I just joined the club myself. Trying to revive a neglected game (it will clean up) and just got the MPU rebuilt and installed NVRAM. I was looking at the A-16100 8-driver PCB and would like to confirm the wire jumpers on it since one looks like a wire was added later. There is a jumper in PW1 and there is a wire jumper to set SW4. Is that the correct setting for this game? If so I have some 0 ohm resistors and will clean up that jumper.

The game continually shoots out balls and if you start a game they never drain. The optos in the trough are a mess. Will probably replace the boards and fix the old ones as a backup. Also noticed F103 is blown.

Hoping to get this sorted out (and at least rebuild my old optos) so I can play it this weekend.

20210617_234943 (resized).jpg

I saw that Q12 and the jumper and that is what prompted me to pull out this board. After washing the board all the transistors look fine. Tested them and Q15 is shorted. Will replace that later today. Before putting it back in I need to lookup what it controlled. Also will look into TIE back mod that Eric_Manuel mentioned.

Would still like to confirm the SW4 / PW3 jumper setting.

The opto boards for the trough are pretty scary. At least the one closest to the front of the game is. Will probably replace them (any preferred replacements?) but I should have parts for a temporary repair on that.

Appreciate the tips! I’ve had to repair many of the boards used in this game for others but this is the first time I’ve had the full game and one of my own. Really excited to get this running. Also finally gives me a good way to test DCS sound boards after repairs. I could do those and check most in the bench but nice to run in an actual machine to verify.

The photo helps but also makes me more concerned about my board. Your jumpers are set to SW2 and SW4. Mine is set to PW1 and rejumpered to SW4. I’m guessing this was probably replaced before and came out of some other game. Maybe someone else can chime in to confirm for sure they should both be set like your board. Problems with these games is that so many parts and boards got swapped around I can’t make any assumptions that any of it is correct until I check it all. A lot just got parts tossed in enough to make them work enough to play. I want to make this one right.

There shouldn’t be a need to replace any of the other transistors other than the one that failed. Will check the associated diode and pre driver transistor. I have all those parts on hand and the proper equipment to swap them. Been doing board work for years and often have to fix the aftermath of others “attempted” repairs and end up replacing pads and building new traces. At least this board isn’t burned up.

Thanks for the tip about the TIE back mod. The nice thing on these older machines is that most of the weak points are known and once addressed are solid.

Just learning all the specifics on this particular machine. It has some boards like this one that I don’t have in any of my other games. Most of the boards I’m very familiar with so it’s just the incremental part for the additional boards and things to watch out for on this title.

So far I’ve only had a chance to rebuild and cleanup the MPU. Did install NVRAM in a socket but could go back to a coin cell and regular SRAM if this game uses the time. Wasn’t sure yet if it did since I though only a couple like TZ used it.

Awesome! I missed that part in the manual. Either a jumper or 0 ohm resistor will work. I have a bunch of the 0 ohm resistors on hand so will use those to match what should be on the board.

From that page in the manual it looks like two of my jumpers are incorrect. I also need to move PW5 to SW6.

Over lunch I'll fix the jumpers, replace the bad TIP102, and do that resistor pack mod so the board will be set. Will need to do the tie back mod and check the coil the bad transistor was driving before putting this back in.

So I had a chance to dig into my project game and it is going to be a much longer road to travel before it will be playable. Numerous wiring hacks to sort out. Biggest surprise was the flippers. The upper right flipper is dead and noticed someone had removed the fliptronics II boards and replaced them with standard leaf contacts like my old Bkackout. I’ll have to reterminate the wires there but now I need to track down a pair of those fliptronics boards for the flipper buttons along with all the hardware that goes with them. The flipper board is still in the head and not sure yet if that was bypassed soon.

Thanks for all the responses as I am still learning about this particular title. So are the boards for the flipper buttons the same one for fliptronics I and II? It looks like Pinball life has the whole kits (as well as the drop assembly that I need) so that may work. Just wasn't sure yet if those were the same.

Can't wait to actually play this but I have a lot of work to do. Pulled the rest of the boards and going over the driver now. Have one eddy board to fix. It detected the ball but no output.

After seeing all the things that were done and wires cut/spliced I am amazed that it ever actually worked! This one will be an adventure for sure.

This is the link:

https://www.pinballlife.com/fliptronics-1-flipper-opto-board-set.html

just not sure if this will also work on this game. If not does anyone have a source for the correct one?

The ends were cut but I have the correct ends and can crimp on new pins. More concerned with getting all the correct replacement parts. Lots of weird things and wiring throughout the game I need to fix but will make it right. I'm sure I'll be asking on this thread for lots of reference photos as I go!

All great advice. I already rebuilt my opto board for the trough and have that working. Pulled the rest of the boards and am going over them now. I prefer rebuilt original boards over aftermarket for most. Been doing board work for years and spent many hours undoing and correcting other people’s hacks to boards. Have done several boards for Star Trek for others but now get the fun of the game itself.

The 16 opto board is one of the few that looks good as it is. The rest need work,

Found the correct boards at Pinball Life:

https://www.pinballlife.com/fliptronics-type-2-opto-board-replacement.html?Category_Code=

and

https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-flipper-opto-interrupter.html

It looks like Marco sells the flat steel spring for these but not sure if they are needed for these ones from Pinball Life. If so I'll have to make another order.

Fixed my Eddy board today. It would sense ok but had no output. Fround a broken lead on the 2n3906 transistor at the body of the part. Just put in a new one and that is set.

Also ordered the first wave of parts to start to get it back together!

Has anyone reproduced the cannon wiring harnesses using the super flexible noodle wires? I can see that in one of the cannons a couple wires were abandoned in the harness and a couple individual replacement wires run. At some point I'll want to install fresh sets but since it moves so much they should be made with the super flexible wires. If no one is making them then I may just build my own set.

You're totally right about all the possible issues that can come up and I need to resolve many of those on my game too. Plenty of cold solder joints, cut/spliced wires, and some connectors where the wires came out of the IDC plug and others just soldered right to the board. I'm going to undo every hack on my game and put it right. My cannon harness is also damaged, had some extra individual wires run, and should be replaced.

I have no doubt that if the original harness is installed correctly it would last a long time. But it has been a long time and since I have to replace it anyway thought it is worth asking if there is a better alternative. Personally I think the noodle wire would be an upgrade and should never need to be replacedit again. (Another game that needs it even more is the helicopter in Rescue 911) Anything that moves constantly can benefit. You can prolong it if you have the proper slack in the cables. I've run into a similar issue on the Makerbot style 3D printers when an axis starts to shift. Wire breaks causing an intermittent open and it starts missing an occasional step. I've seen it happen on a printer under 200 hours and others go for a couple thousand hours. Keep extras on hand and treat it as a consumable until I make a better version for that as well. Replaced the one on the printer I use most twice now. That gets a lot more movement so that is more prone to happen. Also had it happen in gripper assembly for certain robots that move quite a bit.

I'll be fine with putting in a fresh set of regular cables for the cannons but if there is a better option i'll give that a go first.

Does anyone happen to know the screw size for mounting the flipper opto boards on the inside of the cabinet? Looks like there should be 3 screws on each one. If I had to guess I would expect a #6 or #8 screw 1/2" or 3/4" long. Mine were missing.

Those look great! Are there multiple LEDS on each one? How much are they?

Had the same thing happen with a couple GI sockets on a Flash that I had. Replace the socket and can troubleshoot from there. May have taken out a fuse.

With the plastic flipper bracket 1/2” #8 worked perfect for mounting the flipper opto boards. Installed those, cleaned up the flipper wiring, put on new connectors for those boards, and went through the flipper board. All three flippers now work.

Just need to track down why F105 is blowing and then I should be able to play a game.

I’ve seen pictures that show a graphic that can stick on the vertical board in the back of the playfield. Looks like a nice addition. What are the options for that and where is everyone getting them

After installing the new flipper opto boards, new connectors there, undoing wiring hacks, replacing the drop assembly, and going through the boards I have my game playing! I forgot just how fun this game is and am looking forward to spending time playing this. It is definitely an awesome machine.

Have another batch of parts ordered and need to spend time making it pretty. Need to pull the playfield to work on the cabinet then can move it in the basement next to Dr Who and Bride of Pinbot. I guess now the real work starts on it.

I just ordered the sticker set for the VUK and the red alert sticjer from you which I think will look really good.

I think those look good too. May pickup a set when I get to the playfield. Need to order other parts for the game but haven’t made a detailed list yet of what ill need for that.

Looking for the correct length of the threaded standoff that supports the wireform at the end of the Delta ramp. A part number for that would help. If it’s in the manual then I’ve overlooked it.

Thank you!

Things like this are the reason I think that this Star Trek game is going to cost me more than any of the other machines I have! Going to to a few upgrades without going too overboard. There are lots of small touches that look like they coule have been on the machine from day one.

The PLUS. Not only are there extra features it is supposed to have a lifetime warranty vs 2 years of the NEO. This link has a table with a side by side comparison of features:

https://www.pinsound.org/pinball-sound-boards-neo-plus/

I'm not aware of any trade in deals but you can probably find a buyer for your original DCS sound card to offset the cost.

I have my game running well but still need to replace several more IDC connectors and clean up some wiring. Normally people ask why something isn't working but after cleaning up more wiring issues and hacks than normal a more appropriate question is how did it ever work?

After rebuilding the Fliptronics board, Taking out the leaf switches and putting the correct opto boards for the flipper buttons and putting new connectors there. That restored the upper right flipper. Played a few games ok. The left flipper stopped working. Took a closer look at the wiring by the fliptronics board and the IDC under the ribbon cable had a few of the wires sitting in there but not pushed down all the way. Looks like the prior owner tried redoing those wires but barely made contact. I am going to replace that as well as a few other IDC connectors and will go over every one of the others. That should make it solid. Was focusing on the biggest issues first and then working the rest.

This is a really fun game.

Totally understand! I do check the wiring and that is on the list to go back over and tidy up. For the wiring I looked it over to make sure there wasn't obvious shorts of things that would damage the boards. Then I go right to the board work as that is my specialty.

I didn't swap boards around as I typically fix the originals if possible. I installed a couple boards that were missing and then did all my normal board service (an magic) to make sure the rest of the boards would be ok and they would be solid. The fliptronics board had a couple missing parts. The driver board had some wrong parts installed, A couple of the large caps were loose (that was new) and I recapped that whole board. Fixed a connector and repinned GI connector that had been soldered to the driver. Rebuild the trough opto's to fix those. Cleaned up some hackish prior work on the MPU and added NVRAM, recapped the sound board. Fixed the 8 driver board and installed the updates on that. Only boards I didn't need to touch was the DMD as that had been replaced with a newer board and the 16 opto board. For me once I have known good boards it helps me track down open wiring issues. Still going to repin and replace any questionable connectors. I will not use IDC's when I replace them, I hate those connectors. I'll use the more traditional molex.

Need to pull out the whole playfield to fix a few things on the cabinet and plan on dealing with the rest of the wiring issues then. In the meantime I'll probably at least redo the worst offenders. An example is the cluster in the image below. Taped up the exposed solder blobs temp until I get the new connector for that. There were some other wires that were cut (probably for troubleshooting) and then just twisted together. Those will all be soldered with heat shrink.

I believe my game was a re-import from France. Explains a lot of the things I am fixing. But, in the end it will be a nice machine and I am really happy to finally own one of these games.

20210617_134117 (resized).jpg

Also found that when a prior owner replaced the EOS switches they messed up. On the right many of the times it misses the switch and doesn't actuate the switch because the alignment is off. That is on the list for this weekend to address that.

I'm sure I'll find more things on this game to fix.

Do you still have your old board? Maybe it can be fixed. One of mine wasn't working and ended up replacing one of the transistors to fix it.

Had a chance to play the STTNG for a bit this evening and it is a much deeper game than I remembered or expected. Never knew about flying the shuttle through the caverns.

How do you get to the mode where the Borg ship in the back fires the ball at you? Haven't gotten to that part yet.

Your drop looks like it has multiple issues. Sort of like the one that was on my machine. To save time I bought and installed an entire fresh new assembly:

https://www.pinballlife.com/1-bank-smart-drop-target-assembly-left.html

I did buy some of the spare parts and am rebuilding the original as a spare.

Has anyone read about the speech quote that was pulled from the game? It is mentioned in this article.

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/Williams/archives/willy9.htm

Is there a list of the other unused callouts in STTNG? It would be great if any new code updates for the game end up using some of them as intended.

Unless they have come up with a new version with smaller LCD aren’t those a pain to install? Ones I’ve seen are huge. Both the LED and LCD look great but the LED seems like more of a drop in replacement.

I ended up picking up a color PIN2DMD for mine. Have one I installed in Independence Day 4 to replace a bad DMD and was really happy with the way it worked. Colorization support isn’t done for as many games as ColorDMD but Star Trek was one on the list too.

Has anyone run into the opto issue referenced in this service bulletin and done the mod to the eddy boards? I don’t recall seeing this mod on the boards in my game. Looks pretty easy to do and since it was a recommendation right from Williams I’ll probably do it on my boards at some point.

0535F3C3-43AB-480C-B474-10A650BBE200 (resized).png

Well that is pretty much a given. If the board already has the mod I would have noticed that when I repaired one of the boards that wasn’t working. Haven’t had a chance to compare the boards in my game to see if they are the versions referenced in the service bulletin or not. I won’t do any mods that aren’t needed but this seemed like a good idea if anyone is running an early set that this update is out there. Not sure if everyone was aware of it or not.

Have any of you tried using one of the latest Tilt Audio boards? It looks like there is an altsound set available for STTNG:

http://altsound.vpin24.com/

I have an older board that I was using for another game butthe latest version is supposed to work well with the later WPC games. For the price it may be worth trying it out.

There has definitely been a lot of churn on that project but the latest versions seem a lot better. Once you get a stable version you can always stick with it. Easy enough to setup new versions on a separate microSD card and if you don't like it just pop in the original microSD card.

If it is a new to you game it’s a good idea to remove each fuse, check it for continuity, and then check to verify it is the correct amp rating and type fast or slow blow.

Most of the fuses in mine were wrong.

I need to replace at least the ribbon cable between the MPU and driver but it may be time for a fresh set and replace them all. Where is the best source these days for the cables or whole set? Pinball Life, Marco, PBR, etc?

I am thinking about getting these pop-caps for my machine:

http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/star-trekthe-next-generation-popcaps-p-24.html

Not sure what color option I want to go with yet. Would like to see some additional pictures of them installed to help figure out which one to use. The example look great and possibly leaning toward the purple ones.

One thing that wasn't clear is the one for the third one under the ramp. Is both the cover and LED lamp pre-cut and ready to install or do we need to cut that out following the instructions included?

If you need your WPC driver repaired let me know. I'm local and can help. I keep parts on hand for repairs and am working on a batch of these drivers now. If your small 8 driver board doesn't have the update to add the resistors on the back it would be a good idea to update that one as well.

Some of the Rottendog boards like their MPU are ok but original boards are best if you can run them.

They are really nice. I built a pair of his WPC MPU boards as spares. Still prefer originals if possible though.

I wouldn't use CAT5 cable. Even if it is stranded I doubt it is meant to handle all the flexing. Looks like Marco sells a set of Flexible harnesses. Would be nice to see other options. My cables are both working but are really hacked so I eventually want to replace them both.

They are high that is why I hope that others will post some sources for replacement cables. I may end up making my own set when I go to replace them.

A lot of times you won’t see any visual damage to U20 if it is bad. But before getting concerned about that yet check your fuses. Are they really blown or not? If they are definitely check for shorts, etc as mentioned above.

If you can confirm the issue is on a particular board take a close look at it for any broken leads on components. One of mine wasn't working and found a leg on one of the transistors broken off causing an open. Replaced it and working again.

What is the best ROM version to run in STTNG? My game currently has LX7 in it now.

On the bright side at least it looks like most of the splices were covered in heat shrink. I had quite a few that were soldered with nothing covering them or insulation to protect from shorts. Luckily the wires were spread out far enough not to touch.

Looks like you're making great progress!

Which switches? Could be any of the above. Maybe a bad diode as well. Are they actual switches or optos?

Was there ever any corrosion on the MPU? If there was and it made it down to the connectors it can get in the ones in the harness as well. Worth looking at those in case the MPU has been replaced before you got the game.

That's good that you got it going. Coin Cell? I've done those on request but still prefer NVRAM as long as the clock isn't needed. Ended up putting NVRAM in my STTNG. It's in a socket now so could go back to regular SRAM and coin cell if I ever wanted to.

You may want to look into the PIN2DMD as an alternative solution since I think Star Trek is one of the machines that the colorization is complete. Going to be installing one in my STTNG and have one in my ID4 which looks amazing. My get an actual ColorDMD for my Dr Who since that is the only one that seems to have full colorization for that title.

You may want to check these out if you haven't seen them as they add that third cap and look like a nice upgrade.

http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/star-trekthe-next-generation-popcaps-p-24.html

Can someone confirm the way the upper rollover lanes behave? I think the wires to the lamps or switches on the outer rollovers are reversed on my game. Then the ball rolls down the center that one lights. At first I thought I had a flaky switch that wasn't registering but then noticed it would light the opposite rollover for the outside ones. So for those I need to ensure the opposite rollover is unlit in order for it to register. Really odd and is probably just a wiring error and one more hack to undo.

That is what I expected and it should be like my other games. I'll have to check to see if the wires going to the two outer switches are swapped of if the ones for the lamps are swapped. Will take a look in the manual to see if those wires with color codes are called out. Maybe there are some good reference photos of the wiring in that area in this thread.

My playfield is fine when in place but kind of a pain to pull out until I get a chance to properly fix the wood rails it slides on.

Probably the ones in the lower back part of the cabinet that the playfield slides on before it hooks onto the metal. Mine are messed up and I need to fix those soon. Makes it a PITA to open it up and do any work under the playfield,

Are all the other opto's working and the ones in the subway?

Since you’re in the area it would be possible to try your MPU in my machine to confirm if your MPU is still fine. As long as it’s ok then more likely a wire off under the playfield or some other issue.

If it is something in your machine I have a friend in the area that does in home service. He is the best around, fair priced, and highly recommended.

Possible it got caught on something and severed that way.

Will be interesting to hear if it makes a difference. Haven't see it in person before. One upgrade that did help a lot was just the bent plastic piece to block the DMD glare from reflecting from the glass. That made a huge difference and ended up getting them for the other DMD games too.

On almost all of the boards I’ve worked on the bridges were fine. More times I’ve seen issues caused by people changing parts that weren’t bad and damage the board since they didn’t have the proper tools. If the large caps have never been changed then it would be good to start with those. I’d only do the bridges if they test bad. I’ve got three driver boards in for repair now and most of that is clearing off all prior work and fixing hacks from prior bridge and cap replacement. Also have a burned connector to fix.

Need to be careful on the large caps with the snap in leads. I’ll typically heat them with two irons and have my son pull them out. Small caps can also go bad and check for bad connections at the 5V regulator. If they’ve never been done change all 5 large ones. I’ve pulled out some that read less than a 3rd of their rated value and the other specs were awful.

If you can determine that a reset occurs when certain coils fire you may have a bad diode on that coil. You may also have a really poor IDC connection with an intermittent connection.

Not too common but not unheard of either. During peak times when everyone runs their AC the voltage can drop in older neighborhoods. I have two of these:

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

I keep setup and can watch the power on each leg in the house. They are also great for seeing how much the games actually draw.

A few weeks ago we had one leg drop by 20V. If for some reason the power is low you may notice it in your game.

If you can't make up your mind about red or blue of purple there is always blurple:

https://www.pinballlife.com/pop-bumper-blurple.html

My STTNG has a been pretty solid since going over all the boards. Just the other day it started launching two balls at times instead of just one. The first ball is fine but if I start out with locking a ball then it ends up launching two after locking that first ball. I’m guessing opto issues but haven’t dug into it yet. Want to see if I can get it isolated over the weekend. I know the opto boards for the trough were rough so will check that out again. I finally ordered a fresh set of trough boards for it.

Swapped out the IR transmitter board for the trough and game is playing again as it should. The original one has a lot of prior work. At least three different styles of IR LEDs were used. Different shades of the plastic on them reminded me of old Christmas lights. May eventually get a new set of IR LEDs later and rebuild it as a spare.

From what I’ve read PIN2DMD is also a good option for Star Trek. I was really happy with the one I installed in Independence Day and have one ready to install in my STTNG. Did a quick test and the colorization looked good.

What was the game doing before you installed the new board? Was there battery damage? If so did it travel down into the connectors?

Do you have a link to the specific board you bought? Did it come with the ASIC and game ROM or did you move them over?

When plugging in the ribbon cables have you triple checked orientation and that they are plugged in off by 1 pin?

I think the ridge on the coil sleeve is supposed to be on the other side of the bracket.

This! I just went through 4 WPC drivers for people and took care to fix them properly so no jumpers like that are needed. Combination of stitches and at least on the bridges being able to solder both the top and bottom of the PCB.

The recommendation is to not mess up the WPC driver board in the first place! There are no recommended jumpers that I am aware of for the WPC driver boards. All those jumpers were added to the back of the board because someone did not have the proper knowledge and/or equipment to work on those boards. They basically F’d it up and the jumpers are a bandaid. When they removed the caps and bridges (most of the time the bridges are actually ok) they pulled out the through hole plating and damaged traces. Because that happened they added all the jumper wires. I’ve gotten boards in for repair like that. I end up stripping off all the parts they messed with, rebuild traces, create stitches using wire or excess leads from components, fix pads, and carefully assemble in an order that lets me solder both the top and bottom of the board under the bridges. When I’m done no extra jumpers on the bottom unless there are some traces that got vaporized.

I rarely ever run across a bad bridge on the boards. If it happens it is usually due to some idiot overfusing the board or other parts of the machine. Never overfuse. It can damage a bridge if it is the next weakest component. There are many places online that recommend replacing the caps and bridges. Caps yes, bridges no. The original caps are usually due for replacement and are often reading way low. The caps should be carefully replaced. Unless the bridges are bad just leave them. People often cause problems by removing them and damage the board.

Early Bally and Stern driver boards should have jumpers added on the back of those boards to tie the two 5v sections together and jumpers to tie grounds together. Gottlieb needs ground mods on their early boards

That is coming up under display test? What about the DMD controller board? I’ve repaired several where the 8K SRAM chip failed. In the picture it looks like you may have the LCD ColorDMD installed. I’ve never used one of those but possibly an issue with that?

What happened to all the original boards? Those can usually all be rebuilt. I’m running all original boards in my machines. Exception is the opto boards for the trough. Aftermarket boards are an improvement there.

Was it a reimported game? Maybe it is high tapped. Some people just cut the wires for the transformer and crimp them together instead of adding a jumper for the proper voltage. I’ve heard it happens quite a bit. You’ll have a fast machine but my friend always says he sees bent targets and ramps because of over voltage.

Nothing to be embarrassed about. There is so much going on under there that things are hard to see. You may very well end up helping someone else out who runs across a similar issue.

Usually installing quality caps fixes the 5V issues. Also needed is replacing the small axial 100uf cap if it is the silverish blue one. On many boards I also have to clean the mounting for the main 5V regulator and resolder to the PCB. Any bad connection there any you notice it. If the cap fir the regulated 12V was never changed check and replace that too. Seen several of those leak and etch through traces. Rarely do I have to replace bridges but occasionally do.

If you see that silverish blue 100uf axial cap on the MPU change that too. Those are garbage. Everyone one I’ve tested is bad.

I think the reset board has its place and great for troubleshooting.

Then those caps shouldn’t be a problem on your board. I also get them from Digikey or Mouser and those all test well before installing. I’m sure others may not always go with a trusted source.

Still worth double checking the bolt and nut on the 5V regulator.

If it is bad bend it back and forth at the body of it to break the leads. Then heat the leads one at a time to pull out. Clear the solder from the holes afterwards.

Just one method that works well. There are multiple ways to do it so if you have a method that you prefer use it.

I've replaced the transistors on these boards before. In one case I had to replace one of the resistors too.

Those look like the right ones.

I had to replace one and it used the smaller 10mm horizontal trim pot. I would have probably ordered some like the link you posted but I found some of the exact ones stashed in my parts bin so didn't need to place an order.

Have any of you tried to install the extra tantalum caps on the back of the driver board to help ensure there is a solid 5V coming from the driver board as described here:

https://flippers.com/will-tips.html#Thermistor

He is right about the datasheet on the part and that the WPC schematics have an error. One important piece of information that is lacking however is the workoing voltage specs of the caps used. When using tantalum caps I always try to use ones that have at least 3 times the rated working voltage. I'm going to use ones rate at 50V on the input and 35V on the output (could be a bit lower on the output) which are ones I have on hand.

That ceramic should work well too.

I totally understand your reservation about tantalum caps and that when they fail most of the time that failure is a short and they smoke. I've run into that many times in the past but more so with ones from the 80's timeframe which totally suck. Lots of problems with those.

I don't use them often other than replacements but they can be used safely. They should have a rated working voltage at least 3 times what the working voltage in the circuit. That is what I've read as a best design practice when using them. The quality of the ones made today (good brands from a reputable source like Digikey or Mouser) are excellent and shouldn't have the quality issues like the early ones.

They are not my first choice to use but will occasionally use them as long as there is plenty of buffer on the voltage rating. Unfortunately that note about working voltage is missing from that original link about the update and if people arn't aware or factor that in then they can definitely see fireworks.

My drop target assembly was a complete mess. Just bought the entire brand new assembly from pinball life. Was totally worth it and ended up being cheaper than buying the individual parts to rebuild it.

Usually the opto boards are good just to replace since those are often burned up, hacked up, etc. The other board are often saveable. I've rebuilt all the boards in mine (and undid many hacks) so all the rest are nice original boards . Except for the DMD which was an aftermarket board when I bought my machine, If you want your original boards repaired there are options. I do repairs as well as several others. My machine gets a lot of use as a test jig to verify boards that I repair for others. If it works in Star Trek then it should work well in any other game.

Other than some connectors I need to replace/repin my game is electrically solid and plays well. Need to work on the cosmetics when I finally get a chance to bring it home. It really is an awesome machine and the gameplay is fantastic on it.

I haven’t heard that but even if it isn’t routed at exactly the same depth can you account for that by readjusting to sensor board? Are both acting up?

What have you found wrong on the Rottendog Schematic? Actually if there is truly an error they will update it. They are doing that on one of their other boards. I believe the new owners are working on updating them and plan on posting all the current schematics to help support the users of their boards.

Thanks for the note. I'll let them know about that one as something they need to check.

Possibly have connector issues (bad connection) and if never replaced it may be time for new large capacitors on the driver board and the small 100uf axial caps on the driver and MPU. Just be VERY careful if you replace the large ones since many people end up pulling out the through hole plating which requires additional work to repair.

Why would you need to send out the boards? At worst the pins can be straighten and if some of the solder joints cracked reflow some fresh solder. No need to replace unless the pins have been bent back and forth too many times where they will break, they have broken, they are heavily corroded, or burned up.

Most of the time the connector pins can be straighten like it never happened.

Someone put leaf switches on the game I bought too. Surprisingly the two main flippers worked but not the upper right flipper. Got two reproduction opto boards, plastic interrupters, return springs for the interrupters, and repin New connectors. Now they work like they should.

Do you have any pictures of your wiring in the backbox where it connects to the driver board and also the cannon wiring under the playfield. The wiring on many of these games gets hacked up, etc and maybe one of us can spot something. There are so many variables that it is difficult to help without more details.

Can you check for this issue? Maybe it is a short on the mounting?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/warning-to-rottendog-wdb089-owners-check-it-now

You mention your old driver was burned up, etc. Were any of the connectors burned too? Were those fixed and wired exactly the same and verified against the manual? What did it do with the old board in it? Do you have pictures of your old board and details on the messed up areas?

Often people pop in a new board but that won't solve issues that are in the game itself.

Have you looked over you board closely for any cracked solder connections? Broken leads on components? I had a bad board on mine and found a broken lead on the transistor on the board.

Aren’t there at least two different boards? That schematic doesn’t look like the ones in my Star Trek game.

I guess it would be good to pull out the working board to see if it is the same or if someone had replaced a board and put in the wrong one.

One wasn’t working on mine. I swapped the board from side to side and confirmed it was a problem on my board. On the bad board while looking it over on the bench noticed one lead was broken (cracked) on a transistor. It was right at the body of the part and hard to see but it was open. Just replaced it and fixed the board. Had to be one of the simplest repairs and felt luck it wasn’t worse.

I had a flaky IDC connector going to my trough optos and would cause all sorts of odd issues and it would often launch two balls. I ended up crimping all new pins on and installing them in a new connector shell.

On the connectors going to the opto board do they still have those horrible IDC connectors where the wires just press in? I was having all sorts of issues on my game and could tell that it wasn’t in good shape. At least one of the wires pulled right out. I temporarily pushed them all back in but as soon as the parts came crimped new pins on each wire and put in a normal shell. No more issues after that.

Bad connections will cause all sorts of intermittent issues. If you have the coin door open and the switch test selected you can carefully reach in and wiggle the cable to the trough optos and see if they go on and off. If they do then replace the connectors on the harness going to it. Also carefully look the rest over for any hacks, etc.

It’s totally worth it in the end. Star Trek is an awesome machine!

Not just reflow. If they look like that you really need to remove the old solder too.

On older boards I’ll pull the connectors out since the oxidation gets in where it was cracked and the pin is oxidized too. With it out I can clean the part that goes in the board then reinstall an use fresh solder.

Take a really close look at that electrolytic capacitor standing up on the board. I saw one board where that leaked and etched the traces under it causing an open connection for the power on one of the LM339 chips. I fixed the traces and replaced the cap. All good after that. Not saying that is the issue here but something that should be checked.

I typically use frosted white LED's which seem to work well for just about all translites. Some people use color but it has to be used carefully. Some people do a good job. Others get an awful LED kit from ebay.

Does your game have all original boards or aftermarket boards installed? If original boards have they ever been serviced? Any hint of battery corrosion on the MPU board or connectors? Have the large caps been replaced on the driver board and the smaller ones used for the 5V supply? If not it is probably time to replace those. I've had some that were less than half the value they should have been. Usually don't have to replace the bridges unless someone overfused or did some hacked prior work on the boards. Mine acted flaky until I went through and rebuilt the driver. Of course I had to rebuild all the boards on mine except the DMD driver which had a new replacement board in it when I got it.

I need to do some work on my machine to fix the playfield since it is a huge pain to lift up and work on. difficult to latch and I've noticed that the back corners of the playfield are chewed up a bit. Is that common on the back corners of the playfield?

I bought a set of Data East playfield brackets that are like the ones on my Rocky and Bullwinkle. Plan on installing those on Star Trek and that should take care of those back corners for good.

Just need to get the game in the basement so I can finally really clean it up. Such a beast of a machine to move!

A friend made a custom topper for my STTNG machine. At the moment the color selection is manually controlled but I may try to make it a bit more interactive to change colors with the game. I think he is willing to make more of these. Probably just under $100 if it works out. Will get some pictures to see how this prototype looks on the game.

STTNGtopper (resized).jpg

Interested in new cabinet decals for the head as well.

With an original board make sure you do the mod to add the resistor pack and resistor on the back of the board. Also do the tie back mod on the game.

If there was corrosion take a good look at the 2801 and LM339 chips and the components below the battery. Depending on how bad the batteries leaked those often need work too and possibly traces repaired.

If you have to use AA batteries then the only ones I would use are teh lithium versions. They last for a long time and I haven't heard of any of those leaking yet. I have them in a couple machines. Others like my own STTNG the battery holder was removed, I unsoldered the SRAM, put in a socket, and installed an NVRAM chip. On games where you don't care about the clock then the NVRAM is a great option.

You should be able to use either power driver board. The -1 should have the extra relay populated that is needed for earlier games and can work in just about any WPC89 game. The -3 was for later games with the flipper board which didn’t use or need the relay. Those only will work in the later games. I rebuilt a -3 for my STTNG and run that.

After finally moving my STTNG into the basement I’m seeing a couple new odd issues. Mabe some of you have seen it before.

At times it will start the shuttle simulation while there is a ball in play. Since the flippers go dead it just drains then you end up losing that ball. It seems that at times other modes start when they shouldn’t. I have an extra MPU board and can swap that out to test.

The other is with the left cannon. When that is activated you can't fire the ball until it starts swinging back. Just last night it kicked up a ball to it while it wasn’t in the rest position so it didn’t get loaded. Ball went on the side and wedged between the cannon and wire form. I had to pull the glass to get it out.

Now that the game is finally inside I can finally clean it up and enjoy it.

I'll check the one for the left cannon. Thanks!