Star Trek: The Next Generation
Williams, 1993Quoted from bobukcat:Did I miss something and you fixed the problem where you have 12V at the emitter instead of ~1.5V but the switch still doesn't work? If you point your cell phone camera at the emitter is it glowing?
If you have 12V at the emitter there is no need to see if the LED is glowing as the circuit is not drawing any current.
Quoted from pacman11:The voltage isn’t correct on the transmitter it says -12
Sorry, I missed this information from your earlier post. Since you are measuring -12V you have your test leads backwards with the red lead on ground (black wires).
Why you have a reading of 12V...
12V is the source voltage for the circuit, however there is a current limiting resistor on the opto board that drops the forward voltage going to the IR LED to roughly 1.4V (there are many variables); this is a good thing as the maximum rated voltage for this specific part is 1.7V.
There is only two things that can cause this reading...
1) The IR LED is blown open ... this is an extremely rare failure mode for a diode.
OR
2) The diode is installed backwards or miswired placing the positive voltage on cathode and ground on the anode resulting in a reverse biased condition preventing any current flow through the diode.
I can see from your posted image that the second condition is true as you clearly have the black wires (ground) on the anode (A) and the source voltage (current limited 12V) on the cathode (K). Reverse the positions of these two wires and it should work fine.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:Sorry, I missed this information from your earlier post. Since you are measuring -12V you have your test leads backwards with the red lead on ground (black wires).
Why you have a reading of 12V...
12V is the source voltage for the circuit, however there is a current limiting resistor on the opto board that drops the forward voltage going to the IR LED to roughly 1.4V (there are many variables); this is a good thing as the maximum rated voltage for this specific part is 1.7V.
There is only two things that can cause this reading...
1) The IR LED is blown open ... this is an extremely rare failure mode for a diode.
OR
2) The diode is installed backwards or miswired placing the positive voltage on cathode and ground on the anode resulting in a reverse biased condition preventing any current flow through the diode.
I can see from your posted image that the second condition is true as you clearly have the black wires (ground) on the anode (A) and the source voltage (current limited 12V) on the cathode (K). Reverse the positions of these two wires and it should work fine.
[quoted image]
Ya see, I usually just tune out of these technical discussions for STTNG one you start replying but in this case I noticed something was amiss so I jumped back in JUST enough to get you primed again! Seriously though, every time I think I know this game well you take it to a whole different level, well done! 
Quoted from bobukcat:Ya see, I usually just tune out of these technical discussions for STTNG one you start replying but in this case I noticed something was amiss so I jumped back in JUST enough to get you primed again!
I'm glad you did as you mentioned a 12V reading and I was like ..."wait, what 12V reading...."
Would someone be kind enough to post a couple pictures of the cannon launch limit switches installed (the switches that prevents firing)? I don't think mine are oriented correctly and/or are the correct switches. I stared at them for longer than I would like to admit and it wasn't obvious to me how they should work. A good reference would be appreciated. I scoured the forums and the tubes and couldn't find a clear picture of both sides.
Quoted from RobF:Would someone be kind enough to post a couple pictures of the cannon launch limit switches installed (the switches that prevents firing)?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/36#post-3908111
Hey all trying to help a non-Pinside out by seeing what the value of his machine is. It’s an import, very nice condition, no Pf wear. I cleaned the machine for him about 6 months ago which consisted of taking the entire top of the pf apart, cleaning, polishing and waxing. Game plays but the only issue is ... an opto in the ball through is not working so this need to be fixed and he doesn’t have the knowledge to do so (I am on the West coast so I can’t fix it).
Machine is located just NE of Pittsburgh, PA. He wants to sell to put the money towards a TZ. So he will sell outright or trade for TZ (+cash obviously).
A0034C1C-1B89-41FF-9A77-F73E895838F1 (resized).jpegE3FD2303-2F27-4E90-B351-86D18FB5D340 (resized).jpeg54E2418D-7E15-40D0-9AC6-3AB232FEE2F2 (resized).jpeg958D5A24-BC2C-4F10-BDD6-BA89FAA028CB (resized).jpegB5EFB61C-FF84-4B7A-8A3C-739AEBADD4FB (resized).jpegB770BE06-64B7-4102-A597-A021C3D21BEE (resized).jpegQuoted from meSz:Hey all trying to help a non-Pinside out by seeing what the value of his machine is
$ 4,000 to 4,300 range.
Quoted from pfinny:$ 4,000 to 4,300 range.
Pshhh. More like $4,500 - $5,000 range.
Opto is a $60 and easy fix.
Got my STTNG at the end of October. When I first got it the left flipper was weak. Cleaned the opto for the flipper button and it got to better strength (comparable with the right flipper). Now a couple weeks ago something changed in the machine where all coils seem to be firing much stronger than they were before. One day all three flippers & the catapult started firing a lot stronger (and the feeds into the cannons seem to be a bit stronger now also). Both the catapult and shots up the right lane are now going so strong they're bouncing off the drop target past the pops and back down the right lane. I can't really get any balls to go into the pops anymore. I tried plugging into a different outlet and lifting the playfield to check things out but it's still continued playing in its newly amped up mode. In one respect it's nice because I'm able to make cleaner shots with the stronger flippers, but on the other hand I want to make sure something isn't wonky with the machine. Just wondering if I didn't realize it was playing weaker than normal before & it's now corrected itself somehow, or if something should be checked.
Quoted from EaglePin:Got my STTNG at the end of October. When I first got it the left flipper was weak. Cleaned the opto for the flipper button and it got to better strength (comparable with the right flipper). Now a couple weeks ago something changed in the machine where all coils seem to be firing much stronger than they were before. One day all three flippers & the catapult started firing a lot stronger (and the feeds into the cannons seem to be a bit stronger now also). Both the catapult and shots up the right lane are now going so strong they're bouncing off the drop target past the pops and back down the right lane. I can't really get any balls to go into the pops anymore. I tried plugging into a different outlet and lifting the playfield to check things out but it's still continued playing in its newly amped up mode. In one respect it's nice because I'm able to make cleaner shots with the stronger flippers, but on the other hand I want to make sure something isn't wonky with the machine. Just wondering if I didn't realize it was playing weaker than normal before & it's now corrected itself somehow, or if something should be checked.
WPC games of this era are pretty sensitive to line voltage and my guess is that's what's changed on yours. The power supply is a pretty simple design so there's not a lot there that's likely to have changed to cause the game to play differently.
Quoted from meSz:an opto in the ball through is not working so this need to be fixed and he doesn’t have the knowledge to do so (I am on the West coast so I can’t fix it)
If these are original (non hacked) boards I can repair them for him; tell him to contact me and I will provide shipping instructions for him to send me both his opto boards; I will test/repair them both then send them back to him (shipping included) for $20.
Quoted from Pahuffman:Pshhh. More like $4,500 - $5,000 range.
I'm not trying to knock the machine as it appears to be in decent shape for its age, but there is no way to estimate a value without seeing the entire machine.
I'm wouldnt jump on giving it any value so soon without having pictures of the under playfield wiring, backbox boards and connectors, neutral zone hole (single highest damage spot in the game) etc... the game also has no mods at (not that that's bad), cabinet and head damage, insert ghosting, something odd going on with the lock in the head (never seen that before).
Quoted from Pin_Guy:I'm not trying to knock the machine as it appears to be in decent shape for its age, but there is no way to estimate a value without seeing the entire machine.
I'm wouldnt jump on giving it any value so soon without having pictures of the under playfield wiring, backbox boards and connectors, neutral zone hole (single highest damage spot in the game) etc... the game also has no mods at (not that that's bad), cabinet and head damage, insert ghosting, something odd going on with the lock in the head (never seen that before).
Not to mention damaged ramps, damaged subway, etc. I paid $3,950 for my STTNG last year and honestly it was too much. Needed all new ramps and plastics. Connector issues. I could go on. Oh well...
Inpaid 5k for mine in December, and it does have quite a few flaws....but than again I am in SoCal, so you have to add the 10% sun factor onto any price.
I paid $4200 for mine with Color DMD installed in March but I got a pretty smokin deal on it. I bought it at TPF and I don't think the guy wanted to haul it back home. 
Quoted from PantherCityPins:I paid $4200 for mine with Color DMD installed in March but I got a pretty smokin deal on it. I bought it at TPF and I don't think the guy wanted to haul it back home.
What. I have been looking for one of those for a while.. too bad I don’t live closer to Texas!
I have to assume the price reflects upon folks having bad experiences with this game from either broken features or the hard drains this machine can have that keep this machine on the low end of Williams Super Pins. IMHO Williams hit a grand slam with this title.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:Sorry, I missed this information from your earlier post. Since you are measuring -12V you have your test leads backwards with the red lead on ground (black wires).
Why you have a reading of 12V...
12V is the source voltage for the circuit, however there is a current limiting resistor on the opto board that drops the forward voltage going to the IR LED to roughly 1.4V (there are many variables); this is a good thing as the maximum rated voltage for this specific part is 1.7V.
There is only two things that can cause this reading...
1) The IR LED is blown open ... this is an extremely rare failure mode for a diode.
OR
2) The diode is installed backwards or miswired placing the positive voltage on cathode and ground on the anode resulting in a reverse biased condition preventing any current flow through the diode.
I can see from your posted image that the second condition is true as you clearly have the black wires (ground) on the anode (A) and the source voltage (current limited 12V) on the cathode (K). Reverse the positions of these two wires and it should work fine.
[quoted image]
After fixing the wiring on the recipter and messing with the connector now the opt next to it stopped working. I think I have a bad connection of the 16 opt board. So I am going to start replacing the connectors and see what happens. Thanks for your help.
There is tons of advice in this thread, but I am a bit lost on my issue anyhow.
Once in a while, my pin goes into ball search mode, and it won't come out of it. Only way to end it, is turning it on and off. I tested all optos and switches, and they are all working. No weak solder joints either.
I was told before that it would most likely be an opto that is going bad, but how do I found out which one, if it happens only sporadically (every 25 to 50 games) and I cannot find anything when testing?
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:Once in a while, my pin goes into ball search mode, and it won't come out of it. Only way to end it, is turning it on and off.
Next time it does this, don't turn it off; instead, open the coin door and go into switch test and take a picture of the switch matrix. Then find out where the balls are actually located...by comparing their true location to what the matrix is telling you should give you much insight into the issue. If you post the matrix picture here, I'm sure someone will tell you whats going on.
Should have thought of that myself....guess that is why you make the big bucks......well, at least you should.
Thanks.
Probably won't happen before the weekend, but I'll report back.
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:Should have thought of that myself....guess that is why you make the big bucks......well, at least you should.
Thanks.
Probably won't happen before the weekend, but I'll report back.
I’ve reflowed solder on the opto boards for a similar issue. They get cold out there in space.
Hope someone can help me, I've lost my GI. I played a game without issue on Saturday morning, then played another game later in the afternoon and the GIs were out. I didn't touch anything. In test the inserts, flashers, and backbox lights all work fine, just no GIs.
This appears to be something bigger than just bad fuses. Any ideas?
Quoted from Hammerhead:This appears to be something bigger than just bad fuses. Any ideas?
Did you reseat the GI pins in the backbox? Are the connectors burned at all?
Quoted from Hammerhead:Hope someone can help me, I've lost my GI. I played a game without issue on Saturday morning, then played another game later in the afternoon and the GIs were out. I didn't touch anything. In test the inserts, flashers, and backbox lights all work fine, just no GIs.
This appears to be something bigger than just bad fuses. Any ideas?
First off ... read the General Illumination Problems found at this link http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#General_Illumination_Problems ... there is a lot of good info here.
There are 5 sets of GI lights each with its own fuse; what you need to do is look for a common failure point; there are a couple of things that cause cause this and range for easy to really bad.
The BAD:
Failure of your transformers 6.3 VAC secondary winding. This is extremely rare.
pasted_image (resized).png
Easy:
Bad ribbon cable between CPU and PDB - flip it over and see what happens
Disconnected GI lighting cable from the transformer
Transformer (resized).jpg
Moderate:
Failure of PDB U1
Can anyone point me in the right direction for this issue? My probe switches all seem to be aligned and working. I have no switch errors at all in the game. It’s the last quirk I have on a massive cleaning I gave this bad boy. Maybe an opto issue but again, no switch errors reported?! Sorry for the hand tremor 
Just reinstalled the gun handle right after repainting it. Not bad eh??
Following up as I’m still stumped. Everything seems to be testing fine. I did a factory reset. Is it possible this minor time difference is the culprit??? If so, how exactly do you adjust these switches?
Has anyone overcome the issue shown below? I have the exact same issue and am not excited about modifiying my brand new ramp....
Quoted from simplykind:Has anyone installed the protectors for the alpha ramp? They dont line up on mine, almost need to modify the ramp. Im hesitant to cut off the corners of a brnad new ramp. And it seems like the posts need to be higher.
[quoted image][quoted image]
31BA2572-5C6E-407C-8A32-184B4AC44345 (resized).jpeg625DEC82-DE1E-406A-8BF7-2332C41184A7 (resized).jpegEdit: my bad, wrong ramp!
I had alignment issues with my delta ramp protectors not my alpha. I had to drill a new hole for my delta ramp.
Quoted from play_pinball:Following up as I’m still stumped. Everything seems to be testing fine. I did a factory reset. Is it possible this minor time difference is the culprit??? If so, how exactly do you adjust these switches?
Just realized the coil installed is a 26-1500 and not the original 23-800. Gonna do a quick swap in for a 23-800 and see if it solves my problems!
Quoted from play_pinball:Following up as I’m still stumped. Everything seems to be testing fine. I did a factory reset. Is it possible this minor time difference is the culprit???
According to the video, the are operating correctly.
Quoted from play_pinball:how exactly do you adjust these switches?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/36#post-3908111
Quoted from play_pinball:Just realized the coil installed is a 26-1500 and not the original 23-800. Gonna do a quick swap in for a 23-800 and see if it solves my problems!
Well I got the right coil swapped in and it’s still doing the same thing, acknowledging the trigger pull but not shooting the ball. But now, instead of gently pushing the ball back into play near the end of the rotation, it shoots the ball full power back into the habitrails 
As some added info about the issue with @play_pinball's STTNG the wiring harness on the problem gun was broken. I completely took it apart and repaired the break in the opto wire (purple i think?). It seems to be functional now from what we can tell. Even put a meter on the opto and ran the gun test to make sure the opto wasn't losing connectivity while in motion. No notable change on the meter when doing so.
Repairing the wire harness only works if you crimp on new connectors with brand new wire.
Soldering broken wire will only yield broken wire after so many turns of the turret.
Replace the entire harness with a brand new one... if one wire was broken; they all are suspect now.
I speak from experience.
Quoted from Zitt:Repairing the wire harness only works if you crimp on new connectors with brand new wire.
Soldering broken wire will only yield broken wire after so many turns of the turret.
Replace the entire harness with a brand new one... if one wire was broken; they all are suspect now.
I speak from experience.
Realized we didn't check the coil power as it turns. Yup it's the harness again. Coil power wire also has a break in it. Replacement harness ordered. Not going to bother with trying to repair it again since obviously the OEM wire is so prone to breaking.
I've toyed with the idea of having replacement looms made; but I'm not sure they'd sell honestly.
Where did you end up ordering replacement looms?
Quoted from Zitt:I've toyed with the idea of having replacement looms made; but I'm not sure they'd sell honestly.
Where did you end up ordering replacement looms?
He hasn't actually ordered it apparently but will likely order from Pinball Heaven in the UK. It's around $25 before shipping. Marco seems to also sell it but they want $50. The only downside is there are 2 color substitutions on the one Pinball Heaven makes which kinda sucks but I have no idea where to source the wire to make it myself. Even if I did that it would cost way more than that in materials to do it.
https://www.pinball.co.uk/game-specific-parts/star-trek-tng/cannon-looms-for-star-trek-tng-h-17067/
Quoted from Pin_Guy:First off ... read the General Illumination Problems found at this link http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#General_Illumination_Problems ... there is a lot of good info here.
There are 5 sets of GI lights each with its own fuse; what you need to do is look for a common failure point; there are a couple of things that cause cause this and range for easy to really bad.
The BAD:
Failure of your transformers 6.3 VAC secondary winding. This is extremely rare.
[quoted image]
Easy:
Bad ribbon cable between CPU and PDB - flip it over and see what happens
Disconnected GI lighting cable from the transformer
[quoted image]
Moderate:
Failure of PDB U1
Followed the steps in the pinwiki document, which seem to suggest the issue is off-board as there is no AC voltage at J120/J121. I've confirmed this by swapping driver boards with no change. Unfortunately pinwiki speaks a lot about on-board issues, but not too much about off-board.
Some of the GI kinda work; they aren't very bright but they do light. Examples would be the rollover GIs and the shield GIs. Does anyone have any ideas of how almost all of the GIs would spontaneously stop working all at the same time, and it doesn't appear to be aboard issue?
How would I go about checking the transformer 6.3 VAC?
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:If anybody has an original translite and is interested in trading for this one, send me a PM. If you happen to have a spare, I'd trade you a NES mini and SNES mini for one. Just picked it up yesterday. Game is simply amazing.[quoted image]
Ha. My 3 game collection plus one arcade is very similar. I have a LOTR instead of the JP and a off-road challange instead of your 1up.
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:Ha. My 3 game collection plus one arcade is very similar. I have a LOTR instead of the JP and a off-road challange instead of your 1up.
You sir have excellent tastes.
Quoted from Zitt:Pinbits had them for 17each. I'd replace both.
They're sold out and i'm fairly certain the pinball heaven kit does both cannons.
Quoted from pinball_ric:They're sold out and i'm fairly certain the pinball heaven kit does both cannons.
That's a good deal if it's both canons. Seems a little too cheap; but if covers both canons; a win for a local Austin guy! 
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Hoover, AL
Melbourne, ON