ST : TNG , what to look out for

Umortal377

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Looking to try and get a Star Trek: The next generation soon. Was just wondering, is there any specific issues to look out for. Of course I am gonna play a couple games, give it a look over, power it on and off a couple times, etc.
 
That game is notorious for issues because it has a ton of mechanisms. It's a heavy beast too. Probably best to search RGP on this one...
 
Of course there's all the usual WPC issues, burnt GI connections, reset problems, display issues and so forth.

Specific to ST:TNG, there aren't too many pattern failures. Blown fuses/shorted transistors on the 8-driver board and melting coils to the under playfield diverters and wiring issues in the looms to the cannons are the most common electrical issues. For playfield wear, look around the neutral zone for wear and inspect the clearcoat around the blue inserts in the middle of the playfield for cracking or peeling. The Borg ship dead center in the rear is often melted/distorted from heat off the lamps inside it.

ST:TNG is a pretty heavily loaded machine and one of the most complicated of WPC games. That alone increases the possibility of having a problem. While I've seen and repaired some odd issues with this game in the past, the vast majority of problems I see is what I mentioned above or basic switch/solenoid/lamp type failures that you would see on any pinball machine. Playing the game will pretty quickly give you a good feel for it and any problems it might have.

Cool game, a great addition to any collection!

D
 
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Yes, STTNG is very heavy.

Looks for wear around the "Neutral Zone" hole. And that the two launchers work. Also I've had to replace a few optos and fix the trough optos.

Of course be sure to open the coin door and go into test mode to see if there is anything in the error report.

It's a very fun game!
Steve
 
Be aware that the launchers can be turned off in the programming if they have issues, so that operators can still make money off of them. If they don't work, check to see if they are turned off first, then you can see why...
 
-The wire loom can be damaged on the cannons
-There are a shit-ton of optos...if any of them are out, issues can ensue (though - optos are easy to replace, and the game has tons of tests so it's not too hard to figure out what needs fixing)
-Cracked ramp entrances
-Cracked plastics
-Neutral zone wear
-Make sure it has all the ships (Romulan, Klingon, Shuttle...and Borg -but, never seen a missing Borg!)

...and just look for general hacks! I had a STTNG that was so hacked in so many ways...I probably put 80 hours of work into that thing to get it bulletproofed and working flawlessly.

Don't let this scare you.........it's a fantastic game and worth it when you get it nice and dialed in.
 
Yeah, I've had weird opto issues in one area caused by a bad opto in a different area....
 
Looking to try and get a Star Trek: The next generation soon. Was just wondering, is there any specific issues to look out for. Of course I am gonna play a couple games, give it a look over, power it on and off a couple times, etc.

Beware of the Klingons...

klingon1.jpg
 
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