Would be cool if you could tie the fan into the reactor percentage. Fan starts out at very slow RPM and then spins faster as the reactor gauge increases

TheNoTrashCougar What if you used the one unused led to drive an RGB strip that would go down in the trough. Bring some color/GI down there below the flippers.

Hi guys, i unboxed my TNA 2 weeks ago, so it's time to have a little debrief.
So first.. i love this game. Unconditionnaly. I nerver had a pinball with such a strong spirit, definitely fun-oriented and deeply immersive.
You have to play wisely if you want to achieve high scores, and I love it.
The design is awesome, really, event the coating of the legs is beautiful!
The lighshow is the best i ever seen, and the music as well.
I love the cool spirit of Spooky, also, like the small qualitycheck stickers, the "ugly blue box", etc... they are like none other pinball constructors.

Now... for the cons part.
when i unboxed it, i discovered that 2 leg protectors were misaligned. I had to unscrew them and fix them a bit upper, which was quite uneasez because of the existing screwholes.
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I had the famous "post problem", but i ordered the rubber washers, so no big deal.
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The shaker is very heavy, and everything rumbles in here!
so... i use some gum tape dedicated to door isolation. I put some behind the back panel, beneath the back panel, between the back panel and the translite, and in the back gutter wich holds the glass (sorry for my english....)
20200516_175116 (resized).jpg
Even though, i find it very loud (even set to Low) and i wish it was programmed differently.
For example, when the reactor is overheated, it shakes continuously. I'd rather like it shakes by phase, like bbBbbrrrrr......bbBbbrrrrr.... bbBbbrrrrrr...., like an alarm, you see?
Speaking of noises...
the fan IS loud. but funnily, mine is exactly tuned to the main theme music, so it doesn't disturb that much. Anyway i plan to change it soon

aaaaaaand finally...
i really dislike the rattling of the beamer. What is the best tip to get rid of it, please?

Last annoyance: one of the GI bulb passed away after only 10 days. Now it only blinks red and white. i plan to order a few from pinballlife, but if someone in Europe got one to sell, it would be nice, as the sipping fees are really expensive now.

Thanx guys, it's a pleasure reading your posts here.

The RGB outputs cannot power an LED strip. They are current limited to 23ma at max 3.3vdc on each channel. Not enough juice.

Here’s the reactor coolant pump and fan sketch. Ridiculous? Jump to conclusions mat?

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Scott, should I update to 1.4 or wait for the next code?

Dude, awesome idea!

Thanks, but when i get it together it may not be very impressive. Worth a try.

Use gin instead of water, nothing will grow in it, and it glows under UV light.

Roger that, Imma pick up some Bombay and mull it over with some tonic

One like this I was looking at ... small enough to fit, big enough to be clear and present. More of visible fan blade, less of hub and bulky looking housing.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32690964466.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.2cd63ec9vBykLg&algo_pvid=f98b87e5-7775-413f-81ca-49ad4d582401&algo_expid=f98b87e5-7775-413f-81ca-49ad4d582401-27&btsid=0be3764315902967020132375ec569&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

60mm, 12v. Run at lower voltage and PWM could give cool idle speed effect. Slow enough that blades are still individually visible. Paint one blade white or something, highlighting the core mode with visibly noticable physical activity. 4 frame legs to the bottom side. 1 RGB beneath for lighting and signaling fan run. Thought about a ball getting stuck on top of fan, then realised this fan is high enough that the ball will not fit between the cowl and the glass, so it can be completely open and visible. Originally I wondered about RGB shining down at the fan from above, allowing effects? (combining a ball guard)... but brackets get ugly, and would make optocoulpler more challenging to set up as well. Clear and clean would be nicest perhaps. RGB beneath, mounted on playfield.

I can see there will need to be a "fan controller board", to signal the fan to run based on the "Core Fan RGB LED", via some optical sensor. Also to give the fan the levels of power it requires to run at a desirable Lower than normal speed, or variety of speeds even. Can the beacon running be a second signal for the fan board, so that it goes out of control and into full normal speed mode! ... a bluurrr! . Could be pretty well integrated without whole heaps of trouble.

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6cm 12v fan (resized).jpg

Maybe a trim from the outsides, square bits off .... sky's the limit for imagination. Could definately look extremely cool and give an awesome effect if done well. Once reactor starts the fan starts and slowly chugs over to the tunes. Then maxed out for Destroy and the Beacons going and that fan is now spinning off its Head!!

..

Flowing cooling fluid is a next level idea! ... would certainly look cool with the glitter in clear tubes. I imagine you might be wanting to use a Peristaltic Pump for several reasons. With some bypass since there is glitter in there and you don't want to blow hoses either.

https://www.amazon.com/Peristaltic-Miniature-Aquarium-Analytical-ID%C3%979-6mm/dp/B07HB2NM74

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Create a closed loop around your path, with a leg off from a high point that has some air in it. This can also allow filling draining with addition of a service valve and some tees, hidden or not. A Type of pump with some bypass will also help prevent blockage from blowing hoses off inside your pinny. Has to be well sealed and virtually maintenance free. Not hinder maintenance of other aspects. Impellor pump maybe, but they can inherently leak. If the sealed unit can be installed/removed from the machine without opening the fluid circuit would be the best. Dont want fluids getting around the pinny. Lots of stuff to consider. Can be signalled to run together with the fan, however that may come about.

I think probably just the fan is plenty far enough though, for my machine at least Lol

Oh yeah, I forgot it's the tonic that glows, not the gin.

Hello everyone, new to the club and loving my TNA. One of the few pins I truly miss when away for a stretch.

Question- is there an updated manual with playfield part #s populated?

The timely issue is to replace broken star post and wondering if 03-8319-13 is correct part.
Thanks!

Here's a manual KingPinGames started, but it looks like playfield parts are not there yet:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ricu8s-UklPXgGYDM3aA3M66q_yhNqt4/view?fbclid=IwAR2Xn1JJWGndeqRHPfpanBmgZiMS57W0xrHJLBIMdbmk_hIzwIN0srbOMiE

The game uses standard star posts, so the one you posted is correct.

If you have a son... and that son almost never plays pinball... and he asks to play pinball with you out of the blue... drop whatever you're doing and play with him.

I felt kinda bad since he ended up sitting and watching a lot, but he did join in on the celebration.

First time starting reactor 7, and man, it's getting tough to keep heating that thing up at that point.

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That's great! You guys ever play co-op? I find it makes for even more spirited 'shared celebration'

Yeah, we usually do play co-op, but he has recently decided he wants to improve his own scores.

I never put on my original drop target stickers so with a little bit of time and a knife here we are. Hopefully I'll get these clear drops installed tonight or tomorrow night!

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It can get a little fidly, but fyi I changed the drops without removing the mechs. Just removing the two circlips. They can fit out through the bottom side of playfield. Getting the new drops, washers, spring and circlips back in place can take a bit of fingenangling. Lol

I always thought they were called e clips, but either way I hate them. I removed the three screws to remove the mech, which made it easier for me to swap out the targets. It also gave me room to install the new LED boards.

For the two front drops, I reused the hex screw and metal spacer for the nearby insert LED (one screw, two LED boards).

This is a great mod! Well worth the trouble.

Yeah they all suck testes... e-clips, c-clips, eyelet type ... they're all pains Lol. Circlip where I'm from encompases all of these general types, but yes these on the drops are specifically "e-clip" type circlips. Much less of a pita than "c-clip" type circ(ular)lips. A few reasons I left the mechs in place to fit the LED's etc. One of them was to ensure fit and clearance in placing the new screw hole in the right place, first go.

This lit drop mod really is cool! ... Love it!

Do you have pictures of the underside?

Is this being sold as a kit at PBL, or are you guys piecing it together?

They are piecing it together right now from my post above, but it is basically the same thing as a kit would be from PBL, just without instructions.

Keep in mind that this is not an easy install, kit or not.

--Scott

Fitting for the game... because the game isn’t easy either!

I am starting to think nothing I am involved in is easy... haha!

Code updates are pretty easy on my end if it makes you feel any better.

Please keep it that way! (At least for games ;/)

When playing with someone of lesser skill, consider giving them 3 players to play and yourself 1. When I play with my wife she gets players 1-3 and I get player 4 to help even playtime.

Are talking 3 individual players or can you have mismatched teams in vs mode?

3 on 1... wouldn't that be fun.

Most places charge for that kind of fun

I was putting in the new ball save and noticed the third wire loose from the left flipper. Flipper is working fine. Anyone know what that wire does? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?

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Just got the clear drops and lights installed. What an awesome addition!

They are difficult to capture in a photo. The pulsing target to lock the ball’s are awesome!!

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That's the hold coil return connection. I'm actually not even sure if TNA uses the hold coil at all, but I wouldn't want that wire just flopping around. I would fix it.

It looks like you forgot to peal off the paper on the black spacer for your Shoot Again timer.

Thanks - I’ll eventually fix it - just was wondering what it was for and why the coil was still working.

Wow I’m an idiot. Easy fix tho - thanks!

Tonight I'm going to stream my drop target replacement/install. Feel free to come watch and tell me how I'm doing it wrong. I'd love if you gave me a follow at https://www.twitch.tv/justanotherpinball so you don't miss all the fun.

I'll probably start after 10PM EST. THANKS!

How'd it go?

3 individual players. Works on every machine. I wish we had 3 on 1 co-op

Hey TheNoTrashCougar is there any reason we can't have 2 on 1 co-op?

At the moment you hold start button again after starting co-op, to begin team co-op. Adding a third player and not a fourth leaves you in basic co-op with 3 players all on the same team.

How hard is it to make it so that adding the third player in Team Vs co-op leaves you with p1 and p3 versus just p2? (in a "handicapped team co-op").

Just seems like 2 on 1 may be easier to impliment than 3 on 1, but either way we'd love some handicap co-op action now and then here too

To be honest, it wasn't easy. There are a ton of wires so not a lot of room to work in. I found it easiest to remove the 3 screws from each drop so that you could pull them away from the playfield which made it easier to get to the plastic drop targets themselves. Before you remove the drops though the LEDs that are for the drop inserts are in the way so you have to move them. I did follow what floyd1977 suggested which was add the new LEDs to the same standoff as the insert LEDs. This made it very easy for the front two drops leaving only the back drop for you to add a new hole. Finding the best positioning for the last one was also a challenge due to location and lack of extra wire to move it around. It took me a few tries to mount it in a similar manner as the other two. Lastly you have to play the guessing game on with group of wires is for which drop. This just takes some trial and error. Overall it look me about 1.5 hours to fully install it.

With that all said IT LOOKS INCREDIBLE! I'm so happy I spent the time to install it as it adds even more color to an already amazing game. I will try to post a video later.

Here is a link to my stream of me doing the upgrade. Decent video showing my troubleshooting but feel free to skip towards the end to see the light show in action. Feel free to give me a follow!

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/636113180

Thanks for sharing the stream and going through all that.

Nice job with cutting out the drop target decals as well. They look cool that way.

Glad to see that you're pleased with it.

Great work on the video! ... it will be of great help to any wanting to do the upgrade!

Point to note that makes things much less trial and error, LED tests

So that is, I first plugged the ribon into the LED board, and put the playfield down onto legs before routing the cable. Plugged 4 (3 is all you need though really) RGB LEDs into the ribon and turned the game on. One stayed white, the others were active with colour. Count out the White one. Then entered Tests, Single LED Test, and cycled All The Way Down through hundreds of test lines to the bottom (Scott can we make this cycle backward from top to get to the bottom? Lol or hold button down, currently have to spam it!), where you will find Drop 1-3 RGB tests. 1 is closest to flippers, 3 is at the scoop. Temporarily marked the three with a bit of masking tape.

I totally agree, for me this is a must have mod for TNA

Also now I only just really noticed something about these pink protectors. I thought I had the green out on drop 2 and 3 LEDs. In LED test they seemed to be cycling missing the green, and the white was very pinkish purple. I took the glass off to investigate, thinking I have two compromised LED boards. As I lifted the playfield out I realised what was going on. The pink protectors were almost totally suppressing the green light. Looking up the lock lane beneath the protector Drop 2 and 3 are lighting up bright with green and white. I think I will soon give the green protectors a go.

I think the drops look great with clear protectors. I wonder about a clear slot running up the middle of the lock lane, in the protector so that a portion stays clear?

I was thinking the same thing. You will have the same issue with the green protectors. Blue essentially disappears under the green ones.

With the locks/RGB Drops the green lightshow seems to be more important than the blue. It seems we would lose less with the green protectors.

I'll probably try out the green ones now, and the pink I think are destined to have windows at least, to let the green drop light out!

I removed the bottom drop target from the playfield first to replace with clear. After removing the middle, I was able to replace that one and the top one with it still attached to the playfield. I used all existing holes and screws to mount the new LEDS. The top 2 with the existing standoffs work really well. For the bottom, I used the screw from the insert led that was nearby. It was the most difficult to get to sit right. It kept wanting to press into the drop target hole. A longer screw with standoff would be ideal to use instead. I hate c-clips! I have never been able to remove without something going flying, especially when they are spring loaded. Fortunately, the large speaker magnet right below catches most things that fly down. Great mod. Now there is one spare LED control to find a use for!