• We have upgaded to the latest version of XenForum and the process finished without any errors!!!! Enjoy the new forum!

Striker's got a new friend!

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
And his name is Keanu Reeves... Picked up Johnny Mnemonic last weekend and got it home on Monday. Gave the playfield a quick wipe down with novus and cleaned the glass. Still needs a good cleaning and I'm looking forward to doing it in the next little while. I will be documenting the process when I do. There are clearly some overpowering strategies, but it's a fun game so far. I'm certainly enjoying practicing my loop pass, which is something I tried for the first time on Adam's Iron Man last weekend. Combo-ing the ramps is also pretty satisfying. The loops and ramps are going to be screaming fast once I get it cleaned up.
 

Attachments

  • SAM_0752.JPG
    SAM_0752.JPG
    2.2 MB · Views: 1,028
  • SAM_0754.JPG
    SAM_0754.JPG
    2.3 MB · Views: 1,028

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
The game plays 100%, but there is an error on the ball in hand switch. It doesn't close in the switch edge test. I took it apart and examined the switch and gave it a quick business card cleaning. The switch looks fine and appears to be making good contact. The solder on the lugs of the switch is questionable, so it could be that. Might also have something to do with this mess of electrical tape running to the switch :FP: When I tear the machine down to clean it I will try to clean this up too. Any opinions?
 

Attachments

  • SAM_0748.JPG
    SAM_0748.JPG
    2.2 MB · Views: 1,027
  • SAM_0746.JPG
    SAM_0746.JPG
    2.2 MB · Views: 1,027

mwong168

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
6,654
1,405
113
45
Toronto
Congrats on getting a JM and would definitely go over those wires to make sure all connections are good. It happens because over time and use the wires get old and brittle from being stretched and compressed. I would also make sure the wiring harness is routed so that there is enough slack so that minimal stretching occurs when the hand is in operation. The most extreme position would be all the way to the right and forward. You also want to make sure when you are all the way to the right and backward the glove is also not pinching the wiring either. If you go into your switch test you can use a ball and place up inside the magnet to see if the hand in switch works or not. If it doesn't register you could try bending the tab down a bit so when the ball is in the glove is closes the switch.

This part has been pretty hard to find in the past and in earlier software revisions acts like an EOS switch so your magnet coil doesn't get burned out. If you are running the latest ROM in your game which I believe is 1.2R, the software automatically kills the higher voltage after 1-2 secs regardless if the switch works or not so you might have to live with the credit dot but know that your game is fine. Looks like Marco is out of stock but MAD has it for $29.

large.jpg


http://mad-amusements.com/product.php?id_product=403

There is also a work around you can do with your game which was probably done because someone couldn't find the switch here:

http://coinoplove.com/JM.html

If you really love JM, some other good parts to stock up or have on hand in case they break or wear out on your game are the X and Y nuts for the glove as well. If you noticed your glove operation is really noise in a particular direction then replacing the X or Y nut could fix it. Again I think there were hard to find at one point too.

X-Nut
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/02-5210

Y-Nut
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/02-5211

Good luck and let me know if you need me to check or take any pics from my JM for you.
 

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
Thanks for the info Mike. I think the switch is alright. It's really just a leaf switch and it appears to be in good shape. I can feel it closing and making good contact so I'm suspecting there is a good chance it has something to do with the funky wiring. As I mentioned when I tear it down I'm going to try to clean up that mess and see if I can't get it working properly. I do not like credit dots, so it's starting to get on my nerves!
 

mwong168

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
6,654
1,405
113
45
Toronto
bstock said:
I do not like credit dots, so it's starting to get on my nerves!

Menace and Monkeybug laughed when I told them that too at the very beginning saying get use to it and welcome to pinball ownership :p

What does the TEST REPORT say when you go to the diagnostics?
 

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
tim.sanderson said:
Nice!! I'm sure we all hope to see a "BEN'S JOHNNY MNEMONIC THREAD" started up soon.

I'm thinking I might do that once I get tearing into it. This time I'm going to take lots of pictures and if I feel like there is enough interesting content I will definitely do something like that.

I've spent the better part of the afternoon recording some gameplay video and trying to get it in some kind of usable format so that I can upload it to youtube. This may be something that is pretty easy for a lot of you guys, but I'm not very techie when it comes to computers and what not. I recorded the videos with my Go Pro in HD, then used imovie to rotate it and I'm in the process of exporting it in a good format for uploading to youtube. I already did this once, but I screwed something up and the end video wasn't in HD, so I've had to redo it. The end goal is to have a before and after video to really show the difference in speed and gameplay once it's cleaned up.

I'm also looking forward to uploading the pictures of the camera rig I used. I was inspired by pictures that Tim posted of his rig. I do not own a tripod, so I had to really MacGyver something up. Stay tuned for pictures of the first prototype of the Redneck Recording Rig.
 

Honey Badger

Well-Known Member
Nov 20, 2012
1,070
419
83
Ottawa
Congrats Ben, it was nice to finally meet you last weekend and enjoy your game. By the way that WCS looks familiar :D
 

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
Williams Fan said:
Congrats Ben, it was nice to finally meet you last weekend and enjoy your game. By the way that WCS looks familiar :D

Great to finally meet you as well Jason! Hope to see you at another event.
 

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
Well here it is. This is my first successful attempt with a gameplay video. I was trying for the PAPA overhead style using my Go Pro. I've certainly learned that it takes FOREVER to upload HD video to YouTube.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzS3BqN3myI[/youtube]
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
2,821
517
113
Mississauga
Hey Ben,
Glad Johnny went to a good home... and I'm happy the pin-count in Timmins is slowly increasing ;)

Looking forward to following along.
 

tim.sanderson

Active Member
bstock said:
I've certainly learned that it takes FOREVER to upload HD video to YouTube.
I edit my videos in Vegas. I can manage to get the file size down quite a bit, without losing too much quality.
Introducing the Redneck Recording Rig. Thanks again for the inspiration Tim!
My name is tim.sanderson, and I approve this rig! I especially love the fact that there's a healthy supply of beer underneath it all.
 

mwong168

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
6,654
1,405
113
45
Toronto
Thanks for posting the video and great game you had there with a few rough drains and tilts :twisted: I think next video you should lower the camera so we can see the playfield closer up and no need to see your feet. The orbits and ramps on this game rip and flow so well compared to any other game I have played before which is why I love mine and on JM #2 which won't be leaving anytime soon.
 

tim.sanderson

Active Member
mwong168 said:
I think next video you should lower the camera so we can see the playfield closer up and no need to see your feet.
Yes. It's tough to do with a GoPro, unless you have a way of previewing the video live. (I have the LCD and WiFi backpacks, so it's easy for me) I like to make it go from just below the apron, to just above the DMD.
 

bstock

Active Member
Apr 1, 2013
325
48
28
Montreal, Quebec
mwong168 said:
Thanks for posting the video and great game you had there with a few rough drains and tilts :twisted: I think next video you should lower the camera so we can see the playfield closer up and no need to see your feet.

Ya I was really hoping to get to the powerdown mode for the video, but of course because the camera was on I had to drop the ball big time.... Literally.

Glad to hear you approve the rig Tim! Maybe I'll see about making a quick video tutorial of WCS, but I'm not sure I'll be able to talk while I play the way Bowen does!
 

mwong168

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 14, 2012
6,654
1,405
113
45
Toronto
bstock said:
Maybe I'll see about making a quick video tutorial of WCS, but I'm not sure I'll be able to talk while I play the way Bowen does!

Check out Bowen's Tommy tutorial here, fast forward to the 22 minute mark and he plays pretty good with only one hand :cool:

http://vimeo.com/44832026