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Experience the retro-futuristic pinball machine that combines classic gameplay with cutting-edge technology. Prepare for total nuclear annihilation!

TNA LED and Opto Reliability Hack: Ditching IDC for Crimp-and-Stuff

Posted: February 20, 2026

The IDC (Insulation-Displacement Contact) connectors used in Total Nuclear Annihilation can be an issue as these games age for reliability. Because the internal "V" blade only touches the header pin on one side, they eventually develop extra resistance, corrode, and start failing.

If you want your game to stay bulletproof, you need to swap these out for Trifurcon Crimp and Stuff connectors. Trifurcon pins grab the header on three sides instead of one, which is the gold standard for these connectors.

This is a pretty big job to do the entire machine, but here is the quick-and-dirty guide on how to do it.

The Shopping List

The Game Plan

Find the PD-LED Boards
Look under the playfield for the green boards with the rainbow ribbon cables. Each one has a 2-pin .156 IDC connector for power. These are your primary targets.
One at a Time!
Do NOT cut all your connectors off at once or you'll lose track of your wiring. Cut the wires off the old IDC connector, strip 'em back about 1/8", and crimp on your new Trifurcon pins.
Handling "Double Wires" or Daisy Chained Connectors
You'll run into spots where two wires are jammed into one IDC position. This is for daisy-chaining power. Crimp-and-stuff housings can be tight here.

Pro Tip: If you can't reliably crimp two wires into one pin, crimp a single short "pigtail" wire into the new connector, then solder and heat-shrink the two harness wires onto that pigtail. It's much cleaner and more reliable.
The Serial Cables
I also recommend swapping the .100 connectors on those gray serial cables. The stock ones are a bit loose; these new ones grip the PD-LED board headers way better.

Critical Stuff You Need to Know

Practice First: If you've never crimped Trifurcons before, do a few test runs on some scrap wire. You want a solid "click" when you stuff the pin into the housing. A damaged pin from crimping incorrectly will not click into the housing properly and fall out.

Just take your time, do one connector per session if you have to, and your TNA will thank you for it!

Latest Code Update Released (v1.6.0)

Posted: December 13, 2025

Version 1.6.0 is now available for download! This update includes a bunch of new features and some bug fixes!

The latest code update is available now for all TNA owners.


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v1.6.0 - 12/13/2025 - Scott Danesi

## Bugs Fixed ##
- Fixed issue that upon certain opto failures would cause the game to boot loop
- Added left sling to burn in test
- Fixed issue with ballsearch when entering Service Mode
- Fixed issue with strobing LEDs failing to keep time with the rest of the system.
- Fixed scoring issue with new Jackpot system.
- Fixed Reactor Bonus Issue not taking in account number of balls in play when the reactor was destroyed.
- Fixed issue with reactor number getting scrambled under certain situations.

## Features Added / Modifications ##
- Added software switch debounce for additional reliability when switches get flaky
- Added new feature called "Last Ball Overtake" that will fire the knocker when any player of a non-co-op multiplayer game passes the leader on the last ball of the game.
- Added Speaker Lights to All LED test in the service menu
- Added new behaviors to speaker lights
- New service menu item under Machine Settings for Speaker Light Style. Alternate1 is used if you are using this output to light a room and will make it more intense as it uses more extreme dark to bright variations.This was created for the Pinball Olympics 2025. I am going to default this to the new Alternate1 as I think it looks better.
- Modified Speedrun time to use milliseconds and also starts the speed run as soon as the first ball is plunged.
- Jackpots now reduce in value if multiball started multiple times on the same reactor. The second time a multiball is started on a single reactor, the jackpot values will be reduced by 45%. The third time multiball is started on the same reactor, the jackpots are reduced another 45% making the jackpot value only 10% of what it was during the first multiball. This is all reset once the player destroys and moves onto the next reactor, restoring the full jackpot values. Keep in mind, the jackpot values are multiplied by the reactor number you are on multiplied by the amount of balls in play. This gets very rewarding the higher the number of reactors destroyed.
- Added Tournament Mode in Gameplay Settings.  This mode will fix the order of the Mystery awards and also eliminates the free points in mystery as well.  This does NOT remove extra balls.
- New Jukebox songs added
- Scorbit logo updated to latest branding
########################################################################################

Visit the Code Updates page to download the latest update.

New Website Launched

Posted: December 12, 2025

We've launched a new website for the Total Nuclear Annihilation pinball machine! This website is dedicated to providing information about the game, including the latest news and code updates.

The site is still a work in progress as of December 2025, so check back as we add more content and features to the site.