Alien
Heighway Pinball, 2017There have been 198 images uploaded to this topic. (View topic image gallery).
I'd love to get my hands on a spare I/O board. Feel free to PM me if you have one available, or know where I could purchase one. Heck, I'd be interested in buying any spare parts - LED's, inductive switches - whatever... I overpay for parts. 
Quoted from RazerX:
Has anyone been able to source those plugin reed switches from anywhere?
Those switch boards have a tiny embedded controller with custom code. It's not that straightforward to replace these, but it's certainly possible. The code interfaces to IO board expectations and filters a lot of noise.
Quoted from bcd:
Those switch boards have a tiny embedded controller with custom code. It's not that straightforward to replace these, but it's certainly possible. The code interfaces to IO board expectations and filters a lot of noise.
That's a bummer. So much unnecessary complexity with that, not to mention the design flaw of making them socketed to make them even less reliable. I wish they would have just used micro switches.
Confirmed my xeno gear is def slipping...took it all out and made sure everything moves smoothly. All good. Put back together and marked shaft and gear with asharpee and ran tests it def slips half the time. Metal gear ordered. Hopefully since it is slipping it will be easier to remove old gear.
Quoted from billsfanmd:
Metal gear ordered.
If this works, can you please share the link to the gear you purchased?
While I had mine apart, I turned it sideways and dripped some superglue on the shaft/gear. It's worked 100% since then, but I'd love to have a reliable backup.
Quoted from SunKing:
If this works, can you please share the link to the gear you purchased?
While I had mine apart, I turned it sideways and dripped some superglue on the shaft/gear. It's worked 100% since then, but I'd love to have a reliable backup.
will do. someone else suggested JB weld too
If this works, can you please share the link to the gear you purchased?
While I had mine apart, I turned it sideways and dripped some superglue on the shaft/gear. It's worked 100% since then, but I'd love to have a reliable backup.
In this thread.. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/weyland-yutani-dedicated-to-keeping-3-alien-specimens-alive/page/6#post-4496719
Quoted from Ballypinball:
Yes the metal gear is the solution
The solid or liquid one?
A maybe very dumb question:
Heighway is out of business. The crew is still activ with pinball. A group of investors bought Heighway Ltd. and is the legal owner of all parts, machines, documentations, etc
Is there a chance that, after selling all the stuff and machines, that all documentation and schematics become public ? Even if they will restart a production, what speaks amongst serving the Alien owners with such important informations ? The pin is pretty actual and technical parts are "up to date" .... so there must be all the files, contacts from suppliers, etc, pp
Maybe there is hope that we will get this schematics and code, for the owner it is not usable. It is great that after Heighway went off business a new code showed up !!
Am I wrong ?!
I would be very surprised if Fox hasn't pulled the license, and therefore legally Pinball Brothers Ltd wouldn't be able to do much with it, e.g. sell parts, etc. I'm not a lawyer though.
Think it would probably need someone with contact info for both PB and Fox to get anything to happen on it, and even then it would probably be hard work.
The metal one
A HIN-D?! What would a Russian gunship be doing out here?
Quoted from Durzel:
I would be very surprised if Fox hasn't pulled the license, and therefore legally Pinball Brothers Ltd wouldn't be able to do much with it, e.g. sell parts, etc. I'm not a lawyer though.
Think it would probably need someone with contact info for both PB and Fox to get anything to happen on it, and even then it would probably be hard work.
If they still had parts, the smartest thing to do would be to sell all remaining stock to Marco/Pinball Life, etc. I would prefer not to pay PB for anything directly.
Quoted from Damonator:
If they still had parts, the smartest thing to do would be to sell all remaining stock to Marco/Pinball Life, etc. I would prefer not to pay PB for anything directly.
BHut than you have several people without a Alien buying this stuff for "bad times".
Copyright is okay , bur we own a Alien pinball ... so the copyright must also cover spareparts. We will not build new Aliens ... its a shame on the other side. there is a very nice machine with software done, etc, pp and there will be so far no production.
Yesterday I recieved my china spare pc and I installed a backup from Alien on it ... works ... the pc boots in the attract mode ! Now have to connect the spare monitor to this setup.
Quoted from TomDK:
Yesterday I recieved my china spare pc and I installed a backup from Alien on it ... works ... the pc boots in the attract mode ! Now have to connect the spare monitor to this setup.
i missed this, where do you get the pc?
Quoted from Kneissl:
i missed this, where do you get the pc?
Yes .. thats the source ! Very great support ! I bought the pc with SSD and RAM, shipping was within 3 days without any trouble with customs. It just went to my home.
Today I tried to connect the monitor, but I guess I need this 5 Volt soldered on the pcb. Looking to get it running.
Anybody know where the "screw" is located? For the Xeno
"For me it was the screw. would not even calibrate correctly.
then turned the screw with a jewelers screwdriver and then it would extend but wouldn't retract (magnet too strong on field).
then turned the screw with a jewelers screwdriver and then it would retract, but wouldn't drop the ball.
Turned the screw clockwise more and now it drops the ball."
Quoted from iceman44:
Anybody know where the "screw" is located? For the Xeno
"For me it was the screw. would not even calibrate correctly.
then turned the screw with a jewelers screwdriver and then it would extend but wouldn't retract (magnet too strong on field).
then turned the screw with a jewelers screwdriver and then it would retract, but wouldn't drop the ball.
Turned the screw clockwise more and now it drops the ball."
You need to pull the playfield all the way forward on its rails....Its behind the backboard. There are 2 boards...The board on the right there is a tiny screw you can turn with a very small jeweler flathead...Small turns then test.
You need to pull the playfield all the way forward on its rails....Its behind the backboard. There are 2 boards...The board on the right there is a tiny screw you can turn with a very small jeweler flathead...Small turns then test.
Thanks Mike! I appreciate it. Will find it and give it a try.
Remaining spare PC and monitor:
So far I got spare parts up and running.
All power came from a pc powersupply, for the PC I used 12 Volts which fits in the plug on the mainboard.
The monitor driver pcb is a little funny. It is jumpered to 3,3 Volts but I drive it with 5 Volts only on the pcb soldered as on the pictures earlier in this thread. No need for extra voltage ! If I also give it 3.3 Volts to the power-in the powersupply wents off.If I jumper to 5 Volts the screen beginns only flickering.
Oliest bad thing .. I have no panel to adjust the screen, so it is very lightning and no way to adjust. But it works !
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Found who made the cabinets awaiting more info, re parts to repair damaged cabinets
great. I wish someone could get plastics scanned. hear they are brittle. A replacement set would sell well
That did the trick. Thanks to folks that pointed out location of the screw.
Its so tiny it doesn't even look like a screw. I used a tiny phillips and it was hard to tell if i was even turning but Xeno head is fully functional for now and quite awesome!
If anybody runs into the same issue let me know.
We can print and cut them if the artist can supply the files
Calling Aurich!
Quoted from TimeBandit:
I am making replacement LED boards. I will have permanent stock and will be passing them out at component cost plus shipping. I think they will be about a dollar each.
timebandit that's awesome! I'm down for at least a set + spares, I think 
knockerlover already reached out to you on my behalf. How about the light pipes, happen to have found a source for those?
Backbox bolts for Alien
We lost some of our "backbox bolts" for Alien in knockerlover 's move, but found workable replacements at a local True Value hardware store. They're 6mm x 30mm 1.00 pitch. Original is on the left, replacement on the right:
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IMG_9722 (resized).jpgQuoted from mavantix:
How about the light pipes, happen to have found a source for those?
You mean these? I’ve done a lot of my own research on light pipes. Mine are better. Yes, I will supply those as well. That will take a bit longer to get going again though.
image (resized).jpgMy light pipe on the left. Haven’t put a light meter on it, but you can see it’s brighter.
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For the collection:
Facehugger, little smaller than original but better than nothing ....
ebay.com link » Alien Covenant Movie Toys Alien Chestburster Alien Facehugger Action Figure
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IMG_0185 (resized).JPGQuoted from jonesjb:
To the OP, it's been about 3 months since the acquisition. How are the three Alien pins holding up?
They’ve been holding up just fine. No new issues I know of... just slowly making progress on building up the parts and upgrades to bring the early games up to spec. knockerlover has had some stuff outside of pinball that has taken priority over the last few months. The flood of new contributors has been awesome bringing some of the missing pieces to life.
We just setup another alien LE last night. I think that is my...5th alien setup... everyone has worked out of the box. This alien needed a flipper adjustment.. but beyond that... we were rocking.
Just expanding the gradual takeover of the GI with my custom light pipes.
I have now invaded the full inlane area, left and right. The first pic is factory in the right side. Second pic is my pipes.
It’s not mind blowing stuff, but I’m getting very comfortable with the performance of my pipes, and their viability as a replacement. No hot spots, and about 15-20% brighter.
There are some light meter compares below that. Lux is displayed bottom left of each pic. Mine are the taller ones.
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D4C4F565-1215-4DD3-9135-DE4822DC3AE6 (resized).pngFinally moved into the new place.. still can’t find half of my stuff..
But, 
mavantix and I are reassembling the A machines xeno Head, and installing the production type PCs in the prototype games, replacing USB cables with ones with ferrite cores.. making progress again.
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Ended up replacing the plastic gear jaw servo last night with the metal one.. two lessons learned from that experience.
1.) For some reason the pinout on the existing servo is different, and I needed to flip the red and brown wires (Red, Brown, Orange) vs how it is stock (Brown, Red, Orange).
2.) Don't attach the actuator arm until you know the position the game thinks the jaw is in. Go into test, and run calibration.. the servo should open the jaw and close it at the end of that sequence. Then you can attach the actuator arm to the servo knowing it is in the closed position. You have to try a few different positions to get the jaw to open/close right where you want it. So don't mount the head fully back into the game until you're happy with how it works.
On a slightly separate note.. the changes to the xeno head between prototype and later production games are numerous.. I still think that modifying the prototype heads, or casting/recreating the production heads is feasible.. but this many design changes that make it very difficult. I hope that we will be able to procure complete replacement xeno heads from pinball brothers for the two prototype machines.. via 
ballypinball so I don't have to go through this mess.
- Lower Jaw was shortened, I beleve to allow the xeno head to be mounted closer without hitting the drop targets in front. This makes the mounting screws go through the jaw vs on the metal bracket just above it.
- Stepper motor upgraded (and the boards modified to the two board jaw/tongue system)
- The metal brackets were completely redesigned to accommodate the large square upgraded stepper motor.
- The tongue rack gear was previously held in place by the drive gear, and a separate free spinning gear. This was changed to house the tongue rack gear completely in a plastic surround.
- The notch in the tongue rack gear was changed to only be on 1/2 of the metal bar vs a complete cutout.. probably to prevent the switch from slipping off the side.
Machine A - the sample production game is completely back together and fully functional again. Hooray!
Machine B and C - Have the production PCs installed now, and as expected the 5 SMD LED towers aren't operating correctly because the single LED boards are needed so they can be addressed properly. Waiting for timebandit to complete his awesome work so we can resolve that issue.
We learned that the displays have to be plugged into the correct port exactly or you will have an airlock screen layered on top of the main display image or the airlock display on the main display incorrectly. (Will document this later)
The drop targets seem to work fine and aren't reversed as others have stated, but I don't know if these were replaced prior to us owning them somehow.
The xeno head and boards are the last major hurdle.. hopefully the replacement xeno heads from pinball brothers come through, and we can test our replacement jaw/tongue boards.
The prototype machines have early run (red) I/O boards, and do not have the "hack" to the zero ohm resistors that eliminates the protection circuit for the upper right flipper.
Machine B - has a broken left inlane return plastic and broken facehuggers, but those appear to be available from pinball brothers as well, so hopefully that works out. Otherwise we will need to fabriate something for the left inlane, and possibly resin mold/cast the facehuggers to make replicas.
The backbox frame is also broken, I’ve drilled and added pegs so it’s solid at the break but need to bondo, sand and paint.
Machine C - the backbox display isn’t working for some reason.
Quoted from knockerlover:
<snip>Machine B - has a broken left inlane return plastic and broken facehuggers, but those appear to be available from pinball brothers as well, so hopefully that works out. Otherwise we will need to fabriate something for the left inlane, and possibly resin mold/cast the facehuggers to make replicas.
<snip>
Are you in contact with Pinball Brothers? Do you think you can get parts from them?
The facehuggers on the slings are a concern of mine. So, I'd love to get some replacements or even something that isn't 100% the same so I can save the originals.
Quoted from Lamprey:
Are you in contact with Pinball Brothers? Do you think you can get parts from them?
The facehuggers on the slings are a concern of mine. So, I'd love to get some replacements or even something that isn't 100% the same so I can save the originals.
I was wondering the same thing as I wou lol d like to get a pair of face huggers as well.
Quoted from djh00000:
I was wondering the same thing as I wou lol d like to get a pair of face huggers as well.
In the other alien thread, ballypinball posted that he had access to a "stash of parts."
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/alien-pinball-official-game-thread/page/459#post-4538854
As part of the CPU upgrade, video cables had to be replaced as the Zotac used different port types than the High Praise which uses all DVI on the PC side. The airlock display is HDMI, however the hole in the playfield is not big enough to fit an HDMI plug through. So we had to do what the factory did, shave down the HDMI cable's connector. The pictures attached are the OEM cable shown at the top side of the hole it comes up through.
IMG_9787 (resized).jpg
IMG_9788 (resized).jpgEnded up replacing the plastic gear jaw servo last night with the metal one.. two lessons learned from that experience.
amazon.com link »
1.) For some reason the pinout on the existing servo is different, and I needed to flip the red and brown wires (Red, Brown, Orange) vs how it is stock (Brown, Red, Orange).
2.) Don't attach the actuator arm until you know the position the game thinks the jaw is in. Go into test, and run calibration.. the servo should open the jaw and close it at the end of that sequence. Then you can attach the actuator arm to the servo knowing it is in the closed position. You have to try a few different positions to get the jaw to open/close right where you want it. So don't mount the head fully back into the game until you're happy with how it works.
On a slightly separate note.. the changes to the xeno head between prototype and later production games are numerous.. I still think that modifying the prototype heads, or casting/recreating the production heads is feasible.. but this many design changes that make it very difficult. I hope that we will be able to procure complete replacement xeno heads from pinball brothers for the two prototype machines.. via ballypinball so I don't have to go through this mess.
- Lower Jaw was shortened, I beleve to allow the xeno head to be mounted closer without hitting the drop targets in front. This makes the mounting screws go through the jaw vs on the metal bracket just above it.
- Stepper motor upgraded (and the boards modified to the two board jaw/tongue system)
- The metal brackets were completely redesigned to accommodate the large square upgraded stepper motor.
- The tongue rack gear was previously held in place by the drive gear, and a separate free spinning gear. This was changed to house the tongue rack gear completely in a plastic surround.
- The notch in the tongue rack gear was changed to only be on 1/2 of the metal bar vs a complete cutout.. probably to prevent the switch from slipping off the side.
Timely for me, as I decided to crack mine open last night just to change the small stepper to metal gear version, though plastic was working( odd, I know....Need a life).
Findings match what I encountered ....Also reassuring that they eliminated the plastic tongue gear in this run...Always in the back of my mind)
IMG_20180818_211453750 (resized).jpg
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