I haven't read through this whole thread, but just wondering if anyone's had their Jurassic Park randomly freak out during a game and start scoring all crazy points and flipping through different modes on the DMD and it doesn't stop until the ball drains. Keeps repeating stuff like DINO DINO DINO DINO DINO DNA DINO DINO. The first time it happened I thought it was part of the game like I hit some Jackpot.. and later realized it was a bug Once the ball drains everything goes back to normal. I had read somewhere that this may be a ramp switch sticking and possibly some bug in the game code.. but thought I'd ask if anyone else had that happen before I dig into my own JP. It's really the only thing that's kept me from enjoying the game.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

Youre positive it wasnt the "system shutdown" mode? I know that mode seems like the game is glitching out.

Yeah it wasn't that.. you could literally hold the ball on the flipper and score will go up and up and it cycles through a bunch of modes on the DMD as if you're hitting all kinds of things. It's either a switch matrix issue or some switch closure hitting a bug in the game code. When I was doing research a while back I saw a few other posts mention it and point to ramp switches as a possibility. I'll have to dig those up again.. just figured I'd ask here too.

I do *LOVE* that System Shutdown mode though

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

I had that exact thing happen a few times and I thought I was going crazy. It ended up being a leg of the diode breaking on the right ramp exit switch or something. I assume at some point when I pulled the playfield, the switch must have hit the black trim for the playfield glass and messed it up. A little solder fixed the issue no problem. If I recall correctly, one of the spitter targets or the bunker or something triggered the issue. Hope this helps and good luck!

Great, thanks for confirming the ramp switch theory. That gives me a great starting point And no, you're definitely not nuts.. haha.

Can't wait to get it fixed and get playing it a bunch! One of my favorites.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

Mine was doing that semi-frequently. I think the culprit was bad trough switches.

Awesome! This Jurassic Park issue is actually what ultimately pushed me to create the 64 Switch Matrix Tester that I sell.. I figured if it was something on the board or with the ROM I could possibly duplicate it with the tester.. and if not, I could look for diode shorts under the playfield. I just never got back into working on the game.. it was buried behind some other things and just sat. Never did hook the tester up to it, but if I did and hit switch 28 I'd have been wondering what the heck was going on. That all makes sense now if it's being detected and jumping to an illogical place in the code. Man, I'm kicking myself for not digging the machine out, pulling the translite and testing the switches earlier

Thank you so much for the insight into all of this! I'll be sure to check out your ROM update when you release it.. very very cool. I'll definitely look at switches in the row/col you mentioned. Can't wait to get it fixed so I can play some JP without the fear of that bug occurring.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

Actually I remember now, it was that the diodes for some of the trough switches had been pressed up against some metal and I think it was causing a short, so that would make sense in light of Chad's response (trough #4 maybe). I think the diodes had been bent when I was servicing it at one point and hit those switches against the cabinet or something when I was putting the pf back down.

I'll definitely be looking at that trough switch too. Seriously, thanks to everyone that has confirmed this anomaly! Should make it much easier to diagnose now that I have an idea of where to look.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

A quickie, as I managed to loose some screw and some need replacing, during my last semi-shopping:

Could anyone tell me the different screws/bolts and their model-number which are marked with Red, yellow and Pink in the attached image?

Cannot find anything in the manual about the slingshot screws, although im sure they are very common in pinball

slingshot_jp.jpg

Any one ever take the backbox off of theirs? How bad was it? From the looks of the backbox pics online, it looks like there are quite a few connectors to disconnect to get it off.

I've done it. Take pictures before doing so. Hardest part is getting the wiring harness like it was. Use the manual for any connectors you cannot remember or discern from your pics. Pretty easy stuff.

Ive done all the games in my basement....6 total now. Worst game so far I would say was my Big Guns as it has the interconnect board.

Thanks

I usually take heads off to move games in and out of my basement. I don't recall JP being any more complex than others I've done. If I recall correctly the connectors are all keyed, so it's not too difficult figuring out where things go. Sure, pictures are a good idea, but it might also be a good idea to label the connectors if you have the time.

I like that it has the latch lock in the back. That made it easier to put the head back on without any help. Just line up that lock from the back, lock it and then reattach the hinges before doing wiring.

WPC is worse as there are some connectors keyed the same.

Nascar is the only one that ever gave me fits. I had an earlier one where plugging in a plug that was supposed to hang loose blew all the opto boards that go around the track. Still stings to this day how much that wasted.

The lane guide screws are standard #6/32 washer head screws. The far right one might longer than the other two to accommodate the prop bracket and a nut, so check the lengths. Probably 2-2 1/2".

The star posts screws are probably something like this for the one holding the ramp:
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2076

and this for the one not holding the ramp:
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2077

but you'll have to check if it's a machine screw (into a t-nut under the playfield) or a wood screw (directly into the playfield). If it's a wood screw, probably this:
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2078

Check all your measurements from other existing screws because there are several different sizes. Both in length and thickness.

Pulling all the connectors is no big deal. I pull the playfields when I shop them and there's only a few left once it's out

Thanks! I must take the blame for messing up the terms. In the red and pink circles, what i meant was the (nylock) nuts, not the screws. Just forgot that it was called nuts in english do you know size and type these..errr, nuts are?

Use a sharpie to mark the connectors, it helps when reconnecting.

Connectors are keyed so they will only go in the right spot but a sharpie will make you feel better.

20150211_170148.jpg

Rather than a sharpie on the connector just label a piece of painters tape and attach

Again, probably a 6 or an 8:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=226

JP coming my way, mid to end of next month. Cant wait! Lets go Chad H!

Almost the entire time I've had JP, I almost never got triball before ball 3. One particularly difficult dino target was the triceratops one because the front blade that has the plastic target riveted on would kind of rotate by getting bashed from the side to where it would bind on the bracket behind the switch, thus rarely making contact. I've been tuning up my game in preparation for bringing it to an expo and noticed a few of the other switches were loose, too. I took them out from under the playfield and tightended up the screws in the switch stacks. These targets are much easier to hit now and I'm often getting triball on ball 1, but at least by ball 2 most times.

Anyway, thought I'd mention it in case anyone else has issues with their dino targets.

Had the same issue on the targets above the gate to the pops. Easy fix.

Will check this out, I must admit ive rarely had triball ready on ball 1 but not thought that much about it.

One thing I wish was a little different in this game is the wireform that goes horizontally across the playfield. The ball comes flying off of that a lot on my game. I wish it had been built up as a full pipe like it is at the end when it drops out, so the ball can't come flying off...

Are there any remedies for this issue?

Has anyone repainted their t-rex? If so, what kind of paint did you use? .

We've got ours apart now trying to fix the issue of not picking up the ball, and from the looks of the orange paint and stripes, he looks more like a tiger-rex. I'm thinking about trying to paint it more brown/green since I am years away on the waiting list for the new version.

Not years! Maybe a year... If I'm still producing the improved t-rex a couple of years from now, I'll die of boredom...

I suggest scuffing it up, spraying with some kind of primer that says it's for plastics and then just paint with cheap acrylics. You'll have leftover for touch-ups as needed.

I got some little Testor jars at Michaels and a cheap little plastic dino to practice on, so I've got to get my painting skills up to par first anyway and didn't know if one kind of paint was better than the other.

I know I'm at the bottom of the list, and honestly at this point am tired of sinking money into my machine since it's a freaking diva that finds something new to mess up every time I want to play it. lol Maybe it will be 100% up and running by time you get to my name on the list so that I can afford to even get a new one.

Does anyone have an issue with the ball trough kicking the ball up into the shooter lane and it bouncing back in? Checked the manual and it does have the correct coil in there. Coil power is set to normal in settings.

Just got finished adding in my new banner and getting a few things set up for a teeny pin party on Saturday, so thought I would post some pics here since everyone else thinks I am crazy.

The 'armory' is the closet under the stairs, right across the hall from the room with these pins. The posters are in the hall across from the armory on the same wall as this room. My JP collection had to expand once I ran out of wall space with the 6' t rex decal, but the banner fits perfectly on a jut-out for a support beam that is over the pins.

I'm pretty excited about the kids that hopefully are coming being able to see the t rex eat the ball on the pin this time. We finally got it and the shaker motor working again, and the game runs 100% once it boots up, and only occasionally give trouble then. Yay!

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Very cool, nice job!!!

Hey, does any one know if the loop combo guy is on here? I knew I should have pulled the trigger on the yellow scoop mod when it was available a bit ago....

If hes not on here, any one know how long it takes to get back in stock usually?

When I was looking for the yellow ones and he was showing out of stock, I emailed him and he had some available in a few days.

I am seriously having a hard time finding how to contact him on his site. Thanks though.

The scoop light mod is made by Pinsider accidental.

Thank you sir. Cant wait for your mod as well.

Very nice setup. Is the armory a sticker or poster? Did you make it yourself?

I just cannot get rid of Arnies eyes

The armory is a door decal, from thinkgeek.com. The door for the pin room has the laboratory one on it, and we've got the airlock one for my husband's theater if he'll ever put it up.

Look closely and you'll see that the Rex on the translite has a big googly eye too. They all glow in the dark and are in front of super brite LEDs, so when I play in the dark and the machine lights go off for the match sequence, the big eyes glow like crazy.

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Hi guys, I need a little tech help here... I got a little overzealous repinning wires in my rush to rebuild the connector for J5 on the PPB. I pulled out the entire PPB to redo the header pins, which turned out very nicely, but now I am stuck with a mess of wires that I've repinned but don't know which order to reinsert in the new connector. Stupid move not to label them, I know. Let that be a lesson learned. The only pics I have for reference are a couple of the toasted "before" pictures.

What's really throwing me is - Even though I have the manual and schematic of the wiring, I don't know how to differentiate between the two sets of wires when there are two of each color. Is there a simple way to tell which is which? They're all in the same bundle of wiring, so I am totally lost. Also, why do I have nine separate wires instead of only 8? Is one of these supposed to be looped?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

This is the map of J5 I found in an archived RGP thread:

Pin 9 wht/vio Playfield
pin 8 key
pin 7 wht/grn back box door
pin 6 wht/yel plfd & coin door
pin 5 wht/brn back box door

pin 4 wht/vio
pin 3 wht/grn
pin 2 wht/yel
pin 1 wht/brn all go to PS connector 8

pin 1 to 4 on PPB side is 6.3 vac IN
pin 5 to 9 on PPB side is Fused 6.3 vac out

burnt1.jpg
burnt2.jpg
repinned.jpg

Thanks for bringing it to my attention that I had no contact info on my store! What a facepalm moment that was. I recently migrated the store and forgot to migrate that part

I have since added it.

I have also checked and corrected my stock quantities. I've only got enough backing pieces to make three more sets. I've reallocated those from blue to yellow. There are three yellow sets in stock now

Cheers!

Feeling nostalgic reading this topic. I've owned one pinball, a JP I bought for $800 from some lady (whom I'm sure was selling it as a divorce settlement). Spent hours shopping it, repairing stuff, cleaning stuff, and just learning about how a pinball machine worked.

I didn't have room for it, so a relative kept it in their home. Didn't have to twist any arms, they loved it also.

And I lost it in a fire. Thankfully only property was lost (and it wasn't the machine's fault either!), but I never had the heart to ask for the insurance money for it. But I'll always love that machine, despite fighting that g-damn dino head to get it to pick up the ball.

IMO, an really underrated pinball game.

Just an update, I think stangbat helped me get the information I needed for my connector issue. I will give it another go tonight using his suggestions and report back.

Edit: Yes! I got my connector problem solved thanks to stangbat's help, and the game is better than ever. I'm definitely going to be more careful this weekend when I redo the header pins and connectors on the power supply board.

Tomorrow I might take a picture of the wiring to J5 while I have the backbox open, since it seems to be a common point of failure and I couldn't find what I was looking for online. Hopefully it might be useful to someone else in the same situation as myself.

Well now there are 2. I've been thinking about getting this for awhile now but didn't want to spend the money because my machine wasn't running for awhile. It's "mostly" running now and I can't get the posts to look right no matter what I do, so I think these will work nicely. Order placed.

I guess I missed out again....they appear to all be sold out.

I bought them last fall, they really add something tot he game. My only comment is that 2 of 3 plastic pieces got "loose" where they were fastened and startet turning to the sides and falling off. I solved it by filling the hole with glue and sticking them on the metal bracket again.

But no complaints really, they look great!

Has anyone bought or installed these?

ebay.com link: Jurassic Park Blade Skins Graphics Decals

Any installed pics?