75 replies to this topic

[Sneetch]

Thanks Nemo! Yeah trying to keep wiring tidy, and acknowledge the skill and mastery others have shown. Not sure mine will come close, but it will look better than my arcade cab wiring!

On that note, got all the buttons (save coin door open/close) wired Friday evening. Saturday I hooked up some of the toys, replay knocker, shaker, gear motor, fan, rotating beacons. And booted it for a test run.

Holy awesomeness. DOF takes a what I thought was a good table and puts it over the top!! I was grinning and chuckling as the toys engaged. If I wasn't hooked on vpin before, I sure am now!! (Thanks swisslizard, Angrim and everyone else involved for adding the new dimension to the game)

Sunday I was back at it hooking up the 3rd screen for the DMD, and adding the contactors to the cab. I only installed 4 contactors so far and it was enough for me to consider a change. The contactors I have have a louder clack when they are released. So it is awkward to use as flippers. So I plan on hooking up the starter solenoids this evening to use for the flippers.

I also plan on trying the other contactors just mounted to the sides of the cabinet instead of using a board under the playfield for them. may just start with the 8 contactor setup to get a feel for what I want to do long term.

Once that is done I gotta get the glass ordered for backbox and playfield yet still have some unresolved questions about size and thickness needs.

[court461]

Just a note you might want to research.  When I was researching my equipment, I found posts saying starter solenoids were not a great choice for flippers.  They are not made to stay engaged (holding the flippers up) for a long time and burn up.  I used starter solenoids for my bumpers and slingshots (8 of them), but used contactors for my flippers for this reason.  That is purley based on my reading, I have no first hand knowledge of that, just wanted to throw it out there.

[BorgDog]

Just a note you might want to research.  When I was researching my equipment, I found posts saying starter solenoids were not a great choice for flippers.  They are not made to stay engaged (holding the flippers up) for a long time and burn up.  I used starter solenoids for my bumpers and slingshots (8 of them), but used contactors for my flippers for this reason.  That is purley based on my reading, I have no first hand knowledge of that, just wanted to throw it out there.

 

See now I've read posts that say just the opposite.  when you think about it people crank there old trucks over for far longer than most of us hold the flipper button up, I think they are designed to take it.  I'm tempted to get real flipper mechanisms for my upcoming build, figure it would be the closest to the real thing

[Sneetch]

Thanks Court, yeah I have read the same posts you have and also some other threads commenting as Borgdog mentioned.

The key take away I read from other threads is this:
- Contactors have been used most often for flipper feedback and proven reliable for all feedback uses
- Starter solenoids have gained popularity in use as replacement to contactors due to increased cost of contactors and availability.
-- - Anecdotal evidence states should be able to handle flipper feedback yet not well tested/documented solution for this purpose
- Cheap eBay/Chinese based solenoids should ONLY be used for slings, bumpers etc (non-flipper) feedback
-- - I have 2 of these for my arcade light guns and can attest to how quickly they will overheat when activated frequently or for any length of time.

I figured since I already have the 2x starter solenoids, I would try it out and see what happens. Worst case (my assumption here is) I have to toss them out and use the contactors I already have.

Now if there is evidence around that burning up a solenoid coil will also damage the boards it is connected to (opto-flipper board) or the power supply, I would love to know!! As that would be more cost/risk than I do care to take on.

Edited by Sneetch, 04 November 2015 - 06:44 PM.

[mjr]

Now if there is evidence around that burning up a solenoid coil will also damage the boards it is connected to (opto-flipper board) or the power supply, I would love to know!! As that would be more cost/risk than I do care to take on.

 

I don't *think* that would be a risk - the only way I can see that happening is if there's a pathological case where the coil resistance goes into a spiral towards zero ohms as it melts, and I think it's actually the opposite, that a wire's resistance tends to increase as its temperature rises.  But you could easily mitigate any risk by adding a fuse in each circuit containing a coil, rated at about 75% of the current limit for your booster board circuit.  It's not a bad idea to do that in any case to protect against accidental shorts from wiring mishaps or whatever else.

[Sneetch]

Good deal, thanks mjr! I will take the risk and see how it goes.

[Sneetch]

Added the sound system today. Wow, I didn't realize how much I was missing just playing audio thru the tv. Another day of a huge grin and chuckles as I rediscover tables. Apollo 13 was one of those, totally awesome.

 image.jpeg   117.05KB   36 downloads

I also rebuilt a PSU Molex cable so I could use it with the PSU I am using for toys. It only came with 1 Molex cable so I used a spare cable from another PSU. Of course the wiring of the pins is not standard so I just needed to figure out the 12v, 5v and respective grounds and reset the pins to the connector. Done!

 image.jpeg   135.24KB   22 downloads

[robertms]

Hey Sneetch, really nice touch with the white LED lighting inside the cab. I may have to steal that idea

[Sneetch]

Added several tables this weekend, up to 215 now. Some are variations physmod and or night versions. I started keeping different folders instead of keeping all tables in one folder. Only 'downside' I see at the moment if having to duplicate the directb2s files for variations of the same table if they are in different folders. Yet worth the space so I have better awareness to what table is using what version of VP.

Thanks to zebs guidance I am now also running mixed 12v/24v for my solenoids and contactors respectively on the pacled output board so I can use the night mode switch and turn them off when the family goes to bed.

Yet to complete:
Wire button lights
Install remaining contactors
Rerun power runs for contactors for tidiness
Measure openings for glass, Order and install
Install side rails and all glass trim
Mount and wire undercab led strip wiring
Wire coin door admin and open door buttons

Getting close now!! Well from the hardware build phase at least.

[Sneetch]

I took a small break for real life yet made some progress

- Wired lights to buttons (except coin slots)
        - I don't want to cut the connector off the bally/williams door cable... anyone able to post link to correct match so i can keep it pristine?   Else, I just need to cut it and move on. 

- Installed 2 additional contactors
        - 6 contactors and 2 solenoids running atm

- rewired all contactors for tidiness

- Measured, bought, cut and immediately broke my backglass glass. <sigh>
        - yet I did gain experience in knowing the correct measurements, so not a total loss.   Replacement glass I will just order from local glass supply cut at the correct dimensions.


Unfortunately one of my ports on the pacled output froze (activated) and by time I realized there was a problem (slight burning smell of the engaged solenoid) and turned everything off, the port is dead.  Well, more accurately it immediately engages the device plugged into it as soon as power is applied.   I tried multiple devices on the port to see if it was the device or the port.  It's the port...

So I just moved the wire/device to another port.    Downside to that is I only have 9 contactor spots available that I can disable with the night mode switch.   At some point may see what needs to be done to address the issue, yet low priority as everything else is working as expected.    And with the ability to combine events in DOF, I just mapped two events to 1 device.  

More work to do.  More to come.
 

[zebulon]

That dead port  will require a new mosfet.

[Sneetch]

Thanks zeb!

[Sneetch]

Happy Holidays!

The pinball arcade season 1 was on sale the other day and with all the work folks have done to get it working on a 3-screen cabinet I bought it. After configuring the camera mod and screens, media and newest release of PinballX I can say it works. Yet not sure where folks think that is better than what others here have done from scratch. I much prefer playing tables the community has built, I think they look better, play better and work with DOF. So yet another thank you to all who make this hobby of mine a reality, I couldn't do it without you.

So focus returns to VP and working out the little kinks I have, any thoughts on fixing is appreciated:

1) No ROM sound from 'Attack From Mars' when multiple versions added to PinballX (9.9, Physmod5, Physmod5 night mode)
Issue: Every time I start the machine (cold boot) and launch any AFM table, there is no sound and have to enable rom sound from the dmd 'game settings' menu and restart the table. Then it works as expected even when playing different tables via PinballX. That is until PC is restarted. Rinse/repeat.
Questions: Could using dmd rom in PinballX be creating this issue? Could using same rom for multiple versions be creating this issue?

2) Main sound from speakers jumps from super quiet to super loud, and sometimes only uses right speaker.
Issue: this one is not consistent yet when happens is kinda annoying. Most recent example was on Circus Voltaire (9.9) and when shaker motor kicks off it would sometimes change the ROM sounds (quiet/loud/1speaker) until shaker kicked off again and then may change or stay as it was.
Assumption: my connection to sound card is loose and too much pressure from being close to cabinet wall. Fix would be to move PC away from wall and ensure cable secure in port.

And finally how does one maintain their tables with DOF? I see updates for tables are being released frequently yet unsure what I need to do to keep current with them. With all the different parts needed to get a single table to run, I have yet to figure this one out. Of course I may have read it but cannot recall. Not an excuse there, just stating possible cause for my not knowing.

[Nemo]

Well i sure had some idiosyncrasies with PinballX but never had sound issues whilst using DMD Rom, but there where 

some sound issues with ATM, for me deleting NVram for specific table cleared that one. 

But your lack of a left channel and volume gain/loss could be related to a hardware problem, AC97 codec's are known

to fail. Dig up some old pci soundcard and look if that solves the problem, otherwise it's a software prob but unfamiliar to me.

 

Furthermore, your comment on TPA is soooo true, vp is the way to go, it just plays better !

[court461]

And finally how does one maintain their tables with DOF? I see updates for tables are being released frequently yet unsure what I need to do to keep current with them. With all the different parts needed to get a single table to run, I have yet to figure this one out. Of course I may have read it but cannot recall. Not an excuse there, just stating possible cause for my not knowing.

 

There is a utility you can run to update your DOF config files.  You can put in your startup folder and everytime you boot up your PC it will update based on the current database.  That is what I do, it works great.  Documentation is on the home page of the DOF config tool site.  The download is under the download section on the right hand side of the page.  It has been a while since I set it up, but I remember it being really easy.  I can't help with the other issues.  Good luck getting those resolved.  

[Sneetch]

Funny appears I just need to document my issues and they get better. Sound levels have stabilized yet do think it is a hardware issue (connection most likely) yet haven't pulled the playfield to confirm... Laziness and been dealing with a flooded furnished basement past couple,of days so low on my priority list.

As for attack from Mars sound, I created a favorite group in PinballX and problem solved. Sound works in table every time. And nice as it allows me to highlight just my favorite tables for when people come over and have a smaller list for them to choose from.

Heh so when swisslizard says RTFM he means it. I started thru that again last night and will look more closely for the updater. Now that I am thinking about it, I may already have that setup. . . I recall being very meticulous when installing the first time just been awhile and now need to confirm.
Edit: this is resolved, saw the utility, dl'd, quick config and bam, done. Sweet. Thanks again Court!

A new wrinkle I find is if I set PinballX to show dmd in front end, it appears to ignore the 'hidden' line in the script when it launches the table for those tables I don't care to show a dmd/led score. Such as those b2s backglass that have thier own led displays. I have confirmed launching from VP directly it works as I want, just when launched from PinballX the hidden line is ignored. I like the ability to save SSD space by not having dmd videos, yet would like to find a way to control when not to show dmd when specific tables launched.

Edited by Sneetch, 31 December 2015 - 02:45 AM.

[Sneetch]

Happy new year!

Figured I would start out the new year with an upgrade to the cab, so I installed Windows 19. It was a little bumpy until I unplugged all the control boards from the PC and things went smoothly. Once upgraded I had to reinstall nvidia drivers to get the 3 screens running again.

Finally and most important change was reducing the text size from 150% (default for Windows 10) to 100% on all 3 screens. If that is not done, visual pinball will incorrectly report your monitor resolution as less than actual. I am running 1929x1080 and think VP max resolution was 1280x969 or something like that. Which screws up everything, playfield backglass and dmd.

The only variance I have is when exiting tables to return back to PinballX. Apparently I now have to hold down the exit button (esc key) for 2-3 seconds else the VP 'resume, quit' box appears on screen. So far I haven't figured a way around that, checked PinballX settings and 'hold to exit' is not enabled.

That said, it is very minor and nothing that detracts from the upgrade. Hooray!

[Sneetch]

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday all my testing with win10 was solid performance. even after several planned shutdown and reboots. This morning? Varied between could not boot at all to blue screens. Tried for an hour to work around what ever issue was until I finally threw in the towel. Reverted back to Windows 7 and it has been as it was, stable and comfortable. No harm no foul so that is good.

Oh well. In the meantime have been exploring some of the great visual pinball 10 tables that have been released. Amazing work and kudos to all those involved with the application and tables.

Also figured out the dmd showing in game when commented out in script. Appears I had created a double negative statement with having PinballX hide the dmd too, so It showed. Go figure, I created the issue. . some cleanup work done and that is now working well for vp9 and vp10 tables. I do find the physmod tables and dmd is still not doing what I hoped. I am sure it is something I am missing so will keep poking at it.

[Sneetch]

Been awhile.    I have decided to move my vPin into my basement and that was relatively easy and painless.     I also wanted to bring the arcade cab down to sit next to it and my gaming/racing/flight cockpit.   Unfortunately arcade cabs were not made for home use, so was about an inch or two too deep to get around corners.... oh well.   Gives me options for gaming no matter where I am at in the house. 

 

I starting playing with Retroarch and Launchbox for arcade titles just to see what it can do, and that is pretty cool.   So, spending more time with arcade cab atm, but as always neither of these projects will be done but playable.   And that is part of the fun I have with this hobby.   

 

So here are a couple recent pics of the vPin in its new location:

[jimmay3]

Where did you get the metal brackets and bolts in the inside corners of the back box, I'm not seeing them listed in any of the metal kits?  Is there a Williams part number?

 

Also, what's the inside measurements of the special wide back box you got?  

 

image.jpeg
 

Edited by jimmay3, 19 March 2016 - 09:09 AM.