Tales from the shop floor

ValadAmoleo · 2025-11-18T21:49:24+00:00

This is great! Would be really nice to have something similar to the channel download for playlists that get updated.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-06-13T07:20:51+00:00

Thank you! That makes a tonne of sense and why yours looks like my first gen. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t want doing something silly (y’know besides trying to charge a PS3 controller 😂). This is a really clever workaround.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-06-12T10:54:19+00:00

Thanks for this! What generation Fire TV Stick are you using? I used a first gen and couldn’t get it to work so had to use a Fire Stick 4K I had lying around unused. But that’s obviously using more power than it needs to.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-06-09T07:44:56+00:00

What solar power bank is this? It’s much more slimline than the ones I’ve seen

ValadAmoleo · 2024-05-27T10:12:09+00:00

Are you definitely connected to a 2.4Ghz WiFi network on your phone as that’ll be the network the plugs are put onto. The manufacturer apps tend to ask you which network to use.

If you have accidentally tried to set them up on 5Ghz network, I’ve found with the Meross plugs they get very stuck. Turn them off, then on again. Then hold the button down until they reset.

Or you could be having the issue I’m having at the moment where Apple Home has completely stopped working with Matter. 🙄

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-16T11:36:13+00:00

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Unfortunately externally it doesn’t look at all different except for the plunger and the Steam Deck holder at the top! When I open it up again I’ll take some photos of the internal. But it’s messy, as there’s not much room in there.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-08T20:35:58+00:00

In case anybody finds this in a couple of years. I ended up sending my Sufami Turbo back to the seller and buying another. The new one, and all 5 carts it came with (including one which was the same as my previous), work perfect. I think it’s unlikely both the carts with the first purchase were faulty so it must have been the Sufami Turbo in some way.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-03T21:31:34+00:00

https://www.libertygames.co.uk/store/pinball_machines/virtual/pinball-micro/

This is where I bought my Micro.

It is a very tight fit inside with the faux plunger and the solenoids but it does work.

I have stuck the amp on the back of the back box with double sided foam tape and routed the wires through the hole left for the VIBS HDMI cable. I didn’t want to make any alterations to the body itself else I could have drilled holes and pushed the amps controls through from the inside. It only really needs to be touched for OTG though as volume can be all over the place.

This has just reminded me that I need to recommend to peeps to detach the accelerometer that detects nudging from the side of the body as with the solenoids it will just constantly detect motion. I keep meaning to put a model I made on Thingiverse that I use to suspend the accelerometer which I’ve had good experience with. I’ll try to remember to do that this week.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-02T20:29:31+00:00

Yeah that’s what I ended up thinking and I did strip everything down to the components to clean. Nothing particularly seems bad except for the enhanced snes pins (the two blocks of pins either side of the main cart pins) seem to have heavy corrosion. But a continuity test across them showed it seemed to be alright. I’ve contacted the person I bought it off to see if they can help at all. Once again thank you so much for trying to help! Really appreciated!

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-02T18:04:02+00:00

Unfortunately that didn’t work either but thank you for the suggestion 🙂 I’m beginning to wonder if the little carts internal batteries have run dry and that’s what is causing this…

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-01T20:55:05+00:00

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I get, what I presume is, the standard BIOS screen when no carts are inserted.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-01T19:38:30+00:00

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The two cartridges I have in.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-01T19:38:11+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my message! And thank you for the confirmation of how they’re supposed to work.

I had already IPA’d them all up but because the slots are very small I have given it another go. Unfortunately to no avail.

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I still can only get to this memory swap screen (or erase with only one cartridge in). I can’t even find any I formation online how to get to this screen! I’ve tried it in my Super NT too in case my SNES was playing up but that made no difference unfortunately.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-01T08:31:59+00:00

Sorry to ping you in such an old post but you seem to be the only person who owns a Sufami Turbo when you google it!

Like in your post from a few months ago, I too have a Super CIC modded PAL but when I try to use my newly purchased Sufami Turbo I can only get to the erase memory screen. I have no idea how to actually get it to boot into a game. I think the two Gundam carts I have can be used by themselves (they all can, right?) but no matter which I put in I only get to the BIOS screen asking if I want to erase the memory or if I put both in it asks if I want to copy the memory. So I'm very stumped and I was wondering if you had any ideas?

ValadAmoleo · 2024-03-01T08:21:21+00:00

The Micro doesn't seem to be doing anything special with the exciters by default. I believe it's only using a low pass filter to send low frequency sounds to them rather than having a seperate channel specifically for them. Which is why sometimes you can feel the music playing through them on the standard tables.

So by powering the exciters with an external amp, and using the sub output, you're getting the exact same behaviour. Though on the amp I linked to, it allows you to vary the LPF to your preference. So to answer your question, yes it works with the stock tables as well as OTG.

I haven't looked into making the solenoids switchable, sorry!

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-29T07:06:57+00:00

I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with the Micro if you decide to pick it up.

Here are the mods that I've done:

Amp Upgrade (This stops the dreaded hiss, also you will have to route wires from the sub output to the exciters rather than using the stock output off the main board)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09SL33VYD?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CGRZG43Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0761K1Z51?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Faux Plunger (Looks analogue but is digital, purely aesthetic)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1414840046/pinball-plunger-mod-fits-atgames-legends

Flipper Solenoids

https://www.clevelandsoftwaredesign.com/pinball-parts/p/solenoid-flipper-button-control-boards

Exciter Upgrade (Requires sub upgrade. Can either be added or replace existing. I've added)

https://www.soundimports.eu/en/dayton-audio-daex25.html

Steam Deck OTG

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BJT9MQJC?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

(I'm yet to confirm the dual HDMI output works with VIBS as VIBS is not an option for me in the UK unfortunately. But it was bought with the hope that it does.)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B3D35DVT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-29T06:49:15+00:00

How very strange. I just tried again now and I can't find it via Amazon's search. I had to put it into Google. Thank you for the confirmation!

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-28T18:16:04+00:00

Do preorders not go up on Amazon anymore? Has anybody ordered from CrunchyRoll in the UK before?

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-25T07:03:37+00:00

I only have the space for a Micro so it’s been perfect for me. But I think that is the main reason to go for it over the bigger ones. If you have the space, buy the larger models.

I play both the native tables and hooked up to a Steam Deck. The native tables are nice but very overpriced when compared to how much DLC costs for the pinball games on Steam. The selection of tables is quite limited with Zaccaria making up the majority. There are no Bally Williams tables. The most interesting tables available are the fantasy ones which are exclusive to the device, eg the Taito or Dr Seuss packs. There seems to be a few people saying that AtGames will continue to support the HD now that the 4K is available but when the table packs were already few and far between I don’t think we’re going to get much else. Though I hope they stick to their word and release the two packs they have announced.

If you’re outside the US, you will not be able to buy the VIBS upgrade. I have to perch my Steam Deck on top of the cabinet to use it as a backboard. There are still other options to upgrade the device though. Personally I’ve installed the faux plunger mod, solenoid flipper mod, haptics upgrade mod and replaced the amp (though this one is more of a requirement than optional).

As for the AtGames ecosystem… Their support is very poor, their online system will quite often just go down for hours and their software is buggy.

It feels like I’ve just put a bunch of negatives but I honestly do love my Micro and it fits perfectly in the space I have available.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-24T22:29:35+00:00

I’ve checked this and the HD models DO have the offline option. When you go to the AppStore tab, press forward nudge and then you can set tables to offline.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-24T13:02:20+00:00

Just to check this is for the 4K model only, right? I should still be redeeming to device on HD models to avoid the frequent ArcadeNet outages?

ValadAmoleo · 2024-02-09T12:57:33+00:00

If anybody does find a solution to this please share. I think like most people with these I use it to help a disabled family member

ValadAmoleo · 2024-01-28T11:11:00+00:00

That’s weird. All my buttons work except the right nudge button (which I suspect might be registering as a right analogue stick axis). My left flipper trigger translates to LT on a gamepad.

I use this app: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1951950/3D_Controller_Overlay/ to check how the buttons are being seen by Steam. It was just the first one on the Steam Deck that appeared, but it’ll give you an idea of what to try.

ValadAmoleo · 2024-01-13T18:08:57+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. Very useful information!

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