OK your lucky, the stencil is made for the thin one, I have a thick one and if I ever want to do mine it's a major pain to fix and even then it's not correct.

I HAVE THE POWER! *ahem* oops. But YEAH - 29 days after I did its acquisition self-test and then turned it off and began ripping it apart - including rebuilding the power boards and MPU lamp matrix - I finally held my breath, plugged it in and hit the switch...

PowerON.jpg

I didn't let the magic smoke escape, and HOLY CARP those LED's are BRIGHT! As my wife said, "we could use this thing to guide the real Shuttle for landing" LOL. Of course in my excitement I didn't get a better pic, much less one with all the attract lights on. It's dazzling....

But reality sets in and I have a few things to work on, yet:

1) One pop bumper does not light. (Connections look good, I have continuity and diodes test consistent). Ugh - KISS method. I did check the bulb (actually an LED cap mod) socket, but I didn't swap it around... after doing that, it works.

2) Another does not fire. (Mechanically, switch is fine and connected well. I suspect a transistor. Oddly enough, the seller pointed this out and I got it working when I got it home, but now it's out again). EDIT: WELL this is an issue, the PO's had a bear of a time with it and left me some landmines to find: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/trolled-by-a-diode-please-help-sys9-space-shuttle#post-2026670

3) U|S|A lane switches seem flaky. (The physical switches are good; they register but you have to "hold" them, it seems. Again, I suspect a transistor). I still know there is a flaky matrix transistor out there, but these work better after cleaning them with a business card.

4) I rebuilt both flippers with a kit. The right one works great! The left one seems to "bounce" or "pulse" or "fire twice". EOS set the same as the right. If anything, I would have thought the right one would be problematic since the coil was stressed but nope, it's the left one...? Double-checked my solder connection where I added a cap... it was just a little wiggly. No more, and no more stuttering.

5) Left sling switches did not register their numbers on the diag test, BUT they do cause the kicker to fire as they should...? cleaned the contacts and now register scores.

6) After running attract mode for a while, the white pf bonus grid lights started getting wonky - instead of spelling "Space shuttle" they began getting kind of random...?

7) The 3-drop target bank does not reset. It had this problem before, so I inspected and thoroughly cleaned the unit, and it feels much smoother by hand. The coil does fire, but does not push the targets up. The coil seemed OK during the rebuild (sleeve was not binding but I replaced it anyway, coil not scorched, etc).

8] Bell does not work at all. And something about it just doesn't seem right to me, I can't understand how it would work as currently configured. Seems the striker's spring tension is a bit much against that tiny little coil, and it pushes the switch normally closed so how would it ever be triggered in the first place? Can anyone share a photo of theirs?Got a photo below that proved mine was a bit mangled. Aligned everything to match the photo and DING!

9) Still seem to hear a bit of high-pitched static in the backbox speaker, which changes depending on the # of pf lamps illuminated. I've cleaned and grounded everything "obvious" (board mounts, cap replacements, etc). Anything else I should look for?Apparently some noise here is typical, and after re-routing the speaker wires in the backbox, away from the GI and other power wires, it's actually really quiet... almost silent until EVERY lamp is on. I can live with that.

I do know I have a couple transistors to replace on the MPU board, yet - but Great Plains was on their end-of-month break so my order didn't ship until tonight. Still... does any of the above register to anyone, as far as typical things to check?

Can diodes be checked reliably in-circuit or do they need to be removed (I have replacements on order)...?

_{Post edited by goingincirclez: Follow-up when I has the solutionz}

Yeah i saw the earlier thread about that. What a P.i.t.a !!!!

Check to make sure the reset plate is not bent or missing, check to make sure reset spring is not missing or completely worn out.

7) The 3-drop target bank does not reset. It had this problem before, so I inspected and thoroughly cleaned the unit, and it feels much smoother by hand. The coil does fire, but does not push the targets up. The coil seemed OK during the rebuild (sleeve was not binding but I replaced it anyway, coil not scorched, etc).
----In my experience drop targets don't always go up in test mode but work fine in game mode.

8] Bell does not work at all. And something about it just doesn't seem right to me, I can't understand how it would work as currently configured. Seems the striker's spring tension is a bit much against that tiny little coil, and it pushes the switch normally closed so how would it ever be triggered in the first place? Can anyone share a photo of theirs?
----In my experience I had to sand the closed switch and sometimes bend it tighter to work.

9) Still seem to hear a bit of high-pitched static in the backbox speaker, which changes depending on the # of pf lamps illuminated.
--seems kinda normal but make sure all boards are screwed tight in back box

abell.jpg

Hmm, that's interesting. I haven't played a game yet but I'll keep this in mind after I check SuperBee's suggestion.

Thank you for that photo! I wanted to know what a working one looks like before I took mine apart. Mine looks significantly less "squared" than that, the contacts are all bent to one side... but are closed like yours. Looks like a dissection is on tap...

Yeah, everything is nice and clean and tight. And it's quieter than it was before, even silent when there aren't too many lights on... I just don't know if it should be absent entirely, especially since I switched to LEDs.

Well wouldn't you know it... there is no spring there! Thing is though, I'm not sure by looking at it, where it would go? Seemed to me that that way the coil is oriented, it would suck in the plunger and reset the targets that way by lifting them - no spring assistance necessary since the targets drop by gravity, and click into place once raised.

I guess I was wrong. Can you provide a pic or diagram?

Run a piece of wire from GROUND to the NON BANDED SIDE OF THE DIODE on the bell coil.

It's going to be loud, so don't get startled and hit your head on the playfield.

AAAAAAUUUUGH WHY DID I USE ALL MY EARPLUGS ON THE PF RESTORE??? #44 BULBS DON'T MAKE GOOD Q-TIPS....

Thanks for the concern for my hearing and gloriously bald dome. In the end, Pindel's photo set me right, as my brackets and the striker were just way out of whack. I suspect a PO had juggernauted them to silence the bell permanently, and that small coil is nearly inaudible on its own.

Update on this, after tracking the issue back to the power driver with the help of a friend I got a new Xpin power driver board and that brought the displays back up.

Now I just have to figure out what's up with the lights on the backbox, but I have a few things I want to try there. The 5A fuse on the white/green wire that runs to the lights keeps blowing so I've got to track down what's causing it.

Fun fact, if you want to tone the bell down a good bit, ball up some old towels or socks and tape em to the inside of the bell.

Blasphemer. The neighbors need to hear my shuttle values being scored.

The bell is the best damned part of this game.

Ok I need some help. The fuse I've pulled out here keeps blowing. It's the third one down that the white/green wire connects to from pin 8 on 3J10, through the fuse and on to the center cluster of lights on the backbox.

I checked the voltage across all four fuses. I'm getting like .15 - .20 on the ones that aren't blowing. The one that keeps blowing is getting about 6.6 V AC. Any ideas?

image-75.jpg

Sounds like pin 8 is getting to much juice, may be a board problem.

Any broken bulbs or loose sockets on that string of lights?

Are any wires pinched when the display board is closed near the hinge?

After a month or so of play, here are my thoughts:

• Hardest Shot Award - Center Ramp. I just can't reliably hit it from the left flipper, and have probably <50% success rate with the right. It's at such a weird angle (straight) that the shots often don't make it all the way up, or hit the bordering rubber posts bouncing off.
• Easiest Shot Award - Spinner lane. I can reliably hit it from either flipper, and routinely hit all three drop targets from the right flipper, re-opening the airlock. I love this shot.
• Most Rewarding Aspect - Resetting the award with the right ramp. You just don't see it too often on tables where random awards are given. If you don't like the 50K award? Change it!
• Least Rewarding Aspect - The right ramp. It has the extra ball light when 7x is lit or 7,000 spinner value, but I wish it did a little more. I wish the award reset was a target below the ramp and the ramp itself did something else.
• Most Annoying Aspect - Ball length. The table is a killer. Games can be over in less than 60 seconds. First balls can be <10K at times. I don't hate it; it's just annoying.
• Oddest Design Decision - SHUTTLE scoring. Sure, you can change its value, but lighting anything other than hold bonus and extra ball is just not worth it. Spelling SHUTTLE isn't always easy. Pulling down 50K for doing so is just weak. The lower values (first four lights in my opinion) should always be changed. There's just no reason to ever shoot for them.
• Highest Score So Far - 2.8 million. Extra ball is not too difficult to achieve. I shall look into the settings in the manual to advance the difficulty of getting the extra balls, or limiting it as a SHUTTLE award.

Overall, it's a thrill to play! I'm glad I picked it up and brought it back from the dead. My playfield is rough (and potentially warped slightly on the bottom right, I'm noticing) but I don't mind. It's a good table to practice aim, I've found.

One question after looking through the manual. Setting 4:36 gives me the choice to either light the pop bumpers one at a time per completion of the 3-bank drop targets, or light all of them after the first completion. Does this affect anything other than aesthetics? I can't find any reason this is an option at all.

Lighted pops score more points

Ah! I had no idea. I shall set it on light only one after the bank is dropped. Thanks!

I adjusted my pop bumpers tonight. The right one was dull, barely pluging the ball. The bottom one wouldn't trigger from the front. Messed with the right one only to have it fire repeatedly when it was struck. The switch wasn't closed, but it was close enough, I guess, for it to flutter after being hit and retrigger itself. I had to place two spacer washers beneath the mounting bracket against the playfield to give it a little more room to stay open. Once i did that, worked perfectly. Adjusted the cup on the other one and they're amazing now. Far fewer balls going straight down the middle out of the pops.

I settled on the following options:

• Special: Score points
• Replay: 1,200,000
• Replay: Score points instead of credit
• Bumpers: light single after dropped the 3-bank
• Frequency of extra ball on SHUTTLE: Not Often (8)
• Frequency of SPECIAL on SHUTTLE: Not Often (5)
• All other settings default

Finally got my Space Shuttle down into the mancave. Its finally fully up and running. Needs a little tweaking but should have it fully dialed in fairly quickly.

Newmarket-20141109-00483.jpg

Newmarket-20141109-00484.jpg

Newmarket-20141109-00485.jpg

Newmarket-20141109-00486.jpg

That looks great, well worth the effort. Now ya just gotta get some nice cards on the apron. I just set mine at 6.7 degrees, plays nice now, was at 6.0

I'd certainly like to, but it depends on what my sample source says. I could probably get a few. But since he runs stuff like this as the occasional odd job on "spare" materials and time, the company might take a different view if he tries to crank out several. I'm hoping to get a quote of what it would cost the company as a "legit" billable item.

Yep, just havent decided which ones to print out and use yet. So many really cool ones available nowadays !

Yeah, I downloaded all the ones I could find and I really like some of the concepts. Would like to have the modernized photos with the original "Flight Manual" though... I PM'd the original creator but haven't heard back so I might have to go it alone.

Question for anyone who converted the controlled (pf) lamps to LEDs:

I did this, and it seems most of them are staying on when they should not be. I do have a row issue I am sorting out (over here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lamp-row-issue-sys9-space-shuttle) , BUT, independent of that...

...the S-H-U-T-T-L-E targets, and the U|S|A lanes, are lit almost constantly which makes them hard to use. You can catch just a hint of flicker or change in brightness when the indicators are triggered, but that's obviously not how the game is meant to be seen or played.

Is this the typical "ghosting / strobing" symptom as seen with basic LEDs, that would be solved by something like the LEDOCD board or premium bulbs? Or do I have another problem / have others installed normal LEDs in without much issue?

I'll probably upload a video later so you can see what I'm getting at, but if anyone has comments meanwhile, I'd appreciate it....

I remember reading in some other thread somewhere, maybe a Comet thread, regarding some LEDs that were always lit. Turns out that they were rated at far less than 5V to light, and that the lamp circuits were actually drawing current even when unlit, causing the LEDs to react. The owner had to buy higher voltage LEDs to prevent them from always being on. Don't know if it applies, or if they're even available, but thought I'd chime in.

I think your talki9ng about the flasher circuits. You need to remove one leg of the warming resistors under the playfield and the backbox for them to properly work with leds as they normally provide a small constant current to the circuit to keep the normally incandecent bulbs warm in order to be ready to flash quickly but with leds that little current will keep them constanly lit. I dont think thats what his problem is but im not sure what is.

^^^^^ yup what he said cuz that's what I did for my flashers.

This works but if there is more than one flasher in the circuit, leave one incandescent. It will eat the warning churn and everything will work normally.

Yes that will work but to me the 2 different color temps didn't look good.

Totally agree. The flasher mod is also soo easy !

Hey Super, how many game you got?

Jus the F14 and the Space Shuttle at the moment. Actively looking for a third at the moment though.
Yourself ?

You should post it on your avatar info. I have 17 and that's 2 to many. Wish I could sell 2.

Yeah, it's not the flashers; I kept incadescents in there since they use the larger #89 sockets and I didn't order LEDs to fit.

Anyway, for testing and troubleshooting (since I do know I have a row issue), I reverted back to incas on the almost all the controlled sockets. Behavior is back to mostly normal. I only say "mostly", because they aren't "on all the time" anymore... but now it seems like they don't always light up when they should during gameplay, either. For example, hitting the targets doesn't always turn the light on, and the USA lanes stay dark. Can't say the X-value multiplier ever changes from "5" either but other ones will occasionally turn on in addition (not instead of)?

But attract mode looks great except the garbled spellout on the white bonus grid.

And the static in the backbox speaker is back again, bad. Clearly the increased current draw of incas has something to do with that, but I wish I knew what the true problem there was. I don't think I could have the boards grounded any better than they are.

Ugh, I thought I was done with this machine, but why do I have a sinking feeling this is going to be a complicated issue...

Sounds like a board problem.

Yeah, I know I have one transistor to replace, but I worry how to figure what else there would be. I probably need to change the ICs while at it. But where would it end...

It would end when there was nothing wrong with the board. The board needs what it needs to work right.

Just when I was about to get aggravated... curse your sensible philosophy

Part of this is my lack of self-confidence. It's like, I fixed everything else on this machine but can't help beating myself up that this is probably broken because of that, even if it (might) be unrelated. OTOH, I pro-actively did the lamp COLUMN mod to reduce heat, and as far as I can tell, my problems aren't column related.

But on closer inspection... it looks like I have a total of 3 row issues. Row 8 is stuck full-blast on, as described. Rows 4 and 2 also seem to be... sensitive? Also on, but not as bright. They do seem to switch off from time to time.

Have parts on order. Crossing fingers meanwhile.

That's what women hated about me and why I'm still single....I so sensible.

You can do it. Now if it were me NO WAY.

Hey Mustang , I need you to come up to Canada and talk to my wife and straighten her out for me. Beer is on me !! W have great beer up here

I will

Holy crap !! I really think you should just donate two machines to me (im not picky ! ) and bring them when you come up for beers

Sorry it only works with single women, once their married they are to far gone to reason with. For beer AND pizza I might be willing to give it a try.

Orrrrr you could drive down, buy the 2 games (I'll give ya a good deal and buy the pizza and beer) and you can play the snot out of my games and then drive home.

Actually just realized where in the states you are from.... Your more north than i am in Toronto. Your more of a beer swillin womanizin, hozer than me !!! lol I got friends in Thunder Bay !! How far is that from you ?

ok, i just checked out your collection. Im leaving my wife and im going to come up and hang with you. Beer , pizza, and women on me !!

That was very true of me in the '70s and '80s, slowed in the '90s and stopped pretty much in the '2000s

about 250 or so I think.

not a good idea, she'll take all ya got and you'd never make it to my place in the winter BAREFOOT & WALKING.