Oviedo, FL
Quoted from Ballypinball:doesn't go on the io board
...or motherboard...
(Topic ID: 216450)
Linked Games
Alien (Heighway Pinball)
Heighway Pinball, 2017
Topic Gallery
Quoted from Knightman:Question...
So, cointaker sent me a shaker-motor. The plug does not appear to match anything on the IO board....
Where the hell does it go??? I found a plug but it seemed inverted and...not correct.
Read this post 
Quoted from knockerlover:join_the_cirqus is correct.
The shaker motor connector is a spike connector for spike and spike 2 systems, and plugs into the “shaker motor” PinOut on the power supply board in the bottom of the cabinet.
Pin 1 - red
Pin 2 - N/A
pin 3 - red (jumper or loop)
Pin 4 - black
Pin 5 - black (jumper or loop)
Well, crap. The cointaker shaker I have is a red one...but the plug is a completely different shape from the one that is on the board....... 
Maybe I am wrong but a shaker is at least a motor. A motor used in pinball has 2 wires ....
The Alien is prepared for a shaker. There is a pcb with connectors or solderplate for this 2 wires ...
From an other post copied:
The shaker motor connector is a spike connector for spike and spike 2 systems, and plugs into the “shaker motor” PinOut on the power supply board in the bottom of the cabinet.
Pin 1 - red
Pin 2 - N/A
pin 3 - red (jumper or loop)
Pin 4 - black
Pin 5 - black (jumper or loop)
IF ... there is no preparation for a shaker you will need a pcb which converts the signal from the pinballmachine to 12 volts
power for the shaker. So this pcb needs 12 volts, 2 conectors signal from the pinball. This pcb are for sale from different distributors.
You dont have a neighbor or friend who will connect this 2 cables for you ?!
Or is the shaker completely out of range ?
Melbourne
Quoted from Ballypinball:The bottom one is the remade one
Yeah.. I like the minute differences in the screen layer.
Quoted from TomDK:One is HPE , one is PE
that one was unintentional.. "highway" vs "heighway" was the intentional change..
the green cap is a dead giveaway, if they used that brand throughout the machine you guys are in for some fun down the road.
Sling GI boards arrived. Fit perfectly.
29DDFE71-3A77-47D3-8C2F-953E8C1CFE9D (resized).jpeg309F588E-F4D5-4456-A93C-A74D8D80C068 (resized).jpeg42223DB0-95B4-4A74-B92A-11E438AD2CFC (resized).jpeg89CCF57B-821C-4A86-B334-BC5238D3B2AB (resized).jpegE0E08EBB-DA06-4FDE-8751-DC814172CB8B (resized).jpegE8AEDCFE-E84A-47D4-9111-D6689069663D (resized).jpegQuoted from knockerlover:Yeah.. I like the minute differences in the screen layer.
We missed the opportunity to put "Somebody set up us the bomb." below the daughterboard between the headers. Oh well!
Quoted from TomDK:Maybe I am wrong but a shaker is at least a motor. A motor used in pinball has 2 wires ....
The Alien is prepared for a shaker. There is a pcb with connectors or solderplate for this 2 wires ...
From an other post copied:
The shaker motor connector is a spike connector for spike and spike 2 systems, and plugs into the “shaker motor” PinOut on the power supply board in the bottom of the cabinet.
Pin 1 - red
Pin 2 - N/A
pin 3 - red (jumper or loop)
Pin 4 - black
Pin 5 - black (jumper or loop)
IF ... there is no preparation for a shaker you will need a pcb which converts the signal from the pinballmachine to 12 volts
power for the shaker. So this pcb needs 12 volts, 2 conectors signal from the pinball. This pcb are for sale from different distributors.
You dont have a neighbor or friend who will connect this 2 cables for you ?!
Or is the shaker completely out of range ?
Found it, installed...
It activates in test, no problem. When in-game? When activated it shuts down the whole game and restarts....on version 1.2 also.
color-codes match, the plug works, etc.
No clue...seems like more trouble that it is worth.
Quoted from Knightman:Found it, installed...
It activates in test, no problem. When in-game? When activated it shuts down the whole game and restarts....on version 1.2 also.
color-codes match, the plug works, etc.
No clue...seems like more trouble that it is worth.
This game is so fragile with the way its engineered that it makes it not worth the risk IMO. I've had plenty of problems with undersized connectors and socketed components under the playfield without a shaker that I would expect adding a shaker is just going to make it worse.
Quoted from Knightman:Found it, installed...
It activates in test, no problem. When in-game? When activated it shuts down the whole game and restarts....on version 1.2 also.
color-codes match, the plug works, etc.
No clue...seems like more trouble that it is worth.
Make sure you are running 1.2 and your I/O boards are updated to 0.9. Particularly the IOC board. You can access this update by going to tests -> I/O Boards -> Update
Also just out of curiosity, can you validate that you are running blue I/O boards and they have the attached pictures hack above a series of 4 SMd 0-ohm resistors? A small wire soldered jumping over and between these resistors.
9E89FBB8-095F-43EB-B105-0B0D776F4B28 (resized).jpegGot my LED order from TimeBandit today and spent all evening and half the night soldering them up and installing them! My Alien is a prototype with the 5 LED towers, but since we upgraded the CPU and code to the 1.2 version, half the lighting no longer worked. (New code doesn’t support the 5 LED towers)
Install went OK, I had one bad LED that I had to track down and some of the towers are tricky to swap with the LEDs on the under playfield boards since I didn’t fully remove them from the game, just loosened them and carefully reached behind to exchange the needed LEDs.
It is a total of 38 towers to swap with the single LEDs, here’s their general locations:
Bottom board (top when PF is up) - 2 anchor screws behind IO board/must remove it
(4) left side lanes and 2 above left outlanes
(2) right side lanes
Individual green boards
(2) 1 each of the 2 individual green boards on the left
(1) near the Xeno scoop and pops
Middle board (No anchor screws behind IO board)
(5) left side under ramps
(3) behind drop target mech
(3) right side behind upper right flipper mech
(2) the right side near pops
Top board (bottom when PF is up) - 1 anchor screw under IO board
(9) left side under ramps/next to orbits
(7) right side behind pops
38 total
Now I’m in need of compatible light pipes, but at least the pin is playable now!!
3851B06E-94F2-4A2B-9CDA-8F6E69AD4EF4.jpeg7454A3F1-243F-486F-8B27-378A3F7316BD.jpegA1388CB9-0524-429F-AE0B-E90174C99E3B.jpegAF375323-C6DE-40B4-A9E9-8FF6DFB9D44A.jpegQuoted from TimeBandit:Sling GI boards arrived. Fit perfectly.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
My left sling has gone bad. Best way to obtain new sling boards? Suitable alternative?
Quoted from Knightman:My left sling has gone bad. Best way to obtain new sling boards? Suitable alternative?
I will have them available shortly. About another week.
Quoted from TimeBandit:I will have them available shortly. About another week.
Excellent. I will likely buy several for spares as I did with the motherboard, mini-lcd panels and lcd-panel controllers. Please keep me posted.
Quoted from knockerlover:Package arrived today from freeplay via Daniel Janson one of the pinball brothers.. at this moment we theoretically should have all the parts to make fully working production level machines!
[quoted image][quoted image]
Ooh, presents! Lay all the parts out for a group shot! What else ya get?
Lyon
Hello! Would it be possible to do for the general lighting led totem as the prototype but suddenly all in parallel and not independent as the prototype to put them on the game series?
I'm not sure how to express my point with my ridiculous English! lol
Quoted from cyber-greg:Hello! Would it be possible to do for the general lighting led totem as the prototype but suddenly all in parallel and not independent as the prototype to put them on the game series?
I'm not sure how to express my point with my ridiculous English! lol
Yes, that’s how I have done the sling boards with extra LEDs. They are in parallel.
Lightings totem for the GI would be not bad not?
Quoted from knockerlover:Package arrived today from freeplay via Daniel Janson one of the pinball brothers.. at this moment we theoretically should have all the parts to make fully working production level machines!
[quoted image][quoted image]
Can I buy a xeno with the metal gear installed?
Quoted from TomDK:If you are quick .... yes !
In Australia also available.
if anyone has one let me know. thx
Any word to if there’s an online manual or printed manual available yet for this game ?
Also are the art files available is anybody going to reproduce the plastic sets ?
Maybe something better on PETG plastic ?
Quoted from mnpinball:Any word to if there’s an online manual or printed manual available yet for this game ?
Also are the art files available is anybody going to reproduce the plastic sets ?
Maybe something better on PETG plastic ?
Yes, someone is working on the plastic set in PETG.
Quoted from Zablon:Are the alien head and face huggers aftermarket? Hmm...to make a custom or not to make a custom...it really is a shame someone coudln't have picked up this game, I can't imagine the license was cheap.
I would be in the market for alien-r
Quoted from pinballinreno:I would be in the market for alien-r
+1
Quoted from TomDK:If you are quick .... yes !
In Australia also available.
Do you mean it has been factory built as it since a particular date built?
I am sure that this mechanics are factory build.
In Australa you can contact member Ballypinball, he offered in a psot also a full mechanic for sale.
I am still on the plastics, please see the other threads about Alien for first pics and impressions. BUT the plastics in Vivac is a forums project. A friend of mine has the possibility to make them on his work when printer and laser are not busy. But therefor we have to wait for timeslots to use this equipment.
So we are working on it.
Quoted from knockerlover:Testing and installing LEDs.. still need to find a light pipe solution..
[quoted image]
I’m going to send you my CAD drawings of my design with the cone machined up the middle. They are freaking gorgeous in real life. Maybe you can get a decent quote in that big ‘ol country of yours. Too expensive here.
BDD3BD0D-4D54-4DC4-ACB9-51DC39EBE87B (resized).jpeg
626F0A5C-13D9-4C59-8698-CB3887D62C49 (resized).jpeg
055B0582-AF52-4435-8CC1-712720B8200B (resized).jpeg5CD0385D-1F6E-43FE-A8BA-A0D6326296C6 (resized).jpegC6F735F8-0D15-49EA-B819-B6085D6F06DB (resized).jpegQuoted from Kneissl:All my light pipes look like they're epoxied in..
Some are. The OEM pipes have vertical fins on them to provide a grab if pushed/hammered in. Most can be tapped from the top to drop out.
Although they may have done more/less glueing over the production run. Machines may differ.
1 week later
Bath
Yes, seriously, all of you folks working to support this game are amazing! I feel I can speak for the entire Alien dev team: we're so honored that folks love this game so much that many of you are jumping through hoops to ensure the machine has a great long life, despite the manufacturing woes. Thank you!
Quoted from Ferret:Yes, seriously, all of you folks working to support this game are amazing! I feel I can speak for the entire Alien dev team: we're so honored that folks love this game so much that many of you are jumping through hoops to ensure the machine has a great long life, despite the manufacturing woes. Thank you!
2 things:
1-This game is just amazing!
2- pinside is not a cancer when the collective abilities Go to the benefit of a passion, to the benefit of all.
I started posting some info on pinwiki under heighway.. it should be easier than digging it out of the forums here... there's a ton of great info in here.
http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Heighway_Pinball_Repair
Replacing these LED's I learned that the big light PCB's traces, and the connection points for the LED's are really finicky. Couple that with the serial light bus, and it quickly becomes confusing. Ferret tipped us off that in single lamp test there is a code next to each lamp. Something like 1A-11, the format means IO Board, Chain, and Lamp. In this example, IO Board #1, Chain A, Lamp 11. So, if lamp 11 is bad, anything after that 12-20 will be off, or flickering, or stuck on.. etc.
So, to make it easier to track down I made a table of all the lamps..
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZtqbAPjQwFCOdWhHf2dGR8HS7ipjLsUZEXYAwFvWaQ4/edit?usp=sharing
There is one input and one output per LED, and you can visibly see the trace between LED's.. those traces can be jumped, but I would try reflowing the solder at the connection point first.
Another tip is to swap a potentially bad LED with the one at the end of the chain. A few case I found an LED that refused to send data upstream.. doesn't matter if it's in the last position.
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