Quoted from zaphX:

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how the original chest mech worked? If it could somehow inherit it's motion from the chest fork, rather than run on its own motor, I think it would be cool.
The chest fork mech motion has a bit of "attitude" to it, in how it goes up slightly before it slams down.

Quoted from zaphX:

Ah hah. Exactly as I suspected, the fork does the job of lifting the lid via a linkage.
How is the chest lid currently forced open? Was the hinge simply replaced with some sort of flange? In your pics, how does the linkage connect to the chest lid itself?

Quoted from harryhoudini:

THAT IS SO TRICK!

Quoted from harryhoudini:

Question for this thread, since it's very chest specific. I was working on a mod to give the chest a cover so you didn't have to see all the weird internals. I debated over and over if it mattered if you see the balls. I have a solution for that.
Given the option for the actuating lid now, is anyone even interested in this kind of thing?
One option was just gold "treasure" (much like the POTC ride scene) with some sparkly jewels and such. The other was to have a beating heart in the chest. The heart would beat red, backlight illuminated. The jewels might even be backlit.
To solve the ball situation, if it was a really big deal for someone, I was looking at putting 3 tiny switches in the cover that sensed the balls and lit up 3 "chest ball" indicators within the chest cover. It's going a bit far with the effort needed, but it was a thought.
Anyhow, I'm only going to work on this if others are interested. With the open close now I am less at a push to make it but I still sort of detest the inside of the chest. I cleaned mine up with some foam strips so you can't see the difference between the mounting bracket and the chest surround but it's still weird with the balls all bunched up at the end and the little light doing it's hardest to light up the interior.
**Oh, another note... I can list my RGB chest lid lighting if anyone wants to get that with the chest. Good time to install and it can be set to any color you want.
Pic is just a shitty render of some coins... it would look more like gold treasure, I think.[quoted image]

Quoted from steigerpijp:

Thats a newly manufacturer lid bracket, looks like original but the lip needs to be on the other side .
Bending the existing lip cold the other way its now wil result in a fracture if you dont heat it on the bend line

Quoted from Soulrider911:

the bracket may have been made but the main part in that picture I am pretty sure is the original trunk bracket?
i have a blow torch and that is how i would bend it... wonder if the bracket would be strong enough if 3D printed at high density.

Quoted from Soulrider911:

Think I’m going to fork the OP’s code and add support for toggling and led strip on and off for those of us that have an led strip in the trunk
Also anyone know where he sources the 5v power from? What connection on backbox?

Quoted from harryhoudini:

What could be using so much power?

Quoted from dts:

That’s beautiful! How did you do it?

Quoted from Soulrider911:

Did you tap into the power box / line filter box?

Quoted from dts:

I meant the led lightshow on your spare playfields.

Quoted from harryhoudini:

Crazy. I guess it makes sense, it's definitely a more robust connector as well.
I'm really considering just plugging it into the USB port now. I mean, the 5v is going to the mobo from the power supply anyhow and it's like almost next to nothing in power consumption. Versus making custom mini usb to 5v ATX connectors or whatever would be easiest. Is there any concern with a direct USB connection for power?
Does anyone here have a problem with that? I'll investigate the other method but it almost seems overkill for such a lightweight mod.

Quoted from PinMonk:

Wait, so are you saying connecting the computer USB to the Nano mini-usb for 5v power wasn't reliable so you just sent the Nano 5v directly from the ATX power supply to the mini-USB, OR are you saying you didn't use the mini-USB to supply the 5v at all?
IF you didn't use the mini-USB, where did you put the 5v power input in on the Nano?

Quoted from PinMonk:

So basically put a Y on the 5v output from the ATX power supply and send one lead to the servo and the other to the 5v header on the nano, then?

Quoted from zaphX:

All this complexity is why I prefer the linkage-based solution steigerpijp was exploring.
We already have energy on the fork to raise/lower the lid.
I’ll get downvotes for this but I really hope that solution still comes to pass.

Quoted from harryhoudini:

Which holes?

Quoted from tgrinchy:

If printing the top plate, would it make sense to add some more support to the small linkage “tab” at the end?
Seems like it may bend over time? Maybe not though...

Quoted from harryhoudini:

Printed a clear one to test.
[quoted image]
I bet I could use a different infill to get better light transmission. Still does a pretty good job and diffuses it as well.

Quoted from Trooper11040:

Almost done. Just need to get the hinge on, solder the connections and add the linkage![quoted image]

Quoted from harryhoudini:

Maybe this will satiate your appetite until your mods arrive. Still working on the full install video, but I created this a bit ago and forgot to post it. Here is a brief into to the advanced control you get with the lighting mod.

Quoted from VillaThrills:

Just took a look...back is definitely not pretty and lifted up. Here are some pics.[quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from RTS:

Can you give more detail and/or pics of what you did?

Quoted from dts:

I'm curious if you think the servo method is still the best approach. The simplicity of your mod, connecting to the fork solenoid, is appealing. I'm in line for the servo and light mod but just interested in your thoughts.

Quoted from steigerpijp:

I think it was me attaching it to the forks , and Agima dabbled with his own servo version , and Harry Houdini took it to a production unit from pinballj’ s initial idea. Looks like a winner, more options, more lights
I havent taken it further, still testing it in my personal game and its holding out fine so far. When I hit 250 games I will take it apart and make the dimensions known .
I’m just not prepared to get burned on receiving blame if and when brackets should break.( how many have actually had a bracket break in normal production units) Thats a side of this forum that holds me back.
I’ve yet to experience it. So far so good

Quoted from JimWilks:

The problem is no operation at 4.65V which is what my game delivers. Switch and power connections are fine.

Quoted from PinMonk:

There's a completely unused ATX-style 5v connector in the head that's perfect for this.

Quoted from PinMonk:

So you're plugging your alternate power into the wall outside the machine?
Also the 5v free plug is not shared with anything else, coming straight from the power supply, so it's regulated. Double plus.

Quoted from harryhoudini:

To start just a black "cover" that hides everything. Replaces the clear plastic that is there, cutout for the lid if you have the mod. Then we are working on treasure to cover it or maybe a rowboat, as optional toppers.

Quoted from harryhoudini:

Nice! Is that the piece left over from Davy necca character?