Does anyone know whether Stern implemented this fix on new production machines?
(Topic ID: 82803)
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Just wondering as I will be getting a new one soon, and it would be nice to know that I don't have to worry about it. If not, at least there is this thread and the power of pinside. The fix seems relatively easy.
2 weeks later
I just received a new one. Shipped on Thursday the 12th. Knock on wood, but I haven't had an issue yet. Have only played it for a few days, but have played Vengence multiball several times. I haven't had a chance to lift the playfield yet to see if Stern did anything.
Does everyone have this problem, or only some? Is it intermittent?
Hey guys, I think Stern took your suggestion and implemented the fix. I haven't had the problem you all have had. I received my game a week ago. I just lifted the playfield and saw twisted wires around the magnet. Here are some pictures. Is this what everyone is referring to as the fix? If so, Stern is doing it.
A couple of times now, the second ball hung on the first for me. (I guess I jinxed myself by saying I hadn't had a problem.) Both times, by shaking the machine a bit, I got them to release.
Quoted from steve1515:Which opto wires are twisted together? Is it the lower opto receiver and transmitter are together and the upper's are together also? Or, is it both the left upper and lower opto boards are twisted together and both the right's are together?
I ask because, looking at the pictures it looks like the twisted wires are both coming out of the same hole in the playfield. On my game both the rights come out of the same hole and both the lefts come out of another hole. I would have thought that you would want to twist together the wires from a corresponding opto (i.e. both the bottoms together and both the upper opto wires together).
So, I'm a little confused as to what's the right way. Which way should it be done?
If you are referring to my pictures, there are two holes. You can kind of see it in the second picture -- the hole at the bottom center is the hole you see in the first picture. I hope that helps.
Quoted from steve1515:Yes, I was talking about your pictures. So basically what I meant was that you have a hole on both the left and right of the vengeance. The two opto cables on the right side of the ship (for the upper and lower optos) go into the right side hole. And, the two opto cables on the left side of the ship (for the upper and lower optos) go into the left side hole.
So, the way it's shown in your picture, it looks like Stern twisted together the two rights and also twisted together the two lefts. I thought the fix was to twist together the two lower optos and also twist together the two upper optos. It doesn't appear that's how it's done one your game, unless they fed the wires thought the holes differently than on mine. Can you check to see which optos you have twisted together?
Sure. So, if you look from the top of the playfield, the top and bottom opto wires on the right side of the Vengence go in the hole on the right, and the top and bottom opto wires on the left side of the Vengence go in the hole on the left. I think that answers your question, yes?
Quoted from Nokoro:A couple of times now, the second ball hung on the first for me. (I guess I jinxed myself by saying I hadn't had a problem.) Both times, by shaking the machine a bit, I got them to release.
This problem is now happening more and more to me despite the twisted wires from Stern. It is not a huge deal because I can still get the balls to release with a shake of the machine. And it is only intermittent. But perhaps I should try those beads. Would I place them over the twisted wires? Do they stay in place by themselves?
Quoted from TimeBandit:One thing to think about.. Over time as the balls become magnetised they will not roll when attached to each other. Try this on the open playfield or a bench. This is what causes trough problems with magnetised balls. The examples of balls still sticking after the fix that are dislodged with a shake are not the game doing it.. It is magnetised balls sticking together and not rolling properly.
Thanks. That's interesting. I was going to get those ultragloss pinballs from pinball life, but I wanted to wait until I had a chance to put some felt tape on the ball shooter like another pinsider recommended to prevent nicks. Maybe that will correct the problem.
Quoted from nicoga3000:So I've twisted the optos and moved the wires away from the magnet...But now I'm getting ball sticks every time I get to Vengeance - left or right flipper shot. Any thoughts?
We're you getting them before? Are your balls magnetized like mine? Do they come loose with a shake?
I just got the ultra gloss balls from pinballlife but haven't had a chance to put them in yet. I'm hoping that stops the occaisional stuck ball that I get.
Quoted from nicoga3000:I'm thinking of calling Stern tomorrow and bitching to see what they may be able to suggest otherwise (unless that's a lost cause?).
You should definitely call Stern. They have clearly implemented the fix that was suggested here if you look at the pictures I posted on a recently manufactured machine. If there are instances when this still doesn't work, something else is either wrong or the fix doesn't work in all circumstances. But, they have thought about it, so they may be able to give you some ideas. Let us know what happens.
Quoted from gweempose:I guess I should probably remove the "solution found" from the thread title. This sucks. I thought for sure we had it licked. I wonder if Stern changed something in the way they are building them that now causes the twisting fix to NOT work.
Given that Stern is twisting themselves, I'm not sure they changed something else. My machine has been working fairly well with the twist from Stern. It was manufactured on June 11th. The occasional hang-up I get I'm hoping is just a magnetized ball. I think it makes sense to wait and see what nicoga3000 reports back after talking to Stern. Maybe there is a simple explanation or fix.
Quoted from Jediturtle:Nicoga...try rerouting the wires all as far away from the magnet as you can get. I rerouted mine a while back before the twisting solution was found. So far I've only had one stick since doing that and I never bothered going back and twisting them (though I probably will next time I'm under the hood...just for good measure). With the amount of wire they have bundled up under there, you can actually route them pretty far away from the magnet and the wires that feed it. Good luck!
My one that came from Stern twisted also has the wires routed fairly far away, especially on the bottom.
1 week later
Quoted from nicoga3000:So I corrected my optos and it still happens. I'll be in contact with Stern tomorrow. Thanks for the pics!
Did you ever have a chance to contact Stern? Just curious as to what they said.
3 weeks later
Quoted from SaminVA:Mine is Star Trek LE #012 and I have had this problem sense day one but it only happens randomly and not very often. I did buy some ferrite cores from Radio Shack but haven't installed them yet. I haven't even raised the playfield sense the day it was delivered so it's only been open once. I decided to wait till the new code release to see if that had any effect on the problem or until Stern acknowledged the problem and a fix before I tried twisting the wires sense it would seem it doesn't work on everyone's game.
I think Stern has implicitly acknowledged the problem because they are twisting wires on new machines now.
Quoted from steve1515:For those having the problem: Are you guys using the original Stern balls or have you switched them out?
If you've switched them out, what type of balls are you using?
Pinballlife ultra-gloss balls to avoid magnetizing the balls.
4 weeks later
So, with the old 1.4 code, I wasn't having any problems really. My wires came twisted from the factory. Under the new code -- which supposedly fixed the problem according to the readme file -- every time I hit the first ball on the magnet with the second ball, the second ball pushes the first ball back and the second ball gets stuck on the magnet trapping the first ball. A third ball still launches, and a shake will release the two stuck balls, but often times creating a tilt warning. What have other people's experiences been with the new code? Anyone having this issue?
Quoted from Jediturtle:Just like before, if a shake releases the balls, it most likely isn't a software problem but rather magnetized balls. If the software isn't releasing when it should, no amount of shaking would knock them loose.
I have the ultragloss balls from pinballlife. Those shouldn't magnetize, should they?
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