(Topic ID: 159817)

My first pin - STTNG too much for me?

By ibjames

7 years ago


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Topic Stats

  • 93 posts
  • 46 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by Zitt
  • Topic is favorited by 4 Pinsiders

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There are 93 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.
#51 7 years ago

If you have one game, definitely STTNG, especially if it's your first.

#52 7 years ago

STTNG was my first game and is probably never leaving. I'd highly recommend it. Not knowing any better, I did buy retail to start. I did receive it in pretty good working order. Right away, there was a microswitch that wasn't registering so they replaced it. Other than that I've had to clean a few contacts, re-seat some connectors, and replace the trough opto boards to the newer upgraded ones (really easy - disconnect, unscrew the old boards, screw in the new boards, and reconnect). Not too bad for 3.5 years of ownership.

#54 7 years ago

Alcohol and cotton swabs fixed almost all of the problems when I got my STTNG. It was a total basket case when I went to buy it. The previous owner did zero maintenance for a decade. The game was in constant ball search mode and was almost unplayable.

I spent a few hours getting covered in black dust cleaning all of the optos and that fixed almost every problem. Overall the pin was easy to keep working after that. Look up the known problems for this title and do those fixes and you should be good with this title.

In general I have found that as long as a pin works well when I get it the maintenance has never been that bad. The problem games are those I have purchased that had a known board problems from a battery leak, fire or power surge. Some of those pins always seem to have serious, hard to fix problems.

I ended up selling mine because I overplayed it and started to get annoyed hearing the same shout outs. I had to revert back to EM pins for a while, the chimes never seem to get old.

#56 7 years ago

It was my first pin too. Had a few issues to work out but mostly for the last 10 years it's been a champ. STTNG rules all pins - 'nuff said.

mittens

#57 7 years ago

STTNG is an excellent game from Steve Ritchie that I sold and had to have a better one back. I got one recently that need the Frenzi plastic, Delta Ramp and Sling plastics replaced. What a great game!!! Definite keeper. Perfect for a first game if its dialed in. ColorDMD a must and a replacement backglass as time allows.

#58 7 years ago

I have been VERY fortunate with my ST:TNG. It was not a routed machine. I bought it for 1800.00 and it had a couple of hundred plays on it. The cannons stopped working and they stopped using it. There was a pinched wire under the play field. It was working in no time... Since then I have had to do almost NOTHING except routine maintenance.

#59 7 years ago

Welp, I bought one! It is getting shipped this week! I bought from a pinsider here, he is a collector and talking to him you can tell he knows what he is talking about, it isn't throwing any codes and everything works so I'm excited.

Some of the things I was looking at upgrading:
Brite caps for the pop bumpers
LEDs
Remote battery holder
Sound? Is upgrading the speakers worth it?
What are your favorite mods?

I didn't know it, but my wife stepped up to the machine and was like "I watched this all the time as a kid, it was my favorite" and she likes this one more. She hoots and hollers when she shoots the cannon and hits or almost hits the targets. I'm like a kid right now waiting for this thing.

-7
#60 7 years ago

I personally think you made a big mistake because you don't sound like a competent individual and should probably never be around tools. These pins are a lot to handle and for someone that sounds like they have a hard time unzipping his pants you are bound to have tons of stress and headache with any pinball machine. Good day.

#61 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

Sound? Is upgrading the speakers worth it?
What are your favorite mods?

I've got a Flipper Fidelity kit and it sounds killer. Game has great bass that you don't hear with the stock speakers.

Get Color DMD if it doesn't have it already. Looks phenomenal on this game.

#62 7 years ago

Congrats! It's a very cool game. I much prefer it over the new ST. Britecaps and LEDs are a must for this game. Loving mine. I find the original speakers do a good job. I also love my lighted flipper buttons, but be careful to insulate the left LED board or the apron will dig into the board until it shorts and fries fuse F116. Took me a while to figure that one out.

#63 7 years ago
Quoted from HarryReimer:

I have been VERY fortunate with my ST:TNG. It was not a routed machine. I bought it for 1800.00 and it had a couple of hundred plays on it. The cannons stopped working and they stopped using it. There was a pinched wire under the play field. It was working in no time... Since then I have had to do almost NOTHING except routine maintenance.

Lucky!!

Quoted from ibjames:

Welp, I bought one! It is getting shipped this week! I bought from a pinsider here, he is a collector and talking to him you can tell he knows what he is talking about, it isn't throwing any codes and everything works so I'm excited.
Some of the things I was looking at upgrading:
Brite caps for the pop bumpers
LEDs
Remote battery holder
Sound? Is upgrading the speakers worth it?
What are your favorite mods?
I didn't know it, but my wife stepped up to the machine and was like "I watched this all the time as a kid, it was my favorite" and she likes this one more. She hoots and hollers when she shoots the cannon and hits or almost hits the targets. I'm like a kid right now waiting for this thing.

- Outlane extender/cheaters if not already installed. I heart cheating at STTNG. Can get away with only the right side.
- Hook up an external sub to the cab speaker. You need to feel the explosions.
- I did replace the backbox speakers with some basic 2-way 5.25" car speakers (in series). Does help a little bit. You'll have to carefully put some holes in the speaker panel on the right side. Or get a fancy speaker+adapter kit from FF or PPro.
- ColorDMD
- Sounds like you're pretty handy and want to tinker, so replace the Klingon ship with the Hallmark ornament. I used an inline 10 Ohm resistor, so far so good. With even more effort and a hole cutter you can replace the Romulan ship with the Hallmark version.
- A lot of people paint their Borg ship. I did mine to better match the pic on the translite.
- LED's for the Borg ship, including flashers. I've tried both blue and green and prefer green. Pinbits sells green or blue plastic windows.
- Non-ghosting ROM so you can save $ on insert LED's, don't have to get non ghosting. Or better yet get LED OCD. You could also go whole hog and get GI LCD but I opted to just disable GI dimming and kept incandescent bulbs in the shields inserts.
- ooohhh_shiny balls from PBL
- Clear rubber for the slings. I prefer red rubber for the flippers. It wears out fast but I like it. Maybe Titan rings would be okay but haven't tried them.
- F'n bright LED's from PBL for under the slingshots. Still not tons of pf light but it helps.
- Red domes for the cannon covers. Makes it look like the prototype.

#64 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

Welp, I bought one! It is getting shipped this week! I bought from a pinsider here, he is a collector and talking to him you can tell he knows what he is talking about, it isn't throwing any codes and everything works so I'm excited.

congrats!! welcome to the club! warning: these things tend to multiply!

Quoted from ibjames:

Some of the things I was looking at upgrading:
Brite caps for the pop bumpers
LEDs
Remote battery holder
Sound? Is upgrading the speakers worth it?
What are your favorite mods?

- brite caps are a matter of taste. they are cool, but would not personally be my top priority.
- LEDs, yes!
- remote battery holder -- absolutely a necessity. do it.
- upgraded speakers, nah, especially if it's not in a really loud room. the sound is compressed and played back in mono by the DCS system, and no speakers will improve its fidelity. however, a subwoofer will get you some nicer bass response if desired.

personally my favorite mods are:
- ColorDMD,
- LEDs (and LED OCD / GI OCD)
- Upgraded ships (usually Hallmark versions)
- Mirror Blades

Quoted from ibjames:

I didn't know it, but my wife stepped up to the machine and was like "I watched this all the time as a kid, it was my favorite" and she likes this one more. She hoots and hollers when she shoots the cannon and hits or almost hits the targets. I'm like a kid right now waiting for this thing.

haha, great! STTNG really was an amazing show. If you've got Netflix, check out some of the top episodes. One of the nice things about "Next Generation" is there's almost no continuity. unlike modern TV, it's not serialized at all. almost every episode is a self-contained story, so you won't feel lost jumping around. here are some of the best episodes:

- The Defector (Season 3)
- Yesterday's Enterprise (Season 3)
- Best of Both Worlds (this is a 2-parter: Season 3 finale / Season 4 premiere)
- The Inner Light (Season 5 ... often considered one of the best episodes of television ever!)
- Cause and Effect (Season 5)
- Frame of Mind (Season 6)
- Parallels (Season 7)
- Tapestry (Season 7)
- All Good Things... (Season 7, and the series finale)

#65 7 years ago
Quoted from Djshakes:

I personally think you made a big mistake because you don't sound like a competent individual and should probably never be around tools. These pins are a lot to handle and for someone that sounds like they have a hard time unzipping his pants you are bound to have tons of stress and headache with any pinball machine. Good day.

wtf? what a rude and pointless post.

#66 7 years ago
Quoted from pezpunk:

wtf? what a rude and pointless post.

LOL, that is my friend, he's just mad that I'm the grand champion on his machine and I'm planning on being the grand champion on the shadow that he's getting this week also

-1
#68 7 years ago
Quoted from pezpunk:

wtf? what a rude and pointless post.

Haha. I think the OP will be fine with it as his first pin. I bought my first pin (WCS) about three weeks ago from a pinsider. The OP and I literally worked from 8pm-3am Friday night to install the cliffys and full LED kit. The cliffys were the biggest pain. We took all the ramps off, etc. Knowing what we know now it probably wouldn't have take as long. I will not be returning the favor on the STTNG though, I never was a star trek fan and won't go near that game. Disgusting

#69 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

Welp, I bought one! It is getting shipped this week! I bought from a pinsider here, he is a collector and talking to him you can tell he knows what he is talking about, it isn't throwing any codes and everything works so I'm excited.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Quoted from ibjames:

Some of the things I was looking at upgrading:
Brite caps for the pop bumpers
LEDs
Remote battery holder
Sound? Is upgrading the speakers worth it?
What are your favorite mods?

Color DMD is a must! ... Make it so.
Hallmark ornament ships ... everyone has them also a must.
Domed cannons ... You can do these yourself, they are simple.
Color changing LED under neutral zone hole ... this just looks really cool!
Red star post LED's for the 4 slingshot star posts...just wire them to the sligshot GI light ... they are awsome!
Bumper cap "sparkly thingys" they look good on this game, and add the missing bumper cap.

#70 7 years ago
Quoted from spidey:

Lucky!!
- Hook up an external sub to the cab speaker. You need to feel the explosions.

How do you hook up an external sub?

Quoted from spidey:

Lucky!!
- Non-ghosting ROM so you can save $ on insert LED's, don't have to get non ghosting. Or better yet get LED OCD. You could also go whole hog and get GI LCD but I opted to just disable GI dimming and kept incandescent bulbs in the shields inserts.

What is this rom and other stuff for the LED's? I'm lost

Quoted from spidey:

Lucky!!
- F'n bright LED's from PBL for under the slingshots. Still not tons of pf light but it helps.

The slingshots, those are right next to the flippers right that shoot the ball bounces off of? I'm still trying to get used to terms. I literally have to sound out STTNG still

#71 7 years ago
Quoted from Pin_Guy:

Color changing LED under neutral zone hole ... this just looks really cool!

Sounds awesome, is there a howto somewhere?

Quoted from Pin_Guy:

Red star post LED's for the 4 slingshot star posts...just wire them to the sligshot GI light ... they are awsome!

Is there a howto for this also? Sounds awesome

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#72 7 years ago

I need to find a word other than awesome

#73 7 years ago

I have pics of these on https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/4#post-2885291

They both tie to GI lighting so they are super simple, I'll see if I can find pics of the wiring and post them ...

#74 7 years ago

Awesome

Congrats!

#75 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

How do you hook up an external sub?
What is this rom and other stuff for the LED's? I'm lost\

The slingshots, those are right next to the flippers right that shoot the ball bounces off of? I'm still trying to get used to terms. I literally have to sound out STTNG still

Just run speaker wire from inside the cab where the 8" speaker is connected, out the bottom near the back (may have to pry back the mesh cover over the hole) into the the speaker inputs of the sub. There's also a way to tap into the DCS board directly to get a line out signal but the speaker wire method is simpler. A favorite around here is the Polk 10" sub.

There's a bug in the software for DCS games that cause ghosting. It's more noticeable with LED's. You can reprogram your game ROM or buy one with the patch. You'll see that LED providers charge extra for "non ghosting" style. But this adds up to a lot of money that you don't need to spend. Patching the ROM eliminates the ghosting. Also the LEC OCD kit gets rid of ghosting and allows fade effects, cool stuff. So don't get both.

Yes. Because of the cannon mechs, there's only room for one GI bulb under there so it's pretty useless. Pinball Life has these "f'n bright" led's where you need max brightness and this is a good place for them. They're 44 sockets. The GI looks good in cool white as opposed to "warm white" which is more yellow to match standard bulbs.

#76 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

Color changing LED under neutral zone hole ... this just looks really cool!
Sounds awesome, is there a howto somewhere?

Parts:
22-24 gauge stranded hook up wire
1 color changer LED: http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2262
1 555 light socket: http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=294
1 1/2" hex head screw: http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=224
yes I have OCD ... and all the lamp socket screws should have unslotted hex heads with a yellow zinc plating

Color_changer_(resized).pngColor_changer_(resized).png

#77 7 years ago

NICE!!! I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING

I appreciate all the help, I'm not going to sleep much this weekend I can tell already

#78 7 years ago

Just curious ... have you received your pin??

#79 7 years ago

I haven't done it because I'm sort of lazy and not super in to "modding", especially when it means adding random plastic shit...but these look like a cool "upgrade" from originals:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-custom-painted-sstng-ships-by-modfather?tu=modfather

#80 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

Welp, I bought one! It is getting shipped this week! I bought from a pinsider here, he is a collector and talking to him you can tell he knows what he is talking about, it isn't throwing any codes and everything works so I'm excited.
Some of the things I was looking at upgrading:
Brite caps for the pop bumpers
LEDs
Remote battery holder
Sound? Is upgrading the speakers worth it?
What are your favorite mods?
I didn't know it, but my wife stepped up to the machine and was like "I watched this all the time as a kid, it was my favorite" and she likes this one more. She hoots and hollers when she shoots the cannon and hits or almost hits the targets. I'm like a kid right now waiting for this thing.

I just played my first games on my STtNG with a Pinbits shaker motor. SWEEEEEET! A must w ColorDMD. Easy peasy installs too. Highly recommend the shaker!!!

#81 7 years ago
Quoted from BenetBoy78:

I just played my first games on my STtNG with a Pinbits shaker motor. SWEEEEEET! A must w ColorDMD. Easy peasy installs too. Highly recommend the shaker!!!

Ah that's good to hear it made such a difference! I was looking for one of these but Pinbits are out of stock at the moment.

#82 7 years ago

I did a complete rebuild on my STTNG, brand new play field, LED's, extra toys....Love this game

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#83 7 years ago

looks great!

2 months later
#84 7 years ago

Its certainly jumping into the deep end of the pool, however, one way to look at it is.. after having a ST:TNG everything else will be easy.

Greatest machine of all time???? Damn close.

11536072_10205820956297602_4284033753196773668_n (resized).jpg11536072_10205820956297602_4284033753196773668_n (resized).jpg

#85 7 years ago

STTNG was my first pin as well. Youre going to love it ! Best real actor callouts and theme integration out there imo. If you loved
the tv series and love pinball this is a keeper for sure.

That being said, its a real pita when things break down, mainly because alot of areas are hard to get to (removing subways down below to get to optos can be a bitch) plus troubleshooting on this one can be frustrating as well. Its a lot of pin to swallow for a first pin and can be overwhelming, there are much easier pins to learn from. As a first pin you might need alot of help if something goes wrong and you need to diagnose a problem. Good thing you found this forum, you'll most likely need help from peeps here at some point down the road. Also good you got it from a member here who might help with future problems as well.

When the game is up and running perfectly its a true gem. Youll love it and won't regret the purchase. So much fun and modes are great! Congrats on the purchase!!! Mine will never leave my collection.

Flipper fidelity speaker kit and color dmd are must have mods for this game, it makes a big difference!

Good luck and have fun with !!!

#86 7 years ago

@$!# I just realized this thread was started 3 months ago!!! Doh! Guess the op is doing well with his pin!

#87 7 years ago

No.. I've been struggling with the pin the entire time, I've spent more time doing tech stuff than playing When it is running it is awesome though

#88 7 years ago

It'll get there...and it will be amazing!

#89 7 years ago
Quoted from ibjames:

No.. I've been struggling with the pin the entire time, I've spent more time doing tech stuff than playing When it is running it is awesome though

Tech stuff? What are you having an issue with ?

#90 7 years ago

Next time I get a Next Generation machine, I'm going to have Eddie (I forget his company name in Brooklyn) do a restore on it.

On his Facebook page, I forget which machine it was, he had installed new switches and coils throughout the whole machine. IMO, that is the way to go with Next Generation. In the home environment, after that kind of restore, it should be trouble free.

#91 7 years ago
Quoted from Trekkie1978:

Next time I get a Next Generation machine, I'm going to have Eddie (I forget his company name in Brooklyn) do a restore on it.
On his Facebook page, I forget which machine it was, he had installed new switches and coils throughout the whole machine. IMO, that is the way to go with Next Generation. In the home environment, after that kind of restore, it should be trouble free.

Sadly no, just too much to it to be reliable.

To OP, what problems are you having? Many of us can walk you through most of it. The one upside is with so many made trouble shooting is easier since others have already dealt with it.

#92 7 years ago

Pin_Guy is literally walking me through each step. I have had my cpu board die, replaced my trough opto board, now I'm working on my power driver board..

#93 7 years ago

For me;
ColorDMD
Painted borg ship with matching cannons
My KBOP WingLEDs
Then start attending Star Trek conventions for Autographs:
http://www.backalleycreations.com/star%20trek%20mods.html

Then ... go buy a Stern Star Trek.

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