Guardians of the Galaxy (LE)
Stern, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy (Premium)
Stern, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy (Pro)
Stern, 2017You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider markharris2000.
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Quoted from mannymasy:love this game..
Looking at Guardians for a second machine, and see a few Pro units for sale, far fewer Premium units. Do I really give up that much by going with the pro version instead of the Premium? I can live without Groot's fingers on the playfield... 8-) Am I missing something big?
Quoted from Vino:Plan to finally install cpr9999 orb plastic protector and wondering if I still need the metal piece from stern as I put it back together.
I feel like this metal piece was pretty useless as my original orb plastic cracked anyway.
The metal protector part was added to later builds of the PRO, after serial #275330. See Service Bulletin #191:
https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Stern-SB191.pdf
Quoted from Nelsonford218:I hate asking such a simple question but can you adjust the shaker motor strength on guardians pro? I added one but it is really soft! Couldnt find anything on here, the web or the manual.
Yes, there is a setting for the shaker, with three levels. Can't remember what number, but you'll see it if you scroll through...
Quoted from bailorgana:Two guys in my league here both got one quite a while ago already. I thought the new run was already done?
Just checked with my distributor... July run is still scheduled. I guess some NIB machines will flow in a few weeks.
The Groot Jaw motor, Stern #511-7926-00, is available and in-stock at PBL for $69 (Part # 041-5142-00 ) and appears to be manufactured by MultiProducts.com, which is their Model DCM-1018-24. You can buy direct from MP for about $30+$30 shipping ($60) online.
Best to get it replaced under warranty if at all possible!
Groot-Jaw-Motor (resized).jpgQuoted from Gambeno:I'm looking to pick of a GOTG Pro but it seems everyone is sold out of them. Anyone know when they will be on the line again?
My distributor is expecting a shipment from Stern THIS month. Not sure how many, but some will be shipping soon!
Quoted from ExSquid:Now that a new production run is happening what do you guys think the chances are for another code update?
My guess is that these are 'loosely' related. If 500 new machines exit the shipping dock, that puts a top-line $3Million line item on their FY2021 general ledger. It might be the catalyst to generate a new firmware version *IF* there is a list of issues that has been compiled since 1.06 and which are considered 'core fixes', rather than cosmetics.
Obviously, anyone's guess, but if I were a betting man, (to me) the last firmware release date of Dec-12-2018 seems like a long time ago and perfect for a list of bugs and other enhancements to be compiled, so the compiled list might well be staring someone in software engineering in the face right now!
Quoted from Utesichiban:Deleted post
Quoted from ExSquid:Anyone have any experience removing a backbox from the sterns? I " might" have to do this when my GOTG gets here .
One of your doors is too narrow? I had to do this to move a TOTAN into a study a couple of years ago. I suspect modern Stern is much easier to get this done due to the much simpler cabling. For TOTAN, I was able to remove the side hinges and mounting bolts and then TURN the head 60-70 degrees. I had to manage the cabling a bit to assure it wasn't being stressed, but not everything had to be unconnected. For Stern machines, there are still cables to manage, best to hear from someone that has done this on a modern Stern.
Quoted from ExSquid:Yeah 29 1/2 wide. and a tight hallway so hard to maneuver in.
Does it help to take the door of the hinges?
Quoted from Markharris2000:Does it help to take the door of the hinges?
It might. The installed door usually narrows the 'usable' opening size. That said, if the opening is 28-inches, nothing you can do but swing the head. What is the actual size of the door opening itself? 28-inches? 30 or 32 inches?
Quoted from Indypin:No peel to them. You just apply them directly to the speaker panel and the magnet grabs a hold. They come rolled up in a cardboard tube, so you may have to straighten them out a bit. The only manual thing you have to do is to remove the Stern identification plate before hand and then screw it back in afterwards. Also, the art covering the speaker panels have holes in them so the sound can travel thru.
Cool product. I bought a set for my Mando pin and hoping to get it this week. I went ahead and ordered (4) more sets for some of my other pins because I was impressed with the quality. The only bad thing is the shipping is free, but it can take a while to get there. It's a hit and miss. Been waiting for my last order over a month and a half now. It was shipped to Australia for some reason and I live in Indiana, so go figure.
Hope this helps.
Perhaps a good excuse for you to go to Australia to retrieve the package? 
Quoted from ExSquid:It is JULY that they are supposed to start up again correct? We are nearing the end of the month lets go!
About three weeks ago, my distributor said Stern committed to him that his 20 GOTG units on order would be 'in production' starting July 19th. So my assumption is they are being made right now. We should all see updates from each of our distributors in the next 10 days...
Just a quick note on the HookedOnPinball ORB mod for a GOTG Pro. I have seen alot of various mods for various machines, but this one is different. This is a deep production unit. This unit is made of cast metal and designed for this specific use. It was custom built to fit and look like a factory item (actually BETTER than the factory would have done). The brackets and installation bits are included, the detail is shocking, and everything you need is right there. Can't wait to install it. A bit pricey, but when you see what you are getting, worth EVERY PENNY of their price!!! (I have no financial/vested connection to HookedOnPinball, but wanted to share their outstanding efforts with other GOTG-Pro owners none the less)
orb (resized).jpgQuoted from BallyKISS1978:Have almost all my mods. Just waiting for my topper from mezelmods to arrive. And also my pin. August can’t get here fast enough. I also need to order the scoop cliffy and translucent clear rubber from pinball life. I ordered two groot jaws also.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I saw you purchased a replacement Groot Jaw. Is that for future needs in the event it becomes banged up?
Quoted from C0untDeM0net:They do not. They also don't come with the service rails. You get the posts which sucks. You do get the updated cabinet though which I believe was a problem when it was first released. Not a lot of upgrades over time.
Still bothers me that they replaced the service rails with posts on PRO machines. I guess they can trim $5 off their cost in the bill of materials, but makes it SO much harder for owners to work on. Uggg... So now I need to spend $50 to order the 'rail upgrade' kit from Cointaker.
Has anyone tested the cabinet node board CN15 to see if the software includes support for LEDs to be used traditionally on the shooter plate? CN15 has four “spare” control lines, which could be activated by the game code if Stern had originally planned for a lighted shooter, kinda like Jurassic Park and AIQ. I am curious if anyone has tried those lines to see if they are being controlled by the gamecode. If not, it’s easy enough to grab static always-on voltage from elsewhere but game effects might be fun if the software included it.
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:Would like to know that also.
Once my machine arrives, I will give it a try and report back if the gamecode has latent support for shooter plate LEDs. It might be a “secret” feature. It’s easy enough to do.
Quoted from ExSquid:Got my tracking number last night! WOOO!
Which Distributor did you purchase from? (Maybe they went to the factory to pick them up?).
I just checked with my disti and they haven't recieved any units as of today.
Quoted from DugFreez:Yeah....you could wire up a harness with some lights and just plug it into any SPIKE 2 CN15 and see if they did anything. I have my doubts, but who knows. Maybe there is some generic lighting code there from the start.
That's what I was thinking. The pins may be happily running, but Stern just never created the custom shooter rod accessory so nobody talks about it. And I don't think it's the kind of thing that shows up in release notes, so simply trying some LEDs connected to CN15 may be worth a shot to answre the question.
Quoted from ExSquid:And earlier than expected !
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Maybe they ran out of parts after making ONE unit??? Or did they find a GOTG NIB sitting in the shipping area mistakenly left behind a pile of Mando machines??? Whatever the case, it was your lucky day!
LOL
Quoted from ExSquid:I’m assuming when I get this thing downstairs and turn it on the newest code will already be installed ?
Unless it was sitting in that swamp you mentioned in west virginia!!! LOL. Actually, great question asked abve... what is the BUILD DATE sticker on the back say?????
Quoted from OhmEye:Yeah I'm really curious too. As far as I know now they didn't actually build any in July 2021 but would love to learn they did.
Maybe the distributor had an earlier unit from a previous build that was earmarked for a customer who finally backed out? Or they found one in their warehouse mis-placed? Either way, it's your lucky day because I don't think any other NIB units are on delivery trucks today...
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:So apparently stern has built one at least. WTH Stern?! Congrats btw. But come on Stern!!! Where are you located and whose your distributor?
I think he said the distributor was THAT PINBALL COMPANY over in Missouri .
Quoted from OhmEye:Very nice! Congrats again! I still have no answers about mine, there was supposed to be an update this week but I haven't heard yet so I don't know if mine was built, or when it will ship. It's interesting that a code update went up last week but yours shipped without it. Without any info about what's going on, I find myself speculating if maybe they didn't finish the entire run or what might hold up shipping finished machines. I hate thinking that mine probably didn't get built and I may have more months of waiting. Yeah, I know I'm not the only one waiting and it's not the only title with delays. But. Damn.
Just slight speculation here; that there is a engineering/production issue was created by some apparent node board hardware upgrade and its ability to work with the older code. This issue may have been discovered early on in the July 19th production run of GOTGs. I suspect that the worldwide chip shortage everyone is hearing about forced new design/revisions of the node boards (with slightly different chip parts that were available more readily) which the engineering people 'thought' would be drop-in replacements, but found some tweaking in software was required. My not so subtle hint is found in the release notes: "The current production of Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) uses core nodes (address 8 and 9) with a new electronics component."
That gamecode/chipset compatibility issue may have stopped the shipping status of all of the units that were already complete until the 1.08 code was official signed-off. (well, except for @exSquid's machine 8-). The final code release was posted to their website on Aug-6th, so PERHAPS the final assembly production team is now loading the mandatory 1.08 gamecode on all of the finished GOTG machines and they'll be able to box them up and ship them out this week!
As for ExSquid 's machine, I suspect a handful of the first GOTG units produced two weeks ago were fitted with the remaining stock of the previous node boards, which only needed the older code to work fine, and this also allowed a tiny number of machines to ship before they stopped the production line. That's why the earlier gamecode version was shipped in his machine.
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:I don’t want mine shipped with the new code. I have Cleland’s 1.06 all set to use. Man the delay sucks, but not being able to use cleland’s code is even worse Hopefully we get some news this week. Wish Zach had better intel to share.
Alas, I think that using cleland 's modified 1.06 version is not possible with new production machines created after July 28th or so. It doesn't explicitly say "gamecode 1.06" but it does say that is REQUIRES the included node board microcode version ".51" which was first embedded in the game code in the brand new V1.08 image. That would mean anything before 1.08, including 1.06 and 1.07 WILL NOT initialize the new hardware version of the node boards. From the release notes:
* NOTE: The current production of Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) uses core nodes
(address 8 and 9) with a new electronics component. These core nodes require
firmware version 0.51.0 or later. The GOTG software has been updated to V1.08
with this support. The previous version V1.07 (from 6/28/19) does NOT support
the new node board. If someone DOWNGRADES their new game from 1.08 to 1.07
these newer node boards will no longer work.
8-(
Quoted from bobukcat:Wow, this would be a serious blow to owners of the newer games and will be one of those things prospective buyers of used games will need to acertain in the future. Personally it might actually stop me from buying the game at all and look for an older one. I take it that they are now locking out pinball browser from working on any of their games?
To keep it in perspective, the NEW GAMECODE V1.08 appears to be compatible with ANY machine ever shipped. Anyone buying a new machine or an older used machine can grab V1.08 from Stern's website and it will work fine.
That means that owners of machines produced prior to July 2021 can install any version of the game code they like. But owners of all machines produced after July 2021 (approx) MUST install V1.08 or newer, which is considered the production gamecode by Stern. These post-July2021 owners can not install any earlier gamecode.
(Side note: I suspect ANY other pinball title currently planned for production will likely have the same situation and require newer gamecode. That means the crew looking for August Jurassic Park machines, Led Zeppelin machines, Elivra or new batches of Mandolorian will also have to use a new version of their gamecode which supports this new node board chipset)
Quoted from bobukcat:Yes but I was referring specifically to the idea that this code may prevent pinball browser modifications such as cleland and applejuice packages which would make GOTG a LOT less appealing to me.
The big deal in V1.08 appears to be the updated microcode, not the system image. But that said, V1.08 change BOTH of these! The microcode is a separate file contained on the SDCARD which loads very early in the init process. Unless the new chip has enabled some type of security feature as well, then PinballBrowser should be able to support the V1.08 image once oga83 has time to update PB, and then over time, custom code authors may choose to 'migrate' their custom work to the newer V1.08 image. (But that's a non-trivial edit).
Quoted from Pin_tagram:Does anyone know if the node boards are game specific or are they a generic/swappable board?
The part numbers for node boards 8 & 9 were the same from machine to machine. I suspect they will have a new version of the node boards (example: Old: 520-6985-72) with a part number like: "520-6985-82"
Quoted from red-line:bad news, y'all. 1.08 on my new machine.
So it appears you got a machine from the NEW batch. That gives hope to the rest of us waiting. What is the build date??
What we know about NIB GOTG:
1) GOTG were on the production line from July 27th thru August 5th. (Could have been July 26th thru Aug 6th for a full two week stint, but at least one Jurassic Park machine was delivered with a manufactured build date of Aug 9th, so it's less likely that GOTG was still being built after the two week window.)
2) Stern released v1.08 on August 6th and SPECIFICALLY called out it's purpose to support a 'new component' found on a newer node board. (Hardware change).
3) At least one unit was made using older node boards and shipped on JUly 27th. It shipped with the v1.06 code, but can be upgraded to V1.08 as desired.
4) At least one unit was made using newer node boards and shipped on August 5th. It shipped with the v1.08 code. Stern also emphasized that GOTG V1.06 will FAIL to initialize the newer revision of node boards now being used in the latest GOTG machines, but wasn't clear if this would 'brick' the newer node boards, or simply fail to initialize them.
So far, very few mentions of 'DELIVERED' units since the two mentioned above, although a number of folks were "promised" delivery dates eminently.
Quoted from OhmEye:In other words, I wasn't high enough on the list to get one of the units that were scheduled to be produced in this run. The next run currently isn't scheduled before October and may be as late as December.
The silver lining here is that a few extra months of waiting *MAY* allow one or more of the custom soundtrack authors to PORT their 1.06 soundtracks to the 1.08 gamecode (assuming the oga83 is able to update PinballBrowser to read the 1.08 image).
While I wait for Stern to make up some more GOTG machines, I was just noticing in the picture of the GOTO-Pro that the APRON/ARCH is the plastic type. So I did a little looking in the manuals for PREMIUM and LE to compare, and it ALSO lists the APRON/ARCH as plastic. On page 39 in the manuals (Pro, Premium and LE) show all the part number to be 545-5995-02, which is a black plastic APRON/ARCH.
When did the metal apron/arch come into existence for Stern machines? Perhaps after 2017 GOTG I am guessing. And secondly, has it gotten any easier than a couple years ago when I saw #3516 mention doing so required some drilling to the playfield and notching the metal apron. Seems like it would be a good 'mod', and just requires the right modified apron and a couple of brackets perhaps.
Anyone done so recently?
Quoted from SKWilson:It looks like the manual is incorrect. The apron on GotG Prem/LE is metal with the lighted cutouts.
Any idea of the part number of the correct metal apron? I see 535-0415-00 over at Marco's site, but so many variations to wade thru...
Quoted from OhmEye:I'm curious what else people have noticed is incorrect in the manuals. For example, the manuals say the Pro has a 350W power supply and the Prem/LE comes with 500W but my Pro has 500W.
The GOTG Prem/LE manuals have the wrong apron/arch listed. Stern Support confirms the error and provided me with the right info. The correct Apron/Arch part for GOTG PREMIUM and LE is: 535-1191-19
Quoted from ExSquid:Let me ask you guys something. BTW thanks for letting me know about those protectors, I didn't even know that was a thing! Have you guys ever taken off the blades? Do they come off easy enough after they had the adhesive stick to the sides for a few days?
Still cant believe I did this, I was so proud of putting those things in the other day.
They WILL come off much easier now than a year from now.... 8-) But have no worries. Fresh vinyl blades will come off without leaving residue if you pull them off SLOWLY, while applying just a slight amount of heat from a hair dryer. (surface slightly warm to the touch)
And the PBL PinballUniverse blade service protectors will be the best $35 you could ever spend. They ship rolled up and can be formed in a matter of minutes. You then store them as formed in a closet.
Quoted from BallyKISS1978:Well arrived today. Top of box was really dirty. So I was hoping it was a good sign, but I remembered the pinsider who said his was also but had the 1.08 code.
Nervously started unboxing. Saw date stamp on bottom of the cabinet. Put front legs on then lifted up the rear. Same date stamp on the back of the cabinet as it was underneath. Date of March 17,2021!!! It must have been sitting somewhere for a while.
Fired up the game and low and behold code 1.06!! So freaking happy!! Now I have a ton of mods to put in, I mean a lot. Already have Clelands sound mod downloaded and ready to go.
First thing I am going to do is swap out those bright white LEDs in the back. Magnet works great out of the box.
Only issue was a pop bumper was locked on right after ball one was kicked out. Just gapped the switch and now fine. Just widened it a little too far apart.
Next pin Halloween CE or if Godzilla gets released.
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Clearly a unit that was sitting in the factory for months, and then drop shipped to you right from Stern! Perhaps this is part of a small quantity of special stock, previously held for samples, or promotion, or employee sales, or whatever. In any case, you win!!!
Quoted from mbrave77:Got my pro yesterday and just got it all setup. Holy crap this game is fast. Feels fast like tmnt so i guess thats just borg for you. That kickback is insane.
This was my first pro. Didn't know pros have a plastic apron. Is it still ok to lift the game by it? Feels a little breakable.
While I haven't gotten my PRO yet, I am already considering converting the arch to metal to match my JP Premium look. Here's what I have researched which might help you:
- The GOTG manuals are wrong in the arch part numbers they call out. You'll find ALL three versions of the GOTG manuals show the same plastic apron being used. That is incorrect. I checked this with Stern support (Patrick Powers) and he agrees the manuals are wrong. Only the PRO uses plastic, and the Prem/LE machines use metal.
- Stern gave me the part number for the 'correct' metal apron used in the PRE/LE machines, but after checking with three different distributors, they are unable to find or order that part in their Stern ordering system. (Patrick says it is a purple metal arch, part #535-1191-19)
- Margaret at Pinball Life suggested parts to install in a GOTG PRO, which consist of the metal apron (in black), two metal brackets and 6 hex head screws. It totals to $91 all-in with shipping. (Part numbers: 535-8392-01, 535-8394-00, 234-5001-02)
- Stern makes a dozen different versions of their metal aprons, in a bunch of different colors, some with light cutouts and others without, so my confidence that the kit from PBL will be a perfect 'factory GOTO Prem' install is less than 100%.
Quoted from Wolfanoz:Anyone happen to have a Dropbox / Box link to the 1.06 update for the game? Wanted to give it a whirl since the version of the game I purchased is at 1.04 and then give the Cleland update a shot. I'd rather do it gracefully than just image a card with the Cleland mod and throw it in.
Thanks in advance.
Imagining a card is the most straight-forward approach. You do not need to install 1.06 stock, and then cleland. It's really all on the card. Just get Cleland's image and burn to a card and install. Doing so is the cleanest "graceful" install process.
Good news.... I just heard from my distributor and he just received some more units from Stern from his original May 2021 order for GOTG. My Pro unit has shipped to me today! (I had all but given up all hope that I would see my machine anytime before Christmas, but I now have freight tracking number in my hand that shows it's on a truck headed to me in california!).
I finally got confirmation (from freight company) that my NIB Pro has arrived across town here in NorCal! (I just arranged for delivery on Monday morning.) It will be interesting to see what build-date, gamecode version and node board revs were used....
Quoted from Markharris2000:I finally got confirmation (from freight company) that my NIB Pro has arrived across town here in NorCal! (I just arranged for delivery on Monday morning.) It will be interesting to see what build-date, gamecode version and node board revs were used....
I am THAT guy. I have a NIB GOTG sitting in my garage for two days now and haven't had a moment to unpack it!!!! I hope to do so tonight....
Quoted from prentice:What’s the verdict on the code version?
I’m also thinking about getting one and am in the same area as you — where did you order from?
I purchased from classic games rooms in Georgia. I had to move another machine around to make room for it so haven’t quite unboxed it yet!!! Hard to believe I am my own delay now!!!
IMG_1711 (resized).jpgQuoted from Markharris2000:I purchased from classic games rooms in Georgia. I had to move another machine around to make room for it so haven’t quite unboxed it yet!!! Hard to believe I am my own delay now!!![quoted image]
Finally unboxed!!! Build date of August 19, 2021, running 1.08 gamecode
IMG_1713 (resized).jpgIMG_1714 (resized).jpgIMG_1715 (resized).jpg
IMG_1716a (resized).jpgAfter unboxed for 24 hours, I have to admit I am quite ok with factory 1.08 game code. I probably don’t know what I am missing with some of the custom SDcards, but the factory gamecode seems very complete and authentic to the real movie; music, original sound bites, video/images, etc. Also, the Groot multi ball is pretty amazing! As a family machine, pretty busy, in a good way. And the play field surface itself is nearly flawless which was a concern going into this purchase. (The scoop hole itself has some odd sawdust or something stuck in the clear coat, but a metal protector will cover that).
Quoted from OhmEye:Cleland's mod as I understand it adds several full songs from the movie soundtrack and replaces some voice actor audio callouts with original audio from the movie. I noticed differences in the callouts but only played the stock code for a day. All that's really important is that you enjoy what you have!
If there's a cliffy for the scoop I haven't seen it and would like to know. I haven't installed the one I bought yet that I believe is a metal Stern original same as the Prem/LE.
I think you are correct about the hole protector. The part may have come from PBL I think. (it's been awhile since I ordered it). It is likely a Stern part.
Yesterday I decided to replace the PRO playfield service post legs, with the more usable service brackets found on the PREM/LE machines. I slide the playfield out pretty regularly on machines, so the posts seemed pretty limiting. Anyway, PBL sells the whole bracket kit for $50, and it takes 15 minutes to install. It involved pressing some T-Nuts into the playfield from the top under the apron, removing the post legs, and then drilling (yikes!) 4 small holes from the bottom where Stern marked them. The drilling was only only scary part, and I marked the drill bit with blue tape to tell me how deep to drill.
$50, 15-minutes, looks factory!
Anyone installed the metal scoop hole protector sold by PBL? Before I jump into it, any issues or things to look for I should know about?
Quoted from ExSquid:You get Wizard Mod panels for the speaker?
I have a dilemma... If I get a Wiz panel mod for GOTG then I also need it for Jurassic Park since they sit next to each other... but I have a set of 3D printed dinosaur grills already installed on JP. So I haven't decided what to do, yet.
Quoted from OhmEye:Oh wow, so the metal isn't even doing the job. That's unpleasant. I'm doubtful the cpr9999 one I have will break, it seems to be a decent thickness of polycarbonate sheet and oversized in all the right ways. I could have made my own if I had an appropriately sized piece of PC, I have a CNC router that I use for that sort of thing but only have acrylic and carbon fiber on hand. For the time it would take me to accurately draw it up in Fusion360 I was very happy to support cpr9999 and not have to make my own, but to my US address the shipping wasn't an issue for me.
I wish I had the tools to print the graphics directly on the protector and just leave the original plastic off, it would look a lot cleaner to not see the edge of the smaller original at all. First-world problems.
Waterslide decal material would allow you to esentially print on the cut plastic. You can get a dozen sheets of laser or inkjet compatible material, with white or clear substrate for $10-12 on Amazon. Worth a try if you want to experiment.
Quoted from wbloss:I wonder about the printable vinyl for Cricut machines?
Not sure how well laser toner or inkjet ink would adhere to cricut vinyl. Also, you need sheets of it to feed through a printer before you start slicing it up in the machine.
Quoted from mbrave77:I forget what its called but its in there. Theres also a setting to end a game by holding start and left flipper
A couple of settings in v1.08 that might help:
ADJ > SPI
#21 - Balls / Game
#39 - Reset High Score at number of games
#49 - Left Flipper + Start Button End game
#53 - Allow flippers to launch ball
Quoted from Loganpinball:Gauging interest in making wireforms to replace the plastic ramps on this game. I asked on one of my build topics and this game was suggested. I can do standard rails or something creative. I am looking at one of these tomorrow. Please chime in. If theres enough interest I will make them.
Thanks for any input.
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I’d be in for a set too
Quoted from jedi42:Just joined the club after finding a 2 month old pro, so pretty happy with that. Question, is a shaker a must for this game?
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I have one installed, but doesn’t seem to be necessary. On my Jurassic Park, it’s a must, but on GOTG, it doesnt seem to enhance any obvious actions.
Quoted from bowtech:It is not when it is down. It it when it enters the orb target. The gate/target will not drop down and only releases when the game goes into a ball search and dropped the target
Refer to page 44, and look in the vicinity of part 24 (bracket) and 28 (coil). To troubleshoot lift the playfield and try to raise the target with the plunger (it should stay UP), and then try to trip it with the coil 28 and bracket 24 and switch #49 to sense position. It should FALL. What does switch 49 report in up and down position? Did you try coil test #10 and #11 in menu? The tripping bracket and coil is a pretty simple mechanism, so let us know what symptoms you see when troubleshooting.
Quoted from Pinash:Experimenting with a 4 color led mod that lights the scoop depending on the billboard led. Unfortunately, the stock billboard colors (yellow,.orange) are very dim, so I had to pick different ones. I haven't settled on a final color arrangement, but I am really digging the effect.
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Very creative. The idea is to 'match' the billboard color inside the scoop?
Quoted from Pinash:Blue, red, green, purple and the brightest I have found. The comet rgb color changer is a pretty cool effect too.
Maybe just find 4 discrete 3mm LEDs to match the billboard colors, even if a couple of the color LEDs on the factory billboard are a bit washed out. In fact that gives me an idea to replace the factory billboard LEDs with richer LEDs on my own machine. Then I could match the scoop ones using the same parts more easily!
Red, Yellow, Green, Blue tend to be the easiest parts to get with strong color saturation.
Every time I smack the ORB drop-target, I have the image in my mind of the top target half snapping off and flying around the playfield. It hasn't happened yet, but it just feels like that will be a 'thing'. Is it just me, or does that target really snap off after a thousand hits?
Quoted from nagamitsu:Looking at replacing the lower pop bumper leaf switch at some point (mine missing the nub on the one leaf, was able to get it working bending leaf closer for now at least, but can see this becoming a problem again). Anyone know if it really makes a difference if I order a left mount bracket one or right mount? Seems I could potentially take the nuts off and flip bracket around if needed anyways?
https://pinballmedics.ca/product/pop-bumper-bracket-leaf-switch-assembly-a-12030-3/ (listed as left mounted)
https://pinballmedics.ca/product/pop-bumper-bracket-leaf-switch-assembly-b-12030-2/ (listed as right mounted)
Tim
That is the only difference. Save 5 minutes and order the one that has the bracket assembled correctly if you can. (but if you have to swap the bracket, it's pretty easy, just make sure you tighten the screws pretty solid if you have to swap the bracket.)
Quoted from OhmEye:Mine is on code 1.06 because I don't want to lose Cleland audio, so I'll be interested to see if somebody does a version for 1.08 now that PB is said to work again.
That said, does 1.08 have Insider Connected support? I see GOTG is on the list of games that support the IC upgrade, but I think 1.08 was released before IC and I don't see IC mentioned in the release notes. In a nutshell, if something like a 1.08 version with Cleland audio happens does that mean we can have both our custom sounds and Insider Connected?
1.08 GOTG doesn't have insider connected, which is odd because of the very recent timing on the release.... I seem to remember (September) George Gomez saying that all "17" Spike 2 machines would get IC software. Maybe 1.10 is around the corner?
Quoted from bigguybbr:I'm currently running the v1.06 w/Cleland code. Did later versions add a juke box mode that is accessible like on my TMNT by holding the flipper buttons in attract?
I haven't tried it, but just looked at release notes for 1.06, 1.07 and 1.08 and none of them mention the jukebox mode.
GOTG 1.09 has arrived!!!!
LE/PRE V1.09 - December 15, 2021
=====================
- STERN INSIDER CONNECTED
- The game can have a connectivity kit installed and be connected to
STERN INSIDER CONNECTED.
- Once connected you can log in and start earning Achievements.
- To login in hold your QR code over the scanner. When you see you are
logged in just push start. By default, the game will automatically start
the game for everyone that is logged in with one button press.
- Before you press start, while the login screen is up, the current player
can use the flipper buttons to move which player position that will be.
- After the game, by default, players will have a few seconds to press
start and all stay logged in. The game will start all games with one
press of the start button.
- Added Achievements -
- There are 70 achievements you can earn if you are logged in.
- Achievements will pop up after you have received them as soon as they
can. Also, they are seen at the start of end of ball bonus if you
received any that ball.
- You can see all the achievements and how they are earned in instant
info or on the web site insider.sternpinball.com
- Your username will displace PLAYER # in the main score frame.
- If you are logged in your high score entry will default to your initials.
You will still be able to change them.
- Fixed a bug where the game didn't award a Super Skill Shot upon hitting the
Orb Target.
- Fixed a bug where the Game Over music didn't start at the end of game play.
- Now the balls are released immediately out of Groot's mouth at game over
when the match adjustment is set to OFF.
- Fixed a problem in Quills Quest 2 where the Quills Bounty/Treasure Connectivity
Awards were not being chalked correctly.
- Now the Groot Multiball Super Jackpot awards 6,250,000 points.
- Added credits/pricing to all attract mode display screens.
- Changed the size/position of player scores that are shown at the bottom of
the display during game play.
- Added a PowerUp/Boot screen Display Effect.
- Updated to nodeboard firmware/protocol v0.81.0
- Added Standard Adjustment "LCD DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS" to allow dimming of LCD display.
- Added adjustments for Login and Play Again display timers:
"INSIDER LOGIN TIMER" - Login screen timeout (Default 30 seconds)
"INSIDER PLAY AGAIN TIMER" - Play Again screen timeout (Default 20 seconds)
- GAME RESTART behavior:
Holding the start button on ball 2 or greater will follow
the "START BUTTON BEHAVIOR" adjustment.
If ("GAME RESTART" == "YES") and ("START BUTTON BEHAVIOR" == "ALL LOGGED IN")
holding the start button on ball 2 or greater will restart the game for as many
players as is necessary to accommodate the users that are logged in.
If there are not enough credits to restart the game for the necessary number
of players, the game will not be restarted.
- Address Insider Connected game registration corner cases.
- Upon entering the Service Menu for the first time after a software update, a screen
will display the game and system version numbers. This screen will be displayed
for a minimum of 1 second, and is dismissed by the enter button. This replaces
the dots display previous shown at power on after an update.
- LOGIN behavior:
* When a user logs in during a game in progress and the player up slot
is occupied, assign the user in the first open slot from lowest
player to the highest player.
* When a user joins a game in progress, award achievements that were
earned up to that point.
* When user authorization failure, remove the user from the session.
- Added audits for connectivity games and scanner use
"CONNECTIVITY USERS SCANNED" - display the number successful user QR code scans
"CONNECTIVITY USERS JOINED" - display the number of users that joined a connected game.
"1 INSIDER GAMES" - display the number of games played with 1 logged-in users
"2 INSIDER GAMES" - display the number of games played with 2 logged-in users
"3 INSIDER GAMES" - display the number of games played with 3 logged-in users
"4 INSIDER GAMES" - display the number of games played with 4 logged-in users
"ACHIEVEMENTS GIVEN" - display the number of achievements awarded
- Connectivity support for Spike 2 games.
- Adjustment: "START BUTTON BEHAVIOR"
"SINGLE CREDIT" - One start button press will start a one player game.
"ALL LOGGED IN" - One start button press will start games for enough players
to accommodate all logged-in users (Default).
Quoted from OhYeahPlayer:So other than SIC and minor adjustments, they changed the Groot super to 6.25m instead of 6m. Just enough to make everyone to upgrade but not enough to make a meaningful difference... why?
I can’t come up with any reason, legitimate or otherwise to change the groot payout from 6 to 6.25 million. It’s such a small change, and even as a thinly veiled "non" change, it really makes me scratch my head. I can almost hear the engineers talking in the lunch room saying...
"The new code drop is all about insider connect. We need to treat the existing owners with something. Come on guys, surely there must be a new feature that can be added for the non-IC owners, right? (pause) I know, we can change Groot MB payout from 6 to 6.25. Cool right? They will love this!"
WTF?
Quoted from RonSwanson:Keeping up with inflation??
LOL. Inflation, Good one!
But I think 
OhYeahPlayer is on to something. By changing the payout in 1.09 ever so slightly, it doesn't materially change the actiual game, but purists in the tourney circles would HAVE TO upgrade ALL OF their machines if they want to have a level playing field of IC and Non-IC machines.
Quoted from TCR2020:I have the same issue on March 2021 machine. Have been trying to get some solution from Stern since Oct. My experience with Stern has been poor. This forum has a lot of expertise and good advice. Best suggestions that I received.
1. Contact Distributor who sold you the machine to assist.
2. Disable the Groot feature from Groot menu. The hits on closed mouth will count toward multi-ball. Having balls launch from bottom instead of from Groot kind of sucks but it is better than nothing. Game is still playable.
My paperwork says the part is Groot Motor Assembly (stripped gear box). Thalia in Customer Service wrote that it is a known problem. Cannot get any response from Parts Department. No idea when / if a part will ship or how to install if it arrives.
Good luck.
In case this helps… a new motor can be found.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/guardians-of-the-galaxy-owners-thread/page/109#post-6352633
Quoted from SirOneGlove:Hi All! Fairly new owner of a lightly used pro model chiming in for the first time. This is my first new generation machine (did have an old EM from '71) and I've been playing it quite a bit. Already gave it a light cleaning and wax so it is good as new.
Anyways, the real reason for my post is let you folks know that my orb drop target was not centered in the playfield hole and it was driving me crazy! I removed the drop target to examine and see if I could make any adjustments and to my surprise there was nothing I could do. I did discover that due to the nature of the design, the spring which pulls the target down also pulls it to the side. It is able to pull it to the side because there is quite some play mounting slot of the target itself.
So what did I do? I decided to redesign the small black "shelf" piece that the drop target rests on in the up position. I designed it to have a guide on the spring side so that the target remained perpendicular to the mounting surface throughout its travel up and down. I then 3D printed my design and now the target is mostly centered in the playfield hole!
I am curious to see if anybody else has this same "problem" that bugged me enough to do something about it and wanted to share it with you all! Pictures and descriptions below.
Here is the drop target shown as it came from Stern which was driving me crazy:
[quoted image]
Here you can see the drop target being pulled on an angle towards the spring:
[quoted image]
Here is the existing shelf piece (left) next to my redesigned piece (right):
[quoted image]
Here is my redesigned shelf piece installed and keeping that target in line:
[quoted image]
Here is a closeup of the new piece:
[quoted image]
Here is the final result - a mostly centered target!:
[quoted image]
Can't say I have had the problem, but I haven't looked that closely. From your pictures, the two screws that run through the circuit board and through the slots in the plastic blade are supposed to keep everything straight. The washer diameter may actually be an important part of the alignment mechanism too. Could be a design flaw, but it might also be the blade slots are worn (now too wide), or the washer is too small in diameter on your machine due to previous repair. In any case, looks like the alignment bracket can't hurt! Nice work...
Quoted from big-c66:Hey has anyone added the spinner set up from pinball life n does it score or what. I was thinking about adding it to mine.
I purchased the spinner for my Pro, ready to do what you are thinking, and then realized that to install it, it would required some cutting to the plastics, a drilled hole in the playfield, and the software does not support it directly, so you'd have to piggy-back off of some other microswitch. In the end, I decided to leave it alone....
Quoted from big-c66:That’s great I got one more question does it make a sound n does it score anything or not. Ill try not to ask anymore questions lol.
Thanks so much.
The spinner hooked to a stand-up target will generate the same scoring that the stand-up target does. Effectively the software thinks you are hitting the stand-up target over and over again. It's not really getting 'power' from the target, it's just duplicating the contact closures. If the Stand-up target generates a sound when hit, then the spinner would make the same sound. It really is just duplicating the stand-up target function, in spinner format!
( @issy gave me some renewed energy to consider doing this on my machine )
Quoted from PoMC:I started having issue with the drop target not going down when the game was trying to put it down. The ball would get stuck in there and the games ball search would not release it because the drop target was not coming down. It’s my friends game that I am temporarily borrowing and he said he started having issues with it and thought it was Code related.
I popped back in the 1.06 memory card with no change and the coil tests in the settings would not lower the drop target.
Last night I took a look under the Playfield and saw there was a spring attached to it. But the spring was attached at the halfway mark of the spring, meaning the spring was too long and it was shortened up by attaching it and leaving a lot of slack.
I removed the spring and it works perfectly now.
I was coming into this thread to see how it was supposed to look and if the spring was supposed to be there at all or if it was a fix attempted by my friend.
Yes a spring is supposed to be there as it does the work when coil item 28 in the diagram fires to drop the target. (The other bigger item 12 coil raises the target) See Manual Page 44, spring is item 6 in the diagram, part number 266-5089-00. sounds like a quick fix was attempted in the past with the wrong spring.
Quoted from big-c66:Hey how long is the warranty on the play field. I just noticed looking at mine as I lean down and look across the top I can see like little dimples in the finish. I haven’t noticed any difference in playing or anything but should I worry about it or what is everyone opinion. Thanks
Oh this may will be a year sense I bought it new.
I assume you are kidding, but if not, there are a zillion threads about playfield dimples and warranty/expectations. My 2-cents: You will make yourself nuts worrying about dimples and the thickness of clearcoat, and the age of the drying and which batch of playfields your machine came from, but most folks would say you should expect some playfield wear when 80grams of steel is tossed into a piece of painted wood a 1000 times a game. Just enjoy the machine unless it really is separating or cracking vertically.
Quoted from OhYeahPlayer:Has anyone put 1.09 on an SD card, successfully ran it, and then went back to 1.06? I know there are some compatibility concerns (new node boards I think?) but with my machine build in 2017, this really shouldn't be an issue... right? I wanna mess around with 1.09, but if it's between my modded 1.06 and 1.09, I'm gonna keep my current code.
With a 2017 machine, you can run any version of the code because it has the original node boards, and should be fine going back and forth. August2021 and newer machines need the newer code only due to a change in the node board design.
Quoted from bigguybbr:Has that been proven yet? When I updated mine (2017 build) to 1.06 it updated the node firmware. I didn't think you could roll it back for fear of bricking it. I haven't seen where anyone has done it and confirmed it is safe unless I missed it.
I have not rolled a Guardians back and forth, but did so regularly on a Jurassic. The node boards happily accepted their updated microcode with newer game code, and then they downgraded microcode when using earlier versions of the game code. Probably swapped up and down more than 8 or 10 times when testing custom version of gamecode.
Quoted from BeeGeeMtl:So if I remove the card, the game will play the "original sounds/call-outs" and if I place the SD card in there, it would play your version, eh? Will fiddle around and see which one is preferred in the household, thanks a lot!
No. The game always needs an sdcard installed, either the factory card or the cleland/applejuice version…. But it needs a card in the slot.
So we now have three 1.09 mods, applejuice’s and then two from cleland. Is that correct? They appear to be based on much the same core work starting with cleland and remapped to 1.09 by applejuice. Looks like some great collaboration! I have been running stock, so all will appear lightyears ahead to me. Now to try each of the three and see which I prefer…
I have a brand new GOTG-Pro cast metal ORB kit (hookedonpinball) that was never installed. I originally had all kinds of plans to update the plastic ORB, but probably won't realistically get to it since normal life keeps getting in the way! LOL. You can have it at my cost, $125 + shipping.
PM if interested
Quoted from PeterG:I do not have insider connect on GotG so only real plus here is a DJ mixer, that coudl be nice with the cleland sound mod
Cleland would need to rebuild his mods on top of the new 1.10 gamecode. (Pinball browser will also need to support 1.10 first)
Quoted from nagamitsu:I can't confirm, and only going by their example pics, but one shows with having the capacitors soldered (more expensive one) other without, so you'd have to find/buy the correct capacitors or remove from existing motor and solder same way to new motor
Tim
As long as the motor part number is the same, just move the wires and capacitors from the old motor to the new one. I helped a friend replace the motor on a PoTC spinning disk, which had a motor, a connector and a capacitor. The 'official' replacement for the spinning disk assembly was $150, but as it turns out the motor itself is the same as most shaker motors, so I found the same raw motor part number for $39 and just moved the wires and capacitor. Job done. Saved $100!
Quoted from nagamitsu:I had found same motor elsewhere, also cheaper at $45, but this company wants $175.00 USD in shipping fee to ship to me in Canada.
https://www.multiproducts.com/product/model-dcm-1018/
Tim
DigiKey has the DCM-1018 motor for $60, and I imagine reasonable shipping to canada...
I wonder if you got some pinhead in the USA who lives near the border and drives in to canada regularly to buy it from Digi, and then bring it over the border into canada and drop it in the canadian mail? Is that legal? Not sure even possible, but worth considering....
Quoted from Dwboca:My groot mouth motor went bad. I've found the dcm 1018 motor. Does any have an old or bad one that they've replaced and want to get rid of?
Digikey has it for $60 or so...
Quoted from jsm172:Gentlemen, I need some help. My guardians machine has been sitting and now it just has a black screen and the yellow lights under the screen blinking when I turn it on. It literally won’t do anything. Before, it was resetting after a couple of balls but I didn’t have time because we just had a child. Any ideas? Can I even reinstall a new update if it’s doing this?
Do you have a stock SD card available to install ? Does the playfield light up? Any LED on the CPU board in the back box lit up?
Quoted from jsm172:I will have to report back. Game is at my parents house and I have the back glass key at my house.
Just a tip: hang the backbox key inside the coindoor on the hook made for that key. So easy for that key to get lost otherwise, and a huge hassle if you loose the key.
Quoted from Sluggo39:My pro froze so I shut it off now it’s dead, mode board light are on, speaker lights on. But monitor is dead and nothing on the playfield.
Definitely sounds like the card it not initializing the system. It’s possible it’s not inserted all the way, so check that first. But also possible it’s just a bad card. So best to get a fresh 16GB Sandisk card from Amazon and write the factory sdcard image to it. Then firmly insert the new card with factory code. Let us know if this allows the machine to boot.
Quoted from big-c66:I’ve decided to put the spinner on the left side of my pro. Been debating about it till I read we’re some had installed it on there’s n liked it. Pinball life has everything I need so we will see.
Take pictures when you do it! I purchased the spinner from PBL eons ago to do this very mod, but have been hesitant to make the required non-reversible changes to the stock playfield. I think I can get over the wiring part (must tie into the existing rollover instead of the much more elegant spinner matrix SW found in the premium), but the additional hole you must drill in the playfield, and the notch you must cut in the plastics have PAUSED my enthusiasm.... but I would like to see it being done to give me the confidence to jump back in to the MOD.
Quoted from jsm172:What’s the going price for a nice pro with a good bit of mods? I got mine listed at $6,800 obo with no luck. I was going by previous sales but not sure
NIB pro listed right now in the markt for $6899. Unfortunately mods add nothing to the value of a pin these days...
From today's 1.11 gamecode update: The first two line items are interesting, since there have been reports of freezing and resets when IC hardware is installed, the rest of the updates are IC and coin stuff
LE/PRE V1.11 - September 8, 2022
=====================
- Updated to System V3.22.0 and SPIKE OS V2.7.0
- Corrected potential game reset issue.
- When entering a WiFi password, the previous characters will be displayed as an asterisk.
The WiFi password will be displayed as all asterisk when entering the setup screens or
scanning the WiFi setup QR code.
- Added Service Menu Tech Alert when weak signal strength is detected. The signal strength
and SSID will be displayed. An average signal strength < 40 is considered weak. A weak
WiFi signal may contribute to a slower or inconsistent connection which may effect the abilty
to login or download software updates. Signal strength can be improved by the use of an
inexpensive WiFi extender. A wired Ethernet connection can also be used in cases where WiFi
signals are problematic.
- Added Standard Adjustment "ENABLE HOME TEAM IN COINPLAY", default value of NO.
Setting this to YES will allow Insider Home Team to be available for machines not
set to Free Play. Normally "USE INSIDER HOME TEAM" is only available in Free Play
mode. Many home players, who choose to use their game in Coin Play, have requested
the ability to enjoy Home Team! Setting this this adjustment to YES will default the Home
Team Guest Retention to Never. If you wish a different setting you will have update that
adjustment after enabling Home Team in CoinPlay. Home Team is not available for machines
registered to a Pro account operating in a commercial environment.
- Added Standard Adjustment "REMOVE FRACTIONAL CREDITS". Values are:
"NEVER" and "AFTER X MINUTES IDLE", where X is between 30 and 240.
The default value is "NEVER". If the game is idle (no coin or flipper
switch activity in attract mode) for X minutes, any fractional credits will
be removed. Whole credits will NOT be removed.
- Added Standard Audit "FRACTIONAL CREDITS REMOVED", which will track the number of
fractional credits that have been removed when the game was idle.
- Changed the default value for Insider Connected Software Update to "Install updates automatically".
Quoted from Stugots:New to the forum and also just got my invoice from Cointaker. This is my first pin.
Great first pin, and it should ship with I-Connected hardware and V1.11 gamecode already installed. You'll find the rules pretty mature and fun all around. And as many times as you play it, you'll always struggle to react to the Rocket return (left playfield).
The only mod I would recommend is the flourescent plastic protectors kit as soon as you can since the ball motion can be pretty fast and easily damage some sling plastics (easy to install). Very few other must-have mods on GOTG, but lots to choose from when you get there. (HD glass is one of my favorite adds to every machine these days, and with black friday coming, you might find a sheet at a bit of a discount).
Quoted from Stugots:Ok, I plan to run cleland code and I will report back the results. Melissa said the machines should be coming in next week to their warehouse and then from there they will start shipping them.
I'm pretty sure like clockwork I'll get the call when I'm down in Florida mid-October lol!
I'll reach out to Cleland to get the code, from reading through here it appears I just need to PM him.
BE VERY CAREFUL *NOT* TO USE GAMECODE PRIOR TO v1.08. The new GOTG builds will likely have the newer NODE board chips which require 1.08 or later. If you TRY to put earlier code on them, you will cause yourself a whole world of pain... not easily corrected!
Quoted from Pinball-Obsessed:Can someone, please, confirm that the official Stern premium/LE Groot arms will work and install on the pro?
I just ordered the official Stern Groot arms but I had to order from two different places to get the set.
My first time ordering body parts online
Also, can I add the spinners and will they
work with the pro code?
I can answer the SPINNER question for you... It's a bit of an installation to do so. I think a few folks have done so, talk to izzy if you need some guidance as I think he did it recently. The short answer is 1) PBL sells the bracket and switch assembly, maybe $30 or so. 2) It will fit on the left side if you grind an indent into the art plastic a bit. 3) You need to attach the bracket to the playfield which I think takes a single hole drilled into the wood, 4) The software does NOT directlysupport it, but it can be wired in parrallel to an existing playfield blade rollover switch.
Quoted from PinballHaven:Congrats! Seems you choose a distributor higher in the pecking order.
...or closer to the factory so shorter transportion! (Illinois)
Quoted from MaxIsDead:Such a goofy way to save 20 bucks. Guess I’ll order a set of “real” rails from pinballlife too
I installed a set of rails on a pro. It’s pretty easy. The only two suggestions I have is to:
1) use a wide-mouth clamp to press the T-Nuts into the playfield, rather than a hammer. Hammer will work, it just seems too aggressive to hit your playfield with a hammer
2) use some blue tape on the drill bit you have to use below the playfield for the wood screws. This will mark the depth of the hole you are drilling, and prevent you from going all the way through the wood.
Quoted from Pinball-Obsessed:This guy lives right next door to my town.
I wonder if he still makes this…
I just pm’d him so we’ll see what he says.
He made a batch of them 6 months ago, sold out quickly, but perhaps he might be willing to make another batch of them...
Quoted from big-c66:Does anyone know if the guy that was making the wire form ramps still makes them. I’m trying to find it in the thread
Try Loganpinball as he made some but could not get his build time down due to the complexity so made it hard to price it.
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:I am doing mine tonight.
You need to remove the ramp first.
The posts are 1/4” socket I think, cant remember.
Sounds like you are new, so best advice:
Do not bend, pry or force anything. There is nothing on a pinball that requires this. If it does not come easy, is it attached somewhere else still.
If you can, take some pictures for others to see, as this topic comes up from time to time. (I wish I had done it when I installed mine)
Quoted from Stugots:This is a NIB from September 2022 run. My game build date says September 21st 2022.
This is my 3rd day of ownership, day 1 was Friday the 21st and ironically that is the only day it worked pretty much flawless lol.
Just have to ask… is it possible you had tried to flash a version of the Cleland gamecode earlier than 1.08 and then run it in the machine? Newer builds of the hardware can be affected permanently if you accidentally try to run older code.
Quoted from MaxIsDead:Stern should be ashamed of themselves for those shit ass pegs. What a horrible way to save a couple pennies on a multi-thousand dollar game. It was the first thing I replaced too. Proper rails are much needed.
It's a 15-minute $50 fix when ordered from PBL, but it just seems wrong in today's enthusiast marketplace. I am sure the accountants and product managers at STERN would calculate that their cost of goods probably goes from $2.00 for the pair of pegs, to $12 for the pair of rails. I guess they are thinking that the $10 increase would translate to $60-$100 in MSRP which actually makes sense from an accounting standpoint, but seems so short sighted in the real-world application of these PRO machines. What tech in their right mind would think the pegs are 'just fine' when working on a machine on route, or at home for that matter?
Quoted from gliebig:Do you have a link or picture for the Cliffy rubber?
His post sleeves are here: https://www.passionforpinball.com/colorsleeves.htm
Quoted from Stugots:My results have varied from everyone else. My magnet strength depends on node board 9. Has anyone tried replacing node board 9 to fix the magnet?
I posted the other day about a short in my node board 9 from my Sept 2022 build of GOTG Pro. A technician suspected it was node board 9 as he couldn't find a short anywhere else.
He had with him a node board 9 from an earlier build of GOTG Pro, I believe a 2017 build date. When he took my node board out and put his in, voila it fixed the short I was having, however it broke my magnet. It would not grab at all even when placing the ball directly over the magnet. You could feel the playfield getting warm, but it just wouldn't work.
He put my node board back in that came with my machine and the magnet worked 100% of the time. No washers, no waxing the playfield, no mods or anything. Same factory 1.11 code and SD card.
Literally the magnet behavior changed 100% due to swapping out node board 9.
It would be worth metering the voltages at the magnet when energized and the playfield is 'getting warm'. I can not correlate the magnet being energized but not being able to capture the ball, unless the voltage applied is not correct. Worth metering it under test menu.
Quoted from gliebig:Who sells neon plastic protector sets?
https://mezelmods.com/products/guardians-of-the-galaxy-pinball-plastic-protectors
Just curious if your new stainless ramps will attach/work with the factory straight plastic sections down to the slings?
Quoted from mbrave77:My nib pro comes today. Can someone DM me the cleland code 1.09 and any instructions?
Do i put the new SD card even before booting the game up the first time? Or do I need to set the game up with original code first?
You can drop in the updated SDCARD anytime you like, A correctly written SDCARD is all-inclusive and doesn't rely on anything previously loaded in the machine... (nothing stays in the machine through a card swap except a few audit items). (Updated)
Quoted from gliebig:Picked up my game Friday. Played a few games without issue then it stopped recognizing node board 8&9. Game works fine if Insider Connect is disconnected. Guess I'll have to put in a ticket.
There is a fix found in Version 1.11 for an Insider-Connected bug or two with the communication lines which feed all the boards. Its a RS485 driver protocol and any issue on one device can affect all the other devices, like the node boards (and the IC device is on that same RS483 chain). Try it... It may help.
Quoted from gliebig:This game is from the new run. It is on the latest code. Maybe I'll try reinstalling.
If it shipped from the new production run, it should be running Version 1.11 which is the latest and includes the insider-connect bug fixes. That said, it could be as simple as re-inserting all of the RJ45 connectors. Simple remove each and then re-install. Those RJ45 pins sometimes have dust or debris on the pin surface or just not seated properly until you hear the CLICK locking tab.
Quoted from PinMonk:I've been working on an Orb mod with more detail for the GotG Pros. The factory is split just enough for the "stone" that's really just a light on the back bracket to fit between the gap visually, and the gears that you see in the movie are just printed on the sides, adding nothing. So I've widened the gap, added the two levels of gears, and took the liberty of making the stone that lights stick out from the gears more so you could see it better. This is using the existing RGB lighting on the bracket, so no electronics added to achieve this. I need to fine-tune this a bit more, but it should be in the pinmonk store shortly.
A shot from the first movie of the orb:
[quoted image]
And various RGB shots of the mod I've made:
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I finally had a moment to compare the factory look to your planned mod. Very nice sir!!!! I look forward to seeing it in the pinmonk store!!
Quoted from hiker2099:If Stern did brick it, couldn't people just flash and reload code?
They could easily brick the machine beyond a reflash fix, but it’s looking very unlikely to be a high priority for Stern to do so anytime soon…
(Not to mention some contractual and liability issues they would need to tighten up regarding fair use language in their existing agreement.)
I suspect it’s fine…
Quoted from mcvetyty:You're welcome to use my Pin Golf objectives card if you'd like...[quoted image]
https://www.wizardmod.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-pinball-mods
Quoted from PinMonk:Yes, aside from the harness extension (you need one because Stern made that wire run SUPER tight) being made, the actual product is done. But working on the instructions and instruction illustrations now. It's not a hard install, but there are a number of steps to make the magic happen - I want to hold your hand through it.
On pinmonk.com, I also put up the Star Lord eyes bracket that puts his eyes back to red like the movie instead of the ridiculous orange. And I have the magnet/orb multiball brackets done, but not listed yet. I plan to put them all for sale at once.
[quoted image]
Sounds great!! Let us know when the ORB mod is ready... looks like a keeper! (Maybe list those and the red eyes mod as a BlackFriday sale set)??
Quoted from Zuul:Thanks! They are 100% DIY. It’s nothing exotic, though, just WS2812B LED strips (144/m) that you can get from Adafruit or Amazon, etc. The Pinduino could definitely drive them.
I looked into Pinduino a little, and it’s a nicely polished platform to help people do basically what I did on my own. It looks like he is using playfield switches as triggers for lighting effects. I can do that, but it what I really want is to tap into the software so I can detect what game mode you are playing. The next best thing I could come up with is monitoring the Haydron Enforcer button LED. During mode-select, it flashes the color associated with the mode. When the Enforcer “goes live” I think it only ever flashes yellow, which isn’t ideal, but I can’t think of another single LED that reflects the mode colors as well.
there is a guy on this site, stumblor that is actually reading the switch matrix for his mod to do exactly that kind of interactivity. Check with him on his work...
The ws2812s are amazing addressable strips. Every point of light can be turned on or off and colored. The whole strip takes 4 or 5 wires to drive. Easy programming with Ardrino or Rpi $5 drivers…
Quoted from mannymasy:One question...I would like to add Groot's arms to the pro version when I get home....does anyone have to sell the originals of the premium or limited model?
A number of folks have posed the same question and a large number of them decide that adding the arms obscures the playfield and they decide not to do it. Consider if you’d be happy with that blocked view of the mid/upper playfield FIRST.
Quoted from KING-HENRY:Ok thanks guys. Even though it already ‘broke the heimen on it . Can someone vouch for the pindefenders here on pinside? They are plastic 3D printed covers. I thought that would be the easiest solution, unless the cliffy’s are better. If better, whats the specific link to those for this game? Still bummed. No way my Cactus Canyon Remake or MMr would ever do this. I’ll turn down the coil on this, and my TMNT asap.
Drop him an email and tell him what you need for which game. He’ll reply right back to you!
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:I would like to upgrade the apron on the pros to make it look like the premium, the metal apron is cooler.
That said the spike 2 apron attaches differently than Sam which was better in my opinion.
Pinball Life has an apron and the brackets:
Stern metal apron/arch: 535-8392-01
Requires 2 mounting screws (#237-6013-00).
Requires 2 mounting brackets (#535-8394-00).
Requires 6 mounting screws (#234-5101-00).
Quoted from SteelTigers:For those who haven't installed the RT Scoop Eject Protector before, this is a pretty simple procedure. Once you remove the clear RT Side Exit Ramp and related fasteners & spacers, remove the corresponding multi-level artwork plastic from between the RT Side Orbit and Shooter Lane. Then it's just a matter of two machine screws.
Keep in mind that the two machines screws is what holds the entire RT Scoop Eject Assembly to the bottom side of the playfield. So you have to prevent the Scoop Eject from falling through the playfield when removing the screws, in order to install the Scoop (Stern reference #535-1663-00) Protector.
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Cliffy is working on a new protector as well, which is a little stronger than the Stern version, has his 45-degree angles on the flaps that extend into the hole, and even has a bit of metal that is anchored to that metal post on the back left for a bit of extra stability. He may be ready with his version pretty soon.
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:I am testing the first prototype as soon as I get it.
I would love to get your experience with the prototype and the fit on your playfield near the upper left post. In my case, the proto protector blocked the post hole enough that I could not get the post in. (But then again the wooden hole on my playfield seems to be routed a little hastily and then clearcoat was applied on the rough surface that was exposed. Not sure if that is affecting the fit or not, but your experience would be helpful.)
Quoted from JonCBrand:Game was delivered today.
Not happy to see service rails gone.
Oct 4th 2022 build date
[quoted image]
$60 at Pinball Life. Takes 15 min to install
Quoted from SteelTigers:For now, yes (which is useless and redundant imo) it was just an initial test with an 8-bit lvds passthrough converter board, like the ones streamers use to capture video from the CN6 header. My plan is to chop up some cut scenes from the movie, re-render a looping video using a different driver board.
Depending on your chosen player, you may be able to have it change between clips, based on a simple sound or light trigger. Keep us posted.
Quoted from SteelTigers:Interesting idea. Would have to figure out how to get the input/output trigger working. My guess, would be to have some code looking for a trigger event and then have some script to call a keyframe marker from the source video
There are a ton of 50-cent light or sound sensors that would provide a logic level signal if they detect something. Put that sensor close to a flasher or coil and it would trigger pretty easily without any direct connection needed. What player are you thinking of using? Something RPi or Arduino?
Quoted from pghpinfan:Are rejects from the right orbit common in this game? A high percentage of the time I hit the right orbit and the ball rattles after it clears the plastic in the left and either goes under the purple pop bumper or comes back down the orbit. Here is a pic of the ball guide….[quoted image]
My guide looks exactly like yours. There are two playfield attachment posts very close to each other at the position, so the 'less that a smooth radius' is to be expected.
Quoted from JonCBrand:Rails are going in. Worst part is drilling 4 small pilot holes into the bottom side playfield. They are dimpled from the factory though.
[quoted image]
FYI, when you install the T-Nuts on the top of the playfield under the apron, I used a wide-mouth clamp to press it into the clearcoat surface, rather than a hammer to knock it in. It just felt more 'gentle'... and allowed me to press it evenly.
Quoted from mannymasy:Hello friends, I received my guardians last week. Today I realized that several flash lights are not working, apparently it is from some node board. My question is if it could be that the cause is the aver installed the cleland code or the fault has nothing to do with that... regards
Which lights are not working? All of them connected to a specific node board? Do you get any boot node board failure messages when you power the game up? If you get a normal boot, then there is likely a common wiring issue from the node board to the section of lights. Also, the Cleland code won't affect the game unless an original CLELAND gamecode was flashed into a newer machine. Are your node boards GREEN (older) or BLUE (newer)?
Quoted from mannymasy:[quoted image]
If you have GREEN node boards, then its possible that your patching cable is at fault (the one that runs from the cpu board to the first node board). Green boards should be fine with ANY version of gamecode. One other thing to look at: There is a slight chance that the terminator plug that is installed on the node board under the playfield near the left flipper assembly may also be missing or at fault.
Each node board has two network connector jacks. One is used as an input to the board, and the other is an output to the next board. On the last node board in the chain, there is no place for the output jack to connect to, so they put a terminator in that last jack. It looks like a short network cable with shrink wrap covering the 2 inches of wire. It’s important for the terminator to be working to keep the chain communication across all boards. Since you have the original Green node boards, and if you confirm that the terminator is properly installed in the node board near the left flipper, try reseating all of the network cables starting in the back box and then under the playfield. It looks like all three driver node boards are offline, so that feels like a network cabling issue with the first cpu board cable, or the terminator at the end.
Quoted from NeilMcRae:you don't need the terminator.
Actually you do. Those network lines are RS485 and a daisy-chain arrangement to work properly every time, the terminator must be present. That's why Stern ships it. That said, it MIGHT work without the terminator, but could be suseptible to interference from coil spikes and other higher voltage stuff in the machine, etc. To be reliable, you must install the terminator.
Quoted from nagamitsu:Curious of mine, from original run, whether my friend I bought the machine from had removed that terminator or it didn't have it. Game works flawlessly without it at least from what I've seen.
Tim
Good to see it's working without it. The latest runs for factory Spike2 games include the terminator to increase the reliability of the communication to the boards.
Quoted from VirtualMayhem:Anyone know the screw size for the screw the connects the plastic on the top of the pop bumper to the bumper? I lost the tiny Phillips screw trying to insert it this morning and haven’t found it yet in the playfield or underneath- hate when I do that
From memory… #4 wood screw 5/8 long stainless steel
Quoted from VirtualMayhem:Yeah I pulled the motor out and reinstalled. Let the game start up, started a game and it seemed to find home. Mouth opened locked a ball then it failed to fully open on the next hit. Motor is again not moving at all acting like it’s bound up…
Many manufacturers use refurbished parts for warranty stock. So motors could be pulled from machines for any number of reasons, they are bench tested quickly, and then tagged as replacement warranty stock. In many cases the original problem with the part still exists, it just wasn’t seen during bench test. Not sure how Stern does their warranty stock, but it could be the problem if your installation proves correct.
Quoted from Knackers:Do they just spin without adding score?
You tie the spinner to an existing rollover switch so it does add score. The small issue is you need to drill a hole in the top of the playfield behind the ball guide metal to mount it with a screw, and you also need to grind a small indent notch into one of the top plastic pieces for the bracket to clear. Both minor but non reversible.
Quoted from CoolCatPinball:I'm trying to take my Guardians Pro back to stock everything temporarily so I can add insider connect, and update to 1.11. Currently has no insider, has 1.07 code, and Cleland sound. Am I correct in thinking if I update to 1.11 via USB, my Cleland SD card will have to be swapped out? I don't have the original. Game came to me w Cleland already installed. Yes, I plan on going back to Cleland once 1.11 is available. Question cross posted in the sound mod thread already. Thanks!
If you update to Factory code 1.11 from USB, it will overwrite the SDCARD regardless of what existing code it's running. Then you will have a factory 1.11 machine. In the future, if a custom code is made available, that can be swapped in by replacing the (now) factory 1.11 sdcard with a custom 1.11AV card.
Does anyone know of a source for the replacement stickers used on the inside of the two halves of the ORB? I have a Pinmonk orb mod kit, and it requires the factory stickers to be lifted and then replaced a bit later. I would like to see if a set of stickers is available in case the adhesive is less than cooperative when pulled and then reapplied.
Quoted from PinPickle:Also… does this mod do anything other than mirror the LCD?
And… what’s the go-to mod for the pro Orb?
Thx
I recently added Pinmonk’s orb mod and it is a step up for sure. Easy to install. I had considered the HookedOn metal cast version, but it didn’t look much different than factory, but it was nice too.
Quoted from bigguybbr:That orb plastic is unobtanium and breaks on everyone's. Best to get yourself a plastic protector. If anyone remakes this plastic, I would buy one in a heartbeat.
If anyone has one of them, UPKICK would be able to knock a clear one off pretty quick with a simple tracing. Anyone have a unit diassasembled that could trace it?
Quoted from SteelTigers:This image is 1 : 1 when enlarged to native size.
But as far as the spacer, OP should just measure it since he has it apart and has calipers...[quoted image]
If you could draw a 1-inch x 1-inch square on the same paper (to confirm scale/magnif) and then post it, the orig poster can send it over to Upkick (in Texas) and they can make it up at a low cost, but the CPR9999 version is pretty sweet, a little more protections, as a great replacement too.
Quoted from mjannusch:$4150? I'd be happy to sell my topper for $4000.
Maybe it was supposed to be $415 (instead of $4150)
Quoted from thirdedition:We've just had our second Groot jaw motor give out. I haven't taken it apart yet, but I suspect the culprit is yet again a gear in the gearbox. I'm ordering two from the main source since they are cheaper than buying them from Marco or Pinball Life.
My question is, has anyone else had this amount of failure on Groot? Is there any known solution? It is a location game that gets a fair amount of play so I can't complain too much, but I'm curious if anyone knows that the cause is. My best guess is balls are getting stuck in his jaw and the gear is breaking when it tries to close. I'll see if I can adjust it so that doesn't happen.
Consider posting the 'other' main source and ordering detail in case others run into that same problem... I think a number of folks have tried finding the motor assembly 511-7926-00 through other sources, but shipping fees made the deal not so much.
Quoted from thirdedition:You posted it
I ordered two for the price of one essentially.
I paid for two motors and shipping for cheaper than the pinball life motor assembly. I haven't dig into this one yet but I'm fairly confident the motor is fine so I am only going for the gearbox.
To clarify, I bought two from multiproducts directly. I'll let you know how it works out.
Got it. I was thinking you found a lower cost shipper. I think the Multiproducts originals are a better deal-specially when purchased qty:2, even though shipping eats some of the 'deal'.
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:Anyone know anything about the posts in front of the ramps? On most other games they are plastic sleeves, but on this game they appear to be thin rubber covers. Is that stock? Mine are all ripping and I'm not sure where to get replacements. I checked the manual and didn't see anything about post sleeves.
Most posts ship from the factory with thinner, 1-1/16 tall tapered hard rubber. They are not actually plastic. You can see original here:
https://www.pinballlife.com/1-116-sternsega-black-rubber-post-sleeve.html
and lots of suppliers have color equiv looking, but the durability can often be a challenge for softer materials. Cliffy has some great post sleeves if you want some durable replacements in color. I stay with the harder factory black as shipped due to the pounding those posts take.
Quoted from JonCBrand:Oh man that would be slick, I bet its doable.
I wonder If I could cheat it with one of those tv backlight kits that has the camera to sense colors on the tv and then backlights tv color to match.
If you are really up for the challenge, you could take a similar integration approach being discussed here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/diy-fake-expression-lighting-for-foo-fighters-pro-and-other-games
and you could even couple a $2 speech recognition modules to 'listen' to the audio track callouts: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802615192314.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.13.797c4c2clpqGtw&algo_pvid=8f06049a-4223-410c-a8a8-039314b8d90c&algo_exp_id=8f06049a-4223-410c-a8a8-039314b8d90c-6&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21USD%211.68%211.6%21%21%21%21%21%40211bc2a016880585267774565d0744%2112000022251929136%21sea%21US%212437525903&curPageLogUid=OCsc5b0BaIMm
Quoted from TheShaft:For those of you with new run games with the plugs in the apron in place of the apron lighting the newer Sterns come with, I found someone to make me up some lights to go in their place. He’s added them to his shop at pinballleds.ca
Here’s a link to the specific item.
https://pinballleds.ca/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=672&search=Apron
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Do you know where they are connected to GI for power? (Looks like a Comet matrix-style connector to a GI bulb accessed from under the playfield).
Quoted from Psw757:Anyone have any nice apron cards and perhaps a decal for the IC on apron?
There are several sources elsewhere, but take a look at these to get you started. If you find some, easy enough to send over to FEDEX OFFICE for $2 a page in color on photo cardstock and pickup in an hour.
http://www.pinballcards.com/Search?submit_form=0&search=guardians
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/custom-apron-cards-printable-versions-only/page/2#post-5157039
Quoted from Falc0nWing:guys, finally my NIB pro coming today, pretty excited! can anyone help me how to get the latest Cleland code? texted him, but seems he is busy. thanks in advance!!
Try the latest from PoMC for his updated code. I think several folks made a mod AV version.
Quoted from CoolCatPinball:I was under the impression that there was no alternate audio package that was working correctly with the latest code (yet). Am I mistaken?
I beleive you are correct. Seems like Stern has been playing musical codecs for the audio clips inside each release. Not clear why they would mix them up other than perhaps just to make modding harder for the community would be my guess. Last I heard there were several clips that sounded bad when trying pinball browser with the latest gamecode.
Quoted from Falc0nWing:this screw is the type which is going into the wood, which I can hardly imagine gets shaken out during delivery. maybe someone dropped it during assembly.
I think this is quite possible an assembler's error. I have a rule for MYSELF when doing mods or fixes: If I drop something into the playfield or cabinet, I STOP what I am doing and retrieve the item. Just a discipline or OCD thing I have, but If I drop a screw, I find it before I continue the mod. I kind of doubt Stern's assembly techs have that discipline. If they are lucky the errant screw finds its way to the bottom of the cabinet before shipping, but more times than not, I suspect that the screw gets wedged into a wiring harness or mechanical item under the playfield during assembly and its just easier to grab a new screw and keep going. In many of the cases the abandoned screw will fall into the cabinet during shipping, but in a FEW CASES, it gets lodged into a mechnism that won't let it fall free. (Your situation).
How many of us have found a lone screw or two at the bottom of the cabinet when setting up a NIB???
Quoted from ashmath82:I currently have a bond pro and I am trying to pick between a guardians pro and avengers pro….is one way better than the other?
Both would complement Bond in a similiar fashion. Can’t go wrong with either. I am partial to the theme of Gotg but that is purely a matter of personal choice.
Quoted from faronbean:I just bought a Pro model and, of course, am looking into every imaginable mod and have a few questions.
Is it possible to add two spinners to the Pro model?
What about the motorized orb?
My machine has the Cleland code installed. If I add an insider connect is there a possibility that it will upgrade at some point and overwrite that?
I have added the following mods so far:
Shaker Motor
Shooter lane protector
Lit flipper buttons
Decals on the apron, coin door, and shooter rod plate
Groot hands
Groot shooter rod
Side blades
Vine dome covers
Shooter lane protector
Flipper toppers
Ramp illumination
Backboard illumination
Ronan's hammer
EZ Slide rails
Playfield support brackets
Any suggestions for additional mods?
Thanks in advance for the help!
There is a hack to add one spinner which involves cutting a plastic and drilling a screw hole into the top of the playfield, which then ties into one of the roll-over switches to count it. PBL has the spinner assembly for $25 if you want to give it a go.
The motorized ORB is a non-starter, but there are a couple of nice upgrades for it if you want more sizzle.
You may want to think hard about adding the Groot hands. Many people think they obscure the playfield and some Premium owners have even removed the factory hands.
Also, there is an LED apron kit you can buy from the guys up in canada that will add illumination to the Apron in the two LED holes if your apron has them. Some older aprons have the holes covered up and no LEDs installed behind the holes. Adds some nice light to the flipper area if you have them.
Lastly, anytime the internet connect is asked to upgrade software, it overwrites the older version in the machine. So GOTG is at factory V1.07 right now. You would have to turn off INTERNET upgrade automatically feature until there is a GOTG mod gamecode of the same version number (1.07).
Quoted from ezeltmann:I was waiting for Markharris2000 to post his machine pics , but wanted to let you guys know about my speaker light mod for GOTG / Prem and Pro
pm if you would like to order them.
magnetic speaker frames / 3d printed / sanded and painted finish
thx
[quoted image]
My weekend got away from me so pictures didn't happen. I will say that these are a really great additional to any machine with a rectangular LED frame (i.e. Dug's speakerled models) versus any circular speaker LEDs. The rectangular lit canvas is the perfect backlight.
The route operators in northern europe will appreciate this update! LOL Or maybe they are just messing with the PinballBrowser gamecode modders (again) because they can.... some number of mod code users will undoubtedly revert back to factory gamecode with each passing update... die hards will stay the course and wait till updated mods are made, but some will just let IC revert to factory.
Quoted from Falc0nWing:I was not happy how the aftermarket hands were painted, so I used a little time on them, now I like the result. anyway what is good in these hands that you can position them how you like and for me they do not block the visibility of the inserts.
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Nice job on the paint.
Quoted from nagamitsu:Lol, my magnet more often than not, just barely does anything and the ball just drops straight down. Sometimes it catches and flings the ball, but rare. Even with regular playfield clean/waxing. I may need to try to get magnet closer to playfield surface
Tim
You may need to check the post rubber sleeve near the ORB to see if it sends the balls into the center of the magnetic field. The sleeve may need to be replaced if it is not sending the ball to the right place. The magnet under the playfield is not strong enough to grab a ball from a distance, so direction matters. I suspect if you find the center of the coil, and then look at a circle 2.5 to 3 inches in diameter, centered on the coil, that is about as far as you can reliably assure the ball will catch, if travelling at the slower speed coming out of the ORB. So that means checing the Orb post and positioning and where it sends the ball. needs to feed the ball to that 2-inch circle if you want a have a shot at the ball being caught.
Try it by hand with the glass off. Cut a post-it note in a 2.5-inch circle and post it on top of the playfield right above the coil. See how close you need to get the ball to the center of the coil at a reasonable (slower) travel speed. Moving the coil closer to the playfield wood will help a little too, but not that much. The magnetic field drecreases in strength proportionally to the distance squared from the center of the coil. What that means is it gets much weaker the furthar away from coil center the ball travels.
Quoted from nagamitsu:Thanks. I replaced all rubber on the playfield not too long ago. The ball hits over magnet, and it then just sort of fizzles and drops. Again, not always, but a fair bit.
It may be operating properly. The magnet doesn't really grab the ball and hold it for any length of time, but is meant to change the trajectory in a random fashion, allowing the ball to exit differently each time it is used.
Quoted from NunoDirector:Yes, If I take out the SD card with the Cleland code and insert the previous SD Card with the normal GOTG game on the latest code 1.13 everything it's fine. Very odd.
I am guessing the MOD download file you have is corrupt/broken. Get a fresh download and try reflashing to the card with Win32DiskImager.
In case anyone wants to restore the view in the orb area, (which was obscured by Stern's last-minute added stainless steel protector), PBL has a new clear PETG laser protector that fits right in and protects the plastic in the ORB area. $6
https://www.pinballlife.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-clear-orb-plastic-protector.html?Category_Code=
laser_22 (resized).jpgQuoted from Fifty:Could you post some installed pics? I'm a bit confused by the image of Gamora? Does she have angel wings behind her?
I will post pictures when I have it installed this weekend. It is an 'in the style of' piece of art.
I finally found out what happens if you load a PREMIUM SDCARD in a PRO machine.... nothing blows up nor does anything smoke, but the machine starts and acts very weird. Most painful, Groot seems very confused and the mouth stay neither open nor closed during play, and three Tech Alerts show up! Not sure how I did this, perhaps the late night, but rest assured nothing was harmed permanently (if anyone else was curious how catastrohpic it would be).
I put a PRO image in the machine and all is well!
I finally installed Dugz SpeakerLED RGB frame and the SOUND controller on my GOTG machine. Looks great and has the appearance of interactive as sound drives it to change color.
Quoted from NunoDirector:The weird thing it’s when I placed the normal SD card with the game on the last code I can connect the game with WiFi and use insider connected without problems. It’s only when I use the SD card with the Cleland code it’s when the machine wouldn’t work if the WiFi it’s turned on. Very odd. Does this happened to anyone before? Thanks! Happy new year! Nuno
Which version of cleland are you trying to use? It sounds like the machine is trying to immediately update the firmware over the network. It will do this if the cleland code you are using is older than the current factory version.
Quoted from NunoDirector:Thanks for the reply and the help my friend! The Cleland version that I'm using and the one I Flashed on the SD Card is 1.11.0 and the Code that the pinball has is 1.13.0. Do you think that could be the problem? But quick question, that 1.13.0 code is in the Factory SD card that comes with the Pinball machine right? That means that when you replace the factory SD Card with the Cleland SD Card it's also replacing the current code that the machine will use, right? Or when you update the code on your machine, even though you replace the SD CARD, your machine still holds the latest update? I thought the "code updates" were saved on the SD Card not the cpu of the machine. So In this case my best options are reset the machine to factory setting or wait for a new update code from Cleland, correct my friend? Let me know your thoughts and I'm very grateful for your insight and help! Truly appreciate it! Nuno
V1.11 code uses an earlier node board firmware than 1.13. What that means is you’ll see node boards update each time you switch between the two sdcards. The node board firmware DOES stay in each of the node boards in the machine, but the gamecode stays only on the SdCard.
Try reflashing a cleland sdcard, and then reboot. Tell us exactly what you see on the lcd screen step by step.
Installed the IC kit for my GOTG Pro, then added Mr_Tantrum pressure decal over the Stern IC red QR reader triangle. Nice....
IMG_2887 (resized).jpgQuoted from Sirgubster9:oh ya i like it!. I saw a post about it but didnt see it in the market store or whatever, did you just contact him to purchase?
Yes, just PM him… Mr_Tantrum
Quoted from NoSkills:With the washer magnet fix am I just pushing the magnet core closer to the playfield or do the washers need to be big enough to overlap that and also push the magnet outer ring thing with the wires attached closer too?
Currently my washers just push the core closer and it works fantastically for about 20-30 mins then starts to fade, it still grabs the ball but just grabs and drops, it doesn't shake it around anymore. Anything else I can try?
The suggested washer is pushing the coil closer to the playfield, has no other magnetic properties. In fact, on mine, I simply cut a black rubber ring in half to make a thinner rubber ring, and used that instead of a metal washer. Looks more 'factory' as well and works great. (Also make sure the playfield is clean directly above the magnet and some say adding wax in that area works even better)
Quoted from NunoDirector:Sorry for my lack of knowledge on this matter but can you explain me how can you do it without having the machine rebooting? Does your machine runs on 1.13 stern code? Thanks for your time and help
Just to clarify, Cleland 1.11 is based on Stern 1.11. When you swap SDCARDS, you swap everything... when you remove the card, the machine is no longer running anything. It's blank. In addition, many folks are running Cleland 1.11 flawlessly, so in your case you are having SDCARD writing issues, the code is fine. Try to see if you can write the card on a PC with Win32imager. Start with a fresh, never been used, name brand Class-10 16GB card from a name brand that you purchase from a reputable source. Then try burning it again on a PC this time.
Quoted from Pinchild:Groots mouth no longer works?
Test fail.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Run the diagnostics to see if any movement, and also put a meter on the two pins on the motor to see if you get 24v dc on the pins to confirm the driver is working. It's a standard DCM-1018 motor, but there may be something else going on before you swap it.
Quoted from RyanStl:Hi all, I just joined the club. I've read the entire thread and have already learned a lot.
[quoted image]
It's a really fun title, overshadowed by newer machines, but very fun anyway. Groot is a big part of the challenge. Rocket's return still catches me off-guard every time I hit it- so fast. Well laid out shots, and a good soundtrack out of the box. Mod soundtracks also available, and you can install IC for $200 if you don't already have it installed. Look at adding some plastic protectors around the ORB if they are not there already. Little Shop of Games has replacement mouth cast for $50 if yours is getting worn.
Quoted from CoolCatPinball:Does it work on 1.13?
The latest he has released is V1.11
Quoted from NoSkills:I might be wrong but I think if you allowed a new style node board update firmware with 1.06 code, that node board will no longer work even if you try to update the firmware with 1.13 code now.
Safety Rule: NEVER try to change firmware to any version PRIOR to the one that shipped with your machine UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING *AND* THE COLOR OF YOUR NODE BOARDS!!! (Long covid-era story here). YOU REALLY WILL BRICK YOUR NODE BOARDS IF YOU MAKE THIS MISTAKE.
So, IF YOU HAVE ORIGINAL BLUE NODE BOARDS, then you are fine. If you have the newer GREEN node boards, then be VERY CAREFUL and never go to earlier code!
See here: https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Stern-NodeBoardUpdate.pdf
Quoted from RyanStl:This is my first venture in custom shooting rods. I got this one from The Modfather, but didn't realize how big it is. It's so big and heavy the ball won't plunge very high. Does anybody have suggestions on a cool shooting rod they like?
[quoted image]
Tilt Grafix has an appropriately sized and weighted Starlord shooter:
https://www.tiltgraphicsinc.com/product-page/guardians-of-the-galaxy-shooter-rod
Quoted from RyanStl:Shooter rod tip wasn't lined up good. It was too much to the left. It took two washers on one side to make the rod line up. It had to be like this from the getgo, but the stock rod didn't care about good alignment. It could probably use a one or two step up in spring strength, but I can not get the ball all the way up to the two top rollovers.
Does your cabinet have playfield alignment brackets installed? (Tiny metal pieces installed on the left and right in the cabinet near where the playfield sits.) If you don't have those installed, the shooter will align differently every time you raise/lower the playfield. Get the brackets installed (if needed) and then see if the shooter plate can be moved left or right by loosening the three screws on the back, aligning, and then tightening them down. The shooter plate should always be flush to the cabinet face wooden panel.
Quoted from RyanStl:I'll have to look and this is my first Stern. I do notice there is more play there when lowering than other games I've had and try to keep it centered. That could play into it a bit though.
Edit: Also, besides a United Mexico from 1947, all my other games had push button launchers. This is my first modern game with a shooter rod.
If the brackets are missing, PBL sells the left and right set and a couple of short hex screws for $3 or Stern may send if you ask Pablo nicely…
Ironically, the bracket mounting holes are probably predrilled even if the brackets were never installed at factory.
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Fremont, CA