Jurassic Park: ramp hopping

One problem with having games a bit steeper than there normal settings is that sometimes the new physics aren't taken in to account.
The major issue here was that the ball would hop OFF the wireform ramp and in to the right outlane.

right through that gap

Sometimes from the VUK, sometimes if it had a lot of spin coming from the upper left of the playfield.
I got a tip on pinside to just close the gap with a bent paperclip, but I chose to use some 19 gauge wire, and that seems to have done the trick.

It's not classy, but it works.

One of spots the ball would jump off:  When you hit the ramp hard and the ball is being diverted to the right of the playfield, sometimes the ball would jumble around and fall off on to a pop bumper.
This is not mission critical, seeing as how the ball is still in play, and not straight in to the outlane.

check that post in the center, near the top

The support post, center, top, holds the ramp in place along the left side, but it doesn't feel like it is secured to anything.  Because of the wobble, that is why the ball is falling off there.
I will have to take the ramp out and inspect that piece.
These "jumping off the ramp" problems started occurring more when I installed superbands on the flippers, as those seemed to give me far more powerful shots.  No way I would compromise on those now, though.  The game plays far better with those flipper rubbers.  I'd much prefer to address the issues with the ramp itself.




While playing, on 2 different occasions, we had a slam tilt which then resets the game.  Only happened twice, but a bug to check up on.  Inspected wires, went through the switch tests, all seems good, for now...
The slam tilt resides in the same Swith Matrix column as a bunch of the front door switches, but the same row that also contains the "Herrerasaurus - Top" switch, which seems like the most likely culprit.  It's in that three target switch bank I've fiddled with before.  The center red target in the photo below.


And last but not least, I will have to get around to shaving the chasis of the two green targets at the pop bumper entrance.

These get hit from all angles and the outer edge gets caught on the metal backing of the switch, which makes it impossible to depress and register.
It's been recommended to dremel out the side body of the targets to keep the game playing smooth.  I'll get to it, some day...

Jurassic Park: plastics + rubbers

Sometimes a few small changes can really be a sea change for a game.  Minor prior annoyances that perhaps dulled your enthusiasm are melted away with the blistering gameplay that feels so NEW and vital.  But what has happened?  Nothing but changing a few rubbers, and voila.

feels so good

I was weaning off of JP, there was just something missing, so I decided to try the Super Rubbers.  Ordered 3 orange ones, and oh my, this feel like the way JP was always meant to be played.
The bounces, the control, the colours, it all seems SO APPROPRIATE.
The game is just more fun now.

In fact, a new problem arose:  The shots up the ramp happened with such bliss and accuracy, that I might need to modify the rails to prevent the ball from sometimes hopping off.
We already had a similar issue near the VUK where sometimes the ball would hop off to the outlane, so perhaps we can research both and tackle that problem.

I'll call you Orange Upper Flippy

But another big improvement was getting lexan plastics cut in the shape of the chipped ones.  A friend with a JP wanted to trace mine, so I got copies at the same time.
The lexan was thin enough so that the cracked plastic can sit on top.
This is most noticeable of an improve in the upper right, as this is what it looked like before when the plastic was cracked and the portion where the rivets would be are not there.

Yeah, not pretty.  I had switched this to a ziptie, but still not optimal.

fresh cut lexan piece

old broken plastic sits on top of the lexan piece, allowing the lights to be attached properly.

And also above the center scoop:

old plastic was busted in upper right

At this point the main thing to do is work on the standup tarrgets, reinforce them with a stabilizer from Mezel Mods, and perhaps slice away part of the edging to prevent them from getting and no longer registering.

pinball party status report

Had a PWO meetup and as we all know, inviting people over for a night is the best way to stress test your machines.  Here's how they all stood up.

Rollergames:
The ball gets stuck up at the top a lot.  Unsure if just a diverter issue, or it is bounces awkwardly and that is why it sits between the first and second exits.
Magnet sometimes does not grab the ball.  I think when I realigned that upper flipper I put it too far to the right and now there is less friction for the ball, so it sails past.

Jurassic Park:
After 2 hours, the DMD kept resetting, showing the software version.  I opened it up and noticed one of the screws was missing from the board, so perhaps was losing it's grounding.  I moved around the screws, but will have to go buy a proper replacement.

The standups certainly need reinforcement / rebuilding.  I think all of the Data East standups are super rare to find replacements for.

Lord Of The Rings:
Palantir target might need adjusting, as direct hits send the ball up to smack the glass.
The sword lock (white post) doesn't stop the ball properly, and balls are jumping out of the lock.
And finally by the end of the night, the DMD itself just went out!  Gone!  No idea what happened, but it was time for bed anyways.  The next day I turned the machine on, and it was fine. 

Apollo 13: 
perfect.

Introducing: Jurassic Park!

Say hello to our little friend!
JP is visiting here for a spell from a friend that needs some room, and I will give it some love.

First thing we noticed was there was a switch issue:  pulling the trigger seemed to fire a pop bumper?  Noticed the wires going to the trigger looked chewed and were partially exposed!  Sealed those up and that went away.

gnaw that ain't right

Some wires near the very front of the playfield were pushing out, allowing them to be caught and stressed when the playfield lowered, so I reigned those in with a cable tie.  Tested them, no breaks.

The machine arrived with the recent issue that 2 balls would enter the shooter lane, as well the VUK would jackhamer for a while at the beginning.  I've watched enough pinballninja to know where to look:  the trough swiches. 
Put the game in to switch test and quickly found ball 6 rollover wasn't registering.  Took a better look and I could see two of the contacts were shorted due to missing insulation.

shorting at the left

insulator back on

Upper right flipper was buzzing when held up:  bolts were loose.


The green targets were all smashed to the side a bit, and resting against the metal brace, meaning they could never be scored.  Loosened, adjusted, and tightened those up nicely!

green one misaligned: outer plastic pressing against metal switch bracket

After a handful of games the game went down again:  the ball wasn't being ejected from the shooter lane.
After some false starts, turns out the shooter coil had been shorted.  This was partly due to wear via an improvised mounting bracket.
The front of the bracket had seemingly come off, and someone welded on another chunk of metal to replace it.  New bracket + coil ordered and installed.
(I should have taken a photo of the old hacked bracket!)

And while I was at it, I ordered frosted status LED bulbs for on top of the playfield.  I hate clear status lights.

I love frosted dome LED lights for indicators

Other things to attend to:
The plastic to the right of the ramp is busted and the bracket with 2 lights above it were flopping around.  I cable tied it to the ramp post as a temporary solution as I look to reinforce the plastic it is supposed to secure to.
The under-playfield supports need new nuts.  The two pieces are loose and shouldn't be trusted.
Some of the lights on top of backbox are not working. 
left + upper right flipper brackets are each in need of a few screws.

these brackets are super loose.