Looks better than the original art! Congrats

Loved this post although I didnt fully understand the process.
Awesome

Just joined this club yesterday but had been lurking around in here before.
Have not set up the game yet.

Couple of questions?

Is there any mandatory upgrades that would improve the game?
Anybody here selling armor for the cabinet? The one I got has flipper button wear on one side.

If no armor is sold, can anybody print a color decal the size of a flipper protector with the actual cabinet art so I can slap that on top.
If someone could print a mylar type material with a colour decal that would be awesome.

I have a pin2dmd screen laying around and was wondering if anybody tried the colour files? Wondering how glitxhy they are, often times these colourizations are not done right or completed so that is why I ask.

That is it for now thanks

Thanks.

I noticed there is q screw in the orbit, otto tour.

What is that for? Seems odd

Thanks for this.
My game is a huo that I was lucky to find in the wild, as far i can tell although I cant confirm but due to its condition it appears to be huo.
all the ramps are like new, including the garage.
So I guess it is recommended to clifffy it all up regardless?

My shooter lane is also very much mint, and I am not sure the coil strenght can be regulated in a Sam game (my first sam) but I have added mylar to protect the lane like I do with all my pins.

I will look the mini tv mod you mention thank you.

Funny you say this, i find the original sound very fitting and great overall, is like nostalgia 101. Just need to be clearer that is all.

Are the callouts maintain with pinsound? I find all the callout to be absolutely perfect and would hate to pay $300 to lose this.

Have a few questions regarding dialing it in:

What is the correct setup When manually plunging at full power… example:
Should the ball go through the mini market and hit the bullies?

When I plunge at full power I am hitting the white target in front of the mini market. I presume this is incorrect?

2nd question,
when in attract mode I can hear ecstatic or buzzing through the speakers, and have not had a game with incandescent lights in my game room so I am comparing the noise of this game vs a very quiet modern LED game.
I presume the noise is generated by the incandescenta and the current drawn by the board, am I correct?
I obviously cant notice the noise/buzz when I play but wondering if there is something I need to correct here.

3rd question,
My backbox light is out.
Could someone send me a pointer or two to test all the components involving the light assuming the fluorescent bulb is kaput?
I am good at testing it if someone steers me in the right direction.

And last,
Would I find here or somewhere else, instructions or lessons learned when removing the upper pf? I have found the knobs that keep the pf attached but want to avoid any “accidents”.
I have actually tried taking it off and noticed it does, but just wondering what else other than the knobs needs to be taken off and in what order.
I figured I’d ask here first, as I am sure you guys have done this before.
I want to get back there to asses the situation, clean the orbit and ramps that are the only part of the game that are dirty now and inspect the ramps closely and just give this awesome game more love.

This game is absolutely amazing btw, and this is coming from someone that has played all the modern games. So happy !

Thanks in advance!
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It is very cool!
Does pinsound also offer the original sound but remastered?

Once the thumbscrews are removed, is there stuff under the pf that needs to be disconnected in order to take the pf off?

I would have though there must be a way of permanently removing the upper PF by disconnecting a few molex… no?

I made myself a pin2dmd screen (made a few for other games) for a fraction of yhe cost of an lcd.
I am yet to find the colour files for it, but I have been told it is flawless.

My other post didnt get any answers maybe it was too long. Try again in pieces:

- what is the normal operation of the plunger when:
Plunging full power by hand
Plunging with autoplunger

Does the bal travel through yhe mini market at full power?
My auto plunger is inconsistent, and manual plunge at full power hit the white target in front (big square) of the mini market.

I presume that by design the ball must travel through the mini market? Or not?

I have seen the colour dmd, cant remember where, it looks ok but I generally prefer the dots.

That makes sense, I presume the bullies is the lowest scoring skill shot, followed by the mini market and then comic guy the highest.
I have not been paying attention so I am just guessing really

Thanks for pointing that out, I thought it was Sam, I admit doing zero research on it.
I am building boards for wpc89 systems and I am comfortable around electronics so I will use your clarification as a segway to try to get some help on the following:

when in attract mode I can hear ecstatic or buzzing through the speakers, and have not had a game with incandescent lights in my game room so I am comparing the noise of this game vs a very quiet modern LED game.
I presume the noise is generated by the incandescenta and the current drawn by the board, am I correct?
I obviously cant notice the noise/buzz when I play but wondering if there is something I need to correct here.

Last question,
My backbox light is out.
Could someone send me a pointer or two to test all the components involving the light assuming the fluorescent bulb is kaput?
I am good at testing it if someone steers me in the right direction.

Thanks for sharing that will take a look
Are these games completely quiet when in attract mode and running incandescents?

Thank you!
Will take a look at this and report back.

I read this thread and also the pinwiki page when this is mention.
I like permanent solutions rather than clipping on potentiometers that can come lose and else.

It looks like I have the correct resistors installed (as per pinwiki) so I presume thet noise in this game is normal?

I want to achieve a 100% quiet game. I think I will get there once it is changed over to led and Pin2dmd, Although the dmd is very quiet for now.

Another thing, are there any mods that will help reduce glare on the glass? The backbox makes the game unplayable so I disconnected it.
I wish there was a “dim down” option when Starting a game

Does it completely prevent glare of both dmd and backglass?
And thanks for sharing that observation, will keep in mind.

If it takes the glare off the backglass I will ne happy with that. The glare is so bad I cant see anything lol.

Has anybody done the hum/buzz fix?
Pinwiki mentions a bulletin that is both unavailable on sterns site and pinwiki link is dead

I hear the hummm through the speakers, and sub.
How about yours?

I checked the bulletin #133 where they talk about this and I have the correct resistors installed, is your board currently using 10 and 33k 1/4w resistors at 106 & 110?

Awesome. Had the game for 2 weeks now.
Love it!!

Was having a great game today and my game reset in the middle of a super mega stacked MBs modes, etc.
Never happened before.

I checked 5v at the driver and cpu and cpu is a little lower than the driver.
Driver is doing about 5.058 v and the cpu is doing 5.01.

So technically all is good?

I checked the pinwiki and the reseated j16 and the 5v connector at the sound board (right above j16) no changes.

I played a little more and did not get any resets but was not expecting any really…

The next thing I was going to do is bridge the currently floating pins at the watchdog chip as it is recommended on pinwiki.

Any other ideas as to what could have caused the reset and what else could I check if it happens again.

The connectors are ok and no burns or anything

Crickets…

Ok then, another question:

What is this orbit supposed to look like, I see some tiny holes by the school building art (speed holes?
and there is a short post with a hard plastic sleeve after the turn.

I uderstand this is to slow the down ball?

All good here?

Also, my game does not have mylar around the bumpers, like most games. This game was huo so not sure maybe all simpsons are like these.
Just checking

Please someone answer this thread lol
A961212E-3F23-4212-8DAB-9FA46F56F556 (resized).jpeg

Enjoy, it’s great

Thanks
What are the holes by the school building for? Wondering if its a defect in the of or just factory.

Thanks for that!
I figured different pf versions. I also noticed that they did something similar before the TV loop.

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If someone can confirm please.
Does your TSPP have mylar in the bumpers?

thank you

Ended up making some mylar protectors arouns the bumpers. Looks really good.

I want to make the game play a little faster.
I will polish the playfield today and see if it helps, as I find it a bit lethargic even after waxing.

Granted this is no a game with a lot of flow, but just a little faster would be nice.

Anybody here using a playfield protector? Not interested on the protection but perhaps in the added speed these give.

they suck yes, but they do not slow the game down. If that was your experience with a protector then there was something wrong with it. They typically made a game so fast it is actually harder than a freshly waxed PF.

My pitch is almost 7 degrees. The game is fast, just want the orbits a little faster.

100% the opposite experience with the German protectors here. I dont care for them really, I prefer to play without but a friend and I own the same title and his has a protector in it and it flies. He also has the same protector in BKSOR and what is an already very fast game, is almost unmanageable with the protector.

On that note.

I just discovered that this game has COIL power setting, I did not know it did. So I changed it to STRONG or HARD, and well, it is stronger, lol.
I very much prefer the settings in the new stern where you can actually see the power # associated to each coil but in this GEN you only have SOFT - NORMAL and HARD/STRONG and it changes the settings to all coils.

Interesting.

Anybody else running the STRONG setting for coils?

I always hear the monorail sound, cant recall if I hear any of the characters.

Has anybody experienced total sound lost during a game?
I think something is up with my cpu as the game booted itsself during a game ans another time I lost sound completely.
Turning the game off/on fixed the sound.

Any clues to what to look for?

It only happened once in dozens and dozens of games so not sure how to diagnose this.
If you do come up with ideas, even though these are different systems, let me know.

My first thought is an issue with the sound ROM or the socket.

The other thing is the 5v watchdog chip needs to have pin 3-4 to ground as back then from factory pin 3 was left floating and that makes the system unstable, so might try this eventually.

I was just proud of my 70M so I guess I need to keep practicing, lol

I believe one of my roms is playing the wrong sound, it only happen with 2 callouts.
I believe I hear something like...

THANK YOU MIKEY by Homer, but...

I believe it should say ' That monkey stole my keys', I am not sure, I can't really tell.
There is another callouts that sometimes clips but I can't recall which one as it is very random and it is not a callout that plays all the time like the one by Homer.

Any ideas what to check? I looked into the diagnostics and all the rooms play well there, so I am not sure what to do. I am not super familiar with this platform yet. This is my first whitestar.
I did check Pin Wiki but there is no mention of an issue like this one being documented before, mind you, I did find sounds issues with some Google fu

I figured the actual callout is playable when in attract mode.
Clearly, this is some gibberish to me. No other callouts are remarkably bad as this one, except for maybe one other one by Bart I think that it just isn't finished. I think the music sometimes stops and restarts too.
But the last 2 issues are so minor that you would not notice during gameplay.

lol, now I hear it. It just sounded odd haha.

just curious what the price is
thank you

me too, but 2 days ago, I was not sure what to do? got up to 3 balls I think but at one point I did not have any flashing lights I did not know where to shoot and then it timed out.

Anybody finding the flippers on this gen a bit anemic? I know these have a HARD setting in the options but I did not like how it also affect the ball through and it is ejecting onto the outline with too much power, my lane is protected with mylar but I do not want to beat it up.

That said, the games does play better when the coils are set HARD.

1st couch
2nd Otto
3rd Itchy Scratchy
4rth Upper PF loop

where is the 5th one? is it the VUK?

I’d say is humanly impossible to get to the final wizard mode.

Seems impossible to accomplish, lol

yeah if you reverse your hands that is it. I actually got to this mode the first night I played the game and have not been able to get to it again, lol.

I put mylar on new Sterns but never on these silkscreen cabs. with newer sterns I wax the decal before appliying the mylar and they come off super easily I am not sure I would do this on a silkscreen cab.
If you are getting a unit with no wear just get the translucent protectors that attach at the button, that is what I have. I dont like them because they move but I can't notice them when I play.

for me to put armour in it would have to be something really nice and of quality. Unfortunately my game has art worn in only 1 button, I really do not care much and I say that even though I am crazy at maintaining my pins,

that is nicer than mine for sure and mine is VERYU nice, however I think my cab is a little faded? all the characters, except the front Simpson's family look a little washed out, I am not sure if it is faded or if its is like that naturally because the actual Simpsons look crisp.

How often do you guys maintain the orbit in this game. To prevent ball trails from baking into the clear I actually added mylar all around the orbit, that way I do not have to worry about ball trails there anymore, other than a clean now and then, which is a breeze now that the mylar is there...

Also what is the consensus with adding cliffys to protect all the ramps? My game is pristine really so would like to maintain it like this

it is not a motor, it is a coil that pushed a long rod.
Check turn the PF and move the coil by hand, if you feel resistance, the coil is is either:
-dirty needs cleaning
-needs a new sleeve
or
-the coil might have overheated and swollen therefore restricting the rod from going up and down (I do not think this coil will overhead so easily BUT it is worth checking) you will know this is the case if the rod does not move freely after replacing the sleeve.
-Check all soldering points and connections

And switch test?

I recently just did the GI with frosted bulbs.
I like it but there is some flickering when I flip. That said, I can’t see it when I play so it is not a big deal.
I was going to do the rest of the bulbs but I have decided to trade the game for somethibg else.

I am currently looking for a Tron: Legacy pro so if anybody here is wanting to trade let me know!

Cheers

I just made a batch of Pin2dmd screens for myself and just waiting on a couple of molex connectors to finish up the wire harnesses to power the unit in my Simpsons.

Installation is super easy, the colour files for this title are excellent and the animator did a great job.
I will be posting a video of mine as soon as I have a chance.

I made 10 screens and have 3 available I think, the rest are already sold, if anybody want them please let me know.

Located in Canada! cheers

I will most likely not make this again, these were just made for myself and a few friends and just have some extra. Thanks.

$350 USD plus shipping, it includes your screen, the wire harness that makes for a plug and play experience, the micro SD memory card. You need to pay the animator for the colour files and load them into the card I supply. Very easy. If you are not familiar with this sort of process, I can help.

Success!
Pin2dmd installed. The colourization is great!
Will try to upload a vid to youtube when I am not feeling lazy, lol.

The installation is somewhat difficult, Williams are a lot easier because the video board in on the back box and not behind the screen. So it took some trial and error.

Lots of support from the pin2dmd community I made my own screens, so it is kinda cool for me at least - geek flex - lol

Only thing I need to deal is is light leaking from the translite, just need to create some sort of block/umbrella around the screen. Maybe I will have somebody 3d print something.

Some pics of the install attached, including the power adapter boards that make for a super clean install.

Are the switches working ok in test?

0AEA770F-7466-4A63-8C5A-85173DFE83D8 (resized).jpeg

15A6818F-830E-4CFE-83E1-E730F2F7CB98 (resized).jpeg

36C16470-8A1F-493A-9385-83EE2670D76E (resized).jpeg

80D2C480-953E-4633-9257-FA64E30E8955 (resized).jpeg

Has anybody replace the coil at Otto’s saucer with something stronger? Mine seems to fail at kicking the ball just sometimes.
There is no mechanical issue or binding or anything weong at the coil upon inspection.

I know some have replaces the gerage door coil so I am wondering it the saucer needs more juice too?

I am not sure it my game has the updates garage coil. Dont think I need it but if I am doing the saicer will most likely do the garage as well.

By the way, I will be selling my game soon.
I decided that want something else. mint huo!

I see you recommend adding a spacer to the plunger.
Would it not just shortening the plunger (if it is plastic) by sanding provide the same effect?
Just asking because I do not have a spacer handy that fits there...

Haha, yeah Water hottle for sure… just prefee the cleaner look of a oem mod, lol.

Do you think that shortening the rod by sanding will provide the same effect?

you got me confused now....
so you are making the stroke shorter by adding something to the back of the plunger, would not sanding the tip of the plunger make it short as well?
sorry I am not questioning your fix, I am trying to make sense of it in my head, lol.

I shot a quick video yesterday, sorry, I know this is not the best quality but it will give you a good idea what the colourization looks like.
Please note, that any glitches/artifacts shown in the video shown as I move the camera or as it vibrates while on the game, are generated by the actual camera shutter and the nature of digital video. There are no glitches nor errors in this colourization. This is truly the best pin2dmd animated game I have seen.

The colours are also much vivid than what is shown in the video.

Again, this is a quick cell phone video shot with an old iPhone 7. Yes, it is an old phone but I hate spending $ on phones. lol

Anyway!! here:

No not really, there are no modifications needed other than perhaps removing the spacer washers that hold the plasma dmd in place.
The plasma dmd is thinner so it needs washers to get it up close to the player and the translucent cover of the frame. Depending on your game and the thickness of the translucent protector at the front you might not need to remove the washers.

I also include an adapter board that connects into J116. The board is not my design, I print them and do all the soldering. The board allows you to connect the wire harness on it and get power for the screen without hacking or making any mods.
Super clean install and if you ever want to go back to the original DMD just remove it and bob's your uncle. Done.
No permanent mods of any kind.

A few posts above I posted pictures of what the board looks like, there is not really a good way to photograph the installation but if anybody needs help I am happy to assist.

The only difficult part really was removing the old plasma, and thinking that I would remember the order of things after taking everything off...
I did not take enough photos so I had to some trial and erro lol. These games have the video board attached to the dmd and the bracket is a bit of a contraption with a few screws and posts of different sizes. Just take lots of photos and you are good or if you have another whitestar stern use it as reference, I do not.
Take photos of everything because let's say I did not make a mental note of the orientation of the ribbon cables (for example) not saying that I did butttttt.....lol so I had to try a few times until I got it right.. so do not do what I did, take pics! make a mental note of the ribbon cables (just 2 cables) lol

Color dmd has 2 versions. Led and Lcd. Most people buying color dmd buy lcd.
Colour DMD is more expensive.
Pin2dmd is open source.
Pin2dmd is just LED thet mimic the same dots on the plasma.
Colour dmd can be configured with dots too.

I prefer some games with lcd and some with led, for the most part, games 15+ old I just prefer with LED.

It is just personal taste?
Modern Sterns with animated LED starting, 2011 and forward are probably just better with color dmd lcd. For most other games i cluding most bally/williams, pin2dmd is great.
Not all games have been colorized for pin2dmd whereas colour dmd has probably the most games done.

Maybe I am missing some points, but thet covers some.

Do not practice soldering in your game. It really isnt hard to learn how to solder, just dont learn on the game.
Get some wire scraps and old electronics, and solder desolder.
Get a good iron. A good iron is $60-$100.

Watch some videos on read the soldering tutorial here on pinside.

It is very satisfying to fix your game, and more so when it is done well.

Thank you! That is very kind.
it was a fluke really how I have stumbled into making these but the desire of learning for myself and adding them to the dmd games I have owned was my main motivator.

It turns out helping other owners is something I have been enjoying very much as well and I try to go above and beyond to make sure you are happy.

If anybody here is interested please just send me a msg.

Thank you!

Yup that sums it up well.
That said GB just have been colorized for pin2dmd by the same person that did IJ, AF and others. Great author!
NetzZwerg is the man! And his work is awesome.
(He did not make simpsons just to clarify)

5 family members to qualify.
You also need to complete the rest if the game before youbget there.

pretty awesome. I enjoyed the game for the few months I had it, it was fun learning the rules but found it too clunky for my taste and sold it. I really enjoyed the level of work and attention to detail the code had and the dmd animations were absolutely perfect.

So much activity in this club. It was pretty quiet when I was a member, lol...

Ok...
Just a quick hello, 
I will be making more Pin2DMD if there is enough demand.
The list of colorized games (not all games are colorized is here)
https://vpuniverse.com/forums/topic/5391-complete-pin2dmd-colour-file-list-for-virtual-real-pins/

If you game is not on the list, it is most likely not colorized. This means nobody has made colour files for Pin2DMD.

Here are a couple of vids of my own games, I do have other games but I do not keep a lot of DMD games around often

Simpsons:

Indiana Jones:

And I just finished installing one in LW3 but since I am fixing other parts of the game I do not have a video of it yet, but I did test it and the screen works really well. Best part is that some colour files are free.

For pricing contact me by private message as I am not sure whether this is allowed on here.
I have made several dozens of these screens in the last few months, a lot of these go to myself, games I partially restored or to other collectors who have bought off me on here. If you did and you are reading, please say hello!

Anyway, enough infomercial now. Thanks