(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
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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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#63 5 years ago

I route games for fun.

I am part of a group that has purchased and routed every spike PRO model to come out.
In short, every single one of them has had issues with the node boards/new technology.

In all cases Stern support has provided parts to fix the issues, but the bigger problem is the amount of time it takes on my end to diagnose and fix a brand new 5k machine. Combine that with players quickly learning to steer away from certain games due to issues and worry of failure while playing and it hurts the coin drop for the long haul (i.e. we have finally fixed our GOTG after 3 node board exchanges, but players still are going to expect intermittent weak flippers and other issues with out game forever)

Simply put, the spike and spike2 system is nowhere near as robust as the previous ones, parts fail often, and they are costly (or impossible) to get replacements as soon as the game is out of warranty or they run out of back stock for a game (since they revise them almost every title it seems)

Take warning as a home owner, because after a certain amount of time and number of plays you should expect to see more failures as these games age.

I will note again that Stern support has always gotten us squared away, but to me that still does not make up for the fact that the whole system has foundational issues (a flaky light bulb or poor code update can cause a node board to blow and coils to go weak)

1 week later
#77 5 years ago
Quoted from TomGWI:

Just had my first node board failure last night on Batman 66 Premium. Lower GI went out by the flippers and slings. Sent information to Chas and hope he gets back to me today.
I own WWE, GOT, Aerosmith, Star Wars, GB, Iron Maiden and previously Kiss. This is the first time I have had a failure. Feel pretty helpless that there are no schematics to even try to diagnosis what is going on.

it is a bad situation for sure!

sad part is you cant even swap between the game you own to diagnose (maybe SW and BM? could)

#80 5 years ago
Quoted from TomGWI:

I heard back from Chas. He said it only takes one shorted bulb and they will all go out. Wants me to remove the bulbs and test so I will start there.
Yeah it sucks that the boards aren’t interchangeable between games. That is definitely not a good thing in my eyes.

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.

I have a huge issue with the design of the Spike system. The fact that a single flakey bulb, intermittent socket, or anything really in the light chain has the ability to screw so much up (pull power form flippers, blown node boards, etc...) shows how poorly this has been engineered.

#90 5 years ago
Quoted from TomGWI:

You have never owned a WOZ.

we have one on route

Luckily we waited for the 2.0 model...

#92 5 years ago
Quoted from TomGWI:

When are you getting a Pirates?

oct 2017, lol

#105 5 years ago
Quoted from wayout440:

The fact that adding a mod can damage it is not what defines Spike as a bad system.

what makes it a bad system is that a .23 cent LED has the ability to render the most important feature of the game (the flippers) weak, inoperable, or blow a $300+ node board.

Whomever thought that not isolating the coil power from the low voltage switches and LEDs was a good idea, deserves to be kicked in the junk.

Hell, just isolate the flippers by hard wiring them separate. The flipper is the player controlled interaction and the most important part in any machine. Stern somehow managed to screw up something that has been a rock solid design for almost 100 years and largerly unchanged for the past 40.

#110 5 years ago
Quoted from wayout440:

I just usually don't consider a lamp change as a "mod" per se.

just to be clear, I am not talking about changing out a led. I am referring to multiple people having trouble with the factory provided LEDs. They are having internal shorts which causes a plethora of down stream issues (node board blowing up, intermittent weak flippers, etc)

#146 5 years ago
Quoted from BudManPinFan:

Your current collection shows you don’t own any Sterns, although you did say you just purchased a GOTG. I’d prefer to hear from those that own or route several of them.

what do you want to know

#149 5 years ago
Quoted from BudManPinFan:

Actually your earlier post in this thread is exactly what I was wanting to hear, the experience of someone who has routed several of the spike games. I don’t have enough experience with electronics to know whether all the concern over the spike system is justified or not, but there sure seems to be some valid points. I don’t want to add to the paranoia, I own one spike pin and to this point it has never given me a problem, but when people with a lot more experience/ability than I are expressing concerns it has me nervous about purchasing another.

From my experiences and in talking with other operators, I think the issues will crop up on the majority of games over time.

Route games are on for 8-14 hrs a day and obviously have more play and heat/cool cycles in a shorter time.
It is just a matter of time before home games eventually see a similar amount of play and on time. What boggles my mind in this whole thing is that these node boards are not readily available for under $200.

Given that Stern has developed toss away electronics for the consumer with Spike, they need to figure out how to get a decent amount of overstock for each node board version so the consumer builds confidence they will be able to fix games before they become 250lb dust collectors.

#154 5 years ago
Quoted from TomGWI:

So can you put any LED bulb in or does it have to be the ones provided by Stern?

not sure TBT, but spike is a finicky bitch

#167 5 years ago
Quoted from D-Gottlieb:

The market for Iron Maiden has been 50-50, according to people I know in the business and their distributors.

I cant believe that.

Of the 35 Iron Maidens at MGC when it was first release, probably 7 of those were going on route and the rest all went into private collections.

#174 5 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Here in NYC, I know ZERO people who own an Iron Maiden, and there are about 5 on location. Location pinball still exists, so do operators.

lol

step out of your concrete jungle bubble Levi.

Madison, a city of ~300k, has 4 or 5 IRMNpro on route. It has aleast 10 in homes that I personally know of and lots more I am sure that are not.
And this is a top 5 per capita pinball density city...

#177 5 years ago

all the route tracking apps are pretty good as a combined knowledge base of what is on route and where.

Personal collecitons, not as much, but Pinside still captures a decent percent.

For almost all newer Sterns the Pinside data shows that collectors own the majority of each title.

My guess it at minimum 70% home market currently and likely route has chewed back a small % over the last 2 years (pinball is coming back on route and lots of dabblers)

#198 5 years ago
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:

I've gotten to tinker around with Spike II over the past couple of days and I still think it's a fantastic system. With the schematics coming and some more explanation of the theory of operation, I think people will change their minds about it.
The sheer number of games using Spike II speaks volumes. There is quality engineering in what Stern have produced here.

am I crazy? or did at one time Stern state that they would be offering tech classes to OPs on the new system?

#216 5 years ago
Quoted from mario_1_up:

I only have one spike on location. Its back in my shop waiting on its 3rd node to be replaced. This game cost more to keep running than the other 14 combined. Needless to say I highly doubt I'll be buying another spike system game.

Which game?

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