Just looking at that pic, I can assure you that anyone that does a decent job soldering will be able to learn to repair/replace *almost* anything on those boards once they practice reworking/servicing surface mount boards. The only new tool you'd need to buy is a hot air station for surface mount reworking (I've seen decent ones for sale as cheap as $50). The part that could be a headache to replace is the microcontroller given the rather short leads and possible heat sink pad under the chip. Outside of that, the components are easier to rework than through hole components once you get the hang of it .

The CPU node uses a really cheap Microchip processor (Stern probably gets them < $10 a device in quantity). The problem with that microprocessor is that it's a frigging BGA package and is basically impossible to replace with tools one may purchase at home. However, there are many companies out there that can replace a BGA device at a reasonable charge if you provide the part. (On a side note, I have no idea why they're using such a dated processor ... I wouldn't expect any fancy graphics using that device ... I understand that doesn't matter much for pinball playing, but I think it'll become more and more important if Jersey Jack catches fire ... in my worthless opinion, a standard, off the shelf PC running Linux is the way to go for a pinball system)

Overall, the idea behind Stern's new system is fine ... surface mount parts won't scare anyone in another year after a few places learn how to rework stuff ... it seems they addressed potential vibration issues by using a proper number of mounting points on long/wide boards (the problem with Capcom boards having solder joint issues on surface mount parts is mainly due to the size / lack of mounting to prevent the board from vibrating a lot) ... if node boards are dying due to electrical failure, chances are there are grounding issues (these will be worked out over time). All in all, Stern took the right design approach though you can certainly argue that the release of the system for public consumption wasn't tested well IF node boards are dying in significant quantities.

The *big* problem is lack of schematics. That's ridiculous that Stern doesn't provide those anymore in the manual and it's going to be a huge PITA to properly diagnose & repair boards. It's ridiculous that they withhold those.

Does anyone have pics of the CPU node board in Star Wars? I'd like to see if there are differences with the old one as I heard it was a "rev 2" board.