Joined this club a few weeks ago! What a fun machine but not without its quirks. I spent many hours fixing the little issues here and there, and added some tasteful mods. As of today, this machine is 100% working and 98% dialed in...including the POA and Mode Start hole.

Visual Mods I installed to date:
- Comet Pinball LEDs
- Color DMD LCD (I didn't realize it but these guys operate less than a mile from my house)
- Mirrored Backglass from classicplayfields.com (in transit)
- Biplane propeller mod
- Mode Start hole light mod
- POA drop holes light mod
- Cliffys throughout
- Pinbits plastic protectors
- Air deflector mod
- Lost plastic added

Gameplay Mods I performed to date:
- Moved the Mode Start hole deflector back 1/4 inch by drilling out the holes on it, also added some washers to give it a bit more height. Blazing shots from the right flipper drop at around 70%, normal shots from the right flipper at closer to 90%, and soft shots from the left flipper are always dropping at 100%. I thought about adding a dampening square to the deflector to improve the percentages even more...but after reading this thread and others I think the hole is not too challenging but not easy either.
- Lots of trial and error to get the POA dialed in nicely. It's super fast but I am able to get it to either side consistently. Replaced the opto sensors and got the wires super clean and organized to avoid movements while the playfield tilts. Tried many angles with the bridge until I found one that worked nicely.

Other Mods I may do in the future, any recommendations for the best ones I haven't done yet?:
- PDI glass
- Mirror blades
- Orchestration and sound board mod
- New art wrap...the previous owner did not do the greatest job applying the artwork, but it is fine for now.
- Lost Plastic lighting...it is kind of dark back there I don't even really see it.
- Wireform brass exchange with pinballplating.com

Remaining issue to address to get the machine to be dialed in 100%
- The ball will regularly, not too often, get stuck on top of the idol drop down target (single one) during the quick 2 ball multiball challenge. I thought the Cliffys would fix it, but I assume the target is dropping just a few mm below the surface creating a trough for the ball to sit on. I need to disassemble it and clean it, I'm sure that will fix the issue. Not a big deal, I just need to wait until the bonus is over and then the target pops the ball up back in play.

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Thanks for the input guys, to be honest the planes by KornFreak28 were not even on my radar since I did the propeller mod but I'm sold from your comments. I just sent him a note to get on the list, hopefully it won't be too long.

I'm hesitant with the pinsound and re-orchestration because I'm concerned it is too much of an alteration to the original game. It sounds fantastic, I listened to the samples, but I'm not sure I want to invade my game that much for upgraded sound that honestly isn't a major change in gameplay or appearance. I feel the same way about the shaker motor.

I wanted to give a shout-out to Classic Playfield Reproductions for their work on this mirrored back glass. My plexi had a few spots that bothered me and some slight discoloration, so I decided to upgrade it. At first, I regretted the purchase because the price is quite high ($309 shipped), but was quite pleased with the appearance when it arrived today. It is super sharp and really dressed up the machine and I'm happy I spent the cash on this upgrade! This pic doesn't even remotely do it justice...you can see the depth of the image when compared to the plexi which just comes off flat.

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This happens on mine as well far too often and I was feeling guilty accepting the points. Now I have to fix it...thanks for sharing!

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to give a shout-out to Jenk540i for his start mode modification idea. I know this topic has been debated at length (I have read through the posts about it)...so for those of us who prefer to keep the deflector installed but want a higher % of shots from the right flipper to stick, my results are as follows:

No mods:

30% stick rate from the right flipper

Drilled out the holes in the deflector to move it back 1/4 inch, raised up the deflector slightly with some washers, and added the Cliffy protector:

65% stick rate from the right flipper

Added a small foam rubber protector as recommended by Jenk540i (cost less than a buck and took 6 seconds to install), and I don't see it unless I bend down low and look for it:

90% stick rate from the right flipper (small sample size, will play more over the weekend to see but looks promising so far)

TBH, I didn't want the 100% stick rate...but I don't want 30% either, and 65% was a little more frustrating than I thought it would be. 90% seems like the perfect success rate for my liking.

Yes I know removing the deflector and lining the area with drop dead foam will give you ~99% stick rate...but that is not what I wanted. I wanted the thud, AND I enjoy the risk of losing around 1/10 fast right flipper shots. It's worth the few cents and few seconds to try it out if you are looking for a higher success rate without removing the deflector. It also does not affect the ball release path when ejecting out.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/very-effective-fix-for-ij-mode-start-problem
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Here is the piece from Marco's. https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/23-6534-9

It's $0.30 for one, I bought 5 with my recent order of other stuff. Not sure how long it will last...I'll report back when it falls off. Per the originator of this idea, he has had to replace his foam strip once ever year or so which seems pretty good to me.

BTW - I didn't drill into the playfield...I took off the deflector and increased the hole size on it so I could slide it back 1/4 inch to give it more space when the ball deflects off of it. This helped a bit, just didn't get me the whole way there.

Yeah I thought it was odd placement at first too but the pop outs happen when I blast the ball in there...the ball bounces slightly up and the pad knocks it back down ever so slightly...just enough that it stays in most of the time. I've had 2 ring out of there tonight...but I really hit it full strength and those two didn't go in perfectly clean either.

It kind of works similar to the air deflector mods...I swear once I installed them the air balls just stopped...and I know the ball is hitting those deflectors I just don't hear it nor do I really see it.

Still looking at this i see, but why? Your previous change of the actuator worked for me, I used the same one you quoted and have since had ZERO narrow escape bonuses on a ball drain since dialing it in. I would think you solved this problem already. At first it got caught up in the lane once or twice but I bent the metal slightly until it was perfectly in the middle of the hole and it has been perfect since (around 100 games already).

Here is mine, At first i had a couple like your pic but I just had to be sure it was lined up directly in the middle and the issues stopped.

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+1 upvote for Ricochet for potentially solving the same problem in two different ways. I'm still rocking a 100% no false narrow escapes after deploying the actuator replacement you recommended a few pages back, and I've played at least a couple hundred rounds since doing so.

Hello - I'm new to Indy, but the Cliffy's are highly recommended especially behind the drop targets. My playfield had a very small fix done in the same spot as yours next to Marion that the previous owner did. He added mylar in front of the sling shots which stopped further damage from happening.

Well for starters, the metal tab right next to the drop pin is bent WAAAAAAAY too far out. Mine points to the first screw top on the mini PF. Bend it to the left and then report back

Edit: And it does appear your pitch may be too straight with the ramp but it's hard to tell from the picture since we don't know if the playfield is straight or not.

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Hello IJ Williams Owners!

I wanted to give a quick update on this particular start mode fix. After about a month or so, I've gone through 3 of these pads already. While they work quite well, they are slightly too thick that after repetitive ball striking the pad starts to split and tear, and then needs to be replaced. I would say my best estimate is around 150-250 Mode Start entrances before it needs to be replaced due to damage. Last night in an attempt to find a longer lasting solution, I tried a different pad:

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/626-5078-00

This one is slightly thinner and is actually slightly more dense and feels stronger. I plan to fully document the amount of strikes it can take, as well as the effectiveness over the next month. While it is early, the results are very promising. I just waxed the playfield so I figured it would be a good opportunity to try the smaller and slightly thinner pad. So I played a few rounds after waxing and the ball was flying as fast as possible. I also purposely tried to focus on blasting shots with the right flipper to see the stick rate on those shots, rather than focusing on the softer left flipper shot which we know will stick no matter what. I was blown away...while a small sample size, I have had 49/50 stick so far. Like I said, I was blasting the hell out of the ball and very early results show 95+%. What's even better is I inspected the pad after the 50th strike and there is no signs of tearing or damage....yet. In a month I'll know more.

Hey guys, my goal of the update on the pad was not to restart the argument of which fix is best, it was meant to help those who are looking for a very quick, non-intrusive added boost to your success rate of the mode start hole. There are many complete solutions out there, and at the moment the one I described is my current favorite for me on my machine. The pad is half the size of an M&M, costs $.22, and takes 30 seconds to install (of which 25 seconds is removing and replacing the playfield glass). Again, there are lots of solutions out there that work...but for me, I’m hoping that this pad (plus my existing adjustments) will be my permanent fix.

1- bend deflector forward slightly to ensure a nice 45 degree angle
2- Move deflector back 1/4 inch
3- raise deflector 1/4 inch with washers
4- add small pad and HOPE to not have to change it for as long as possible

Hello IJ Owners!

First, I'm super excited that Ricochet is making a new deflector! Definitely put me down for 1 when they are in production, as this would eliminate the need for me to use a pad.

Ok so I wanted to provide a quick update. I tracked 150 mode start shots...most of which were fast shots off of the right flipper. Final results were 96% stick rate. However, I decided to inspect the pad at this point and noticed it was tearing. It looked like it had about 50-100 more hits left before it would completely tear. So...not much improvement over the previous pad. I plan to stick with this new one though, as it is smaller, thinner, and blends better...while holding a high % success rate. The ultimate solution is a new deflector that keeps the ball from popping out of the scoop, while at the same time allowing a clean release from it.

Just received my PDI glass from pinballdecals.com...it is very nice. At first I was hesitant given the hefty price tag, but there is very visible improvement in the glare. The pictures don't even do it justice...from up close it's like there is no glass.

In any case...I would only recommend this if you have the money to burn or have questionable eyesight. While I do like it, the improvement is now not as apparent once it is on and in use. It's hard to explain...it looks good and all but in all honesty I don't remember the regular glass looking that bad to begin with.

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Hello IJ Williams Owners -

I'm having a small issue that I cannot figure out and was hoping someone has seen it and can give me some guidance. I was playing a game this evening and during Well of Souls mode I was draining a ton of balls into the ball lock area for the big points. At some point during the barrage of balls that entered into the ball lock, the Ball Trough Assembly (A-16317) didn't release them all to the Idol and the game thought I had balls left that never made it back in play. Apparently the ball(s) were stuck in the tray under the ball lock. After subsequently going into test mode I was able to have the ball(s) that didn't make it through released and all was well again.

But now about every 3rd or 4th ball lock, it doesn't make it's way to the idol. All other times it does though...which is strange to see the inconsistent behavior. Subsequent to the ball not releasing to the pop up area, I can hear the solenoid attempting to pop the ball up over and over again as it expects the ball to have been released. To make matters more entertaining, if its a ball 3 lock, the game gets confused and starts the music and light show multiple times as it thinks the balls should be being released when they are not. Eventually the stuck ball makes its way through, and then the problem repeats after a few more successful ball locks.

What's very odd is that sometimes I hear the solenoid trying to pop up a ball up into the idol even when all balls are all in the bottom trough already or already in play. I even heard the solenoid popping during attract mode a few times right after the problem appeared!

No errors in the program, no issues with the operation of the solenoids in the test menu. All wiring looks clean and intact. I also cleaned both sets of optos in the A-16317 trough. Cycling the power didn't help either. To me this sounds like the optos may be bad? I'll change the fuse tomorrow at F103 and inspect the main driver board for any issues but after those troubleshooting steps I'm out of ideas besides replacing the optos.

Any advice is highly appreciated! Last time I had a weird issue like this it was in the bottom trough and it was solved by performing a ball drop into the bottom trough while in Tests - Switch Edge. I'm hoping it's something simple like that...

Thanks Ricochet for helping confirm my thoughts that it is the optos. I luckily had a spare set from Marco’s laying around and I simply tried replacing each of the three sets under the trough area one at a time until finding the culprit. After getting to the ball release solenoid directly under the idol and swapping those optos out the problem has seemed to be eradicated. I will obviously test the hell out of it today but I triggered a well of souls mode and rolled about 10 balls through the ball lock successfully.

This is the second time I’ve had a set of optos fail on me, the other set was on the POA. Is it common for these to fail regularly? I feel like I should have at least a few sets on hand as backup.

Take my money now please! I need this in my life. I’ve had to change my pad out every couple days lately given increased playing time and more accurate shooting.

Yes, I understand. It is apparent in the thread there are two schools of thought...Team Thud, and Team No Thud. Personally I like hearing the thud of the deflector, and I don't want to add any foam. For these reasons, I would rather keep my temporary solution going until a better designed deflector is made. I have nothing against Team No Thud, and I'm sure it works great. I need a loud thud in my life...

The pinbits plastic protectors extend out a smidge towards the shooter, not sure if you need to take this into account or not.

I read that too and I thought maybe I was the only one who would notice. Now it’s a stain on this thread forever...

Hello Everyone - A new problem reared its ugly head tonight.

In short, when I go to the POA, if I move the mini playfield the switches on the playfield don't register when the ball trips them and it's like the mode just kind of ends. In fact, if I fall through the pit hole it doesn't do the scream noise and it actually will show the cut screen of the snow sledding scene that happens when you trip the microswitch under the mini PF directly in front of the arrow as the ball crosses it. If I do NOT trigger the mini playfield to move at all during the POA mode, the switches trip fine and when the ball drops into the pit, I hear the scream and see the proper video sequence.

Any ideas what is causing the movement of the mini PF to cancel out the mode? The only thing that I did differently is earlier today I had to adjust the metal post slightly at the point the ball drops into the PF because the ball was dropping more to one side (I recently changed the armor the other day and that messed with L/R balance of the machine slightly). Nothing else is different. No errors are showing up. The switches all activate properly in test mode. The mini PF motor works great in test mode.

Please any advice would be appreciated, the game is currently unplayable if I can't rely on the POA to work properly all of a sudden.

Thank you both for your input. I will have to look this over later today. Not sure if it helps, but what I did prior to the issue surfacing was I replaced all my armor with powdercoated pieces from Robert Stone (they look awesome by the way). Upon doing so, I think my left/right balance was off slightly and I noticed the ball dropping into the mini playfield and going left by default instead of dropping in the middle. So I took the glass of and manual triggered ADVENTURE and manually rolled the ball up the ramp to the Mini PF over and over to test that it was dropping in the right place after adjusting the tabs. Once I got it where I liked it, it seemed fine. Then later when I played I noticed the issue.

I have done nothing else to the machine, and it worked flawlessly before these events took place. It definitely seems like when I activate the flippers after the ball drops into the mini PF now, the game acts just like it does when the POA run ends...you know what I mean? You know how normally after running the ball down the mini PF you have 1-2 seconds of being able to move the mini PF with the flipper buttons before it goes back into "normal mode"...this is what seems to be happening immediately when I activate the flippers once the ball drops into the playfield. I get about 1-2 seconds of moving the mini PF and no switches on it are tripped. It's like the machine time travelled forward a few seconds and is skipping the run.

Honestly, you should be using that piece that Davi makes in place of that Raise Jackpot plastic since it has a nice built in air deflector. The other piece you are referencing is pretty hidden...that one wouldn't bother me as much to use as is, but I understand your concern.

Wet sanding, while very effective, is the absolute worst activity ever. If there is a hell and I end up going there, I am confident I will be on a treadmill while wet sanding.

Exciting! While I hope both will work the same, I am rooting for no bumpers #teamthud

Just curious, why did you make this one skinnier and only use 2 of the 3 screw holes? Is there a plan to do one that is wider and utilizes the extra benefit of the 3 holes in the PF?

This happened to me once the other day for the first time....I've been monitoring it and waiting for it to happen again. I am hoping it was a one time issue.

Your self diagnosis file should tell you the power range that is being sent to the PCB. Mine is around 4.8V which seemed a little low to me but is in the acceptable range per PinSound

Here is a recent test of mine after it happened, nothing out of the ordinary. I do have 4 mixes on mine so who knows. Let us know your results.

PINSOUND FIRMWARE VERSION
------------------
20.06.2

POWER SUPPLIES
------------------
5V MEASURED: 4817mV (expected range: 4700mV - 5100mV)
[lowest 5V measured: 4755mV / highest 5V measured: 4877mV]

AMPLIFIER VOLTAGE MEASURED: 15883mV (expected range: 11000mV - 26000mV)
[lowest amplifier voltage measured: 15210mV / highest amplification voltage measured: 16065mV]

Interesting. Mine hasn't done it since, but to be honest I haven't put the machine through some hard work testing yet (game after game after game to heat it up). The usb dongle gets hot as hell when running even on the newest version that I have, so I will keep this in mind. D25...what board is this located on, the Pinsound + board?

It all comes as a set from pinsound.

Everyone, just let me find my balls, for God's sakes. 1, 2, and 3. Okay, I'm okay, I'm okay.

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Hey guys! I finally finished my “topper” with the right pieces found mostly on Etsy. Customizations are not everyone’s cup of tea, just sharing my personal taste in some IJ flair for this machine.

I chose to not use the ark...main reason being I wanted the topper to have replica props that could pass as authentic at first glance. A mini ark would discount the perceived authenticity, albeit brief, of the other pieces.

The order I placed them in was meant to match the artwork on the back panel, not the order of the movies or the order on the speaker panel.

The first three pieces are pretty light and museum gel worked well to keep them from moving. The stone is a bit heavier, so I drilled a hole in it and epoxied a bolt in there to attach to the top of the back box. Yes I drilled a small hole in the top of the cab...it was totally worth it and to me it wasn’t a big deal. If there was a real topper made by Williams for this in 1993, you can bet it would need to be drilled into the top too.

Have a good holiday weekend and enjoy your IJ Williams! I’m still trying to get near a billion.

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LCD here...I like the versatility and the ability to change the style of the output. It is PLENTY bright, in fact if it were any brighter it would be too distracting.

Since we are being “unbiased”, as an LCD owner I agree that the smooth up scaling on Indy does not look good, and does not fit the look of the machine or the animations. However, i like having the ability to alter the style. 99% of the time I have it on the dotXL setting.

For some games though, the upscaling looks great. I have one on my Ghostbusters and use the ScanLines setting and it looks infinitely better to me vs. the dots. The dot look on a newer pin like that makes it look dated.

If I know what I know now, my decision on Indy LED vs LCD would be more difficult than it was since I only use dotXL...but I am not sure i would change it. I don’t think you can go wrong upgrading from the orange dmd to either the LCD or LED.

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Has anyone had a problem with the playfield glass rattling with the Pinsound + shaker? This is pretty specific...so I apologize. The combination of my PDI glass and the shaker (on the lowest setting) causes a vibration that rattles 1) when the ball goes up the right ramp when lit, and 2) when the ball goes nuts with the pop bumpers. I guess I could alter the vibration settings in the pinsound app to be reduced, but would prefer more shake and less rattle.

I've tried fabric tape and it helps, but it doesn't stick to the glass and often times gets jammed in the slot so every time I remove the glass the tape comes with it. I have some thin 1/16 weatherstripping on order from amazon I can try but I fear that is too thick. My side rails and insert plastic is locked in nice and tight...I recently replaced the stock armor with Robert Stone powder coated armor so it is perfect. Maybe it is too perfectly tight?

Any proposed ideas to keep the playfield glass nice and snug in there would be helpful. I have the same PDI glass in my Ghostbusters (Premium)-le and it is tight as a drum with zero rattle.

Ok I bought both of these and will try them. Where did you apply the tape? I think the rattle comes from the sides...did you apply around the side edges?

Thanks! I will copy this and see what happens. By the way I have that key chain on my IJ too!

I have the AaronZOOM drop target decals and ADV URE decals on my machine and they are a very nice visual upgrade, and go great with the proper LEDs. I plan on ordering another set to have just as a spare.

I've been playing IJ a lot lately trying to get better. I've had it since the beginning of the pandemic and it took me a month to wipe out the computer from the top 5 scores. This game is quite a grind, but in a fun way. I am slowly getting better and better, but have a long way to go. Scored ~875m last week and am averaging higher scores each round. My machine is super dialed in at 6.5 degrees (only missing Lao's Antidote)...I really hope to see Wizard Mode before the end of the year.

I have played a lot of games, and the wide range of skill levels that IJ caters to is incredible. The game was fun when I didn't know anything, it was fun when I thought I knew everything, and it's still fun today with all my strategies.

Actually I have a mode start fix I deploy which gives me about a 80-90% stick rate at the moment. Lao's Antidote will give me my thud and the remaining 10-20%.

At first I was all mode start...thinking that was the best way to grind out points. What was happening was I was taking too many high risk shots towards the mode hole and since I wasn't the best with my shots I would hit a post and get a drain quite a bit. Now what I do is every shot is calculated. For example, ball coming mid-speed down the right in-lane with ball lock open on just the right side and well of souls + hand of fate is the mode option = take a risk and go for the mode hole.

Strategies will only get me so far...practice and consistent shot accuracy will get me to the wizard mode!

I actually am using a Ricochet proto....the Z-flector + Pad on the plastic as a temporary solution until I have Lao's Antidote in hand. Less thud, but the pad lasts 10X longer than my previous fix of moving the original deflector back and raising it up slightly.

This is all moot once the Antidote is available.

I'm sorry but I don't understand this. On my machine at 6.0, the game would be painfully slow. At 6.5, I can hit every shot no problem and the game moves nice and swiftly. Perhaps your flipper strength is too low? The standard for pins to my knowledge is 6.5, so I'm having trouble with your 6.0 recommendation here.

I am far from an amazing player I assure you, but I also don't believe you should be able to hit the right ramp from a standstill with the right flipper in this game. But as you said, if it makes it more fun for the average player then go for it, at 6.0 you will see many more billion point games as it will become much much easier. I have my Indy next to my Ghostbusters which is inherently fast, and I've been playing the new Turtles quite a bit too which is even faster. At 6.5, Indy is still slower than these other two (albeit not by much).

Yes me too here, I didn't say left flipper to left ramp because once in a blue moon I can get it up that left ramp from a standstill, but in reality I don't ever try that shot on my machine.

Every machine probably feels a little different (absent the pitch), and they are all fine as long as the owner is happy in home-use situations. I personally love the challenge of the game, and as I think I said in an earlier post, the learning curve for this game is long...I am still learning new strategies and honing my shot accuracy. My mode hole is about 80-90% stick at the moment, it is set at 6.5, POA is aligned and works great, and my high score is 875m after 6 months of WFH and slowly going up.

IJ is the best pin ever....

Ummm...Hurry up!

Slow down now...I'm not looking for a painful challenge, I still haven't even broken a billion!

So I figured I would share this info in case anyone is interested...my home arcade is in the garage and it is below the master bedroom. In the evenings if I want to play my machines I need to use headphones. With the Pinsound + board I also got the headphone station and keep a good pair of headphones there for when needed.

The problem is I hate visible wires. They drive me bonkers. So I looked into wireless headphones and found a transmitter and headphone combo I like that has no noticeable delay at all. Both the transmitter used and the headphones used must have the aptX LL (low latency) codec or there will be significant delay (1-2 seconds) which is unacceptable. Most of the big name headphones don't bother with this special codec, I assume because most people are just listening to music or talking on the phone and don't need low latency. So be sure to get headphones that have this exact codec...and when paired with a transmitter that has this codec it is a nice benefit to not have wires anywhere. I just walk from machine to machine plugging in the transmitter.

I believe the Indy Pinsound + board also has a headphone jack on the pcb itself if you don't have the headphone station.

Headphones I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075VLWPXF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00

Transmitter used:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTFRKQM/ref=dp_prsubs_1

It can, yes, but I imagine it would be inconvenient to access. I have the Pinsound headphone station which plugs into the sound board, and I just go into that since it is easy access. Alternatively if you wanted to make an inexpensive option you could always get a male to female audio cable to plug directly into the sound board to kind of use as an extension under the playfield up to the coin door and then plug the transmitter into that.

https://www.pinsound.org/headphones-station/

$50 more than the pinsound product and no place to hang your headphones? What’s the benefit of this?

Maybe I’m missing something but what integration? From what I’m reading they integrate the same way, same features and connectors. One is on the Coin door and one is on the leg, is this the only difference?

Well whichever headphone station you choose, remember:

- for WIRELESS, you need a transmitter and headphones that have the aptX LL codec

- for WIRED, you can’t use headphones that are meant to go with a phone. In other words, if you have headphones that are meant to be integrated with an iPhone it WILL NOT WORK with the pinsound board. I get massive interference and feedback when using my Bose noise cancelling set (both of them) that I normally use in travel. Headphones need to not have the controls that make the connector have the extra ring around it.

Thanks for the clarity. The pinsound station does all of these things except no mute button, so if you want everyone to hear as well you need to toggle the switch on the pinsound board itself with their station. Mute button is a nice touch but I can’t imagine being in a situation where I would want it to come through the speakers and my headphones at the same time. I’ll keep an eye on your version if you can integrate hanging the headphones I may switch over.

External volume can be controlled with the volume pot on the pinsound headphone station too. It controls the main sound or if Headphones are plugged it in adjusts the volume on those instead. On the drinks...my arcade was Vid based first...so I have these custom metal drink holders which stand on the ground in front of the video machine so I don't use pin gulps personally. Again, a matter of personal taste. All of these products are great, I'm happy we have lots of choices.
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The station (both versions) connect using a Cat 5 (?) cable to the pinsound board, but there is also a 3.5mm female jack on the board too

You can connect the transmitter directly to the pinsound board if you like, but then how will you turn it on? I guess theoretically if you don't have the station and wanted it hidden fully, you would need to have the transmitter powered at all times and just stay on always...even if there are no headphones connected. I wish there was integration, but both pinsound and pinnovators chose to leave it out, which makes sense. Most people are fine with the wired headphones, and the ones that aren't often overreact to the sound delay because they aren't using LL headphones/transmitter. I would imagine that the bluetooth integration would require a low latency codec, but then reliance on the consumer to use the right headphones is tough.

Good question, but i think they thought of a solution. On the pinsound board, there is a toggle switch that mutes the speakers when headphones are plugged in, or simply not. You can have the speakers stay UNmuted and just raise the volume of the speakers using the buttons on the coin door.

No, the machine doesn't know if you have bluetooth headphones or not. If the transmitter is plugged in, the pinsound board thinks you have headphones in 100% of the time, so you need to have both speaker output and headphone output simultaneously as your selected option, and then simply don't connect the headphones to the transmitter and you would be fine. If you want to hear it through headphones but not through the external speakers, simply open the coin door and turn the volume to zero using the buttons inside the pin, not the station, and then connect your headphones to the transmitter...I think. I will check later to confirm.

I have the Stern Spike coin door headphone plate on my GB Prem and it works like this, so I may be mixing my machines here.

This is odd to me...Mine is at 6.5 and I crush that shot, the ball flies around the ramp. I don't think my flippers are using stronger coils but I admittedly don't know for sure.

Ok for my own sanity here, since there seems to be different thoughts on what the pitch should be, I took a quick video of my gameplay.

Before you mock my abhorrent gameplay, note I'm sitting down and just wanted to take a quick video. I normally don't have so many brick shots.

The pitch is 6.5, and it definitely moves hella fast. My flippers have no issues though, so I don't know if my flippers have upgraded parts or what (based on the condition I received this machine in, this is doubtful, but anything is possible).

Mode start hole is currently the proto Z flector (will replace with Lao's Antidote) plus a pad on the underside of the plastic.

POA movement is at 2:59

Z deflector only works well because of the pad I'm using under the plastic. Without the pad, the Z deflector works as you said, was probably about 40-50%. With a pad, I'm at 80-90%. I'm looking forward to Lao's Antidote simply because of 1) I miss the loud thud, and 2) I won't have to change pads every month or so anymore.

I have blades from KornFreak28 I just haven't installed them yet. They are uncut, so I need other blades to cut the proper shape before installing.

I'm in the next group for his planes! Been on the list since I got my machine 6 months ago.

I have this backglass too...it is EPIC!!!!!

It looks great on or off. It's hard to capture the beauty of it through a photograph when the game is on. The mirrored backglass looks like it would look if it was released today as an LE pin IMO. A must have to upgrade the look of the pin.

Over the DMD yes? I have some minor wear there, shows its age when looking up close. I have not found a replacement yet either.

I’m using the stock plastic channel with mine and it fit perfect as well.

I inadvertently did this on my IJ and kept it, it is a good trade-off. Mine is still showing the bubble in the center but SLIGHTLY more up on the left side, and I mean like a hair or two. The slow roll down from the captive ball after a direct hit most of the time will drop just far enough to the right to keep it in play with the right flipper.

Well it only took 7 months...finally got my first billion point score!

3-balls (no super ball - I keep it off)
6.5 pitch
Freshly waxed - it was fast as hell!
Standard scoring rules

This particular game was a grind, lasted me 15 minutes at least. I only completed 5 modes, most of my points came from jackpots and ball locks, with about 100M or so coming from Super Jets. I think I had 5 multiball opportunities and hit the super jackpot twice. I know I can do better, definitely coming into a groove now.

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I like mine fast, but I know others on this thread like it a bit slower at 6.0. There is a pretty big difference in difficulty with this game if you adjust the pitch even a little I have found.

My strategy varies on the shot and situation...for example if the ball lock has all 3 drop targets UP and the mode on deck is a video mode (no chance of death) I will be more risky and go for the harder shot into the mode hole from the right flipper. Alternatively if the ball lock hole is open (drop targets are down) and the mode is one that I have a high risk of death (Get the Idol), I will aim for ball lock instead. Hand of Fate plays a role in these decisions too.

My point is...there isn't one strategy you can use because the game's scoring is quite balanced. You need to be good at everything in this game to score big...all shots need to be near perfect too. This is what keeps me coming back to it. As far as the super ball goes, I believe it is meant to entice the player to put in another quarter to get an extra ball as well as some eternal life time. As a result, mine is off 100% of the time.

My mode hole is fine (90% stick rate), mathematically speaking I didn't go for the mode hole as many times as usual in this round given the circumstances previously mentioned. For me personally, going mode hole ALL THE TIME is not the wisest strategy unless you are highly skilled at making that super fast shot from the right flipper (90% accuracy or so). I can make it often, but...if you miss even a little and hit one of the posts there is a higher probability of a fast drain versus a missed shot when going for the left ramp or the ball lock.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1281-pin-ups/04287-lao-s-antidote-mode-deflector-and-plastic-protector

It is interesting...but I am not a fan of the reduced score you will get as a result. Hitting the right ramp should light hand of fate, but with this redesign it will not. Perhaps if it was made to drop the ball in the same place as the original it would work better.

Ah, that should work as long as it is on the wire form and is tripped before it drops back down on the playfield.

I like how you have the ruins in the back raised, it adds some nice depth to it.

Hello IJ Owners!

I have a small issue I wanted to get the Group's thoughts on. In short, I had to replace my Single Drop Target due one of the threads was broken off (I received the machine from the previous owner this way). I went with the one from Pinball Life (link below) and it is very good. The problem I am having now is that the airballs off of this drop target are more prevalent than ever. When I hit a hard fastball with the left flipper up the blue pathway, the drop target often smashes the ball back like a hard hit line drive right into the wing of the white plane. As I'm on the planes waiting list with KornFreak28 ... I'm thinking I need to solve this problem before my new planes are installed.

https://www.pinballlife.com/1-bank-drop-target-assembly.html

I use the plastic from Davi on the 3 bank targets and it works flawlessly...no airballs there. On the single drop target I have a deflector but the ball seems to fly more on a line drive than up. OR...I can see that the deflector is positioned higher up than the one on the 3 bank target, which may be high enough to cause the ball to not hit the deflector on those shots.

So my next idea was to deploy the same fix used on my GB premium. It too has drop targets and there are numerous complaints about airballs off of them, which was remedied by using the stronger springs (also from Pinball Life) that can be found at the link below. The problem is...this GB spring is the exact same spring that is already on my new single drop target mechanism. So my spring is higher tension, yet I'm still seeing the issue.

https://www.pinballlife.com/ghostbusters-scoleri-brothers-drop-target-spring-fix-kit.html

Do you recommend I make the spring even tighter? looser? Any ideas are welcomed

Ironically those are the only ones I haven’t changed due to their PITA location.

Hmmm...are you implying that maybe my drop target is dropping so fast is causing the fast ball to actually continue past it and collide with the rubber...therefore creating almost a flipper hit backwards? They do look short and thicker now...I will swap them out with the taller skinnier ones I have. Thanks for the input!

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Ok so I changed out the post rubbers and put the proper size on. What a pain to get at. I also swapped to the Davi deflector which has a slightly smaller footprint.

Played a few rounds and I still get Airballs albeit not quite as bad as before. Anything else I can do to minimize them let me know. Thanks!

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6.5

As with many of the IJ machines over time, my inserts have raised up a bit...combine that with the mylar overlay in that part of the playfield makes it look like that over the arrow.

I actually just did some more testing and with the proper rubber posts and now the air balls are far less frequent...so I think I can put this issue to bed. I can't believe I never noticed the rubber posts were different heights than the others until it was mentioned here. Thanks schwarz !

Show a pic and I'm sure the group will be able to chime in on what looks off.

Yes, you can adjust it and level it. Perform the mini PF test and see where it lines up in the middle. Then adjust and tighten until it is level like you want it.

It takes quite a bit of adjusting to get it absolutely dead center where the ball will drop and sit still, and to the point where you can hold left and stays left, and vice versa on the right. Alternatively you can get it "close enough" and then start left and slingshot it to the right to hit the second switch on the way down. I prefer the slingshot method, as it gives me more control the entire way down and slows everything down a bit.

It never stays perfect for very long, with the rotations over and over it needs to be tightened every so often. This is why I often use the slingshot method as to not rely on consistent perfect balance.

Before being able to have the POA in the perfect spot and tightened in place, the metal pathway to the left of the POA needs to be perfectly in line, as does the rope bridge (and its pitch), not to mention the two tabs on the rope bridge should be dialed in too. Oh and I can't forget the dam ball stopper, if that is too far forward the ball may get caught up there and skip the POA entirely. Without everything in line, the perfect spot for the POA won't work because you need to be sure that when it rotates it does not make any contact with either or both the left ramp and the metal pathway on the far left of the playfield. Having the POA too far back will also cause rubbing. I'm talking 1-2mm adjustments here and there.

It's really not as bad as it sounds, after about the 3rd time of taking everything off and putting it back on, it has become more routine and I can do it pretty fast if needed on the fly.

How about a poll?

Name a gameplay feature of IJ that you are very good at, AND also name one you are not very good at.

The Good: I am pretty solid on the video modes, completing the mine cart 8/10 times, getting the extra ball 8/10 times at the bar.

The Bad: I am weak when it comes to getting I-N-D-Y lit as I'm not as good moving the selections left as I am going right...as a result I go right most of the time. If I could do both directions equally, my score would improve.

Interesting on the good and bad poll re: the captive ball. For me, that's a money shot, I can hit it much easier than I can hit that dam right ramp consistently.

For those of you who get the drains down the middle after hitting the single drop target, it was mentioned by someone in the last page or two about having the machine slightly tilted right to reduce this. I accidentally stumbled upon this when moving my machine around and didn't realize it wasn't perfectly level, but I did notice that I was seeing less of those middle drains all of a sudden, so it really does make a difference on that shot. Even the smallest little bit to the right will be enough to have the ball come down to the right flipper edge from that drop target shot instead of drain right down the middle, but not be large enough to notice during gameplay.

I hear you, I adjusted mine back afterwards, but have experimented with it to try and figure out how much it would need to be at a minimum but haven't completed the testing yet. Double-edged sword situation unfortunately.

Sigh, gotta love Saturday evening and I find issues with IJ. Looking for some guidance...I am seeing that the Start button is somehow being triggered during the gameplay (no I am not accidentally pushing it) adding 2p, 3p, and 4p game modes at seemingly random times. I only notice it right after a mode completes...perhaps it has to do with the trough? No errors on startup, and I literally did nothing new today to service the machine, so I am at a loss.

It's not the microswitch as the game doesn't start for no reason, only added credits are happening after a game is starting. On page 2-46 of the manual I see the start button there, should I follow the wire to the points horizontally, vertically or both to see if there is loose wire?

Found it. The switch above "Special" is triggering it. I'll lift up the playfield and inspect it, thank you!

You were both right, it is that dam switch under the POA. Second time I've had issues, last time it was a different side effect. I have the Cliffy (Ricochet's original design) I just haven't gotten around to installing it yet. Maybe I'll stop procrastinating now...or wait until the 3rd time I have issues with it to finally act

This was my exact experience with the Cliffy as well.

While waiting for the "Antidote", I (and a few others) have had solid interim success with a pad stuck right underneath the plastic in front of the mode start hole.

Here is mine, you will need to find the right spot on your machine as they are all different. I drilled out the holes on the deflector and shifted it back a few millimeters and lifted it with some thin washers. I then adhere the pad towards the front under the plastic. I get 90%+ success with this fix, but the pad does fall off over time. I was lucky this past time, as the pad is perfectly positioned that it hasn’t fallen off after more than 500 games, and is still on there tight.

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Not debating that at all, I'm on the list and was a beta tester. The Antidote is a must...

...the color DMD too...

I've got to start with the obvious...any chance you are hitting the red target next to the ball lock hole? That will give you credit for the Dog Fight too.

I assume you have no errors registering? If not, I would check what is happening with the wiring for that red target.

The eternal debate rages on...we will never truly know which one is the better decision.

I promise you two things, 1) whichever one you get you will like a lot, and 2) whichever one you get you will second guess that decision a bit a few times afterwards based on the comments posted here.

Mine matches the picture, 1 rubber. I read earlier in this thread from a few posters with good knowledge that this is the proper setup.

Pics please...could be multiple issues. (bad dual opto board, misaligned mini PF, metal posts bent in the wrong direction, etc.)

So I was watching the opening of the 3rd installment of the series the other night (for like the 100th time haha), and I was thinking that the opening scene with the John Williams track "Indy's Very First Adventure" should have been one of the 4 modes from this movie. I think it would have been a small upgrade over "The Three Challenges"...given the three challenges and "choose wisely" are kind of related in the storyline.

So instead of: Castle Grunewald, Tank Chase, The Three Challenges, Choose Wisely

It would have been cool to have: Make off with the Cross, Castle Grunewald, Tank Chase, Choose Wisely

Any other owners that would change one of the mode back stories if given the hypothetical opportunity?

“Make off” not Make out haha. I would have said escape or steal but those verbs are already used

This is pretty neat. Not sure about others, but I feel like the Indy code is pretty tight already. There already is a code fix to give you your ball back if you hit an outlane right after a drop target. Ricochet’s fix with the metal guide eliminates the free narrow escape bonus. I can’t think of any other bugs, part of the reason IJ is such a great pin.

The newer pins seem to have a lot more software bugs and code glitches than IJ. My Ghostbusters, even after a software update a year ago, still has more than a dozen documented unfixed bugs to date.