thanks 20eyes and Bbismuth!

for some reason it started working when i took it off the shaft, it extended during gameplay, then i put it back on those 4 wobbly legs without the nuts and it worked again, so just put the nuts on without tightening them down and it is working. Woohoo, now onto putting on some new vinyl artwork... will post pics after, thanks again!

custom artwork by Stuzza

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That looks good

I have a problem. I had to remove the head on my Stargate to move it and when I plugged all the connectors in I accidently switched two around and turn it on and it doesn't work now. Argh!

I'm guessing you swapped the two 6-pin connectors found on the power supply and driver board?

If so, you're the second person that I'm aware of who has done that.

Here's the repair log:

http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Gottlieb_System_3#Mixed-Up_6-pin_Power_Supply_.26_Driver_Board_Connectors

Yes I believe you are correct.. I am such a fool.. Thanks!

can stargate be put on free play? i was fiddling with it last night but couldn't figure it out..

You have to turn tournament mode on. It's a toggle switch. The menu will then change allowing for a freeplay option.

cool thanks !

Quick question, anyone know what kind of metal the ramps are made of?

I am having the same problem with the Quartz Trade VUK - the ball when exiting the VUK sometimes bouncing back down the ramp rather than the habitrail. Did you ever figure out how to fix this problem?

Its plated steel. i had my left ramp TIG welded at work and whatever its plated with stinks like shit when you weld it.

I think it pretty much was fixed after I cleaned and waxed my game (I cleaned and waxed both the ramp and the VUK guide.), as well as increasing the pitch of the machine.

I've been having some trouble with the rubber to the right of the ramp, where it slowly makes its way up the post due to the ball constantly hitting it. Is there supposed to be something covering the top like the rubber to the left has?

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Also, I have one spare rubber from a kit I bought earlier this year. Anyone know where this is supposed to go?

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I just checked my game and both right ramp post have a hex screw keeping the rubber on.
I'm going to try waxing the VUX and ramp and see if that fixes my problem. This will be my first time waxing my machine. What cleaner and wax did you use?

Failed to notice at first glance, there is also a small black washer under the hex screw to hold the bumper down.

Love our stargate after about a month of owning it. My favorite pin ever. We have room for 2 pins only. If you could own a stargate and one other pin, what would the other pin be? Looking for ideas. I want something just as fun as stargate.

Brunsie Huh, that's exactly how the left post is. Someone must have replaced the right one without using the correct parts. Thanks for the input! Anyways I cleaned the playfield (Ramps and VUKs included) with naphtha, and then I waxed everything with One Grand blitz carnauba wax. That wax can be pretty hard to find though, I believe it's no longer in production. Just know that the wax did leave behind a lot of dry stuff caked in little crevices and cracks, so be sure to not use too much.

I love my Stargate, but there are (were) a couple things that annoyed me. First was the overused call-out "Shoot the Pyramid!". Fixed that! Second was the bobble when the ball whacks the squared-off wood guides as the ball returns to the plunger when you undershoot going for the skill shot. So I whipped up a design (in Autodesk Inventor) and printed it out in black ABS plastic. Pops right in. Problem solved! Took maybe 2 hours tops start to finish... can't believe I didn't do this sooner! Anyway, here's a snapshot of what it looks like in the model editor:

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Maybe I'll take a video of it installed and in action later.

Huh, this is weird. Anyone else ever experience this issue? On my Stargate the ball has started to occasionally fall off of the left ramp wireform right where drops down. It looks like over the years the ball has bent it out of shape and now there's a big enough gap for it to pass through!

I'll definitely fix... Although for some reason there's something I kind of like about it.

Beautiful. Are those decals?

Made my first "repair" to my Stargate machine tonight to fix the auto launch. It was weak when I got the machine 5 months ago and it gradually got worse and couldn't get balls up the skill ramp at all after three months (and my warranty was out). I found a post in this forum where someone said the manual plunger should just barely have the ball off the auto launcher. Mine was about 3/8 inches off with a 7 & 3/4 rod and 1 inch outer spring. Got it better with a tie wrap between the knob and outer spring. Then ordered a shorter new 7 & 3/8 rod listed as the one for Stargate by Marco Specialties. Installed it and the ball now just barely sits off the auto launcher and the auto launcher is working like a charm. Evidently someone had put in the wrong/longer 7 & 3/4 rod before I got the machine. Hope this helps somebody else.

So I'm trying to figure out how to disconnect the speakers on my Stargate so I can record some mechanical sounds with no background noise. Anyone know which of these connectors on the soundboard I need to unplug?

HELP! I've had a ball fly over the Horus VUK and get wedged up past it between the rubber pad on the back of the playfield and the inner ball-guide. I found it with a mirror than had to get it out myself. It's happened twice in the past 5 months. Is my game missing something to prevent this from happening? The rubber pad and ball guide seem come to a nice "V" for trapping balls.

A few days ago I got my ramps repaired!

Before:
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After:
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A little bit of discoloration (Which I expected), but over all the ramps seem to be shooting better (Especially the left one) which is what I really care about! That said, if anyone knows of a good way to restore the color (Without just getting the whole ramp chromed) let me know.

I also added some clear plastic washers to protect the plastics:
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I used 7/8 inch washers if anyone wants to know. I'd probably have gone with 1 inch washers if I had seen this before hand, but I think these are just fine.

I'm pretty sure that's how it's supposed to be... The game is designed to allow the ball to go over the hole, stop, and then roll back in. The "V" with the pad is to bring the ball to a nice stop. It should not hold the ball there like you describe though, obviously. Not sure what could cause that. Maybe the guide or pad is dirty, or maybe the guide is loose somehow...

Not sure what the cause of my problem was but I added a rubber bumper at the top of the V to work around it and make sure the ball doesn't get stuck. Next time I'm back in there I'll check the pad for dirt and guide to make sure it's not loose. Thanks for the suggestions.

Looks good. I had both my ramps welded too. I had some gold aerosol paint. Put it on with small brush just were needed, looks a lot better. The ball doesn't touch the rewelded spots so it will be fine.

Popeye is a great pinball. Freddy is fun game too. Similar price points. Since you have a experience with gottlieb good to stick with that. Gottlieb machines even though they are not as popular as williams. They are built though dont always need constant repair.
I have a stargate and freddy both are good games.

That's basically what my left ramp looks like but you can't see it from the player position.
You can get a new James Spader and Kurt Russell if you buy the decal kit from pinball resource.

I also changed all the red playfield posts to clear ones that I had leftover from an extra Mars God Of War PF

I actually already have a decal set that I got from the seller when I bought the game. (Sadly missing most of the spot target decals, however...) I've been thinking about putting the new ramp decals on, but I'm also thinking about just removing them like some people do. Usually I'm for keeping things original, but the ramp decals do look kind of out of place compared to the rest of the game.

Hi Stargaters,
I have a question about legs. My SG has 28" legs both front and back. The front feet are screwed up a couple of inches an it looks dorky. Is SG supposed to have the 30 1/2" legs in the front? If so any suggestion on where I can pick up a set?

Stargate came with 31" legs all around, which makes it rather tall. I have 27" on mine... a bit more comfortable to play for shorter folks.
You should be able to get 31" Gottlieb legs from Pinball Resource.

That art work is awesome.
I need it for my pin.

mystman12 I cleaned and waxed my machine. Noticeable improvement but I was still getting balls exiting quartz/center VUK spinning back and around then down ramp. I traced problem to ball impacting optic sensor bracket in front of the VUK exit. Back bottom edge of bracket showed noticeable wear down to bare metal. My fix was to bend the front of the guide down a little bit to guide ball under opto sensor bracket. See photos after mod. In photo shot back into VUK exit you can actually see a little glint on bracket back bottom edge where balls have hammered the bottom edge down a little. Front edge of guide is now below the plastic and just even with top of opto sensor bracket. I tired to keep the bend at the same radius as the back of the VUK guide. Balls are now consistently landing smoother and closer to habitrail. I have not had any balls come even close to spinning back and down the ramp in the weeks since I did this.

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Is it possible to turn off the "Shoot the pyramid" callout?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stargate-owners-club-shoot-the-pyramid/page/9#post-2256297

I just purchased a star gate, I am thinking of doing a flipper rebuild, but uncertain if flippers are weak, or if I am just a poor shot. How easy should it be to shoot the ball up the right ram from the left fipper, also the left ramp from the upper right flipper. The flippers can make the shot, but I have to adjust the legs on the machine to where the machine itself is almost flat.

My flippers seem pretty strong, I can make the ramps easy.

halffast Yeah, I can make the ramps very consistently on my Stargate, and I have mine at about 6.5 to 7 degrees. The ramps should definitely be challenging, but if they're so hard you have to have the machine super flat to ever make them, I'd definitely say your flippers are too weak.

mystman12

I just fixed this sarcophagus shot problem on my machine. My drop target was resting a little below the playfield creating a bump that caused the ball to bounce up and hit the metal dropping down from the skill shot ramp - especially on good clean fast shots - very frustrating. I raised the drop target up flush with the playfield by wrapping a couple layers of electrical tape on the reset arm the drop target rests on. Good ball travel up to the VUK every time now. See photos.

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For those of you that put LEDs in this game, which ones did you use? I've been using Comet LEDs for years, but none of the ones I have from them fit through the socket holes in the playfield. I want to use various different colors, and I want to make sure the overall playfield is bright enough, so which type of bulbs have you used, especially if you used something you can point me to from Comet.

I usually file down the lip on the bulb a little bit.

I think Comet has skinny bulbs that will fit. Contact them.

We are hosting a pinball get together with friends/family who have a wide range of interest/ability.

To make it a bit different than just open play, I'm thinking of coming up with some shot(s) for people to try and achieve while playing. Similar to a golf tournament, but focused more on fun and getting to know the pin than on the competition of it. So I thought I would throw it out to my fellow owners:

Besides skill shots, what shots would you suggest for Stargate? KIM there will be mostly noobs and intermediate players. I'm avoiding skill shots simply because everyone coming knows those already, but typically not much more, and I want to help take the game to a deeper level and show that playing is more than just a high score.

So, what 3 different shots would you suggest for a:
1) beginner
2) intermediate
3) skilled player

Can't wait to see what you suggest!

Stargate is good, but my Medieval Madness takes the cake

I've been struggling with this forever, i've tried bending the bracket and still have issues. I even replaced the ramp with a new one to see if that was the case.

chrisnack

To confirm the optical sensor bracket wear I saw before bending the VUK guide down slightly, I wrapped some tape around the back edge of the optical sensor bracket and checked the tape for wear after a couple months of play to verify the ball was impacting it. You may want to do something similar to make sure your VUK guide bend was sufficient to get balls coming out of the VUK under the bracket without contact - may need to bend it down a little more, perhaps level with the bracket. Any photos of your bend? If balls are not hitting the optical sensor bracket, I'm not sure what could be happening with your machine. I think hitting that bracket caused enough back spin for the ball to creep around the top and down the ramp. Not sure what other sources of back spin there could be. Any other pinsiders fix this issue? The VUK guide bend is still working great for me. Very nice not to have balls out of the quartz VUK back-spin down the ramp when making that quartz shot, especially in battle mode. Good luck!

My original optical bracket was beat to hell. I replaced that with the new ramp. I spent a lot of time bending and adjusting the original one. It was fine for awhile, but it's nearly 90% the ball runs backwards now. Just haven't taken time to mess with it again.

Hi all, Trying to get back into this club and resurrect an old Stargate that has been in storage for the last 10 years. Need a few parts.
Right side upkicker unit and left side upkicker subway. Anyone have these?

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