Star Trek: The Next Generation
Williams, 1993Quoted from billsfanmd:Hoping I can find the harness. I think my optos are the issue...I did look at the switch matrix in test last week and the grid showed only 2-2 closed. So afterI fix the switches Ill work on optos..
Here is the link to the harness for sale - https://www.pinball.co.uk/game-specific-parts/star-trek-tng/cannon-looms-for-star-trek-tng-h-17067/
Quoted from billsfanmd:Here is my left cannon. Can anyone verify if wires are correct.
Verified.
Quoted from PinHigh1:This is what mine did actually. The new harnesses fixed this. I'd recommend giving it a shot.
I stand corrected...you WILL get a "cannot find home error" if your optos are screwed up causing the cannon to stop off home. Apparently the game ignored the fact that the home switch closed repeatedly and performs a single cannon at home test AFTER the ball location check.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:One goes on the prop rod, and the other goes on the bolt for that penetrated the cabinet; yeah I know its all the same ground, but separate grounds are required by the NEC in this instance.[quoted image]
Thanks again!
Quoted from Pinless:Could someone post a pic that shows how the wires are supposed to be run near the plumb bob area?
Finishing up the last few bits of the cabinet swap and I can’t find a picture of this area anywhere.[quoted image]
Here are a few pics from mine. Hope this helps.
02B8CA4F-1729-40DA-AD88-157D74BC1385 (resized).jpeg7CC08217-E835-41AF-BB17-F9ADA2AE69FF (resized).jpegE62AF31A-D5CD-4C71-B73E-14F41AEBAB02 (resized).jpegQuoted from Pin_Guy:Whoh! Two thumbs up for pinless[quoted image]
Dang, I had no idea I was working with antique tools! I’ve got a couple snap-on pieces from my grandpa that are probably twice as old.
Quoted from EaglePin:Here are a few pics from mine. Hope this helps.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
This is perfect! Thanks so much for taking the time to post the pics. It’s very helpful.
I could find a million pictures of the playfield and under the playfield, but none inside the cabinet.
Quoted from Pinless:Could someone post a pic that shows how the wires are supposed to be run near the plumb bob area?
Oh man, I got distracted and forgot to post this...sorry.
pasted_image (resized).pngI just started it up after being apart for several months. It appears I’ve got a reset issue that I never had before. I’ll have to double check everything tomorrow.
I installed the pinwoofer kit. WOW! The sub feels like a mini shaker.
Quoted from Pinless:I just started it up after being apart for several months. It appears I’ve got a reset issue that I never had before.
EEEP, sounds like dead batteries, if this is the cast, I can only hope you aren't using alkalines.
I just joined the club this weekend! I got my example fairly cheap (at least I think so) and best of all local (9 miles from my house). She mostly works, just a few gremlins here and there. While it spent the last 22 years in the home of the family I bought it from, she's a little rough around the edges cabinet-wise from it's first few routed years. Some holes on the side here and there from a previous operator, a couple of dings, marked up decals on the head, and rusty legs. Inner cabinet a bit dingy but no water damage. The board set is nice and original - no hacks that I can see.
The playfield is really nice - no visible wear but very grimy and dirty. Rubbers on their last legs. A few chips in some plastic pieces but they're all there and no outright cracks. Once I have everything working correctly, it'll be a total topside tear-down and thorough cleaning (and tumbling of metal bits).
I've resolved the first couple of easy issues - no audio in right speaker (bad filter cap) and right gun not finding home (one of the wires to the opto was hanging loose....soldered it back on). I'm now onto the third issue on my laundry list and the last "major" one I hope - the left gun doesn't turn at all.
Problem is obvious from the underside - the plastic crank arm has broken off such that the spinning motor is no longer attached. The longer crank arm looks ok - it's the smaller crank arm that broke off near the roll pin. I ordered a replacement small crank arm on Pinball Life tonight - fingers crossed it arrives by the weekend.
Now my question (and apologies if this has been covered in this thread before....I'm only up to Page 12 of 82 reading thru it): can someone provide me general step by step instructions on how to pull the left cannon assembly out enough that I can reach the roll pin on the motor, remove the broken plastic piece, and install the new small crank arm? Do I have to disassemble the whole cannon assembly to do this repair? Not sure where to start....looks like a lot of topside and bottomside screws and parts....I don't want to remove the whole thing if I don't have to. Thank you!
Quoted from Mathazar:I just joined the club this weekend!
Congratulations Captain!
Quoted from Mathazar:Do I have to disassemble the whole cannon assembly to do this repair? Not sure where to start....looks like a lot of topside and bottomside screws and parts....I don't want to remove the whole thing if I don't have to.
Yes, but its easier than it looks. 1 playfield plastic (optional), 5 connectors, 4 nuts, 4 screws and done.
Do this first:
Rotate cannon so that screw is aligned with hole in mounting bracket.
pasted_image (resized).png
While under the playfield, remove the 3 connectors that go to the cannon, the motor connection from the Motor EMI board, and the connector for the home and mark switches. Cut any tie wraps that would prevent these cables from coming out.
Remove the single screw that holds the gun shaft to the drive plate
pasted_image (resized).png
You can now remove the entire gun assembly as a single unit.
Optional: Remove the playfield plastic that covers the slingshot area to make it easier to get the wires through the playfield.
Remove the 4 Nuts holding the cannon mounting bracket to the cannon bushing assembly
Remove the reaming 3 screws holding the mounting bracket to the playfield. This is one of many places where having a 6" Klein 1/4" magnetic nutdriver comes in really handy! https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Klein-Tools-646-1-4M/dp/B00093GEC6
Pull mounting bracket out of the machine.
pasted_image (resized).png
This was the easiest part...getting the roll pin out of the motor shaft was much more difficult.
Quoted from Mathazar:I just joined the club this weekend! I got my example fairly cheap (at least I think so) and best of all local (9 miles from my house). She mostly works, just a few gremlins here and there. While it spent the last 22 years in the home of the family I bought it from, she's a little rough around the edges cabinet-wise from it's first few routed years. Some holes on the side here and there from a previous operator, a couple of dings, marked up decals on the head, and rusty legs. Inner cabinet a bit dingy but no water damage. The board set is nice and original - no hacks that I can see.
The playfield is really nice - no visible wear but very grimy and dirty. Rubbers on their last legs. A few chips in some plastic pieces but they're all there and no outright cracks. Once I have everything working correctly, it'll be a total topside tear-down and thorough cleaning (and tumbling of metal bits).
I've resolved the first couple of easy issues - no audio in right speaker (bad filter cap) and right gun not finding home (one of the wires to the opto was hanging loose....soldered it back on). I'm now onto the third issue on my laundry list and the last "major" one I hope - the left gun doesn't turn at all.
Problem is obvious from the underside - the plastic crank arm has broken off such that the spinning motor is no longer attached. The longer crank arm looks ok - it's the smaller crank arm that broke off near the roll pin. I ordered a replacement small crank arm on Pinball Life tonight - fingers crossed it arrives by the weekend.
Now my question (and apologies if this has been covered in this thread before....I'm only up to Page 12 of 82 reading thru it): can someone provide me general step by step instructions on how to pull the left cannon assembly out enough that I can reach the roll pin on the motor, remove the broken plastic piece, and install the new small crank arm? Do I have to disassemble the whole cannon assembly to do this repair? Not sure where to start....looks like a lot of topside and bottomside screws and parts....I don't want to remove the whole thing if I don't have to. Thank you!
Congrats! Great game, you’ll have your pinball repair/maintenance PHD in no time getting it dialed in, every other pin will be easy, comparatively speaking.
What could cause the top drop target go move up and down rapidly during certain times in the game?
For example it may go up and down 5 or 6 times after a ball is launched.
Pin_Guy - thank you so much for taking the time to provide the instructions AND most of all the annotated photos! Much appreciated! I'll report back on my progress....hopefully this weekend if the Pinball Life care package comes by then.
Hello STTNG community members.
I have a set of plastic protectors for sale. PM if interested. Tell me to get lost if you are offended. $30 shipped to you in the US 2-3 priority mail.
I'll knock off $5 for anyone on this thread.
Quoted from Pinless:What could cause the top drop target go move up and down rapidly during certain times in the game?
For example it may go up and down 5 or 6 times after a ball is launched.
Is the drop target correctly locking in the up position? Otherwise the micro switch on the drop target isn't sensing it in the up position - the machine is trying to continually push the target up.
In the picture below item 24 (also shown with the red arrow) is a clear plastic called an actuator guide, it holds the micro switch actuator arm in place to be triggered correctly by the target, sometimes if the guide is not there the actuator can get pushed sideways out of the way and then gets caught on other parts of the mech
Plastic Guide (resized).JPG
Quoted from Manny65:Is the drop target correctly locking in the up position? Otherwise the micro switch on the drop target isn't sensing it in the up position - the machine is trying to continually push the target up.
In the picture below item 24 (also shown with the red arrow) is a clear plastic called an actuator guide, it holds the micro switch actuator arm in place to be triggered correctly by the target, sometimes if the guide is not there the actuator can get pushed sideways out of the way and then gets caught on other parts of the mech
[quoted image]
I’ll post a pic later this week. It seems to work fine in test mode. It will go up and stay up.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:eaglepin this looks ... interesting.[quoted image]
Just got home and saw your post and didn't know what you were referring to so I lifted the playfield to check it out. Didn't see anything that seemed amiss until I compared it to the one on the other side and realized WHOA is that thing bent way out of shape. It had still been plugged in and working though 
I nudged it back to be a lot straighter, but didn't want to force it too much and break a connection so it's still a bit bent but still plugged in. Thanks for the heads up!!!! I appreciate it!
Quoted from EaglePin:WHOA is that thing bent way out of shape.
Oh, now I see that its bent ... I honestly couldn't tell what I was looking at, just that it looked very wrong. Thanks for responding back
Quoted from Manny65:Good eyes none the less
Eagle eyes! (pun absolutely intended)
For the love of god I will never finish up this pin All shopped cannons fixed plays great with main diverter coil off. Swapped out the coil and as expected it locks on as soon the 50v interlock switch is pressed. As I assumed all along bad Tip on the aux driver board. Here there is also a tie back mod to prevent the game from exploding does anyone have a 8 driver board they could sell with the mod done or is it easy
Quoted from billsfanmd:does anyone have a 8 driver board they could sell with the mod done or is it easy
The mod isn't done to the board, its done to the wiring harness.
https://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation#Diode_.22Tie_Back.22_missing_causes_8-Driver_Board_transistor_to_fail
One of the methods discussed to for relocating the tieback wire has you move the wire from the drop target coil and add it to the J107-1, this is no longer considered to be a best practice, instead the wire should be moved to J108-1. Since this is an unused 3 pin header, you can easily add a new connector to this location without having to make any changes to any other wiring.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:This was the easiest part...getting the roll pin out of the motor shaft was much more difficult.
Pin_Guy - Wow....you were not kidding. My Pinball Life order arrived today and I started the repair process. Got the cannon assembly out just fine and then spent 30+ minutes trying to get the roll pin out of the motor shaft. I broke my roll pin punch in the process, but I finally got it out. Naturally, the pin went flying across my workshop and after a needle-in-the-haystack search of another 30 minutes, I found it under our treadmill on the other side of the room.
Question for you before re-assembly - the gun shaft and drive plate are absolutely filthy and covered in gunk/grease. My hands got dirtier during the removal than rebuilding a carburetor in my car. My cleanliness OCD is going into overdrive - since it's already apart, can I put the metal bits thru my ultrasonic cleaner or does this assembly require some level of lubrication? I've already run the empty mounting bracket through my cleaner....is it ok to put the drive plate, gun shaft mount, and gun shaft itself (after I remove it from the topside cannon assembly) thru the ultrasonic cleaner as well?
Again - thank you for the clear instructions last week....very much a time saver and it allowed me to get into this with more confidence.
Cannon Clean (resized).jpgQuoted from Mathazar:I've already run the empty mounting bracket through my cleaner....is it ok to put the drive plate, gun shaft mount, and gun shaft itself (after I remove it from the topside cannon assembly) thru the ultrasonic cleaner as well?
you can toss all of it in there, you just have to be sure to get all of the water off; the only thing I would advise against is the gearbox and motor. Use a tiny bit of PTFE grease on the shaft when you put it back together.
pasted_image (resized).pngQuoted from Pin_Guy:you can toss all of it in there, you just have to be sure to get all of the water off; the only thing I would advise against is the gearbox and motor. Use a tiny bit of PTFE grease on the shaft when you put it back together.
Thanx, Pin_Guy - got the bits cleaned up and dried, a little grease on the shaft, and reassembled and reinstalled. While the Launcher test from the Test Menu has the left cannon moving now with the new plastic short crank, I'm getting switch issues in the Test Report:
Check Switch 32
Under LGUN SW.2
Check Switch 36
Under LGUN SW.1
Check Switch 38
Left Gun Shooter
In the Launcher test, I'm getting the expected beeps and OPEN and CLOSE status for LEFT HOME SW and LEFT MARK SW. I've double/triple checked the connections I messed with during uninstall/reinstall. The left gun is ignored during gameplay and never tries to "go home". Not sure what to check next????
Check and see if the guns are bypassed.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/80#post-5492388
Test the left gun shooter by blocking the opto in switch test with the coin door open
Quoted from lordloss:Anyone have a Sttng translite for sale?
You can get a next gen one from Mr. Pinball Australia
https://shop.mrpinball.com.au/product/star-trek-next-generation-translite/
Quoted from Aquapin:You can get a next gen one from Mr. Pinball Australia
https://shop.mrpinball.com.au/product/star-trek-next-generation-translite/
Honestly at that price and shipping it's better just to spring for a mirrored backglass from CPR:
https://classicplayfields.com/shop/pinball-backglasses/star-trek-the-next-generation/
Quoted from Aquapin:You can get a next gen one from Mr. Pinball Australia
https://shop.mrpinball.com.au/product/star-trek-next-generation-translite/
OEM or nothing is my take on it. I don't care for repros
Quoted from Pin_Guy:Check and see if the guns are bypassed.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/80#post-5492388
Test the left gun shooter by blocking the opto in switch test with the coin door open
Pin_Guy - Things have taken a turn for the strange with my STTNG. First the good news:
I didn't have the guns bypassed in the adjustments menu, but after retracing/tugging wires under the left gun things magically started working:
- No more credit dot
- No more Test Reports on LGUN switches
- Both guns "cycle" at power on and return to home
- Both guns are utilized and work with Launch Probe
- Both guns are utilized and work with Battle Simulation
Must be a loose wire somewhere...I will have to track that down. In the meantime, I've lifted the playfield several times, cycled game power several times, did 5 Launch Probe instances, did 5 Battle Simulations to completion, and played a few complete games and everything continues to work so far.
On to the bad/distressing news:
I got this STTNG at somewhat of a bargain price ($3K). Three things didn't work which I've managed to fix (right cannon did not move = bad solder joint on the motor wire, right speaker no audio = blown filter cap, left cannon occasionally stops moving = cracked plastic small crank that eventually severed under use after I got it home). As it sits now, it's all working. However, while chasing down wires under the LGUN, something jumped out at me...this surely shows my inexperience with STTNG when checking the system out before buying:
The left A-16922 Proximity Sensor II PCB is *completely missing*. As in totally removed. I found the J1 wire plug folded back up into a wire bundle, not attached to anything. There is a wire hack spliced into the J1 plug at J1-3 and J1-4 that leads up to the topside of the playfield and is attached to a (non-factory, I presume) opto switch secured to the left inlane bracket. WTF?
Some sort of field repair from back in the day to get around a non-functioning PCB perhaps? How is this hack even working? Should I try to put it back to original? All I've been able to find for a suitable replacement PCB is one in Australia ($54US plus $17US shipping).
Thanx again for any advice / direction.
IMG_7832 (resized).jpgIMG_7831 (resized).jpgIMG_7823 (resized).jpgQuoted from Pahuffman:Honestly at that price and shipping it's better just to spring for a mirrored backglass from CPR:
https://classicplayfields.com/shop/pinball-backglasses/star-trek-the-next-generation/
I'm not so sure about that, the one from Mr. Pinball is $112.68 USD shipped vs $270 + shipping from CPR.
Quoted from lordloss:OEM or nothing is my take on it. I don't care for repros
I agree. I bought the cpr mirrored backglass and ended up putting the OEM translight back in. I'd give you a healthy discount on the cpr tho...
Quoted from Mathazar:Some sort of field repair from back in the day to get around a non-functioning PCB perhaps? How is this hack even working?
looks like a magnetic reed switch, I imagine its operating like any other switch matrix switch. There would have to be an isolation diode in there someplace to prevent other issues with the switch matrix.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:looks like a magnetic reed switch, I imagine its operating like any other switch matrix switch.
How is that switch (seemingly) replacing the entire functionality of the left A-16922 Proximity Sensor II PCB? I would love to put this back to factory if I can get my hands on a replacement PCB, but the pin seems 100% functional and I also don't want to screw that up.
Quoted from Mathazar:How is that switch (seemingly) replacing the entire functionality of the left A-16922 Proximity Sensor II PCB?
The proximity sensor performs the same function as every other switch in the machine which is to pass the column pulse to the row when the switch is closed ... it just does it in a different way.
Quoted from Mathazar:I've been able to find for a suitable replacement PCB is one in Australia ($54US plus $17US shipping).
A little high but not really that bad given how hard it is to find these anymore; you will also need the sensor cable assembly A-17064.
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