I/o board error on my new on-location LV after two days of no issies

Tried all the re-seating, changed cables, v2.7, fuses good. I imagine they're going to send me a new controller box but I'm waiting on an email reply.

I would think it would be possible, even with a trigger "light sensor" tied to an insert. This is how I have my plasma disc mod wired on Stranger Things and it works great...Lermods did the conversion....and YES! Having my first game that needs no sound modification is an amazing experience

has anyone tried to add the mini beacons on the playfield? If so, how and where did you get them?

Oooooo. This sounds fun, I want in on this

To make the beacon commands work on an SV you would need .57+ firmware revision, this is not available for download for SV users at this time, .57 comes standard on LVs and is needed to make many of the LV features work: shaker, beacons, dbl stack leaf switches

I saw someone had some on the ramps, about the size of gumdrops, but I dont know where they got them or if they lit up. I thought it was a cool idea too.

So looks like shakers out but beacons could still work form 12v power and relays. Bit of a shit that PB are not going to allow owners to add a shaker. Is this a new low?

I thought Cato stated that .57 firmware would come to SV and he would provided the wiring diagram to allow staged flippers as well?

MOdding question: What voltage is driving the xeno tongue? I am thinking of investigating small surface mounted type strobe LED configuration that could be mounted inside the Xeno head to provide strobe effect when tongue is actuated? anyone know the voltage?

It is pulsating 12V. And I'd wait until you get the Apron first to determine if you even want to bother with that mod.. because the Apron already has the strobes. The Alien Annunciator board has an 'expansion" input that would let you tie into the Xeno tongue specifically, but I'm still not convinced that such integration really adds anything. I'd be happy to discuss with you after you get your Apron and see first-hand how it works out of the box. The firmware can also be adjusted, so there are all sorts of possibilities.

Thank you. No worries.. just tossing stuff around in my noggin. You are probably right that it wont be needed. I am just a tinkerer and really the apron mod is the last thing i can do to this machine, besides play it which i do plenty of!

These show the mini beacons that was a mod and sold on the original Alien version and yes they lit up . That pinsider isn't making them anymore but there will definitely be a demand for them now.

c65fbd6642a6dfba8032748a3fda7dba8fcff914 (resized).jpg

cec609565a5f39b7ac0e56488424d44fa80cbb4c (resized).jpg

Looks like remote control car/truck beacons you can get on Amazon or Ebay.. 12vdc tie to zeno motor or apron aux out.. Me thinks someone is going to make these available.

Checked the fuses and all are good especially the middle fuse which handles the right side coils. Checked the right coil wiring harness and unplugged and re-plugged in and still have all the right coils dead.

Only thing I can think of now is a problem in the playfield controller box itself but you would think the fuse wouldn't be good and also still lit green.

I would start looking for a cold solder joint or broken wire ...this has been an issues in this game...it seems it ususally at a solenoid lug under the tubing...

Here is my report after 4 days of Alien LV ownership. Long write up, but it's Sunday morning with pouring rain...Yes, it's true, I have no life outside of my eccentric hobbies.

What a journey!- instant moments of childhood giddiness followed by expected depressing disappointment. Don't worry- there is a happy ending.

I had read all of the various issues of buying this game from a new overseas pinball maker including maintenance issues. So I was very wary for the many months that my order was festering without game delivery. Would I ever get the machine? Will it be a 300 lb paper weight? Deliveries finally trickled out and many mixed reports of the SV surfaced. Like the stock market, I chose to ignore daily reports and just wait..."You will get your machine next month...maybe". Three months later I get the email to pay off my balance...should I eat my deposit? ($1k). I know some of you paid in full right off the bat. Cointaker and PB brothers had many positive writeups so I had some confidence in my decision to complete the purchase.

So I get the email and call from FedEx and the game was delivered on Thursday. The box was in fine condition and I saved the unboxing for later that night with a good pinball buddy. I was hosting a pinball party on Saturday - how cool to show off this game!

The box was large and there was a metallic rattle-hmmmm. The tilt indicator on the outside of the box showed a normal appearance. The rattle was from the legs stored at the top- not a big deal. The game was/is beautiful and all appeared intact. I am a huge fan of dark blue- this package was fabulous.

I had seen on line that there was plastic protector film at several places, including the side art blades. To remove these I took the glass off and lifted the table. The table rails are unconventional - somewhat thin formed sheet metal with very long pull out tracks. You have to pull the table out quite far and then you can tilt it up 90 degrees. So I took care of the plastic film and returned the play field- some what un-smooth gritty feeling. Also the playfield tabs under the locking bar has thumb screws...

Time to turn it on.

The game boots up unexpectedly quickly with a huge rumble from the shaker. The monitors light up with their usual Linux code followed by some cool video clips. And then...

The shooter coil fired constantly followed by only back playfield lighting, followed by error messages, followed by no ball eject, followed by no game play.

Ugh!

Yeah, I was expecting something like this from all of the forum discussions, but hard to accept that it happened to me. The game came all of the way from Sweden from a new company. I have been fortunate to unbox many games- they usually have some loose parts or cables. Little did I know that the issue with this particular game may have been my fault. No game debut at Saturday party.

So, I lifted up the table and started investigating. The underside of this playfield is very neat and relatively simple compared to my 90s BW and even compared to most of my modern Sterns. The many node boards are very well labeled and are connected via Ethernet cables. These all seemed intact. I tested coils and switches - was able to get the shooter coil to fire, but most of the light inserts would not light. After several hours I gave up, sent an email message and video to PB brothers.

PB (Andrea) responded immediately. He even sent me a video of how the nodes are connected and some potential trouble spots. Fortunately, my electrical engineer pinball expert son, Davey, came out for a visit Saturday morning.

After an hour of testing and exploring Davey said "Um...I found the problem."

He showed me a cluster of wires going to an 8 pin Molex that connected to a node, labeled power. All of the wires were pinched including an Ethernet cable. Two of the power wires had popped out of the Molex connector.

Have you ever tried to de-pin a Molex connector? Very tedious- need young eyes and hands (also very useful for pinball play). Miraculously Davie was able to reconnect the wires. We tested the game and...the same damn problem.S**t!

As an electrical engineer you are taught to systematically attack problems, so Davey patiently looked at all of the wires and connections. He discovered that one of the Ethernet connectors on the node board was loose. We pushed the connector in, attached a cable tie and tested again...

We booted up - no annoying repetitive shooter firing, no error messages and the playfield light inserts as well as all of the eggs lit up. And, for the first time, a ball left the trough to its appropriate spot in the shooter lane. We were able to play some pinball! Of course Davey's youth advantage held up with our initial scores. The game was ready for the party.

As a side note- we noticed several standup targets next to ramps and the left scoop did not light up and were not connected. Andrea from PB brothers informed us a following code update will take care of that (of course you will have to insert the connectors). Additionally the back "glass" is a single sheet of plexiglass with a lock. You remove it by sticking your fingers in the center speaker holes. Unusual but quite effective.

So I had 8 pinball folks over who are very knowledgeable and critical. We played new Sterns, LOV, Hot wheels, lots of Mando (getting bragging rights on the international leaderboard). Alien held up all night - shot well and not a single stuck ball. It was a big hit as most commented about the great theme integration and interesting shots.

So this has been quite the journey that I hope you all do not endure. Why the crimped wires? I don't think it left the factory like that. This probably happened when I took the glass off and lifted the table the first time.

So... when you get your game, go ahead and fire it up before your OCD gets the best of you.

Thanks to Andrea (PB brothers), Melissa (Coin Taker) and @daveyvandy.

Cheers!

PXL_20220714_151756815 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220715_014637493 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220715_014640003 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220715_014841158 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220715_210817430 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220716_151446924 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220716_151952073 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220716_155843552.MP (resized).jpg

PXL_20220716_185506140 (resized).jpg

PXL_20220716_192738416.MP (resized).jpg

I did, but it's the whole right side of solenoids.

I think k the first 50 Aliens made should have lifetime warranty! Lol

Just FYI the email I got from PB says that the LEDs near the fuses are not for the fuses themselves so be sure to meter them.

Thanks, I did. They are good.

Has anybody received an email from them since about noon Saturday? Is their support M-F?

I put in a ticket today they auto responded that they got it. Usually I get response in a couple days on how to fix it.

Is there a mod to get Ripley callouts, original soundtrack etc? Apologies I haven't read the whole of this thread.

Not at this time to my knowledge.

Thanks. A shame- we need some Ripley

Anyone install mirrored game blades on an Alien SV? If so where was your source?

Thanks

Just to pass time , for those that have landed Alien ,what pin would you consider it most to shoot like ?

It feels pretty unique to me. Part of the appeal

I got them from Cointaker. I think it was the Bally/Williams fit.

Got Stern Mirror blades, bought from tilt but they ship from cointaker anyways.

This weekend I was kind of thinking it shoots like my Dirty Harry - good selection of shot and missions, tough sideways ramp shot for jackpots, shoot the hole to start missions. Both with great music, good call outs. Its a very unique game though!

The bally/williams have the 'hole' for the hinge bolts correct?

Finally got to play a new build in the wild today! The owners daughters were working the counter while he was flipping, and had a post it pad in hand, leaving helpful messages for all players around the arcade. Looked to be around 8-9 years old

04A2F886-B5B5-4833-8255-18B57A4D9CAA (resized).jpeg

I ordered the stern black mirror set from https://www.pinballdecals.com/MirrorBladesPage.html Fits perfectly.

I got my LV (finally) on Friday. Had a pinball party last night to break her in. She’s working perfectly out of the box. I had a really good game after about a dozen or so games.

355E5319-F76C-4CA1-9D73-719A80531F2B (resized).jpeg

I got to help a friend unbox his LV last night. We had to plug in 4 or 5 connectors on the bottom of the playfield, but after that she was good to go. Beautiful game. I'm excited to get back over there and put some more games on it.

Some of those connections actually might not have to have been plugged in. The switches have more wires than needed to be plugged into the boards.

Interesting. I plugged them all in before we ever booted it up. We got several games in an didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

why do they include extra wiring that is not connected? why not leave it connected for when the code is ready? or would this trigger an issue at the node board?

Are the holes pre drilled ? My gut tells me the black mirror set would look awesome, but not sure its 2.7X better than standard Mirror blades from cointakeer ($270 vs $108)

I just picked up an Alien, and I had heard the game was dark, but wow its really dark.....I get it goes with the theme, but I need more light on the play field. On all my other games I use Comet Matrix to add lighting, but its not possible with this game....what are my options to add a little light ? I'm not a big fan on pin stadiums

Blades were pre drilled- I went with smoked blades to keep it dark. To each his own, right? THey look amazing no matter what kind you get to be honest.

Get the aftermarket Apron. It has additional lighting that might work and if we figure out to put on the lighted side blades that would probably all you need.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-brothers-alien-apron-amp-lighting-mod/page/18#post-7029661

unfortunately all sold out ... I already inquired

I wouldn't count pinstadiums out then. I have them on mine and look great. The UV flash when sentry guns go off and you hit the zeno really adds. You can choose the brightness via app control and in blue mine look great.

But to each their own.

thanks...which ones do you have?

so the stern black mirrored are the set to order.

not the bally/williams set?

thx.

I'm confused as well....Cointaker told me to order the BW/CGC mirrors...wondering if they both work and do both holes line up with the bolts for the back box?

https://pinstadium.com/product/neo-atom/

Thanks

My game is supposed to ship today. When and how have owners received shipping notifications from cointaker? Email from CT or Fex Ex? What time of day ect.

With Lebowski all I ever received was a text from Fed Ex to schedule my delivery date. Curious if it will be the same or if I'll have to reach out again.

Thanks

Does anyone know the LV powder coat color? Thinking of powder coating my SV