great news ..

Hopefully it doesn't burn up transistors...

Seriously though, is it possible for a corrupt software update to affect a transistor board? I honestly don't see how and believe its just coincidence, but anyone ever heard of that? I would think there would be more cases but should I redownload and reinstall the 1.2 code before installing my new board?

No. It would have failed crc check and not booted or ran.

Seems like there are a number of us who have had issues with the 8 driver board. My understanding is that it is a new part; perhaps they've got some initial QC issues. In all likelihood, the timing of the code release and your issue was indeed just a coincidence.

Crap. That means Greg wins.

Don't ever talk to me again.

Thanks for this post. This is what I needed to hear to put me at ease a little more. Just hope my replacement board arrives soon and stern resolves this issue.

You know, the 8 driver board uses more powerful transistors than the regular power / driver board. The magneto magnet is on the regular driver board and the wolverine one is on the 8 driver board. The magnets are the same. Why then does the board with the more powerful transistor running the same magnet seem to be the one that dies? Perhaps there is some SW control in how much pulsing the magnet gets. It's also possible that they increased this on 1.2 for wolverine magnet and if your board was on the verge of going out that update put it over the end. Just theory...

Nice one Greg, that beast voice does need work but so do a few others storm, prof x doesn't sound very professor x like more like wolverine trying to talk softer, need these voices tweaking so keep fighting the good fight Greg

Well I really enjoyed both models each very fun pins IMO. I played both a decent amount and if your into the comic X-Men then it should be right up your alley. I came away really loving how the Pro played a lot and am getting one of them. I liked the overall artwork on the Pro cabinet, back box, and backglass they did a great job on it IMO. Less features then the LE but also will likely be much less problematic as far as having to fix things as well. That's something to think about since it will be your first pin. Like Donnyman I bought mine through Gexchange.

How many of you guys have left the outlane posts in the original position vs moving them up one or even two spots? I haven't moved mine, but have been thinking about it. Just curious what most are doing with theirs.

Wide open for me..

wide open meaning factory defaults or all the way up top?

Still at factory (meaning wide open)... but I've been considering closing them up a bit just to see what happens.

I am with Rob - I like the Beast....

Original position - haven't changed anything yet.... Still havent done the e-clip either...

I think Beast offers some comic relief. I don't mind him at first, but he does get old fast.

Is the e-clip fix something that everyone should consider? I mean, is it preventative? My disc does not make any noise yet.

If yours isn't making noise I wouldn't sweat it. But I highly recommend buying the e clip next time your at lowes or home depot. I bought mine ahead of time to be safe but had no issues. Then a week into owning the pin, out of nowhere, it started making a lot of rattling. Pulled out my Pre ordered e clip and had it back running in 10 mins and is smooth and silent than it ever was.

Count yourself lucky? Mine started making noise after about 30 plays. Now I can't stand it, and the e-clip will not work (it binds the whole thing). Add to that the whole non-spinning spinner, and I'm not super stoked right now. My distributor has been silent on the matter for 3 weeks, so I think I will call Stern direct. I think the gears on my spinner are borked, as when I manually move the spinner, I can feel it get 'stuck' for a second. It does not spin smooth. Plus that clacking has got to go!

Bleh:

Just curious but does anyone know when r the x men pros due to ship out?

Good advice. What size clip was it again?
I'm placing a large order with PBL anyway. Might as well throw a couple on there.

I think towards the end of August. I want to say I heard the 23rd thrown out there, but don't quote me on that.

This is a good theory. Hopefully stern is on top of it and doing something preventative. I'd hate to see a mass recall come on this board; but I'd hate more for others to go through this experience as well.

I want to say its a 5/16". I'm not home to check. Anyone want to chime in to confirm?

Have you checked to be sure that the set screw on the spinner isn't hitting anything? When mine was out of whack I had the same issue, where in some cases it would bind up the spinner. If the spinner always gets "stuck" at the same point per revolution might be worth checking out.

Yep, 5/16".

Yup, first thing I thought it was. No luck though, it clears it fine.

and the e-clip will not work (it binds the whole thing). Add to that the whole non-spinning spinner, and I'm not super stoked right now.

There's a lot of adjustment in where that set screw goes if you'd like to try to fix it, you can make as much room as you want for the eclip. There is plenty of adjustment for up/down/tilt in the way it mounts to the brackets that attach to the playfield, just no side to side, so you can really add up to ~1/4"(or more) to the shaft length if you really needed to.

I've got a pic or two that shows how much room is there.

IMG_20120810_140412.jpg

Mine is spitting extra balls out in the shooter lane at least once per game now. Had three stacked in there one time and it just gave up. Between that and the Magneto lock spitting out balls, bad trace in an opto @ the ball lock, the ramp acting funky, the spinner magnet knocking and off set, the Wolverine closing off the Beast lane, the spot light bulb on the right and blue bulb popping out many times, the shooter being too offset on the ball to shoot consistently, the start button light still doesn't work no matter what I do....

I've had this open for fixes and work almost as much as my STTNG I've had for 10 years or so... And I don't even feel close to getting all the bugs out, or knowing whether I'm even dealing with bugs or a coding problem, as some of these have been commented on by plenty of others here.

I have a feeling this one is going to be a long term headache, all I want to do is play it.

Dude I hear ya, it sucks. do you have this list written down and sent to stern or your distributor?

As for the balls spitting into the trough. From my past stern titles, I've found that taking off the trough wire and putting it back on fixes it...there's 2 pin connector wires that need to be reseeded. I think they come a butthair loose to cause the issue when a shaker motor is installed or the game gets rattled around a lot.

I know some of us are used to hearing Patrick Stewart's voice as Prof X, but the game Prof X sounds in line w/ some of the cartoon versions, so it's cool with me. Last night I started Storm's mode right after her "Magneto's attacking..." intro and the volume of her voice is DEFINITELY spiked way high for the mode compared to the intro. If they dial that volume down, Storm might be alright.

Thanks, I'll try the connector.

Patrick asked me to check the switches for the ramp in both positions, which I already did and told him in the first message extensively, and to perform the clear ball trough test.... which of course I'd already done extensively and it always performed fine. Pretty sure I'm just getting the long runaround. While I don't doubt if I stay on them they'd help me get through it, pretty sure I just need days off alone like today to work on it and a place to vent when I'm taking a break haha.

I've only had it put 2 in the lane one time, but I have heard it choking on the balls and struggling to get one served up several times. I hope mine doesn't escalate into a problem.

Have you changed your speakers, or removed that capacitor? Really surprised I keep hearing this, as she sounds fine to me. Exactly like the cartoon and about the same volume as everyone else.

I do have the FF speaker kit in mine so that may be slapping her with enough bass.

just wanted to add this has been posted by Stern for 1.2 code:

V1.2 - August 8, 2012
=======================
- added Dark Phoenix artwork.
- fixed scoring for all modes.
- changed game progression. Game now starts with all modes available.
- added speech and sound effects for several modes and villain select.
- added wolverine multiball mode.
- fixed a scoring issue where some magneto multiball scores weren't being added to the totals.
- changed all X-men modes to be easier to advance towards and complete.
- fixed an issue with the villain selection screen where placing money in the coinslot would prevent you from changing your selection.
- changed Brotherhood and Hellfire Club logos in selection screen to clearly state their multiball status.
- changed Brotherhood to be a 3-ball multiball.
- changed Xavier mode requirement to only find one mutant.
- changed Cyclops mode requirement to only combo shot. Cyclops mode no longer uses the scoop as a shot.
- changed Rogue mode to incorporate more shots including the nightcrawler mech.
- changed Iceman to requirement to be only two shots and to incorporate movement on the motorized ramp.
- changed Magneto Multiball to have the ramp move based on iceman shot being available as a jackpot.
- added adjustable for mode advancement to make them easier or more difficult. Reset default difficulty to medium.
- added text and modified lighting effects for Hellfire Club and Brotherhood side bank strikes.

so for the light lock targets that are starting to shift around a bit.. how are they best adjusted? topside? bottom? adjust the plastic or metal or ?

Nope, stock speakers. I don't see how FF speakers would change the volume of one character, though.

There are two screws going through the "wood and metal sandwich" that makes up the switch...just tighten those screws and you should be fine!

Stand up targets take a beating and move slightly over time. If they aren't loose as rare hero points out then just grab them and bend them back into place. My tron ramp target likes to work its way into quorra lane over time and I bend it back weekly.

Rarehero: you really might consider removing the cap on the left speaker. I consider this a bug by stern. It turns the backbox speakers more into tweeters. This was a side effect of the changes stern tried to make for acdc. But there they had a huge 12" to cover the mids and needed more highs. In all other stern games, there is no cap, same speakers, same 2030 sound amp. The cap should be removed and you'll get slightly better mids out of the backbox. It's as easy as cutting the yellow wire and moving the red/black wire to the speaker lug where the cut yellow/red was.

Spitting out extra balls can occur when the game thinks there are more balls in the trough than there are. Most likely cause is a ball trough opto. I haven't looked to see but I think they are optos in this game. Reseating the cable could help but I suspect it won't fix it. Can you reproduce any issue in switch test? Like go to switch test with all balls in the trough then remove one ball at a time looking at the screen.

Since the issue is intermittent I'll assume you can't really repro it that way. Does it happen more when balls are locked in magneto? How many locked if so? Best thing I can suggest is try to nail the symptoms more. The number of balls in the trough and location of other balls at the time helps. It can tell us which of the trough optos is suspect. The thing about the optos. They have a beam of light between them that's constant. If this light flickers even for a moment then the game thinks there's a switch hit. If the opto works most the time and flickers intermittently based on power consumption or vibrations, it may think there's an extra ball in the trough and spit it out. Tracking down the suspect opto can be hard but you can usually do it based on the number of balls in the trough while the issue occurs.

You could also try gentlely cleaning the trough optos with qtip sprayed with amonia free glass cleaner.

Only one opto in the trough at the end, rest are rollover switches. I've got a fair amount of opto experience with the intermittent/bad on at the magneto lock when I first got it, and all the work on STTNG I've done over the years.

Haven't been able to duplicate it in any tests so far, always works great. I haven't been able to see any flickering or anything.

I just cleaned everything, so we'll see if its any better.

Also raised the pitch some, moved Wolvie a bit more as the tip of his right claw was touching the balls slightly.
Wiped a TON of black stuff off from underneath the circle X with all the names in the playfield... might want to check that everyone I can't believe how dirty it was.
Tried to adjust one of the Nightcrawlers as he is rubbing the upper left of his hole, but didn't get anywhere with that.
Moved my apron hooks some, and moved the shooter rod even further right than I had it to line up with the ball in the lane better.

Flasher underneath the pops dies within a few games of replacing it, I've put three in there now and they always go out fast. Need to get an LED one ordered.
Tried to adjust the blue bulb on the right that comes loose, wire came out of one side of the bulb so it's junk now need to order one of those too.

You should order one for under the Wolvie insert too. Pretty distracting seeing a dirty looking incandescent flasher sharing an insert with a cool white LED.

I think the opto board should have 2 on it. One for the ball in first position and one for the jam detection. Perhaps it is trying to place a ball in the shooter and it ends up on top of another ball. Then it will try again. This could be causing the 2 ball issue as well.

omg that was definitely work experience week for some blind kid ..

Is that an 89?

Yeah.

Pffft...dirty...lol...why is 'warm white' associate with dirt? Oh, hey look it's the sun! IT'S SO DIRTY!!!

...you DO notice the flasher there due to it being a different color. If you put a cool white LED there, perhaps it won't be as obvious? I was actually thinking of putting a colored LED flasher there...blue or yellow (to go with Wolverine) maybe? Or red for Weapon X BLOOD?