maybee it's just me but are modern Stern's hard to work on

[spacejam0]

Just read the thread on changing the position of outlane posts. Reminded me of when I went to change the position of the posts on my AC/DC pro. Should be a very simple 5 minute job right?
Now I'm no pinball tech and maybe it's just that I don't have the right tools or no how but after examining what I needed to move to get to them (ramps or slingshots I cant 100% recall) I decided it was all too hard and left them. I have changed them and many other things on other machines without any problems.
Another time I had to change one of the flasher globes under the red plastic covers on bottom of the right hand ramp...once again I found it a big job just to change a globe I had to take the ramp off and turn it upside down to get the clearance I needed. Can't remember off the top of my head but there have been a few other maintenance issues that have seemed a lot more work than they have on my other machines.
Don't get me wrong I love the game. Is it just me or have others found the same thing?

[GORGAR 1]

Yeah I agree the easiest job can turn into a Right royal pain in the ring lol , Bally's had twist flasher domes 1 minute job but Stern make it bloody hard just to swap a Flasher 

Peter

[Freiherr]

Yes, some parts of the playfields are definite pains and time wasters to get to, even for a general clean and polish. Speaking of the red flasher on AC/DC, I changed mine 4 times and found that you get better and quicker each time. I got sick of changing it before I realised there might be a problem there and sure was. The right hand side of the canon wiring was touching the flasher holder and shorting out the bulb, problem fixed.
The bottom flasher plastics on Avengers are simple twist offs so maybe Stern are getting the message to keep it simple.

[pinball god]

Sounds like they're made for home users as ops would be pissed to spend that much time on site for globe.

[Strangeways]

Try locating and buying Whitestar CPU boards. Even Stern don't know the part number !

[Homepin]

Try locating and buying Whitestar CPU boards. Even Stern don't know the part number !

Yes, many of them are battery damaged.

We are working on a "daughter board" that will sit on top of the RHS which is the most prone to battery damage so you can still use the LHS audio part of the original board as it is mostly surface mount but reliable.

The add-on board will sit on top of the original and hard wire to about 20 points on the original PCB

This is still a long way off at this stage.

[GORGAR 1]

Try locating and buying Whitestar CPU boards. Even Stern don't know the part number !

Are they the boards used in twister Nino?

Peter

[oldskool1969]

I was a STERN hater, but after working on and shopping out a few I must say I am impressed.
Electronically I can not comment as I dislike this side of pinball, only good thing is that they are still relative clean to work on as they are not as old as BALLY, Williams, Gottlieb etc.etc.
Also parts are a little easier to get a hold of. The manuals are VERY VERY good.
The play fields are also very strong as after seeing quite a few operated games, these still come up a treat with little work.
SOME bits I would like to change, but hey, cost/ profit ratio would make them unobtainable for the average punter!
It is all pinball, it is all good! 

[Strangeways]

Try locating and buying Whitestar CPU boards. Even Stern don't know the part number !

Are they the boards used in twister Nino?

Peter

Different revisions, Peter. The Whitestar Board I've tried chasing up with Stern (for around 3 months) is 520-5300-00. I've been back and forth with distributors and Stern "tech support" several times. All I can say is if you own a late model Stern, change the batteries often, as Stern don't even know the part numbers or revisions of their own boardsets, AND if any are available ! you would think their "engineers" would factor in a remote battery pack after learning from the mistakes of the 70's manufacturers ?

[spacejam0]

Try locating and buying Whitestar CPU boards. Even Stern don't know the part number !

Are they the boards used in twister Nino?

Peter

Different revisions, Peter. The Whitestar Board I've tried chasing up with Stern (for around 3 months) is 520-5300-00. I've been back and forth with distributors and Stern "tech support" several times. All I can say is if you own a late model Stern, change the batteries often, as Stern don't even know the part numbers or revisions of their own boardsets, AND if any are available ! you would think their "engineers" would factor in a remote battery pack after learning from the mistakes of the 70's manufacturers ?

Does this apply to the battery in acdc Niño? I didn't see any standard AA type battery's in there all I could saw was one of those flat silver disc type battery's and didn't think I would have to worry about leakage from this type of battery?

[Strangeways]

Try locating and buying Whitestar CPU boards. Even Stern don't know the part number !

Are they the boards used in twister Nino?

Peter

Different revisions, Peter. The Whitestar Board I've tried chasing up with Stern (for around 3 months) is 520-5300-00. I've been back and forth with distributors and Stern "tech support" several times. All I can say is if you own a late model Stern, change the batteries often, as Stern don't even know the part numbers or revisions of their own boardsets, AND if any are available ! you would think their "engineers" would factor in a remote battery pack after learning from the mistakes of the 70's manufacturers ?

Does this apply to the battery in acdc Niño? I didn't see any standard AA type battery's in there all I could saw was one of those flat silver disc type battery's and didn't think I would have to worry about leakage from this type of battery?

Nascar was the last Stern to use a Whitestar board. The board AC/DC has is different. Those batteries don't tend to leak, but it is always a good idea to replace them every 1-2 years.

[Caveoftreasures]

Nino, what game did the board you are looking for come out of. I do have some spare boards which may or may not suit.....?

[Strangeways]

Nino, what game did the board you are looking for come out of. I do have some spare boards which may or may not suit.....?

"Lord of the Rings"

I had the option of using Greg's T3 CPU board, which was incidentally a Factory replacement with original batteries - but - typically of Stern, the batteries had leaked all over the brand new FACTORY board.

AMD were very helpful. Stern USA took around 6 months to provide a replacement, which I found disgraceful. The price was reflective of their customer service and technical knowledge. Suffice to say I'd never want to own a late model Stern without an extended warranty !