And I third it. I also do this with my Sterns, and it makes a big difference, especially if you are planning on keeping it in the home. I'll be doing this when my GZ Prem arrives at the end of the year, as well as my TBL, which uses the same power supply.

There's also a DIY option for those so inclined:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/replacing-stern-spike-noisy-ps-fans#post-4351927

I originally did this for the single Stern that I had at the time, but I bought enough parts to make four. Glad I did, as now all are spoken for. Cheap and easy.

Yep recently ran into this same issue on my Beatles. As mentioned, go into switch test so you can see if they are registering correctly. Reseat the connectors on the through boards, and also the connector leading to the node board (that's what it would up being on mine.).

Geez, I come here for Godzilla pin stuff and find an argument about the use of "mil"...

Can we get back on track here?

That's better. Carry on...

If they told you, then they wouldn't be secret combos now, would they?

The King of the Monsters arrived in North Jersey today:
IMG_20221116_134957705 (resized).jpg
IMG_20221116_152504434 (resized).jpg

Build date is November 3.

So glad to finally get this! Special thanks goes out to Mike, Jamal, and especially Becky at Automated Services.

Can't wait to dig in; let the modding begin!

Hi all.

As I reported this past Wednesday, I am the proud new owner of a new GZPre. After having time on it now, I must say that everything that everyone is saying about how great this machine is is totally true. I'm really enjoying the layout and flow, the code; my goodness, so many things to shoot for. I know I'm only scratching the surface at this point, with so many things left for me to discover, that I don't see myself getting bored with this any time soon. It certainly deserves all of the accolades it has been getting.

As an avid reader of this thread, I made sure that before I made any kind of extensive play that I took care of a few things before hand, most notably the issue with the bridge. I saw that after only the first two plays that the plastic below was already being affected, so I put the washers in the coil and that took care of that. I figured that while I was at it that now would be a good time to perhaps switch out the notorious stock coil stops (which I have done with my other Sterns), but when I looked at them, I saw this:

IMG_20221118_203826738 (resized).jpg

IMG_20221118_203846147 (resized).jpg

Notice the small red dots that have been painted on them. I'm certain that they mean something, although what I'm not at all certain. Could it be that maybe they have finally addressed the subpar stops that they have used in the past and put in new ones, or maybe these are the old ones that they are giving a "scarlet letter" in case something goes wrong?

I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this on their GZ (or any other recent Stern, for that matter)? Or maybe does anyone know what the red dot might mean?

(BTW, this is a November 3, 2022 build)

Just curious...

Here's the original post by koops with the solution for the bridge:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-godzilla-official-owners-club/page/128#post-6714220

Hmm; the plot thickens...

Perhaps they are experimenting with different coil stops and are marking them accordingly to see if they get any feedback on failures; just speculating here...

Gosh... watching Godzilla download new code, I feel like Elizabeth Taylor waiting for the microwave to finish; "Hurry!"

Yeah, I was just kidding...

Actually this was the first update I've ever done using the WiFi (only had GZ for a week now) and it took an hour over a weak signal, which I didn't think was too bad at all.

Can you tell us what model WiFi dongle you got at Microcenter? I have one nearby and might like to pick one up.

Yeah, I'm kind of in the same boat. I experienced this as well, on the 26th game played.

I just added a shaker motor in the past few days, so now this is somewhat hard to detect, although it seems that the shaker is aggravating the building shake. I think I'm going to get in touch with Stern, just to be sure.

Honestly, either will work out well. If you want to save a few bucks, get the one from PinballLife. I have that one installed on mine, and it works as it should.

A shaker is definitely a great addition to GZ; go for it!

I've had my GZ for about a month now, and I have to agree with everything that has been said; such a great game to play, even though I currently suck at it! But that's the incentive, isn't it? The fun part is the journey to getting better!

Interesting to see that others have similar tastes to my own; my current lineup in addition to GZ is TZ, Beatles (platinum), and BM66. I also received an invoice for TBL today, so that should set me up for some time.

As I have mentioned earlier, I've had my GZ Premium for a little over a month now, and I am enjoying everything about it. It’s really a great shooter, with so many goals to accomplish, that I don’t see myself getting bored with it anytime soon. And thanks to all of the suggestions posted here about mods and game fixes (most notably the bridge and Abe-Flips ones), I was able to get my game set up right before I launched the first ball.

That’s not to say that I haven’t come across an issue that is a little nagging. I came across some earlier posts about others having an issue with the ball getting stuck just behind the building as the result of a somewhat weak flip; this, in fact, happened to me during two of the first three games that I played on my new machine. Subsequently it has occurred several more times, and there’s nothing more annoying than when you have a good game going and then losing it due to the ball stopping behind the building and you either tilt trying to unsuccessfully shake it loose or taking the glass off and draining it that way. Well, I decided to do something about it and thought that I would share it here so that others might benefit, if so inclined.

The first thing I did was set about to see what the actual problem might be, and it seems that the lower ball guide has a flat spot, and this is where the ball would settle, so it seemed to me that the issue might be remedied by rounding out the flat area.

I proceeded to remove the ball guide; this involved removing the plastics, two wireforms, and a couple of posts in order to access the screw points of the guide. Once removed, here’s what I did: I stuck a vinyl bumper (like what you would use on the corner of a cabinet door) at about the center of the flat area (the bumper is ½” in diameter, and is 1/8” in height, and is flat). I then cut a thin piece of aluminum flash sheet, using tin snips, the same height as the guide, with a length that would “round out” the flat area. I used a file to smooth out the rough edges, and then I used some double-sided carpet tape on the ends of the new piece, and attached it to the guide, as shown in the photos below:

IMG_20221216_200633558 (resized).jpgIMG_20221216_200539864 (resized).jpgIMG_20221216_200642985 (resized).jpgIMG_20221216_200911928 (resized).jpg

The result is now the area that was flat is now rounded, so the ball will hopefully just roll back or forward on those weak hits. Here are a few photos with the fix partially installed…

IMG_20221216_201541617 (resized).jpgIMG_20221216_202647217 (resized).jpg

…and now after full reinstallation of the previously removed parts.

IMG_20221216_204056540 (resized).jpg

I’ve had this in for a little over a week now, and I have yet to experience a ball stop behind the building. Everything that I used I had on hand on my work bench, but if you would like to do this, you can get everything you need at Home Depot (the sheeting was a 10-pack for a little over $3; the bumpers I’m not sure how much they cost, but they won’t break the bank).

IMG_20221216_200721463 (resized).jpg

Hope this helps!

Actually, I did consider that, but I don't really have the proper tools to do that correctly and didn't want to bend it in a way that might not accomplish what I wanted or maybe even made the problem worse.

I figured this was the safest way to proceed and was completely reverseable if it didn't work.

I think you need to install more than one washer for this fix to be effective. Put another one in and see where the bridge stops. If necessary, add more. I had to put 4 of them in mine; works like a charm.

Ah, now that makes sense.

Not that I have anything to worry about, mind you, as I have a LONG way to go before I even get there to make a choice!

Just noticed something while playing the latest update:
While in attract mode, I saw, "In memoriam, Dean Grover, "The Reaper".
First time I've seen that. Nice tribute to one of the good guys.

Congrats and enjoy, and welcome to the club!

Jason is certainly top notch, too.

^^^ This.

That's exactly what I did, except in my case I got through the whole thread while I was waiting on my game. It makes very good reading, and you'll certainly be prepared for anything that pops up. Plus, if you do run into an issue, everyone here is very helpful.
Enjoy!

I can confirm this. My Pre is a November build, and it has the shortened plastic. It started to show marks after only 3 plays, so I did the washer-in-the-coil fix, and it's been good as gold ever since.

Yeah I'm still waiting on mine. I ordered back in November, so I hope I'll see it soon. His stuff is terrific!

^^^This. I followed this precisely and oh what a difference. While the speakers are definite improvements, for me the biggest impact comes with adding an external subwoofer. It really makes it sound like the big boy is stomping around, especially during the bonus tally at the end of a ball. If you have a shaker motor (which, IMHO is a must), then you'll have a total immersive experience.

On vacation in California. Walking on Hollywood Boulevard and saw this:

IMG_20230413_115618567_HDR (resized).jpg

That's exactly what I was thinking! Really, at 6 feet, you could drive a truck through that gap!

OK so I experienced something rather strange, and I thought I would post it here to see if anyone else has seen the same behavior.

I recently visited with a friend who was proudly showing off her new GZPre to me (along with her other acquisitions: LZPre, EHOHPre, and JJP"s GnR), so I thought that I would take a spin on it (I own one as well). After a few moments of play, I noticed something was off in that the opto at the building entrance was not firing (couldn't start a Destruction Jackpot, nor Oxygen Destroyer, despite several clean shots). I popped up the playfield and was able to determine after troubleshooting that the receiver opto (the left one) was stuck in the "open" position; I put my finger across, a ball, etc. and no dice. I took off the working opto from the building VUK and switched them and was able to confirm the faulty opto. She contacted Stern, and they quickly sent out another. A week later, I returned to install it for her, tested it OK, and everything was fine.

Now yesterday (2 days later), she reports to me that the same thing is happening once again. I had her go into switch test, close the coin door, and sure enough, nothing doing, so it looks like another dead opto.

I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps there might be a voltage issue here? Has anyone encountered anything like this before?

Awesome, and welcome to the club!

I have the transparent bands, red slings, and I went with green post sleeves on mine.

Might be a good idea to mark that as a key post.

Ditto here. GZPre, AlienLV, TBL in the span of a few months. I'm officially toast.

Absolutely tremendous! It is a solidly built machine that is fun to play (I find myself laughing a lot). Only thing that I had to do to it was adjust a couple of target switches that were closed, and it has been playing flawlessly since (although I've only had it for a week now). I waited 16 months for it to arrive; was it worth the wait and the price? That would be a matter of opinion, but for me, the answer is a resounding yes.

Better than GZ? I'm not going there. In my mind, that would be like comparing apples and oranges. Two totally different pins that I enjoy a great deal.

I won't go into a lot of detail here (this is a GZ thread, after all!), but it is much improved ever since it went to 1.00. It is currently at 1.13, and it is very engaging and solid.

Wow; nice catch!

Glad you got it figured out!

This is what I did when I was having that same problem. I did this 6 months ago, and it's been fine ever since. Maybe it will help you:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-godzilla-official-owners-club/page/352#post-7299608

Here's something for all of the Godzilla fans out there:

https://cordcuttersnews.com/pluto-tvs-new-godzilla-channel-is-now-live-along-with-hundreds-of-new-movies/

^^^This. I played 3 games on mine when I got it, and the plastic already had a notch from the bridge hitting it. Do the washer fix or just put a cabinet bumper there and you'll be good to go.

Well, yes and no.

For some reason, Stern stopped putting those centering plates in the cabinets, saying they weren't needed any longer. Then when people started to complain about erratic plunges, some reported that their playfields weren't centered and had some play left and right. Soon after on later runs of GZ, they quietly started putting them back in again.

Perhaps you have one of the new hybrid versions?

Seriously, your photo shows holes there, so it should be there. I'm sure you already checked inside your cabinet for the missing one, so getting in touch with Stern would be in order, or you can get one from Marco or PinballLife; they're not terribly expensive.

Looks a lot like the topper I have for my TBL!

20230609_121811 (resized).jpg

You can also place a cabinet door bumper where the bridge would hit the plastic if you don't want to fiddle with the coil and get the same results.

When you get to another city, you need to play another Tier 1 kaiju before a Tier 2 will unlock.

Nope; just plug-and-play.

I have to respectfully disagree. I hooked up my GZ to an external subwoofer and it added a good amount of depth. Now when Godzilla is stomping around Tokyo you can not only feel it with the shaker but hear it with the subwoofer.

What I do on games without Invisiglass is to set the backbox lighting to dim down to 2% when the game starts. Cheapest mod there is.

Regarding shakers, PBL are fine. I have one in my GZ and it's rock solid.

Free shipping, though...

Regarding the opto: it's quite possible that you have a bad transmitter or receiver. A friend had this exact same problem shortly after unboxing, and I was able to determine that the opto was the reason. Let Stern know, and they'll send you replacements (they recommend replacing both transmitter and receiver).

Regarding the building: I had this exact problem on my NIB GZ. If you lift your playfield, you should see that your goody bag will have a small tube of green lubricant in it. Put this on the spindle and the rails, and then see if that helps. Or you can use SuperLube if you have it. My building shake eventually disappeared after about a month or so, so it's possible that there is a breaking in period.

You might want to check the bottom of your cabinet and see if there is any damage to the speaker there; ask me how I would know...

If so, it's not a big deal, though. An exact replacement would not be expensive, and there are several better alternatives anyway.

I just heard from a friend who received her topper today, and half of the LEDs don't light. She spoke with Pablo and he's sending her another one (while she'll need to send back the defective one).

^^^This. I remember a few years back when they put out the topper for The Beatles; it was priced at $399, which I thought was a lot at the time. When I finally got my machine, I was ready to buy a topper for it; the price had gone up dramatically by then, but I managed to find one for $900; how's that for a nice mark up? Today, these are upwards of $2000, if you can find one.

I think Stern saw what toppers were getting on the secondary market and realized that they were leaving quite a bit of money on the table, and raised their prices accordingly to reflect the market. If people are OK with paying over $1000 for some plastic and lights, why not charge it?

Just my $2.00 (2 cents, adjusted for inflation and market price)...

Grinding away for the badges. It's slow going, but I'm playing with a handicap...
IMG_20231222_094053211 (resized).jpgIMG_20231222_094118655 (resized).jpg

Either that or it's the new "Godzilla vs. Beanie the Cat" mode.

I think this is what you're looking for:

https://www.pinballlife.com/plastic-light-domes-with-screw-tabs.html

I was 26

#38 right behind you...
Screenshot_20231231-000326 (resized).png

One would think that one would be for James Bond, but I digress...

Here's what I did to correct that flat area. It's somewhat involved, but it has been rock-solid ever since. No more stuck balls:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-godzilla-official-owners-club/page/352#post-7299608

^^^This. Sometimes after the install, it will take what seems like forever to start up (like watching for a pot of water to start boiling). Make certain that the fan orientation is correctly blowing the air up and out, put the tissue over the hole, and then go off and do something else while the machine warms up. When you come back and see that the paper is missing, all is well.

That reminds me; I have to get to my workbench and make a new fan for a friend's Iron Maiden...

I can't be certain, but I think this was Stern's approach with regard to the coil stops at least.