(Topic ID: 218125)

What are your thoughts on the Spike II system?

By LoserKid_Pinball

5 years ago


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  • 566 posts
  • 99 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by PinMonk
  • Topic is favorited by 21 Pinsiders

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Post #26 A report from an operator and a life cycle expectation. Posted by xTheBlackKnightx (5 years ago)

Post #215 Things to consider from a senior technician’s perspective. Posted by xTheBlackKnightx (5 years ago)

Post #262 Words of expierence and a warning. Posted by xTheBlackKnightx (5 years ago)


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#76 5 years ago

I’m not buying SPIKE games. That is the vote I’m making with my wallet.

I love Stern games, and I own more than a few. But I just can’t drop bring myself to invest in Spike systems. SAM games were the pinnacle of Stern games. A nice solid board set that worked great. I do understand SAM was more expensive all around (hardware and programming). So I get why they switched over. But it feels like they did this to save money while increasing consumer cost.

I’ll continue to support Stern, and I’m sure there will be more Vault games I’ll buy. But it won’t be Spike.

#85 5 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

honestly, even that request to systematically remove bulbs is too much to ask for a brand new game just a few months old. Imagine them asking that is a regular joe and not a collector like yourself.

Well let's not get too crazy with our standards here. These are still pinball machines and asking him to remove bulbs to diagnose something sounds like a very reasonable thing to me. And it led to an understanding of the issue.

I do agree with your rant about the design issues, but diagnosing a flaky machine is reasonable.

#127 5 years ago
Quoted from TheFamilyArcade:

Why does this post have 2 down votes?

I'd guess it was actually for the issue that Stern charges $350 for a node board. Not for the fact that he pointed out that it cost him $350 to get.

It's difficult in a thread like this where you think "That sucks, I want to express my outrage" and it ends up in a downvote. But I really doubt that was actually against the poster.

#147 5 years ago
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

"Installation of non-authorized accessories, lamps, LED’s, motors or other devices or modification of electro-mechanical devices may damage the system and will void your warranty."

That is a pretty standard “cover your butt” warranty. It’s actually needed because all of us have varying degrees of electronic expertise. And it’s really easy to fry electronics when you don’t know what you’re doing. If you haven’t seen someone connect a connector one pin off, you just haven’t been around long enough. They have to be able to protect themselves from ham-handed fools trying to plug their TV into the Pinball machine node board to get free cable.

#157 5 years ago
Quoted from TechnicalSteam:

I wish I knew how much of the market is still operators vs home owners.

I think it is very lopsided towards homes.

My logic for that comes from seeing people’s collections vs what I can find on location in my area. I count the number of Stern Star Trek games in houses vs the few on location... in locations that have since closed. The operator market has pretty much dried up because it isn’t very profitable. Parts and the expenses to keep them going tend to make fairly small profit (if any). So it takes special people to keep going in that.

And that’s not just new games. Classics that have been overlooked out in public have new life in home collections. They get restored and cared for in people’s houses. That’s where the lions share of games are now.

#184 5 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

All I know is some guy I never heard of before posted a video on youtube telling me Spike is bad.

While I appreciate the effort to support Stern, I wouldn’t judge Spike so harshly if I hadn’t worked on Spike games and seen the issues myself. You might want to give people a bit more credit for thinking on their own rather than putting it down to them seeing a video on YouTube.

#268 5 years ago
Quoted from skink91:

If Stern wants/needs to print boards, they will send out and have them printed. Is someone ‘actually’ claiming they have this problem, or are you whipping yourselves into a frenzy over conjecture?

I agree. Stern will have more boards made if there is a market. And they will happily sell you that freshly printed node board for 300 bucks... ahem.

Nobody is claiming Stern doesn’t have boards to sell you at an insane markup.

#311 5 years ago
Quoted from mbwalker:

or 2) They used the simulation to cut everything to the bare minimum and it works ...barely.

Yup, this one (in my opinion). It seems to be marginal, but functional in every way. And it’s a nice revenue stream later. A marginal component of the system with only one source of replacement? Step 4: Profit.

#368 5 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

It's called removing the lockdown bar, removing the glass

Quoted from rubberducks:

I was under the impression this was not only to prevent costly damage to the game

Both of you are making true statements. I haven't bought a NIB yet that didn't require adjustment out of the box. Every one of them needs some tweaking, and that will be true forever.

AND the game should step in and squash that, reporting it as a switch problem. On SPIKE games especially. A switch going out of adjustment should be handled, no question. Just like shorted lights should be handled...

#395 5 years ago
Quoted from Bendit:

Exactly. Do we know what Spike has as far as "decoders" and "accelerators"? (if any)

I’ll go check the schematics...

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