Here's a quick summary of issues fixed for me by WeFixPins (Seattle) on a Star Trek Premium, in case another new owner searches for them online:

Shooter Lane Switch 23 Out of Service: The diode for this switch (which is not on the switch itself but nearby) was soldered the wrong way around (?!)
Vengeance Unable to Close: The opto (optical switch) was misaligned and couldn't detect that it had closed
VUK not firing ball into rail as expected : A wire had come off the coil for the VUK diverter (this is the metal piece that rotates so the ball can fire up).
VUK fires ball up vertically but it doesn't go far enough to land in rail as expected: Increased Left Eject power in the menu settings

Now that it's working - what an awesome game!

One more - the right flipper started buzzing yesterday. I adjusted the level of the playfield by lifting at the back and turning the screws at the bottom of the legs until the level bubble was centered. That fixed the buzzing.

Stern should really add all this to the manuals.

Thanks! How do I tighten a coil stop? Tighten the screws at the top of it?

You were correct the buzzing is intermittent. There are of course two right flippers so I guess it could be either one.

Can the coil stops be tightened without removing the flipper assembly? From the link you sent it looks like I need to tighten something on the coil itself with an allen wrench (allen key?)? It's hard to see in the image.

Also the part of the backglass that you take out to get to the fuses seems to wobble and make a noise if the machine or floor vibrate. Did I miss some way of locking it in place? (I slotted it back in and turned the key, and I see why it wobbles, but I don't remember it doing that before.)

Thanks for the advice!

Thanks that makes sense. Here's the link to the Pro manual you're referencing in case anyone else needs it (the Premium manual I have is different):
https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Star-Trek-Pro-Manual.pdf

This screw under the wire? (This is a Premium so might be different.)

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Maybe post a photo of yours? The wires might be preventing the ball getting stuck on mine.

(It does get stuck near the top bumper sometimes but nudging the machine gets it moving again.)

Anyone know what this little black screw protector is called or where I can buy one?

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I'm thinking it must be a pipe/cable clamp or clip...

Thanks I just ordered a set for extra air ball protection.

#8710 that's ten times my best score!

Every now and then on my Stern Star Trek Premium the ball get stuck on top of the Vengeance drop target while it's down. I've seen posts about the drop target not dropping - this is different, it has dropped but the ball is on top of it and won't roll down because I guess the target is not 100% flush with the playfield.

Is there a simple fix for this?

Cool - thanks!

Scoot #8862 Thanks again I just noticed that adjusting the drop target screws so it's flush with the playfield also fixed the ball going SDTM when rolling out of the Vengeance.

Anyone considering this as a topper (lol)?

Hey can anyone help me with an electronics question for a topper project? I have a Playmates Enterprise toy which has a push button on top that activates the speech, sound, lights etc. I want to adapt it to use a motion sensor so it activates when someone walks by.

I isolated the switch wires and they appear to have a 5v signal based on a multimeter reading. When I touch the wires together the toy activates. Unfortunately if I hardwire the wires together and cycle the toy power it does not activate. This is a bummer as I was hoping to use a mains power battery replacer (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0874CBBN6/) and an inline mains power motion sensor.

Is there a simple way to hack the wires so they don't connect until after power up? (Using an inline capacitor, or a reed relay perhaps, although the reed relay needs more power I guess?)

I also tried hacking together a PIR sensor and transistor from an old Arduino kit but while I could get an LED on/off on a separate circuit via a transistor hooking up the same transistor to the switch wires didn't activate the toy. The Arduino components are also bulky and won't fit well in the toy which doesn't have a ton of room for electronics such as relays.

I hope this makes sense... obviously I know very little about electronics!

I gave up on modding the Playmates Enterprise and went with this (10 inch version) for a topper:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/519734375/star-trek-starfleet-command-united
I figure I can add a motion sensor plug later on so it lights up if someone walks close by.

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I added some more cable clamps today to protect plastics from the Vengeance. They seem to work pretty well.

Seloky 120 Pcs Black Nylon Screws Plastic R-Type Cable Clamp Clips（6 Sizes) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PVXK57N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_-kgQFbTA7K7KM

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In case it's of interest to anyone else...

I was looking for a removable, no damage method to fix the steel panel from kapsreiter to my Premium (i.e without using mirror tape/glue or drilling holes).

After a bunch of searching I found that an automotive J Clip Flexible Seat Clip 1/4" x 1 1/16" from Albright (code "SC0LD" - ignore the smiley it's S C 0 8 O L D), when sawed to the right length, clips on perfectly at the bottom. (I just had to slide it in from one side.) The steel panel is pretty thin and can be slotted in to the bottom. It stuck out a few mm at the top so I pushed cable clips in to the gap, one on each side.

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Somehow I managed to jump the ball over the orange explosion plate and into the Vengeance yesterday. I feel like I should have got some kind of special bonus but of course I actually got lost ball/Game Over. Now I'm wondering if I should put something there to stop it happening again. Has anyone else had this happen? I find occasionally balls also get stuck in the gate at the top right of the playfield, and once during multi-ball I had one lodged on top of a pop bumper. I guess it's part of the hobby but it's pretty annoying when a game ends early because of a ball trap and then you have to take the glass off.

Is the Vengeance supposed to vibrate etc. like it got hit right away if you turn on the power and start a new game (in free play mode)? I feel like it didn't used to do this, and it doesn't always happen on new game, but seems pretty consistent after power on -> new game.

I suppose it might be this drop-target issue?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/star-trek-pro-center-drop-target-problem

(Game is Stern Star Trek Premium)

Thanks. It's stopped happening now so I guess it's an intermittent problem.

Thanks guys. I went with Aurich's fix as quoted below and (despite my dropping the screw twice and nearly losing it...) so far so good!

"I had this problem, or a similar one, and it wasn't an opto or switch or anything, was purely mechanical. The screw on the drop target that's on the same side as the spring was pushing it so it wouldn't latch properly. Weird behavior like phantom hits, popping up and down rapidly etc. Sound familiar?

My solution was to take out the screw on the spring side, and feed it back in from the other side, so the head wasn't interfering anymore. It won't "bite" anymore, threads won't catch on the plastic, but the other screw holds it in place, so it work fine.

Ever since I made this fix (Rarehero gets the tip for this being the problem, I think he found a smaller screw head though) I haven't had a single repeat of the issue."

Does the Vengeance drop target have a code state where it can't be dropped when hit with the ball? Sometimes I hit it while playing and it doesn't go down, but when I test it with my finger it works every time.

thanks

It's happening more frequently for me. When I get time I'm going to try cleaning it etc. Thanks for all the advice - everyone here is so helpful!

I fixed mine recently (lights were odd colors) by pressing all the related cable connections and disconnecting/reconnecting the network cables. Sounds like you already tried that though.

Does setting to 5 balls overwrite 3 ball high scores or are they stored separately?

It's ridiculous that 5 ball scores aren't stored separately in the leaderboards.

Why ectobar? Surely it's not fair to compare a 3 ball score with a 5 ball? What am I missing?

I was watching this guy play Star Trek on his virtual pin with video clips from the movie and I had an idea for a mod:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=RbSOnMGeFTg&t=35m20s

If there's a way to grab the DMD image signal (presumably this is possible as Color DMD exists so it's not encrypted) and import it into a small computer such as a Raspberry PI, in theory there could be a mod that replaces the translite with a monitor that plays video clips related to what's happening in the game? (If you don't want to replace your translite it could be a smaller monitor on the playfield, or apron, on a topper etc.)

Am I crazy or is this a pretty cool idea that could work on any DMD game? Has this been done before?

... I imagine it would be possible to mod a DMD Extender from https://drpinball.co.uk/ to trigger video clips based on comparing the DMD image with stored screenshots.

Hope you get it fixed soon Zitt.

I just spent 8 hours fixing my drop target, with all the usual tricks listed on here PLUS I had to add a piece of plastic to the firing pin to get it to go back down when a ball was behind it pushing it forward.

Quite proud of myself!

I added more detailed notes to this thread for others:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-star-trek-drop-target-help#post-6838866

(Stern Star Trek Premium Drop Target fix)