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Why are node boards so expensive? If these are going to be a point of failure, then Stern should sell replacements at a reasonable price. My Ghostbusters node 9 popped the other day. 260 quid! 
Surely these boards can't be that expensive to make.
Quoted from Tuukka:Replacement node boards are money for Stern. It is not a question how much they cost to make, but how much you are ready to pay for replacement board, when your $6000 game needs one. Probably their BOM is about $20.
Agree with you 100%. But in my day, you'd stick a new tip102 or whatever in! I love the new technology in these machines, but if it pops at the drop of a hat - and that costs me 260 quid each time - then that's just not sustainable. Stern should not see the failure of their boards as a revenue flow as people have to buy new ones out of warranty. We all know that things go wrong with electronics, but I firmly believe that all pinball companies should support their customers by minimising the profit they make from essential replacement assemblies like node boards - especially since these seem to be something of a common point of failure, looking at other threads.
From a Stern marketing point of view, I would hope they would realise that if people are routinely encountering problems like this that cost them 260 quid to fix, then it follows that they will be much less likely to buy a Stern game in the future. My Ghostbusters has less than 200 plays on it.
Quoted from KenLayton:Think of it this way: Node boards are to Stern what ink cartridges are to printers.
Aargh! I really hope I don't have to think of it that way!
Quoted from Kevlar:Stern have turned boards into consumables. Faulty board? no problem sir, just buy a new one, easy. Except they cost a fortune.
Amen. That's what worries me - I have a Ghostbusters and BM66 and I am concerned that I'll have to buy new printer cartridges for them in the future at 260 quid a pop.
Quoted from gdonovan:Well the good news the Node board 8 decided to work again for some in explicable reason but the flashers are still for crap. Power is set to 255 in settings and this is what it looks like.
About as bright as a regular LED. I'll check voltages in the morning.
[quoted image]
IMHO, those early node boards weren't up to much. See my collection of broken node boards at the link below. I am informed that the new ones are better, and to be fair (touch wood) the ones on my BM66 have been fine.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-horror-pics/page/66#post-6409468
Quoted from KenLayton:A friend just had his Ghostbusters node 8 board crap out.
8 and 9 crapped out on mine, as you describe (board not found). And then the CPU board, which lost its 5v. £1K is around what I spent replacing them. Not good.
Quoted from PinMonk:Was the service bulletin modifications done on the boards that crapped out? If not, that's probably why they died...
Yes to the first one (SB188), but not the second one. Have the newer node boards had the SB189 issue fixed? I'd hate to have to replace them again!
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