New to TSPP and home pinball ownership. Just bought a TSPP. I know the game is designed so that you need a really solid shot to make it to the upper play field from the garage. However, my game seems more difficult than the others I've played and more concerning it seems really inconsistent. I noticed the ramp behind the garage is at an angle (slopes up from left to right). See attached image. Would really appreciate it if you all think this is the proper ramp configuration. Pics of your ramps would be awesome for comparison.

I'm also having the issue of the ball getting "stuck" periodically when it's supposed to enter the upper play field. It takes a ball search for the ball to finally make it to the upper play field. Would also appreciate any feedback on what could be causing this issue as well. Cheers, Craig

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Rick, thanks for the information on the VUK switch and how to access that. Does your garage ramp appear to slope upward from left to right like mine does in this pic? The company I bought the pin from says its normal but the performance of the ramp feels very inconsistent so I'm trying to figure out what the ramp slope is like in other TSPP games. Thanks all.

Rick, thank you. Did you take the TV off before taking off the UPF or is that not necessary?

Yes, it does! Thank you for taking the time to get a picture. The ramp in the picture you sent looks much level and conducive to launching the ball to make the UPF vs. the one I posted above.

Thank you. Pretty sure game had all bulbs replaced with LED before I bought it from dealer but I will double check that. Good call. -- Craig

I think it's pretty clear that a gradual "deformation" of the garage ramp (which feeds the upper play field) may occur over time. Obviously getting to the UPF is a critical part of this game and having a ramp configured like the designer intended is going to have a big effect on the game. Been trying to collect a few different pictures of ramps with feedback on how difficult/consistent each game is in regards to getting to upper play field from garage. For what it's worth, here are pictures of 3 different ramps side by side (my ramp is in the middle and appears to have an obvious upward slope from left to right which will effect the performance of the ramp). If anyone else is able to take a pic of their ramp it would be appreciated. My game is still under warranty from the dealer and they are saying the slope is intentional but I'm just not convinced. It plays funky...and I realize the designer intended for it to take a solid shot to clear the ramp. Thanks guys!

TSPP-Ramp (resized).png

Not yet. I've got a tech coming out on Saturday and going to watch him do it first.

the game is still covered under warranty from the company I bought from so they are covering tech time. He is going to fix issue with itchy and scratch middle drop target and also the issue with the ball getting periodically stuck on way up to the upper play field.

Thank you for confirming that you have experienced this and have corrected with reshaping the ramp.

That is exactly the issue I'm having with the middle target. Great call!

Good to know. Looking forward to pretending like I'm an expert when the tech shows up! Thanks again. -- Craig

Hey guys,
Having some issues with the multi-ball couch on my machine. Would appreciate feedback on the following if you can.

1. Often the multi-ball will trigger when there are only 2 balls locked in the couch and the game auto-plunges the third ball. Is this normal behavior that is enabled by some sequence of events prior to locking the second ball in the couch (i.e. a bonus that would "start multiball with only 2 balls locked")

2. Every now and then when starting couch multi-ball, the last ball in the couch gets stuck when dropping through the bottom of the couch. The ball gets stuck because the metal pin is not retracted far enough to let the ball pass completely through. When this occurs, a ball search does not clear the ball so you are stuck and have to end your game. Has anyone ever experienced this and, if so, can you offer advice on the solution.

Greatly appreciate any feedback.

Craig

Jim, Mavantix...thank you both for taking the time to reply. I will update the thread after finding a solution to the couch issue. -- Craig

Quick update on the issue with the middle I&S drop target not lowering during ball ejection. I had to replace the small coil beneath the middle drop target to fix the issue.

Excellent. Very helpful. Turns out my game didn't have the fix applied yet. Have that on order and will also check the plastic nylon part you reference. Cheers, Craig

Nice. Would you mind posting the link where you ordered those blades from? Thanks in advance.

Hey guys. Wanting to put the brightest/craziest LED flasher I can find inside the Duff Beer Can mod since the can greatly reduces the visibility of the light. Any links to what would be best would be appreciated. Thanks! Craig

NM, found them on pinballdecals.com. Thanks!

Thanks Deafcon. I've sent a PM to him.

Perfect. Hadn't even thought of doing an LED strip on the back of it. Great idea and thanks for sharing. -- Craig

Would appreciate some technical input. When the ball is exiting from behind the TV (on the upper play field) and you attempt to use the upper right flipper to hit the ball into the couch it's making a crazy loud buzzing sound. From what I've read it sounds like coils typically do this when something is off. The flipper is working at full strength. Think I may have read somewhere that it could be vibration between the coil and the sleeve. Has anybody ever experienced this issue? Any ideas or direction appreciated. Cheers, Craig

You may be right about that. Are you talking about the coil that operates the pin that locks the ball behind the TV?

Interesting. Do we know exactly what is mechanically causing this sound?

Ha. Good point! Is there no risk of damage to the game?

It did. thanks for that. -- craig

Ok, feel like an idiot but how the heck do you get the nuclear cooling tower plastics off the pop bumpers to change out the lights? Thanks for the help!

I installed the Flipper Fidelity interactive back box lighting today and love it. However, the glare is pretty bad off the glass towards the top of the play field. Not having any luck dimming the lights using the remote control. Any advice from those who have installed this? How can I reduce the glare? I've seen those inserts you can use to remove DMD glare but didn't think that helped with the translite glare.

Thanks!!

Have not installed Invisiglass on TSPP yet but a friend also told me that would help. I was able to turn down the single color white lights on the board and that helped with the glare. It wasn't cheap but this interactive lighting addition was money well spent for this game. If you've got money burning a hole in your pocket check out this addition from Flipper Fidelity.

Are you guys agreeing that PDI or Invisiglass will both help reduce the glare off of the much brighter back box lighting when the Flipper Fidelity Interactive panel is installed?

Agree, I put yellow OpMax on my yellow inserts for TSPP and will be taking them out.

I used a few of these (http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/opmax.htm) colored OpMax LEDs for my inserts and notice they say "GI." Are these bulbs not supposed to be used for inserts? If they aren't, what are the reasons?

Lastly, recommendations on the following (update: assume cost doesn't matter):

1. What is the best warm-white LED for GI?
2. What is the best colored LED for inserts?
3. What is the best warm-white LED for inserts?

Appreciate your input!

Am I right that the DMD glare guards won't help with translite glare at all?

Alright, guys. I can't take this sound anymore and want to fix it..it's stupid loud on my machine. Thanks to your replies, I think the issue is with the flimsy metal bracket that is used to attach coil to TV. Does anybody have a recommendation on the best way to fix this? Any links to parts appreciated. Cheers, Craig

Mav, no. That was the couch. This is the TV on the UPF.

It's definitely the TV coil. I will check the plunger to make sure. Although, if the plunger is upside down, doesn't it prevent the ball from clearing the plunger and feeding to the upper right flipper? Or not necessarily? I'm used to the game making a "humming" sound when the TV coil fires but this is a like deafening (and super annoying) buzz. I'll take a video and post. Is there no way to add a more substantial bracket to attach the coil to the TV?

Screwed around with the TV coil today. Bent the brackets so that the coil was nice and snug. Verified that coil does NOT make sound when firing from the diagnostics. Listen to the God awful sound this thing makes:

Here are pics of the coil. Couldn't figure out how to get the plunger out of the coil or remove the coil from the bracket. Can anybody tell if the plunger is in upside down or not?

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Dumb question. Where do you find the version of code you are running? Tried to look in the menus but couldn't find it. Thanks guys. -- craig

Thanks Rick. Do you have an explanation for why the sound is not made when testing the coil in Diagnostics? In diags it makes the faintest little click when firing the plunger. No buzzing at all.

Thanks. As Lermods pointed out above this only occurs if you disable "quick boot" from the Standard Adjustments menu. Mine was not disabled.

Rick, thanks very much. Going to try your suggestions. -- Craig

Verified that I'm running the freaking original code 2.01 and 2.03. Just ordered the 5.0 ROMs. Really hoping this helps.

Something else to consider here.... the local retail shop I bought this from sent out a new upper play field from a different machine because I was having lots of issues with the couch on my original UPF. Could this have created some issues? Everything else on the new UPF works perfectly. Also worth noting that this issue did not occur on the old UPF running same old code. Thanks guys. Really appreciate the help. - craig

Thank you. Not that it matters but will factory reset clear high scores? Also, yes, I put the screws back in. Thank you for asking though...you never know! -- Craig

Pretty sure it is a different TV. The TV is attached to the UPF unless you remove it correct?

Was able to fix the loud buzzing sound when the ball is exiting from behind the TV on the upper play field. Updating to latest code didn't solve or reduce the intensity of the sound. Also, the plunger was not in upside down (this was the issue for several others with same problem). As many thought, it was all from vibration from the coil inside the metal bracket that is welded to the TV.

Here is what I did to fix it:

- Put a piece of this foam (http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/626-5078-00) between the top of the coil and the metal bracket
- wrapped a zip tie around the entire metal bracket holding the coil and cinched it down as tight as a could to prevent the coil from future bending
- hand tightened all the screws attaching the bracket to the TV and the screws attaching the TV to the UPF.

There is no audible sound occurring now. Thanks for all the input and suggestions and hopefully this helps others with this problem.

Rick, thanks for this suggestion. This worked perfect for me. Cheers, Craig

Here are some other things I would check:

1. Look at the entrance to the left (tree house) ramp and check for cracking or broken pieces
2. I would play the game and make sure you can at least get 25% of your shots through the garage and up to the upper play field. It requires a hard hit shot to jump the ramp and make the upper playfield but some games have ramp damage and other issues that make the shot near impossible. This is also a good time to make sure the VUK gets the ball to the upper playfield correctly.
3. Remove the glass and test the following:
a. Put a ball in the itchy and scratchy hole while the drop targets are UP and make sure they all drop accordingly and the ball is ejected succesfully.
b. Load three balls into the couch and make sure the game releases them in a delayed fashion and not all at once. In other words, ball 1 drops...2 or 3 second pause...ball 2 drops...2 or 3 pause...ball 3 drops.
c. Put a ball behind the TV on the upper play field and make sure the ball exits from behind the TV ok. You may notice a buzzing sound when this occurs which seems pretty common due to the vibration of the metal on metal construction of the coil.

Craig

My machine actually had a coil issue that was preventing the middle drop target from dropping for the eject. Had to replace the small coil below the target. Wasn't immediately obvious when I bought the game because you don't always get a ball into the I&S hole with the middle target up.

Upgraded ROM to 5.0 and now balls loaded into the coach are not draining after the game ends. So if you have 2 balls in the coach at the end of a game, when you start a new game the 2 balls remain in the couch and it only takes 1 ball in the new game to start multiball. Is there a setting that controls this behavior? Thanks for any input! -- Craig

I think this is the setting that changes the couch behavior mentioned above

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Looking to install some TSPP decals on the inside sides of the cabinet. Looks like the instructions say to remove the play field entirely for the installation. Just curious if anyone has installed the decals from pinballdecals.com and if you have recommendations on how to do the installation (i.e. remove playfield or not, wet with soapy water or not, etc.)

Appreciate any feedback.

Craig

Are you sure? Thought the I&S multiball just added another 1 ball to the playfield. So if you have 3 running in CMB, wouldn't I&S just add another 1 ball for a total of 4?

I think my ramp shots became more reliable (as in more "makes") after installing the ramp cliffy.

Quick question...does anybody know where to get the I&S protector from? I don't think this one is done by Cliffy.

I'm running the 5.0 code and there is definitely an intermittent issue where the ball can get "stuck" behind the drop targets. Probably happens once in about 75 to 100 shots and you may be right about it occurring when the ball is shot back into the hole very quickly after an eject. I think the ball search eventually gets the ball out of the hole on my game.

Thank you. Just ordered it.

Have some TSPP side decals to install and want to remove the playfield to install them. Does anybody have any tips, tricks or "gotchas" for removing the playfield on TSPP? Thanks in advance. Craig

I like the middle one as well and would order! Nice work.

Good looking game. Where did you find it?

TSPP was my first pin. Grossly over paid for it and have added tons to it so it's never leaving. Little video of side decals, interactive back box lighting, super premium CT LEDs, color DMD, speaker lights and Duff grills, and several other playfield Mods for those interested.

Ha. Didn't even notice. That's what happens when you have too many kids!

anybody know where you can purchase the pink doughnut shooter rod? Thanks in advance. -- Craig

You guys have a link to the ledOcd you recommend? Thanks!!

Thank you!!

Very cool. I would love to see somebody do this same exact design in a translucent type plastic where it would could be dimly lit. Sparky, can you get on that please.

Yeah, those are pretty cool. Where did you find those?

Emailed Joe. Thanks guys. -- Craig

There is always talk and questions about the differences in playfield color/richness between the early and later run games. I just upgraded my TSPP to a mint condition example and it had the more washed out playfield. I'm glad I got the mint HUO game but definitely miss the colors in my previous game. I like the richer colors even if the red on the car isn't as true to the actual color of the car on the show. Curious to see what you guys think. "Washed out example" is on the right in both pics. The issue is that it's just not the car that is washed out...it's all the colors.

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playfield-comparison-2 (resized).png

I'll check exact dates when I get home but the darker colors are from 2003 and I think the lighter colors are from 2004. I feel like the colors of the lighter example came out even darker/enriched in the picture than they are in real life. There is a big difference in person. Look at the purple below the car.

Nice meeting you and your wife at TPF, BTW. I pretty much agree. Ideal scenario would have been the pink car with the rest of the playfield using the richer colors. It does make a big difference when they are side by side...it's definitely not just the car

My original game is ip for sale here now from another pinsider: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-the-simpsons-pinball-party-21

Yes, the side art is definitely lighter on my run Wirth the lighter playfield

I thought mystery spot was 10 otto shots?

Definitely want to go for Mystery Spot multiball (reverse flippers) which is started by hitting 10 Otto shots (while the Otto target is lit) and then hitting one final Otto shot while the yellow insert arrow is lit. Also, the tree house awards which are granted by hitting the right duff ramp multiple times and then hitting the left ramp with the upper right flipper. Think you also light the extra ball with several duff ramps shots. Then there is the Super Duper Mega Extreme Wizard Mode (or something like that). You can google to find out all the qualifications to start that. It's impossible for a player like myself is all I know.

LOL. I totally know what you mean.

Man, I wouldn't go straight to 5 ball before adjusting your posts and adding rubbers. That is going to make a huge difference.

You can also adjust things like how many right ramp shots it takes to light the extra ball. Change from 10 down to 6 or 8. And go back to 3 ball!

Purchased! Thank you!