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Is The Virtua Pin Digital Plunger Kit Worth The Money?


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I have one... it was one of the very first ones and it doesn't work very well at all.  It looses it's calibration after 15-20 minutes. I think Paul, aka Noah, said that newer batches have been fixed, but he'll never replace mine as he despises me.  

 

I currently use Zeb's Plunger on my cabinet and have never had a single issue with it. It may be a bit more expensive, but is soooo much better and that piece of mind is definitely worth the higher price.

 

http://www.zebsboards.com/index.php/feedback-control-devices/plunger-detail

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I have one. The v2 is very stable and has no calibration or power loss issues. I think there are better solutions now for the plunger sensor (like mjr's) but it works pretty well for that price.

Nudging is as good as with other frescale based sensors.

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Yeah, I'm working on ordering the parts to make mjr's plunger.  The only thing I worry about is the location so I can get the best light on it. I have contactors and also RGB flippers that may cause issue with the photo-sensing board.

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I don't want to necessarily advertise the virtua pin, but what I too like about it is the 16 button input. Saved me an ipac...

But if you already have one I'd go for zebs

 

Zebs has at least 12 inputs which should be more than enough for any pinball cabinet

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I've tried them all v1, v2, nano-tech, zebs and the dyi version. Dyi is great and if you have the time would be my suggestion... But that said I've ordered several of zebs plungers and will be what I use from now on!

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OK misread the specs on zebs.

I agree the support for v2 us bad. They should at least have some upgrade of firmware options.

Have to say with mjr's new plunger code even the v2 is a lot smoother, but still some occasional stuttering.

Maybe when I upgrade to force feedback I will look for another solution. There are also some nice developments coming up here in Germany as the VP community grows, so maybe I will be able to save shipping and taxes in the future :)

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  • 1 year later...

I agree zebs is the best. My VP v2 plunger made my VP unplayable. No support from anyone

 

*Support* - thats the key thing for a lot of us Noobs coming into this. I'll be looking at Zebs for my plunger for now. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I bought zeb's plunger awhile ago, he has great support and it works really well, but there is one downside with it which made me go the mrj plunger way instead,

 

You can't rotate the plunger handle with zeb's solution, because the sliderpart is fastened to the plunger. I have bad habit of rotating the shooter before i shoot ;)

So i am just converting to mrj's kl25z version with a ccd panel.

 

Testing here now and the resolution is much greater and as the sensor never touches the shooter i can rotate it how much i ever want.

It also has the advantage of 24 button inputs (zeb's has 20, 10 normal and 10 shifted) and can use the plunger as shootbutton also, plus it has a "led-wiz" mode also with outputs,

 

I am in endtesting of a ccdsensor mounting enclosure (3d printing).

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Yeah, I'm working on ordering the parts to make mjr's plunger.  The only thing I worry about is the location so I can get the best light on it. I have contactors and also RGB flippers that may cause issue with the photo-sensing board.

I have a 3d printed desing for an enclosure of both ccd and leds i am working on. I also have rgb button leds.

Should be finished any day, and so far i have had good results with 6 white leds (from a ledstrip)  about 7cm from the ccd.

I hope it will work ok when finished, otherwise i'll mount them at the cabbottom as everone else does.

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I have a 3d printed desing for an enclosure of both ccd and leds i am working on. I also have rgb button leds.

Should be finished any day, and so far i have had good results with 6 white leds (from a ledstrip)  about 7cm from the ccd.

I hope it will work ok when finished, otherwise i'll mount them at the cabbottom as everone else does.

 

Please post up the 3d files once you test them. I'd like to print them out and see.

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I bought zeb's plunger awhile ago, he has great support and it works really well, but there is one downside with it which made me go the mrj plunger way instead,

You can't rotate the plunger handle with zeb's solution, because the sliderpart is fastened to the plunger. I have bad habit of rotating the shooter before i shoot ;)

So i am just converting to mrj's kl25z version with a ccd panel.

Testing here now and the resolution is much greater and as the sensor never touches the shooter i can rotate it how much i ever want.

It also has the advantage of 24 button inputs (zeb's has 20, 10 normal and 10 shifted) and can use the plunger as shootbutton also, plus it has a "led-wiz" mode also with outputs,

I am in endtesting of a ccdsensor mounting enclosure (3d printing).

I had not thought about that issue with zebs, I have one and I'm about to start building. I wonder how hard it would be to put a clip system on the plunger to bracket zebs slider so you could spin the plunger. I will experiment as I have a couple spare plungers.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

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I am using the Pinscape board - but using a potentiometer slider rather than light source.

Previously had the V2 VirtuaPin kit - but it kept crashing when using solenoids for some reason.... and then the www.vpin-shop.de 'pinana1'.

Now with the Pinscape board, I have still used this to hold the potentiometer:
http://www.vpin-shop.de/epages/64158583.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/64158583/Products/50025

Yes - I know its costly but I like the way the pot works rather than messing with the light source.  Plus using the pot it is only 3 cores from the KLZ board.

I ordered via the vpin-shop.de as I am based in the UK and find the import duty and charges makes ordering from the USA a pain! 

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  • 8 months later...
  • 7 months later...

I replaced the plunger that came with my VirtuaPin mini with a Zebs v2 kit and it is glorious.  So much better than what came with the cab.  The device comes with firmware that emulates 16 keyboard keys plus four buttons or you can flash it to act as a straight 20 button controller.

The design still doesn't allow you to twist the plunger but that is a small price to pay.  I enthusiastically recommend it for anyone building their own cab or even for those users who have an existing plunger kit who haven't been fully satisfied with the performance of their existing unit.  

You won't be disappointed.

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  • 1 month later...

Short question about Zeb's v2 - I've got one of his earliest v1 versions w/ the newest firmware version. Nudging works well, all in all it's pretty solid but there is one thing I very much dislike about it.

The reset after 2-3 seconds if you keep the plunger pulled. It makes it harder to make a timed skillshot like Congo, it sends the ball flying exactly when I don't want it.
It doesn't allow me to prepare a skill shot while waiting for the machine to feed the next ball into the plunger lane, like I do on my real TZ. It makes it harder to get the timing right on CFTBL so you can get F lit by timing the plunge right.

If a guest comes and tries using it it's almost certain they trigger an unwanted ball release. After that it gets even funnier, when the plunger returns to its resting position in most cases the controller doesn't do a second reset so it now gives a negative position to VP - which means the plunger is out of order till I reset it by pulling the plunger out all the way and wait for the next reset.

Well, does Zeb's v2 still do that reset or does it have an better solution?

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I have a V2 and it does not behave as you describe.  I can leave the plunger half cocked indefinitely.  It really is nice.  Some tables in VP 9 seem to give a little jump when I pull back but it's easy to get used to.  Works so much better than the one that came with my VirtuaPin mini cab.  

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