Star Trek: The Next Generation
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Hey guys, been an owner for a few years now. I finally got around to doing the battery mod so that it now takes a 3v lithium. After this mod, I'm getting extra ball lit after 8x multiplyer. It used to be 10x for extra ball, which I definitely prefer. I can't find anything in the adjustments to change this setting. Anyone have any ideas why it would drop to 8x?
Quoted from Pin_Guy:I dont know what gain this mod has since you can easily install AA sized lithium batteries in the battery holder
Cheaper, smaller to store spares, easier to purchase, ten minutes to complete...
Quoted from Pin_Guy:I guess this comes down to a personal decision on which is better. The following information is provided in order to provide everyone reading this thread with more information on this so they can make an informed decision on their own.
Cheaper, maybe; you would have to calculate the cost of the mod in addition to replacing the battery every 3 years instead of every 10 years. Current pricing for a pack of four AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries is $6 USD; of course if you buy these in higher quantities for all your machines, remotes, etc, they are much cheaper.
Easier to purchase? I disagree. AA sized Energizer lithium batteries are available everywhere you can buy batteries, and your ease of purchase is as simple as walking into Walmart with cash, check, or credit card, or just ordering them off amazon . Last time I checked, the coin cell mod cannot be purchased nearly as easily, personally I don't even know where to get one as I never considered getting one.
Storage space for spares? Are you serious? Why would you store spare batteries for something that only needs to be replaced once a decade? besides, I automatically assume that if you own a pinball machine, you have adequate space to store a single pack of 4 AA batteries even though you shouldn't?
10 min to complete is actually much longer than it takes to install 3 AA batteries in the existing battery holder...plus you can do it with the machine power on so that you don't loose any high scores, game settings or audits. perhaps I'm not familiar enough with the mod, but the one I saw required pulling the battery holder and replacing it a new coin cell holder, this type mod cannot be performed by everyone.
Lol. Literally.
Quoted from ajfclark:I've been having some odd issues with balls ending before they drain, ball can continue to be played but doesn't score, draining then ends another ball.
E.g. my wife was playing ball 2, end of ball bonus shows mid game, keeps playing for a bit but it isn't scoring, draining ends game.
Looking at the trough boards, c1 is missing from the receiver board:
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I assume I should replace that, but does that correlate with the issue outlined above or should I be looking further?
Replace C1, not the board!
Quoted from Pin_Guy:This is what it will look like with metal protectors (some parts on this machine are missing)[quoted image]
Yeah, it's totally missing a topper... You should get one.
Quoted from ajfclark:Anyone ever have issues with the spinner moving right so the switch ends up being held closed by the bent end of the wireform?
No, but I do have an issue with draining after shooting for super spinner. Usually a right drain. Anyone else have this issue?
Quoted from Scoot:Could too many mods occupying the unregulated 12v power supply cause this to happen?
Don't see this being the issue, but yeah, unplug them.
1. Quickly indirect opto board for clean connections and cold solder.
2. Take the plastic off the Canon and examine both sides of opto for broken wires.
3. Go into switch edges test. Wiggle each side of the opto switch. If you get a switch hit (open), you likely have cold solder on whichever side triggers. Do the same wiggling with the connectors on the opto board.
4. If nothing triggers, wiggle the canon wiring leading to the optos to look for issues there.
5. If none of that does anything, I'd replace the bulb if you have one. You can buy 100 on eBay for a couple bucks.
6. If bulb is fine, my first suspect would be the LM339. I think that board has three, but you only need to replace two of I remember.
Quoted from ArcadeDanger:Hey Folks! I finally found a STTNG of my very own - I'm amazed at the complexity of this game, I've only worked on 1 EM before this.
It needs a good shop job. That said, the video / dmd is off; anyone have any ideas what it could be? The dots on the display are moving according to animations, but they're all piled towards the bottom of the DMD. I've reseated the ribbon connector and the power connector to the DMD, no change. Where should I check/focus next? Thanks!
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Move associated ribbon connectors while the game is on. Mine gets buggy sometimes because the connection isn't tight enough. If I move the ribbon a little on the board, the problem goes away. Oddly, I also sometimes have to press on the graphics chips on the board. These can loosen from vibration. You may want to pull and reseat. Mine shows a full picture with distortion when I have either of these issues, which is not as bad as what you have here.
If these don't help, go into test mode and do the DMD test, that is, if you can navigate to it. If it's a gassing issue, you should be able to tell with the test. Gassing will have faint dots as well as missing dots. There will be key areas missing with faint dots around them. Hard to tell from your pic. Has it ever fully worked for you? Do you get any more dots than what is pictured? Know a person with a DMD game to swap?
If the swap doesn't fix it, I have a very simple step that I would do next. Since it started to work for a while and then crapped, it sounds like you do have a bad connection somewhere that is vibrating out of place. I'd reseat everything on all boards and press on all seated chips. This simple step has saved me many headaches, particularly with this game. Even if this doesn't fix your current problem, remember this simple step when you have strange issues that come and go. After the reseat, I'd also move wiggle/move any connectors related to the graphics/DMD around in hopes of finding cold solder, loose connections or cracked wiring. If voltages are good and the swap is still bad, you have a bad connection or failing chip. Because it worked momentarily, my money is on a bad connection.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:I wouldn't worry too much, but I also wouldn't spend too much time trying to fix a 25+ year old plasma display. A color DMD is one of the best upgrades you can do for STTNG, but if you are on a tight budget you may want to consider a cheap monochrome LED display. Either way you go, the driver and display will generate less heat and use less power, its a win-win.
+2 on the color DMD. Fits this game better than any other IMO. If your voltages are fine, any other DMD should be fine.
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:Hi there.
Need some advice. I'll be hopefully joining the club this Sunday. Looking at two machines and plan on taking one of them home.
Do you guys have any tips as in what to look for. Not my first pin, but I did not intend to test every single switch, opto, etc. since it would probably take forever.
Are there any items on this pin that are prone to fail and should be checked, and if so, what is the best way of checking? pull the glass and run the ball through or just the diagnostic menue?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
This pin is probably in the top 5 pins of all time for being a royal pain in the ass. There are a zillion things that could be wrong with it. Power cycle it and see how the cannons run their test. Canons can be the most obvious potential issue. Then I'd just play the game.
My strategy when buying games is to do a lot of talking with the guy selling it. I find that 95% of pinheads are very honest people and will reveal every little thing wrong with it. Ask if it's had any strange symptoms that happen and go away etc. Ask if it ever blows fuses and what work has been done to it recently. Ask if it's been at least surface shopped. Look underneith for any obvious issues.
I almost always find a few things when I get a machine home, but I expect to. I keep my machines extremly clean and functioning 100%. It's a simple reality that many others do not. If the guy seems honest and the game plays well, I hand over the cash and do my detailed testing at home. I've never had an issue up to this point.
Quoted from Pin_Guy:FWIW, I don't recommend anyone without EXPERT level board repair skills AND the proper soldering equipment make an attempt at replacing these snap-in caps. I also recommend not replacing them at all unless you are measuring excessive AC ripple on your DC line...if you don't know what this is or how to measure it, in all likelihood you shouldn't replace the capacitor.
I'm generally of the camp of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But I don't consider myself expert, and I've done several snap caps. I've never found them to be any worse than bridges and transistors... Maybe I am an expert. 
Oddly, my left canon started to move slowly today. It is intermittent though. Does this mean I have to crack open the gear box?? I hope not...
Quoted from StrangeSubset1:Had some problems with my color DMD lately. It sometimes start showing white and distorted graphics only. Used to be that I could turn the pin off and back on and it was all goo, but since today, it will stay white and some lines missing, other doubled up.
I reset all ribbon cables, but that did not fix it. I also found out, that once I go into the DMD menue, the display is fine, just not in the actual game. Any chance the display chip is going bad?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Reseat the chips. That always fixes this issue for me.
Hey Pin_Guy, I'm wondering if you might know anything about a strange cannon issue that I've had since I obtained my STTNG. The canon plungers (particulary the left) sticks "on", meaning that when it fires for the test on boot, it stays sticking out. I have to slam tilt multiple times until it stops sticking open. It almost feels like a ground issue or something, as it stops after a while. After I get it to stop sticking, it works fine until reboot. Any ideas?
I just finished pulling it apart and stretched out the spring. Problem seems to be gone. I'll report back if it starts sticking again, but I'm getting zero sticks when I usually get quite a few.
Quoted from Tallon:It’s not a spring issue. If you look at the coil retention bracket, you will see a dimple or circle where the plunger has damaged it from use. The edge of the plunger actually hangs up on the bracket. You can either replace the braclet or file it down a bit if it’s not that deep.
Interesting. The spring tension has fixed it for now. I’ll look at the bracket when it inevitably returns.
My right canon is now very slow when lining up shots, but after I fire, it goes back to normal speed. I know it’s supposed to be slower during shots, but it is now very slow—I’d say half the speed of what it used to slow down to. Still functional but annoying. Any ideas? The right canon is fine.
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.
Quoted from PantherCityPins:I noticed that the little plastic wall that goes up and down in front of the lock on my machine does not always sit flush with the playfield. It tends to cause issues with the ball sometimes not locking or going into the hole when things like probe launch are selected. I assumed this needed to be adjusted so it will sit flush with the playfield every time when it is down but just wanted to check and make sure.
Yep. Easy to adjust. Just search for wpc drop target adjustment. If I remember correctly, this mechanism is where the tieback comes into play, so be aware. I'd double-check your machine to be sure it's been done. http://www.pinballrevolution.com/threads/13-sttng-tie-back-mod-best-way.3954/
Alright, giving this one more shot: anyone have any idea why my left Canon has slowed only when in "aim and fire" mode and not in reset mode. The Canon normally slows for you to aim, but mine suddenly developed a really, really slow motion for aiming, so much so that is annoying to wait.
I have plans in cracking open the gear box today to clean and grease, but I'm hoping one of you might know of a less invasive and time consuming fix.
Thanks!
Just to help everyone, I found a good fix for the left canon going slow. I found that many were mentioning opening the gear box. Mine was just the shaft of the canon. It is literally a 15 minute fix.
Steps:
1. Disconnect left opto and canon light under the pf and feed a good portion of the wire toward the upper PF. You need this to get the cannon out without soldering.
2. Take a picture of the underside, noting the positioning of the canon. Don't need this, but you never know, right? 
3. Remove the 1/4" screw and washer at the base of the shaft.
4. Lower the PF and shimmy the post out, being sure that the wires do not become taut. The post will make it out with a little slack left. Mine did, ayway.
5. The shaft will have black gunk that is pretty tough to get off. I used fast orange pumice hand wash on a paper towel. Cleaned it in a minute! I used the same with a stick rag thing I have for the hole.
6. Greased the hole and edge of the hole with bearing grease.
7. Reassemble.
My canon is now like new without an annoying process of cracking open the gear box. Hope this saves someone time! 
Quoted from Pin_Guy:If you have to do this you already know what the issue is...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/5#post-2938877
FWIW, I personally wouldn't do it this way and those of you that follow my posts already know I am very detail oriented; I would remove the cannon and wiring from the game (4 screws + 3 connectors), then work on the mechanical stuff out of the game since I would likely be using strong solvents to remove all the old grease and wouldn't want to risk getting any of it on my playfield.
Of course I would them tumble all the metal parts to get them shiny and new looking as well
At the end of the day it's your machine and it's entirely up to you on how you want to work on it.
The following aren't my pictures but if ou are going to take it apart to clean and re-grease it, this is what the parts should look like before you put it back together:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/5#post-2936932
I'd prefer your method, but I prefer 15 minutes over hours. I also prefer not to take things apart if I don't have to. To each their own, but I prefer more play time! 
Quoted from PinJim:I’ve been steadily reassembling my game today. Can’t wait to get it done!
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Be sure to get protectors for the alpha ramp. It gets the shit beat out of it pretty quickly.
Quoted from Pinless:What could cause the flipper coils to lock on for a few seconds when you turn the game on?
It’s blown F103, F112 and F11 in the past, but I’m not sure if it’s related. I put new LED’s in today and it looks like a lot of my flashers are not working. I just tested the fuses and they all appear to be good at the moment.
Edit: flashers are working in attract mode
I'd be checking the flipper transistors if your flippers are locking on. Check the manual for fuse lines if they are blowing. Sounds like you have some board work ahead.
Quoted from bobukcat:I like variety but without a doubt STTNG is absolutely LOADED compared to just about any other game made except maybe TZ. But it's more than that because the theme integration with custom call-outs from so many cast members as well as the great layout and rewarding shots make it pretty special. It amazes me that more people don't appreciate it more but then again I'm happy that someone looking to buy one can do so without paying IJ, TAF, AFM, or MM or even WH20 and SS now, prices.
It gets a bad name because of outlanes and maintenance. The game is really hard for newbs and moderates because the outlanes are crazy unforgiving and require good nudging. Plus, it's almost impossible to find one on route that is playable. They are always set up horribly and often malfunctioning/broken. I'm just lucky I was in the arcade when it came out so that when I started collecting, I knew how good the game is.
Quoted from PinJim:I replaced my stock sub with this today:
amazon.com link »
In short, it was an easy add. The mounting holes lined up and the spade connectors matched the original. But, it added virtually nothing in terms of bass, which I guess is to be expected. I supposed one needs to alter the back box to cabinet volume, which isn’t the clearest thing to do on DCS with stock backbox speakers.
Given that, I hooked my 10” Polk sub up to the game. Man, it really adds some bass. But even it that, it seems like mids are missing.
I may modify the sound board to alter the back box to cabinet volume, to see if I pick up mids.
I understand it’s not a high end sound system, but I think i can make it better...
I've played around with pin audio quite a bit and have come to the conclusion that the way the older pins are designed is never going to give you the mids that you want. The backbox is poor design for sound, and the speakers are small. The sub doesn't use a crossover, so it always going to muddy. Even if you got rid of the mud, it is angled to toward the floor. I just hook up a powered sub to my older games and adjust it to fit in the best I can. That makes the sound twice as good, which leaves me with little to complain about. Even the newer games lack good audio and are often hacked with amps etc, with the exception of TNA. I'd love to play TNA in a home environment to hear how killer the sound is.
Quoted from PantherCityPins: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.
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.)
Quoted from dashv:Thanks for all the advice and insights folks. I decided to pass on the STNG because higher resolution photos showed more playfield wear than I am comfortable with for the price they are asking.
Their techs seemed quite sharp and knowledgeable. I floated a bid by the owner for a playfield swap but he would rather not go that route. Playfield swap and color DMD would have pushed the price to at least $9,500.
Kinda bummed/exhausted from the exercise. I see several for sale here on pinside that seem to have nice playfields but I’d have to start over with asking about condition, service, etc.
I’m starting to think I just don’t have the chops to go into used pin purchases informed enough or skilled enough to avoid disasters and money pits of one form or another.
Maybe I should stick to new ones.
I think you just went the wrong route. From my experience, 9.5/10 collectors are beyond honest, and most are more than willing to help you after purchase if you need some specific help. I've only been semi-burned once, and I should have known better. Businesses are the worst to buy from as they must make a profit.
You have the benefit of having reviews and opinions on pinside sellers, so find a game in good condition from a reputable seller and buy it. It's really that easy. Buying local is pretty close to the same. Ask around. Get to know the collectors around you. Again, pinball people are almost all awesome and really enjoy the transaction process. Who else wants to listen to you in the flesh talk about your passion for a game with crazy sewers and opto controls? If you think it will just be 20 minutes to pick up a game, think again! Good times.
Quoted from dashv:Whoah. That’s quite a burn. Mad respect that you can manage to not be bitter about it.
I’m in NC. I see one in the market place in SC. I might ask about it and maybe do a road trip.
I have zero local friends in the hobby and have only lived here for a couple of months so I’m not in or familiar with any of the groups or anything like that.
Been to a few local barcades, but not when the owners are around.
But I should do a new topic for that rather than hijack this thread anymore.
Check Facebook for a local sellers group. There are general groups on there that are good too. Spend less time stressing about quality and more time finding quality people. I've also learned to avoid nit picking pins. A little wear is always there... I've only turned down a couple buys. Most I just play a couple games, look it over and take it home. I always find a few minor issues, but I don't care.
Clean dirty sections that you need to service with alcohol; otherwise, if it's ugly, dirty and ain't broke, don't fuck with it and play the damn game!
Quoted from Pin_Guy:I take a little more pride in my work than that.
This is an photo transistor board I recently took in...
I wasn't even going to work on it on my repair bench being this dirty.
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This is what it looked like when I shipped it out after replacing one of the LM339s...
You are just not going to get the board this clean with alcohol alone.
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I take pride in less work more pinball.
Quoted from EaglePin:The ball is only supposed to go into the ship when lock is lit above the Delta ramp. Unless that light above the delta ramp is lit, the ball is supposed to be diverted back down the wire.
Yeah, the game is a little weird with lighting lock. The lock at the ramp will light after lighting lock the first time. Depending on how often balls have been locked, it may when you light lock the second time. The neutral zone lock will only light if lock has not been lit fit a few games, and sometimes the light will not illuminate.
Quoted from bobukcat:My game has apparently adopted a nasty random bug where it will decide to launch the ball when the right flipper is hit. I have flipper launch turned off and 99% of the time this doesn't happen but one of our league players told me it happened to him last month and it did it to me last night. I've stood and hit the right flipper with the ball sitting in the launcher dozens and dozens of time in testing and not been able to reproduce it. Everything else on the game works fine and I've never seen the left flipper cause this.
I had this issue but more frequently and mostly on ball one. If your cannons aren't registered as parked after the boot/reset test, that button launch can happen. My Canon shafts were randomly sticking and causing that issue. I simply stretched the springs and the shafts stopped sticking. Check your cannons while diagnosing.
Quoted from Pinless:I swear my STTNG is cursed. I fix 2 things and then 2 other things start acting up. It’s non-stop.
The background music is cutting out randomly. Other sound effects are still working, but it’s oddly silent while you’re playing. A few seconds later the music comes back.
Press the sound ROMs firmly into the board.
Achieved 9.9, fought the borg twice and was one bloody shot away from touring the space mansion (earnestly playing each mode). I’ve only done all of this twice and was praying for a third. Damn I love this game. It and shadow are so damn epic.
Oh, there was one "first" during this game. I smacked two balls in a row up the side ramp during mb, creating a lineup to get into the ship!
Quoted from Pin_Guy:It is odd that two identical machines would perform differently, based on my own testing I can speculate that the reason for both cannons testing at startup has to do with the actual home switch alignment and canon overrun. I believe that what you are seeing is that at least one cannon is off its home switch at power on and has to return to home.
When I performed the restoration on STTNG I adjusted the home switch for closure at the apex of the actuator, I adjusted this with little tolerance for error resulting in a fairly narrow range where the switch was closed. With that setup both cannons ran during power on and everything worked fine; however what I found is that the mechanical nature of the cannons was allowing the cannons own inertia to carry it past the home switch closure position after testing passed and power to the cannon was removed. After re-adjusting the switches for a longer closure time and then aligning the canon position to the proper position based on where it actually parked, only one cannon ran during power on.
So if I adjust my switches to be on during boot, neither canon will test, saving me hundreds of Canon cycles?
Color DMD is a must have for this title in particular. It feels like it came with the game. Seeing an orange DMD in this game hurts my brain.
Wanna kick some ass in a STTNG tournament?
Hey guys, I'm trying to set up an online tournament for next Friday (April 17th), and I'm trying to recruit participants that have one of the games I have. I'm going to be posting this in each of the forums for the games I own, so I apologize in advance if you get this more than once.
The tournament would be on a single game and take place over zoom. It sounds like it could be a hell of a good time.
Please head over here for info: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/online-tournament-over-zoom-#post-5587755
Oh, and STTNG is losing out to JJPPOC in the best game of all time poll. It's close though. Go vote!
Quoted from Digduglus:Just picked up yesterday after a 9 hour round trip. already have color dmd on the way, any suggestions for mods or upgrades? It came with plastic protectors and outlane extenders
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Make sure the tie back has been done. Blown boards are no fun.
Quoted from Aquapin:On boot my right cannon "re-homes" itself while my left just stays put. Is this a software thing or do I need to fine tune the switches? Everything appears correct in test mode.
There was a general post about this a while back. Both of mine test on boot, and I tried to remedy this by adjusting, but my switches appear to be aligned correctly. I'd also like to know specifically which adjustment would stop the behaviour.
I've only coded some Java and Python, so I'm no expert, but a lot of machines will just spit out a credit dot when coils don't fire. For my machine, it tests both canons on boot regardless of when they last fired. To me, this is bad programming. They should have it based on the scoop coil, Canon opto and Canon coil. Any single one misses in that sequence put up a credit dot. Or, if it's all about Canon position, the home switch being triggered should skip the diagnostic. Just my two cents and do not want to fight about it.
Quoted from MrMikeman:Number 1 (see what I did there?) is a random quote from shooting the left orbit followed by the delta ramp. You are much more likely to hear it if you have already completed the maximum acceleration mode in the game. Getting to warp 9 disables the “advance warp” from the delta ramp and therefore that quote is just about the only thing it can say for completing that ramp after the orbit.
2. When you hit the beta ramp the display should show you how many ramp shots to light extra ball. You may have to light holodeck before it’ll show you how many to the extra ball. I think it’s about 9 by default.
I'm almost positive you have to complete 9.9 to hear Picard maneuver. Then it is at random, about 1 in 3 maneuvers.
Quoted from MrMikeman:Correct. As I stated above. However you CAN sometimes hear it in modes. Like search the galaxy for examples. But it’s pretty rare.
I've never heard it with a warp increase after 1000s of ramp rides, including in modes. Anyone else hear it during modes? Interesting.
Quoted from Mathazar:OK - I think I've got it figured out. I couldn't capture this issue very well on video, so I had my son stand there and watch until I could do it a couple of times. He noticed that the ball was flying up the Delta ramp fast enough that it's actually catching air and doing one of two things: 1) flying all the way to the backboard and bouncing back down the Delta ramp, or 2) flying up in the air and hitting the mounting bracket for the Romulan ship and bouncing back down the Delta ramp.
I decided to make a "cover" for that portion of the Delta ramp to keep the ball from getting airborne and going too far off of the playfield. I had some PETG plastic laying around from a previous project, so I whipped out a proof of concept cover in about 20 minutes thinking that if this works, I'll make something nicer/better looking. Well....it appears to work well. I've been playing ST:TNG for the last 4 days (around 50 games) and no more issue with the ball getting kicked back down the Delta ramp if I hit it up there really hard.
Pretty pleased with the PoC - maybe someday I'll design and make something a bit more professional-looking but for now, I'm very happy.[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
No shit... I've been getting relatively rare mystery rejects on this ramp which have been driving me nuts, seeing that they seem to happen on "perfect" shots. Sometimes they return directly down the right outlane, which makes it even worse. Thanks for the post as this is likely the issue I'm having. I'll have to video the rejects to see if I need to build the same thing.
ah shit... read the next post: I have the plastic. I think my rejects are earilier, so the ball is likely hitting the first part of the plastic. Back to the drawing board...
Quoted from luckycreature:In the club as of yesterday. Time to start reading through this forum for all the fixes I'll need to do.[quoted image]
STTNG is the only machine that MUST have a color DMD. Get that orange eye-sore outta there!
Quoted from Eric_Manuel:Been checking into Pin Stadium for the STTNG. These are not my photos, but someone who installed a system into a STTNG. If anyone has already installed a system, do you have a recommendation for the best flasher connection?
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The variety of lighting makes this game feel like you're on the enterprise. Pinstadiums will make you feel like you're on a soap opera set.
My two cents.
Quoted from MrMikeman:I love how folks that have never owned Pinstadiums make these comments. Laughable at best. Ignorant at worst.
The pictures are meant to show how bright it can get. Only a streamer or an idiot would set them up on full bright. Mine are set at 10% and that's just enough to make it playable in a fully dark room without eye strain or losing the ball in those dark areas.
They add an even lighting effect over the whole game and gets rid of the dark spots. It's not a magical product and it's pretty damn expensive. However it's interactive (turns on and off with game and is infinitely adjustable. UV flasher does NOT have to be connected it's a personal choice. Homebrew versions of this are typically not adjustable and that sucks because every setup is different.
I also have just extra spotlights on some of my games. It's really dependant on the game. STTNG needed more than spotlights for my dark gameroom, but it sure doesn't look as messed up as the pictures above.. WOW you could get a sunburn.
I think you're the one making assumptions here and oddly taking counter opinions personally. The key comment you made is that they add "an even lighting effect." The games were designed to have darker areas. They worked fine with incandecents in dingy arcades twenty years ago.
But hey, if you can't see the ball and like them, go nuts. Others on here like them too, and I'm happy for them. I'm happy that you have a counter opinion to mine. And I don't think people that turn up pinstadiums full blast are idiots. I just think they're missing out on the intended experience of nuanced lighting.
I'm getting a delayed end of ball sequence. When the ball drains, sometimes the mode music etc. will keep playing for a bout 5 seconds before the end of ball sequence starts. It gets really weird when, say, a mode is ending and the music changes at this exact moment. Anyone experience this? I'm going to check the outhole and trough switches, but I'm thinking this could be a logic issue. Hope not.
Quoted from GCS2000:Looking over my STTNG and noticed my subway bracket with the diverters has had some serious repairs and reworked.
Does this all need to be rebuilt with new?
Diverters cannot be tested due to no boards and fries coils which will be replaced when I get parts. Left diverter is fully locked when moving manually right has some movement but not full range. Of course the fried coils are locking things down. [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
The weld looks fine to me. You can test the diverter with your hand and hold both ends to test how much pressure it can handle.
I say the same thing with hacks: if they are working, don't bother fixing them. If they fail, fix 'em.
Quoted from sfspanky:You're not wrong, but you're not right either. WPC boards are beyond most skills. I can do it, but cringe doing so because of the delicate through holes. Sending off to be fixed, etc. are equal if not more than having a new board delivered without worry. I'm not talking about power driver boards, but $60 trough and opto boards.
So, what I will agree upon is saving the OG, if possible. So many of the trashed boards come from people not understanding the delicate nature of these boards and destroying them.Beware of possible ill marked polarization. It’s a thing
Boards shouldn't be beyond almost anyone's skills. I learned on wpc boards and even with some screw ups, today, they are all repaired and running fine. After learning, if a transistor or chip blows, I can test and repair, usually in 30 mins. I found the learning curve with the internet resources to be minimal. It's easy.
My message to newbs: don't be scared, homie.
Quoted from math08:I am replacing the wire loom for my cannons. I purchased from wirebot. The looms look great, however, I didnt notice until now that their description says they do not come with a diode. I see the Marco site has a loom it says: Kit includes 1N4004 diode. I can order this diode without any issue, but where does the diode go?
This is a diode you should have in your repair supply. Order a bunch from Digitech or Mouser. They are cheap as chips. While you're at it, order some transistors.
Quoted from jibmums:Was concerned about the IC's, I've never gotten any wet before even when cleaning up battery leakage on an MPU. The pin's still in pieces so plenty of time for it to dry thoroughly. That said, I'll still blow it off with compressed air until I'm sure every trace of water is gone. Thanks guys.
Avoid the water. Just use 99% alcohol. It cleans well and then you don't have to worry.
Quoted from slochar:Tournament players time out modes to get to final frontier. Required artifact will fix this strat.
I assume they get their artifacts via spamming the right ramp and playing video mode, since FF with no artifacts doesn't get you the bill for each 4.
Glad you like the Borg lock thing
Yeah, this is what I meant. It looks like there are a few things to help fix this issue. That is great news!
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Pleasanton, CA