I’m sure someone’s run into this before, but my upper left flipper is stuck open. Bottom left works as it should but the upper one is stuck. It goes back down when the ball drains but as soon as you launch a new one it automatically flips up and stays there. Any thoughts?!

Based on this it's an electrical (not mechanical) issue. Check the EOS switch on the flipper mech isn't stuck closed

Quick question as I’m chasing down a few issues with my new TZ: the manual shows J124 is being used on the driver board. There is nothing hooked up to my J124 pins nor is there anything corresponding to that connector in my back box. Is this an error in the manual or is there something hiding in my back box somewhere??

Can you double-check J124 on the PowerDriverBoard as for some reason people like to plug it into J132 to see if that's where its at. Do this by checking with the manual matching the colors/wires on the plug as I had this same issue with a Demolition Man.

Checked J132, it’s empty as it is supposed to be.

Found it!! It was plugged into J131. Kudos to Mike, led me down the right path!

Glad you found the problem!

Are the flippers strong? The opto flipper buttons can get dusty and make the optos noisy and cause week flippers, so I wonder if it can affect the upper PF magnets the same way. Also confirm the magnet connectors look clean and are connected tightly. Unplugging and reconnecting the connecters removes some tarnish for a better connection.

I tried that and it did seem to make it better. Not sure if it was the connectors or the opto but something improved it. Thanks.

I wanted new plungers as part of the rebuild of my pop bumpers.
Shopped around and bay area amusements was the cheapest so i ordered them.
I ordered a couple of the williams manila envelopes for the manuals and paperwork because only bay area sells those.
I got the envelopes but the 3 plungers have struck out on there own, somewhere between Nevada and Boston.
The post office put tape on the box so they knew something happened.

My question is: what do you suppose the post office does with all that treasure that they have no idea what it goes to?

LOL

What do you do with all the extra promo keychain plastics?

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I like that.

Like it alot too

Just some hot glue. Can peel them off easily to work on pop bumper, but solid enough not to fly off.

Speaker cutouts were just a way to make promotional plastics to give away. They had to cut out the hole for the speakers anyways so instead of the garbage you have drink coasters.

Have seen people use stand offs and place them in front of the speaker itself.

Out of curiosity, which would you all favor?

Full production TZ mostly stock couple mods, great playfield, cabinet SLIGHTLY faded. Basically really solid throughout.

—OR—

Early game with factory 3rd magnet, green lock light, clock etc early mini PF. Mini PF is perfect but main PF has a small crack from the right flipper going almost all the way up to the player piano. Not horribly noticeable and shouldn’t impact ball bath. Cabinet is almost perfect excluding a hasp hole.

I'd go the early version with the 3 magnets, just because it's different to the bulk TZ's out there and the staging of the balls for multiball is pretty cool - bit more of a collectors item

What’s different with the staging? I’ve played a 3 magnet game years ago but I was new to playing TZ at the time so may not have taken notice. (I’m well versed in the regular TZ format as I’m on my second regular TZ)

EDIT; ok I see you just added a video haha

This is the original magnet toss, but I'm not sure if you need to run an early ROM version or if it's available with the later versions as long as you have the 3 magnets - maybe Coyote or someone with a 3 magnet machine can chime in

I recall seeing the setting for 3rd magnet on the newer home roms in my current and previous production run TZ so that must do something. I’ll have to look at the software revisions as I assume I’d be sacrificing some things if I ran early software and who knows what features we’d see in early software. I recall an article talking about the magnet not even being utilized in some of the first games and they just had to put the magnet post in there to plug a hole. I noticed mine below the kick out hole has significantly more wear than the “3rd” magnet.

I’d assume this could be the case for either the reason above, or the ball stops during the spiral mode there more often, plus the game does a powerball check (when necessary) after multiball too which could cause more use.

Thanks for the info!

If the crack in the prototype is so deep that the ball can take a bath in it I would say get the stock TZ

As a serious answer; get the prototype.

Wanted to share a project recently completed. Using an 8x32 LED matrix array of WS2812 LEDs which are driven by an Arduino Nano, I backlit the doorway area behind Rod Serling with an animated pattern found in the Arduino IDE FASTLed Library. The power consumption of 256 LEDs is quite high, so I needed to install a stand-alone 15A power supply (5vdc) under the playfield to power the array.

The great part of the mod is that the lighting effect can be tweaked on the laptop and uploaded to the Arduino in a matter of seconds to change the effect. Eventually, I'd like to make it reactive with the different door modes but this will take some time to sort out. The LED panel is secured to the backbox panel with velcro so it can be adjusted.

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Absolutely great effect! It looks like the light source is perfectly behind Rod. Well done.

Manny65 thanks for that video!
I've read about the 3rd magnet but never saw it in action.
That's a great effect!!
But... I can see that many people wouldn't notice and/or appreciate it. So perhaps I can understand why it was cut from production.

Pretty cool. I recommend using a diffuser over the leds, though.

I think it looks ok with led spots, kind of like stars shining.

Would be nice to see with diffuser just to compare but I think it looks good without

That's the *full* (and prototype-only) magnet toss. While v9.4H won't do the 'magnet toss' like that, it WILL stage the magnets from the auto-launcher on multiball start, assuming requirements are met. (Requirements being: 1. The game knows the powerball is in the gumball machine. 2. Multiball is stated with only 0 or 1 ball in the lock. And, 3. Your game has 3 magnets. Heh.)

A little cringe worthy?

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You have an early sample game, and yes, that would be why.

While they installed the magnet/magnet post into the playfield, depending on when your game was made, the wiring for the optos may have been left out. You can check by going into Switch Test. If, with all balls in trough, look at switches 71, 82, and 86. If those are not full squares like #84 is (or any other opto), then you are either missing the optos themselves, OR, they were just never wired in.

And yes - when the game boots up, it checks switch #82, which is the 'Upper Right Magnet' (labeled 'Unused'). If it shows closed on bootup, it will deactivate all effects that use the 3rd magnet.

Well at least you know the PF under the mylar is in good condition and if you're not a fan you can always remove it. Mine came off quite easily when I got my PF restored

I don't believe that's mylar that you are seeing, that's a crack in the upper layer of wood. Look at it go around the door inserts....

Yep didn't pick that up looking at it on my phone ... hmmm that's a bit more of an issue

Oh why oh why did you have to post that video! That is so cool I need that immediately. And my current playfield is very good. I hate this hobby!

Well, dammit... I guess my TZ doesn't want me to leave this club! I was considering a trade, and as I always do I went downstairs to play a game and contemplate if I really wanted to part with it. The game has been flawless since I replaced the clock boards with the Casper boards about 6 months ago.
Bing...bing...bing clock is broken. What?! On startup,.the clock moves in both directions and ends at noon, so I know both motor directions are working. In test mode, the slow reverse and fast reverse work and all optos are triggered properly. Both fwd modes do not work in test mode. I reseated connectors, and while in test mode wiggled and pushed on the motor board hoping it was a cold solder joint or something. Turned it off and on and fast forward mode worked but then as I cycled thru the test modes, back to only the two reverse modes working. Ugh.

** After reading several similar threads, it seems like the odds are the problem is on the motor control board. Due to my lack of ability with testing board components, I paid the rookie tax and ordered a replacement homepin board from pinball life. I will let ya know if it does the trick

D'oh!

Having sold 2 machines and with a plan to give my Buckaroo to my daughter, I was thinking for the first time in 15 years, I would add machines, 2 of them, and they would be TZ and EBD. I think it would be nice for them to be HEP restored. Some people sell their HEP TZ machines, and buying one, especially in the 11k range if available, seems less expensive than buying a machine and sending it to HEP for restoration. However, when you buy a HEP restored machine, you do not get to pick every detail. I was offered a basic HEP restored TZ for 15k, but after seeing one sell recently for 10.8, I thought maybe that was above market value even though it would cost a lot to have one restored.

The HEP website has pictures of the TZ restorations in the photo gallery. Do you think any particular restoration stands out? If you were to have a HEP TZ, would you have any particular requests or preferences?

Just want to note that the $10,800 TZ was a 2005 restoration.
The $15,000 one is a 2015.
If you are on the secondary market for an HEP game make sure you understand the differences and details so you know exactly what to expect and the value discrepancies.

Thank you, and as I understand, a 2021 HEP restored TZ may offer some benefits (other than time from restoration) over a 2015 restoration due to refinements and beneficial changes in how they are restored.

When I purchased EM, things were not so complicated - no mods, no issue of color DMD or speaker upgrades or black powdercoat vs chrome (although Herb Silvers liked polished chrome, but it was that or the factory look which I preferred for EMs).

Trying to understand if a HEP restored TZ on the secondary market is the way to go, and if so, what makes such a machine worth 10.8k vs 15k vs more or less, and how those machines would compare to what I would get from a 2021 restoration.

I am on the learning curve.

Too much detail to go into and I definitely don’t want to sidetrack the TZ owners club with it but the differences between 2005 and 2015 are night and day not in options but quality. From 2015 to 2021 there are also large improvements but not as astronomical.
Best thing I can refer you to is this post from 7 years ago and even that is going to be considered dated by my own standards.
HEP is like any other manufacturer or technology. It evolves daily.
There is a market for the used and various generations of it and appropriate price points for them. You don’t want to pay today’s price for yesterday’s game and you can’t expect to get today’s game for yesterday’s price.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-evolution-of-hephigh-end-pins

That is well said.

Took just over 6 months to get from boxes of parts to finished TZ, plays great, working on tweaking a personal PinSound mix, may release a pure mix in a little while

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Wow! Looks amazing. Well done as many Pinsiders would not have taken on the task.

Thanks Mike