Does this drastically change the quality of sound from just running speaker wire direct from the internal subwoofer terminals? And to confirm, is this the unit:

https://pinnovators.myshopify.com/collections/stranger-things-premium/products/pinsub-spike-spike2-stern-kit

I was going to ask the same thing.

I have mine connected directly to the terminals of the subwoofer in the cabinet and it seems to work fine.

When did you get your topper and where did you order it from? Still waiting for mine. This sucks.

Decided to pull the trigger on a Premium and have talked to 4 distributors - they've all said the same thing. They get build lists from Stern for the next 4-6 months and ST Premiums are no longer listed. May just have to go with a Pro at this point.......

I have a pro coming tomorrow. I wanted a premium and searched the internet for days. Thought I had found one but the distributor was out. I was told by 3 distributors that premiums are done. I was able to find a uv light kit, but those are hard to find also.

I found a NIB LE nearby, but it’s $11k. Just a bit over the “I can’t afford a divorce” price point. I could sell 2 pins to raise the cash though....

You lucked out on the UV kit. I have been unable to find one for my pro. I've not been so hot on a "mod" as I am for this one.
Stern told me that more are coming.

How is the shaker coded for this game?
Worth it?

I have to just thank chuckwurt and all that have weighed in on how to get this game dialed in. This game is a blast. Like some others, I have never seen the show, but after playing the game I finally got all caught up, and it is funny when you are playing a mode and it is like "Ohhhh that is what Lure Dart means" haha.

I have the replacement ramp tk lock cover from Stern, but haven't installed it yet, as my bastardized orig ramp cover is working pretty good.

Last thing; favorite part of the game: Extra ball. Come on! Is it just me that a monster from the upside down getting smacked in the side of the face is funny ?!

You do realize that that is an homage to Attack from Mars right? Same designer...

how exactly? never played AFM

Lol. Of course I do. Is that a bad thing? I mean Brian Eddy was at the last LAX when I played it the last time (and saw the super secret "uv mod" too)

oh gotcha, I actually did play AFM but only 1 game recently, not enough to even get an extra ball...

I like the layout of AFM more than Stth to be honest, fun level about the same, the music a bit repetitive though like all 90s pins though.

Yeah which I think is perfect for doing so!

Video mode would totally rock, but I am not disappointed with how the game is now for sure

the game is a fun shooter, I wish it had more callouts and was a bit more upbeat and not so tetric and maybe capture the essence of the kids a bit more.

The game is a lot of fun, I only own 2 pins and I play this one the most, the more I play it the more I like it, I like the demo modes if you complete them those are fun and have a couple levels. Have not gotten past the 3rd demo, the 2nd one is the most fun so far... I finished that it was a a blast.

I am thinking of trading my game for a dead pool though but I am on the fence now, it is jus a lot of fun... I might just need to buy dead pool instead, lol.

you are not the guy to talk to if someone is trying to save money.. I see.. haha

Just kidding, actually I am on the fence on DP just pending on whatever the new title is, if it is BTTF then no DP, if it is Mando... well, I would have to see how designs it and who codes it...

Do you have a DP? I am debating between Pro or Pre, I like the orbit on the PRE. Orbits are my favourite thing on any pinball machine.

That is one thing that bother me in Stth, the right orbit is clunky sometimes.

yeah, the burn it back is nice when it does not clunk, and the right orbit --If we can call it that-- it is underwhelming to say the least, it is a shot that I have to take actually, not very smooth, small reward and high risk when the ball comes back.

Have you guys replaced the fans on the power unit on these? I am tempted to make it silent following Pink Monk's tutorial but I was wondering as everything seems to overheat on this game, if this is a good idea...

There must be something wrong with the code on this game, because I cannot understand why the fans come on so often...

yes was wondering if anybody here changed the fan to make it quieter? did you?

burnt it back orbit can be smooth, but not 100% -- in my game of course -- ... so I guess that the time it is not smooth it is because of a bad shot?

I wish it was smoother for any shot though, if I can achieve that then this and TK that works 100% with even not so great shots (I am losing a ton of balls and points due to rejects) then this game is possible a keeper and will stay bolted to the floor.

I am not sure what to adjust for and bending the ball guides the wrong way even a little could result in a less smoother shot, so I am on the fence about making adjustment unless someone with the experience can guide me.

I traded my beloved DP LE away only for a grail pin a couple weeks ago and I miss it bad as I had it for years. That game is super fun and the premium/LE upgrade is a no brainier. The left orbit on DP prem and STh are super similar in feel, fantastic! The right orbit on DP is not too far off from STh either unfortunately. Kinda clunky. Sword ramp skill shot is one of the best ever, especially combo-ed. That being said I had these two side by side and they were perfect going between them shot-wise and theme-wise. They’re both keepers and two of Stern’s recent best, and I feel two of their best period. There is no wrong choice between these two games, however, there is a right choice in choosing both.

thanks for that upbeat post!

I just need to make the 'burn it back' orbit 100% because it drives me absolute insane when it rattles.
HELP

yes I can repeat the shot, I sometimes flip it through 2-3 times in a row and it is a nice shot to get going, but it sometimes can also rattle as it exits the right orbit entering the left side it can rattle on the left side, so I am not sure if it could use a bit of an adjustment or this is normal.

Does anyone have a slo-mo of the correct left saucer eject? I am trying to dial it in by adjusting the scoop but I am struggling. I wanted to see where it is supposed to hit on the lane guide to the right of the drops.

Thanks.

Thanks Chuck. You know, you guys are killing me. I thought my game was dialed in pretty well until I saw that the saucer can loop through the burn it back and now I MUST have that. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

My only other issue is that the left orbit eject sometimes grazes the middle of the left sling causing it to trigger. I need to push the lane guide out to the right. Previously that eject would often go SDTM so I pulled the lane guide as far left as it could go. Now I have to get back to it and ease it out to the right a hair.

That gets us an extra year where this theme is still current. My only concern with this theme was longevity. Will anyone care about this show in a few years?

Not for me. For my tastes this is the best Stern pin. Really harkens back to the 90s WMS games which was my favorite era.

Code has nothing to do with it. It’s a self-contained power supply. The fan comes on when it needs to. If have the quiet fan for mine I just haven’t done it yet. I’ve installed the quiet fan in my JP and the difference is staggering. Well worth it in a quiet basement!!

I will install mine soon. If I can stop playing the game haha.

What volume do you guys have it on to still hear the fan? I have 3 Spike games on next to each other and dont hear fans.

Congratulations, where did you buy ?

Yeah during play who cares. It's when it's just sitting there and you hear that fan whining.. My next loudest is WOZ but it has a computer PS so that fan is always on.

Of course the power supply has nothing to do with code, however, the power supply gets power drawn from it as requested by the CPU? sorry I did not explain myself properly.

wrote a long response but changed my mind.

I did notice that the flipper strength is dictated by code, so I am wondering if this could be the case also - and other power management setting - that can affect the power unit to maybe come on more often, because it is drawing more power more often.

When I upgraded the flipper coils for my LOTR, I bought a few of these heat sinks - they work well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081636Z2H

This isn’t the exact one I bought, so check your coil width. You can stretch them a bit, but not much.

STh would have a higher power draw just with the projector. Not only are you running the projector but the MPU board is running 2 displays - probably more power consumption too from the CPU. The attract mode (number of lit inserts) also has an impact.

The quiet fan runs longer than the stock fan. If it was running continuously then I would be concerned. Pretty sure those power supplies aren't Stern designed. They are most likely just off-the-shelf, cheap, and meets their need.

In any case many folks(including myself) have changed fans without problems. In fact, I haven't seen 1 post about how a PS failed after switching fans. The PS most likely has thermal protection anyway for certification - meaning they will shut down instead of burning out.

You do what you are comfortable with!

I like the idea of keeping them quiet, I am not overly concerned about the power unit burning out... I was just nerding it out and thinking out loud as to why the flippers tend to overheat, perhaps all things are related... specially when compared to other games, even when set at max power...they never get as hot as Stth.
Just thinking out loud here.

Ball/game time also has an impact. On JP when I get a good game going (30-40 mins) the Trex shot becomes nearly impossible to make like STh. The flippers do weaken as well - which is why I bought 2 cooling kits - just haven't installed in JP yet.

LOTR was notorious for fading flippers - mostly due to super long game times (over an hour if you are having a good one).

This is made worse when you have a game that has a shot/shots that require full flipper strength.

Today I modded Stranger Things like I've been doing to all Stern pins I've had recently.

I replace the tutorial and "quarter dropping" videos with theme-relevant content. I've never watched the show, but I know it doesn't include season 3 content. Some videos are from season 3, to add more variety.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LJjUr5gZfBgz66fS8

Stranger Things plays the videos in a different order than Iron Maiden and Jurassic. Those two games alternate between those videos and do not play them right after another like STh does.

JP Pro attract videos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BFGrXKgbptgKsJ3f7

Iron Maiden Pro attract videos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2RsaF8Cc5xXYUXdG9

Those are cool. They filmed the mall scenes 5 miles from my house, good use of a sad dead mall.