Landfall!
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Very cool #200 landed! Congrats!!!

I finally got to spend some time on Pirates #24 last night. All I can say is WOW! What an awesome game. Absolutely gorgeous! I was at the announcement in 2017 and also played it at TPF, but it is even better than remember it being. There are just a ton of fun shots.

The ship topper is very cool, but is also pretty loud. I was playing and kept hearing this noise but couldn't figure out what it was. I first thought it was the ship rocking, but realized it was the topper. If you turn the game up loud, then you can't hear it. Or, better yet, put the headphones on. The headphones make the game experience unbelievable. You just hear so much more of everything. I felt like I was totally immersed in the game.

I'm really blown away by this game. So much fun! Congratulations Eric, Jack & everyone at JJP, you did an amazing job!

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SO excited. As if Christmas wasn't already great having my daughter and granddaughter visit the Man Christopher at KingPin came through as promised. Our games arrived as he predicted and will be home for the holidays!!! Just fricken Awesome!!! Thanks again Chris and especially to your family for sharing your holiday time from them to bring us this wonderful gift. You rock!!!! There be Pirates coming......ARghhhhhhhhh

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No that would be crazy!! Only 3 of them are. lol A group buy with some local pinball fans of Pirates and Erics masterpiece.

Jack signed the back of my LE #57

I have 2 available CE’s left if anyone is interested. PM or text 586-530-8206

I am expecting delivery of my CE with in the next week or so. Trying to get a concensus on the topper and how loud it really is. Its pretty obvious that the topper was a big selling point for the CE edition. For it to be loud,potentially unusable, would be a big disappointment. With that, I am trying to get an idea as to the mechanisms that are making it so loud. Is it the motor? Maybe eric will chime in. Thanks

During bonus it's all I hear....

Wow! Is the motor too small for the job and its whining? Are there any ball bearing? Has any CE owners tried to resolve the issue?

If you lift the ship off of the ovoid “gear” does it still make that noise? I am wondering if its too much load and the mechanism would operate better buried in the backbox pushing up on the ship rather than rotating.

Is the topper constantly going or does it only come on at certain points in the game .

Obviously not drawn to scale! But I would think the motor placed in the backbox potentially contained in another small box would remove most of the whine. Belt driven would also decrease the sound as well. Fyi I am not an engineer so I could be completely wrong!

It runs constantly while playing

I think it's too late to redesign the topper mechanism but maybe like the spinning disc someone will come up with a way to quieten it down .

That could get annoying would people prefer it to only come on at certain points in the game

Yelobird has a CE coming, so you're in luck, they might come up with something if they find it too loud. They created the spinning disc silencer kit which everyone has raved about so far! (mine is coming today I think)

In my opinion the ship should only rock during multiball or when the ball is up on the pearl. Motor will probably burn out! Genjuro can you shoot a video of the topper running while lifting the ship off of the rotating mechanism?

Thanks

OMG! is this the worlds first topper recall???

Solution may require service bulletin and replacement parts kit. heard in the future ... man I haven’t been able to play my JJPOTC CE for two weeks. Yeh the topper went down and I am awaiting parts.

Hey, all good thoughts and ideas to fix the noise issue. I ran out to do some more holiday shopping and will get a video without the ship weight on the cam if someone doesnt get it first.

Great Thanks! I am still pumped to get the pin!

Have to say, that would drive me nuts!

It honestly looks like a very simply fix which we will look at Sunday when KingPinGames delivers the CE magic. I suspect a simple application of lubricant is all that will be needed. Worst case a simple band of rubber over the cam to lesson the contact noise. IF a solution is needed I suspect it won't be difficult and minimal concern for such an Awesome topper!!

Still not home... i hope you are right yelobird. Too me it reminds me of a stepper motor... or an old sewing machine.

Not to make fun as you said you weren't an engineer but your design sketch makes no sense? It's a continuous single direction spinning motor. From what you drew you want the ship to spin around like a Ferris wheel? A dual cam as they used is the best choice. My guess is slightly slowing it down would be the best option though I don't know if that is an option till we get ours.

It makes sense to me... his drawing just removes the direct attachment of the motor shaft from the cam and adds the belt to absor any pressure on the drive shaft as it is designed now.

Since I dont have my pin yet I dont know where the noise is coming from. Thats why I had the motor moved into the backbox. My design works the same way as the current design but removes motor and gear to gear noise. I think!

But there is no gear to gear noise as there are no gears. It's a roller cam to roller. Looking at the video (as my game is coming tomorrow also) it appears (assumed)

All assumed....
1 The spring need more tension to keep the roller in constant contact with the cam. It is clearly clacking as it snaps back.
2 Slow down the motor action to keep the roller in contact
3 Possibly lubricate the surfaces or add a rubber face to the contact roller.

Moving the electric motor to the inside of a computer cabinet with high res monitor would Not be a good idea. By Sunday there will be suggestions based on product in hand or someone will chime in. Best to not diagnose or assume a problem till you actually have one...

I agree! Just trying to be part of the solution vs. the problem. My thoughts were purely speculation.

I just got my game setup after a painful journey up a double flight of stairs with a U turn landing. I had some sort of impact during shipping with a hole in the box and damage to the lower back of the head unit, that’s being handled via insurance. Let me list the current issues with the game as it sits and hopefully get some advise on quick fix issues. For reference, I bought two machines for Christmas. JJ THLE and JJ POTCCE. THLE was from a local seller and I had a pinball guy check I out prior to delivery and it works great. The POTC has these issues
1. center button: if the bar lock is applied fully to the right the button locks down as well. The button didn’t reach the switch at all and I had read on here that the screw will fix the length that the switch works from and that seems to work. However the lock still cannot be fully engaged without preventing function of this button.
2. The shooter rod cannot launch the ball at all. I have to slap the back of the launcher quite hard to get the ball to launch. Might be an issue with level. I need to get a better digital measurement. My phone app isn’t good and my analog dial isn’t accurate to more than 2 degrees.
3. Test game launches the ball into the pearl and the ball can not leave the ship through the drain out due to the ship being set lower than the exit ramp. It’s almost a 1/4 in drop. The ship rocks during game play but it seems less than videos I have seen. I have looked around with a flash light and seen no more packing material or loose materials that may have caused an issue.
4. 27in monitor is clearly shifted and not seated properly. Main set of keys didn’t work to open the top. I think the are on the inside of the door but didn’t see them due to family commitments them this evening.
5. What’s an easy to find or best way to measure 6.5 degrees on a Playfield. Best was to measure level across left to right on a Playfield ? What’s the best spot to hit the level bubble at on the side( I recall bubble at the start of the second line?)
Thank you in advance!
I am super glad I have read all of the posts here with details about your issues. I will be reading them all again looking for possible solutions to my issues. I had not planned to set these games up on my own as I am a newbie and had hired a pinball mover to handle all of the setup and stair movement. However he dropped the game off in my foyer and ghosted without a word. Left me in a huge lurch trying to find people to assist me with moving two 350lb games up stairs on zero notice while the family was out. Damn near ruined Christmas. Got a text a bit later saying family emergency and that I would never get the games up my stairs, it was impossible which is what I really think was the issue. It made for a very rough day, but Christmas was saved at the cost of my back. I’m not a stressed out type but today I hit panic mode.

Okay, so home now. Ive got to pull the carboy to get to the ship to see if that improves the sound.

On my game, I held the switch arm down and a tiny bit past the point where the knob goes into the switch body, bent the arm up. A blob of hot glue on the end of the button makes a wider surface to engage the switch arm and not stick on it.

Assuming the playfield hangers aren't bent and playfield is in the right position, check between the shooter knob and shooter housing, any fat washers, remove some so the shooter rod is closer to the ball.

Right side of the ramp/ship, below the spotlight is a screw through the metal ramp into a rubber grommet into a hex post. Screw that screw in more squeezing the rubber grommet so the ramp leans to the right.

The ships rocks a lot more the farther into a game you progress.

Main keys are for coin door. Backbox lock key is hanging inside the coin door on a hook.

I use an inclinometer or - http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/level/index.html

LTG : )

Omg that's crazy loud. How was this not identified before?

The tension from the ship is absolutely exasperating the noise that is present from the gearbox on the motor. Its hard to hear in the video, but when I release the tension from the ship spring, the gearbox noise is still there... albeit MUCH less and a different pitch.

My guess is that the tension is transfering to the gearbox and making those gears produce that sound.

Oh and....

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Looks great! Matt work this magic or did you do it locally?

Matt is the magicman!

Took all that information to heart and slowly started working on the issues this morning. The ship reseated and came up quite a bit, but still had sticking issues. See pic. Used the screw hex post and things look better. It still catches a bit but the flippers will knock it loose. Playable but not finished.

The Playfield leveling issue is still a bit present. I used an inclinometer app and it set the lower Playfield at 6.5 but the upper area reads 7.0. I’m not sure if there is an issue with the Playfield at this point. I included some pics of the wire bundle on the right side and the two different ways it can seat inside the main box when resetting the Playfield. I thought there may be an issue as the lock latches below the lock bar do not seat into their slots without minor leverage. Resetting the Playfield multiple times to test wire bundling as a possible reason for the possible warping and now the flippers don’t work and the coin door reads as always open. So it’s officially unplayable.

Found the keys for the back glass and checked the glass for damage. No glass damage but there is a small section where the tape ripped out the void black on the top just below squidface. Appears to be a manufacturing defect. This machine did take a box impact during shipment. The screen is shifted on the right side lower than the viable area. Checked the installation instructions and verified that the shipping blocks are rotated up. The swing arms appear to not be set right. The left peg catch hooks in just fine and the right peg does not catch at all. In addition I looked behind and saw where the screen and wiring had connected and a black burn is present with exposed wiring. This likely happened upon turning the game on the first time. The wiring and screen contact area is directly in line with the impact on the exterior of the head unit, about 3inches away.

Topper unit is installed. Found the screwed taped inside the box and well hidden. However there were no pilot holes per the included directions. Easy enough fix. Looks great, noisy as all hell. I would love to leave it on as an attract more item but it’s simply to loud.

Not happy with the state of my new purchase. I am happy with the level of customer care I have gotten so far just through the forum. Not only did JTP respond quickly, but I had a PM from Jack himself. I plan on calling him shortly to see if the experts can assist while I still have the kids out of the house for a few more hours.

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If any buddy wants to sell me their CE topper let me know.

You need a CE game. It won't work on other models.

LTG : )

This is what I would try. ( They won't give me one for tech support so I can't experiment ) The flat surface of the cam, a very thin line of grease on it. The roller thing it pushes, a drop of oil on each side where it rolls on an axle.

Past that I'd check other surfaces that are binding or adding to the noise. Might be a bit of work and digging into it. I do believe it can be reduced.

LTG : )

Twas the night before Christmas (eve), not a creature was stirring not even a monkey. Mods were hung by the chimney with care in Hopes that St JJP Pirates would soon be there. Then out from the lawn there rose such a clatter, it appears some elves had arose from a van. Not just ordinary elves but a Special surprise from the East Pole. As the elves turned our jaws dropped with surprise, as the elves were non other than the famous Pirate brothers themselves! Eric and Christopher (KingPinGames) WOW! Not here to plunder but rather to share some holiday cheer. Such a wonderful and Appreciated surprise! After the shock a smooth delivery, a gracious personalized autograph, and for good measure Eric decided to take Grand Champion score for me to stare at for likely years to come lol. The game worked Perfectly and Eric also took some time to share some additional details on setup so I could share them with the CE group as he travels. An absolutely memorable day and a machine that will long define pinball at its best. Thank you to Eric and Christopher (and their families) for sharing some of their holiday time to make my families holiday special!

SPECIAL NOTE! Christopher mentioned he still had 1 or 2 CE machines left in his slay so if your looking for a Magical Piratey Christmas he can still make it happen!!! KingPinGames!!

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CE topper feedback. So as you can see we had a Magical delivery but Eric Was kind enough to share his support on the Topper for us to convey to others. Eric pointed out as I suspected that when they released the software the topper was set to Ballistic speed (ok I made that up lol). He mentioned the code (settings) were developed prior to the final ship and was not implemented at release. He showed under General settings if you reduce the Incorrect "Topper Motor Speed" setting from 12 down to 4-5 it works as designed. He was Absolutely correct!!! At setting 12 it was more like a Speed Boat (lol) ripping across a pond. At 4 it rocks across the slow moving waves perfectly and with Very minimal noise. Even if your game volume is low (we like quiet play) you will Not hear it. Yes, some of the videos Appear very loud but do note they are in Test mode with the game Not playing and the speaker directly on top of the unit! Thats not very real! The topper only moves during game play and unless you have the sound muted you will Not hear the topper with the corrected settings. Do let me know if anyone has questions though as I suspected this was being Assumed as an issue before it was ever viewed in most cases. Love this game and the topper is Absolutely amazing!!!

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Nice they let me know, since I'm getting calls and emails about it.

Thank you Yelobird !

LTG : )

I'd upgrade if I could. The CE is over the top for that game.

Call Chris today, make your holidays great. 608-393-2299

LTG : )

Congrats on your very special delivery!

Of note, my videos were shot during bonus / ball ready between ball 1 and 2. I had turned down the factory ship speed to 8 from the default, but will reduce it to 4 since Eric suggested this.

I really think you will find it not only Much quieter but honestly looks more Ship appropriate. With the stock speed setting it was more like a cigarette speed boat clipping waves lol. IF this was still a concern to some we could (and may) offer a cover to go over the motor housing in the back which should for the most part at least make it look pretty. (if your into those kind of things.)

Good idea asking Eric to look at the topper and great news to learn of the fix and confirmation it works. Congrats on your game.