World Poker Tour Pinball Club

She's looking great, just waiting on the 555 warm LEDs for inserts and decals for the new drops.

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Very fresh and bright. Looks great, Nice.

I'm finding the back-wall LEDs are irritating when sitting down. My eyes could be a bit sensitive, but sitting in a room with multiple back-wall LED'ed machines is difficult. I prefer to look away while sitting down or standing at a distance. I'm thinking of making a blinder from a sheet of shaded plastic and position it to block the back-wall lights from crossing the room.

I used the 90° from pinball life and aimed them down.

https://www.pinballlife.com/ablaze-premium-ghost-buster-1-smd-led-4447-bayonet-base-lamp-with-flexible-90-angle-leads.html

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Hey, that's interesting. I'm swapping my machine's for these. Thanks.

Sold!

I have my original WPT translite if anyone needs one. Pics below. Asking $30 shipped CONUS.

https://imgur.com/a/whHpLl8

hoping to get a little help on this problem with the cut the card vuk, I make the shot and nothing? the ball search will kick it out eventually, micro switch is working in switch test . is there a opto for this plunger? , don't have the manual to check , very frustrating tia

In switch test does the switch stay on when you put a ball in there? Sometimes VUK switches will make when a ball goes in but then isn’t held closed. The switch needs to stay closed for the vuk to activate

Also, the manual is on sterns website if you need it

thank you for the advise , I will check that out

Joined the club! Fun game, deep rules. Sometimes i cant figure out what multiball i started, it just seems to kick out a couple balls during play. I havent read thru the rules yet. I figured out ace in the hole and then i have locked balls for another one but then i get one randomly it seems. Also i cant remember the last time i had a game with a lot of drop targets but it seems rather loud when they reset. Is that normal?

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With a total of 16 drop targets, 3 banks (8) drops and two sets of (4) (4) it can be loud.
Rules:
http://tiltforums.com/t/world-poker-tour-strategy-and-rules/2925

Thanks for the quick response! I figured it would be noisy when they reset. Thanks for the link. Has anyone added new music instead of the stock ones?

If you're experiencing "Multiball which continues to go on for an extended period of time or indefinitely. If the balls do drain then the game may begin to ball search or may load all 4 balls into the shooter lane." then you have a CPU issue that only Stern can fix.

https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/sb163.pdf

It doesnt go on for an extended period of time, it just seemed to start for no apparent reason. Maybe it was the spinners that started it? But it didn’t announce a multiball.

Hard to say, but there is indeed a multiball that can be started via the spinners.

Yep, All-In.

Anyone have some good settings for colordmd? I have it on scan but ive seen some other machines that seem to look crisper than mine. Thanks

Does anyone make target decals for the upper playfield? Those white targets seem to be out of place and would look good with some art on them. I tried to google it but came up with nothing.

Thanks

Not sure if this helps.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1054-flashinstinct/00580-world-poker-tour-face-cards

Awesome. Exactly what i needed. Thank you

Hello everyone! I just bought my first pinball machine ever and it was the WPT to match the theme of my Man Cave. I love it so far...and haven't even tapped into deep gameplay, etc. I'm working my way through the 19 page thread here. I'll need to catch up on the terminology, etc (like mirror blades?). I'm impressed by those that installed side mirrors! I'm contemplating converting mine to LED. I've never worked on a machine before but it doesn't seem that hard to swap out bulbs and do minor things like upgrade the game code, etc.

I have a couple of bulbs to replace... In looking at photos, it seems like some owners change the bulb colors and don't always sub white for white? I bought a few blue LED's to replace the back wall lights just to see what it does. I see that LED kits vary from $130 to $230. Which site would you buy from?

One thing that bugs me about the machine, albeit minor. is the piece of plexiglass that separates the levels (the playfield from the elevated playfield). It's hazy and it looks like it needs to be cleaned. However, I think it's just scratched up from balls rolling over it. It bothers my eyes a bit when playing but I'm getting used it. I might want to replace it with a new one some day.

Is the chrome trim around the backbox. Is that replaceable or at least removable?

Congrats on your first pin!

They do sell led kits, normally a bit more pricey than doing it yourself. The chrome t-molding is replaceable and there are places to online to order new. I’m not sure how bad your plexi is but sometimes novus can help with minor scratches.

Good luck and enjoy!

Www.tmolding.com
Try Novus 1 or Novus 2 for cleaning upper playfield as did SpinnerAddict said.
Let us know how it turns out.

Marco has new upper playfields, but try polishing it first with Novus 2. It's kind of a pain to take it out, but do that, take the posts off, and start polishing. Then again, I'm lazy -- I just replaced mine. This may help the "jail" mech at the top work better.

I avoid using colored LEDs almost entirely, but that's just my preference. I don't like the bleed of LED colors spilling out. I usually only change "GI" lamps to LEDs (that is, the ones for lighting, not the ones for playfield inserts) but I did put in the LED pop bumper caps on WPT because it's very dark under the upper playfield.

As a result, my WPT just has a few LEDs in some places I thought could be brighter.

I've read all 19 pages finally. Wow...a lot of information there and it looks like I have about $700 of mods to do.

One thing I can't understand is why the DMD board is orange dots instead of red. The color DMD board is awesome though since I'm going to have this pin for a long long time.

I love the translite on page 15 the best...but that one isn't for sale anywhere. At least there are a few options on ebay right now.

I can't decide if I should got LED or not. And is a OCD board required or recommended?

The OCD board isn’t a requirement, but I wouldn’t put LEDs in this game without one. They flicker so bad without it, my eyes can’t take it.
Also, I suggest letting the original translite hang out for bit before changing it. I don’t think it’s as bad in person and kinda grew on me.

I'm not completely against the stock translight...so I will definitely do as you suggest. It's not great, but there's something to be said for the hosts of the show to be on the translight since you hear them so much in the game.

My wife was standing off to the side last night and noticed my Q of spades drop targets doesn't come up during play. The machine tries to put it in the up position at the beginning of the game by thumping (pushing from the bottom) 3 times during game start but it never stays. I'll be taking the target assembly off and trying to clean it and or applying the Stern #165 service bulletin. My first pin repair but I'm a mechanical engineer so I think I can handle it.

I'm ready to upgrade to a color DMD. The screen needs to show red and black cards, not orange. I've read through the LED vs LCD debate. I'm thinking LED with a filter is the way to go but I don't see any specific reference to LED vs LCD on the WPT. I'm thinking that Reds need an LED. I won't have anything side by side to compare it to. What are your thoughts on LED or LCD for this machine?

Can someone take a photo of the "top left orbit gate"? It's been noted to remove it several times here but I am curious exactly which piece it is. It looks to me like there area a couple of orbit gates on the top left and I'm not sure what exactly I'm trying to improve here. It was also noted to combine this removal with turning off the flop/turn posts in the settings to improve flow....which might or might not be Feature Adjustment #35.

I removed that piece long ago, but if memory serves its a one way gate just to the left of the Cut the Cards vuk. It prevents right orbit shots from looping around and screaming back down to the left flipper.

Removing that and disabling the flop/turn posts definitely makes the game play faster with much less stop and go.

I see it. Thanks!

I had the triple pulse on start up. It ended up being the 4 bank opto board for the drop targets. Had three bad 4 bank optos. When it triple pulse on start up the game is trying to rest the drop targets. If even 1 opto is bad on 1 board it will do that.

Interesting. So I don't need to do anything mechanical to the targets...I need to just buy an opto board and replace it? Now I need to find a part number/part.

Updated. Looks like 520-5252-04 Wow. $120 ! Welcome to the wonderful world of pinball ownership!

Does anyone recommend this one vs OEM?
ebay.com link

I haven't done any of the legwork, but I am assuming if it is just the optos that are burned out (it happens, like light bulbs) they can be ordered and replaced. Prior to doing that I would double check things like connectors and what not.

But if you are more geared to "remove and replace" be thankful it is *only* a hundred bucks, AND it is available. I have been in the hobby long enough that I don't just take for granted all these parts being magically available at the click of a button.

This is all new to me. I'm not even sure what an opto is yet except it's short for optics. I'm a mechanical engineer so I can figure it out I guess. I'm not sure I've been successful at soldering on PCBs and troubleshooting circuitry but I'll see what I can do first before buying a new component. Any links that you have on troubleshooting and opto board is appreciated. I'll do the search too.

One way is to see what drop target lights are lit when the target is up. They should only light solid when the target is hit and down. If the specific target light is on when you first start the game, and all the targets are up then that specific opto on that board is bad. If the target is down and doesn't come up when starting a game or reset during game play then the target is probably broke.

I guess I might have more problems than I thought I had. Hopefully this is the correct place to troubleshoot?

Issue #1: Qc is down when the machine starts and the light is lit bright. The Pin tries 3 times to push it up but it never stays up. From what you said, broke target (mechanical issue)

Issue #2 (new): Qh and Qs are both up when the game starts and seem to function normally when hit. However, they are lit (lightly) when the game starts. Those two optos on the board are bad? (Electronic issue) It looks like my machine has 2 opto boards on that side and both could be affected.

Correct?
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Looks like each board has a bad opto. If you have the skill each individual opto on the board can be replaced if not a new board is your best bet. The target that doesn't stay up could have a broken shaft, or the housing could needs adjustment.

I wouldn’t think any of those issues are the opto boards.

The Qc is lit as it should be when the target is down. The game also tries to reset it 3 times so it knows the target isn’t up. I would assume this is either an adjustment in the target height or an issue with the drop target ledge itself.

The other 2 Qs and Qh aren’t fully lit, and if they operate normally (I assume they count when you drop them, and the game tries to reset them when it is supposed to, etc.) then the opto board sounds like it’s working properly.
I would start by looking for a bent connection at those 2 lights, or another reason they might be shorted. Especially if they get brighter when knocked down.

It looks like I have some homework to do. Thank you all...I'll get back to you when I've had time to disassemble and check things out.

when my game was doing the 3 pulse reset, it was actually just that the screws holding the opto board had loosened.

Hey everyone...I think have something figured out and I want to run it by you to see if my logic is sound.

The Qc is down and won't come back up. We know that's a mechanical issue. After playing a few games and watching close, I realized that the other two Queens are flashing lightly from the start because the Qc target is down. The game is telling me that I need to hit either of the two Queens to make a pair. Once I fix the mechanical issue with the Qc, the issue of the other two flashing should go away because once I make better hand than QQ during gameplay, the Queens quit flashing as normal. I'm in luck, I don't think its an opto issue at all, just that one Qc being stuck.

That makes sense. I bet you’re right!

You can check by knocking one of the queens down and making a pair. After you make a pair, the lights should go off and the targets should reset.
Alternatively if you knock down any other pair, the lights should also go out and then reset the targets.

I would suspect an issue with the opto board if the targets all stayed up and the coil kept trying to reset. But since it’s down, the game is doing what it’s supposed to by trying to raise that target.

I took the drop target assembly off and applied the service bulletin 165 of adding washers. I used 0.04" instead of the recommended 1/16". The drop target assembly works perfect now...no issues...it stands up when it's supposed to and falls when it should also. Success! Thank you all! My first successful fix.

One thing I'm not happy about is the official Stern drop target assembly diagram 500-7029-04 is flawed. A couple of the parts are shown to be assembled in the wrong orientation. That's really frustrating but luckily was able to figure it out from trial and error and looking at one of the fully assembled drop target assemblies. That and I learned that gravity is not your friend when working on pins. There is still a screw that dropped and hung under the playfield that I still can't find.... I need to be more careful next time.

I also polished the upper playfield plexiglass with Novus 2. Although it didn't take out the deeper scratches, it did take out the dirt and light scratches which removed about 85+% of the haze. It looks much better and I can deal with it now that I can see the ball on the main playfield without the haze. Much appreciated for the tip!

I'm really amazed how much black leather T-molding around the backbox changes the entire WPT pin's appearance. All of a sudden, the stock translite looks nice and the colors pop more. That chrome T-molding was really taking away from overall looks of the machine.

Up next is a color DMD install

Glad to hear the opto boards weren't bad. Mine had 3 bad boards. I only paid 150 bucks for the machine. I'm in it more on the boards. After the opto boards I had to replace both upper flipper end of stroke switches. When I got it it had the original code so I updated to the newer version. I did replace the upper playfield also. I really like the game. Its my daily player. My other machines are for the weekends. I do have a few pesky insert lights that I need to mess with to get to stay lit when they are supposed to. Its the sockets for them I'm sure I'm just lazy at this point.

Wow... $150? That's amazing but it sounds like there were a lot things to fix. Amazing deal though. Mine also had the old code. I updated to the new code and the original owner was missing out because the latest code is so much better....More usage of the lights, more options and the elimination of some bugs that I noticed. I find the game rather difficult which is good....but it is my first pin too. I think I'll be playing this machine for a long long time regularly while my 60 in 1 Galaga game is used only when friends/family come over to visit.

Is there anywhere that actually describes the difference between the different skill level settings in the WPT pin? I have mine set to Easy and I've noticed that if you have a bad first couple of balls, the pin goes into an almost "I feel sorry for you, Multiball Mode". I assume that's corrected in a harder skill level setting but it is nice for a child or inexperienced person playing it. It would be nice to see the skill levels broken down side by side.

Here's a couple pages from the Stern WPT Manual; 56,57. It's not a side-by-side comparison, but might provide some input.
https://sternpinball.com/support/game-manuals/

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