Star Trek the Next Generation

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 13, 2012

It's official. I was able to acquire a STTNG pinball in very good shape for about a grand less than I offered a guy for one last year.

Step one complete step two will be finding just the right place to put it LOL I don't have any good pictures of it yet at this point but I have created this thread to share my shenanigans and any issues that come up. The only known issue at this point is the right cannon "sticks" on occasion. I will be tearing into that issue as time permits.

Sinistar · Nov 13, 2012

Wow Jeff , that is awesome ! STTNG was the Pinball I picked in a thread asking if you could own a real pinball , which would it be . Cant wait to see more pics and please post videos too.

Sean DonCarlos · Nov 13, 2012

Congratulations on having "made it so"! Is this your first physical table?

BonzoGonzo · Nov 13, 2012

hey, good stuff

but those pics are just thumbnails

esp2000 · Nov 13, 2012

That is awesome. Would love to have a real pinball table. Have to wait for the kids to move out first though so that I have room in my place.

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 13, 2012

Serenseven said:
Congratulations on having "made it so"! Is this your first physical table?

I've had some arcade games in the past but now I just have a ping pong table and a 1978 Chicago Coin bowling puck game in mint condition : )
I've always really wanted the STTNG pinball and maybe a Bride of Pinbot.

BonzoGonzo said:
hey, good stuff

but those pics are just thumbnails

Yea I know I just have the 3 junky cell phone pics from when I picked it up for now. I have to get my room set up properly for its permanent spot and have enough space to work on it. But those are the kinds of problems I like!

I managed to fix my mistake with the pictures and link the correct size.

SKILL_SHOT · Nov 13, 2012

Very nice! How much did you spend? That looks like its a pain to shop

Bonzo · Nov 13, 2012

Congratulations! Really looking forward to seeing more of it.

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 13, 2012

SKILL_SHOT said:
Very nice! How much did you spend? That looks like its a pain to shop

Oh you mean because it has so many doodads? Or because you see something wonky? LOL

I will depend on you guys that have gone before me for advice on the best way to clean this sucker up to a spit shine.

I offered less than 3K and I let him work me to 3. Last year I came across one that had been used in an arcade and was pretty rickety and he was immediately irritated when I offered less than 4K. I'm pretty happy with that price given the condition. I'm not an expert on pinball machines but I know my way around control panels, relays etc. and everything seemed to be functioning adequately without any obvious signs of improper amp draw anywhere that I could see. I won't know how I really did till I dig into it but I am a sucker for TNG so however it ends up I'll be happy ; )

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 18, 2012

Here is a video of the left cannon malfunction. If anyone has a clue what the deal is drop me a line. You see me testing the limit switches here and showing what happens when you attempt to fire the left cannon. Other than a few bulbs the cannon issue is the only problem so far.

karl · Nov 18, 2012

Concrats on a great pinball machine, one of my favorites. Too bad about the cannon. I have heard it is a common problem though, let us know how it turns out.

Kolchak357 · Nov 18, 2012

Apparently the cannons can be finicky on that pin. Here is a link to a whole bunch of cannon problems and fixes from Pinside.com. Hope this helps. Congrats on such a cool new toy.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/search?s=1&q=Sttng+cannon#results

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 18, 2012

Kolchak357 said:
Apparently the cannons can be finicky on that pin. Here is a link to a whole bunch of cannon problems and fixes from Pinside.com. Hope this helps. Congrats on such a cool new toy.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/search?s=1&q=Sttng+cannon#results

Thank you

After looking at a few options I think it may be a brittle wire in the wiring harness I'm going to check it out and see if I can patch it together for troubleshooting.

Fuseball · Nov 18, 2012

Jeff Carpenter said:
Thank you

After looking at a few options I think it may be a brittle wire in the wiring harness I'm going to check it out and see if I can patch it together for troubleshooting.

That sounds a likely cause of the problem. I think you can get replacement cannon wiring looms quite easily these days.

bigian · Nov 19, 2012

Looks like the wiring harness on the cannon. They are prone to breaking. There are replacement harnesses and a slightly different wiring config (basically you wrap the cables around the cannon different ways depending on which one it is)

harness available here
http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=479
or here
http://www.marcospecialties.com/con...F671C928B9743B4DBE.jvm1?SEARCH_STRING=H-17067

some sites to get you started. Just ask for help on any of them.

http://www.pinside.com
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/rec.games.pinball
http://www.pinballinfo.com

Good luck, its a great game but one of the hardest games to fix when you have problems. Too many optos .....

oh btw they multiply quickly, 1 is never enough you end up with a few more than you have room for. I have room for about 6 but currently have 9

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 19, 2012

I took some "before" pictures to show the dirt and missing pieces of the game. There are a few bulbs missing and blown, a few missing screws, and for some reason one of the pop bumper caps is gone. I have new cannons with dome lights, lasers, and new wiring harnesses ordered and on the way. I have an upgraded rom ordered and on the way as well.

More after the jump below...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90091823@N08/sets/72157632042845209/

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 19, 2012

bigian said:
Looks like the wiring harness on the cannon. They are prone to breaking. There are replacement harnesses and a slightly different wiring config (basically you wrap the cables around the cannon different ways depending on which one it is)

harness available here
http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=479
or here
http://www.marcospecialties.com/con...F671C928B9743B4DBE.jvm1?SEARCH_STRING=H-17067

some sites to get you started. Just ask for help on any of them.

http://www.pinside.com
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/rec.games.pinball
http://www.pinballinfo.com

Good luck, its a great game but one of the hardest games to fix when you have problems. Too many optos .....

oh btw they multiply quickly, 1 is never enough you end up with a few more than you have room for. I have room for about 6 but currently have 9

9 Pinballs!! You sir are awesome. I would love to have 9.

SKILL_SHOT · Nov 19, 2012

In the video it looked intermittent, maybe loose as what turning isnt fully tightened and it only getting partial movement to and fro. I seen it dosnt retun fully all the time, if its geard it could be slipping teeth. Or its sticky.

Fuseball · Nov 19, 2012

Jeff Carpenter said:
I took some "before" pictures to show the dirt and missing pieces of the game. There are a few bulbs missing and blown, a few missing screws, and for some reason one of the pop bumper caps is gone.

The lower pop bumper (directly under the beta ramp) doesn't have a bumper cap as standard. I think it is because it is too close to the ramp itself.

Jeff Carpenter · Nov 19, 2012

Fuseball said:
The lower pop bumper (directly under the beta ramp) doesn't have a bumper cap as standard. I think it is because it is too close to the ramp itself.

That makes perfect sense actually. I think it looks a little weird like that so I think I'll try sticking a red LED in there for camo.

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