I'm late to the party but I had good luck cleaning my Powerball with Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish. I had to clamp it down and use some elbow grease as I recall, but it worked fine and didn't seem to hurt anything. I am sure the polish is mildly abrasive, though.

Waitaminute. LedOCD eliminates the instant-on/off of LEDs? Gives them an incandescent-style ramp?

I only use LEDs in a few spots currently because I LOVE the incandescent ramp and hate the LED ramp. I thought LedOCD just helped with fading effects on LEDs... My God, this changes everything.

I did purchase one game from another collector that was fully decked out in LEDs... while I am not a fan I am also not gonna rip them out, so they are still in there. Guess I know what pinball toy I am buying next.

.02 kg is 20 g and if the OEM ball is in the neighborhood of 60 g that is a HUGE difference.

What's the problem with that board?

My TZ came with decals... Which were faded.

I finally joined the club, and by that I mean the club of people with a 5V problem. My TZ was a little flaky with resets for a long time but re-pinning and re-connectoring J101 helped... then wiggling J101 helped... but now the game won't even boot and the 5V LED is out. So, maybe J101 was a red herring, or just one of the problems, as 5V is now completely gone.

Several years ago, this game did have BR2 replaced, and it didn't seem to make a difference in the occasional resets I had at that time. (Yay shotgun solder-and-pray fixes.)

The game has NOT had the Z-connector removed.

I do have a Kahr board knocking around.

Of course I will study the wiki resets article but if anyone has additional suggestions I'm all ears.

(I don't have a passion for maintaining the original circuits, so if there's an easy way to add a reliable external 5V supply, that would be interesting too.)

Thanks folks!

* I meant J101, not J120, I misremembered my connector numbers at some point writing that post and used both.
* After following the wiki investigation steps I found that there was NO voltage at BR2 or C5, hmm

So, I looked farther upstream... When I poked J101 with a DMM probe, the game started to boot! So, all along it was a bad connection.

I had replaced the header and connector at J101 long ago but clearly, I didn't do a great job. I don't know if the fault is with the crimp or the soldering but at least I know where to look now.

If I get in a jam I'll hit you up @dumbass, I appreciate it. Once I get TZ fixed my next project is a resetting WH2O, haha.

Edit to add: I popped out the J101 header... it looked OK but I might as well do it right finally. I'll rebuild the connector again, too. I did post a tech question related to this fix... basically, is it kosher to use trifurcon pins at J101 or do I need the ones I have labeled "high current?" https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/are-trifurcon-pins-ok-for-high-current-headers-like-wpc-j101#post-6549022

Gingerbloke my case turns out to be just a bad J101, which I will repair... but I would like to know more about using an external supply. If you have a link that shows the mod I would like to see it. I did a quick search the other day and didn't find anything that spelled it out.

Oh, when I pulled the board last night I found a bad GI connector. I had rebuilt the connectors more than a decade ago... but I didn't replace the headers because I was scared of board work back then. I guess a couple of pins were bad enough that the heat damage cycle just began anew. This time, I am replacing that header too.

This was one of the first times I used my Hakko 808... it made desoldering headers stupid easy! What a cool tool.

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I have the 808 but only because it happened to be on sale. It looks adequate for pinball stuff but someone might have a more informed opinion.

hakko 808 (resized).png

DumbAss I am happy to report that TZ seems to be fixed. I replaced the connector and header at J101, where I knew the problem was. In another thread where I had a parts question Chris Hibler suggested replacing J114 while the board was out, and redoing the solder on the LM323K. Piece of cake... back in the Zone again.

With what I learned, hopefully fixing my resetting White Water will be pretty easy.

Now that's a good, simple mod ... and I am going to steal the idea. I think I can make a nice miniature sign with my laser engraver.

Thanks for the inspiration, @ive. I decided to use a black and white sign to be distinct from the Powerfield signs, which are mostly yellow.

This is just a first draft, I don't have the right white-on-black material on hand. I had to use black-on-white which is not the best when most of the image is white... it comes out a little dull.

I'm open to ideas on other sign variations, and if anyone's dying for a copy we can work it out. Stuff like this is no big deal to make once I locate the right materials.

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That does look good. It's a bit too blue for my taste but the illumination is nice and even.

Ive ya know what might be cool... Using that area for a sign that supports Town Square and the Dead End. Is this confusing?

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That clock board is beautiful. I replaced mine with whatever remake was available 15 years ago, I almost want to switch to the Ingo!

If you get scratches without the protection, sounds like you should stick with it. But instead of felt, maybe you can find or make mylar washers? A transparent protector seems like it would be better.

Congrats mbaumle ! The clock can obviously be a problem but since you have an aftermarket board you're probably OK once you get the motor working smoothly.

If this is your first WPC game of this vintage you should be prepared to change the GI connectors as they often overheated and got roasted. It may also be necessary to replace the corresponding header pins, which is a much more involved job. However, replacing the connectors alone is easy and buys you time at least.

If (when?) you have a problem with game resets, board work may be required to address that, but generally I wouldn't try to bullet-proof that stuff until it dies ... unless you're already very comfortable with board work.

If you have bounce-outs when feeding the rocket, there's a place you can add a rubber ring which addresses that... it was a mandatory fix on mine. See the pic.

As far as mods... I too don't like most of them. But this is a nice one that just came to my attention, and it restores some of the lost designer's intent with flashers in the door.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twilight-zone-door-lamp-board-flashers-add-on#post-6188233

The creator is shipping some out right now--not sure if any are left in this batch though. (I have one on the way.)

I also thought the pictured left orbit sign was pretty nice... the maker tried to match the style of the existing signage and I think they did a good job. (https://smile.amazon.com/Twilight-Zone-Pinball-Spiral-Sign/dp/B0876JRCPH)

The only other mod I really like is one that illuminates the gumball machine with white light, switching to flashing red when it's ready to load. Can't remember where I got it, though.

TZ rocket bounce out fix (resized).png

tz left orbit sign (resized).png

Haha, I should have looked at your collection at least before giving dumb advice! I always forget we can do that. Welcome to the Zone!

That ebay mod illuminates the gumball machine with a color-changing LED. billsfanmd might be looking for something else.

Thinking back, my TZ must have 2 gumball mods. One is an always-on white LED just to brighten it up... The other is a flashing red light when it is ready to load. IMHO that is the way to go.

I used the Mothers polish and it works OK. It's kind of a pain... you have to figure out a way to hold the ball.

I then tried a vibratory tumbler and it works very well, makes the ball look brand new.

That is the kind of media I have and it worked well. I squirted some Flitz additive in there too. I don't know if it's critical, but I had it so I used it.

It took about 3 days to work.

If you have any extra balls in your parts stash, throw them in too... they all come out great.

When I first got a pinball machine almost 20 years ago I got bottles of Novus 1, 2, and 3. I've never used #3.

I found that the magnet from an old dead hard drive worked well. You won't know what shape you have until you crack a drive open though and sometimes they are awkwardly shaped.

(Having a magnet is better than none, but I still hate that darn diverter, the Powerball can bounce right out of it. I'm thinking about how to make a one-way wire gate mod.)

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Most of the time when you're getting switch closures you don't want, it's not going to be a problem on the boards, but a matrix problem from playfield wiring.

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For the kind of grime I see in your pic, I have always used Novus #2.

I don't see a magnet on your bridge diverter... how do you have your game set up to make a fast moving ball not bounce back out?

Thanks, any insight would be great. Mine sucks!

I still want to know what ArcadeAction 's secret is for a good TZ diverter catch, but today I started working on a prototype mod for the issue. Adding a magnet works pretty well, but it doesn't help the Powerball. The Powerball also moves faster so it is really prone to bounce-outs.

I think a one-way gate is worth looking at, so I made one.

tz diverter gate prototype (resized).png

I don't have a 3d printer, but I do have a laser cutter, so when I make stuff I have to think flat pack Ikea designs. This is just made in scrap acrylic, and the wire is actually .030" from my model airplane supplies. None of this is right for a final product, but the prototype actually worked really well!

tz diverter gate prototype in game (resized).png

The main problem is that a very fast ball can still bounce back out. I had to use my phone to take some slo-mo video to see what was happening. It looks like the ball can bounce back out before the gate has swung down from gravity. You can see a slomo here:

https://imgur.com/a/O4rpLgN

It is already a big improvement and I am optimistic that with some tweaks it can become highly reliable.

• Thicker gate wire, so it won't flex (.050?)
• Gate placed bit farther from the entrance
• Gate maybe slightly longer
• Adjust gate shape/angle so the ball barely gets under it
• Momentum killing foam where the ball impacts (but a one-piece stick-on design is more elegant if possible)
• Open to ideas!

Of course if someone already figured this out and sells the mod, give me a link.

Lastly... I think part of the problem on my game is that there is a lot of play in the diverter mech. I can wiggle the diverter up and down about 1/4". I think a fast-moving ball can bounce back out under the gate sometimes due to this slop, possibly plus wire flex. Can anyone confirm if this amount of play is normal or not?

https://imgur.com/a/zdXlam5

I used a magnet for a long time... I found a magnet from a hard drive that was perfect, not too strong. But I am determined to make a gate work now.

fast_in_muskoka if it comes together, one way or another I will find a way to make them available.

A spring might be needed, yep. It's tricky because you don't want the spring force to be so strong that a very slow ball can't make it through the gate. There's definitely a lot more goofing around to do. Hopefully it can be made to work with no extra parts.

Lots of good thoughts @miguel351, thanks!

Bending that part to reduce reverse travel is the next thing I am going to try. I think the ball is bouncing out while the gate is still pushed in, but the gate swings too far up anyway. I'll also be trying some thin foams to tame the bounce.

I can only cut wood and plastic, up to 1/2" max, but I get the best results at 1/4" and less. If I were to produce this myself I would probably make it out of 1/8" black delrin and then find a way to decorate it as you suggested--lots of possibilities there. Acrylic is cheap and good for prototyping but not very strong... a bad bounce could shatter the pivot points.

Unfortunately I cannot cut metal myself, but we're thinking the same way for steel!

Definitely worth a look! A one-piece solution would be more elegant but I suspect that momentum killing foam will ultimately be required. I checked out my foam stockpile and I have a couple of decent candidates to try. I may even have the exact stuff you linked, looks just like it... it's 5mm dense EVA craft foam. 5mm is probably too thick so I'll have to shave it down. (I can also probably make the foam surface into a shape other than flat, like a down-facing wedge. That might help a lot. But, odd shaped junk in the diverter might give the ball a bad path once it's dropped down onto the playfield...)

Parts sites used to sell "drop dead foam" but I can't find it anywhere any more, people seem to be adapting various kinds of stick-on weatherstripping product and I am not sure it is the same.

It's funny how different all our games can be. I can't remember a time I had a ball fly off that ramp. Mine acts like it is on rails, and if you hit the ramp cleanly it carries hellacious speed into the diverter.

Here's the diverter one-way gate mod, Mk II. It's working very well now and is also a lot less ugly... Instead of trying to make it small, I gave up and made it the same shape as big as the top of the diverter. That gives space to decorate--and more surface area for the special double-sided mounting tape. (I was torn between white stars on black or white on blue, like the ramp stickers.)

mkII-3 (resized).png

The main design change was moving the gate farther uphill. This gives the gate enough time to fall and trap the ball. If the gate is too close to the ball as in the first prototype, the ball can still bounce out before the gate swings back down. I played around with different gate shapes and foam to stop the ball, but it didn't pan out. Just making the thing a little wider was the easiest way to get it to work. The whole contraption is therefore larger than I wanted... but it does seem to work! No matter how fast the ball is going, it gets trapped and dropped cleanly.

mkII-2 (resized).png

If the Powerfield is lit, a ripping fast ball can still hit the diverter before it is fully open and fly off... but I don't think this mod makes that existing problem any worse.

If more than one ball is on the wireform, they take turns ... but the movement of the diverter can still bump the waiting ball in such a way that they roll back just in time to have the diverter smash 'em and knock them off. Well, that could happen before too.

Good progress! The glass is back on ... I will just play with it for a while and see what else happens.

The home ROM adds some features like pause and a way to cheat and start LITZ for fun, but if you just play, it isn't a different game.

Here's a ROM revision history with all the details. If your ROM is very old, there may be some changes you notice but they should all be good stuff like bug fixes.

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/Williams/tech/roms/twilight.html

I'm looking at a way to make my diverter one-way gate mod out of metal... it would be thin stainless, but still stuck to the top of the diverter like this plastic prototype. While it would still be possible to add decoration, in this format it should blend in nicely with the existing parts.

If I can get this made I will have extras and I would like to send a few out for testing. If you are interested in getting one, please send me a PM. The best candidates are those of you who think "@#$&*% diverter bounce-back!" during every game.

If testing goes well I may be able to offer these for sale, but one thing at a time!

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I didn't even think of looking at pre-made gates since I was sure it would take some fiddling to get the right shape. I'll have to see what they have.

So far the gate itself has been pretty easy to make so if there's not a pre-made solution or shortcut, it won't be too bad.

That would be cool. I'm going to get some samples out there for more playtest feedback. If there are no hidden downsides, it does seem like it could be a nice mod for that part.

I can say I have been enjoying my own TZ more since I put the prototype on, that's for sure.

That's true but in scanning Marco's gate inventory I don't yet see one that looks quite right. I'll keep looking but I suspect it will need to be custom. Fortunately making the wire shape proved much easier than I expected... but we'll see how it is when I get in thicker wire, which I think is needed for long-term durability.

Whenever a game isn't doing what you expect, the problem is usually a faulty switch. It could be something like a broken wire that makes the switch not register, or it could be a switch stuck on due to a mechanical jam--but the game should alert you to that when you turn it on.

Go into Switch Edges test and see if you can get those switches to respond.
tz left ramp switches (resized).png
Are you having any problems with other switches in the same column?
tz switch matrix (resized).png

My original slot scoop has finally been beaten into submission and has some broken welds. Is there any consensus on the best replacement? Marco, Pinball Life, and Mantis all have what appears to be the same thing at different prices.

Everyone who has posted about the Mantis slot weldment seems happy with it ... except Jason_Jehosaphat who had a pretty reasonable critique.

Good question! I've not been paying attention to the forum for a little while, but came back to catch up on the TZ thread and post an update.

After some more prototypes in plastic I went ahead and got parts in laser-cut steel from OSH Cut. They were delivered today.

I am actually testing 2 versions... the larger one matches the whole top of the diverter and has a nice factory look. The smaller version also sticks to the top of the diverter but because of its size, you can scoot left and right a little bit without making the outline of the diverter even uglier than it already is.

Why would you adjust the position? I found that how close the one-way gate is to the diverter is the main way you can tune the mechanism. If the gate is too close to the diverter, the ball can bounce back out before the gate falls. When the gate is farther away, it can fall down and trap the ball, but the ball has a larger cage. With more wiggle room, it is possible for the ball not be at rest on the left side of the wireform when the diverter tilts, and get knocked off.

The spacing of the large part is what I determined to work best on my machine, and it works really well... though I already have ideas for improvements! But it was cheap to get the repositionable version made too, so I did for insurance. I guess it is possible that someone else's machine might tolerate a smaller "cage" and enjoy even better reliability.

Here are some flat parts and two with bends added. I got both parts in 20 and 24 gauge brushed stainless--I have never worked in metal before and wasn't sure which thickness would be best. The thicker metal is more like what is in the game, but this part doesn't need to be thick, it doesn't get pounded... the thinner part is less obtrusive, and after comparing how they looked it is what I installed in my game.

tz4 (resized).jpg

Here's the XL 24 gauge version installed in my game. Looks pretty good, but I am going to make one with the starfield that I showed before, too.

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@Davi's board is really nice, get one Scoot !