This has been discussed a number of times, just look back at the last few pages of this thread. The mirroring on my CPR backglass looks fine. Other's seem to have had a different experience. Here's a picture of the mirroring on mine. If you look closely you can see the reflection of my Firepower and Black Knight that are sitting on the other side of the room.

mirror (resized).jpg

I was told that the ink that is used for the mirroring has a finite lifespan and if it doesn't get used quickly enough it begins to lose that reflectivity. It's possible that some backglasses were produced with ink that was past it's prime.

The only other option seems to be Shay (http://shayarcadegroup.com/backglasses/).

There is also Coos (https://www.coos.net/bingo_e/Backglasses.html) but it doesn't look like they have any for sale.

Here’s my CPR backglass. Its no more reflective than the glass itself, just with silver color behind it.
This really is just silver paint and not any kind of mirror coating.

BA0E819D-8815-4910-91D6-41605B6AC165 (resized).jpeg

That is how my CPR backglass is. It’s like silver paint, not an actual mirror finish. I was disappointed by that when I got it. Other than that, it’s nice, but it was marketed as having the mirror finish, but it is definitely not.

Use Coos.

CPR has the playfield back in stock. Trying to Justify $900 for a Space Shuttle playfield for a 3k game on a good day.

It's not always about what a game is worth, rather what the game means to you

https://classicplayfields.com/shop/pinball-playfields/shuttleplayfield/

Has anyone does a thorough side by side comparison on the art? Did they get this one 100% correct?

Yeah I’m still debating on a hardtop or new playfield. Mine isn’t even that bad, but it’s my favorite game and want it to be really nice. $900 is a huge pill to swallow. Plus, I wouldn’t do the swap myself as that is just too much work and time for me, so I’d have to pay someone to do it. Ugh. A new playfield would be sweet though. My Bad Cats has a new CPR playfield and it’s so insanely nice. I’m sold on their products after seeing it and playing on one.

I was just about to tear into my Space Shuttle, and do a hardtop, took vacation next week to do the work.
Imagine my surprise when I got the email from CPR telling me the playfields were back in stock, and they were removing my name from the wait list.
I had been contemplating a PF swap but couldn't acquire one. I pulled the trigger, New PF on the way.
So as a result, I have an un-used brand new hardtop, if anybody is interested.
PM me if so.

No, the art on this is really poor. Almost bought one a year back but noticed the art problems in time. Pretty typical for CPR. Bad font matches, thick keylines, blocks of half tone disappear suddenly instead of fade.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/space-shuttle-crew-members-club-prepare-for-liftoff/page/74#post-6530947

That is literally the same thing I had planned. I've been teetering with either a hardtop or a new playfield. I think I've settled on a hardtop. My playfield is like right in the middle; not super nice, yet not super bad either. I can't decide wether to actually pull the trigger on a hardtop or not. Ugh!

That's really too bad. They obviously have a good process and are able to make a decent playfield but they seem to always drop the ball on the art at the 90% mark. (or less à la Meteor)

Sometimes a new one from CPR is the best alternative, my original playfield was really badly faded.....at the end of the day you don't really notice any difference during game play.....

I see they are out of stock again already

Merry Christmas all, anybody here have any experience with using the Yoppsicles on Williams SS light matrix? Dont see any options for the required diode on yoppsicles. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Gesj5 Sent you a PM, interested in hard top.

New CPR playfield showed up today, its a beauty . Waiting for new sockets to come in, then all the fun begins.

A680CECE-7079-4580-A53B-1044B24057DE (resized).jpeg

ED73E427-DFCB-499F-B3CD-75ABA2BACDA9 (resized).jpeg

Anybody have recommendations why or why not to paint the back side of the new playfield? Im undecided, and could use some opinions.

Just ordered new hard top from Outside Edge as I fixed all my issues from a non-booting Space Shuttle I picked up here off Pinside for $1500 with an error code 7.

First issue I fixed was battery acid damage on my MPU board. Sanded it down, neutralized and had to fix a few traces that had eroded. While I was at it I did a reset delete/reset generator install and installed socketed NVRAM. That resolved my boot code 7 issue.

Second issue I had is that all the coils stopped working. I had a puffed cap on the power supply so I recapped it and it resolved my issue.

Third issue was that a previous owner had hacked in a "credit" switch (Silly since this game supports free play!) and games would intermittently not start when pressing start button. Used the switch troubleshooting menu option and saw that when pressing the start button the switch was not showing as triggered. Tested the switch with my multimeter and the physical switch was ok so it was an issue with the board. Jiggled the wiring a few times on 1J10 and ran through switch test and saw the switch working! Reflowed 1J10 as well as all the other connectors on the board while I was at it.

Now having a mostly working Space Shuttle minus a missing bumper coil and some basic rebuild/mechanical repair stuff. I'll be getting some new plastics I think for backups so it's time to make it look pretty!

damage0 (resized).JPG

damage1 (resized).JPG

backremoved (resized).JPG

badparts (resized).JPG

repaired (resized).JPG

nvramd (resized).JPG

Zero reasons to paint the bottom of the new playfield. At some point even Williams stopped painting them. None of the new Sterns are painted either.

The new playfield looks great! Good luck with the swap!

Dzorbas,
Thanks for the recommendation and insight. I appreciate it

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9NNTNrIZFJ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Please contact me if you need one copy
[email protected]
Cheers Marco

IMG_20200229_084408 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200229_084514 (resized).jpg

Ordering inserts and I can't seem to find any of the 1 1/2" x 5/8" Triangle orange inserts. There are 4 total that are an orange/amber color.

Pinballife has amber, but I can't find orange. Any ideas? I also have a bunch of amber and orange 1" circles.

I count I believe:

13x 1" amber translucent sunbursts
1x 1" orange translucent sunbursts

The smaller triangles:

2x 1 1/2" x 5/8" triangle orange sunbursts
2x 1 1/2" x 5/8" triangle amber sunbursts

Is amber or orange the darker color? I'm pretty sure these are two different colors, could they just be different in appearance due to age?

Buy clear ones and put orange LEDs in them. My CPR Firepower playfield from many moons ago came with clear arrow inserts. Long story as to why it was like that. I just put orange LEDs underneath and it looks great. And using clear inserts to replace non-clear inserts gives you the flexibility of putting whatever colour bulb you want underneath.

Most traditionalist would say that's blasphemy and prefer the game to be as close to original as possible. I say screw them...

That's a good idea and I had not thought of it. Ordered extra clear ones as well. Thanks!

The other thing I should have mentioned that I thought of after I put my hardtop down was popping out the three green USA rollover inserts at the top of the playfield and replacing them with clear ones. That way you could put different coloured bulbs in there, say red, white, blue, rather than being limited to green. I also used red, white and blue bulbs in my spinner arrow inserts. Not an original idea by any means but a nice touch.

Gooood morning guys! Finally, after years of searching... I'm joined the club! I recently purchased my Space Shuttle..
Of course it needs some attentions. I'm started to fix electronics and now it boots and all the display are 100% working. It seems all perfect BUT there are some things that do not convince me and looking at your pictures or pics of other Space Shuttles, I notice substantial differences...
Unfortunately mine has two non-original trafo and therefore the main wiring has been modified... but it works.
So, this is what I noticed:
1) Ground wire path. In mine, starts on the left side of the backbox, it goes up, crosses the whole backbox (above, behind the metal panel for the air vent) and return down on the right side. From the pictures, it should come down form behind the PCB panel... and I don't have any staples signs to be able to say that it was modified later. I also have to chech the path under the playfield, but one thing at a time.
2) Backbox metal sheet (where the boards are fixed) that has screws and not threaded spacers. It means that it doesn't lay well on the backbox due to the screws head, and I think it will not intercept the ground wire (see point No.1)
3) Backbox light panel. In mine I have an additional MDF panel glued on the main one.
4) Speaker panel. Some has the metal profile also on the bottom side. Mine has only the one for receive the glass.
5) Coin door... but it has the original WMS stickers inside
My questions about ground wire are born because the hum is very very very loud so I though was a problem about correct grounding...
So let me have your opinions about it... I'm really courious!!! And I want to restore everything to how it should have been originally!
Thanks!!!
Backbox (resized).jpegCoin door (resized).jpegGround (resized).jpegLight panel (resized).jpeg

EDIT! Looking at the light panel, even the flashers area is quite different...

Hello !

My Space Shuttle don't have the entire bell assembly.
I'm searching the part C-8461-1 (bell assembly) for Space Shuttle, Taxi, Grand Lizard,... all over the world but it's not easy.
I'm not sure to search on the correct way.

Could you help me please ?

bell assembly C-8461-1 (resized).jpg

Contact them. You might get lucky..
https://tntamusements.com/

Mine is missing the bell too and I looked all over as well; I found one in Europe, but the guy wasn’t willing to ship overseas to the US. Good luck!

Well, that may help kryss63, since he's in France.

This guy has it: I tried contacting him last year….

https://andysbillard.ch/Bell-Assy-C-8461-1

He wouldn’t sell to me since I was in the US. If you can buy it, and he has more than one, could you order two and ship one to me? Will reimburse of course.

Replaced all inserts and sanded the first two passes at 80 and 120 grit. Need to bondo a couple spots.

Was thinking the bondo spots I would paint black with brush on acrylic and clear coat over it…. Thoughts? Still also debating clearing the inserts. Gonna sand up to 3000 grit.

C51FEA62-F3F6-4FBB-AC29-3DF5C5B8EE6B (resized).jpeg

D7DA9E35-5191-4E62-B3C6-14CDD5E40613 (resized).jpeg

I've seen people paint black around the inserts, just in case the hardtop doesn't line up perfectly. I think it's good insurance so that you don't see bare wood. Use acrylic paint if you decide to do it.

Thats what I did with my Black Knight, did two coats of clear then brushed on the black outlines then finished with a few more coats of clear.

CEB69E07-0AC3-4AA8-822B-D4353865CEC3 (resized).jpeg

I have an extra bell assembly (and many other spare SSh parts). What would be a fair price for both of us for it?

I didn't bother sanding to that high a grit. I opted for sanding to about 1500, I believe, and then sprayed a number of coats of clear. I did outline a few of the inserts in black after I shifted the hardtop around to find the best fit. I learned a hard lesson when I did my Black Knight hardtop as there were a couple of inserts where you can see a bit of bare wood. You may also want to add some white paint around the USA rollover lanes. I think it looks better than bare wood.

I have lots of pictures of my installation at the following link. There might be a few ideas here for you. Yes, I did have a bit of fun with the paint pens and put my initials under the apron!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Yo8SBKktACLGyrBb9

PM sent!

Love the blue side rails. I am about to start restore on mine. I might steal that. lol

Thanks for showing me your pictures! Took your advice on doing clear jeweled on the U S A inserts and the R/W/B LEDs. I'm going to do the same white outlines on the roll overs like you did. Going to black outline all the other inserts as well. Really like how your blue rails turned out!

I think I may also black out the ball lock holes on the right and left as well. Will get the rest of the sanding done, cleaned up a bit then lay the hard top down and see what I want to change. I grabbed a bunch of black "translucent" posts and gonna check out the look with both black and white rubbers.

Thanks again for the awesome input! You've got a pretty nice customized machine!

Wow ! Perfect.
If it works, I will do my best to help you.

Updated slideshow of my Space Shuttle restoration (about 2.5 minutes in length). I knew the game would be pretty, but the fun factor surprised me... The first time that "alarm-bell" went off that was it, I was hooked

Looks similar to the old school bells we had that would ring between classes. They ran on low voltage. I know they weren't 120VAC because I had one when I was a kid and you could run it with train transformer. You might be able to find one of those.

Great idea !

Somebody knows if there was several version of the bell assembly and tilts on Space Shuttle? On mine, bell is missing (there is a disconnected knocker) and it looks really strange. The wood plate seems to be too short, and the tilts (pendulum disconnected) are differents.
There is no hole in the cabinet to proof that there was the biggest white wood support in the past.
Maybe the cabinet has been replaced.

20230118_091740 (resized).jpg

There is no knocker at all, below you can see two pictures from another post in this thread.
Mine looks the same, so yours is definitely something else...other cabinet, modified tilt unit or likewise.

Wish I have done this to my resto.......cpwas just about ready for the tip but I brought it back to almost like new

Do you guys know if there’s a way to bench test the bell? I’m out right now, but do you know the power requirements for it? If it was DC, could probably easily test on the bench with a DC power supply then.

Hello fellow astronauts, been a while for me in this thread! But a few folks have contacted me in recent months asking if the speaker panels I'd designed "way back" and last made 5+ years ago would be available again...

165ead21f2fc2743875c074f1cebd4abd34a9570 (resized).jpg

So I'm now in discussions with a localish relative who might be able to make these again. Incredibly, it sounds like these will still cost in the neighborhood of $150 - maybe a little more, not likely to be less but she's working on material sourcing to see if better deals are out there. Seems like no matter how much metalworking tech "commoditizes" its availability, some other factor (materials, shop time, etc) always makes it net wash. OTOH I guess it's cool that it hasn't gone up ridiculously like so much else!

Anyway... if you're interested in a panel in that price area (~$175ish shipped? But note THAT IS NOT FINAL!) please PM and let me know. If there's enough interest, we'll pursue further. More interest might help lower pricing, but understand I'm not promising anything firm at this time. A potential wildcard is this shop uses plasma and I *might* need to tweak the art, but we're not gonna chase that if it's not worth the effort. Thanks!

Solenoid DC voltage around 30v (check the game manual) is all you need. Hook positive up to the banded side of the diode, ground to the other. If power is applied, the bell will be ringing off/on through the EOS switch movement.

Thank you kind sir!