• Tech:solar ride weak drop target solenoid

    From benpinballwiz@benpinballwiz@gmail.com to rec.games.pinball on Friday, April 24, 2020 08:10:01
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    Hi,
    I also posted this issue on pinside, but just in case I'm posting it here.
    New cpu, driver, and power supply, and connector pins. The games tried to fire drop target reset solenoid but it's so weak it doesn't reset. If I ground transistor on board it will fire nicely. Some people said it may be an issue with the new ni wumpt driver transistor.
    Any thoughts?
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  • From John Robertson@spam@flippers.com to rec.games.pinball on Friday, April 24, 2020 08:45:04
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On 2020/04/24 8:10 a.m., benpinballwiz@gmail.com wrote:
    Hi,

    I also posted this issue on pinside, but just in case I'm posting it here.

    New cpu, driver, and power supply, and connector pins. The games tried to fire drop target reset solenoid but it's so weak it doesn't reset. If I ground transistor on board it will fire nicely. Some people said it may be an issue with the new ni wumpt driver transistor.
    Any thoughts?


    Have you done the required Gottlieb System 1 Ground Upgrades? Wasting
    your time looking for other suspects if this is not done first.

    flippers.com/gottlieb_ground_cures.html

    Also, please check that all the fuses are the factory values if the game
    is new to you (or never checked). You'd be surprised at what folks put
    in when they don't have the correct value fuse on hand! This won't fix
    your solenoid issue, but will reduce the risk of fire...

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From John Robertson@spam@flippers.com to rec.games.pinball on Friday, April 24, 2020 09:35:09
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On 2020/04/24 8:45 a.m., John Robertson wrote:
    On 2020/04/24 8:10 a.m., benpinballwiz@gmail.com wrote:
    Hi,

    I also posted this issue on pinside,  but just in case I'm posting it
    here.

    New cpu, driver,  and power  supply, and connector pins. The games
    tried to fire drop target reset solenoid but it's so weak it doesn't
    reset. If I ground transistor on board it will fire nicely. Some
    people said it may be an issue with the new ni wumpt driver transistor.
      Any thoughts?


    Have you done the required Gottlieb System 1 Ground Upgrades? Wasting
    your time looking for other suspects if this is not done first.

    flippers.com/gottlieb_ground_cures.html

    Also, please check that all the fuses are the factory values if the game
    is new to you (or never checked). You'd be surprised at what folks put > in when they don't have the correct value fuse on hand! This won't fix > your solenoid issue, but will reduce the risk of fire...

    John :-#)#

    sorry, should have had the full URL https://www.flippers.com/gottlieb_ground_cures.html
    John :-#)#
    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From Lee@leewilk@verizon.net to rec.games.pinball on Friday, April 24, 2020 13:33:59
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On Friday, April 24, 2020 at 11:10:16 AM UTC-4, benpin...@gmail.com wrote:
    Hi,

    I also posted this issue on pinside, but just in case I'm posting it here.

    New cpu, driver, and power supply, and connector pins. The games tried to fire drop target reset solenoid but it's so weak it doesn't reset. If I ground transistor on board it will fire nicely. Some people said it may be an issue with the new ni wumpt driver transistor.
    Any thoughts?
    I'll second what John said and also ask if you have repinned the connectors? Lee
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From Lee@leewilk@verizon.net to rec.games.pinball on Saturday, April 25, 2020 05:44:00
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On Friday, April 24, 2020 at 4:34:10 PM UTC-4, Lee wrote:
    On Friday, April 24, 2020 at 11:10:16 AM UTC-4, benpin...@gmail.com wrote:
    Hi,

    I also posted this issue on pinside, but just in case I'm posting it here.

    New cpu, driver, and power supply, and connector pins. The games tried to fire drop target reset solenoid but it's so weak it doesn't reset. If I ground transistor on board it will fire nicely. Some people said it may be an issue with the new ni wumpt driver transistor.
    Any thoughts?

    I'll second what John said and also ask if you have repinned the connectors?

    Lee
    Oops. I missed that you mentioned connector pins having been done. Sometimes, those tiny pins can be tricky. Do you have a multi-meter to measure the resistance between the two pins on the appropriate wire between the cpu and driver boards?
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From John Robertson@spam@flippers.com to rec.games.pinball on Saturday, April 25, 2020 10:05:12
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On 2020/04/25 5:44 a.m., Lee wrote:
    On Friday, April 24, 2020 at 4:34:10 PM UTC-4, Lee wrote:
    On Friday, April 24, 2020 at 11:10:16 AM UTC-4, benpin...@gmail.com wrote: >>> Hi,

    I also posted this issue on pinside, but just in case I'm posting it here. >>>
    New cpu, driver, and power supply, and connector pins. The games tried to fire drop target reset solenoid but it's so weak it doesn't reset. If I ground transistor on board it will fire nicely. Some people said it may be an issue with the new ni wumpt driver transistor.
    Any thoughts?

    I'll second what John said and also ask if you have repinned the connectors? >>
    Lee

    Oops. I missed that you mentioned connector pins having been done. Sometimes, those tiny pins can be tricky. Do you have a multi-meter to measure the resistance between the two pins on the appropriate wire between the cpu and driver boards?


    Good catch! He may have a problem with the new pins not being well
    connected to the interconnect wires.

    I find that even with a good tool (I like the Sargent crimper for
    Molex/AMP pins) I still sometimes have to solder the wire to the
    connector (before crimping the insulation!) to be sure of a good
    connection, particularly when using thinner than 22 gauge wire.

    I agree a continuity check between the MPU driver and the isolation
    diode on the driver board would be a good idea at this point. Compare
    all the solenoids, they should be the same resistance.

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From John Robertson@spam@flippers.com to rec.games.pinball on Saturday, April 25, 2020 15:02:47
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On 2020/04/25 12:27 p.m., benpinballwiz@gmail.com wrote:
    Problem solved for right kickout hole; I had a bad crimp on one of the cpu to driver connector pins

    Problem solved for drop target solenoid, I have a bad driver board even though its brand new. Because I replaced with new driver board and now reset coil works well. Beware of Fairchild or 'On' semiconductor transistors on ni wumph driver board as they are suspect.


    Did you talk to Ace @ NiWumpf? Serial number of the board would help...
    He needs to know if he doesn't already... I know they had a bad run back
    in 2014 or possibly 2013, but they should have been all recalled. Please
    let him know and the date codes on the TTL chips if you don't have a
    serial number might help!

    Thanks!

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From Ken Layton@KLayton888@aol.com to rec.games.pinball on Sunday, April 26, 2020 06:50:48
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 3:02:57 PM UTC-7, John Robertson wrote:
    On 2020/04/25 12:27 p.m., benpinballwiz@gmail.com wrote:
    Problem solved for right kickout hole; I had a bad crimp on one of the cpu to driver connector pins

    Problem solved for drop target solenoid, I have a bad driver board even though its brand new. Because I replaced with new driver board and now reset coil works well. Beware of Fairchild or 'On' semiconductor transistors on ni wumph driver board as they are suspect.


    Did you talk to Ace @ NiWumpf? Serial number of the board would help...
    He needs to know if he doesn't already... I know they had a bad run back
    in 2014 or possibly 2013, but they should have been all recalled. Please
    let him know and the date codes on the TTL chips if you don't have a
    serial number might help!

    Thanks!

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
    It happened in 2017 and again in 2019:
    Mar 17, 2019 - It has happened again - Ni-Wumpf has been challenged in our supply chain. Over the weekend, we identified a bad batch of transistors (MOSFETs) in our latest production run of System 1 driver boards. As before, this has come despite vendor testing of the component and the manufacturer: ON semiconductors. Driver boards shipped since the October 2018 are potentially part of this recall. As you will note in the enclosed picture these ON components have a date code of 1J18AA or 1J18AB. Not all driver boards shipped since then utilize these bad components, please validate this date code before acting. If you examine the board, you might also see that there are one or two Fairchild MOSFETs on the board in the QS5 through QS8 component locations... a manufacturer that we have blackballed from purchasing ever again. As it turns out, ON bought Fairchild, and clearly that specific plant is continuing down the path of poor production quality wherever these came from. Unfortunately, Ni-Wumpf did not realize this acquisition in time. Other ON MOSFETs components of the same designation; FQP13N10, used in our System 80 driver boards are working fine, and there are other System 1 driver boards that are fine as well, it appears to be just this date code run. If you notice that the board does not energize the coil strongly enough to have the target banks reset, this is the symptom of this issue. Please contact us, and arrange to have the boards returned for warranty service. Our apologies for this inconvenience.
    May 22, 2017 - The latest batch of System 1 driver boards appear to have a bad batch of transistors for the main coil circuits. This has happened before, and indicates that analog components appear to be giving us a difficulty in production consistency. The components that we are seeing issues with are; STP14NF10. If your System 1 driver board has this component on it, and is showing signs of not being able to effectively raise the drop target bank - please contact us for rework/replacement. To date, it appears that only 12 of thes boards have shipped. Hopefully, the hassle will be minimized. We apologize, in advance, for any hassles this may have caused our pinball brethren.
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112
  • From John Robertson@spam@flippers.com to rec.games.pinball on Sunday, April 26, 2020 13:56:35
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

    On 2020/04/26 6:50 a.m., Ken Layton wrote:
    On Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 3:02:57 PM UTC-7, John Robertson wrote:
    On 2020/04/25 12:27 p.m., benpinballwiz@gmail.com wrote:
    Problem solved for right kickout hole; I had a bad crimp on one of the cpu to driver connector pins

    Problem solved for drop target solenoid, I have a bad driver board even though its brand new. Because I replaced with new driver board and now reset coil works well. Beware of Fairchild or 'On' semiconductor transistors on ni wumph driver board as they are suspect.


    Did you talk to Ace @ NiWumpf? Serial number of the board would help...
    He needs to know if he doesn't already... I know they had a bad run back
    in 2014 or possibly 2013, but they should have been all recalled. Please
    let him know and the date codes on the TTL chips if you don't have a
    serial number might help!

    Thanks!

    John :-#)#


    It happened in 2017 and again in 2019:

    Mar 17, 2019 - It has happened again - Ni-Wumpf has been challenged in our supply chain. Over the weekend, we identified a bad batch of transistors (MOSFETs) in our latest production run of System 1 driver boards. As before, this has come despite vendor testing of the component and the manufacturer: ON semiconductors. Driver boards shipped since the October 2018 are potentially part of this recall. As you will note in the enclosed picture these ON components have a date code of 1J18AA or 1J18AB. Not all driver boards shipped since then utilize these bad components, please validate this date code before acting. If you examine the board, you might also see that there are one or two Fairchild MOSFETs on the board in the QS5 through QS8 component locations... a manufacturer that we have blackballed from purchasing ever again. As it turns out, ON bought Fairchild, and clearly that specific plant is continuing down the path of poor production quality wherever these came from. Unfortunately, Ni-Wumpf did not realize this acquisition in time. Other ON MOSFETs components of the same designation; FQP13N10, used in our System 80 driver boards are working fine, and there are other System 1 driver boards that are fine as well, it appears to be just this date code run. If you notice that the board does not energize the coil strongly enough to have the target banks reset, this is the symptom of this issue. Please contact us, and arrange to have the boards returned for warranty service. Our apologies for this inconvenience.

    May 22, 2017 - The latest batch of System 1 driver boards appear to have a bad batch of transistors for the main coil circuits. This has happened before, and indicates that analog components appear to be giving us a difficulty in production consistency. The components that we are seeing issues with are; STP14NF10. If your System 1 driver board has this component on it, and is showing signs of not being able to effectively raise the drop target bank - please contact us for rework/replacement. To date, it appears that only 12 of thes boards have shipped. Hopefully, the hassle will be minimized. We apologize, in advance, for any hassles this may have caused our pinball brethren.


    Yeah, I need to go to their home page to read those notices more often...

    Thanks!

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
    --- Synchronet 3.17c-Win32 NewsLink 1.112