Pretty safe for playfield issues, but check the spelling on "reinforcement" on the playfield. If it's wrong, that's an early PF from the ghosting era that can have issues later, and you don't want it (or the wrong spelling). Here's a pic with the two versions:

reinforcement (resized).jpg

The 2017 models aren't immune to the cabinet splitting, though, so check the front two corners for cracks or outright splits near the seam. If it's not cracked or split, upgrade the leg plates ASAP to prevent that from ever happening:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/reinforcing-stern-cabinet-legs-step-by-step

Wow, I found out he purchased in November 2016. I'll have the build date tomorrow but pretty sure it is going to be before November 2016 which concerns me a bit.

Are you saying if the replacement is mispelled, those were the ones that had all the ghosting and PF issues?

Thank you. Is one built in September or October 2016 likely safe? It sounds like that may be when it was built. I'll know for sure tomorrow.

Mine.is September 2016 and its fine. You're going to know if the playfield is good when you look at it because its already got some plays on it right? If it hasn't ghosted by now i would think its a good playfield probably. I think that the ones that had ghosting problems pretty much did it right off the bat.

The ones with the misspellings were the earliest playfields made and are among the most prone to issues. Stern pulled a sneaky and started sending them out as replacements well after the spelling was corrected on the factory run machines. They also sent the misspelled ones overseas late in the run, they might have even built them into later machines for the US, but I haven't seen confirmation of that. Basically if it's a misspelled PF, that's an easy tell for more haggling or walk away because it's from a "troubled" era of playfield run.

The one we have for the route I help with was bought in November of 2016 and it's still fine. That's around the time Stern finally got their act together with the playfield ghosting/clear chipping issues. Still has the cheap cabinet wood that's susceptable to cracks/splitting, though. I upgraded the leg plates on it.

The ones that had major ghosting issues went downhill pretty quick and are pretty apparent. If it looks good now I'd say you're good to go. It was really a bunch of LE's that had major issues.

Thank you. This is good information and not something I would have known had you guys not brought it to my attention. I found out tonight that build date was November 11, 2016. I will double check on the reference part of the playfield tomorrow but feel pretty good now that it was built later and likely won’t be a problem.

The cabinet splitting thing on the other hand I’ll have to check into.

Hey guys, thank you again for all of the advice. I am still a relative newb to pinball.

I had him send me some pictures of the playfield last night. He says there is no ghosting or other issues at this time which I believe. He sent me some pictures anyway so I'm posting them here so those of you with more trained eyes then me can confirm and double check. I'm just being thorough before finalizing our trade.

Any feedback is very appreciated.

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Seems like you could see issues more if it was on

Ok, I can ask for those. I thought ghosting was easier to see when they were off. I think the problem may be he took them last night when it was probably darker.

Possible ghosting on left side of Add-a-ball but hard to confirm with those pics. Thats about the same size sliver I have on Toobin. No big deal.

Very small ghosting at the top of the super jackpot insert.

Looks good.
Mother machines that had ghosting were really bad.

My GB Pro I bought a month ago NIB has the "reinforcment" misspelling.

Thank you everyone. My eye doesn't even catch those things.

If there is small ghosting at the super jackpot insert and add-a-ball parts, any chance this will get worse over time? Should I ask him how many plays are on it? What I don't want to do is the buy the thing, have it worsen over time, and I end up stuck with something I'm not going to be able to sell without taking a huge hit down the road if I decide to sell for something else.

I don't expect for it to appreciate or even necessarily break even but I don't want the value to go in half .

What's the build date on the back of the machine? If it's recent, then Stern is sneaking those old playfields into new US builds and this is the first confirmation.

I believe it's July 2017.

However, mine also has the black metal rail on the left side of the playfield that matches the right side... unlike the pictures of the GB Premium above which have the silver metal rail. Not sure when they switched to the black metal rail.

I think that's around the time some overseas reported getting old mis-spelled playfields in their new machines, too. No ghosting on yours? The mis-spelling is a bummer, even if the playfield cured enough not to ghost...

None yet. Just an ink mark under the clear coat on the arrow for the PKE (right ramp) shot which is pretty annoying. I don't even notice the misspelling.

If the machine has over 1000 plays and is over 1 year plus I would not worry about it.

November 11, 2017 - Sorry, thought you were asking me.

It looks pretty good from the pics but its hard to tell by looking at pics also sometimes. Also you said the game is a few hours away, thats alot of driving time and gas. If the game isnt much cheaper than buying a new one i would just get a NIB game if it was me. Whats the price and how many plays are on it?

ghosting has nothing to do with spelling. My game had the right spelling and it had ghosting.

The first batch of pro's were fine. The second batch that included pros (I'd guess May 2016 onwards), LE's and Premiums up to around November 2016. My August pemium playfield had the problem and stern sent me a replacement.

once it starts - it wont stop.

That seems...weird, because it's trivial to fix if you're making more playfields. Maybe they stockpiled a ton of Pro playfields and haven't worked through them yet?

I guess if you get misspelled one on a Prem/LE you need to be concerned.

As a timeline - I got my Pro in March 2017 (in Australia) which was a Oct 16 Playfield and a Nov 2016 build and no ghosting has occured, but has some crazing on the large mode directional arrows from new and you won't see it until it is on though not a big issue and hasn't grown after 1200 games. It also has the mis-spelling which is a non issue.

Awesome game, except for the drops, they are annoying and turned off.

As for the photos of the Premium - not sure if they are marks on the glass but seems to be a smudge on the 60" and "80" insert rings???

So is the concensus or in some cases is it small and doesn't worsen?

Small little ghosting imperfections will not grow on a seasoned game (over 1000 plays).

If it were new, then I would state different.

Thank you again for the feedback. I believe the machine has under 500 plays.

I have another picture here with the lights on. Would you guys concur that there is a small sliver of ghosting in a few places? If so, should I be concerned it could get worse as I get closer to 1000 games?

If the ghosting doesn't worsen, if I decided I wanted to sell it down the road, would minor ghosting of this nature be of concern to prospective buyers? How much (if any) would this ding the price?
GhostBusterspf (resized).jpg

Just fried my cabinet node board (520-6967-00) after installing a Pinball Life shaker motor (For Spike). I've heard the same thing happening with Stern "approved" shakers as well. I ordered a new board last night (520-6967-72 [This revised/updated board replaces the 520-6967-00])... Wondering what the differences are?

For the love of God people, it's pinball. If the price is right buy it and play the heck out of it. This is a hobby, enjoy it.

Looks good to me, buy it and enjoy!

Looks good to me too, buy it and enjoy it.

Are you seeing the same issues as in this thread?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ghostbusters-pro-shaker-motor-install-failnode-board-smokingwtf

Not as bad. Meaning, playfield lights up and game goes into attract mode AFTER the node update failure message and telling me to cycle on/off the machine. The flippers are responsive in attract mode (Sound bites from the movie). However, start and coindoor service buttons are unresponsive. The board has noticeable burn marks on some of the surface mounted electronics.

Update: I tested the Pinball Life motor with my multimeter. The ohm readings on the +/- wires, on initial and while manually spinning the shaft, are within normal limits. Plus while touching one of the meter leads to the motor casing shows a wide open reading. This tells me it's not shorted. Simple put, the first runs of the Stern cabinet node boards are very temperamental. I noticed Pinball Life now has the newest version/replacement of this board (520-5219-10). This version has a FUSE and beefier components, Larger transistor and caps. Hmmmm Now calling Stern....

Update: No surprise, Stern won't replace since the shaker motor is not a Stern. However they did confirm 520-6967-72 is the latest version of the cabinet node board.

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to go for it. He said it has about 700 plays so I'm guessing if there were major issues, they would be showing by now.

I appreciate everyone' input and help. Being a newb, I just don't have a trained eye yet.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it, for sure. It does have the misspelled "reinforcment" insert. It held up great at SFGE and I put my modfather airball and sling/outlane plastics on and updated code when I got home. Got about 650 plays at SFGE....on 1.05 code, to boot lol.

My machine was ordered Sept 2016, it's got over 9,000 plays. Holding up like a a champ.

On location? That's awesome if so and impressive if it's at home. Mine has been on location since getting it for a launch party and has less than 4500 plays on it.

Lighted Magnetic Hinge Covers in 2 versions. Title in green, and logo in white.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1032-lighted-pinball-mods/01699-ghost-busters-lighted-magnetic-hinge-covers-green

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1032-lighted-pinball-mods/01700-ghost-busters-logo-lighted-magnetic-hinge-covers-white

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I moved the outlines to the narrowest setting, makes a big difference in game play. Goal wasn’t to make it easier, just more playable. I get much fewer bounce outs from the inlanes. I’m not going to change the flipper widths, I can handle center drains. The outlines were just a disaster.

I did the same thing and i like my game way better now than before. I generally will not stray from factory settings but on this game here im glad that i did. I did that and reversed the rubbers on the magna slings and my game is ten times more fun than it was before i done those two things.

Hi,
A rogue ball seems to have chipped my Ecto Goggles glass right at the front! Does anyone know the process for getting a replacement? I
think i could probably rotate it around so the chip is at the back but thought I may as well bank a spare anyway.

I'm a bit of a newbie but I couldn't see a spares section on Sterns website so maybe I just talk to the distributor here in NZ? I guess I need to lookup the spares number too.

Cheers!
20180617_201848 (resized).jpg

get yourself one of these

https://www.hookedonpinball.com/store/p102/Ghostbusters-Ecto-Goggle-Protector-Pinball-Mod

My advice is "take a better picture".
One that clearly shows the chip and then call Stern at the number shown when you remove the glass lockdown Monday.

Odds are they will send you one for free. My 1st year, a plastic was broken by a rogue air-ball.
I called stern to buy a new plastic and they sent me one at no cost. But the clear photo had to be sent so luckily I had one ready to send.

Can someone who has the shaker motor cap-cable bulletin kit tell me what size cap is used (look for ##uf and ##V)
Thanks for your help.
As a side note. I think this might be the same part used in the earlier kit for node board power input.