It's the backlight of the lcd screen... Have to dismantle it to access and repair it.

Surprisingly, it's not your 'run of the mill' lcd screen, it's actually an industrial grade screen. Cheapest I found online is 148 dollars (not as an official stern replacement, but the exact reference used from Innolux)

Anyone with premium/LE noticed the reported issue of the projector being darker after installing 1.05?

Oh wow, thought you were talking about the backbox LEDs. I've never seen the lcd backlight go.

When I bought the game it did not have v1.05 on it but I did quickly update it to the new code. I don't recall it being any darker but maybe Stern did that to add life to the projector?

Anecdotally, brightness and temperature absolutely effect the lifespan of a projector. Very much worth it for the lifespan gain.

Ah so it's not only my imagination

Three things I noticed:
- Screen is darker
- Image is more fuzzy
- PSU fan kicks in more often and for MUCH longer duration, even in attract mode. It's super annoying

I do hope they will at least fix 2/.
As for 1/, OK I get it it's to extend projector life, but it's a tad too dark now
As for 3/, hopefully I can work around it (seem to recall an intake 3D part to improve airflow)

With regards to the LCD, I can easily find it (at a lower price, but not by much) on various website. I could also buy a replacement screen of same dimension, hoping the mounting mechanism will be identical. To note that the screen is actually an industrial grade version, supposed with a long lifetime. Guess I draw the short straw.

To clarify, I have not installed 1.05 yet, just asking if anyone has seen that since I read about it last month. (Maybe you mentioned it before?)

No I did not mention it before myself, and must have missed the comment.

I installed 1.05 three days ago, and noticed 2/ and 3/. 1/ I thought was my imagination, but reading your comment, and looking back at the machine, I really have a feeling it's darker.

Did you upgrade the screen material yet because that will more than improve the brightness of the projector.

I had this same issue early on! I figured out that there’s three places where that noise is triggered: left lite lock, right lite lock, and the leaf switch in the back by the pops. For me it was that leaf switch by the pops.

I haven't noticed these. I doubt it's anything to do with the code update.
Note that the projector needs to warm up before you get full clarity (I think they recommend 15 minutes before you attempt any focus adjustment).
To rule out any connection to the code update, try doing an A/B test. Get another SD card and load it up with the previous code. Make sure both cards have the same settings (use the Save/Load settings to/from USB stick in the Utilities menu).

As for the fan, it's temperature controlled. So maybe you just have warmer conditions? Regardless, you should replace the stock fan with a quiet one, then you will never hear it again.

With regards to brightness/sharpness, I'm not the only one who reported it, see this:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stranger-things-club-join-our-party/page/277#post-6734871

As for the fan, yes indeed it could be environnmental conditions. Or, the code is actually forcing the CPU board to draw more power, but that would be surprising.

Cheers

Did any get a response from this Pablo guy at Stern ? Worth me sending an email as well ?

I have yet to get an email from anyone at Stern that is worth a damn.

I always go to my distributor first and then they CC Pablo for me. It is sporadic responses but i got my opto replacement in about a month or 2 start to finish

Really? they were very responsive when I was trying to get the TK ramp cover

anyway

I have only dealt with random people there and have yet to have a good experience.

i got a same day reply- like within an hour- from thalia by filling out the form on their site *shrug*

The quick reply was not the issue, the content of the reply was.

I bet they think you’re a random person too.

Yeah. They probably aren't aware that I am a "Big Deal" on Pinside.

Did an update to my custom sound mod to include Kate Bush Running up That Hill for the Get Me Out Mode.
I think it fits perfectly! Of course to show you, I had to do it with the glass off

Does this mean we should ask for a new download, or is this just your initial reaction?

Yes, you will need to PM me for a new link. Pro is done, just need to do the LE/Premium which I am updating right now.

Does your custom code work with insider connected?

Yes, no issues reported with Insider Connected. Although, you might want to turn off automatic updates.

I just did an A/B test between versions 1.02 and 1.05. I see absolutely no difference in the projector. Looks exactly the same. So, I’m thinking your problem lies elsewhere.

Thanks for checking that! The projector has a mechanical focus dial that is touchy, so maybe is just got bumped out of focus and needs a tweak. (I was the second owner on my premium and mine was out a bit, but has been fine since I corrected it.)

LOL! Got to Total Isolation yesterday for the first time, I am not that great of a player. Pretty cool but nothing mind blowing. I realize I have mush more to see. Stranger Things is such a great game!

I played some last night and concur that Running Up That Hill works well for this mode. Started Get Me Out three times and liked the feel.

Season 4 or not, the song has moved up to #4 on the Billboard charts and is now synonomous with the show and escaping the Upside Down. Now of we only had a programmer type here that could add video and call outs with Max and the Vecna scene in the Upside Down during Get Me Out .

When I got my game I put a different apron on and disconnected the Stern insider and stuck it in the cabinet, wasnt interested it and dont really even know what all it does aside from leaderboards. Was wondering, does it add anything to the game , how often is it “used” etc?

I'm not sure if it adds anything, but if you want to sell your insider connected stuff I'm interested

Thanks to chuckwurt and HurryUpPinball for your videos and tips on dialing this game in. I got the burn it back loop hitting the flipper perfect as well as left orbit rejects that wouldn't make the ramp, both are returning nicely to the left flipper.
The issue i was still having was when the ball was being released from the mystery shot near the post, the ball would hit the top or the middle of the sling.

What I noticed was that the ball would kind of drop from the area where the post is, and ping pong a little/bounce a bit near the guide rail so the ball wouldn't roll smoothly down the guide to the flipper.

I found a very small thin rubber foot that i had, kind of like a small furniture pad and put it right above the circle where the metal rail is where the ball comes out to sorta push the pinball to the guide rail instead of falling and ping ponging. This actually worked amazingly, the ball now gets pushed out of that area to the guide rail as expected.
See before and after pictures. Since it is aligned inside near the orbit, other shots do not hit it.
Red arrows showing where the ball would go before and after.
Before
After

Total Isolation 2 has some wild sound and visuals - I have only reached it a few times but it did wow me

That's cool. Hopefully some day I will reach it.

Added some season 4 love.

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I finished send it back for the first time today! Such a bummer to have the game ending with a bug when you are about to beat the GC

ugh, weak

Has any installed the Cliffy's ? I looked through the thread images and didn't see any posted images of them.

Someone here did, I asked about it a few pages back. They said they remove it because the ball kept getting stuck on it.

I have them all installed but will be taking the drops off next time I do maintenance. Balls keep getting hung up on it but the reset of the drops does knock it free. After more than 4k games on my machine I see no damage to the rear drop ledge so not sure it's needed.

..and there you have it.

Thanks to Wizmods from turning the crap pro apron with IC stuff into this:

440BD2E8-A1F6-4392-935E-16BDD54932E2 (resized).jpeg

ST Premium here. Demogorgon problem. I'm having in issue where when you get into this Demogorgon mode, the screen drops down as it should. After the
Demogorgon shakes, the screen goes back up with no change to shoot the ball up the ramp. I tried holding the Demo when it shakes and the screen stays down, but as soon as it shakes again, the screen goes up. So, it looks like the optos are registering hits on their own. Question is, which optos register the hits?

I tried switch test and shaking the Demo manually and nothing registers. All optos register by hand normally. Anyone have any ideas what I should adjust that may be causing this?