I think it’s a matter of either wanting to stay faithful to the 80s game room or not…

Let’s face it - the rooms were dark because lights were bad and expensive to power in the 90’s
The machines were dark because that’s all they could power with old bulbs - and Dark means more ball drains so more money!
If this game were made today with no other changes - there would be color Leds added.

I play with a light room altogether. But I also only added small amounts of color - purple in the top right but this area I brightened up with Pop Bumper Halo leds. Apart from that I added a couple of purples for wormhole. And command decision is blue.

If you have a dark game room - I agree though. I played Avatar yesterday in a dark hall and it was blinding… The flashers hurt!

Did you miss my pop bumper caps, or too expensive?

For the reset have you removed the dreaded z-connector? That fixed mine.

Trekkies are gonna have a meltdown with your topper. Wrong font for the TNG series.

LOL yeah - wrong font that's true... I am, pretty sure that when checked I have used the wrong green for the Romulans, a sticker is upside down and a few other errors...

Hi Zitt - no, I saw yours - nothing to do with price, I like to do things myself and I wanted to use the pops to brighten up that area and yours cover up a lot of the upward facing light.

Just a personal preference.

Don't see replacement borg ships available anywhere, surprised this part hasn't been remade yet, am I just not finding it? Without a replacement I see 2 options, get them custom painted, but I'm more of an original parts guy, or bleaching them with some sort of chemical? And I assume replacing the blue windows if I go that option.

It has been made. Pinball Life carried it. Email them find out if they are planning to restock.

The cannon plunger sticking is a common issue and is most likely due to the plunger becoming magnetised.

Possible options:
- try demagnetising it (if you have a wand) or hit it several times with a hammer (I've not tried this but have read that it works)
- replace the plunger
- mappy24 added a 1mm foam spacer to prevent the plunger from fully plunging so it can't stick to the metal plate

I just started getting an issue where the game wont start (pressing the start button). Upon further investigation (edge switch test) it looks as though the whole column on the matrix is is out. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to read this, but does it mean something is up with the green-brown wire? I didn't see any metal touching under the pf and I reseated all the connections. I did notice in the back box that a couple of the connectors were plugged into different sockets but looking through the thread I see that these connections are interchangeable. Hopefully its not too difficult to narrow down and fix. Appreciate any info if anyone else has run into an issue like this. Thanks!

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I cannot see your stand, but I did one of those a while back. Rewired into a custom stand and had it hooked into the GI.

Still have the second one on pieces trying to get lights inside....been sitting untouched for a year, lol.

Feeling pretty excited. Getting my LED OCD board on Friday! I’ve had my machine for a couple months now and I finally feel like I’m getting it dialed in now. It was in pretty good shape when I got it, but some minor things that needed done. And then there were some repairs that needed done that was out of my scope. But that got done too and I’m pretty happy with it. But I can’t wait to instal that OCD board. From what I’ve heard around here, it’s a must if you’re running LEDs in this game.

https://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Switch_Matrix_Problems describes how to test if your MPU board is functioning correctly - this will highlight whether the issue is on the board or on the PF (connector, wire loom, switch or diode)

My game is having trouble staging balls. It keeps launching a ball, loads to left gun, shoots it, repeats. During a game I will occasionally get an extra ball in play.

If I clear all balls and manually load one into each gun VUK, I can start a game.

New trough opto boards, they work fine. The PF opto board is an aftermarket one, pretty new.

All three under playfield diverters work in coil test. Diverter arms seem to be aligned properly.

With all six balls out of the game, this is edge test.

70D9F915-156D-4D35-BEF1-9CAF5D7357D0.jpeg

What are next troubleshooting steps? I’m not sure how to test the subway optos since they are unreachable. Many of them are registering when I put a ball in subway but tough to tell which ones since it goes by so quick. Still seems like diverter issue.

IIRC the first staged ball has to go to the right gun vuk. If it’s going left then the top diverter isn’t triggering. Check optos before that point on the subway. You may be able to slide a paper in front of the opto with the pf up and in switch edge test. It should register.

Oh I thought the first ball went left. This is weird, here is what happened this morning.

In coil test the upper diverter coil WORKS.
ALL three subway optos work.
I can't reach all the VUK optos to test them (even paper wont fit).

I put a camera under the playfield to video what the diverters did.

Removed all balls.
Put 6 balls in trough.
1st ball launches, lower diverter fires, sends ball to left gun.
2nd ball launches, lower diverter fires, sends ball to left gun.
3rd ball launches, lower diverter fires, sends ball to left gun.
4th ball launches, ball goes to left popper (ie diverter does not fire).
Game stops doing things.

I'm trying to dig up the correct procedure of what SHOULD happen so I can debug this. The game never did fire the other diverter even though it works in test. Ran out of time this morning but will resume after work.

One more thing I noticed in my video. AFTER the stuff I posted above, the game went into ball search after about 30 seconds. In ball search, the game fired BOTH diverter coils. The game seems to be able to control the diverters correctly.

This has me back to thinking it is an opto issue in one of the VUKs. Maybe switch 32.

Another thing I need to check... I could have swapped the two VUKs on the left when I had the machine apart. I hope it is something that simple.

Edit: Nope, found a picture, they are correct

Sounds like the game isn't seeing the ball in the left gun VUK so it keeps trying to load it.

Seems like it. I'm still curious if the ball should stage to left or right gun first. You said right first, but my game can control the upper diverter yet does not engage it to try staging the first ball there. Seems like it wants ball 1 to go left and then doesn't know it is there. Going to check VUK optos when I get home.

I don't know for sure which side it goes on. I just thought it was right but I certainly may be incorrect.

Fixed. You were correct, it stages right first. I did something really dumb.

All the VUK optos tested good. So then I knew what I must have done...

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I built a new harness for these coils and swapped the returns.

I feel like I'm going crazy, but maybe this group can help me. My TNG hasn't moved but I feel like it's suddenly impossible to hit the alpha ramp now. The only way I can hit it is to cradle on the left flipper and backhand it. If the ball is coming from the left inlane it's impossible (either goes to the right of the ramp or doesn't have enough power). From the right flipper there's no way - any shot with enough power will go left to the neutral zone.

I restored the game several months ago. The flippers got new bats, rubbers, coil sleeves, linkages, and coil stops. That shot was much easier until recently.

The table is at 6.5 degrees and the angle is consistent from the top of the playfield to the bottom.

Should that shot be so hard? Do I need to adjust my angle or maybe replace my flipper coils?

Summer = Load on Power Grid due to Air Conditioner = Lower wall voltage = Weaker Coils?
Random though for the night.

Seriously? Is that a common thing in the US?

No

Not too common but not unheard of either. During peak times when everyone runs their AC the voltage can drop in older neighborhoods. I have two of these:

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

I keep setup and can watch the power on each leg in the house. They are also great for seeing how much the games actually draw.

A few weeks ago we had one leg drop by 20V. If for some reason the power is low you may notice it in your game.

In Texas, we have had Rolling blackouts due to summer load. So, it's possible.
I don't know how common it is .. but pinball machines can be sensitive to it depending on how they are wired

It’s a decent thought, but it’s 60 and raining in Seattle. And we never have electric shortages like other places.

Try all the usual things. Move the flipper bats by hand. Any resistance? Did you change the bushings?

Are the coils hot after playing a while?

What’s the voltage at the coil?

Consider checking the DC voltage output and AC voltage ripple coming out of the Fliptronic-II board. If half of the bridge rectifier has failed (half wave rectification) you could conceivably get enough voltage for a somewhat decent power stroke but not enough for a strong power stroke. Expect some AC ripple. The amount will depend on whether your Fliptronic-II board has the 100uF@100V capacitor installed. That was initially installed when the board was released but Williams cut costs and removed this capacitor during the usage life cycle. In all likelihood the board does NOT have one installed.

You can also check the resistance of the solenoids to make sure they are within specification. The correct resistance will depend on the flipper solenoid you have installed. It should be either a FL-17636 or FL-11629.

Also, check if the coil stops are damaged or loose.

This may improve your game.

Andorian2x (resized).png

I have a few of these to keep track of my voltage..

https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Eversame-80-300V-Digital-Household/dp/B09D7J4FTL/ref=sr_1_15_sspa

Voltae Meter (resized).jpg

Romulin ale? Bones, isn’t that illegal? I only use it for medicinal purposes.

Ya, that’s fine. I only use vodka and Miller lite for madisenale purchases too.

Hey does anyone know where this ramp guide goes? My machine is missing all the ramp protectors but I’m not sure what this guide mantis sells is for.

https://mantispinball.com/product/star-trek-the-next-generation-ramp-guide/

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It goes on the connector that ties the spiral wireform with the cross wireform. In this picture it should be turned to parallel the straight wireform.

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Thanks hero, looks like I’m missing that piece and all the others from that junction!

Lots of opinions here - the Ghosting will happen anyhow is my 1st comment. You need a solution for this and the best bulbs still have an issue…

3 Options:
A new game rom with Anti Ghosting code - a good solution that fixes 80% of the issue -you need to find somebody who can do this for you - several in the forums

LEDOCD - a aftermarket circuit board that interrupts the signals between your circuit board and the lights. It kills the flickering and you can set the LED bulbs to either turn instantly on and off or act like incandescent bulbs and “fade”

Project afterglow - a similar but homemade product you will see forum members regularly offering group buys - more used i Think in Europe because it was designed there by some forum members. Very active in UK and Germany - does the same as LEDOCD.

Both of the aftermarket boards are crazy customizable - you can set the brightness of each bulb - so if you have a bulb that’s a bit too bright - you can turn it down, one by one..

Regards brands - comet is the/one of the best so you can’t go wrong.

Clear is intense and forwards focused.
Frosted spreads the light out more - this is a preference and there are loads of tube movies.
Frosted are perfect for GI - personal choice for the rest..

Regards colours - LOTS of opinions…
I personally stayed with White in the outer saucer ring and blue for the larger lights.
Teal is the generally accepted colour for the shields
I put purple in wormhole..

You have guys who like the machines a close to “Factory” as possible. But generall - so long as it doesn’t look like a rainbow or distract from gameplay, its all good - you can allways change it - add a few whites to the order..

Regards white - Cold White looks great in STTNG

This is ALL personal opinion - but I think Most here would strongly recommend the LEDOCD - anything else and you will be disappointed with ghosting - its an instant solution.

Yes! LEDOCD and perhaps GIOCD as well. I put frosted white LEDs (warm white for a more vintage look, cold white is more modern) everywhere and use colored LEDs sparsely as accents. Too many colored LEDs make your machine look like a cheap plastic toy.

Also: Clean the inserts from below (blowing pressurized air is often sufficient) and your colors will be good as new.

I'm missing that piece myself. What is it suppose to do?

Check out my new video promo for the Vortex Arcade.
Special effects and retro throwback are 100% in play!
ENJOY - "Oh Yeah" Version

I have both boards and am pretty happy with them.
The GI OCD lets you enable the dimming on the shields.

Speaking of OCD boards and STTNG compatibility , I asked a question and need help in this other thread regarding bypassing the GI ocd board’s 5v output for the Klingon Bird of Prey Mod. Any clarity is appreciated.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-mixing-gi-ocd-and-kbop-mods-issue

I used Comet LEDs, but I selected each light individually rather than using their kit. I think the kit is a perfectly fine option, but I went through hundreds of combos to find a look that I think works much better.

I also installed LEDOCD and GIOCD. They are must haves in my opinion.

Finally I added a few of Comet's matrix LEDs to brighten some dark areas of the playfield. The biggest additions were some spots shining on the enterprise and some under-sling glow. It's all reversible if I want to go stock, but I love the way my machine looks.

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I thought Patofnaud did a more than fair explanation.
What isn't clear?
As the designer of the KBOP WingLEDs; I can explain why there is an issue... but not specifically why the OCD outputs incompatible voltages.