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Sttng (things I need to know)

Pharo

Site Supporter
1 10 Years
Joined
Nov 11, 2014
Messages
620
Location
Irvine Ayrshire Scotland
Hi all just got a sttng so was wondering if there is anything I need to keep an eye on as I've heard they can be troublesome.
Also do people advise fitting the lane extenders if so where would the best place to buy them from.
Cheers Brian
 
Hi all just got a sttng so was wondering if there is anything I need to keep an eye on as I've heard they can be troublesome.
Also do people advise fitting the lane extenders if so where would the best place to buy them from.
Cheers Brian
I’ve just refreshed a working STTNG, some of the things I’ve dealt with / worked on:

- Single drop target (above the top lanes) not working correctly - was catching on playfield
- Full re-rubber, which requires removing the right ramp assembly and wireform and the ship at the back to be able to access the ones in the top right. Not the easiest machine to re-rubber!
- Right inlane proximity sensor intermittent fault
- Full flipper rebuild, depending on condition of yours you might not need it.
- New insert decals for old ones which were damaged or missing.
- Juiced the spinner, which was a bit rickety before. Now the super spinner is mega value!

A lot of the common faults with STTNG involve optos and particularly those on the two cannons and the trough. Luckily no opto issues on the one I’m working on (touch wood).
 
STTNG was my first game and I loved it. Definitely recommend the inlane extender.

Unfortunately it’s famous for being one of the heaviest games and also for loads of stuff going wrong as it’s so complex; well worth the hassle though as when in tip top condition it can’t be beat. There’s a reason that IPDB still lists it as the 4th most popular pinball machine of all time. I kid you not.

Make it so!
 
It seems like the inlane extenders are a must, has anyone got a set lying around before I go down the road of ordering a set.
Not sure I’d say they’re a must, STTNG is just a game where the outlanes are tough and nudging is a must. Having fresh rubber on the slings and just above the right outlane makes a big difference in being able to nudge it up and out. It’s still responsible for about 80% of my drains 😂

You can also change the kickback setting to easy, which gives you a lit kickback on the left outlane at the start of each ball.
 
Brian,

Don't be thrown by a Test Report for the switch 'Borg Lock', inside the ship. This is one of those cases where a switch can go undisturbed for quite a while.

That single drop target seems to have suffered more than a few instances of a problem with the small coil which drops the target. It's held in a small metal frame, and moves a plate with an attachment which pushes on the target. The plate should rest against a stop, basically a part of the frame. However, this often seemed to break off, allowing the plate to move a long way from the coil, in turn leaving the the dropping 'finger' a long way from the target (it should be up quite close). Whether these breakages were due to poor-quality components or poor assembly technique (the plate is fitted to the frame, and the stop gently bent around to secure the plate/adjust the dropper) I couldn't say.

It wasn't long before these games used to be seen with the cannons out of order, parked at the 'mark' position rather than 'home', lined up with the loading outlets. The error message would be '-- Launcher Can't Find Home'. In fact, it usually could, but the wiring coming up from below the playfield was breaking down, and the optic showing the cannon was loaded was the problem - it showed an intermittent phantom ball in the launcher, causing an attempt to clear it, followed by disabling the launcher. Replacement wiring harnesses became a popular item.

The game has such a crowded switch matrix that an extra 9th column was added, it's used for the cannon Mark and Home microswitches. The Column drive comes from the small '8-driver' pcb, which is set to a mixed configuration of 6 solenoids/2 columns rather than purely 8 solenoids. Any replacement board should be set the same with some on-board jumper changes if necessary.

Even then, the spinner switch is actually an un-used flipper switch, F 7, rather than a regular switch, so it doesn't have a diode.
 
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