(Topic ID: 63352)

Twilight Zone Owner's club

By Caucasian2Step

10 years ago


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There are 15,082 posts in this topic. You are on page 244 of 302.
#12151 1 year ago
Quoted from GoldenBear:

I guess the OCD LED boards are out of stock until November. Looks like I have to delay the transition to LEDs once again

I have an Afterglow board in mine which does the same thing, Stumblor (UK) who sells mods on here is doing another batch soon I think.

#12152 1 year ago

For the first time since I purchased my TZ in 1995, there is no dot next to "Free Play" on a consistent basis (last hurdle was adding some electrical tape to the minute hand on the clock so that it consistently breaks the optos) Wow!

Yesterday I installed some Stern tapered black post rubbers from Titan and the low bounce Titan flipper bands, and airballs are almost all under control now as well

Now some fine tuning questions for folks that have been enjoying and tweaking their machines much longer than me.

When I shoot the left spiral, the ball comes all the way around and back to the right flipper (as expected). However, when I shoot my right spiral, the ball bounces off the black post rubber holding the lower right corner of the mini PF. Is this expected behavior, or should the right spiral go the the lower left flipper as well?

Also, is there consensus on the best angle/position for the lower flippers? I have mine so that the front face of the flipper is perfectly aligned with the lane guides (slightly above the toothpick holes, but I'm using slim low bounce bands, which are slightly thinner than other bands). Shooting the right spiral from a trap is quite challenging right now, so I'm wondering if the flippers should be dropped a bit? Should the center line of the flipper be parallel to the lane guides?

I'll for sure fiddle with flipper position, but always easier to dial in starting with the consensus position

#12153 1 year ago

Installed dumbass' new opto board last night...which has the third magnet opto built into it...all working well...

20220503_070831 (resized).jpg20220503_070831 (resized).jpg
#12154 1 year ago

Mid game DMD issues started and now this on startup. Any idea where I should look first? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

IMG_8724 (resized).jpgIMG_8724 (resized).jpgScreenshotter--Photos-GooglePhotos-0’04” (resized).jpgScreenshotter--Photos-GooglePhotos-0’04” (resized).jpg
#12155 1 year ago
Quoted from gameroompinball:

Mid game DMD issues started and now this on startup. Any idea where I should look first? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
[quoted image][quoted image]

Reseat the connections first, that usually fixes it. Then start checking voltages.

#12156 1 year ago
Quoted from ray-dude:

However, when I shoot my right spiral, the ball bounces off the black post rubber holding the lower right corner of the mini PF. Is this expected behavior, or should the right spiral go the the lower left flipper as well?

The upper left flipper needs to guide the ball passed the post when its at rest. I have mine aligned that way for better flow and if you get it right you can hit the spiral over and over in quick succession. I do find that over time that flipper will drop some and let the ball hit the post or deflect it slightly.

#12157 1 year ago
Quoted from WW2GURU:

The upper left flipper needs to guide the ball passed the post when its at rest. I have mine aligned that way for better flow and if you get it right you can hit the spiral over and over in quick succession. I do find that over time that flipper will drop some and let the ball hit the post or deflect it slightly.

Fantastic info, thank you!

#12158 1 year ago
Quoted from gameroompinball:

Any idea where I should look first?

Reseat ribbon cables from CPU to DMD Driver Board to DMD.

LTG : )

#12159 1 year ago
Quoted from GoldenBear:

“The OCD GI and OCD LED kits are spendy but they are a must. They did an amazing job of softening up the look and making the LED lighting feel organic. The LED kit and OCD boards are truly a no compromise upgrade from the old bulbs.
Working with the old PCBs to installed NVRAM and new 5V and 12V chips was scary. PCBs looked pristine (like they were new from the factory), but my soldering skills are about as old as these PCBs. Thankfully, I didn't do any damage with the installs, but this was the most nerve wracking part of the project for me. That being said, between switching supplies for 5V and 12V, LEDs replacing all the lights, and moving to a LED display, the boards are running cool as a cucumber now. Hopefully they will be trouble free for many years to come.”
Been thinking about finally converting to LEDs on my TZ. The reason I haven’t yet is early LEDs we’re too cool in color and bright for what I wanted in my game. Anyways I think I’m gonna go with frosted LEDs but will likely need the OCD board. My question, since I haven’t converted my other machines over to the OCD board is: is there more than 1 board that needs to be purchased. Does the GI board alone cover flickering of the inserts?

Having just restored my TZ and put in LEDs (sunlight frosted 2SMD), it really looked... not awesome. My eyes detected all kinds of issues.
Once I installed both OCD boards, it looked smooth and dimmed appropriately. Highly recommended.

#12160 1 year ago
Quoted from damadczar:

Having just restored my TZ and put in LEDs (sunlight frosted 2SMD), it really looked... not awesome. My eyes detected all kinds of issues.
Once I installed both OCD boards, it looked smooth and dimmed appropriately. Highly recommended.

The OCD boards are definitely game changers and work great!

Didn't realize how much dimming effect I was missing in the GI!

#12161 1 year ago

Parts - For Sale
Used, good condition - “Lightly used slot machine, gumball machine, and rocket switch Cliffy set. $40 shipped”
2022-05-03
Algonquin, IL
40
Archived after: 136 days
Viewed: 209 times
Status: Not sold: Decided to keep game

#12162 1 year ago
Quoted from awesome1:

The OCD boards are definitely game changers and work great!
Didn't realize how much dimming effect I was missing in the GI!

still waiting on them to restock!!

#12163 1 year ago

Joined the club with a pretty solid game. The only issues I have found are a missing clock power board and the dreaded proximity through sensor. The game won’t load balls to the gumball machine and also doesn’t sense power ball in the trough.

0644AA38-9546-49EC-8F67-3C11C94E85FC (resized).jpeg0644AA38-9546-49EC-8F67-3C11C94E85FC (resized).jpeg
#12164 1 year ago
Quoted from Its_me_aj:

Joined the club with a pretty solid game. The only issues I have found are a missing clock power board and the dreaded proximity through sensor. The game won’t load balls to the gumball machine and also doesn’t sense power ball in the trough.[quoted image]

Haha! I think that's the condition MOST of us got our TZ's in! All fairly easy things to fix, typically. Just take your time diagnosing what's actually going on with the trough sensor and the gumball machine optos/solenoids. Looks to be in really nice shape, and already has the mini switch kit for the mini playfield, too!

#12165 1 year ago

Does anyone have an issue with the ball not settling in the rocket shot after a skill shot? Mine only stays in there about 50% of the time. I've adjusted the rocket shot guide to try and stop it more effectively but that didn't work. Any other adjustments or ideas I can try? Thank you

#12166 1 year ago

R

Quoted from ggoehmann:

Does anyone have an issue with the ball not settling in the rocket shot after a skill shot? Mine only stays in there about 50% of the time. I've adjusted the rocket shot guide to try and stop it more effectively but that didn't work. Any other adjustments or ideas I can try? Thank you

Many folks have installed an anti-bounce post to solve this issue. See the following link for an example: https://www.retroblast.com/articles/modzone_3.html

Worked great for me.

#12167 1 year ago
Quoted from ggoehmann:

Does anyone have an issue with the ball not settling in the rocket shot after a skill shot? Mine only stays in there about 50% of the time. I've adjusted the rocket shot guide to try and stop it more effectively but that didn't work. Any other adjustments or ideas I can try? Thank you

I'm having the same issue, adjusting the shot guide didn't seem to help. Adjusting the switch did seem to help for a few dozen plays.

#12168 1 year ago
Quoted from PBFan:

R

Many folks have installed an anti-bounce post to solve this issue. See the following link for an example: https://www.retroblast.com/articles/modzone_3.html
Worked great for me.

^^^This. I also did this mod on mine, and haven't had a problem since.

#12169 1 year ago
Quoted from ggoehmann:

Does anyone have an issue with the ball not settling in the rocket shot after a skill shot? Mine only stays in there about 50% of the time. I've adjusted the rocket shot guide to try and stop it more effectively but that didn't work. Any other adjustments or ideas I can try? Thank you

Quoted from Planet866:

I'm having the same issue, adjusting the shot guide didn't seem to help. Adjusting the switch did seem to help for a few dozen plays.

Quoted from PBFan:

R

Many folks have installed an anti-bounce post to solve this issue. See the following link for an example: https://www.retroblast.com/articles/modzone_3.html
Worked great for me.

Yeah, replace the lower screw securing the bracket with any kind of post and it will pretty much eliminate the issue.

pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png
#12170 1 year ago
Quoted from awesome1:

Yeah, replace the lower screw securing the bracket with any kind of post and it will pretty much eliminate the issue.[quoted image]

This works well and is great since it annoys high level players since the plunge is pretty much guaranteed to go to the pops. High level player tend to nudge the ball from the rocket kicker directly to the flippers for safety if they bother will the skill shot at all.

#12171 1 year ago
Quoted from pinballizfun:

This works well and is great since it annoys high level players since the plunge is pretty much guaranteed to go to the pops. High level player tend to nudge the ball from the rocket kicker directly to the flippers for safety if they bother will the skill shot at all.

Hmmm... I like to get the hitchhiker award from the rocket kick. Sure the pops can be troublesome, but I've never tried to avoid the skillshot/rocket because of it. Not sure if I qualify enough as a high level player, but I can usually hold my own.

#12172 1 year ago
Quoted from PBFan:

R

Many folks have installed an anti-bounce post to solve this issue. See the following link for an example: https://www.retroblast.com/articles/modzone_3.html
Worked great for me.

Thank you! I just ordered it.

#12173 1 year ago
Quoted from monkfe:

Installed dumbass' new opto board last night...which has the third magnet opto built into it...all working well...
[quoted image]

Where did you purchase the new opto board?
Thanks

#12174 1 year ago

Finally finished my TZ PinSound mix. I worked on it on & off since early last year. Already got some feedback from the PinSound guys & made some changes. I also have a friend running in his. If someone has a PinSound audio board & wants to give it a try before I release publicly I would be happy to share with a couple folks for evaluation.

Granner DCS is the base and is great for a standard pure mix. I added TZ show music for main gameplay & then classic rock for some of the deeper music. Pink Floyd seemed to work well in spots and also includes Allman Brothers, Jeff Beck, Chuck Berry, etc. Send me a PM if interested in Beta. If no takers it will just go public soon, thanks.

#12175 1 year ago
Quoted from scorpion90:

Where did you purchase the new opto board?
Thanks

From DumbAss here on Pinside - here's his thread and post on the TZ opto board w/ 3rd magnet support

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dumbass-test-and-reproduction-pcbs/page/16#post-6900175

Super exclusive ad from the Pinside Marketplace!
#12176 1 year ago

I need to disassemble my mini playfield to install low profile switches, and I've heard it's a rather complicated process (at least to reassemble)

Anyone would have pointers ? Ideally videos, better to get a sense of what is needed...

Cheers

#12177 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

I need to disassemble my mini playfield to install low profile switches, and I've heard it's a rather complicated process (at least to reassemble)
Anyone would have pointers ? Ideally videos, better to get a sense of what is needed...
Cheers

The mini playfield is actually pretty easy to remove. One screw securing the wireform and then one screw/bolt on each side securing to spring mounts. The "tricky" part is getting the wire connectors through the playfield hole. I just do them one at a time and no issues. Mark the connectors before disassembling to make sure you don't mix them up.

#12178 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

I need to disassemble my mini playfield to install low profile switches, and I've heard it's a rather complicated process (at least to reassemble)
Anyone would have pointers ? Ideally videos, better to get a sense of what is needed...
Cheers

My buddy Enzo helped me install my low profile switches!

TZ Enzo helping (resized).jpgTZ Enzo helping (resized).jpg
#12179 1 year ago
Quoted from Manny65:

From DumbAss here on Pinside - here's his thread and post on the TZ opto board w/ 3rd magnet support
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dumbass-test-and-reproduction-pcbs/page/16#post-6900175

Thanks for the reply.

Tony

#12180 1 year ago
Quoted from awesome1:

Mark the connectors before disassembling to make sure you don't mix them up.

This is CRITICAL!! There are two connectors that can be mixed up; if you mismatch them, you'll blow out your optos.

Take it from someone who knows...

#12181 1 year ago

Installed Davi’s flasher board today. Super easy. And I didn’t blow out my board either. Tonight is mod night for games!

#12182 1 year ago

For the rocket I put in a cliffy to minimize it stalling part way and not seating all the way up to the kicker. I get more bounce outs from the the rocket as a result. Better than shaking the damn machine trying to get the ball to move.

#12183 1 year ago
Quoted from Scotty_K:

This is CRITICAL!! There are two connectors that can be mixed up; if you mismatch them, you'll blow out your optos.
Take it from someone who knows...

Ah crap, I did not mark them.... Ouch.... Hopefully there is a color code on them.

Which ones can be swapped, can I identify them?

#12184 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

can I identify them?

Thick wires for magnets thin wires for optos.

LTG : )

#12185 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

Ah crap, I did not mark them.... Ouch.... Hopefully there is a color code on them.
Which ones can be swapped, can I identify them?

As LTG said check the thickness of the wires. You can also use the wire color as a second confirmation.

#12186 1 year ago
Quoted from LTG:

Thick wires for magnets thin wires for optos.
LTG : )

This is from the operators manual. You can also download the manual. Hope this helps.

20220508_021723 (resized).jpg20220508_021723 (resized).jpg20220508_021730 (resized).jpg20220508_021730 (resized).jpg
#12187 1 year ago
Quoted from jdlang11:

This is from the operators manual. You can also download the manual. Hope this helps.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Forgot the rest.

20220508_020214 (resized).jpg20220508_020214 (resized).jpg20220508_020230 (resized).jpg20220508_020230 (resized).jpg20220508_020256 (resized).jpg20220508_020256 (resized).jpg20220508_020916 (resized).jpg20220508_020916 (resized).jpg20220508_020925 (resized).jpg20220508_020925 (resized).jpg
#12188 1 year ago

Would someone know where this board come from? It's not a stock clock board from what I can see

The upper right led is not working properly, it's flashing like crazy

Before I start disassembling it, looking for information

Regards

20220511_190413 (resized).jpg20220511_190413 (resized).jpg
#12189 1 year ago

Anyone have trouble with the diverter just before the Power mini playfield not always catching the ball (or not always opening at the right time)?

For example, the flipper (which is the correct coil) hits the ball up the right ramp. It loops around and comes back to the left over the wireframe. However, it either gets to the diverter before it opens (slams into it, sometimes bouncing off) or sometimes gets there after the divert has opened and already closed. In this case, it tends to open again.

I haven't found anything wrong and I'm speculating this can just happen because there's a single opto (just before the wireframe) that tells the pin when the ball crosses... but it doesn't know the speed.

This doesn't happen all the time either.

It seems to have started after I waxed the playfield, perhaps speeding up the ball...

Thoughts / Experiences appreciated!

#12190 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

Would someone know where this board come from? It's not a stock clock board from what I can see
The upper right led is not working properly, it's flashing like crazy
Before I start disassembling it, looking for information
Regards[quoted image]

This

6A8428A5-4D06-47C0-A90E-664A3CADAA57 (resized).png6A8428A5-4D06-47C0-A90E-664A3CADAA57 (resized).png
#12191 1 year ago
Quoted from altan:

Anyone have trouble with the diverter just before the Power mini playfield not always catching the ball (or not always opening at the right time)?
For example, the flipper (which is the correct coil) hits the ball up the right ramp. It loops around and comes back to the left over the wireframe. However, it either gets to the diverter before it opens (slams into it, sometimes bouncing off) or sometimes gets there after the divert has opened and already closed. In this case, it tends to open again.
I haven't found anything wrong and I'm speculating this can just happen because there's a single opto (just before the wireframe) that tells the pin when the ball crosses... but it doesn't know the speed.
This doesn't happen all the time either.
It seems to have started after I waxed the playfield, perhaps speeding up the ball...
Thoughts / Experiences appreciated!

This is a common problem. Many people install a magnet on the back of the diverter which helps to catch the steel balls (does not help on powerball - mine still bounces out 50% of the time).
I'd suggest to search this forum for "diverter magnet" - I am sure you can find pictures and other discussion.
Good luck
Richard

#12192 1 year ago

While any magnet will do allegedly, I’ll save you 200 pages of reading or trying DIY methods:

https://pinballpro.net/shop/twilight-zone-diverter-magnet-tz-dm/

#12193 1 year ago
Quoted from altan:

Anyone have trouble with the diverter just before the Power mini playfield not always catching the ball (or not always opening at the right time)?

To me, it doesn't sound like the issue is the ball bouncing out of the diverter, but rather that it's either not open when the ball arrives (ball gets there too quickly) or that it's already opened and closed (ball gets there too slowly). altan can you clarify if the issue is bounce out or bad diverter timing?

#12194 1 year ago

I've had no bounce out issues since getting these:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GLGFYW7

I too have issues with hitting the ramp so fast that the diverter does not get out of the way in time (happens about 1 out of 5 times for me) I hear the energizing of the diverter, then a short delay, then diverter moving, so I'm wondering if there is some stickiness that is delaying the activation of the diverter? May be worth doing a coil test for the diverter and seeing how responsive it is.

#12195 1 year ago

I think that whole diverter mechanism needs to be redesigned. It's ugly, it blocks the view, it does not work half the time, and seems to require constant fiddling.

No, I don't have a clean solution in mind yet, but I'm leaning toward a low-profile ball trap controlled by push/pull rods and a concealed solenoid.

#12196 1 year ago
Quoted from Green-Machine:

This
[quoted image]

Many thanks

Unfortunately they don't have any schematics on their website, i'll contact them

Alternatively, since only one led is flashing, I'm assuming it's just the LED (as my understanding is that there are two GI channels driving these leds), but need to identify the LED part number, any clue ? Seems it's the same as the one used in Pindora clock replacement

#12197 1 year ago
Quoted from jdlang11:

This is from the operators manual. You can also download the manual. Hope this helps.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Thanks

I paid extra attention, and I did not fry anything

#12198 1 year ago
Quoted from egyptrus:

To me, it doesn't sound like the issue is the ball bouncing out of the diverter, but rather that it's either not open when the ball arrives (ball gets there too quickly) or that it's already opened and closed (ball gets there too slowly). altan can you clarify if the issue is bounce out or bad diverter timing?

Thanks for asking for clarification. The question made it clear to me that I needed to watch more closely. Here's what I see

1. Sometimes the ball hits the diverter and bounces back, gate opens without ball, ball slowly rolls toward Power mini playfield and either gets onto the playfield or happens to get back into the diverter (and which point it gets dumped).

2. Occasionally (and this seems less that #1 above) the ball takes too much time to get to the diverter and it opens prior to the ball even arriving. This occurs if you barely get the bill up the ramp. I suspect this is just "how it is".

After people mentioned the magnet trick, I recalled I'd read that before! I did a lot of work on my TZ back in 2003 (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fixingcleaning-my-twilight-zone) and read about this... but haven't done much recently and had forgotten. Thanks for reminding me.

I'd try the magnet trick and see how that impacts everything.

#12199 1 year ago

I mentioned above I've had TZ for a bit (May of 2013)... What I'll add is that it hasn't received much attention in the past 4+ years at all. While I'm sure this is a big nothing to many of you, I just had my best game ever!

1. It's my (current) favorite pin! Quite amazing actually. Yes, this will change over time but I'm really appreciating it over the past 2 or so weeks.
2. Today I got my best score ever of just over 793 million
3. And for the first time I got to Lost in the Zone!
4. Had no idea what I was doing and balls were flying everywhere... (need to read the rules here)
5. Only took from May of 2013 until now to get there...
6. (3 ball, no buy-in)

#12200 1 year ago

Here is a weird one: I have my TZ which had LEDs in it before I bought it.

I had a camera mod on it that never lit up (it was there when I bought the machine). So I figured I’d just replace it. New camera mod won’t light up. The bulb in the regular socket does but the camera won’t. Vendor ships me a replacement presuming the bulb in the mod is bad… same thing. So I’m on 3 cameras that don’t light up.

Any good way to bench test a 12VAC bulb?

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