Category Archives: Stern

Problems with coil stops in newer Stern games

Posted on by
Reply

Lately there’s been a bit of a hullabaloo (is that how it’s spelled?) regarding coil stops on newer Stern games. I had it happen to me as well, and I made a video to describe what’s happening. It appears whoever is manufacturing the coil stops for Stern has used inferior materials and they prematurely come apart. I’ve reported this to Stern and will let you all know what they are doing about it. I expect this supply issue to be resolved soon and if you encounter this problem, contact Stern support. They should be able to send out replacement coil stops.

coil stop literally fell apart. There’s a non-ferrous “washer” that separates the stop from the bracket that appears to be made of low quality alloy that disintegrates.

The next day I returned with the right parts. Here are two videos covering the repair.

https://youtu.be/rWnNejDq-uI

https://youtu.be/dtC6Sg-8tq4

damaged coil stop can also cause the plunger to mushroom and then damage coil sleeves and get stuck.

Installing a dollar bill acceptor (DBA) in a pinball machine

Posted on by
Reply

This is a short video demonstrating how to add a DBA (dollar bill acceptor) to a new Stern game (in this case, Jurassic Park). The older Stern games came with the cable necessary but now they’re not bundling them. I take a cable from Iron Maiden, along with a DBA I pulled from Wizard of Oz, and install it in Jurassic Park before I put the game on location.

Jurassic Park (pro) – One Shot Pinball Review

Posted on by
Reply

We were lucky enough to get one of the first Jurassic Park pinball machines to our area, and thought it might be fun to post a quick video of gameplay. Our plan is to put this game right out in public on location so people can enjoy it while it’s brand new and nowhere else, so I was in a bit of a hurry to make the video – excuse the typos and verbal glitches (like calling the Pteradactyl ramp the Raptor ramp).

Anyway, enjoy my short review and first impression!

As a bonus, here’s another short video of additional gameplay where I pull out a really fun CHAOS multi-ball at the end of an otherwise crappy game.

Sega/Stern South Park – fixing opto/ball trough issues

Posted on by
1

In this video I pull a game off route and work on it. Discussing the unusual playfield hardware used by Sega/Stern. There was a problem with the optos in the ball trough causing problems making the game kick balls out onto the playfield unexpectedly. The game displays “too many balls” when there is the proper number installed.

Fixing drop targets on Stern pinball games (World Poker Tour)

Posted on by
Reply

I recently was tasked with fixing up a Stern World Poker Tour that had come off route. The game had a number of issues, the first of which was that certain targets would not reset. They would pop-up, but fall back down. Some research indicated this was a known issue that Stern released a service bulletin to address. But I soon found out my problem was deeper than that, and several things were wrong, including a broken bolt holding a coil stop, and the wrong plunger assembly used on one of the drop targets. In this video series, I outline how I identified and solved the problem. Here are some pictures of the work that was done to fix the broken bolt.

Stern Ghostbusters Pro Pinball – One Shot Pinball Review

Posted on by
Reply

One of our awesome members, Paul, decided to have his new Ghostbusters machine shipped to the PinChurch to share with everybody so it’s been hanging around here for the last week. I put a bunch of games on it and am posting my first impression of the game and how it works for you all to enjoy.

Stern Meteor Pinball – First Look at a new, heavily-played pick up

Posted on by
Reply

These days I’m pretty backed up on repair/restoration, but there’s always a “magic number” that’ll get me in gear to pick up a game. And when someone wants to reclaim their dining room or spare bedroom, I’ll do my best to help them out, as was the case with this “heavily-loved” Stern Meteor pinball game. I pop the hood on this baby and we take a look and see what’s going to be involved in getting it playable and in better condition..