So why is it that modern pinball machines don’t disable tilt when the machine goes into ball seek mode? Clearly a ball is stuck somewhere. I’d rather shake it loose than have to pull off the glass. It seems like such a simple software change.

That's a really good idea!

Can't agree more with your idea. In the meantime, I disable the tilt all together. People being too rough on my machines are banned from playing. Although that has been super rare with people visiting and playing.

I think there was some discussion here a while back about not being able to adjust the shaker motor intensity. It seems like that would be a great option since even being on the ground floor, my machine can shake the house. I can understand how that might not be as easy to implement as it seems, so what about the option to at least turn the shaker off in the settings. Or is that there and I just missed it? It would be nice to be able to shut it off temporarily if I’m playing at night so I don’t wake up the whole house.

And back to my earlier comments about the knocker. If you go to the expense of adding the hardware for it (unlike Stern) you think you would want to use it for more than just match, which isn’t even relevant for home use anyway and so many of these machines are sold for only that. So bring back the ‘CRACK’ for an extra ball earned or at least allow it to be configurable. There is already a setting to turn the knocker on or off, why not extend that.

Not that I expect any of these to actually get changed in GNR. Sales are winding down so there isn’t a lot of return on investment in code updates at this point. Plus I’d rather see some of the other suggestions in scoring and such that others here have suggested anyway. Love this machine though!

Settings -> Coil Settings -> General -> Maxiumum Shaker Strength

defaults to "Medium" two steps lower is "OFF"

After losing some good scores (for me) I've got a tissue around the knocker , I don't nudge the machine that hard , so I don't feel like I'm cheating .

While I’m here I might as well provide an update on my machine since I just did an inspection of the playfield. So it’s #2935 (serial # 3205) with a manufactured date of Feb 2022. I’ve put a little over 400 games on it so far and I can’t see any playfield issues even starting to develop yet. I got a nice bright light and checked around all the posts and so far so good. I’m expecting it may need some attention at some point, but am really glad it is holding up well so far. I was planning on getting an extra playfield just in case, but I may not.

I’ve had a few things need attention like the wire gate on left ramp coming off a couple times, screws falling out, center spinner getting hung up by nearby plastic, ball getting stuck on right bumper, scoop shooting sdtm etc. but those are all to be expected. I am having a weird issue with my right spotlight where it isn’t going up and down but doesn’t appear to be linkage or servo related. JJP Support replied super fast though when I finally got around to reporting it. They sent wiring pin out so I want to buzz the cable next to see if it is just a bad crimp or something. With mirror blades in it is hard to get blade protectors on (and I won’t lift it without them because it will scratch for sure) so I don’t lift the playfield that often.

I think the Scorebit integration adds a whole new level to pinball with achievements and social interaction. Seems like there is plenty of room for enhancements there so I’m excited to see where it goes.

I’ve been following this thread closely and I think have read every post for the past ten months or so and went back well beyond that too I’m sure. It has been a wealth of great info so thanks to all who have contributed!

Nice. Thanks! I didn’t think to look in coil settings.

That wire gate on the left ramp I probably fixed 5 times before I bent the flat metal brackets with the hole that the wire goes into inward toward the ramp enough to FOREVER prevent it from popping out accidentally. The right ramp did the same a couple times. I was being to conservative with how much I bent them in.

Does your spotlight move in the diagnostic test for the servos? My left one just started doing that and it was the vertical servo (key post on wiring for those if you need it). Replaced it with the EMAX and it was fine.

Insert Shameless plug for SPOTLIGHT ASSEMBLY UPGRADE KIT here! Arrived yesterday!
THREE LEFT IN STOCK! ORDERS ALREADY PLACED ARE SHIPPING TODAY.

Parts - For Sale

JJP Guns N Roses - GnR Spotlight OFFICIAL upgrade kit Archived

New - “this is the official GNR Spotlight assembly upgrade kit - Upgrade the assemblies on both spotlights with this kit. I had these imported from Germany @ pinball universe. They don'...”

2022-04-28

Nashville, TN

Vespula

110 (Firm)

Archived after: 31 days

Viewed: 382 times

Status: Sold (amount private)

Thanks for the tip on the gate. My right spotlight was sporadic from the beginning but never seemed to work right. I assumed linkage or servo and I actually have a set of EMAX replacements just in case. When I looked into it and checked with diagnostic test I found the connector at the board wasn’t seated well plus horizontal and vertical servos were swapped. Also the screw was loose at the servo arm for vertical but I fixed that. At this point vertical doesn’t work at all when plugged in correctly, but it does work if I connect it to the horizontal cable so the problem isn’t at the servo end. Seems like either the cable or the board.

Somebody hire this man.

Are you able to swap the left & right spotlight wiring on the board to see if the problem stays on the board output, and if not, then try swapping the harness to see if problem follows the cable ?

Just finished installing Kyle Virginn's (PINBALL MODZ) "monkey mod' for my GNR Topper. The total job took about 30 minutes; could have been quicker but I was being very careful in the process. The installation instructions are excellent and the MOD itself is very high in quality. Some one mentioned that they thought that the 6 foot wiring harness was a bit short in length but I did not find it to be any problem at all. If anything, it was a bit generous. IMHO, the monkey mod really completes the JJP topper. I just wish there was some kind of shroud to enclose it all nicely within the confines of the topper so that the wiring, etc. would be less visible from a side view but that would just be the 'cherry on the top' of what is already a great mod.

Unfortunately no. Both servos are driven from a single connector to the board and I don’t have pin extractors to be able to swap the wires around. If the cable fails continuity check then that should be a simple and cheap item to send out. If the cable is good then I’ll leave it up to JJP to decide how to proceed.

Pull the playfield out as far as you can and tell me that 6 feet is generous.

I know there are names for all these positions but I dont know them.
Which position is blocked?
Are you prevented from extending to the farthest service position on the rails?
What about furthest position but full up apron leaning on the backbox?

It will pull out to its furthest position so it's not technically blocked. But barely. Like I said, another foot or so of length would be more comfortable, could do more routing through the tube even then. Just a minor observation.

I didn't think to post this in your ticket and it might come in handy for the community so I'll post here.
Hopefully it helps you diagnose the issue further.

GNR - Spotlights Board Connections (resized).PNG

If swapping connectors around to diagnose the spot lights, be sure to only do it in test mode, not in game mode.
The right spotlight is programmed to avoid contact with the stage lighting.

My new LE is being shipped out to me today! Beyond excited. I have a lot of reading to do in order to catch up!!!

APRIL FOOOOLS!!!!

My LE is just under two weeks old and I'm working with support on the right spotlight as well. It doesn't center when the machine is first turned on and does match the diagnostic testing movements. Certain movements also produce an odd sound.

One issue found during troubleshooting was the wires from each servo were swapped with the wires from the controller. Fixing this didn't solve the overall problem but perhaps the servo was damaged as a result.

I just received a new right spotlight assembly I will throw in this weekend to see if it helps. If not, I guess we start to suspect the controller board but the servo system has to be the least complex part of that boards function.

Could also call into question wiring that I can't see without taking more the game apart.

We shall see.

During testing with support, I didn't swap the left and right spotlight connections but they did have me swap the horizontal and vertical servo connections on the right spotlight for testing purposes.

Said "No problem. That's how they came from the factory!"

Nope. It’s the real deal!

congrats, when did you order?, would be interesting to know what the current backlog is

I actually just ordered. There are several distributors that have them in stock right now.

~4000 pins later, I guess the wait for a NIB LE is finally over. Opinions anyone? Wouldn't JJP produce the rest of the 5000 even if production exceeds orders?

My buddy got this game last month. Anyone have a preference for patches to boost scoring? Thanks!

Duff, Fender, [T shirt, Poster], [Bra, Panties] are the ones I usually tick off first, then the other 3 sponsor patches to go with Fender (for extra ball).

The ones in brackets are a set when you have both.

Likely not. Unsold inventory is not something they want to have. They can, depending on the license, run the remaining 1000 (or portion) if demand picks up.

If you only get one, get Fender. Following that get Gibson (Slash), Rose (Axl), Skull (Duff) and Vater (Richard.)

That should have you entering the song with 4 of the 7 band member spotted for Band Frenzy; shoot the active musician to collect the last three and kick it off.

While Band Frenzy is active feed as many balls as possible into the Richard spinner to blow up the score.

Does Gibson and Rose actually help start band frenzy? I thought they were just for qualifying that member for the rest of the game (help starting a song).

Which is richards spinner? Middle?

I'm almost positive. Spotting the character means spotting for qualifying a song and for Band Frenzy in the song.

Been thinking about the applause jackpot and how some complain about it being an all or nothing shot so Got a rules suggestion:

Applause lights 15 seconds sooner than it does now, for the first 5 seconds you can collect your applause jackpot value shown. After the 5 seconds, it becomes a hurry up where your JP value depreciates over the next 10-15 seconds to collect.

I like the idea, but 30 seconds might be too much. The 15 second one with a 5 second hurryup would probably be about right.

For those that are struggling with balls getting stuck on top of the bass ramp, here is one possible solution. Yes, you have to drill a small hole in the plastic, but the end result is very clean and it works. Get a small drill and drill a hole between the 2nd and 3rd string. Then simply put a small zip tie through the hole and around the ramp. Pull tight and you should be good to go. This fix pull s the ramp towards the plastic and fixes the ball getting stuck issue. For the purest out there it might be too much mental pain to drill a hole through the plastic, but to me it didn't bother me. What is important to me is to play the darn game without having to pull the glass

Screen Shot 2022-04-02 at 10.21.37 PM (resized).png

Screen Shot 2022-04-02 at 10.21.45 PM (resized).png

Alas, the replacement of the right spotlight assembly did not address the issue. It still does not follow directions in the diagnostics.

Also, the weird noise is still there which means it wasn't the servos on the original assembly.

My guess is the system is trying to drive the servos in a way it is not expecting or at the end of the arm stroke.

Anyway, I presume we will now look at the controller board or the wiring.

Will continue to work with JJP on it.

BTW, replacement assembly was sent Wednesday and arrived in Canada on Friday.

Have to be honest here, the JJP support attentiveness has been very good.

Shout out to Brian W for all his help and his continuing help as we try and solve this one.

Just a high level observation. It seems that more and more people are complimenting JJP support. For a while there was some serious bashing. Just nice to hear good news

Anyone seen this issue? Have to push up lockdown bar on the left side for it to engage. Anything JJP can supply to fix it? New lockdown bar or any easy fix? Thanks for the help!

Been doing it for a year now…. Just got used to it

No fix from JJP? Thanks.

You're very tight on the lockdown so I can't see the whole thing at the same time when you're demonstrating, but it appears that if you can't move the metal that the channel that the metal bar runs through is molded to, you can put a shim in the channel itself that would raise the metal bar up so it can slide freely at the proper height without intervention.

EDIT:
I can't tell because the spring is blocking the view in your video, but is the second screw that holds the piece with the channel in place and tight? It looks like the piece is crooked, and that screw being missing would cause that. The one pointed to in the illustration below...
jjp lockdown bar (resized).jpg

Have you tried adjusting the brass screws on the top? I’m not near my game and haven’t looked in a while, but I thought there were also adjustments that can be made on the inside.

So stoked. Got my machine signed by Duff this evening! He gave us a tour of his studio as well which was awesome. Sounds like he is having some issues with his Team Edition so I’ve offered to take a look at it.

7EAD0893-1449-4D7E-9510-19EC725E1DAF (resized).jpeg

C2F8B04C-E2C6-4FCD-939A-4E2A3DAEE560 (resized).jpeg

You're welcome. We'll look into a few things tomorrow after I got logged in.

That's so awesome man !

The CE's have some interesting challenges.
Band member TE games no doubt would be a CE +

A big one is playfield disintegration around some posts unfortunately.

Check key posts for tech tips and problem post area map. Will be worth running your eye over these problem areas while you are looking into other issues.

I'm guessing sensors and or scoop ?
I'm sure JJP support will help, great to hear that support appears to be improving.

If you get a curly one, here to help, shout out with a DM if JJP support is unable to help.

Ando

PS
Please thank Duff for his awesome input into the game, so cool.

Thank him from the heart of your bottom?

If I was Duff , I would ask Slash for help , apparently he knows people