"These pinballs are ruining my environment."

I've had my SP for over 10 years; first pin I ever owned.

When you do the wire fix, use some epoxy to attach the arm to the body; that's what I did on mine. It helps.

With regard to Mr. Hanky not staying down, you might need to remove the unit from beneath the playfield and check to see if the catch has been "rounded" from so much use. You might need to use a file to square it. Or it could simply need to be bent back into proper shape/position. (I had the same thing happen to mine, too.)

Congrats on the pick-up, BTW!

Ah OK; here's what you need to do: When you lift up the playfield from it's original position, pull it out toward you as far as it will go (it will slide); then, tilt it all the way back so that it rests on the backbox. If you have the manual, I believe it shows you how to do this. That way, you will have access to the entire bottom of the playfield. It will also make it much easier to get at the drop target that is stuck, and anything else that needs to be looked at for that matter.

(BTW, South Park was my first pin, too, so I had to learn a lot along the way as well.)

You might wish to consider replacing batteries with a NVRAM chip; you won't need to worry about battery leakage (which could damage the board), and you'll never need to replace batteries again.

Glad you got Mr. Hanky working!

Glad to hear that you have resolved your flipper issue. You are correct; the tips do indeed center align with the hole.

Regarding the buzzing, my SP flippers also buzz when they are held (one is a bit louder than the other). As far as I know, this is normal and doesn't seem to affect anything negatively, so all is good.

Nice job on the high score!

No kidding. I think that's why the Stan, Chef, and Kyle shots don't save from ball-to-ball; it's to compensate for the relative simple rule set. Think about it; if you had every shot save, then this game would be way too easy, and everyone would get tired of it very quickly, and bash it even more. I've owned this game since 2004, and I FINALLY accomplished the Volcano for the first time about a week ago! (Not that I play this game every day, but still...)

I have experienced this with guests as well; everyone seems to like the theme, the callouts are great and make everyone laugh. And for all of the grief this game gets from the better pinball players, it's very popular with the general public and gets lots of plays and probably made some decent coin, and that's what pin companies and distributors are in business for, no?

If the higher price is not a bother to you, I would suggest the LCD ColorDMD. With that one you would have the option of having it look like an LED if you wanted to, or have the high resolution look. With LED, you're pretty much locked with that look. $30 difference between the two, so...

Have you checked Ebay? That's where I got mine.

ColorDMD can be ordered online here:

https://www.colordmd.com/Home.html

As far as installation is concerned, if you are reasonably handy, it takes about 10-15 minutes.

South Park was the first pin that I owned; while there were times that it used to drive me absolutely crazy when things would go wrong, I really enjoyed trying to figure out why those things would happen and then go about fixing and repairing them. There was no greater feeling than finding and resolving a problem, and I also learned a great deal about pinball repair from that pin. I no longer own SP (I sold it a couple of months ago for much more than I bought it for!), but I wouldn't trade the time I owned it for anything in the world.

I used to have the same problem when I owned SP. I used to dab a bit of LocTite on it to prevent it from sliding up.

This would seem to be the most likely culprit. The optos could be out of alignment, or might not even be working at all. When I first got my SP, I needed to replace my optos in order to get Kenny to work properly. The ball breaking the beam between the optos should set Kenny off; otherwise, the ball needs to roll over the switch in the tunnel under the playfield to make Kenny work. Go into the Service Portal, then go to the switch test. If you pass a ball or your finger between the optos, you should see an indication on your screen. If it doesn't fire, check the alignment. Also, check to see that the wires are attached to both of the opto boards (one might have come loose). If that doesn't work, it might be time to replace the optos.

Not necessarily. When the "adult" setting is enabled, certain things happen, like when Cartman mode starts, he has the explosive farting. When it's not, it shows "Beefcake". Also, if you wait too long to launch a ball on your turn, it's possible to hear the bus driver say, "What all you all starin' at?", after which one of the characters might say "Shut up, b*tch!"; needless to say, this will not be heard when adult speech is off. Another thing that I can think of is if you have it set for coin play, and you press start without having put in coins, you will hear the bus driver say, "How'd you like to suck my a**?" One more thing is the slings will fart when Terrence and Phillip have been collected, otherwise they just laugh.

I think I have a set still lying around here. I'll take a look. I would let 'em go for less than $40. Honestly, I put them in, saw what they were about, and then took them right out. The code is not complete, so some things don't work as they should. The only thing that's very different is that there is a "carpet munching mode" (really!); If I remember correctly, it's a flipper race. I don't remember how to set it off, but it's there. Definitely not for kids.

I think you have to use an LED that is specifically an opto receiver or transmitter; a regular LED won't work. Check the manual for a part number.

I no longer own SP (or any Whitewater, for that matter), but if memory serves, there is a potentiometer on the board that can adjust the 5V. I had this same thing happen on the Monopoly that I owned at the time, and that fixed the problem.

I would recommend that you test that switch by rolling a ball over it. Sometimes you are able to trip a switch with your finger, but not with a ball. If this is indeed the case, then a height adjustment would be in order.

Another thing that you might consider is foam insulation strips, like what you might use around an air conditioner. You can get them in varying widths, or even trim it down to size. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes.

If you still have batteries in your game, I would check around that area for battery corrosion. Sometimes you can't even see it, as it will creep behind sockets and such.

Getting to and finishing Volcano is a challenge. I had my SP several years before I finally got it, and then wound up completing it twice in the same week! It takes practice to master all of the shots. Stick with it; you'll get there!

I no longer own SP, but I seem to remember a similar issue. You might want to check the switch midway on the tunnel leading from Kenny to Cartman's VUK. I think after hitting the Kenny shot, that switch needs to be thrown so that Cartman doesn't register. Your problem may lie there.

I can confirm that. I bought the roms out of curiosity. Played it for a bit, then switched back. The other thing to keep in mind is that those roms are incomplete code.

^^^This. It was interesting to see the "carpet-munching mode", but other than that, totally not worth the time or effort. So much is missing from this incomplete code. I can say if you do get the chips, it will be short order before you return to the regular ones.

If anyone is interested, I have a set of the South Park 0.90 "profanity chips" that I will be bringing to Allentown.

$40 for the set; PM me if interested.