Does anyone have any good suggestions for spotlights in STTNG? it is very dark...

Hello STTNG owners. I recently sold my game and am now auctioning off my left over parts. Here is the link:

ebay.com link: loanguy71773

I don't know about spotlights but I have cool white LED bulbs in the GI and bright ones under the slingshots aimed toward the center with translucent Titan rings. These light the area above the flippers where it matters the most. I also have a white LED under the Klingon ship wing aimed toward the center of the playfield, but hidden from the direct view from the player's perspective. I believe these bulbs under the wings were intended to light the playfield a bit, but I see other removing or rotating the ship and putting darker lights under there.

I just stripped my playfield and will be having a friend put a fresh clearcoat on it. While I'm waiting on that I'll take the opportunity to clean everything, rebuild the flippers/pops, etc.

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This is where I installed mine! Used the super bright 4smd white bulbs!

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Picked up a very nice STTNG at Thanksgiving. First pin. Love it (as do the neighbors).

Have room for more pins and have an itch to get another but not wanting to spend more than $5k. Is there a good pin to compliment STTNG? Honestly after playing this feature rich pin many look lackluster by comparison. I have had my eye on The Shadow as it has some good compliments to STTNG (upper PF, Vault, lane switching). Are there others that make sense to consider as well?

No way my wife allows me to have more than 2 pins this year so I will be living with this decision for a while.

Thank you!
That looks like a good place to have them.
I will update the thread when I place mine.

I have The Shadow next to my STTNG. TS is a totally different beast, lightening fast, great ruleset, animation, music. It will never leave!

Can't get enough of my Tales from the Crypt ....

Also installed 20 natural white light strip from comet to light up the backboard ... Can provide pic if required !

a lot of people really love The Shadow. If you can find one, it's a great choice. You never know what will come up for sale within driving distance, though. Depending on how patient you are, you might need to broaden your wish list. In my opinion, a good complement to STTNG would have the following traits:

- a non-widebody. just for contrast.

- more "flow", less "stop and go" gameplay (might mean a simpler layout, sans subway and vuks and cannons, etc).

- something that doesn't require as much regular maintenance. (STTNG is a GLORIOUS game but it takes more effort than most to keep in tip-top shape)

- something with a deeper, more modern ruleset perhaps?

my suggestion is a newer Stern Pro model. They tend to be very fast and fun games. You can get a new Game of Thrones, Metallica, Ghostbusters, The Walking Dead, or Star Trek for pretty close to your budget if you ask around with distributors. even less if you find one for sale on Pinside slightly used.

The only one i'd recommend against is Star Trek, because while it is a very fun and fast game, it is very very similar to STTNG in its shot layout, so when side by side STTNG makes ST seem like a stripped down version with lamer playfield art.

I just picked up a Ghostbusters Pro myself (i recommend CoinTaker as a distributor), and i'm having a blast with it. two games with great hand drawn playfield art, and they both have a congruent sci-fi theme (i think you can make a case for GB being sci-fi -- although the antagonists are supernatural, the protagonists address the film's conflicts through scientific research and applied futuristic technology).

Anyway, those other Stern games would make a great addition, too. You get faster flow and deeper ruleset, although Sterns are mechanically simpler. Being brand new as opposed to 20 years old helps with reliability, too!

Some good suggestions regarding contrasting games but would argue that both STTNG and GB have serious outlane drains (assuming no extenders on STTNG) so it may not be the best choice in a two game collection. I personally don't like TS that much but I'm clearly in the minority. Some other WMS/Bally games to consider would be HS2 (lots of flow), Black Rose, or maybe I500?

very true, GB is a VERY hard game. the outlanes are ravenous even at their narrowest setting, and there's a mean gap between the flippers. i like that both GB and STTNG are difficult, though -- it keeps them from getting boring. just my opinion, though.

Good advice. I have played GB, MET, GOT, and other modern pins locally. Need to find a Black Rose to try out because it looks interesting.

No extenders here so side drains (especially on the right) are pretty common.

come to tpf in march for comparison shopping

Stargate. Seriously you won't regret it. It plays super fast and the layout is fun with tons to shoot at. If you want a newer Stern than I would do met pro.

How the heck do you remove the plastic crank from the gun motor ? How do I get that set pin out? Apparently Marco doesn't sell them already attached.

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Are you sure it is not an Allen Wrench?

You need a pin punch like one in this set: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200627746_200627746

If you want a hack solution, you can use a cut off nail of the right size or a finishing nail backwards.

We currently have a WOZ. Looking to change things up a bit again. Thinking of either MET or STTNG. We also have a stargate that we love. Thoughts? STTNG was and still is one of my favorite shows ever. I did own a Stern star trek pro that I sold after 6 months, didn't care for the code, layout was ok.

If you are a fan of the show, it's a no brainer!

That is a very good question! First a minor correction to your statement, the crank is connected to the gearbox and not the motor; I felt this was worth mentioning since you do not need to remove the gearbox to replace the motor. You also don't need to remove the crank from the gearbox to remove the gearbox from its mounting bracket .... more on this in a minute.

My second question is why do you want to remove the crank? It looks perfectly fine and there is nearly nothing that can go wrong with it (aside from being able to get it off the gearbox and damaging it it the attempt) If you want to remove it in order to replace your gearbox, you will be wasting both time and money as a cheap punch from China will bend or break before it moves this pin, and a new pin and crank will cost you just as much, or less than a good hardened steel pin extractor of the appropriate size (there is still no guarantee you will remove the pin without damaging the crank.

They don't, but you can buy a new crank for and a new roll pin for under $10. I believe the problem you are experiencing is you don't know how to remove the gearbox with the crank attached...this I can help you with!

Scenario 1: ( Original Gearbox) If you have an original gearbox, you can simply remove the motor from the gearbox by removing the two screws from the motors retaining bracket and the motor will pull right off the gearbox. With the torque from the motor removed from the equation, you should be able to hand turn the gearbox to align with the extraction hole, then just take out the screw that holds the crank to the arm.

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Scenario 2: (replacement Gearbox) So your gearbox was replaced and the motor doesn't want to come off ... no worries! I've found that the motor mounting plate has been pressed onto the gearbox on some of the replacements I've come across; at first, this will seem to be a problem, but realistically, it's just not worth screwing with; all you need to do is separate the motor voltage connector, and hook up a 9V battery to the motor in order to rotate it until the crank screw lines up with the extraction hole, then just take out the screw that holds the crank to the arm. You will then be able to remove the motor/gearbox assembly with the crank attached.

Scenario 3: (the gearbox won't turn at all) Ahhh...this makes things harder for sure. Fortunately, you have a new grarbox and motor since they are purchased together, hopefully you purchased the new crank and roll pin at the same time, if not ... you will want to get them. Use your favorite cutting tool and just cut the crank on half and remove the gearbox from the mounting bracket, you can then remove the remainder of the crank from the arm as it will freely rotate to wherever you need it to be to remove the crank/arm screw.

Disclosure: I attempted to extract this pin using a cheap China extractor set, then with a decent Carbon Steel 3/32" pin punch, the one from china just bent, and the one made in the USA was unable to move the pin...after beating on it for awhile and getting nowhere, I had to wonder why I was even screwing with it at all since I had replacement pins and cranks in my parts bin

The potential repairs on this pin do scare me a bit though.

Think of them all as learning experiences, unless you afraid of learning, there is nothing to fear since you belong to an outstanding support community!

None of it is rocket science, and pretty much every part is available online. Mine was only my second pin, and it was a bit of a fixer-upper, and fixing it up wasn't too bad. Still, if you can find one that's very nice to begin with, that's what I'd recommend.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice!

Fire stick?

By the way, if you want, I can PM you a list of the really crappy episodes that are totally skippable. I LOVE that show but man there are some really unwatchable stinkers in there. Most of them are in seasons 1 and 2, but there are a couple utter wastes of 47 minutes even in the good seasons (3 through 6) too.

Oh I should mention my 9 year old daughter also loves watching TNG with me!

FYI Here's a list I nabbed somewhere off the net awhile back of "some of the best espisodes", for what it is worth:

- The Defector (Season 3)

- Yesterday's Enterprise (Season 3)

- Best of Both Worlds (this is a 2-parter: Season 3 finale / Season 4 premiere)

- The Inner Light (Season 5 ... often considered one of the best episodes of television ever!)

- Cause and Effect (Season 5)

- Frame of Mind (Season 6)

- Parallels (Season 7)

- Tapestry (Season 7)

- All Good Things... (Season 7, and the series finale)

Obviously if you only watched those you'd be missing *a lot*, but hey, you can always watch these first then decide if you want to dig deeper. STTNG wasn't super serialized so most of the episodes can stand on their own quite nicely.

haha i probably wrote that.

Any STTNG owners also own a MET Pro? I'm trying to decide between a 1 owner HUO MET Pro with the wooden backbox (all leds added) and a 1 owner HUO STTNG without any mods.

I like potential repairs....

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the MET will be less work. even a HUO STTNG is still 24 years old.

MET also has a deeper ruleset, and plays faster.

that said, though, if you are somehow able to verify the STTNG's HUO status (that's a big if) then i would be all over the STTNG. HUO MET Pros are all over the place. an actual HUO STTNG would be a rare thing. it was a game that usually got tons of plays and abuse on route, and there weren't nearly as many home collectors back then. sure, it will probably need some work at first, but the playfield should be in stellar condition (even if it's dirty). you would want to check the boards for battery damage, though, that's very common on HUO games.

also, modding this game is super fun. i really had a blast painting the borg ship, replacing the other stock ships, adding laser cannons, cliffys, LEDs, spotlights, mirror blades, colorDMD, LED OCD, GI OCD, and so on. you can really make this game shine well beyond its stock look. it's got gobs of potential.

At least you won't have to spend any time tracking down issues on the boards or repairing battery damage

This guys STTNG is 1 owner HUO, I believe him, he seems very honest. I haven't seen it yet but I will soon. He said he changes the batteries regularly, he is aware of battery damage issues that can occur. I think he said there is 490 plays on it? He hasn't done anything to it except LEDs. Isn't there some grounding fix you have to do on these?

Well thank-you if you did!

Planning on using it watch the highlights with my sons. They are getting older and less patient with me so I have to be picky about what I choose these days.

I think STTNG is excellent viewing, it's so refreshing to see a world that isn't a dystopic mess and actually demonstrates the merits of tolerance, community over individualism, discussion over violence, rational thinking, and the wonder of discovery. lol

Deep Space 9 is just as good as STTNG, you should watch that too!

DS9 is fantastic, but it's heavily serialized, so unlike TNG you can't skip around or only watch a few episodes. It's also darker and less idealistic than TNG. Moral compromises are a necessity on DS9. That's not a criticism. Just a different tone.

There is a wonderful season 1 episode called "Duet" that doesn't require any prior knowledge really and is a good barometer of if you'd like the series.

I'll throw in an endorsement for DS9. Just like the other series, it takes a while to get going. Once the Dominion War starts, things get pretty good pretty fast. The pilot also does a great job of setting the mood for the show (at least the first couple of seasons) and introduces most of the main cast, so it's also not a bad place to start. I think it's tied for me in terms of favorite series with TNG. It actually plays in your hands to watch a more serialized show that is 20 years old because you can go from one to the next without having to wait a week between episodes.

DS9 is great. Give it a chance.

DS9 is "ok" the reality is I still feel the same as I did when I was a kid.
DS9 is very soap opera like... with lots of character arch which is good. But it still feels slow compared to TNG.

I did watch a bit of it when it originally aired, but never really grabbed me at the time.

...besides, does DS9 have Steve Ritchie designed pinball machine?! No, no it does not! How good can it be then??

...of course by that metric, the reboot movies would have to be "good" too, and they sure aren't.

I actually just traded my MET Pro (wooden backbox w/ full LEDs) for a really nice STTNG. MET has great code and a lot of shot variety. It's super deep and pretty damn challenging. STTNG isn't nearly as deep but it's a fast-flowing super fun game in its own right. I'd say that perhaps MET may have more longevity, but STTNG is a classic and is really fun. I also have noticed that more of my friends (non pinheads) have gravitated towards the STTNG much more so than they did with my MET. Only a handful of my friends who were much more into pinball and more skilled players enjoyed the MET, the rest barely played it...one of the reasons I decided to part with it as I have a lot more fun when more of my friends can enjoy a machine too.

Yes, it's a very tough choice. I had my mind set on a met pro until this 1 owner huo sttng popped up. Now it's decision time.

I think you nailed it...

I was thinking Yesterday's Enterprise, Best of Both Worlds, Tapestry, and All Good Things.

I would take the HUO STTNG any day of the week over the MET Pro, I would actually prefer one with no mods since I can put on the mods I want and skip the ones I don't. If its truly a HUO machine, chances are the board set is in pristine condition and the machine is hack free; hell I would buy it even if the MPU had acid damage as long at the machine was in a climate controlled environment for the whole 20+ years.

There will be things the machines needs at this age, and even a NIB one would at this point. The following items were greased during assembly with a clay based grease that will now be hardened:
Upper Subway Diverter
Lower Subway Diverter
Borg Diverter
Left cannon Screw
Right Cannon Screw

You will want to remove disassemble these parts, clean off all the old grease, and reapply a TINY amount of a good PFTE synthetic to these parts.

the overall quality really kicks up a notch in season three. hope you guys stick with it!

Voyager doesn't totally suck, but it's not awesome very often either. it's kind of like eating three scoops of vanilla frozen yogurt. it's .... fine. But I could pare the whole 172-episode series down to about 12 essential episodes and you would have missed very little. the Emergency Medical Hologram ends up being the most likable, realistic, and interesting personality on the show, if that tells you anything. everyone else just seems like they're made of cardboard and plastic. (and yes, Seven of Nine had big boobs ).

Enterprise is so frustrating to watch. It's a brilliant premise, it's a very cool ship, and Scott Bacula is a big Star Trek fan and a great guy. But the whole thing is somehow a lot less than the sum of its parts. It only works in fits and starts. There are some cool arcs ... but there's also a lot of pointless dead-end storylines, and unnecessary ret-conning of things that didn't need to be ret-conned. there are several members of the main cast who never find anything useful to do, or develop any identifiable character traits over the entire 5 year run (Mayweather and Hoshi).

Bacula, for all his good intentions, makes an absolutely awful Star Trek captain. He constantly comes off as confused, petulant, and irritated where, say, Picard would be composed, stoic and resolute. DS9's Commander Sisko doesn't always do the right thing, but at least he is always intense, and usually a bad ass. Bacula just doesn't have the gravitas for that. Ultimately, Captain Archer just wasn't much fun to watch. The audience should never feel like they'd make a far better (and more interesting) leader than the star of your show.

Like Voyager, Enterprise doesn't totally suck, but it's a bit of a slog at times because it never quite lives up to its potential.

yesssss!

My issue with Enterprise is they really tried to take too many "story lines" from the previous shows and tried to make it work in the show.
I really did enjoy Enterprise as a ST show... but that intro was just plain wrong.
I've worked chronologically thru TOS, TNG and am now on DS9 on Netflix.
I find I like DS9 better now than I did as a late teen... but it still feels too soapy to me.
I'm actually looking forward to Voyager... as I missed several seasons because of UPN not being broadcast while I was in college.

one of the joys of streaming - you can skip the fucking Enterprise theme song, making the show 25% better automatically.