two into the playfield won't kill the resale value whatsoever. As long as the holes perform a function, if anything, it'll make it a more friendly game to play. And doing it right can easily make it more attractive anyway. The fear of drilling anything comes from people who don't know what they're doing, i.e. hack artists. I have a machinist background, so it's second nature to me. I"m all about mods that are actually functional.

I drilled two holes so I could raise the height, almost 1 inch, on those outlane rails which give me something of an advantage when the ball flies above the factory rail. Not too often, but enough to make me cringe when it does.

Now that it's in place, it looks "factory" as I used the same material and kept the angles consistent. I will be modifying the right side and making it complete. Pics to follow.

BTW, I tried tapping the rail up. It didn't address the real problem of the rail being too short in length. And, since the playfield is only 1/2 in. thick, upping the rail by 1/4 inch made the support area considerably weaker, and prone to wood flaking if hit just right. You need all the support you can get for those rails, and 1/4 inch isn't enough under worst-case scenario.

If you use the same material you could have just recreated the rails only with longer ends. That would ensure sufficient support and keep the machine original. But whatever works for you.....

Thanks Art, They are already on order. Gotta love Amazon Prime

https://mezelmods.com/collections/ghostbusters-pinball-mods/products/ghostbusters-pinball-plastic-protectors-extended-version

For $50, you stop the ball from jumping and keep your playfield original.

Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Repositionable-Adhesive-Backed-Cutters-Punches/dp/B013Z7DZA6/ref=pd_lutyp_simh_1_1

I thought about that, but then for sure I'd have an unfinished hole in the playfield. didn't want to leave unnecessary holes exposed.

Just got a call from freight company that my replacement playfield will be delivered tomorrow. Thats way faster then i expected. So got the email from Stern 2 weeks ago that they were sending a box. Last Tuesday i think it was i dropped box off at UPS and now 1 week later replacement is already going to be here.

The only hole that would has been exposed was created by you..

Right job would have been to replace the existing rail with an upgraded one with longer legs and more surface in the same location. You've changed the geometry of the game in a way that requires playfield restoration to undo fully.

Heck, you could have just spot welded height extenders to the existing rail and still avoided permanent changes to the playfield.

Maybe I wasn't clear. It not so much the HEIGHT as it is the LENGTH. The height helps some, but the length helps a lot. That rail needs to be longer to prevent quick drains, as it's cutoff plane is relatively in line with the inner rails. When the ball is in motion, it seems to skim across the plane and land squarely into the drain. Lengthening a newly made replacement rail would mean wrapping over the original length hole, causing the extra unused hole in the playfield.

And lets face it, even if there were several holes in the playfield 3/16" diameter, none would affect the game in any measurable way, and would be able to be repaired without "restoration" of the entire playfield - if necessary. Me drilling four holes along the rail drain area would have no impact in the operation of the game, nor would it significantly reduce the value of the machine.

The engineers carefully designed this for one reason only - shorter ball time. These games are designed to be sold to the arcade business market, and shorter ball time equates to more income. Period. If the game time is too long by comparison, the arcade owner will have a problem with that.

Less machines go to the home market than the arcade business market, so it makes sense. I don't know the actual ratio of home vs. business, but my guess would be substantially more to the business market. Stern caters to the masses.

This is why the flippers are spread further apart than the historically-normal gap, resulting in shorter ball play time.

The balance becomes an issue when the game time is just too short. Then, players will get frustrated with it and you lose a repeat customer. Timed ball saves help, but for home use, to me anyway, a longer rail will equate to more fun time playing. People who play machines in my game room are generally not pinball experts, just want to enjoy playing a cool machine. Rapid ball drains take the enjoyment out of it.

You can argue all day long about "just play the game as it's designed", but I believe frustration levels can be lowered with simple mods. Or not so simple mods...do what you want to your own game, but don't do this kind of thing if your machine is an income generator.

ummmm, why did you need to do this, when you could have just pounded the ones that are there up 1/4". Does the same thing. I went into lengthy discussions about it on numerous threads, talking about how it eliminated bounce overs, and side drains by 30%.

With your rail out that far, you closed the side gaps way to much. basically it's a cheat. Just moving the existing rails up, already closed the gap by 1/16" more than it did at the factory. Now you are closing the gap about 1/4" by adding this other wire. Might as well just put fat rubber on it at this point.

and for $0 you can just pound up the existing rails. no damage to your playfield. 5 min fix and you are done.

Really? Did you just sign up for pinside today? You are watching a group that is complaining about the edge getting worn under the apron where the ball drains and nobody ever sees. A place where people complain about dimples that are suppose to happen, and the clear lifting in shooter lanes, that has been happening for 30 years, but now all of a sudden, it's catastrophic. All those things that people shouldn't even be giving a shit about, becomes a bitch session, and you don't think THIS won't effect resale value? Welcome to pinball, glad to have you here and enjoy the hobby.

OK, I read 25 pages of the 36 and my eyes can't take anymore LOL.

I have a premium with an Oct 30th date and so far everything looks good.

My issues:
Air balls, installed Art's protector and still get quite a few
Inlane/Outlane hop overs - deciding on getting the plastic "covers" or attempt the raise the rail via hammer method
Right ramp, not terrible but don't feel perfect either, 1/3 of my clean shots roll backdown

Someone posted they are using the clear prepositional vinyl vs mylar...thoughts? Where have to applied either?

Thanks for the help!

Yeah, It will negatively affect resale value assuming it is disclosed to the buyer. Probably not a ton, but maybe ~$500. I know I wouldn't want to own a game with an irreversible cheat mod. I don't know how many games I've seen over the years' where someone put in a center post that wasn't supposed to be there. -I've even seen it on a newer game like TZ.

I want to pop in here to repeat some info.

Whether it is mine, LSOG, or Pingraffix, the original ones are from the same template, insanely tested on games
that were in place. If the protector is too wide, Slimer hits it, which is a bigger problem.

So Since Premiums are shipping, Airballs, are still in issue, the playfield solution, has produced an amount of games with issues.
A small amount, but nonetheless present.

Some people might still see some airballs. We dont know the percentage...Im guessing 5%, but hearing a bit more.
LSOG has redesigned. Im unsure where to go next, because Id need another game in house, to clear up a few percentage of variations.

Sometimes, is a combo of adjusting slimer, raising threads, extending holes, or adding foam.

All of us that have plastics, would not know this for your specific game. Yes, you want 100%, and we do too, but we dont control the dimpling or assembly at Stern, and these few mm are an issue.

So rather then insist your game needs vendors to change a plastic, how do we know what to offer to fix Sterns issue?
Certainly if we test on several games, and solve, send out hundreds with an overwhelming success rate, and then have a few issues.

Not sure yet.

Heres a pic to lengthen the holes.....the goal being a few mm of coverage over the targets, while not obstructing ramp, and
not hitting slimer, etc etc.....

Heres also the post I made on LSOG.....we want the answer, but not sure if there is a perfect 100% solution with the variations coming from Stern.

Requoted:

Chiming in here for you Joe, if you dont mind.
Whether you ordered from LSOG, myself, or Joe, we have all learned there are variations by a few mm in the assembly of the game.
The Slimer Mech, especially, is off more often. You can see the oval hole in the playfield on premium that shares, Stern knows that variations in Assembly will occur.
For this reason, any Airball protector I have made, or shared, has about a 95% success rate.
There simply are games, that with a quick install will not be 100%.
I Have offered additional help with how to adjust....washers, standoffs, hole lengthening,, and Joe has redone his model.
We are all listening and hear the issues that come up, but impossible to get 100%.....after all it is a Stern Issue first, not a flat piece of plastic.
If you have any problems....reach out...we may make an error, a plastic could break, shit happens.
People here too, all of us, and we arent running away.
In this regard, we all wish for 100%....I have racked my brain, and spent weeks hand cutting variations, slots to let it ride higher on the ramps, curves, thicker, pop bracket mounted. This is where we are.
Got a better one...share, but remember its got to solve EVERYONE.....thats the tough part.
We all do try. Sometimes, we will fail....it happens, but please remember, these do work for the great Majority, and even LSOG, has retooled again, to increase a few points, the success rate!

Hole lengthening (resized).jpg

Must've struck a nerve here customizing my ride....

^^You said it right. Guys with their pins complain about a dab of ink in the wrong spot, plastic that actually wears out, springs that aren't strong enough, and so on. I'm not one to complain about most of this stuff, and unless it's blatantly problematic, you won't see me calling the dealer and insisting on a one-on-one with Gary Stern.

As for dropping the value of a machine by $500 because of a 3/16" hole in the playfield...what world did that one come from? Get serious please. The resale value is in the eye of the beholder and the agreed party. Those who are predisposed to bitch about that kind of stuff, will always bitch about that stuff. And the buyer won't.

Not sure if there is another pinside on here who would think drilling a hole in the playfield. On another note it seems you did this ton prevent drains more the lane hoping I'm pretty sure you could have just added a rubber to the end of the rail or as mention soldered another pisce of metal on to extend a hair further.

You're right. And probably the rubber ring would solve most of the issues. I just have a habit of doing things differently. I build cars as a hobby, among other things, and probably get too technical on most of what I do.

I concur, most people wouldn't dare drill a hole. In anything, much less a pinball machine. Being a machinist in one stage of my life probably made me think this way...

Yes, because you are altering the geometry of the playfield. You could have just put some rubbers on the post and get 80% of that gain without physically modifying your playfield. The rubber helps saves, and reduces the clear shot to the drain.

No one said 'entire playfield - but if you want to properly fix a hole like that, it requires wood, sanding, paint, and some protective layer.. or forming some plug that you can't unsee. It's fine if its your game to keep, but when it comes to presenting your game vs others to buy... you just give yourself a huge blackeye. Hence,yes you did just hurt its value vs other mods you could have done.

Yes, and most of us still don't wall off the outlanes just because it's a home game. The game is intended to play with drains.

There were far simpler ways to achieve your goal that would not have been permanent.

Drill holes in your playfield all you want, it is your machine. But acting like no one would care about the drilled playfield after acknowledging there are a lot of picky collectors out there is contradictory.

Given a choice between your GB and another, with everything else being equal, your drilled holes de-value the machine for any knowledgable buyer, if only for the impact it may have on them when they eventually go to re-sell. You will probably find a sucker though, there are lots of newbies coming into the hobby who would probably not even notice unless it was pointed out to them.

Pinheads:

I'm not trying to get you all worked up. Just pointing out that there are different ways to achieve the same results. And I'm not "walling off" the outlanes, just making them a bit easier on the player. I happen to have the tools and design skills to mod with hard parts, that's all.

And I can assure you that say, five years up the road, my "drilled out" home-only machine with probably no more than 300 plays on it would out-bid a five year old routed game with absolutely no mods on it whatsoever. Even after I point out the drill-bit mod.

But lets face it, we're not in this hobby to appease the next owner; we are here with a common interest and want to enjoy pinball to its fullest extent. And if it means modding our stuff to the max, so be it. Do whatever floats your boat.

300 plays in 5 years?

Why even buy the machine?

And then drill holes in it?

^^I ask myself this all the time.

I have a Shadow and Simpsons Pinball Party both bought new in the 90's and have a combined total of games on them around 600.

I guess I just like them sitting there looking pretty. Or, too many other machines to distract me Sick. I know.

I know it's a bit of a shock to see someone drill their playfield, but come on guys let the guy do what he wants to his game. I personally do not have the skills or balls to do that .

Sometimes I like them on -- like a xmas tree year round. Like cars, some people enjoy working on them and tinkering more than playing. And a few like drilling into the playfield Seriously, whatever makes you happy!

Oh, as a Public Service announcement, for myself and others, since the emails keep coming in:

1) There may be a protective film on your plastic to peel off. Simply use your finger nail near the edge, or at a hole.
(Im so sorry we dont stick labels on that say, "Peel here")

2) Shipping Issues. Its Holiday shipping time for everyone. Patience is a good thing.
Our shipping is first class free, Im sorry I cant offer priority mail free, or ask the post office to move your package faster.
Ill be happy to send priority, for $4.00 more, but please help me, all Black Friday vendors, with the knowledge we dont
control the post office, and it costs a lot more to get a package overseas.....so sorry overseas shipping cant be Free for overseas,
but I can raise the price, and include it then, if the illusion feels better.

Looks like good stuff.

Can I assume this is very easy to remove as well?

Ive heard a good deal of issues when trying to remove standard Mylar... Ive never given it a try myself but I would like to use this stuff on my pin...

I have a bunch of cling vinyl at home, but the problem with using it on the playfield is that it comes off with the ball rolling over it in higher speed areas...

Hahaha, who the hell cant tell that there is protective film on the plastic??? lol

And you bought a TSPP before it had even been made! Maybe you have a Back to the Future in the collection somewhere as well?

Brad

TSPP was around 2000 or 2001. Yes, I did purchase it new. Foggy on the dates...thanks for pointing that out.

Mid 2003

Most of my GI is out on my LE + a bunch of solenoids won't work. I can see some of the GI lights flickering, like on the back panel. The only GI that works is both slings + under the ecto goggles.

I get no errors about any of the node boards.

Any ideas?

I wasn't getting worked up. You can do what you want. Just saying, to say that it doesn't effect the resale value. Means you really underestimate the anal retentive nature of this group. It's not that easy of a fix. I fix stuff all the time like this for games over the years. Lots of center posts on games that don't have them. Even had posts put in the middle of the side drains. Even had a post on TZ block the orbit, because the gumball machine broke, so they blocked the shot so you couldn't make it in the gumball machine. Funny stuff.

For me personally. Drill away. that's just job security for me. Whoever buys your game down the road will probably send it to one of us playfield restorers to fix. Win Win situation.

Seems to be isolated to GI. When I unplug any of the cat 5 cables going to any of the boards or coming through the ecto goggles the GI shuts off completely, but the inserts and solenoids behave normally after that. Anyone seen this?

I admire that you saw a problem and fixed it to make your game more fun to you. I wouldn't have the guts for a mod like that.

I fixed this. One of the legs on one of the gi sockets in the lanes leading to the pops had to be bent a little and suddenly all is well again. That was a weird one.

So I'll just chime in here a bit. I'm a pretty good player, but definitely not near the best in the DFW area. I got my GB Premium almost a week ago and we have been playing the heck out of it (over 100 games I'm sure). No center post, no elongated rails etc. I do have an Art airball protector and glad because airballs are bad when they are constant (to much risk for damage).

I did pound up the outside rails 1/4" and I don't see issues with hop overs. They happen occasionally, but they happen occasionally on every pin I own. I did move the outlane posts in to the narrower slot, but that's it.

I made sure the large rubber rings around the slingshots are below the small rubber rings on the posts. It makes the slings way more active and some of you may hate that, but I LOVE it. Makes the game harder? Probably...

So with that said, I scored 3.8 Billion last night (completed maybe 4 modes). I see no reason to make this game easier to play. It's a total blast as is. You learn to choose your shots to limit your risk. You learn to nudge. You learn to backhand targets, trap the ball with a flipper, etc to keep the ball under control. That is the key to pinball. Control.

My wife loves the game and my son loves it (he's 11). We moan when a bad ball happens, but we understand that is part of the risk and fun of playing pinball, it's random, it's hard, it's a lot of fun when things go well. It's a lot of fun when they don't go so well for who you are playing against (if you all have the right attitude).

However, do you what you want to your game. It's your game! I mod the heck out of my games if I like the mods. I don't add things that fundamentally change how the designer wanted them to play, but that's me.

** Notice the left scoop as an updated plastic extending over it. The tab is all green and not white.

i put tape under there like Todd Tuckey showed in his video.