It appears that the previous owner bent it back and forth a bit...I may have to do the same to get it back into a acceptable shape.. a new one would have been nice though..

edit...found it...Mantis makes it(but listed under a different machine)

One to beam down. Sent the Enterprise D onto a new port yesterday. As always, it’s been an honor.

This is exactly what happened.

Thanks for this. I checked my game and there is a tie-back going from the larger drop target up coil to J4-1 on the 8-driver board. For reference, it was the small drop target down coil that burnt. I checked continuity from the large coil lug to J4-1 and it checked. I also checked continuity from J107-1 to J4-1 and it checked as well. So, it seems the wiring is OK.

If I put a fuse in F103 and power on, it blows and the game entire game resets. If I disconnect either J4 or J107, the fuse does not blow (and the game boots fine). Any ideas where to go next?

And on the other issues with the switch rows, I determined it was a faulty ribbon cable (the one that connects in 4 places).

Quick question, I have a game that’s randomly throwing switch errors. Looking at the switch the contacts are good. Going into the test menu, the switch registers fine, but the error doesn’t go away unless I factory rest. Always a different switch.

Why would the factory reset only clear it, and are there any suggestions you guys have? Latest code, btw.

Thanks as always.

Hi guys,

Just finishing my Star Trek, replace the diverter burned coil and Q15 transistor on the auxiliary driver board, so now just to be sure I did the tieback mode, connect with a single wire J107-1 to J4-1, is that correct?

Regards,
Gustavo

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https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation#Diode_.22Tie_Back.22_missing_causes_8-Driver_Board_transistor_to_fail
and/or
https://www.google.com/search?q=pin+wiki+tie+back+mod+site:pinside.com&sxsrf=ALeKk00PGttSfAIXRj1zRlLgH99C0_gfBw:1602444712928&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIk4vfo63sAhUNKqwKHYxyCvgQrQIoBHoECAkQBQ

Got my new plastic arm in for under the gun but any clue how to get the pin out that was attached to the old arm? Need to remove it to slide the short side arm over this post. So far having no luck getting it out.

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Hey folks, doing a full play field teardown, LED upgrade, shop, wax, and artwork job to my STTNG. has anyone done a video about removing and putting the cannons back on? Even with the photos I took, I'm having a tough time above and below the PF getting everything set back up In the correct order. Thank you in advance

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You need a roll pin punch set and a lot of patience. I had to take the whole cannon assembly out, put it on my bench, and hammer away. Broke one of my roll pin punches in the process, but I got the pin out.

https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Gunsmithing-Removing-Automotive-Jewelry/dp/B07JNS1ZF7

Thank you. What a pita

I'm no expert here ... still got my training wheels on, although I'd be checking the diodes and transistors on the 8 Driver PCB, but best wait for one of the guys who really knows this stuff - hopefully they'll be along shortly and we can all learn.

If the game does not see a switch activated over a certain number of games/balls it'll flag it as an error, however sometimes it is simply because that shot hasn't been made and there is nothing wrong with the switch. Although I thought going into switch test and confirming it works would normally clear the error and definitely not require a factory reset. You mention that the particular switch registers fine in the switch test, does it also work correctly during game play? Also you mention that it's always a different switch, have you taken note of which specific switches they've been (just trying to looking for some correlation)?

I had posted this under Tech but perhaps someone here can help. Everything was working fine until a couple weeks ago (both launchers worked, neither panned back and forth at power on).

Now, after power-on the right launcher pans back and forth then stops home. Whenever the launchers would be used (e.g., start of "Battle Simulation") the ball just VUK-pops into the left return lane without trying the right launcher.

However, when I go into the test menus (T.14, T.15), both launchers behave perfectly, panning side to side, indicating when "home", kickers firing correctly (but the right firing pin sometimes sticks extended).

I set the A.2 18 "Right Launcher Broken?" to "YES", and now the Battle Simulation works (albeit with just the left launcher). The LEFT launcher now pans back and forth after power-on.

Any suggestions as to what to check, fix or replace to get the right launcher used during play?

Well by setting it to broken(YES) it definitely will not work. The panning on start up is normal. Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes just the left one. Sometimes both. It’s NORMAL! The plunger sticking out happens once in a while(magnetized). Just nudge/slap the game and it should pop back in.

Now to cover your issue. Sounds like you may have a subway diverter issue. Test both diverters. If the ball doesn’t get diverted to the right launcher it obviously can’t work during game play.

What he said.

Can someone clarify how the subway installs over the delta ramp protector along with the Mantis subway protector...it almost seems you can slide the delta ramp behind the subway protector, not sure how exactly how this is supposed to go. Pic shows it behind the subway. I assume this was originally installed inside the subway to protect it from breaking as there was no protector inside it correct?
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My left flipper has suddenly gotten drastically weaker. At the same time, I noticed that there's a momentary buzzing sound if I hold in the flipper button. It eventually goes away if I hold it long enough, but "recharges" when let go. Is this a coil replacement situation, more of a flipper rebuild, or something else? I haven't dealt much with the flippers before outside of a positional adjustment, so I'm looking for some advice before I take apart more than I have to.

Here's a video of me holding in the flipper until the buzzing stops, then some quicker hits to show the behavior.

You might have to turn the sound up a bit to hear the buzzing.

If I do have to replace the coil, should I look to match the same part number I currently have, or go with an alternate?

Have you looked at just doing a flipper rebuild? Checked the coil sleeve and stop? Coils don't usually go bad unless they've been heated up a bit...if the sleeve comes out easily, then the coil is probably good...look for a mechanical issue first...if they haven't been rebuilt its probably time.

Check for proper mechanical movement and alignment of the mech first then try cleaning and checking the optos on flipper button board.

Just finished me restoration and installed alternative decals and translite.

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Looks great! Where did you get that speaker panel?

Awesome Sebo

Your machine looks menacing...ready for battle!!

Maurizio

Thanks!
I did it myself, redraw it complete in adobe illustrator so it can be partially illuminated. (black mask behind it )
Therefore I build a speakerpanel out of acrylic instead of wood.

Nice work! I'm a big fan of those cabinet decals. Where did you get the translite? I've been looking for a good alternative for a while.

You can get it here:

http://xianek.eu/

Some guy from poland has done them,
for the sttng there are several options take a look the print quality is outstanding!

I joined the club this weekend - picked up a really nice example from a local collector. Fully functional, great playfield, almost no cabinet wear, and even more fun than I remember. I've already ordered a bunch of parts to really get this thing perfect.

LEDs from Comet (I chose custom bulbs throughout)
LED OCD
GI OCD
ColorDMD (already installed it)
GI spots (Comet matrix)
Back panel LED
Subwoofer out
Kahr daughter board
Lane extenders
Perfect play rubbers
Mirror blades (PDI)
Acrylic borg windows
Replacement plastics
Purple pops and lanes
New coil sleeves

Yes I know everyone complains about the daughterboard, but I've owned Williams machines in the past and the board is nothing but an improvement. It's fully reversible, trivial to install, makes machines more reliable, low cost, and effective.

Or you can spend hours replacing components on the power board to get the exact same behavior. ;P

Checking back in to see if anyone has any suggestions for what I should check next:

I checked my game and there is a tie-back going from the larger drop target up coil to J4-1 on the 8-driver board. For reference, it was the small drop target down coil that burnt. I checked continuity from the large coil lug to J4-1 and it checked. I also checked continuity from J107-1 to J4-1 and it checked as well. So, it seems the wiring is OK.

If I put a fuse in F103 and power on, it blows and the entire game resets. If I disconnect either J4 or J107 and turn the game on, the fuse does not blow (and the game boots fine). Any ideas where to go next?

Sounds like the transistor (Q13 on the 8-Driver Board) that drives the drop coil (not the larger reset one) is shorted, this caused the coil to melt. First test / replace that transistor then (before you power on the game) replace the melted coil too.

Thank you for these kind words! This Pinsound package took me about a month working average 3-4 hours a day to put it together. I listened to tons and tons of Star Trek music to find the right fit for the game and it's many modes. It became an obsession.

There is more to come!

I'm going to be updating the sound package with new call outs taken from the shows. I'll be starting with episode #1 and watch them all again. It will take some time, but will be awesome when it's finished. Stay tuned!

Hey! Have you heard the Grand Nagus call out during Ferengi multiball? It's an easter egg. Also, the beam up sound during the Rescue mode was taken from a Next Gen movie and it is in stereo.

-pinballshark

Thanks for this! I've looked at a lot of resources, and they all seem to have different suggestions of how to test transitors, including one source that said don't bother testing them on the 8-Driver board, they will all test bad. ???

I have a DMM. How should I test Q13?

Also, the burnt drop coil is SM1-26-600, and it's totally fried. So, it's hard to tell if the center is supposed to come out or if it's just melted in there. From looking online, it looks like this small coil has the center "pin" permanently connected, since this is how it screwed onto the bracket. Correct?

Correct it comes with a built-in core. The coil magnetises the core and pulls in the actuator, that pushes the drop target off the target stop

It's still a TIP102 so I don't know why it would test any differently than the same kind of transistor used everywhere else. Same goes for the pre-driver transistors (2N4403) which could also be shorted and causing your issue. The more common failure is the driver (TIP102) though.

Edit: Sorry for not answering your how to test question:

Awesome, thanks for clarifying. It looked that way from the pictures I found online trying to purchase a new one.

No worries, I'll review the video and go from there.

Thanks everyone for the help...can't wait to play the game again. It's been disassembled for a couple years (getting black nickel plated, full topside teardown, I had surgery, and now this...) so I've never played the game with my upgrades yet. I still have a few things to finish (new hallmark ships, Zitt mod, etc.) but looking forward to it.
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I battled the dreaded coil lockup with the upper diverter over the past month. Here is what I did to correct the problem.

1. Tie back mod ( was actually already done but if it’s not done it should be)
2. Replaced Aux driver board
3. Replaced ribbon cable on Aux board
4. Added diodes to coils driven by aux board.

I bought this machine about 7 years ago. About a year into my enjoyment of the game the upper diverted melted. I replaced it and it was fine until about a month ago. I replaced the coil and it melted again only this time taking with it Q16 on the Aux board. I replaced Q16 only to melt another coil and blew Q16 again. I replaced Q16 and the pre-driver transistor. So far so good. I tested the inputs and outputs on the aux board with a logic probe and everything seemed to be fine. After two games during testing the upper diverted locked up and Q16 burst into flames during the Final Frontier. At this point I ordered a replacement Aux board, new ribbon cable, added diodes to the coils (diode stripe to the purple wires), and verified the tie back mod. Since doing all this the game has been working flawlessly.
I suspect a ground short in the aux board that was happening when multiple coils were firing thus pulling higher than single coil current through the board. I probably should have put the old board on my megger to fish around for a ground problem but at this point I was frustrated and just wanted to get past the problem. Hopefully this helps someone with this problem.

I'd like to see more pictures of that black nickel plating when you get a chance. I'm not sure I'd do the same but it's intriguing and looks really sharp in that picture! Good luck getting it going again, such a great game!

Anyone else have an issue with the mission start clear plastic not being included with their full plastics set? I see it with the clear plastics only set, but not the full set...it seems to be the only one missing(Cointaker sold this one, but others seem to be the same)

edit- so after some back and forth email to Planetarty Pinball ( they make and resell the plastics kit) I was able to determine that the above part was never made as part of the plastics kit, but made with a separate part number. The good news is Planetary will be making these available and should be on their site in a couple weeks... part number 03-9017-2

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I temporarily moved the game out of my work room (so I can reassemble Shadow while I figure out what's up with STTNG) and the lighting where I took that pic sucks. Once I move the game back in I'll try to get pictures. I can tell the black nickel doesn't photo well. In the picture it looks like black powder coat, but in reality they do not look the same. For lack of more refined descriptions, black powder coat looks like glossy paint, while black nickel looks like black chrome.

Cant Wait. You mix turned this great pin into a keeper

This pin is already a keeper! Pinballshark just made it even better.

Is it normal to be able to control the bottom right flipper without the top flipper moving?

If I push the right flipper button lightly, only the bottom flipper moves. Once I push it completely the top flipper will move.

Completely normal. It’s called “staging” and pretty much every game with two flippers on one side of the game has it. In multiball, it allows you to shoot the right orbit even if you have a ball trapped on the right flipper.

Learned something new, thanks!

Hi all -- this weekend I am going to check out a ST:TNG that likely hasn't been played much or maintained much over the past 15+ years. Any advice on likely trouble spots / issues to look for prior to potentially making an offer? I don't have experience working with / maintaining ST:TNG, but it certainly has a reputation of being a very-high maintenance pin. Thx!!!

This would be a good place to start:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/15#post-3325767

The things that typically fail on a STTNG can be easily repaired. I'd checked it out like all pins

Cabinet
- check the structural integrity (cab corners, base, any water or rodent damage)
- cab artwork (replacement cab decals are available)
- condition (rails, lockdown bar and receiver, inside of the cab - dirty is typical but look for rusty or dented parts)
- check the back of the translite for any scratches or damage (replacement translites are available)
- check the speaker panel for any scratches or damage (replacements are available)
- if the machine is not working then check all the boards are in the backbox
Playfield (the PF itself is probably the most important thing)
- any damage from flipper drag or from using old rusty balls
- raised inserts and if so is there any associated damage
- check for broken plastics, ramps and toys (Klingon, Romulan, Borg and shuttle ships)
- the overall condition of the PF (dirty is ok but look for rusty, broken or missing parts)
Operation
- check if the credit dot is displayed. If so what are the errors?
- check the DMD (is it an original plasma DMD, if so run the display test for missing lines and any dim areas of the display)
- in test mode check all the solenoids, switches (you may not be able to reach some), lamps & flashes, sound
- check the 2 rotating cannons work and fire the ball
- play some games (it's better if you have previously played the game so that you know what to expect however it's not a big deal)

STTNG typical issues but these aren't that hard or expensive to fix
- cannons
- the optos in the VUKs to the cannons and the trough can have issues causing the game to have issues tracking where the balls are

You guys rock! Thanks so much! Once I scout it out, I might reply asking for any thoughts on what I uncover.

I'm in the process of giving a full once-over to my new machine. Last night I disassembled the diverters and cleaned out the corrosion and decades old grease. It's crazy how much faster and smoother everything is now.

I also took the opportunity to pull the subway, clean it, and replace one of the suspect optos. I installed my LEDs along with the GI OCD and LED OCD. Still a ton of work to do, but it's already looking and playing much more like a new game! Next up is new flippers (everything except the coils), finish replacing the rubbers, install new speakers, finish replacing the coil sleeves, and a bunch of little things.

I'm really happy with the star post lights I added. They help brighten the bottom of the game without being too bright.

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Can someone take a picture of the correct assembly of the under Borg start mission shot. It stopped working and it looks like something is missing from my assembly. Thanks

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