For those that fit the world of Springfield Moe’s tavern in their game, what did you cut off or out to make it fit?

For mine, I cut everything off just below the bar and secured it to the back of the playfield with Velcro, so it's easily reversible.

I didn't know until recently the wood block on the right side wasn't needed, someday I'll remove it and add the Love Tester that came with the set.

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Hey guys I have a question. My game rom is 4.0 I was going to upgrade to 5.0. Do I need new sound chips as well

The Sound chip U7 was upgraded from v1.00 to 1.01 (around Jan 2003) so you probably have the latest sound chip.
The four voice chips were not upgraded.

Check the label on the sound chip -
v1.00 labeled $A734
v1.01 labeled $A7EE 01/17/03

Changes from sound ROM v1.00
----------------------------
- Rebalanced voice calls vs. bg music.

Do you need to upgrade it? I'm guessing you don't but it only costs $10, so I would.

You only need to change the display rom with the game rom.

Another question what size nut driver do i need for this game? Trying to move the posts. Only driver fitting so far is a 3/8 but i dont have enough gripping power to loosen the nut. Just keeps spinning

I know the question of how to remove the black blocks on the side gets asked a lot so Heres a short easy guide on how to do it. I honestly believe if people knew how easy it was to remove more games would have mirrors and less art blades.

I would recommend a wedge, a hammer and a flathead screwdriver. I used a plastic wedge on mines.

So there are two blocks one large on the right and 1 small on the left. Both block mirrors if you want to attach. Place the wedge under a corner of the block and gently start tapping with the hammer. The wedge should be getting deeper in and you should start the block pushing outward. It should look like thisIMG_3492 (resized).JPG

Keep tapping the wedge underneath till you see the block splitting off enough from the cabinet. Take the screwdriver and wedge out the block it should come out pretty easy at this point. It should look this when doneIMG_3490 (resized).JPGIMG_3491 (resized).JPG

Do this for both sides and you will be able to insert mirrors if you want.IMG_3493 (resized).JPG

1/4 and 5/16 will do most things in a pinball machine -- but you should have a set of all sizes because I find myself grabbing other sizes for various items. Get magnetic ones and thank yourself later as dropping parts into the machine is a common issue.

Keep in mind if it keeps spinning you may need to look at what it is screwed into (sometimes another nut or part below that needs to be held tight).

Any idea what this cable tie is doing on top of this plastic?

IMG_5815 (resized).jpg

I believe it’s there to keep a ball being trapped.

Third time was the charm I guess. I think I just had a bad switch. I had tested everything in the row and all was good, so went ahead and changed the switch again. Zero issues for a week now.

I'm having an issue that comes up occasionally, every 50 balls or so, when the ball is ejected it bounces back into the trough. A ball search ensues after a time and the ball is never found. It ruins the game as I have to open coin door, eject TWO balls.
is there an opto that should detect that condition that I may need to replace?
I put cliffy protector on the eject hole since the shooter lane was a bit divoted but that didn't fix the issue.

I haven't looked at the trough lately, but is it possible that when the ball gets kicked back into the trough, it rides on top of the other balls and doesn't push them back up the trough to activate the switches? ...so I guess look at where the ball is in the trough when this happens...

that's exactly right. one ball on top of another. when i go into diag mode to clear trough, it only shows 4 balls.

There are two optos in the trough to detect exactly this problem. Are they both working? I think there are 4 mechanical switches and 2 optos. The "next" ball to come out has an opto, and there's an opto right above it that detects the stack.

IIRC I had problems with this when I got my game and re-flowing the solder on the connector pins for the trough opto boards seems to have fixed it.

ahhh...looking again at the diag menu clearing the trough, i see little one-pixel dots that may represent the optos. there is one above the far right ball. It would be good if there was a way to test the optos thru the diag menu. is there any way to test if one is not working? I'll check the solder connections on the opto board. thanks!

Check the manual, the switch matrix is on page 4. Switch 14 is the trough VUK opto and Switch 15 is the stacking opto (your suspect).

Sure, put it in switch test (under the diagnostics menu IIRC).

There are two switch tests. Williams calls them edge test and level test, which makes sense if you've ever taken an EE course. I think Stern calls them "switch" and "active switch". One monitors for switches that are currently closed; the other (active) monitors for switches that just_ closed.

But probably I'd pull the trough out inspect the boards for cracked solder. It's even better if it's failing 100% of the time, because then it's probably just a burned out opto, or a completely open connection on the connector.

Yeah removed mine and added my own homers head set up

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I appreciate all the help. I recreated the symptom by ejecting a ball and dropping it back into the trough. Going into diags and looking at the switch map, it's clear that the VUK opto #15 is not finding the stacked ball. the others register OK.
I guess I need to check that particular opto and possibly replace it.
cheers!

I have only had my machine a few days and have noticed that often times only one or two balls drop from the couch when I get couch MB. The bracket seems to be pointed slightly inward towards the coil piston. Should I try and bend this metal piece outward?

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Thanks! I just made it through the entire thread (took me a few days) and saw at least 2 people ask the same question and got the same answer!

I 3D printed a Kwik E Mart sign for my machine and am very happy with how it turned out. If there is any interest I would be happy to make and sell a few to the members of this thread. Let me know if you like it!

IMG_5865 (resized).jpg

images (resized).jpg

I like it, and would for sure be interested in one of those signs

I would be interested

I don't think so. See if you can figure out how the balls are getting stuck first. For Couch MB, the game will dump the balls slowly, but it's not going to let anything hang up in the lock at that time. So I'd wager that they're hanging up somewhere.

Either there's a hangup, or there's a switch problem.

(I guess it's possible that it's pinching there, but if *some* of the balls are coming out of the couch, that wouldn't be my first guess.)

I'd also take the couch apart. There's a "fix" for a weak part on the couch (535-9307-00) that may be relevant. I had my game for a few years and discovered, when I pulled the mini-playfield to clean it, it had been broken (and apparently working) the whole time. This might be your issue -- in this case, the solenoid might be having trouble pulling in because the coil stop has fallen off.

+1 on this. Mine actually had the couch weld fix, but the bracket would rotate and not keep the coil in place. I ended up MacGuyvering a solution using zip ties to pull it into a nearby post. Haven had any issues in the year since.

Agreed. Mine had the fix as well but the weld point was still broken and it caused all the balls to dump out at once (or some other issue I forget now) until I did something with it to make it more "solid". I since got my hands on a new part but haven't installed it yet because the game is working fine now.

To the person posting the issue I'd recommend you put balls in that couch and just watch what it does and what is getting caught. Visually you can hopefully see something. Use test mode and fire the solenoid (have a friend or family member help) and just keep testing/watching to see what catches it.

Yep, this is the right thing to do. When troubleshooting something like this, if you can't get the game to fire the coil, move the parts the same way that the game does, which is a lot more limited -- just linear, and without any wiggle. A little bit of binding here or there is easy to overcome by hand, but difficult for a solenoid.

I’d buy one

I would definitely be interested in buying one.

Thanks everyone for the feedback on my couch. I will play around with it tonight!

Thanks for the feedback on the QUIK-E-MART sign. I have them for sale on Pinside marketplace and Etsy now for $29. I already sold 5 today! It is a very good feeling to make something that people like and want to buy.

I just removed the batteries from my machine and installed an NVRAM module but don't recall seeing this message before. Is this normal or an indication of something being wrong?

IMG_5876 (resized).jpg

Congrats on selling the signs!

That’s a standard boot message. Side note: you’ll want to get the v5.0 ROMS. Those are sold here on Pinside and elsewhere on the internet. I forget what was added from v4 to v5, but might as well be on the latest code, right

Thats a boot message you see by DEFAULT unless you turn fast boot (or quick boot) on in your settings. You are seeing it because the NVRAM reset that setting on you.

Nice job upgrading to NVRAM. One more game saved from batteries.

cjchand and brainmegaphone - Thanks for the reply. I think the game was on fast boot before the upgrade. The 5.0 ROMS are on order and will be here on Tuesday. I also picked up a color DMD LCD today which I will need the 5.0 ROMs for. I am looking forward to having the upgraded display up and running!

Has anyone had trouble with an opto in the ball trough? I pulled the mini circuit board and visual inspection reveals no solder cracks or other telltale problem. the opto that detects ball stacking is not working. I'm guessing that one of the optos just failed. before I order a replacement board (hoping I can find one), is there anything else I should check?

Also, if working, what does the opto cause to happen? Say, if I start a game and the ejected ball bounces back into the trough...how does it remedy the stacked ball? I don't see how it can only eject a single ball if they are stacked. Wouldn't ejecting 2 balls create a multiball where there shouldn't be one?

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Those boards are notorious for failing and are very cheap to replace. The optos sense and help track the balls, but I’m not entirely sure on the logic. You can see there are two optos on each board, one lower and one upper.

I see in the manual there are 2 Opto boards, one transmitter the other receiver. Is there a way to diagnose which board is bad? If not,
I may have to just order both of them.

Not really, one emits light, one receives light. You can pass a piece of paper to break the beam to confirm which are bad, but often it’s intermittent because of vibration. You can try reflowing solder on the boards, but I’ve never had success with that as it’s likely the emitter itself failing. It’s just better to replace in this case, it’s literally like $8 for a board, at least it was, check Marco.

Has anyone replaced the GI relay with a solid state one? Though not loud, I find the clicking of the mechanical relay a little annoying during attract mode. Any recommended replacement information would be greatly appreciated.

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Top header pin looks cracked (left side, thin shadow on the left side of the pin). Could just be that. Resolder first. The two-tone finish of the other two pads on that connector looks weird. I'd clean it off and replace it if possible.

(Or replace the boards, that works too.)

Most of the time it is the lighter-colored emitter LEDs that create the infra-red light beam. Rarely is it the darker-colored receiver LEDs. When the light path between the two is broken it is registered as a switch close. Always a good idea to have some transmitter LEDs in the parts bin:

https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-led-transmitter-emitter-for-opto-assemblies.html

I've never used it to test emitters on pinball machines but most phones lack an IR filter on the front facing camera, meaning you can see the IR beam with your phone. Might be an easy way to diagnose the emitter. Use a remote control pointed at your camera to test if it has an IR filter first.

use the camera test and if needed you can order the component from GPE he sells both the ir led and ir transistor for way less than replacing the board...

Just picked up my first TSPP. It has original ROMs. Where do I get the latest set?

Fun game. So much to learn.

Marco sells them.

Thanks ... I saw them at Marco, but was unsure what I needed. They list various ROMs. Also, they’re $15 each. Is there a cheaper option and/or just a bundled set?

I get my roms from Dave Astill, Astill Entertainment. He’s in Canada’s but they are reasonably priced and he ships fast.

https://mattsbasementarcade.com/product/the-simpsons-pinball-party-stern-rom-upgrade-chip-set/

Hello everyone !!

I present you here my Pinsound Mix for the Simpsons Pinball Party TSPP Stern that I will post at the end of December 2020. More than a year of work, with more than 10 seasons studied and viewed, for a pinball machine that deserved it! I still have a few settings to make before uploading.

The video link is in order to make you discover the rendering, without revealing everything.

- there are many alternate voices in the missions already shown here.
- I don't show: disaster, monorail, Krusty's nightmare, APU gift, Captain Grant
- No triggering of children Cletus, Krusty, neither "good bonus" nor "bad bonus" (around twenty of alternate voices for each)
- Lots of surprises, humor ...
- Alternatives yet to be discovered: 10 Itchy and Scratcy starts, 3 couch multiball starting variants, 26 Moe ramps voices, 28 end game musics, etc, etc ...
Over a year of research and source file work. But it's a license that was worth it !!

I wish you a good viewing.
Released at the end of December 2020, and with the shaker functionality.

Just for information, it will also be in French voice (video link too).

For anecdote, and those who have a Batman Data East, it's me who made the OST mix
Good flip everyone !!

In Original OST voices :

In French OST voices :