Kit includes a new apron with lights, lights you attach to the ramps, a power board and cabling/screws. Premium/LE kit includes the metal apron.

EDIT: Forgot about the new plastics too.

$280 does seem like a lot, then I remember how much I paid for the Tron mini arcade, the Tron lighted ramp kit, or my lighted sauron eye for LOTR, all awesome mods, and it doesn't feel so bad, especially given it includes an apron.

I do think though that LE owners should get this for free, or at least significantly discounted. Saying this as a non-LE owner. Personally I think LE's should come with all Stern accessories. For ones not available at launch, a gift certificate/code.

Separate power board.

Just got the shipping notice for my UV kit, now at some point I guess I have to get the pin....

I was on the verge of getting a Premium before Covid hit, have the UV kit for a Premium already. The diverter thing worries me though. I don't want to have to disable one of the major mechs on the game to be able to enjoy it. I hope Stern comes up with something to make it more reliable.

Great work, hopefully they can engineer something different. I’d think it would be a cost effective fix to do and distribute as well.

Can you backhand the lock with the cover off or still not enough momentum?

Things I am waiting for before I jump into the club:

1) An official fix for the TK lock issue.

2) More projection mapping on the ramps, targets etc. Load it up. I want stuff all the time. One of the biggest selling points for the Premium/LE and it just feels lacking. To be fair I haven't seen the last couple of code releases so maybe this has gotten better?

3) More space for pins. Not really Stern's problem

People aren’t mucking with code, they are just replacing files in the game image. For example, the code says “play audio clip 1”. The tool people are using just lets you replace clip 1.

The change you are talking about would require reverse engineering the binary for the game. Not impossible but way more more difficult.

So I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

Wow. Wish deals like that happened around me.

I like the topper, at the old topper prices of $399. I also like the Jurassic Park and Avengers toppers, just not at the prices Stern charges now. I also like keeping money in the bank, so it all works out.

I hope they change their minds and decide to run some more Premiums. I held off getting one thinking they would be running them for a couple of years at least. Find it weird that it is off the line already, feels like they didn't give it enough of a chance to find its legs.

Have to agree with RobT on this one. I don't think they need to drop everything to throw out a release to fix it, but there is no reason why Stern couldn't put resources towards fixing known, reproducible bugs. Use a more junior guy, or give the leads a couple of weeks in between games to chase things like this down.

Stern has gotten a lot better with code releases in the last couple of years, the "if they get time" thing feels like going backwards.

I get why they don't. And I don't really expect they will. I don't even own the game because they dropped it so soon. What I said was there is no reason they "can't", and am disappointed if this is their reasoning. When I worked I fixed bugs for software that we didn't sell anymore all the time. Customers were still using it, they paid for it, so we supported it. Pretty simple.

I still have my UV kit, with no game

I am holding out hope they will run more Premiums in 2022. Probably won't, but I feel like they will decide to announce another run the day after I choose to sell the kit.

I want the projector. Doesn't change the gameplay, but changes the overall experience. As Chuckwurt said, I will just pick up a used one in a couple of years if they don't do another run.

If i end up never getting one, then so be it. Lots of pins in the sea. I don't like to compromise on my "fun" stuff, I either get what I want or just don't bother. At the very least, I will have a nice UV kit

I had a similar issue with my JP Premium. Ended up removing the mesh that Stern puts underneath the speaker. Didn't try weather stripping.

However, any game built that contains the Insider Connect thing (so any game being built while/after Godzilla is on the line) looks like it could go up a couple hundred. Depends on the distrib is my guess.

I've been holding out to get a Premium, but looks like that ship has sailed at anything like reasonable prices, even if Stern does do another run in 2022. Considering a Pro because I think I can still get one before the prices go boom.

Kind of a weird situation though because it will probably come with Insider Connect, with the Pro apron. I already have the Premium UV kit, was just going to use the apron from that. I wonder if I will be able to move the QR reader over from the Pro apron to the Premium one and get the new apron art from Stern...

I don't get the "RMA it to Stern" thing. It is trashed because of a shipping issue. I would hope that the dealer would be helping you out with this, not sure why they aren't stepping up. You should be shipping it back to the dealer, and they should be shipping you a new one.

However, if you chose to have it shipped without insurance then you might just have to eat whatever extra costs there are.

I don't think the packaging is stellar, but for something to get that bent up and banged around someone was playing soccer with that box. I've had three toppers delivered with that exact same packaging and no damage.

I have no direct info, but I thought I heard in interviews/podcasts that they have a small separate line for accessories.

I like Wizmods stuff, but is any of it officially licensed? If not I don't really want to support.

Use up 500 of them on another Stranger Things Premium run, sell a couple hundred to different parts sellers, keep some on hand for warranty. Would be nice.

As much as I want Stern to, I doubt they will vault the Premium. I don't agree with your reasoning though:

1) Other than GZ, I think they are pretty much caught up with their backlog.

2) Stranger Things was a hit already when they got the license the first time. Will it be more expensive second time around? Maybe, but people threw the licensing costs around for why ACDC would never be remade, and then it was vaulted (both Pro, Premium and Luci)

3) It didn't sell well because early code hampered it and then covid happened a few months after launch. Locations everywhere shutdown and people went into bunker mentality. It is still a strong theme and the truncated run has increased demand.

4) Yes, the original DLP chipset that drives the projector doesn't exist. Doesn't matter, all Stern was doing was feeding it a video signal. A projector with a similar footprint and feature set would work just fine. If Stern really wanted to vault the Premium I am confident they could figure it out.

Jody (Stern's main licensing guy) said in the video that they would like to work with the Stranger Things license again. Could be an epic troll, could be a hint that they will vault, could be a hint they will do a whole new pin, or maybe a "the pin" based on the license, I guess we will see.

Myself, I will never say never. There were multiple licensing and production "experts" on here who were positive AC/DC would never get vaulted (license is too expensive!!!), and it did. Then "Stern will never vault Luci edition, wasn't popular enough", and they did.

Seems to me the only people who don't want to entertain the possibility are those who own one and want to keep the value inflated.

You have no idea what it would cost to renew the license. All that is clear is that you think your opinions are the same as facts. There is a difference.

When did everyone at Stern say they won't make more, ever? I must've missed that.

Even with the price jump you are 5k too high.

If they vaulted TAF, existing TAF values would drop. Just like MMr and AFMr and MBr caused drops in the prices of the originals. Supply increases, prices drop. You think people would be getting $14k for a Stranger Things Premium if a new one was available for $9800?

In any case, sorry to clutter up the thread. I hope they make more so more people get a chance to own one (myself included). If they never do, so be it.

.

Odds have increased on Stern vaulting Stranger Things Premium. Joel Engelberth just did a very informative interview with George Gomez where they talked about Stranger Things and George mentioned "maybe" re-visiting it.

Relevant discussion starts at around the 49:00 minute mark, but the whole video is definitely worth a watch.

I have one that I am keeping to trade for ammo during the zombie apocalypse, or to use whenever I find a reasonably priced Premium. Which ever comes first.

Taking the card out, and putting it back in with a reboot won't do anything. Once you updated to 1.07, it completely replaced the "Cleland" version on your SD card. So from your SD card's standpoint, the "Cleland" code no longer exists.

Installing Stern's version of 1.05 won't bring it back either, and Stern doesn't supply old versions of its code on their website anyway.

If you want to get the Cleland version back, you will have to re-image the SD card with his version. If you don't have the file to do that, you will probably have to PM him.

This thread has info on how to image a new card:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stranger-things-cleland-sound-mod

Nope. All he said is they would like to run it again at some point. People heard it as "we are re-running it now" and started calling their distribs. The distribs call Stern, Stern has to clarify.

It'll be interesting for sure if vault rumors for this year are true. There is that gap in their production schedule for November. I was pretty certain they would vault it, but 2024 at the earliest. If they do vault, and the new ones have the UV kit included I'll be kinda pissed at myself for not taking the crazy offer I got for my kit a few months ago.

I have the topper, UV kit and Medisinyl's set all sitting in boxes ready to go, so obviously, I want one, but if price is too high I'll be selling some mods...

Covid hit, locations shut down, factory had to shut down. Early code was bad, Premium/LE lock mech had issues, perfect storm of bad.

To keep dust off I guess. For me I like being able to see the playfield even when walking by, so I just clean the glass once in awhile.

Man, I should've taken the 1K USD offer I had for my UV kit a few months ago. Oh well, at least I don't have to try to source another one.

I wonder if the aprons in the new Premium runs are going to have the full apron artwork that newer games have. Hope so, I think they look much better, but will make it a pain with my older style UV kit.

Your distro may be waiting on Premiums to be done as well to consolidate their shipment from Stern. Also possible Stern didn't do the whole run of Pros due to parts/whatever and your distro didn't get all of theirs. Also possible the distro is full of crap, hard to say.

There are distributors who have it in stock ready to ship right now, like Nitro pinball. So if you want it now, jump. If where you have your order is local to you that might be important, depending on how much post sales support you want/need. In that case it might be worth waiting.

Yeah I was hoping I'd have the game by early December, Xmas is now feeling like a faint hope. If they don't have the parts they don't have them, not much you can do but wait. I've had it on my collection wish list for over three years now so I've learned patience. Kinda.

Just got asked to pay in full for my Premium! Looks like they will be shipping out soon.

Mine doesn't ship out until Friday

Looking grim for getting it by Xmas.

I think they'll be producing them in January as well.

I've had my UV kit for three and a half years. My Premium shipped out to me today. I am eager for the two of them to meet, needs to happen by the 21st or I won't be able to pick it up it until the 27th

Yeah, a ramp that throws the ball into the air that can bounce off of the demo in a bunch of different directions is going to cause dimples. Steel is harder than wood, plus gravity and speed.

Picked up my game today! Arrived a whole day earlier than my most optimistic estimate. Tomorrow will be adjusting, installing UV kit, Medisinyl's mods and the topper. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get around to playing lol

Been tweaking my Premium, not much playing yet. I did install the UV kit and I was a bit worried that it might not go well as the kit is original run. For anyone else in the same boat, it works fine except some pain with the insider connect scanner.

The original run Premiums had lit up art in the two apron triangles. The original UV kit has the same arrangement, with a cut out for the Insider Connect scanner in the bottom right. New run premiums only light up the left apron triangle and have Insider Connect in the right apron triangle. I tried setting it up two ways:
1) Remove the art from the right side of the UV kit apron and just move the connect scanner over. It doesn't quite fit. The scanner bracket and the UV apron light board on that side interfere with each other.

2) Move the scanner to the bottom right of the UV kit apron like some people were doing with original run Premiums. Pros: You get to keep the right side apron art. Cons: The right side apron art is no longer lit. Could look at running an LED board there, but I am lazy. Also the scanner is just surrounded by plain black apron, need to do something to liven it up.

Other than that, and a couple of wonky screws that came with the kit it was all pretty straightforward. Will be interested to see how the new UV kits differ.

I've also been having the same problems others have with the demo ramp. Comes down fine, but was having problems going back up. I used some pliers to bend the hinge making sure it was straight and it seems to be working okay. It is still binding a bit on the left hand part of the screen though. Not sure the best way to adjust it without taking the whole assembly apart, which could be a chore for another day if I keep having issues. If anyone has done that on the original or the new let me know, I didn't see anything in key posts.

Also had two gouges in the center screen right from the factory, will see if Stern will send me a new sticker.

Spent a big chunk of time getting the game setup and adding the UV kit today.

Ramp issues:

Did this and I think? it worked. Still had the ramp do the "I've fallen and can't get up" once right after but the motor just might've been out of position. I'll keep an eye on it. At least it isn't rubbing on the left anymore. Thanks!

TK lock:
I've barely had time to test, but did lock three balls on TK no problem.

Demo:
I was ready to try adjustments but then sunk two in a row, so I'll see if I can get to consistency without any tweaks.

Flipper power:
I also turned down the power on both left and right flippers, at 225 for both right now. I was getting airballs off of the drops at default power, seems to have calmed down. Might lower them even further.

This game has required the most tweaking of any NIB I have owned, but I think I am getting there. I'd be reasonably happy if one of the apron bolts hadn't snapped in half...on my UV kit apron no less.

Screen ramp started being wonky again, and my projector keeps losing focus (even after waiting for warmup). So game is turned off until I hear from support. Worst NIB experience since my X-men LE playfield chipping incident of 2012.

New Bond code came out though, so I have something new to play over the holiday.

Been there, done that. I went through 5 rounds of pulling everything apart, adjusting focus perfectly, putting the bracket back on, verifying focus is perfect, put apron on and focus is screwed again. I think the focus slider on my projector is just wonky. Tiny little adjustments will significantly change focus one time, the next have to move it much further to get the same impact. Last night focus was great, played a few games. Turned it on this morning and let it warm up for 20 mins, focus was screwed again. Then ramp stopped working. Then I shut it off and played video games.

This is where I was last night, thought it was fixed, this morning focus was out again. I'll give it another shot.

I know. Been waiting 20-30 mins after start to make sure. I'll try longer.

I have tried that. I have tried pretty much everything I can think of. Pretty much lifting and then lowering the playfield will cause me focus issues. Projector is secure, brackets are all tight, just very flaky.

Game also has other issues that make it unplayable, so unplugged and will be that way for awhile. Got a bit of a lemon this time.

Last three NIB I've bought had the coinbox clip either rattling around in the cabinet or in the bottom of the cardboard box. Missing a quality control step somewhere. Luckily I haven't had the coinbox go flying anywhere yet. Hope everything is okay.

On the new projectors it isn't a wheel any more, it is sliding switch.

The UV kit doesn't come with thread cutting screws. The screws provided in the kits do not go into the rails. Nothing in the instructions calls for thread cutting screws or needing a tap and die set. I have an original kit and cannot get screws into one spot on each of the two rails. So, maybe the item wasn't made incorrectly, but they sure didn't provide the right parts or instructions then.

Mine is like this too. It is a problem for another day.

In my latest attempt to adjust focus I had it good, then pulled the playfield out onto the service rails and focus went blurry. Banged my hand lightly on the apron a couple of times and it went back into focus. I had an old tv like that once. I really hope I just have a bad projector and it isn't a model issue.

You can remove the foam bracket so you can adjust the focus without removing the apron, but I don't want to have to be constantly pulling the glass to adjust focus either. The projector should be able to withstand a reasonable amount of vibration without throwing everything out of whack or it will never work long term for a pinball machine.

Others don't seem to have the same issue, and I assume Stern tested this new model, so I am cautiously optimistic I just have a defective one. I have a detailed email with video into Stern, but realistically I am not expecting much of a response until the New Year.

I'm not convinced it is a digital input device, physical resistance moving the switch seems to vary depending on position, you'd think for a digital input it would be consistent. I'd try to take it apart and look, but I think that might void any warranty....

It has been less than 48 hours since I have had the game, and we are heading into xmas. Sourcing a cable hasn't really been my number one priority right now, but it may be something I look at after xmas.

There are two cables, the power and the hdmi, both are pretty tight to the apron. I wonder if the issue where I lose focus when pulling the playfield out onto the rails is because the hdmi cable and port are getting flexed against the apron. Might also be possible to bend the apron out a mm or so to reduce pressure.

Flaky SD card maybe? Double check it is fully seated, maybe flash a new card.

If that doesn't work I'd be looking at status lights on the CPU board, status lights on Node 1, see if the boards are powered and booting properly. Checking cables, connectors, etc. Could be a dead CPU or node but could also just be a bad connection somewhere. Good luck.

If both CPU board (Node 0) and Cabinet board (Node 1) are getting power and communicating, I am running out of ideas.

You could try disconnecting the RJ45 going from the CPU to Node 9 so that only Node 1 is connected. Maybe something downstream is causing issues and disconnecting it would get you booting? I'd also unplug the shaker if you have one, basically just get down to foundational stuff and see if things boot, might help point towards the issue.

The coin door buttons connect to the cabinet node at CN10. Then they chain from cabinet node CN12 to CPU node CN 25. I'd pull and reseat all of those connectors and see if you get coin door buttons back at least.

If you don't, then the only thing I can think of is the CPU or the cabinet node are fried

PS-> I am an amateur with a manual and hiding from his inlaws on Xmas eve. I am sure Stern will be able to help you after the holidays.

I finally got my Premium to a playable state (I hope). Never had a NIB with this many issues. I think I've spent about 15 hours messing around with it and about an hour total playing time.

Screen ramp:
--------------------------
Had a lot of fun trying to get this working. Every time I thought I had it fixed (would work great 20 times in a row while testing), it would eventually hang and not go up every few games. Out of the box the left side of the screen was too close to the ramp, causing obvious binding issues. Did the fix recommended in:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stranger-things-club-join-our-party/page/393#post-7931646

and that got me most of the way there, but was still having problems. For me the final piece of the puzzle was noticing that the left side of the screen would sometimes flex very slightly inward whenever the ramp tried to go up. Even though it didn't look like it was binding anywhere it was adding enough pressure to stop the screen.

I took a washer, wrapped it in a couple of layers of electrical tape to fatten it up a bit and wedged it between the screen bracket and the left hand post just behind the drops to fully support the bracket. No flex anymore, and I have played about 10 games with no more ramp stoppage. Not an elegant fix, but it is invisible, should never move anywhere and gets the job done.

Projector focus:
------------------------
My projector focus seems reasonably stable now. I put the foam bracket back on so everything is buttoned up but I'll still have it go blurry about 75% of the time when I lift the playfield up and put it on the support rails. Banging lightly on the apron or just lifting the playfield and knocking it on the rails again will get it back into focus. I doubt this is normal, and am hoping Stern will get back to me and get me a different projector as I am worried at some point I won't be able to get focus back in, but playable for now.

Drops:
------------------------
My second drop target was never registering. Nothing visually wrong with the opto board for the drop targets, all the solder points looked normal. Tried cleaning the opto but no go. Swapped the board in from my Deadpool LE and everything works 100%. Just waiting to hear from Stern support, should hopefully send me a new board and I'll get both games up and going.

TK lock:
-------------------------
I was getting major air balls off of the left ramp and missing some locks. I moved the left ramp cover over more to the right and knocked flipper power down and I get three balls locked no problem, luckily I didn't have to touch the diverter. Left flipper at 215, right flipper at 210 work for me, still plenty of power without things going out of control.

Couple hours maybe? I didn't time installing mine. The most time consuming part is swapping all the plastics. The most time consuming part of that is peeling the film off both sides...

Could be. A lot depends on how long it takes you to get that film off, and how often you drop screws or washers into the game and then have to stop everything to find them.

I had a similar issue on mine, one of the drops wasn't registering properly. Go into switch test and test each of the drops, make sure they are registering when they go down, and aren't reading down when they are up.

Reset the connector, clean the optos, check for loose wire in the connector, maybe reflow solder points on the board. For me, I did the first three and then just said screw it and swapped the board in from my Deadpool. Waiting on Stern for a new board.

New Premium on 1.11 and my demo dogs are centered fine, although my far right target demo dog is off, so doubt it is a code bug. I think it is like Chuckwurt says, if you adjust individual images too much things can get wonky.

Do you hear the motor still spinning when the screen stops moving? If so, it is binding up somewhere. The motor is clutched and will disengage if it thinks something is blocking the ramp from moving. The first part of my post here talks about the fun I had with it:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stranger-things-club-join-our-party/page/400#post-7940077

If you do not hear the motor continuing to run after the ramp stops, you could have a flaky switch telling the game the ramp is already up, or maybe something wrong with the internals of the motor.

In my case, even though there was space between the center and the sides, it was still binding because the left side was slightly flexing in when the motor started to pull the ramp back up. See the post I linked previously.

If the motor stays energized after the ramp stops, it is still binding enough somewhere to cause the clutch to disengage. If the motor isn't still making noise when the ramp blocks it is something else, possibly a bad motor or flaky switch that is cutting power to the motor prematurely.

I was able to reproduce my issue in test mode by blocking the ramp with my hand right where it was hanging in game, then removing my hand to see if the ramp would resume on its own or not.

Reset your projector again. Adjust "All" until the majority of the surfaces are close, then adjust each individually. That's what I've had the best luck with.

The way I think it works is that every individual projector surface that you can adjust (small rectangles/squares) is part of an overall canvas (big rectangle) that the software draws on. So if you adjust individual pieces first without adjusting the whole, things get weird. Just a guess.

3. You don't get the UV reactive plastics.

I think it will be an easy decision once you see the UV kit in action.

New run Premiums have the reader in the top right of the apron. Original UV kits have a spot in the bottom right. Unknown yet which way the new UV kits aprons will go.

No, the two issues are not related. The sticker falling off has nothing to do with the switch triggering.

The standup target decals have two parts. One with the hole cut out which goes on first over the rivet, then a piece without the hole cut out that goes on top. You could probably just clean the face of the target and re-stick the old one, see if it holds up.

Others have mentioned switches to check, learning to use the switch test features in the Diag menu will reap benefits. It will point you to a switch being active that shouldn't.

Yes. I haven't done it yet. The original run of Stranger Things Premium had a light there already as it did not have the reader. The new run Stranger Things don't have a light there because the IC reader is in the top right.

Looks like Stern did not re-design the UV kit apron for the new runs, just kept it the same as the original run.

Like ScottyC I tried to move the reader to the top right of the UV kit apron (I had an original run UV kit), but it interferes with the UV led strip. So options are to move the IC reader to the bottom right of the apron or to the coin door with a mod kit, and then run a light to the top right of the UV apron.

Interesting for sure. Any photos of the underside of the apron?

Maybe, maybe not. You may just be able to take the IC mount out of the existing apron and add it to the UV one. That is what I tried with my old stock UV kit but it wouldn't fit right. Maybe other things are different with this new apron.

Yes, just replace the artwork, theoretically. You should be able to just remove the top right plastic, and then swap the whole top right segment from the old apron with the IC reader into the UV apron. The only tricky part is the LED boards on the apron, you want to make sure that you aren't interfering with them. That was a problem when I tried to move the IC reader onto an orig UV kit apron, not sure about this newer one.

Mine is unhooked, game doesn't complain.

If it is the bulb, yes. If it is a blob of solder or other debris in the socket, then no. According to the manual for the Premium, "Bottom GI-VIO(x9)" is Bulb 152, so one of the gi bulbs under the right inlane plastic. Remove the bulb, if the short goes away other lights should come back on. If short doesn't go away, check for debris in the socket, or something touching the socket underneath the playfield.

Check out pages 20-22 in the manual.

Have you tried moving the plastic on the top of the ramp over to the right? The ball was flying everywhere on mine until I moved that as far to the right as I could. That combined with lowering the flipper power and my TK lock has been solid.

I have an OG UV kit that I bought several years ago. It has the square in the lower right part of the apron, so I don't think you got an old apron. If anything the new version of the apron doesn't have the cutout on purpose. Personally I wish they would've done a modern Premium apron with the sticker that covers the whole thing. Not sure why this halfway version exists.

Check the key posts, look for Demogorgon ramp

My guess is your apron is putting pressure on the HDMI cable, pushing the back of the projector down, so the front is coming up. You should be able to see if that is the case, put the playfield on the support rails and take a look at the back of the apron where it meets the projector cable. It doesn't have to move much to noticeably move the image.

Scale and Rotate only affect the adjustment when set to "ALL". You cannot rotate or scale each individual piece.

Factory Reset won't hurt anything. I've done it a couple of times when I was messing around. The most important thing when doing the projector adjustment is to adjust "ALL" first. Not just for scale and rotation but to get all of the projector surfaces close, then adjust the individual ones as needed.

Think of the "ALL" as a canvas, where each individual surface (drop targets, etc) are drawn onto it. When you adjust "ALL" you are changing the size and location of the canvas, when you adjust the small pieces you are moving where they are being drawn on the canvas.

It can't hurt, but it didn't really seem to impact my focus one way or the other. Mine is focused pretty much from boot. Not sure if they changed something in the new run of projectors, maybe a different lens?

One issue a few people are having with the new projector is just tapping on the projector, or tapping on top of the apron above the projector can change the focus, even if the bracket is in place. In that case I'd reach out to Stern.

Some of every pinball machine ever shipped from every manufacturer will have issues. The issues are magnified in forums like these because people come in to complain and find solutions.

My premium was pretty problematic when I got it, probably had the most issues of any NIB game I have had. It now works flawlessly. Was frustrating to go through but would do it twice over to have the projector and TK lock.

For people who don't like/know/want to learn about working on pins and adjusting things, always get the Pro of every Stern game. They have less mechs and features so require less maintenance.

If the regular adjustments for right ramp aren't working to get it close then you really have no choice but to do a factory reset on the projector settings and start from scratch.

Quoting myself to save typing:

Should only take about 5 minutes to get everything set the way you want.