And here's to everyone getting their new TBL before the mandatory August vacation

Ok thankfully I think I can breathe a sigh of relief, mine were definitely not the same size, the new one was a tad longer. I think I just got a bad replacement part is all. Hopefully be getting a new one once they are back from vacation. I would still provide your additional feedback to them on the replacement that you had, hopefully thy can continue to refine it better.

Saw a topic on Facebook of a TBL owner acting as Beta tester reporting he is finalizing his test on a Beta release

So hopefully it will not be long anymore !

Your video was removed?

Does anyone know about the mix of industry standard vs proprietary parts in the machine?

The PROC has a life outside of this pin and the toys/unique elements are special to the machine, but I'm wondering about the other stuff. Are flippers, bumpers, switches, etc. interchangeable with standard Williams or other parts? I searched but couldn't find answer.

Yeah all common parts found at pinball life

Just replaced my left diverter. Surprise, surprise, still doesn't work.

Someone earlier was asking about the sizing of the replacement vs the original. Here are a couple pictures.

The replacement is on the top in the first image, and bottom on the second.

new on top

new on bottom

Anyway, unfortunately after replacing, the diverter is still getting stuck in the down position. However, originally I thought it was just getting stuck underneath the ramp. The new design seems to be preventing that, but yet it's still sticking. When manually moving the diverter, it does not move smoothly. I'm thinking at this point it has to be either the coil or the coil sleeve. Anyone want to chime in if that seems like a decent conclusion? Unfortunately I don't have any extra coils, or sleeves around.

I don't have my game yet... But, I doubt it's the coil or sleeve. Have you tried moving (slightly bending) the coil bracket when the diverter is stuck? To see if the plunger releases or moves easier. Sounds like maybe an alignment issue.

Brian

Now that you say that, when moving it by hand it does feel like it's catching the sides. That'll be the next thing I look into.

I had to move the coil bracket a hair with new flap. Easy access. Just adjust it till it runs smooth. Took 2 min.

Excited for you dudes who own this game, it's about the only game I'd ever consider NIB besides a JJP. What a beauty. I guess I'm going to have to head to Cointaker so I can try to get some more plays in before the next York or Allentown show.

It looks like your replacement is slightly wider than the original. When you look at my pics in the TBL Owner´s thread you´ll see that mine are exactly identical. Another owner there reported a similar problem as you. That´s probably the reason why it´s getting stuck. It´s just too wide for the slot in the ramp.
Since I have the (correct) replacement in my machine the diverter didn´t get stuck anymore, neither above nor underneath the ramp.
I´d sugest to contact DP to get a correctly sized diverter.

I doubt it is wrong size. What it could be is bent at slightly different angles, changing the arc slightly, which may make it rub ramp. Think this was my issue. But loosening the screws on the coil and then shifting the whole mech a mm or so while manually checking for friction solved it straight away.

from the pictures it doesn't look like it´s bent differently, but only Ectobar can confirm that

Mine was. Photo exaggerates it but believe this is why I had to shift the coil slightly.

20161217_090631 (resized).jpg

First I heard of this, so you confirm the "fix" didn't work as is and you had to make further adjustments to make the new diverter fit in that slot? I am waiting for Barry to get back from vacation and we are supposed to talk to try and work this out. I have seen a few people claiming they had same issues I did(which was it did not fit or work at all). But then it seems a few people had it work(or made it work). I really want to get to the bottom of this so myself and others can get the correct fix and it doesn't have to be some larger adjustment to the machine. That is a Stern solution/fix and I don't like those!!!

In my opinion if a diverter that was the exact same length/size as the original was made with that additional metal tab on the bottom to keep it in that slot, it would work perfect, not sure why they felt the need to change the size of it?! It feels like an error was made.

I had to do two things to make it work:
- install it, making sure not too high, not too low
- adjust coil mount slightly so that no rubbing / retraction ran smoothly.

The largest benefit to me, over my original slot enlargement fix, is that it no longer runs into the lane guide plastic. Which also reduces vibration as well as being correct.

My diverter replacement had the exact same curve. They sit flush on top of each other when I hold them together.

While my issue is still unresolved, I think the new diverter is an improvement. With it in place, I don't think it will be the issue any longer. The original diverter would go below the ramp and then slightly shift and not be able to go back up because it was getting hung up on the ramp. With the new diverter, I was able to mount it such that when it is either in the up or the down position, one of the little nubs on the end are still protruding through the ramp so as to guide it on the return.

Unfortunately, the diverter is still getting stuck in the down position. I did some more investigating last night, and it does seem to be getting hung up either on the coil bracket, the lane guide, or potentially even rubbing against the playfield itself. My lane guide was already destroyed from the diverter arm smashing down into it, and DP sent me a replacement with my new diverter. I did try to adjust the coil bracket as suggested, but it doesn't have much play to it, and didn't seem to improve anything.

At this point I want to just take the ramp off to get a good look at the whole thing, but am having difficulty deciding the right way to do it. The plastic portion of the ramp looks like it is just secured with 4 screws. 2 at the entrance of the ramp, which aren't an issue, and 2 screws at the back attaching it to the piece that lets the ball travel under the playfield. After those are out, I think I'd be able to slide it off the metal habitrail. The issue is the screws at the back have nuts on the bottom that are very difficult to get to. Basically, I think I could get them off, but am not particularly confident I would be able to get them back on.

Anyone take their ramp off have any tips on the procedure?

It is hard to explain but I will warn you, I scratched the living hell out of my ramp getting it off and on and trying to make this diverter work. There is this metal post/tab thing in the back that hold the ramp steady and it scratches it bad removing and putting it back on repeatedly. So much that I insisted Barry send me a new one(which he kindly did agree to). This has been one of the more frustrating "fixes" I have done and eventually just gave up, put the old one back on until I can work with Barry and DP to find a better/correct solution

Anyone have issues with one of the bowling pins not working right?

I have had issues since day one with everything related to the bowling mech including the pins. Check the brackets that hold the 4 pin rows. Most of the screws that attach these (2 on each side of each bracket) were stripped out on my game. Several of the screws were completely out and the brackets were just hanging in the cabinet when I unboxed my game. Since the screws wont tighten, they work themselves out over time and the brackets become loose. This causes the pins to not work correctly. I bought some low profile T3 nuts to hopefully address the issue but I have not had a chance to install them yet. Will report back when I do.

Not exactly the reassuring answer I was looking for.

I took another look last night and see what your talking about though. Once that piece is out I'll definitely have more room to menauver. I have confidence I'll be able to get the ramp back together with the right equipment. I had only previously bought a set of metric nut drivers and a little 7mm combo wrench. Looks like the nuts on the bottom of the ramp are 6mm. Going to pick up a 6mm combo tonight and give it a go.

This whole ordeal has been terrible. I really hope DP gets their crap together and cranks out some nice code. Never would have thought my favorite moments with the game would have been the time waiting for it(before it was delayed). Still trying to remain positive, but I only have space for 4 pins, and as of right now this one is the front runner to leave.

Anyway, for those of you still waiting. At a minimum, get yourself a 7mm nut driver and or combo wrench. Most of the bolts on the top side are that size. Most of the remaining things you will need to adjust are phillips head screws or allen bolts. The 6mm nut that I'm about to remove under the ramp seems to be the only place that size is used.

I hate hearing all of these issues out of the box on this one. It makes me worried to get mine - I really need a reliable game as I'm not technically very good.

Then you should've stayed far away from this game. Really any game is going to have issues out of the box. If worried about that I would suggest in the future getting a fully dialed in game from a collector.

I hear ya!

In the past I've bought either high end restorations or NIB. I have the games professionally installed by one of the best pinball techs in Chicago and have been able to enjoy.

TBL just sounds like a nightmare but I love the theme and game.

Sounds like you got a guy local so I'm sure all this stuff that might need to be done to your game he can help with. None of this stuff is really going to scare someone experienced. So I say stay the course and have your guy on call. Haha

yeah i know pretty much nothing and put mine out on route. Luckily I have the best Op in the area helping me operate it and we've been troubleshooting things with DP who's been very responsive. Most of the issues we've had are related to one specific hardware issue they know about related to how the PROC was mounted on the earliest batch of machines and otherwise it's more code things than mechanical on my machine so far

Yeah 'sounds like a nightmare' is not true at all of my game at least. Yes, issues to work thru, but we are the first 40 or so games from a company that hasn't done this before. Each successive batch of games will be a bit more polished than the last as they learn from our issues.

I do hope the next batch gets sorted out with the boards and all that very soon. That's got to be costing them a lot of money so I'm sure they do as well.

Or a Collectors Edition Dialed In??????!!!!!

That JUST happened

I'm in the same boat. I try and fix things but I'm horrible at it so don't take my issues as huge issues for DP and TBL. TBL really hasn't been that bad at all for me just stupid things I did more so than game issues. Although I want this dumb diverter thing worked out, that's basically been my main issue.

Well it's more a dialed in collectors edition dialed in (a DICEDI)

It is somewhat disconcerting to hear of the various mechanical issues that have come up on games. Thanks for all the info so far Dudes and I hope any and all problems are resolved for you soon!

On a positive note, I have a nearby friend who is a BIG-time collector and received his TBL in the second shipment. His game played well for me, he absolutely LOVES it, and as of Xmas, he had only encountered a single (and very easily resolved) mechanical issue on his.

I have game #19 and besides one switch not registering (I reseated the plug and fixed it) the game works 100% no issues ever with the ramp diverter or bowling mech or anything else. I love the game, just needs more code.

Great to hear!

Thanks for the feedback

Well bowling alley was a bad solder connection on the board. I accidentally had a splash of solder melt a small hole on the bowling alley. Now I want to fix it and will need a new decal. Anyone know how to remove the side mirrors on this to install a decal.

DP does need to do a better job inspecting and play testing these. I still have a broken piece without any idea on where it goes.

Any idea where this goes?

Any idea How To fix this error. It's where I had solder melt it and I painted over it. Would anyone put hard as nails or something over it? Want to know if I should try and make it better.

Other picture is what was causing the pin not to work. I guess when it was lined up, the machine laid this piece slightly off.

IMAG0176 (resized).jpg

IMAG0191 (resized).jpg

IMAG0193 (resized).jpg

Bowling alley before touch up pic on right. Look at black spot to the right. Then after paint touch up.

Anyone have any suggestions to make it look better?

IMAG0188 (resized).jpg

IMAG0193 (resized).jpg

I see a very small black dot between the two right arrows - one in each of the photos. Not sure if this is the damage you're referring to (?).

If it is - honestly, either the damage doesn't show as bad it should in your photos or you've done a fine job repairing it visually - the bowling alley looks fine as is. Certainly doesn't appear to be bad enough to go to the trouble of dismantling the unit and installing a new entire decal. Is the damage enough to disrupt the path of the ball?

As far as the loose bolt & parts: did the piece still in the nut get sheared off of the bolt?

The piece did get sheared off. I took the entire game apart and cannot find where it could possibly go. Just no clue. It's easy to fix, if I could figure out where it goes.

Bolt looks large enough that you ought to be able to find where it went if it was missing.

I suspect there was an assembly error, it dropped into the bottom of the cabinet, and wasn't removed.

If that's the case, should be able to find the duplicate installed in game

I've searched and searched for something missing. Only thing I did not do is pull mini PF. But you would think there would be a hole somewhere.

Did not check auto launcher hmm....

If that fell out of the mini pf, it would be visible where it came from. Like I said, likelihood is it was mess left in the bottom of the cabinet from assembly.

My WOZ (bought HUO from its original owner) still had a bunch of cruft hiding amidst the wiring looms, that had been there since the factory build 2 years earlier.

Hey folks, I'm in for #125 but don't seem to get the emails Barry and such sends out. I read about the recent board issues holding things up a bit, but has anybody been to the factory lately or have a better idea of how the production rate is coming along?

I am waiting on my TBL as well and this is concerning to me. This will be my third NIB. Ghostbusters Pro has worked 100% through many plays. The Hobbit Smaug SE had multiple issues that made the game unplayable. Thankfully JJP has superb technical support.

Diverter battle rages on.

I have the ramp out, and have fully pulled the mech. It all seems to function mechanically fine by hand, but when using in test mode, the diverter continues to stay in the down position. When depressing it by hand, it seems to catch ever so slightly when its against the coil stop.

Managed to get the plastic portion of the ramp out without removing the habitrail. Removed 4 screws, and removed the ramp support piece. Then slid the plastic part off of the habitrail. Didn't feel great about it. I think I'll probably just pull the habitrail when reassembling to make things a little more maneuverable.

Could it be magnetized?

I pulled the coil sleeve when I had it apart. Looks fine. Everything put back together smoothly.

For those keeping track at home, the nut on the screws that attach to the ramp at the top ended up being 5.5 mm.

Of course 5.5mm was the one size I didn't have.

I'm taking a break from the battle for now. I guess my next step will be to pull it back apart and see if either the arm or the stop seem magnetized.

My replacement was just too big and didn't work in the slot in the ramp as is, it would get stuck and couldn't move up or down. Would require either further modification or a new(better designed diverter), I am waiting for the latter as I've frustrated myself to all ends trying to use the replacement.

Emailed Barry on 2nd Jan for an update.
No reply as yet.
Gotta say that all the problems the game is having is a little disheartening as the build quality was a big factor in people buying