Getting a Space Shuttle delivered in a couple of days. Marking this thread so I can read through everything. I've got some catching up to do!

Thanks,
-Jason

Space Shuttle docked! Came a few days ago--took me until today to finish going over it before actually playing.

Shooter lane switch needed adjustment. If that's the only thing needs attention on a "new" 35-year-old game, then I'm delighted.

1 question. See attached--the lower & right displays are shifted a little low & left relative to the glass windows. Displays don't line up quite correctly with backglass. What's the trick to adjusting? Move the displays? Shim the backglass? Glass doesn't seem to have any play.

Just played a few games w/ my 7yo boy. He beat me every game. What a gas!

Thanks,
-Jason

Space Shuttle Docked (resized).jpg

backglass shift (resized).jpg

Instigated last night.
No looseness in glass or channels.

Light/display panel has too much sag at the hinges. Need to lift it a little to swing it out over the speaker panel.
Nudged it by loosening the board mount screws, pushing, then retightening screws. Inadequate.
Need to work out some shim scheme...later...having too much fun playing it right now. Minor enough to address later.

Edit: will also double-check the speaker panel channel (debris?) to be sure that the glass carrier won't settle in any lower.

Thanks,
Jason

I have 1 data point to share, for my topside Cirqus Voltaire restoration. I was happy with the results: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cirqus-voltaire-cv-playfield-restoration

Harbor Freight 5 lb tumbler: https://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html

Walnut hull media: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063GTFXS

Flitz green tumbler media additive: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T7JWN4

Then, to sift out the tiny fasteners, I used one of my kids' sand toy sieves.

For large parts, Nevr Dull Magic Wadding: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000QGZXCS

Clean off polished parts with alcohol & rag.

Words of wisdom that I learned the hard way:
1. Large-ish items with sharp corners will chew holes through the wall of the plastic bowl.
2. Large-ish items that stay in contact with the bowl's central shaft will be marred or gouged.

Good luck!

Thanks,
-Jason
20171210_230056 (resized).jpgIMG_20200405_110124 (resized).jpg

Nice model. SolidWorks?

Try https://www.shapeways.com/ or https://www.makexyz.com/

Upload your file, pick your material(s), pick a reputable vendor.
Get a good price & fast shipment back to you.
Easy way to be able to sample many different technologies to find the one that you most prefer.

I've used these services a handful of times, with great results & cost & turnaround time.

Thanks,
-Jason

Lighting question. I'm pretty sure that these 4 lights in the shuttle thrust flame never light up on my machine.

1. What game event triggers them to light?

2. What behavior should I expect to see when they behave properly? Fast flickering, on solid, blinking, fading, other?

3. Which part of the Diagnostic Procedures lights these? I don't see anything that looks like these in the Lamp Test or Solenoid Test sections of the manual.

4. Do these accept the usual #89 bayonet flashers, or a special oddball bulb? Incandescents only? Use of LEDs would require a mod (similar to what I read regarding the hot dog flashers?)?

Thank you!
-Jason

IMG_20200601_171627 (resized).jpg

We interrupt your 3D Printer Lovefest program for a mundane-yet-pleasant look at an eBay keychain find.

key (resized).JPG

OK, now back to your printed trusses.

-Jason

Thanks for the reply!

Had a chance to look at this today.
Going through self-test of coils, when I trigger the hot dog flashers, these 4 thruster lights to not pulse.
During gameplay, getting the hot dog flashers to light also doesn't make these 4 thruster bulbs light.

So, something's amiss w/ this flasher circuit.

I'm not familiar with this scheme, with the ceramic resistors & bonus little boards.
Where do you recommend I start troubleshooting, or what is the usual culprit here?

Thank you very much,
-Jason

thrust (resized).JPG

Now, I can neither confirm nor deny any specifics, & I will admit nothing, but in completely unrelated news, because these 4 flashers are arranged in 2 series strings of 2 bulbs each, in theory, if 1 bulb in each of those 2 strings is burned out, then 0 bulbs will flash.

The flashy rocket thrust effect is pretty sweet indeed.

-Jason

Gee, thanks a lot.

Goofy?
Messing around?
Joking?
Admit?

Proudly own this concept and execution of genius!
I want to make a bunch of fake Pinside accounts so I can upvote this more than only once.

From the moment I first saw this game in the arcades when it was new, the missing vertical stabilizer has always bugged me.

Brilliant to make an over-glass mod.

How much $ do you want to make another for a fan?

Thanks,
Jason

SkyKing2301 for President 2020.

A little sanding w/ 220 grit to smooth the texture, 2 coats of spray primer, 2 coats of spray enamel satin, some straightish hand-brushed black from my boy's pinewood derby paint set, 2 coats of clear coat spray, then extra fine point Sharpie for the thin horizontal line that I overlooked.

Tacked w/ Elmer's glue to a link from an old broken swing arm lamp while working.
A little hot glue to extra-cleaned glass.

I love it.

-Jason

IMG_20200628_182332 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200628_182315 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200628_182319 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200628_182324 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200625_181704 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200626_200832 (resized).jpg

Pay it forward, for all the helpfulpants people on Pinside.

Doing a little housecleaning & have something to give away.
Shuttle tile souvenir from Kennedy Space Center.
Pay shipping from USA 92620 & it's yours. First responder gets it. The package will probably weigh about 3 ounces.
Make your own topper!

Backstory:
I picked this up at the gift shop when I went to Kennedy Space Center in 2007 to see the Phoenix Mars Lander launch.
There was a shuttle launch a few days later, but I didn't stay for it, figuring it would probably be delayed anyway, & I should really get back home. (Of course, it launched right on time--never did end up seeing a shuttle launch...d'oh!)
I know a guy who worked at United Space Alliance. He gave me the most amazing tour: the Vehicle Assembly Building (which had some booster parts being assembled), the crawler, seeing Endeavour (from not too close) set up at launch pad 39A, going up launch pad 39B, up close tour of Discovery getting prepped for launch & the crew touring it, etc. That was a *huge* treat.

Thanks,
-Jason

IMG_20200703_232404 (resized).jpg

Well, I learned something today. I didn't realize that the outlane posts were adjustable.
They were set at the 2nd easiest position. No more! Now, both are in the easiest position. There were dimples for these positions & the harder positions--it looks as if this machine never had its posts adjusted.
I'm blazing new territory!

We'll see if this improves my mediocre scores...

Thanks,
-Jason

Whelp, I typically struggle to break 1 million. My highs were 2.5M, 1.8M, 1.8M, & maybe 1.5M.

After moving the outlane posts down one little notch, I played one game. One game. ONE. GAME.

3.4 MILLION!

Got 2 extra balls. That's a first. 1st one by SHUTTLE award, 2nd one by the dead-end ramp (which I think lit after maxing the bonus multiplier...another first...).

There were definitely a couple of times where I think the outlanes saved me, but it felt as if I could attribute that score mostly to a fluke outlandishly stellar game. It was a really fun ride.

That's just 1 data point. I'll collect more data soon. My son's going to be upset with me--I knocked his 2nd-place score down to 3rd!

Thanks,
-Jason

IMG_20200906_213041 (resized).jpg

Yup, the art on the right outlane makes you think that the post should be WAY lower than it is. The left outlane post aligns w/ the art.

I took a couple quick pictures to show you my setup.
I didn't have time to undo the posts to show you underneath, but you get the idea (I hope).

Left: yes, the post overhangs the art now--a bit dorky--oh well.
Right: hmmm, it looks as if it had previously lived in an even more difficult location before I moved it downward 1 notch from the location it was in when I got it. I think the faster is pretty much at the bottom of the slot in the plastic.

Oh, & I played about 8 games tonight. Got nowhere near 1M. So that 3.4M score from last night was indeed a fluke. Good. I don't want to have made the game artificially trivially easy by moving the posts just 1 notch.

Thanks,
-Jason

IMG_20200907_145952 (resized).jpg

IMG_20200907_150006 (resized).jpg

Once. On the first game after I moved my outlane posts down a little to make the game easier!

But then never again since that one game...

-Jason

Free play can be turned on in the game settings. What are y'all doing rewiring the coin door?

Thanks,
Jason

See p. 12 of the manual for the Pricing Table.

-Jason

SS12FP (resized).JPG

I'm ending my mission. Know anybody who wants to prepare for liftoff?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-trade-space-shuttle-williams-1984-working-100

Thanks,
-Jason