If you call Stern they will send you the air ball kit to prevent that for free.

Check and see if you have the air ball kit installed or in coin box. If not email Stern with your serial number and they will get you set up with the kit. It’s basically a precut plastic that installs over the top of the drops and keeps the air balls down

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It’s not the airball, I have the kit. The targets don’t drop when hit. They just bounce off. It doesn’t happen that often but enough to be annoying.

I asked about this awhile back but did not solicit much response. So I read through all 38 pages of the thread to see if anyone had commented or experienced anything regarding the spinning disk motor. But I did no see any comments. So I thought I would bother you all to ask again...

I am wondering if what I am hearing is totally normal, or if I may have an issue or bad motor/assembly. Very expensive to buy a new one and replace if nothing is different.

My machines are at home and typically its pretty quiet. Volume of pins is not up very high. That said, when the disk spins I can clearly hear it, which is bothering me. I disassembled the mech & cleaned/lubricated all the gears, had no affect. I did not observe anything problematic, its a strange motor assembly and appears to just make a lot of noise when running. I am trying to understand if it should be quiet when running, many motors are, but I have nothing to compare it to. The fact that while I am playing, I am bothered by hearing the disk spin - is making me not enjoy the game. It won't overtake the music if playing, but when the music is in a quiet spot, the spinning disk is extremely noticeable.

Can anyone share if they can hear the motor/mech or is it/should it be quiet? I am trying to determine if its me or the motor

thanks!

Mike

I have to say I don't notice the sound of the motor spinning myself when playing.... But perhaps I have had too much loud music and concerts in my life

Hey Mike,

Is the noise like a motor hum, if that’s the case I can hear mine but I can expect that when it’s in full spin. Can you deacribe what you hear? If you spin the disc by hand is it silent?

I have Turtles with a spinning disk and don’t hear that one over the pin sound. With no volume I can hear the disk spin but not the motor running.

Let’s figure this out.

I

Thanks, I'll try to describe, but if needed we can PM and I can send a brief audio/video clip. There is definitely a hum, like a transformer hum but additionally there is a slight edge to it, a ratcheting or mechanical agitation sound which is consistent with the hum.

When I took it all apart, I assumed gear noise, but cleaned & greased the gears and that had no affect. I pulled out the motor armature and cleaned it, the contacts to hit the brushes are on the end of the cylinder and its possible that the sound I am hearing is those contacts hitting the brushes, but cant be certain. Everything seems to work fine, but when it spins its not quite. turning the motor by hand doesn't create the speed needed to notice noise. With the motor removed I can spin the disk in the playfield and that is dead quiet, so its not the disk mech.

The easiest way to describe why this bothers me is...If I start a game and close my eyes, I can EASILY always know when the disk spins, cause I can hear it and I would have hoped that it would be mostly undetectable during play.

best,

Mike

If it helps I can record my game starting and the can see if it’s the same?

I like that plan if you don't mind the bother? Tonight I will video my disk spinning, I'll turn the audio volume off and capture the sound from above the playfield, glass on. I'll PM it to you

maybe you can do the same & we can get a quick answer from comparing them

you support is extremely appreciated!

thanks

mike

What is the trick/what am I missing when trying to start a second mode on the same ball after completing it or timing out?

As I understand it, you hit the fab and four drops, then shoot the loop tot he magnet and it starts another mode.

I have seen this happen a couple times, but more often...

I complete a mode, then the Fab Four drops may be partially up or down, not sure if I have to wait until they reset so they are all up?? Regardless, when I complete the fab - the video colors in FAB, then when I hit the FOUR, it colors in FOUR, but rarely will it color in both and say "Fab Four" which I assume is what you need? mine just keeps alternating back & forth. Shooting the magnet does nothing most often, so I just keep hitting FAB & Four drops over and over again but never accomplish what is supposed to happen. A few times, when the bonus light is lit behind FAB, the FABs won't even come back up, unless you hit the target, but I thought you could stack modes for that bonus, but could never start another one if the FABs are down ???

I must be confused

I am seriously missing how this works and the rule sheet must not be telling me something, its apparently not as simple as it sounds

thanks!

mike

I sent you a PM

When the timer ends on the first mode, the FAB and FOUR target banks will both reset, and the Super Jackpot target lights. This is when you need to hit the FAB FOUR drops again. Any completions you earned during the mode don't count. When the FAB targets are down, they will stay down until you either hit the Super Jackpot target or start the second mode.

You can't light the next mode until the first one ends, and there's no way to finish a mode early.

OK this is helping a bit! So the mode isn't over when you get even 5 and the screen says "completed" ? you have to wait for the timer to end, that seems odd, but may be the biggest part of my issue. I am trying to hit the Fab Four drops immediately after I achieve level 5, thinking the mode is complete.

What may have confused me is this statement from the rule sheet - "Once a mode has ended (whether by time running out, or by completing it after level 5 has been reached), the next mode can be started by completing F-A-B and F-O-U-R, then shooting the upper magnet"

I always go for the super jackpot after the mode ends. This is not the right thing to do?

I'm not sure, I read that you can stack and get more points, but I haven't done that yet.

"if multiple modes are completed on the same ball without scoring the Super Jackpot, the value will be multiplied by however many modes were played beforehand. (i.e. if you complete 2 modes without collecting the Super Jackpot and then collect it, it will award a 2x Super Jackpot for your 1st mode and a 1x Super Jackpot for your 2nd mode. This can go up to 5x for completing all five modes!)"

I've been meaning to update that rulesheet, because at least on the latest code it's incorrect. After you reach level 5 (or whatever it's set to) to complete the level, you can continue to hit more of the objective. Each extra levels worth of the objective gives you 100k and adds that score to the super jackpot at the end of the mode.

It's often the right thing to do, but if you're pretty confident you can let it ride and collect it at a higher value after another mode.

Say you play Ticket to Ride first, and then you start Drive My Car before collecting the TtR jackpot. If you complete Drive My Car, now the super jackpot target will be worth 2x TtR + 1x DMC. If you delayed collecting the super again and played/finished All My Loving, then the super jackpot target would be worth 3x TtR + 2x DMC + 1x AML.

Two great things tonight:

1. New high score.
2. FINALLY, TAXMAN!!!

I will NEVER get sick of this game. Ever.

So good to finally get to Taxman. I could feel myself getting closer and closer over the last few months. Now to get there again and keep building on that score. Cheers to all you Beatlemaniacs out there who have one of these amazing machines.

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I went a few months without getting there then 3 times in one week. The points rack up quickly and the light and sound show are just amazing. Of course once that ball is done, that’s it, you’re back to square one which is a bit of a letdown. I wish it built from there and have you a new goal.

- I think - that after you’ve completed the mode but the timer is still running - that’s when you rack up the big bonus points. Not sure though. I keep at it even after completing to continue building.

I think that is what my problem/confusion was. As soon as I see the level 5 info, Id start trying to hit the fab four drops to start another mode, but in reality, the mode I'm in hasn't ended yet! Have to let the timer run out, should clarify that on the rulesheet

thanks!

Thanks - i thought it was all for non - meaning that each mode had it's own JP and if you missed it, it was gone.

If I had to choose, I’m take the Bond 60th over Beatles everyday.

Beatles are my favorite band ever. I’ve only ever seen a couple Bond movies. I think the Bond plays better and has deeper rules.

And requires a lot deeper pockets of course.

I noticed my game stopped keeping the time and date after turning it off, even after changing the battery. I think maybe the contacts got bent in the battery compartment, but I’m not sure exactly how they are supposed to look.

Would someone take a closeup picture of the battery compartment for me? Nothing I found online has a detailed enough picture to be helpful. I attached a few of mine for comparison. Thanks!

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Finally was able to add a Beatles to my collection...love it!

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Update: Pablo at Stern helped me to get the battery working. He’s a good guy.

What was it?

Sweet collection. A 007 LE and the Elwin! Just perfect. Oh yeah lol… congrats on the Beatles!

Don’t just yank the battery out like I did and bend the contacts. I was able to get it back in shape with some trial and error but learned my lesson.

Thanks!

That was quick. May want to look at Pulp Fiction down the line also. I am not sure because I haven’t played it yet but it may fit the Bond 60th/Beatles vibe. I will give it a look for myself.

I say down the line because CGC is soooo slow.

Beautiful collection! Now get those windows covered!

Pulp Fiction would totally fit that collection!

Cool article by Paul McCartney about the 1964 NYC Beatlemania trip.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/07/paul-mccartney-beatlemania-1964-eyes-of-storm-book/674166/?utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=true-anthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3xzjCsugBchQgIPmuSOFNYli2tLWTbiWAC0bAxuoQ9OoBAv0hi8Q-5V54_aem_th_AQy8GthMbNP1NlahvoF146VAL55O9yBR1qyhGhLmtQsavJJURovVs78B1fT9Xfb3ud8&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Why doesn't the post between inner/outer lanes have rubber? Seems odd and would mark up balls? Looks like its designed for a rubber. Can a small rubber fit without disrupting ability to flow into lanes?

thanks!

should be in your goody bag in the coin box

Yep mine had two in the bag. When I put the one on the right outlane the ball could no longer roll down the right outlane and would get trapped. I didn’t investigate if there was an adjustment I could do to make it work.

no adjustment, just have to trim it down a bit or find a slightly smaller one.

Ahh. Yeah it didn’t occur to me to trim it a bit.

Thanks, interesting, why would they not have been installed? I bought mine used so no goody bag, can you share what size/diameter, so I can grab some?

I had issues with rubber on the left post. Sometimes when I hit a super jackpot it would hit the rubber and bounce to the out lane.

I just keep them both off.

Hi all! Just got a late build Beatles Gold (12/21 - with Insider Connect) - Love the game as I knew I would, but I have toppers on my other Sterns - so you know what that means

Does anyone have a topper for sale? I know they're expensive - I'd buy a used topper as well if someone is selling their machine and wants to make more money. Last few I've seen have gone around 1500-1800 new.

Thank you!

unfortunately used ones are about 1800 plus now.

After about 300 plays this happened. Anyone else have this happen? Parts on on order from Stern.

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Yes, it happens constantly, unfortunately. The part is made of inferior materials. Stern knows about the issue but doesn’t care. At least the part is cheap, so just order a bunch of them in the different sizes (3 and 4 target) and replace as needed. Hopefully someone will make a more robust version for sale at some point.

I had this happen a few times to me, too. I finally made my own replacements out of aluminum 2 years ago; they have been rock solid ever since:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-beatles-beatlemania-official-owners-and-fan-club/page/22#post-6372756

Wow....love that! Are you able to make one for sale? If so, please let me know!

Put them on the pinside marketplace - I would buy some. I just had a single drop target one break on my GB that is waiting for me to fix today (by coincidence).

I would buy as well.