Correct - here's the official diagram

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Brilliant, it's all working now. I can't believe that it's been like that since I've had it, someone wired up the switch wrong

Thanks again.

I'm gonna print that off and keep it in the manual

That's the strange part. it's following that sensor, not the board. Even with the new board it's not picking up the ball between the playfield/sensor. The sensor picks it up when not mounted to the playfield. Seems like it just needs more power but the board pot is maxed.

Your original post stated that you switched sensors and the left side still doesn't work. This indicates an eddy sensor control board problem (left side). There are 2 controller boards. Try switching THOSE instead of the sensor. See if the problem switches sides.

My bad.. Meant say. NO board works on the left side. Out of the 3 of them I have . I can get them all to register if I pass a ball over the removed sensor. But not though the playfield.

Inductors (the component mounted on the wider connector - not a resistor) rarely go bad. I'd be more inclined to suspect a bad connection that is causing additional resistance in the sensor wiring that is reducing the sensitivity. The inductor (100 micro-Henries, 10%, 90mA) is actually available at Marco under part number 5551-10648-01 should you decide to replace it. Before swapping out the inductor, though, I'd check the 2-pin IDC-style connector at the end of the sensor cable to be sure the wire is making good contact with the "V" slot of the connector (or just replace it with a 2-pin crimp-on 0.100" connector).

If you remove the right sensor and install it into the left position, does it detect the ball in the return lane? This will help determine whether the original left sensor or it's connector is faulty or PF is slightly thicker where the senor goes than the right side. Note that repro PFs have had these issues previously but I assume you have the original PF - right?

Entire assembly that works on the right, will not sense the ball on the left. Which is making me think the playfield is just thicker? It's definitely an original playfield.. May Would hate to try auger out that hole and go to far

Have you tried adjusting the sensitivity on the board to compensate?

Yes, counter clockwise all the way and clockwise. ON the right I can get the light to come on, back it off until it turns off then it's fine. Left side it won't stay on like the right for some reason. Which is strange because it still registers with a ball on the inductor

FWIW, I have a Mirco ST:TNG playfield in the shop which has a shallower recess routed in the back of the playfield for the connector/inductor assembly (maybe an eighth of an inch shallower than the OEM playfield), and I have no issues with the proximity boards detecting the ball through the greater span of wood.

Like I suggested, take a GOOD LOOK at the 2-pin connector on the sensor cable assembly (and the other connector as well) to be sure you don't have a wire that's loose in the "V" slot of the connector pin. I'd even try CAREFULLY removing the inductor from the wider connector to see if you have tarnish or oxidation build-up on the leads of the inductor that are stuffed into the connector; removing and replacing the inductor will also tend to wipe off any light build-up.

Throwing a STTNG Mod idea out there for all you creative people to consider. I am using one of the magnetic communication pins inside the machine on the apron, and think it adds to the machine. But how about this??

A START BUTTON mod which would possibly go over the current start button. And you would "tap" the communication pin to start the game?
The metal pin here (found on Ebay or Amazon) is actual size for the location, however I am not sure how to engineer the spring mech. Also something which would allow illumination through or around the button would be killer. Thoughts???

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There were pretty good rumors a few months ago a talented individual was going to be working with Planetary Pinball to do some long wanted ROM UPATES for the Star Trek The Next Generation pinball. Game Scoring / Tweaks / additional options???
Has anyone heard further information on this??

The current version is LX-7 and some flavors of that dealing with led ghosting, but I am talking about fundamental update to the program.
Thoughts?

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His original patch for STTNG was the removal of the video mode only. Basically 25M for the holodeck shot.

There's a thread on his software updates. STTNG gets discussed.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/official-williams-and-bally-software-upgrades

not holding any hope on a STNG upgrade. At best; maybe there are some bugfixes - items that don't really impact me anyway.

It's making me think maybe the row, column, or even the 12V wires on the 4 pin connector are not making good contact. I would repunch all 4 of them.

Right side - SW 17 (Column 1 - Row 7)
Left Side - SW 16 (Column 1 - Row 6)

I read all 9 pages of the ROM Updates, and seen where people were discussing STTNG fixes they were hoping for, however I believed Soren has worked on 4 machines so far. And certainly there are great suggestions for the STTNG, but as far as I know, there's been no release yet of a ROM update/fix

I have been looking for an answer for awhile now, on the power requirements for the Hallmark Klingon Bird of Prey ship. After having "burned up" two previous ships, I believe I may have the answer.
Starting at 3 volts, which lighted the underside, but not the cannon. Next was 4.5 volts. Still no cannon, the lights underneath were brighter. Being somewhat scared to go higher, I thought I would try reversing the polarity of the power. Bam! The cannon began to flicker as well as the rear engines (not shown).
SO, I am just going to let it run and see what happens. Other Hallmark ornaments, like the 1701-D Enterprise 1993, use 9 volts and polarity doesn't seem to matter.
Hopefully this helps stop the frustrating experience of effort of installing a mod, only to have it stop working hours later.
NOTE: I am using an external power source, NOT playfield power. Been there, and done that twice already (fail).
NOTE Two: I am also using the LED-OCD and GI-OCD systems, which are fantastic, however different then an original STTNG playfield power system.

If someone had previously posted an answer related to this topic, I must have missed it but thank you anyway!!

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Looking for feedback on our Extended Lane Guides and it's Install document at:

STNG Extended Ball Guides

http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/game-specific-products-williams-star-trek-the-next-generation-extended-lane-guides-stng-p-75.html

I'm also interested in judging demand for the product so that I don't order too small of a volume of initial production units. If you are interested in this product; please drop me a line via PM or the red notify link.

CHEATING!!

Here I was going to ask for a longer set

I put this on my STTNG very early after buying it 5 years ago. They are essential in my opinion.

Someone mentioned that Steve Ritchie himself said that is should have been out of the factory like that (WITH the extended lanes). It's just something they hadn't thought of.

Can't remember where I read it though. Been a while.

I put the extenders in mine about 3 or 4 months ago (took several weeks to get here from Portugal as all the US vendors were sold out). Doesn't feel like cheating to me - it has cut down on the side drains but not dramatically so. IMO, it just now seems more fair.

Yup I did the same. Makes a big difference.

Seems like a lot of you already have these - which isn't surprising. So far; I've only had one interested party.
I may just order a handful to start stock; we'll see if there is any additional interest over the weekend.

I bought mine many years ago. They did make gameplay easier but not by a large amount. I think I may have got them from Pinbits when they actually shipped stuff. It made the game more enjoyable.

Hi all
I can make a decent match for the STTNG spinner decals. That type of decal pattern on the original doesn't seem to be available - I actually really like that pattern

Price is $2.50 shipped in the US for the pair. Let me know if interested.

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A few weeks ago we had a discussion about my 12 volts blowing with the Color DMD LCD and 12 volt LED strips in the trough and in the back area. I removed the connector for the LED strips so they are no longer on and not drawing power. The game has been working but I usually do not leave it on for hours and hours.

My right lower flipper spring broke so I replaced it and played a test game to ensure working. During the last ball, the F116 fuse blew again as the right cannon was coming back to home.

I replaced the F116 fuse and the game worked. However, two interesting things I noticed:
1. When the cannon is moving and when I shoot the ball, I hear a popping like a coil near the trough, but the balls are not coming up and the plunger is not kicking.
2. When I turn the game off, the flippers go up a little and back down. I have never seen that or noticed that before.

The last time I was in Battle Simulation, I heard what I thought was a coil pop (like noted in #1 above) and the game acted like the ball went into the trough (optos - which I went into test mode and they look good), the game ended the ball but the game kept playing allowing me to use the flippers. So I just let it drain.

I have extra power driver boards, so I was thinking of changing out the power driver board to see if anything is wrong with it. (It was refurbished about 7 years ago.)

I replaced the driver board. The flippers do not flutter when I turn off the game. I do not hear any sounds in the trough/plunger area. The game has played well for a while with no issues. I will keep playing and see if this is the issue.

I may even try to re-attach the LED strips back (or find an external plug and a light sensor on/off) to use the service plug in the game.

Except for my lighted flipper buttons, I have taken ALL mods off the 12 volt system, for exactly the reason of blowing fuses. There are several systems which use the 12 volt power, Color DMD, Cannon Motors and such. Any mods (in my machine) like LED Speakers and other stuff get the own stand alone power supply. Contrats on getting your machine working.

#6-32x5/16" round washer head machine screw was there originally; they're a bit hard to find outside of a well-stocked hardware store. A #6-32x3/8" round head machine screw with a flat washer will work fine. If you're ordering stuff from Marco look for 4006-01027-06, the 3/8" long version of the original round washer head screw.

Further progress on "The Star Trek Experience" Pinball. This is 1 of 3 video screens which will be installed. In this example, 1080HD video is being featured, however the primary use for this screen will be for the "Cannon Cameras" (coming).

My 2 Klingon Bird of Prey ships. Active center cannons, wing cannons and engines. In addition, red general illumination from 4 under wing leds, and also the internal red ship lighting. Little disappointed about the bulkiness of the wiring. However it's not noticeable from the player's perspective.
My first "successful" out of numerus unsuccessful attempts to actually light the inside of the Klingon ships.
All suspended from a single mounting. The under wing leds are powered from the playfield, and will go dark during the Borg encounter intro. The internal and wingtip leds are USB powered and remain active.

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what bulbs are popular for the borg ship?

Our Extended Lane Guides are now in stock:

http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/game-specific-products-williams-star-trek-the-next-generation-extended-lane-guides-stng-p-75.html
Interest/sales; will determine if we keep stock or retire when existing stock is depleted.

Working on putting tiny cameras into the STTNG Cannons. This will allow the player to see a POV playfield view of the cannon targets. An automatic switch changes the view between cannons depending on which cannon is operational. The result comes out on an apron mounted display screen.

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Don't forget that Final Frontier activates both at the same time.

Hmmm, that is a very interesting point.....
Tonight I will be testing if the 12 volts driving the cannon motors, will also have enough power to run one camera. If so, the next test will involve a device I don't have yet. Made for automotive uses, such as side or reverse cameras, once power is active on a camera, the device switches to that video source.
Like adding a "backup camera" on a car without one. It wires to the reverse light, so when the car is in reverse, the camera has power.

All of this is very experimental. But I have this vision it will work. These are the 3rd cameras I have tried. Mick's Laser Mod is directly below the camera.
more soon!

Additional information and it's not all good. While the 12 volt power on the cannon motors "powered" the tiny cameras, there is a 2 second lag time from power to image. Result is the cannon's is midway through the outbound rotation, leaving only 5 seconds of view time. Again, this is one of the reasons if Soren were to be making changes/updates on the STTNG Rom, to give an option of more time or rotations for the cannons.

So I will go with full time power to the tiny cameras at this point.

Working on installing the tiny cameras into the Cannon covers. You can see the camera is active in this photo (top hole). The camera am doing the photo with, can be seen on the screen in back. The (bottom hole) is for the Laser Mod.

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STTNG Experience Mod: Video Topper Monitor Bracket

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During the Cardassian portion of the STTNG gameplay, is anyone aware if there are lights or flashers active during the encounter?
Possibly during the multi-ball?

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yeah; I'm pretty sure the Klingon inserts light. Not sure of exact repercussions; but, I'm pretty sure the Klingons decloak during Cardi's multiball if those switches are hit.

Gul Dukat was not present in STNG. The actor played Gul Macet on STNG.

I am on the hunt fellas for a STTNG in the midwest. Might be joining you soon.

Best of luck with your search, this is a very underrated title so you may be able to pick one up at a decent price.

As much as I love this game, I would consider trading it for a NIB JJ GnR LE or CGC MMR RE

New personal best for me this afternoon! No I did not take the glass off! It was just one of those games where most everything went right.

- Game took 52 minutes to complete
- 3-ball setting
- All factory default settings except for kickback....set to Easy
- Picked up x5 extra balls along the way
- Had 10B after the first ball (25 minutes!) with x3 extra balls stacked up
- Completed all missions on the first ball with x2 of each element for 2B extra points
- By the end of the game, I had x5 of the first three elements and x4 of the Singing Stone
- Completed all missions x3 times collecting 2B, 3B, and 4B
- Completed Warp 9 task on the first ball
- Completed Romulan and Cardassian missions x2 each but oddly I did not trigger the Ferengi mission the whole game
- I lost count of how many Picard Maneuver callouts I got
- Battled the Borg x4 times
- Out of x8 total balls, x3 were drains within 30 seconds of launching
- Previous best was 25B but that was on a 5-ball setting

Whew! That was fun!

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I know about Gul, I just wanted to throw a Cardassian image in for visual fun for the post. Very good Zitt on the Klingon inserts during Cardassian muli-ball. I am lighting a Cardassian Ship and thought it would be relevant to highlight the ship during that part of gameplay.