look who's back

Issues:
1. Sling problem.
2. Shaker would not work.
3. One year after use, my black rubbers seem to be disintegrating everywhere & black junk is everywhere.

Solutions:
1. replaced the sling with fix.
2. Replaced the Power Board to fix non-working shaker.
3. Replaced the original NIB black sling rubbers with new white rubbers to keep game cleaner.

Excellent write up & pix.

March 31, 2016

Here is the latest update from a call with Doug Duba at CGC this morning 3/31 - note that this is the 'best' info I have from CGC, but as we always have seen, even the best info will likely change (more things move out than move in).
THE 'CURRENT' PLAN FROM CGC FOR GAMES (note caveat that anything can and usually does change):

- Some parts have been re-done due the mfg quality issues (i.e. rejected by Quality Control), that put some delay into the works.
- Also I believe there are some scheduling due to Stern running some batches of games
- Some golds that will be shipping in the next few days.
- CGC indicates that some blacks (we had some ship) about 1-2 weeks ago, and then more Blacks will be run and coming out in about 2 weeks.
- So there will be games coming out to satisfy most of the outstanding requests from resellers in April
- Then CGC will prepare Europe games for shipment (not sure how many or in how many batches - that is discussion between CGC and MoP) - that may be a couple of weeks.
- Then final batches of LE's as well as Standards will be run.

SOFTWARE UPDATE:
- Software update final rev that was to fix some things came out today.
- CGC will be packaging for distribution soon (1-2 weeks?)

COLOR UPDATE:
- Color software is done.
- We have discussed the mechanics on delivery and the pricing and that will be communicated in the next week (I hope)
- Anticipated availability 2+ weeks"

Don't think I created it there

Issue:

MMRLE NIB Speakers suck!

Panel speakers sounded terrible to me, and even to my wife who noticed the muffled voices immediately. Quick investigation revealed that MMR has two cheap midrange panel speakers, hence no high end. Original MMs had one midrange and one tweeter which, while unbalanced side-to-side, at least provided a fuller frequency range overall. Aftermarket kits tend to use coaxial (2-way, midrange + tweeter) panel speakers.
I didn't want to wait on mail order.

checked the schematics. CGC indeed changed the original midrange + tweeter configuration to two cheap midrange. But they left the capacitor of the original design on the right side !

MMRLE-speaker-schematics-1_(resized).jpg

Solution:

I grabbed a pair of Pioneer TS-G1345R coaxial speakers on sale for $37.49 at Best Buy. They're 4 ohms, as are nearly all 5.25" car speakers I found, but MMR's speakers are 8 ohms. Due to the parallel wiring, MMR's two 8 ohm speakers provide 4 ohms of impedance. Simply replacing them with 4 ohm speakers would provide only 2 ohms of impedance, potentially stressing the amplifier. So I rewired the new speakers in series to provide 8 ohms of impedance.
New panel speakers sound phenomenal, but I felt the bass needed a boost to balance the bright & crisp high end. Alligator clipped a trusty ol' Polk subwoofer to the cabinet speaker, and now the game sounds basically perfect (aside from the startup bong and a few pesky audio bugs).
Thanks to Vince (TheKorn) for his advice on wiring the new speakers in series. His speaker replacement guide can be found here: http://www.thekorn.net/speakers/index.html

I bought these: https://goo.gl/vkb8qc
They were on sale at Best Buy, but it looks like Walmart may be cheaper now. Nothing special about those particular speakers. Any decent 2 or 3-way 5.25" speaker would be a massive improvement.

Any 5¼" coaxial car speakers of some recognisable brand will be an improvement.
The only thing to look for is the color. They are visible through the speaker grill so make sure you don't buy a model with funky colors (http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/michael/blog/0405/040507-SonySpeakers.jpg)

I didn't make a dongle, just changed the wiring when installing the new speakers:
GRA-RED to L+
new jumper wire from L- to R+
R- to GRA-BLK
GRA-ORN and the 2 spare GRA-BLK wires (originally connected to L- ) remain disconnected.

I should clarify, current is still flowing through these wires back to the board, they're just not connected to the left speaker anymore.

It's about a 20 minute job.
If walmart does not have the Pioneer 1345 speakers, look for the 1344 model. $10 more, but they work perfectly. If you do buy from walmart, be sure to compare the shelf price to their website, which was $9 less and they will honor in the store.

Don't make the mistake of not keeping the 2 gray/black wires connected after removing them from the left speaker. No big deal, just have to solder the 2 wires together and insulate.
The speakers add instant clarity and make you realize a subwoofer is needed. The call outs are also improved and will be that much better when the software update arrives.

MMRLE-speaker-new-1_(resized).jpg
MMRLE-speaker-new-2_(resized).jpg

Now add a sub woofer:
Most everyone buys the Polk audio psw10 via amazon.
Use about 10 ft of speaker wire with a pair of alligator clips.
Put the clips on the positive & negative of the cabinet speaker and feed the wire through the grill on the bottom of the cab to the external sub and then hook them up to the right speaker level outputs.

MMRLE-subwoofer-1_(resized).jpgMMRLE-subwoofer-3_(resized).jpgMMRLE-subwoofer-2_(resized).jpg

Issue:

The loss of time and date happens vary sporadically. I put in a ticket and a month latter received and installed a software update. After a month of operation I lost the time and date again. There is still a problem. I have since put in another ticket and have not heard anything from CGC.

Solution:

I just posted the following on the PPS forum:

CGC (Lloyd excluded) customer service sucks. I have had a ticket open for 18 days without a single response from my so called assigned pinball technician Ron Lukwinski. Lack of communication seems to be the normal way CGC conducts all facets of it's business. All the ticket has ever said is, being processed since xx days xx hours. The last time I put in a ticket for this same problem, it took 30 days and numerous emails to Lloyd for CGC to respond. I understand this is a difficult problem, but absolutely no communication is unacceptable. I'm worried for the future when something big goes wrong with the MMR.

Issue:

No warranty registration card included

Solution:

You have to download it here :
http://www.chicago-gaming.com/Brochures/CGC_Warranty_Card_Pinball.pdf

Issue:

Having an issue with my left flipper assembly. The pin that secures the rod(indicated in the picture below as an example) has come loose twice now in so many days, causing it to completely detach from the rest of the assembly. I was able to find the pin in the bottom of the cabinet and reinsert it and thought I had clamped it down hard enough, but apparently not enough for it to happen a second time now.
How can I secure this pin better? I had a heck of a time working on this part without removing the whole thing, so not sure if there's an easier way.

MMRLE-flipper-solenoid-pin-1_(resized).jpg

Solution:

Get a replacement plunger/linkage. It's a roll pin and it's not supposed to have failed like that.

Issue:

Single color DMD contrast is too high overall, making the different brightness color levels look almost all the same (too bright).

Solution:

The contrast issue with the display is fixed by the new firmware revision.

Issue:

Having issues with Merlin hole kick out.
The ball falls back into the Merlin hole due to it not being kicked out all of the way. This happens about 60-70% of the time and at times it will take 3-4 cycles before the ball actually kicks out of the saucer. I have adjusted the kick out setting to maximum hoping that would solve the issue but it did not help. Is there something else to look at/adjust or is it time to open a ticket with Chicago Gaming?

Solution:

tbd

Issue:

Well crap. Hopefully my ticket for replacement plunger assembly gets answered soon as it failed again today. Looks like my MMr is out of commission until I get a new assembly.

Solution:

Buy a new one from somewhere else & install it on your own. No help from PPS or CGC.

Issue:

How's the level bubble on your MMR? I was trying to level the pin using that, but when I had the bubble in the center the pitch was >9 degrees. If I bring the pitch to about 6.5-7 degrees the bubble is all the way to the bottom of the level, is there a way to adjust that or is it waste of time?

Solution:

1. Make sure the level is screwed all the way down on the rail.

2. According to the manual, the tip of the bubble should be between the first and second lines(if counting from the front of the machine). The first line represents 6deg of pitch and every line after another 1/2 degree, so if the bubble is touching the second line, it should be at 6.5deg.

3. Use a different external level.

Issue:

I received my MMr some das ago. I notized that the flipper strength significantly decreases after 20-30minutes, although I set the strength on 4. I have not seen any complaints in this regard. Am I the only one? The weak legt flipper does nötig achieve to shoot the Right ramp up to the top.

Solution:

tbd

Issue:

Can MM recover itself from multiple balls landing it the catapult? I just turned mine off for its own good before it damaged itself and fished the balls out manually
just made me wonder what would of happened had it been out in the wild? Does it have some sort of programmed safety cut out after so many failed attempts to launch the balls ??

Solution:

increase catapult strength

Issue:

Got my MMr just last Thursday. Ive notices that the peasant ramp sensor just right behind the castle doesnt always register the ball. From observation tonight it would seem that fast balls are registered, but slower balls do not register. Is that sensor supposed to register every ball?

Issue:

1. Try bending the metal leaf a bit so the ball is sure to make solid contact and depress the switch as it passes every time. I had a similar issue with the exit switch on my damsel ramp.

2. Also check the screws on all of the roll over switches as I found almost all of them loose and some almost falling apart and resulting in not registering.

Issue:

You may get a rattle sound when adding the sub woofer

Solution:

Put 1 or 2 strips of masking tape along the edge of the glass and trim off the excess.
There should be no more rattle & you'll get all that great rich bass sound.

Issue:

My start button was out.
I opened the coin doorv- (with power on) and jiggled the wires on it the light went on - and then whole machine went off.
Now, I get nothing when turning the power on/off now. I can't imagine that did any damage.
I visually looked at all obvious fuses -but don't see anything out of ordinary.
Before I put in a ticket- any suggestions ? Loyd any ideas here ? Literally dead.
It worked perfectly up until just now. It's MMR 157.

Solution:

So under the "make this more complicated than necessary dept"- I checked the fuses and they are all fine. I thought I'll check the electrical cord connection in the back- and DOH- it was loose. I plugged it back in - and it popped on.
Loose cord.

Mod:

Make your own color changing Merlin Mod for MMR/LE.
Use a $9 Merlin figure from eBay, a crystal ball from LOTR (or something smaller), and a disassembled 555 color change led.

Sphere:
Purchase acrylic spheres from US Plastic corp.
They are located in Lima Ohio but also have a website.
Maybe use a 3/4 inch sphere and it worked great.

Mod Part:

Mod = Flipper Bats.

Adhesive:
Originally used the adhesive that came on them but after about 20 games 1 came flying off the flipper.
Go to auto parts shop & buy "3M automotive mounting tape" that was mentioned in one of the threads.
So far it is working great & it is flexible enough to absorb impact (which super glue won't do).

Mod:

Mod = Different Speaker Panel.

I replaced my speaker panel today, took quite awhile, I found when I removed the display that the clear perspex cover was held on by another 12 bastard push nuts making 28 of them in total.
As the plastic mounts are quite weak, it is impossible to remove the push nuts without breaking them.
Attack them after breaking the first one but it was still a slow process.
Both the panel with logo and the speakers are nice upgrades, but to be honest I would suggest that Drewblood's sticker is a much easier and cheaper solution than replacing the entire panel. I would have gone for a sticker instead myself if I had not got the panel for free.