Oh! Good to know. I was watching the pinned video on the color dmd fix and noticed that was done. I planned on getting a color dmd in the future so figured I could get 2 birds with one stone. I'll check the optos later today. I suspect they'll read alright, but worth a double check.

Question, I had my best game ever on STTNG tonight but I'm not sure it was legit. I got two extra balls on ball one through various methods but I noticed the bonus multiplier held through all the extra balls and didn't reset until it was ball 2. Because of this I got to 10X multiplier and got 300-500 million bonus for all three "ball 1s". Is this correct?

Its probably is legit. The only thing required to hold your bonus multipliers is to achieve warp level 5, since you are likely starting at warp 4 on ball launch, all you need is a single shot to the warp ramp to achieve the bonus hold.

Ok cool, yeah I was starting with Warp 4 instead of starting missions like I had been. I was working on figuring out the Picard Maneuver and got my wrap up to 9.

Hmm, already very consistent both the left and the right sets of opto boards. 50/50 activation on the flipper button presses for lower/upper. I went ahead and checked the E.O.S. switches for proper placement and they all seem happy too...

My symptoms are very much in line with this older thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/question-on-sttng-upper-right-flipper-problem-or-how-it-plays

I can only ever hit the Delta Quadrant if enough outer loop speed has built up and I hit the ball just right. I do plan on cleaning the playfield, but it's really not THAT bad...Watching this video (timestamped) the ball falls down the right lane and is shot up the Delta with hardly a sweat:

Mine on the other hand might be lucky to clear the first swinging ramp switch on a shot like that. Stupid question maybe...but is my machine set up too steep? I rebuilt the flippers not too long ago and they seem pretty tight otherwise.

EDIT: So I'm going to try a clean, a swap, and then if nothing else, I see siegecraft sells a standalone opto tester that runs off of a 9v. I figure if it's having issues when running on 9v potentially I have a voltage drop issue or bad opto board when not in test mode. I'll update with my findings.

Is there a specific way to tell if any of your optos are not working without seeing a specific symptom in the game? When I shopped out my STTNG about a month after I bought it I cleaned all the optos under the PF and it hasn't been launching extra balls out or the usual symptoms but I'm just curious to see if the switch matrix test or any other diagnostic is a way to just check on the health of your optos from time to time.

Hard to say...mine are checking out fine in the switch test and in game play (as far as I can currently tell). The only other things I'd heard about are inconsistent voltage causing the board to report essentially a pulse instead of a solid signal. Of course, that's not something that's likely easy to find in a switch test.

If the game doesn't see any switch (opto or otherwise) register for a certain number of games you'll get a credit dot and an error report when turn on the game. Other than that I don't believe there's further diagnostics other than the actual switch tests in diagnostics.

Just pulled the trigger on a Color DMD for my STTNG. What mode do y'all like? I'm leaning towards scan mode.

I prefer Hi-Res mode in STTNG.

I set mine to just Dots for about the first 2 years but now have it on DotsXL.

I had mine on DotsXL the entire time I had the Color DMD in my STTNG...I recently moved it to my Metallica and installed the LED version in STTNG...it looks amazing!

Welcome aboard.

So you prefer LED over LCD?

LCD on dots for me. Looks great.

That's where all the quick high points are in the game. Launch stays up in the pops for millions and increasing multipliers. One warp holds multipliers to get you closer to that extra ball. Warp 6 lights super spinner (right inlane) for a ridiculous amount of points per spin. Warp eight lights another extra ball. The extra balls can help you to plunge two locks if you're not having a good lock day, assuming you have plunge 3 to mb turned off (which you should). If locks are going well, plunge for modes. All the while, start modes in between when needed.

I do not time out modes and legitimately try to complete them. I've only finished it all twice taking this path, and to me, it is the most epic achievement in pinball. It is just so damn satisfying. (You do need a sub hooked up to qualify for epic status.)

I do in this machine

What is it about the LED that makes it stand out above LCD?

The colors are much more vibrant, the LCD looks washed out by comparison.

Well...opto tested my right flipper board. The attached gif has a fast activation followed by a slower activation. Tests read out fine, but I swapped it with my left flipper opto board which also tested the same, and boy was the difference night and day!

I'm not sure why I can't read the opto board as bad by my tests on the machine or even with this standalone tester...it's almost like I would need an oscilloscope to analyze for any ripple.

I did notice that my left/right flipper opto boards were slightly different in their solder mask (font and size), and had a red connection on one versus white on the other. Thought it was interesting considering both boards looked original.

I'm SOOOOO close to hitting the delta ramp now...I get just before the diverter. At this point I'm thinking it's time for me to clean the playfield as it's a bit rough in spots, clean the ramps, swap the balls and try to adjust the game to the right level.

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Is your FlipTronics board original?

Both of them appeared to be - yes. I compared them to the rottendog and anarchy boards and neither match. There's also no other markings designating another company.

The failing one looked standard like this one: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O3ZonrM97Gs/VIu4igGMDbI/AAAAAAAANKg/nfNBcbQU9q4/s1600/IMG_20141211_121103.jpg

Sorry, I was referring to the FlipTronics ii board in the backbox.

I switched mine out because I was having some issues and noticed my flippers felt snappier after it was installed.

I can't see much in your picture but make sure you have black opto interrupters installed on the flipper buttons instead of the old white ones, the black ones definitely are better.

I do have the black ones luckily.

Nope, stock fliptronics board. I do have an aftermarket board that I believe is driving the display right now? Idk...hard to tell without me diving into the board layouts. It's on my list to check out next after a nice playfield clean.

Did some work today on my STNG... got it working; but not 100% sure the reason.
Measured TP3 (12V) and got 11.88V. All other voltages looked ok.
Pulled PDB to look at solder joints. Reflowed BR1,BR2, C6 and C7. Replaced C2 as I had one on hand.
Reflowed Q2 (12Volt Vreg) and looked for any additonal cracked solder joints. Re-installed; resets gone - Voltage still at 11.88V. Connectors look good. Browned pins were already replaced a couple of repairs ago.

I'm about 90% sure the caps are original to this board and machine as I didn't actually see any fresh solder joints on the caps.
May go ahead and put together a cap kit for the board (Digikey) so that I have it on hand when I have more problems.

Does anyone know where I can get a new U5 sound rom? I’ve checked the usual vendors and haven’t been able to locate one.

IPDB.orghas the rom file.
Do you know anyone with an EPROM programmer?
https://mattsbasementarcade.com/product/star-trek-the-next-generation-sound-rom-set-l-1-u2-u8-bally-williams-roms/
seems to be able to make them... have no affiliation. Random first link found by google search.
I could do it as well; but I'm not sure if I have stock of the right size EPROM.

I found that one, but when I added it to my cart it said it was the “silly” speech rom.

I could have my eprom re-programmed, but I’m not 100% sure it’s a software issue.

It probably isn't. I rarely hear of "corrupted" ROMs unless they are left "open" to light. Most have light blocking stickers that prevent them from going corrupt.

That said; I looked at my stash. Have smaller 15, 32, and 512k eproms… but no 27c040's (4Mbit) which the schematics claim U5 is.

Thanks for checking. I’ll send an email to the site you posted and see if an original U5 rom is available.

Just checked and I currently have 7 tubes of these on-hand. I can burn one for you, cost for the chip is $5 + shipping which I can invoice through PayPal so will be around $3. PM me if interested.

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This is interesting ... The L7-U5 sound ROM has a checksum of 04666000, but the U5 from my ROM set reads in as 03A23C00. I'm getting into an area here where my knowledge drops off, anyone know why these would be different?

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Hmmmm...are the masked sound roms pre-L1?

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Probably. The masked roms could be an early version or something.

Thinking of picking one of these up restored from a distributor. Anything I should be on the alert for/ask about specific to this game?

I'm assuming you'll be paying top dollar; hence Distributor:

Look for acid damage on CPU board. Look to see what rom the CPU board has. Confirm IPDB.ORG claims LX-7 is the latest CPU code. IF they have LEDs installed in Inserts; verify and ask if they've installed non-Ghosting patch to the ROM. Else look closely to make sure the LEDs in the machine aren't flickering.
Look for burned traces on PDB.

Look for PF damage at Neutral Zone hole and to a lesser degree; the back drop target.
Look for cracked/damaged Ramps at entrance holes. IE where the ball would cause most damage. Verify pricing on a ramp set before you go.
Common Mylar damage on the top "delta/insignia" insert between beta ramp entrance the side wall at the "Exit" of launch orbit. Verify the subway nexus is clean. It should be clear; not sliver. IE if dirty; it will look like silver mirror. Clean; it will be effectively clear. Ask when the PF was last fully shopped; IE teardown complete topside to clean; else you'll have to do it at some point. Ask them to show you the diode tieback solutionhas been implemented to avoid burning boards later..

Play several games. Verify no credit dot. Make sure rear drop target assembly is working right but using diagnostics to raise and drop the target under cpu control. Make sure assembly isn't "loose" from stripped out mounting holes.
Standard shop job; Is it clean? are the rubbers new? All lamps working. Look for cracked / damaged translite. Check for binding on both cannons.
Common to see cracked ART plastics. The one between the neutral zone and advanced rank is usually cracked at the tip.
Slingshot Plastics; usually have chips on the corners. Plastic near the back drop target is usually broken just behind the hole.
Plastics under the Side lane feeders usually are broken. If cracked; look before you go at CPR's STNG plastics. Know how much to expect to pay for a new set of plastics.

Test solenoids in diags to make sure all diverters are working.

Just my thoughts for initial quality checks. Remember; this machine can be a bear to maintain due to complexity. Be comfortable that the whole machine is "A++" if your paying A++ pricing. Remember to expect problems and be comfortable to fix.

Research pricing here in the market to get a range of prices. Superclean, no issue machine would fetch higher. A "flipped" dirty machine would fetch on the lower end. Again; Distributors will claim this been restored with all they did was wipe it down and throw some rubbers in it. All of the above will help you determine how much the distributor really did.

That's a pretty thorough list but I'll add to check the state of the GI connectors on the PDB, they are notorious for burning up on this game and should be replaced.

Does anyone have part numbers for the wire connectors that go to the 7 opto trough boards?

Mine have been hacked and I’d like to replace them.

Are you talking about the IDC 0.156 connectors?
There has to be a VIDs guide on this; right?

There are no .156 connectors on the trough opto boards, these are both .100 IDC thru connectors.
Both of these connectors are now obsolete but available if ordered in sufficient quantities.

The original transmitter board connector is a PanCon MAS-CON 22awg 5 pin thru connector https://panconcorp.com/product/pancon-connectors-mas-con-100-idc-wire-to-board-connector-system-through-connectors-non-polarized-ct100f22-5-d/

The original detector board connector is a PanCon MAS-CON 22awg 12 pin thru connector https://panconcorp.com/product/pancon-connectors-mas-con-100-idc-wire-to-board-connector-system-through-connectors-non-polarized-ct100f22-12-c/

Please let me know if you are able to find these anywhere.

Thanks for the info, again! If the price is right, I’d buy a bag of 100 and share with my STTNG friends.

Amazing response. I’m actually going to copy-paste this in an email to the distributor. it is a top dollar price and they are claiming a full work over on the machine and a 90 day warranty. I will not have an opportunity to play before I buy.

Who else was going through his list thinking “yep, had that, fixed that, still broken, need to check that, oh crap I have that too” ?

Yet no upvotes.

I speak from experience.

I was just looking at my machine this weekend repairing the Power Driver Board. I had to do more adjustments to be back drop target a day or two because it was shotgunning after repairing it for "Credit dot". My Drop Target was "stripped" due to constant repair which came to a head a couple of years ago at TPF. The three wood screws were stripped and I had to find a toothpick or two for onsite repair before I did a real repair with wood glue when it got home.

I have burned traces which someone repaired. I repaired burnt connectors last time I had it on the bench - even installed new crimp on connectors. Still have broken side plastics and the plastic between neutral and advance rank. I repaired the rear plastic:

I still have ticking timebomb of tieback... lazy, it's 104 with 112 heat index right now. So no chance until winter- maybe.

My local friend has an STNG with the delta damage... and was saying how it bothered him greatly. His he said looked like someone took a Dremel to it. I'm seeing the mylar on mine beginning to bubble. So I know it's going to be a fix needed soon - hopefully an easy repair.

My machine was an Auction machine from unknown heritage - probably a routed game. I paid "top dollar" back in 2007... and it was dirty with all kinds of issues. I still haven't bravely tore down the machine for a real shop and clean. So; if I were paying a distributor "top dollar"; I'd expect him to do it for a "restored game".

Finally - I know this is going to be dismissed as "too expensive"... but given this machine's current market prices... and the fact that this was said:

This right here should give you an immediate pause / WTF moment. You aren't getting a deal. You will be on the upper range of pricing. This game needs to be perfect. DO NOT TRUST the seller - I don't care who it is... unless is direct from HEP himself.

You need to discuss a refundable deposit to hold the game.
Pay Frontier airlines or some other cheap airline.
Go see the game and look at it with your own hands.
If it is an A++ game or you can get a more in line price... then pay them and watch them wrap it up for shipping or whatever.
Just don't "trust the seller"; you'll probably end up regretting it.

Re-Read that above... and seriously consider it. I can't tell you how many times we have heard "stories" and regrets.

Good points. At a minimum, I would share the posting link via pm with a couple of STTNG experts and get their feedback.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned testing the optos, as this seems to the one of the major pain points for this game. Possibly nobody has mentioned it because flaky optos would be tough to identify in a 30 minute look over? You could use the switch test to make sure they are all working, then do the old "pound my fist on the playfield" to see if any switches flake out. But really, from my experience anyhow, the only way to know if there are flaky optos is to play the game and see if it randomly spits out extra balls.

Replacing all of the optos is no small feat, and in my opinion, is part of the required steps to make this game stable.Then there are the 16 opto board connectors, 12V feeds, etc. What could possibly go wrong? =)

I would have been ecstatic if the only issues my pin had were related to optos.

Valid points but like you said, it's hard to test all of those even playing 10 games you may not see a problem and then have random balls spit out on game 11. Or you could play 20 with no problems, transport it home and have all sorts of issues but then I guess that's always a possibility with a pinball machine.