Quoted from Rum-Z:

I swear George Gomez said that Stern would be releasing schematics on Spike node boards way back during Expo 2017 or something. I just remember reading this in passing and not paying too much attention to it other than thinking "Good". However, so far nothing has happened in regards to schematics, which makes me think that Stern has back tracked on this comment by Gomez, as they'd rather sell new boards at insane mark-ups than have schematics out there that might assist people in making their own repairs (if people are brave enough with surface mount work) or assist competitors in making more cost effective aftermarket replacement boards.
Someone has got schematics on them, as it would seem that Stern employees designed them and then supplied them to a board supplier which made the boards.

Quoted from Shapeshifter:

For comparison, how easy are those huge boards in the remakes to repair?
No wonder 90's B/W games are so cherished - they will always be repairable.

Quoted from EricHadley:

No fuses = fry fest

Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

Code requirements. SAM didn't have enough addressable memory to run today's games. The 2006 OS was an update to Whitestar and at some point HAD to be rewritten to use modern components.
Almost everything today has a microprocessor in it. The days of something running for 50 years and all the components being available are gone. That has its advantages but lastability isn't one of them.

Quoted from xTheBlackKnightx:

When it comes to Stern SPIKE system games, it's like pissing on a fence to test and see if it's electrified.
(insert Stern nodal board high voltage joke here)
Eventually the odds catch up and the owner is going to get "stream shocked" with multiple replacement costs, if the boards are even still available, which game specific they are often not anymore. The node boards are not reliable and continue to be susceptible to voltage regulation and vibration issues. A single issue can take out multiple boards at one time. The average price of a Stern node board is $150, but can reach to $1000 for a full CPU board. Techs cannot troubleshoot well in the field AT ALL most of these types of issues. Boards are repairable, but only those with identifiable circuit paths and components. The more SPIKE games a person owns the more complicated the issues can be both via generation and components.
I discussed much of this over a year ago here in multiple responses of the thread, "Stern Reliability: SAM versus SPIKE" and "What are your thoughts on the Spike II system?", but let us go even FURTHER back in time.
Operators asked for schematics in 2013 and made various technical recommendations for the system that for the most part have not been fulfilled. They were not complaints, they were observations like "providing an end user diagnosis of specific nodal control based a partial boot failure, because it was not explained in any form of manual". Stern techs could not even answer this type of question at the time. The OP information from Chaz confirmed that from the standpoint of design, things have not changed, but instead are doing manual resets on circuit boards (when applicable). This is nearly SIX YEARS of "coming soon". With the continued increase of cost of NIB games, the only thing which has been maintained in that period is Stern customer service. However, prices are now 1.5x higher for what reason? "Improvements"? How? Screw that, Stern, some remaining operators don't buy that excuse now. The SPIKE II system regressed further with circuit protection. This is another example of a big middle finger to everyone that is involved in the industry. If owners want to be treated like mushrooms, kept in the dark, and fed bullshit, I cannot do anything about this problem, but I will at least speak out for education. Coincidentally, Using "swapatronics" is not a particularly impressive form of significant flattery and technical solution, if a customer service representative is experienced.
This situation would have been absolutely intolerable, even in the 90s, but because the end user is now a consumer, it seems somehow accepted. There is nothing wrong with advances in technology, if supported with direct repairs, but, Stern fails to offer this option, including ANY FORM of training classes, that were provided by B/W.
SPIKE is NOT that "advanced solution", except in profit margins of the manufacturer. That was never its intended purpose. SPIKE was never designed to ease the burden of any part of Reliability-Serviceability-Durability (RSD) of pinball. It actually was meant as a evolutionary venture of the same kind of lackluster "improvements" that were offered in terms of reduced quality of construction of the game, including cabinets, power, playfields, and hardware. Every single Stern supporter remains completely bushwhacked each time they buy a game with this system. End users are not getting what they are paying for overall, and is partially why B/W games remain so popular, not just with collectors, but operators as well.
Think about these points before gambling with another use of disposable income, new or used SPIKE games. If you play, but don't own or operate, and think it does not matter, it completely does, as it reflects into the cost per game that operators must use to keep these titles running. Also, it really helps to know Stern's titles, as if they are SAM, as it will make a HUGE difference in cost savings in the long run for maintenance regardless of type of location.

Quoted from mollyspub:

To be honest, this thread is scaring me.
No repair ? Boards no longer available? How can Stern let this happen? Am I and others going to have games that no longer can be played?

Quoted from AUKraut:

My suggestion to people who are unhappy about this situation with no tech info or schematics available: Make yourself heard at Q&A panels at shows, festivals, etc. A lot of pinheads don't browse pinside for whatever reason, and we know that as a whole Stern tries it's best to ignore pinside. The more people hear about this issue in public events and see Stern try to dodge the question, the more pressure it puts on Stern to do the right thing, as Stern uses these sessions as PR to sell their product. I know I will be at TPF asking the question about schematics in a nice civil manner, maybe others can jump in as well. Squeeky wheel gets the grease......

Quoted from pinballplusMN:

I just passed on a service call for a Deadpool. Issue was ball not kicking out. Probably an easy fix but I don't want the prospect of future repairs which may involve obsolete parts and /or being a deer in the headlights on a home service call.I hate that feeling and rarely if ever experience it with older stuff. Anyone that does home service knows that once they touch a game they marry it in a sense I will be happy to change if I can have confidence in knowing how the games function as well as guaranteed support for parts etc for at least 10 years. So for now Im telling people that call for service on Spike that Im deferring for the time being until I have more knowledge and confidence in the operating system. Schematics being provided will be a step in the right direction.
I have received some flack for this from people that say Im not supporting Stern by making this decision. I don't dislike Stern and want to support them. In fact I feel the games produced are some of the greatest games ever built play wise. For now its just a business decision for me that may change later in the future. I hope it does. JR

Quoted from 27dnast:

So, the black knight went on Kaneda’s Podcast and popped off about Stern Spike system and node boards.
It’s really difficult to know if he 100% knows what he’s talking about or if he knows enough to be dangerous and then just talks up the rest (or if he’s simply wading in total Uninformed BS)... but he’s throwing around phrases like “planned obsolescence” for Spike games. Then again, he also seems to make up words (“technicianal” I believe was dropped?)
What say you Stern?
Stern just got completely called out for basically selling $5-8k-plus games that carry hardware that (a) has early games - like KISS - with boards that are NLA or becoming scarce... and suggestions that current games are going to end up in the same place.
Oh... add in the notion that the system is “half baked.”
I’d like to hear Stern come onto a podcast or a public forum and defend the electronics in its games... publicly commit to providing schematics or repair support... and discuss plans for games that have unique boards that are no longer made or available.

Quoted from branlon8:

what bugs me the most is the communication policy of Stern. The first time I heard of Spike from a distributor he told me Spike is great - no more board work - if something fails you just swap out one of the numerous small boards and you’re good to go. I think this sounds great in theory - I’ve learned enough about electronics to be a little bit dangerous, but there are way more holes in my knowledge than knowledge itself so I wouldn’t mind repairing pins in this way - also because good pin repair technicians are few and far between. I wouldn’t mind spending a few bucks from time to time for a board (It would be nice if they’re not so expensive you feel like you’re being gouged every time). It could be the modern way of taking care of pins.
But this Spike repair idea would have several requirements:
- the game has to tell me which board to replace
- the long term availability of said boards must to be assured and they need to be easy to get.
My impression is that both of these requirements are very far from being met and as far as I can tell these points are in no way being addressed. Until they are, no Spike games for me. Too bad because some of them look fun.

Quoted from Zablon:

Uh...okay let me spell it out for you. I was on a committee to produce planned obsolescence. They USED those words. The goal was to make products that lasted 7 years max instead of 30. Not sure what else you need? You asked for examples. You were given some, and then go about the usual "well no, that's not right". No, YOU aren't right.
I'm not saying Stern is actually doing this however, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me and people who act like that would never happen should wake up a bit.

Quoted from hoby1:

Does it concern me........... I never really sit there and think about it, " OMG can I get a new node board IF this goes bad. "
Uuuuuuum No.
You guys that wont buy games with Spike games are really missing out on alot of cool stuff. If I gotta spend a little coin down the road to enjoy some of these GREAT title. Im in.

Quoted from hoby1:

Who says they cant be fixed..... I have an AMAZING friend that can do extremely intricate surface mount. Seen him replace those 60/80 pin surface mount ICs on Sam flawlessly.
And if not I buy a node. Just not gonna sit there and worry about if and when its going to happen as Stern will make replacements.
Enjoy your games as its not going back to the old way of thinking. It is what it is.

Quoted from Wolfmarsh:

Planned obsolescence in pinball control boards? ROFL.
There are a good number of these node board shutdowns that happen because someone puts mods in their games and exceeds the power budget for the item they connected the mod to. There are much more advanced ways of dealing with overcurrent these days than using a one-time-blown fuse. Spike 2 has opted to make use of those newer methods. I'd imagine they are still dialing in the firmware to surface all of these errors more effectively so the end user doesn't just think their node board failed.
The interchangeability of node boards isn't that hard either, and doesn't need a chart. Node boards 8 are interchangeable on any Spike system of the same generation (spike 1 vs spike 2), same with node 9. Node boards with a letter after them, like 8a, are light or feature boards specific to that game.

Quoted from HighVoltage:

At tech talk at PRGE last summer, Stern personnel specifically called this out as one of the causes.

Quoted from Zitt:

Seriously; umm.. have you been paying attention?
I know with 100% certainty the Stern Star Trek games have no power budget on the GI. Try putting an Evo Cap in the pop bumper areas. Causes malfunctions because the node board design actually measures for current draw.

Quoted from Dr-pin:

I think the node board concept is a freekin disaster for everybody, but maybe stern in the short run. In the long run it probebly is a deathblow to them aswell.
A modern pinball obviously costs lots of money, which is understandable, since players expect more advanced blingies and deeper rulesets, but there is no reason to rely on small series of non easily replaceable electronics.
If the pinball manufacturers wishes to survive and ask the customers to bare the costs of theese wonderful machines. Playfields need to last and parts needs to be accesable over time and easy to change.
My dreamsetup as a customer is a windows computer and adding to that a controller card for all the lights and outgoing stuff(like motors for toys), all theese can be dmx controlled, which makes the board a breeze to change and securing lasting spares. Then you need an additional board for sensory input for switches and such. theese boards could also ofc be standardized.
When the prerequisites are met from the manufacturers, we customers can buy theese expensive pieces of art, fully confident that they will last.
Spike is the exact opposite of this concept.