I have to say every rottendog flipper board I've ever tried behaves this way. It's like the hold power never works. Hopefully this doesn't sour you up on their other products, many of which are decent.

Yes, this is indeed a problem for a batch we had built about 6 m
onths ago. The flipper will actuate, but the hold will not work. Our test fixture would not pick up the failure.

Sorry to all that got these boards. We are trying to replace all of them. Contact us if you have this problem.

Jim Knight
256 677 5300

Jim, is there a fix we can apply here to the boards?

Jim, did you manage to pinpoint the problem with the assembler? Out of spec part(s)? Bad assembly practices?

I really am curious.

Thanks,

RussMyers

The pre-drive transistor was wrong value. It should be a 2N3906 (I think). I will pick up the exact transistor number at the shop tomorrow and post again.

My build house asked me if they could substitute and I said yes...... It was my fault not anyone else's!

Look for tomorrow's post to know the exact part. We will fix for free though if you send us the board.

Jim Knight
256 677 5300

Look forward to the post - I've got this issue too but being based in the UK seems a right pain to post it back overseas

That makes a lot of sense from the behavior.

Good job sussing it out and getting it fixed. It happens.

As an old QA guy, there is no test bed like the real thing.

I'll be buying another one now that it's fixed, count on that.

RussMyers

Just got my flipper board in the mail yesterday for my DE Batman. Doing the same thing. Flippers not staying up and like rapid fire. I will be contacting Jim and sending it in for repair as well.

Get the exact specs for the type and location of the incorrect transistors - they should be cheap and easy to replace for anyone with basic electronic repair skills.

RM

Indeed the correct value/type of transistor for Q1, Q2 and Q3 should be 2N3906.
We have reworked about 40 of these flipper boards. We did however just receive a call today from someone who is returning one for me to look at.

Jim Knight
256 677 5300

I sent my flipper board in week and a half ago for fixing. Still waiting to hear about status of the repair and when it will be shipped back. I know I'm getting impatient. Hard to wait when you wait a few weeks to get a part in to fix a game and then now wait to get the part you bought fixed to fix your game. I will post when it is back and working again.

Got back my board and Jim fixed it right! My third RD board and all have worked great. I highly recommend them. Good product and great customer service. I will make sure to introduce myself to Jim at the Ohio Pinball Show.

GREAT news!!

Just installed RD flipper board in TFTC and have The same problem pinsiders had 3years ago. Don't know If it still a bad batch problem but it sucks.

F1fuse burn 5 sec after booting The game

I Sent them an email. I hope I can fix it myself
Lou

image_(resized).png

Looks like your dips are not right.....but I can't get mine working on Simpsons either...

I have the board in JP with no issues. So they can't be all bad?

Your dips need to be set to 001001 for TFTC

My board worked for awhile and then blew fuse 1. Right flipper stayed engaged.I had trouble finding a correct replacement . Jim said to use a f9530n transistor . Looks like this thread had different info on correct transistor to use. My broken board was lying around fir awhile. I have not tested the repaired board yet. I did not know there was a defect until I read this thread.

I just got a RD flp023 board and right flipper locked and fuse 1 blew.

I have this rotten dog board as well, the original board has problems,
so I put the rottendog in my WWF Royal Rumble on the lower flippers and it did the rapid fire flippers.
I then put it in my TMNT pinball and it worked fine, so I then put the TMNT one in my WWF Royal Rumble and it was then fine.

Thanks so much everyone. That we may have wrong transistors in their Rottendog FLP023 data east boards. I am helping a friend with his star wars machine. He also had bought one of these boards from them Rottendog FLP023. That has 2n5401 transistor for q1, q2, q3 on his. I will change them to 2n3906 for him. His q8 (IRF9530) is shorted, blowing f 3. I can fix both problems at the same time, and double check his flipper coil too.
thanks

I’ve got the same issue as above.

It looks like the q1, q2 and q3 transistors are still being shipped with the wrong transistors in them or I got an “old batch” board! The board I got has 2n5401 installed instead of the 2n3906.

I just purchased my “new board” in August 18 from K’s Arcade with 2n5401 installed. It worked for 3 months then F3 started to blow yesterday and after testing q8 it’s shorted apparently because of this issue. So disappointing to get something brand new and to not have the correct parts and take a crap on you after a few months.

I’m going to contact them and see if we can get this resolved quickly it would of been nice to have my game operational for Thanksgiving.

I have the same issue of the right flipper holding then blowing fuse F1. I had Q1, Q2, and Q3 changed but still have the same issue. Any advice?

Just adding on I have a board in a JP. Left flipper locks on, right flipper was machine gunning (cleaning cabinet switches, EOS, and reseating connector seemed to clear that up), and upper right flipper does not hold.

Is there a comparable product made by someone else? Rather get something else than deal with this thing based on everyone else’s comments.

Sad to report I had the same issue with my rottendog flipper board. Incorrect Q1/Q2/Q3 transistors. If you are reading this and happen to buy one of these boards...definitely check. They should be 2n3906. Even though my board was from 2018, it still had the issue.

Did it solve the problem after replacing the transistors?
Just curious for when i should buy such board

Haven't replaced them (yet). I ended up with an original DE board which has worked like a champ for the past month.

Waited with baited breathe for a replacement, and it appears to be suffering the same issue

Are these being tested before sent out to customers does anyone know?

I have a FLP023 and have had all sorts of flipper issues. Then f1 (I think, may have been f3) popping and q7 being dead. Replaced it and the game worked for a couple weeks but still seemed like the coils get hot and now problems triggering flippers again. EOS are shorted. That helped with the original issue.

Anyway my board has a sticker that says "MB June 18" and q1 q2 q3 are 2N5401. Should I replace those with the 2n306 and all my issues with go away?

Based on what I have seen on Pinside and experienced myself, I can say with some confidence that the build date doesn’t have any bearing on if it is built correctly or not.

As for if that will fix all your issues...hard to say for sure but seems like a good place to start. Good luck and please report back how you make out.

Swapped the transistors. Still have EOS shorted from before. Found right lower flipper switch was not getting good contact and resolved that. (Previously I had seen the leds indicate all three flippers would be triggering as appropriate. No idea why it stopped this time.)

Played a few games with no apparent issues but the coils do feel a bit warmer than I'd expect. Going to un-short the EOS in the near future then we will have the real test of the 3906 swap...

Just wanted to report back. Not a ton of plays since the changes (subwoofer cuts out and without full pinsound + pinwoofer effects its not as epic to play) but EOS are back to factory. Everything plays well as far as flippers are concerned. So it seems like the 2n3906 does totally fix the weird flipper issues.

Excellent. Glad to hear it.

I have a board that was acting up and I’ll check to see if it was updated with 2n3906 transistors.

Someone had replaced Q7 which is bad. I’m not sure if they used the correct part there. Can someone confirm what Q7 should be?

I did find this schematic for the board:

https://archive.org/details/RottendogAmusementsFLP023Schematics

It shows different transistors than the ones that apparently should be on the board. At least it confirms that all three of the larger transistors should be the same.

Has anyone found another schematic?

Rotendog used to be on pinside. Until they were called out with all their problems. Great Lakes pinball didn’t make it. I got old school flippers boards, for TZ. From a guy in NY. They were made in Australia. Adjustable tension, leds, love them.

Hi all- want to report that I also have a RD FLP023 with q1 q2 q3 being 2n5401's. My board has a build date of Feb 2021.
I'm already out of commission due to my right flipper locking on when a game is started (Q7 is about to melt down). about to send an email out to have them ship me all new parts. Although, now I'm starting to wonder if I should just rebuild my OE board and get my money back for this RD. Starting to wish I'd found this thread first..

Yes, refund. Your original board lasted for many years.

I think the new owners are aware of the issue on some of these and making sure they are are fixed going forward. They are also doing some updates to their website and posting schematics for their boards

LOL
This problem goes back over 9 years.
I do have some Rotten Dog boards. They seem fine. Build quality, they are no Great Lakes boards. My friend has a couple Sega machines and these flipper boards. They are not reliable.

Just installed one of these as well (in Rocky & Bullwinkle) - It works fine. Period.

I have had one in my Jurassic Park for over 2 years, zero problems.

RD did make some dodgy boards, power supply in particular but I can't find fault with the RottenDog DE MPU or displays or this flipper board.

Another issue : the DIP-switch was mounted the wrong way around.
Check that the side marked "on" on the switch is indeed the same side marked "1" on the PCB.

Thank you!
After sending the first one back for an exchange...and working for two days with the 2nd Rottendong Flipper board (replacment).. I saw your post and discovered mine is mounted upside down also. Adjusted the switches opposite of the silkscreening and everything works.

Anyone having problems with the Data East Rottendog flipper board... look at the stamp on the red part of the dip-switch to see if its mounted Right-side-up/upside down.. the setting will need to be opposite what is silkscreen printed on the board itself.

IMG_9897 (resized).jpg

IMG_9945 (resized).jpeg

I added decals over the silkscreen on the board to show the proper instructions.

Strange how all these boards have so many problems. Nice to know information.