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Complete STTNG the next one for the shop job!

As you'll have noticed there is a cap missing on the 3rd pop bumper because of the ramp, I did see online ages ago that someone had taken a cap and cut some off, maybe a good idea whilst you're at this stage...Screenshot_2015-10-20-20-20-17.png
 
its a bit of weird one - as it will work for a while then the cannon will just start cycling for no reason at anytime, and then usually doesn't home ???

Cheers Kev
 
The trouble with the left canon not homing properly won't be anything to do with the looms you replaced it will be under the playfield. There are 2 micro switches on the bracket under the playfield, one marks the "home" position, the other the "mark" position. I suspect the home switch either requires adjusting or is worn out and needs replacing. They tend to close intermittently when worn which explains why it works some but not all of the time.
 
Sorry forgot to mention, the tables looking awesome mate! I really need to get mine sorted but struggling to find the time to put in to it. :( One day it will happen......
 
aaronhicksuk said:
Sorry forgot to mention, the tables looking awesome mate! I really need to get mine sorted but struggling to find the time to put in to it. :( One day it will happen......
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thanks for the comments man!! @aaronhicksuk I dont think it is the micro switches though as they just control the rotation. The opto on the front of the cannon where the ball sits is the one that triggers the cannon to start moving. I am suspecting a flaky LED opto transmitter after studying the circuit diagram this morning. ie if the transmitter goes off briefly (as in a ball in the cannon) it starts rotating which it does frequently at any time it is switched on !!!

This is my theory anyway and please feel free to correct me or shoot me down in anyway. As always all comments appreciated, and help sort the problem.

Cheers Kev
 
Is it not the rotation that is the problem though and the canon not reliably finding its home position? From what you describe above I guess it could be either, but does it fire the solenoid when it moves too? I'd expect it to do this if it thought the canon was loaded and shouldn't be.

Have you tried using the canon test and/or switch tests and had a good poke around the switches to see if they are opening/closing reliably? I'm pretty sure the canon test shows all of the switches in an easy to read way and allows you to rotate and fire the canons at will. It should make finding the culprit fairly straight forward. :)

The canons always want to return to their home positions and the fact yours doesn't stop there suggests a dodgy home microswitch IMHO.
 
I think..
Correct me if I'm wrong!
But if the kicker in the cannon fires it triggers the opto?
Making it think there's a ball in it.
 
Yea Im pretty sure the kicker crosses the path of the opto, but only for a brief period and the software expects this. Even if the kicker didn't work I'd still expect the canon to park in its home position correctly.
 
The only way that could happen without the software knowing about it would be if the coil was sorted to ground somehow, in which case 99% of the time it would lock on. (Extremely unlikely for a transistor to fail intermittently or a loose wire to touch ground and then not etc.) There's no mention of a problem with the kicker in Kevs description of the fault, so I take it the problem is only with the canon position.
 
easy way to prove this guys put your finger in the path of the opto on a good cannon and it will start to move - mines does this when working correctly. In test mode the two switches register evey time perfectly so it's not the micro switches plus they wouldnt cause the cannon to suddenly start moving, they just register where it is. Mine will just set off randomly thinking that the opto path has been broken ie a faulty LED transmitter or transisttr receiver. All connections have been checked and are fine.. SInce last night its not done it once!!!!. I did do a switch test when it was playing up and blocking that opto didnt register so sure thats the cause. If that goes faulty the cannon will cycle so many time and then the software just switches it off where ever it is, hence why mine wasnt homing, but not caused by the microswitches. Does that make sense guys ? ?

Cheers Kev
 
Yea that makes good sense to me. Dodgy opto it is then, the transmitter is the more likely of the 2 sides to be at fault but it could be either. Not much space between them so alignment shouldn't be a problem. I guess you could always swap it with the one the other side to see if the problem follows but they're not particularly expensive parts, always good to have a spare set if you own a few pins.
 
More work on top of the p[layfield tonight. VUKs on more plastics, GI leds all in and first ramp on - looking sweet!!!

Getting close now!

Cheers Kev
aaronhicksuk said:
Yea that makes good sense to me. Dodgy opto it is then, the transmitter is the more likely of the 2 sides to be at fault but it could be either. Not much space between them so alignment shouldn't be a problem. I guess you could always swap it with the one the other side to see if the problem follows but they're not particularly expensive parts, always good to have a spare set if you own a few pins.
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yeah Ive got some will swap em both and see what happens!!
 

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Regarding the cannon and dodgy opto's - it's possible that it's the wiring from the backbox to the playfield (through I'm guessing a 10 way opto board)...

Great work Kev, puts me to shame with my ST:TNG still tombstoned awaiting attention... :oops:
 
Moonraker said:
Regarding the cannon and dodgy opto's - it's possible that it's the wiring from the backbox to the playfield (through I'm guessing a 10 way opto board)...

Great work Kev, puts me to shame with my ST:TNG still tombstoned awaiting attention... :oops:
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cheers matey!!!
 
Lot more bits left of playfield tonight took hours - what a complex machine this is!! Time for a beer!!

Cheers Kev
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Pharo said:
It looks stunning what a cracking job can't wait to see what you can do with dracula when it arrives.

Brian
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Thanks Brian will be a while before the Dracula as I have to redecal a tz next then I'll be having a rest !!!

Cheers kev
 
I knew nothing about Star Trek before I bought this table. I ended up buying the complete series on blu ray from Amazon to see whats its all about and watched about 1/3 of episodes so far. Next Generation is actually really good, not so sure about the other series' though. Its nice to relate to all the references on the machine, they did great justice to the theme.
 
Cryptkeeper said:
The romulan one so. I never fancied myself a trekkie;)
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I will get you a pic, but basically it is on a piece of wire then screwed to a ramp at the back corner. The romulan ship has a cutout underneath it as it sits over the top of a green flasher

CHeers Kev
 
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aaronhicksuk said:
I knew nothing about Star Trek before I bought this table. I ended up buying the complete series on blu ray from Amazon to see whats its all about and watched about 1/3 of episodes so far. Next Generation is actually really good, not so sure about the other series' though. Its nice to relate to all the references on the machine, they did great justice to the theme.
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Next Gen was the best of them all.
Make it so number 1 :)
 
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