Glad you asked. Picked one up today! Never had a p2k. Glass is super smudged and I also want to clean it.

Well shit. Owned it 5 days. Attacked Mars twice already and beat it tonight. Played maybe 25-30 games total. Wish it had twice the content... I had heard it was easy but didn’t think it would be THAT easy.

Anybody have v2.x installed(on NUCORE/Pinbox)? Is it better?

I’m on 1.5. I may have all my computer parts by the weekend. Right now the ArcadeVGA is scheduled to arrive Monday but I think it’ll be faster.

Yes I plan to keep using the original monitor. It’s crisp and bright with zero burn and there’s just no reason to replace it, especially after installing the video amp (still had it from my MAME days).

Cause it's more expensive(and time consuming) to find/buy a PUB and getting shipped to me, ship to and pay someone to program it then ship it back to me.

Tried in compatibility mode with a usb-serial converter (COM1) and cant even make the software start. Can’t see the com port. I am back to my initial plan.

I am happy to report that I am now on v2.21.

My usb-to-serial adapter doesn’t work in Win 10. Luckily the computer MB i bought to build a NUCORE had a built in COM PORT. I just installed windows 10, hooked it up to the machine and did the fupdate method. Took a few tries but got it going.

Game is much more fun now.

I may build the NUCORE just to have a backup but i don’t plan on using it.

Where? There's nothing on your website...

Agreed.

Extra ball lights with the sweeps but not in the scintillation attract mode. It's not just you.

Not sure if was lit in the original software attract mode.

Agree that it's a bit fast, especially for folks still running incandescent lights (like me). They barely start to come on before they go off. It gives a very dim attract mode.

I suppose the setting for bulb check instead of being "ON/OFF" could be renamed to "LED bulbs - YES/NO". If yes then disable the check and have a fast attract mode. If no, leave the bulb check ON have a slow attract mode. something like that.. I'm not sure how complex that would be to code.

I think what the OP is suggesting is having a way to indicate which shots have been made (or not made) on Secret Weapon. Right now you have to keep track mentally of which shots you still have to complete in order to get the saucer light.

Yeah on most modern games you will have some indication of what shot remains to be hit, especially when there is a goal or a reward for hitting them all.

Having coins disappear once hit would certainly help, even though the outside loops don’t have coins.

The game is in the queue to get shopped. It is dirty. However it seems a bit dimmer now with the updated code because of how fast the bulbs turn on and off. It seems a LITTLE fast.

Personally I don’t care about the attract mode anyway lol.

I say turn it off or suck it up buttercup!! It’s your choice to enable it.

If I’m in the mood to go far I start with happy hour. Just to get it out of the way. I usually fail miserably lol. My brain can’t do it. My gf can for some reason. Damn those people with artistic brains.

Can't wait to be able to buy it!

I am a tester/early adopter and also got my kit this week. I installed it today and it was fairly simple but I have Lots of soldering experience and the correct tool for idc connectors.

If you lack the experience or tools to do this correctly then this beta version probably isn’t for you...

Yep!

And a decent soldering iron / desoldering tool or iron.. the flipper boards have solder where the led’s go.. so remove solder then install led’s.

Stop copying me!

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Nice!

NO!

Actually it needs to be the .100 version. I used that one(.156) and caused probs.. bad contact. Will have to redo both ends.

For folks wondering about the 6-ball trough. I installed mine. Took maybe 30-45 mins including the soldering time - it's only 4 LEDs. You should have a decent soldering iron(w/ temp control) so as to not damage the opto boards when soldering the optos. Make sure you install them in the correct orientation. There is a flat side on the LEDs that has to align with the flat side of the mask on the board (the white printed text/symbols on the board).

The connectors are IDC type connectors so having the correct insertion tool (.100) will definitely help. I used the larger one (.156) and ended up with intermittent connection issues. Re-did them using the back of an exactor blade and although not perfect it's good enough and works ok. However if I wiggle the wires I get intermittent connection. I haven't had issues in game play though. I will eventually re-do the connectors most likely with regular (non-idc) connectors and pins.

I have to say that add-a-ball feature going to 6-balls during the various multiballs is a lot of fun!!

I have yet to try midnight madness but I did get to Mothership multiball and Attack Mars multiball. Once again, 6-ball multiball is FUN!!!

Folks (like me) that requested the drunk flipper mode to revert to normal when starting multiballs during Martian Happy Hour will get their wish in v2.22. I totally understand applejuice now when he said it would be confusing. It is.. There is no pause between the switching of the modes when reverting from multiball back to Martian Happy Hour. As you are playing and the second last ball drains, the flippers revert back to drunk (reversed) while you are playing that last ball. Freaky. But I still prefer that than trying to do Martian Multiball or regular multiball with reversed flippers lol.

The power drain feature is friggin awesome. I had some pinheads over last night and their opinion of RFM just sky-rocketed. They knew it as a shallow and easy game. They were blown away with the new features that applejuice has brought to the game. One of them wants to buy my game now lol. errrrr. no.

Thanks to applejuice for keeping the RFM community alive!!

Don’t you mean de$irable??
Lol

Wondering if anyone can help me with this..

My RFM runs fine on the original PC.

However, I am setting up a Nucore/Pinbox computer (with ArcadeVGA) to run my RFM with the original CRT. Game runs fine but I am having resolution issues. The visuals are running at 640x480 but the CRT (and game) is meant to be at 640x240. I get an over-stretched/folded over image. Runs fins on a LCD but I really don't want to swap as my CRT is crisp, super bright, and has zero burn-in.

I need to get this up and running properly since I have a SWEP1 pf on the way and paying 500$ USD for a used SWEP1 prism card is ridiculous...

I know other folks have had the same problem resolved but nobody seems to post the fix they have applied.

I have the "other" version of Nucore since I can't find a complete official Nucore installation (missing specific Nucore ROMS).

I just can't get it to change resolution. I can boot to the desktop on the installation CD and access the hard drive and edit the scripts. I've tried tweaking the autostart script with the xrandr command but nothing seems to work. It doesn't actually load the script it seems when it starts.

I shouldn't even have to run the 15khz scripts as the VGA port ArcadeVGA ONLY runs at 15khz anyway and has built-in support for 640x240. I just need to force the resolution into 640x240 but can't find how to do it.

xrandr doesn't even work when I quit out of Pinbox to the terminal. says 'cannot load screen' or something like that. Seems like X11 is not loaded at all with the Pinbox version of the Nucore system.

I've just ordered a SWEP1 daughter card. I'll do it the official way I guess. FML

Finally got it running by being persistent. Nucore setup. Followed the instructions from the Nucore forum. Now if I can only get the software update feature to work... SWE1 is on v0.40 on nucore.

Well the nucore setup runs both. I started with RFM. Which I can’t seem to update either. I had tried what you suggested with the update folder. Nucore just restarts a bunch of times but in the end the software is still the old version.

I also tried with your update program but I kept getting errors (ssh error-2). I was trying through my wired network (Nucore was connected to the router). I then noticed in your support notes you mention a crossover cable but I don't have one. Ordered on Amazon and will try again once it arrives.

Already did that(delete nvram). There were no folders in the update folder so I created them. I will take a pic later today of the folder structure and content and add it here.

Nucore also has the ability to update from a USB but I tried 4 different USB sticks formatted to FAT32 as directed and none of them came up as readable by Nucore. And yes I rebooted with the USB stick installed so Linux could mount it before nucore tried to access it. I have direct access to the USB sticks from the file manager so that's a nucore issue.

Not being to update RFM sucks since I have the 6-ball trough setup...

I have your 2.23 running on my original hardware.

I had a typo in the update sub-folder. I had named it SWE1_14 instead of SWEP1_14. As well, I only tried updating RFM with your loader and not directly in nucore. I will try both those after work today.

FINALLY!!! SUCCESS!!

It WAS swe1_14 for the folder name. Got it up and running and I see that RFM also updated (generated the update.bin file).

Now just to hook up the amp and I'm set. I know somewhere on Pinside there's instructions to get the horizontal alignment better adjusted. I'm ever so slightly too much to the left and the remote adjustment pot is maxed out.

All done. All working. I can now swap quickly between the 2 games.

In the end here is the list of things I needed/used: My old home theatre computer (with NVMe SSD) and associated power supply, ArcadeVGA card, bracket with external COM and PARALLEL ports that plug into the motherboard, 3 channel audio amp and power supply, 3.5mm to RCA cable, video amp (was already installed on my original hardware), and lot's of patience for the Linux/Nucore setup.

Things I bought that I didn't really need but wanted: NOS SWEP1 and RFM translites from PPS. My RFM translite was cracked and brittle.

Here are the things I bought out of sheer frustration and impatience and that I now have absolutely no use for: 2 x computers (mobo, ram, cpu, ps), 1 computer case, SWEP1 daughter card with ROMS(keeping so I can use with original hardware if I choose to revert), VGA-->CGA converter board.

One of the motherboards IS running Pinbox on a small SSD if anyone is interested. I just couldn't get it to play nice with the CRT but if you want to run a regular monitor it runs fine. Not sure how to update the RFM or SWEP1 software on there though as there is no graphical interface for linux and I suck at it. To get it running you would need a power supply and serial & parallel port connectors (like this https://amzn.to/2UYKtUh ) and a video card if you don't want to use the on-board video. I paid 90$ for this mobo/cpu/ram on eBay. You can have it for the same price + shipping and I'll include the SSD.

I just re-converted a swep1 playfield back to incandescent. It was poorly LED’d.. seizure city. Looks nicer now. I assume it’s the same for rfm. I keep my rfm incandescent..

This applies to any used game not just this one.

Maybe it's just me but... If you're going to claim that a 21 yr old game is HUO you need to prove it. Otherwise it means nothing. You can call it pristine, mint, etc. It doesn't have to be HUO to be super nice.

Number of games can be reset by anyone at any time anyway so it doesn't mean much.

How did you fix the LED flickering?

I re-read what I posted. I sound like a db lol. What I meant was HUO gets thrown around so much but really means nothing. The condition of the game will speak for itself.

I am however curious about led flickering. Did you solve it? I ended up converting both P2K games BACK to incandescent I just couldn’t deal with the seizure inducing flicker.

Just bought a big box(100) of 555's and a few small boxes(10) of 44's from my local parts vendor. They had them in stock. Hadn't bought enough 44's but I had a bunch of used ones on hand from my STTNG LED conversion.

Here's one for applejuice

I was running RFM on the original hardware (v2.22). Switched to Nucore when I bought a SWEP1 pf.

After playing with SWEP1 for a while I decided to switch back to RFM on my Nucore (not Pinbox) setup. Upgraded to v1.5 using the update folder and deleteing the nvram files. No issues. Worked like a charm.

Did the same procedure for v2.22. Nucore is now stuck in a restart loop.

I have restarted/tried this many times. Same result. No I am not forgetting to delete nvram or update files. Nucore can't seem to run the 2.22 for whatever reason.

Also. I have tried updating with your software just for shits & giggles. It will simply NOT connect. I keep getting SSH error -2.

Once again I tried troubleshooting. I even tried with regular network cable, crossover cable, fixed IP on both the laptop and nucore box, the passwords/usernames are correct. IP and subnet masks are good. Tried while the game is running, tried with the emulator off. Nothing works.

BINGO!

Thanks for that I wouldn't have thought to try it.

Thank god too. Couldn't make use of my 6-ball mod. Also it's too easy on the regular code. Played ONE game of v1.5 and Attacked Mars and won. Now not so much lol.

All cleaned and waxed I just finished shopping the pf while it was out for SWEP1. Game is so fast and sparkly/bright. Check out the crud I had under the inserts.

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Sounds like you turned on party mode - drunk flippers in the settings. There are 2 places in the settings for drunk flippers. One for the mode itself, and the other is party mode which reverses flippers all the time.

The whole lexan shield moves back and triggers a switch that’s right behind the spot I circled. Go into switch test and move the plastic “wall” back to see if it triggers.

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Shopped mine out a few weeks ago. So bright and fast now. I've beaten it 3 times since the shop out. Only beat it once before since I had bought it in May. Kinda takes the fun out actually. I know I can change some settings to make it more difficult but then my gf will have a harder time enjoying it.

My strategy when I want to kick it's ass is start with Martian Happy Hour. Get that damn reversed flipper mode out of the way from the start.

LOL yes... My gf hates drunk flippers and I’ve offered to turn them off but she is stubborn and wants to master it.

Let me state that on all my games I set 4 levels of replay(auto-adjusting), replays and specials award extra balls, no limit (or max available) on extra balls.

However I can’t seem to beat the 300m minimum score for Attack Mars.

Same.. And we don't have a grey monitor outline reflection to stare at all the time

May I ask what made you decide to do that? I just converted mine to Nucore and I find the videos and animations play so much smoother and faster now and without compression artifacts. I just find it looks way better. Wondering if I missed something....

I do have an issue about once every 10 times I turn on the machine the video won’t come up. Off & on and then it’s good. Pretty sure it’s an ArcadeVGA issue in my case.

Wow that would be so confusing. Already confusing enough to have them reversed but then have them switch while playing would be bad I think. You could just turn them off in the settings and be done with it.

It's already massively confusing if you start Martian multiball during Martian Happy Hour. The flippers revert back to normal during the multiball, then go back to reversed without warning once you are down to 1 ball.

Martian Happy Hour is the name of the mode. The flippers are reversed the whole time during that mode if enabled in the settings.

Not sure it’s the right version bit here goes.

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The post/plunger is magnetized. Owner can either:
- Live with it and hit the flippers to release the ball
- Replace plunger with a new one
- Remove the plunger and use a demagnetizer. I just did last week and it works.

It’s a common issue. The jump ramp “sticking” up also happens for the same reason. I demagnetized both and now both work correctly.

It’s a minor annoyance. I wouldn’t replace it. Played mine using flippers to release for months.

https://www.amazon.com/HHIP-3401-0602-Heavy-Demagnetizer-115V-Single/dp/B00N40U4GS/ref=sr_1_1

Not cheap but it certainly did work super well for me. Not sure if would work well for magnetized balls. I may try it for shits and giggles eventually. I just wanted to demagnetize plungers (2 on RFM and 1 on STTNG). Being in Canada it wasn't really a whole lot cheaper to buy new plungers cause we get killed on shipping rates from the US and customs fees at the border. The demagnetizer was free shipping with Amazon with no surprises. And I get to use it again on whatever else needs de be demagnetized

Yeah I’m at the point where I just buy the right tool for the job. Also bought an air stapler (22 gauge) for pinball restoration. Good for ground braid and other places they used staples.

Yes the hobby is expensive!!

2 likely reasons:
1- you installed them in reverse polarity. The notch in the lens had to match the notch on the ink mask on the boards
2- you installed them in reverse type(receiver/sender)

Dude. Nobody is telling you that you can't design your own mods and share them for free with the world. Go ahead knock yourself out.

Having the gall to ask a mod designer/company to help/explain how to copy his mod is certainly odd.

There are hundreds of shops selling mods on here. Most are 3D printed and/or arduino controlled. None of those shops share the 3D files or the arduino code. If you asked them to they'd tell you to get lost a lot more aggressively than what you've seen here.

Folks want to get compensated for the time and effort put into designing their addons. It's just common sense.

I use a regular “bent plastic” from pinball life. I put the bend downward into the BG groove with the BG already locked in place. It’s a tight fit but works great.

P.S. I apologize for the SWEP1 pf sitting in my RFM lol. I know it's blasphemous.. The GF was in a SW mood this week.

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Welcome!

The best thing you can do is get the 2.22 custom code from mypinballs.com.

It brings the game to a whole other level.

If the on-board battery dies(or is replaced) on the PRISM daughter board that's the version you end up with.

As far as updating you can download the current roms from PPS. To update through the COM port as designed you will need to get the software from mypinballs.com which works on current computers. Otherwise the Wms software needs to run on an old Win95 laptop from 20 years ago....

However if you are going to update might as well get the awesome roms from mypinballs.com as well. it's on v2.22 right now with the next version in beta testing. Adds many things and makes the game more balanced.

You can update any time. If you replace the battery it resets so you update again.

Yes. Works great!

Looks pristine but keep in mind that audits can be reset at any time and/or are reset when the battery is replaced. You can go into detailed audits and see actual dates. Mine went back to 2005 when I got it last year.

1. Haven't noticed on mine will check later
2. Ideal is original CRT with a video amp but a modern 22" widescreen monitor may be better than what you have. LCD will always show a grey monitor outline on the glass. CRT does not as it's completely black in the unused parts. There's fanboys for both options(CRT vs LCD) in this thread lol.
3. P2k is not supported by LED-OCD. Mine is all incandescent I prefer that look and functionality.
4. You need SOME light. Not everybody plays in a lit room. That's what hypnobeam does. All lights off except for the spiral image.

Welcome to the club!

Nope. The one that shows when certain features were activated like martian multiball, attack mars, etc. All those dates you are showing (1999) are the default after battery change (full reset).

Audits don't matter your game is in amazing condition (SOL hole is good reference).

LOL just noticed your audits are from the past but you are in the future!!! 26 hours into the future to be exact!!

You can get a Nucore/Pinbox replacement computer.

Switching to a Nucore/Pinbox computer will fix that.

I was also on the original hardware. I thought it wasn't stuttering until I upgraded to Nucore. It really is much nicer.

I run it on the original CRT as well.

If by upgrades you mean a replacement computer running Nucore they aren't being sold. Sometimes one will come up on Pinside but it's pretty rare. You have to build it yourself and get intimate with Linux to set it up. Once it's done however you never have to mess with it again.

Split the power going into the computer. It's already switched.

You can make a modern PC running nucore. I suck at Linux and made it work. A bit of time googling and you should find all that you need. Nucore is free now but no support. If you go on their website and search the forums there you will find the installation files and instructions to run on 64-bit Ubuntu. Can't remember the version but it's still available. You could also run Pinbox which was a 'stolen' version of Nucore however it needs very specific older hardware to run on - I never got it to work nicely with ArcadeVGA. I have that motherboard/HD with Pinbox available. No video card.

The only issues you will have is the need to convert the VGA signal from a modern PC into CGA. You can buy converters - I have one unused but don't know how well it works as it's never been used! lol

Or if you can find an ArcadeVGA card somewhere you could just use that directly with the original monitor.

I also have a complete original P2000 PC(without the case) that was working when pulled a few months ago running RFM 2.22. I no longer have the game however so can't test. Was thinking of throwing it on eBay. Have a spare NIB CPU fan, spare ROM board battery, separator tool, SWEP1 ROM daughterboard, as well as a spare NIB Power supply.

And to get it working on 64-bit:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get update -yq
sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libsdl-image1.2:i386 libstdc++5:i386 libvorbisfile3:i386 -yq

You can find those on the illegal Pinbox installation. You're a self-proclaimed geek so you can find what you need.

Yes you need a parallel port but remember that quite a few MB support it but do not include the external connector. Look for the LPT connection on the board. I used a super small (32gb) ssd to make it load fast. Worked great.

I had the opposite. Could not get Pinbox to play nicely with AVGA but Nucore/Unbuntu was a breeze (64 bit too).

IDC connectors suck and you may be getting intermittent contact with the wires you added to them. I had that issue. Wiggle the wires on both plugs in switch test and see what happens.

selling my P2K computer parts:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/112794

I had 2.22 running on nucore/ubuntu 18.04 at 64bit. Just followed the instructions from the nucore forums.

I suck at linux so I can’t help much. Took me a few days of tinkering to get everything working well.

I got it working (nucore) on 18.04 by following the instructions at the top of this post:
http://www.bigguyspinball.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1179

Further down there is instructions on getting it to work on x64:
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get update -yq
sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libsdl-image1.2:i386 libstdc++5:i386 libvorbisfile3:i386 -yq

While an advanced PC user I know next to nothing in linux and it worked for me. It was a newer build. Can't remember what I used exactly other than it was a 64-bit intel system, probably 7th or 8th gen i5, and an ArcadeVGA card. The game has been sold so I can't check. You do need the rom files from the pinbox setup to get nucore going.

I never did get Pinbox to work properly but I'm glad I had it so I could extract the required rom files

For the updates I would just download the update files on a USB stick, put those files in the update folder on the nucore box, delete the NVRAM files, and reboot. The update process was seamless (once I figured out the naming nomenclature).

Ppl should really take the time to read what the code does if they are taking the time to install it.

You can turn it off in settings if you don’t like it.

But the connectors are wired different internally.

Standard width cabinet but slightly shorter playfield and cab.

Not sure about current draw but be aware you can't just add sockets. ALL the lights (including GI) on a Pin2k are matrixed. If you just add a socket(LED or incandescent doesn't matter) in parallel without a diode you will short rows/columns. I'm also not sure what effect having extra sockets/diodes in parallel will have on the matrix. Parallel connections have interesting effects on resistance values - not sure about what it does to the effectiveness of diodes in this kind of circuit. Maybe someone with an electrical engineering background can chime in...

Even if you wire just 1 extra socket to an existing bulb it will short the row and column that lamp is on. Believe me I know. I had to un-mess up a game I got where the previous owner wired a small LED strip to one lamp socket. Not only was that light now shorted on all the time but all the lamps on that row & column were messed up and turning on when they shouldn't.

The other things to know is the system will report all bulbs as burnt/malfunctioning. So you will always have the permanent credit dot and repeating audio "BONG" of an error. If you are running custom code you can disable the bulb warning.

I did the opposite. Converted both my RFM and SWEP1 playfields to incandescent. Hated the LED flickering and error reporting.

For me swapping was a better option. SW is visually striking and appealing. Game play is very shallow and repetitive. RFM is way more fun/funny. I had it with a Nucore computer so it was simply swapping the shooter & pf and had it down to about 5 mins. I had RFM in about 90% of the time. Would only swap for guests or once in a while to change things up for a short time.

On an original P2K you have:
- AC Power to the PC.
- AC Power to the monitor.
- Audio connection to cabinet speaker.
- DB25 to driver board.
- DB9 to front of cab inside coin door.

Those are the connections between the cab and backbox.

Do you have authentic p2k glass and is it installed correctly(correct side up)? Seems like the reflection you would get from both sides of regular glass or a p2k glass installed incorrectly. If authentic p2k glass there is a sticker at the bottom that indicates “this side up”.

BTW there will always be a little bit of a double reflection. The brighter the image the more noticeable it will be. The playfield being unlit in this case would make it appear worse.

Bad ground on the driver board.

you connected all the wires from the cab to the head? You should have 2 pc cables(9 and 25 pin), and 2 power cables(1 to pc and 1 to monitor), and finally the ground strap.

Did you try the “emergency” pc power button? Remove backglass. It’s the red button on the side of the PC case. Obviously the main switch has to be on as well.