My lamps are out too , tried new leds must be a connection somewhere . I'm not sure but uv's might spread the light out to much and not focus on the the trap doors . Only one way to find out.

I blew the fuse tinkering with mine a while ago, under the lid on the main board check fuses, each has a corresponding red led so look for one that's out, hopefully a simple fix.

Agreed I want a fairly direct light onto the trap doors but I've seen pic where they seem to almost glow....hopefully someone can suggest a good replacement....

Actual UV bulbs tend to be very dim in the visible spectrum... just a dim purple, much dimmer than a standard incandescent bulb. Unless you have UV-reactive paint to show off, I'd avoid.

If you've seen a light and thought it might be UV, you probably actually saw a pink or purple bulb. I've used those in spotlights before for accent, and the have the effect you say, depending on what they're shining on. It's really easy to overdo it, however, so don't go pick up a 4SMD purple unless you want to change the color of the playfield!

After playing a game today I noticed that Smaug’s mouth was stuck open so I went into the device test and when I pushed the start button I can hear him talking by no mouth movements. What should I look for other than the basic check wire connectors (I already did). If I remember someone had this issue and it was possibly the servo. Any advice to point me in the right way would be great.

Does it work in test?

Hey all,
My hobbit is at my brothers house. They report it not turning on at all. They made sure the outlet is working. Before I head over to troubleshoot I thought I’d throw it out here. Is there like a master fuse or something like that?

Not moving in test or game play.

Line fuse is on the inside right front next to the service outlet. But before that, check that the plug didn’t come loose in the back of the machine behind the metal plate. Can happen easily especially if someone was vacuuming or something and bumped the cord.

Plug something into the service outlet. If that works, then you have power that far. Outlet is good, power cord is in tight, and main fuse is good.

LTG : )

I removed Smaug and re-calibrated the servo and still no movement in test, he rotates as he should and led lights work. Is there a board just for the servo? What can I test to see if the servo is getting the correct voltage?

So I just plugged Smaug into my rc car to verify if the servo works and it did. I think the power to the Smaug servo is the problem but I’m not sure where to look to troubleshoot it. Maybe a fuse is the problem but everything seems to work fine besides Smaug’s mouth. If anyone has had this problem and can help I would greatly appreciate it.

Swap the servos see if its broken or just get a new servo they are pretty cheap. Hitech ones work good for $13, there's a post here somewhere with the model number.

Ok Smaug is talking again . Thanks for the call LTG I went through every connection and I also recalibrated Smaug again and he is good to go.

I actually hook my rc car to the Smaug servo and after that I knew it had to be something else... sad to say I made a rookie mistake and didn’t follow my basi troubleshooting guide and do all the easy and basic stuff first

Power cord for the win! Thanks guys. Didn’t have to make the trip!

Can you go through the steps you did to get Smaug’s mouth working. My mouth remains open even though the servo is working and I have recalibrated.

What is incredible in the latest code? I'm weighing going through the hassle of updating vs a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" type of thing.

How do you recalibrate Smaug; I'm not at my game, is it in the menu?

Yeah in the device tests.

After I verified the servo was good then the next step is to trace all the wires and make sure they are properly connected and they are not cut. I’m not 100% sure but I think the connectors that run into the main system( big metal box in the cabinet) might of been the problem.

To recalibrate Smaug you have to take him out and open him up and physically calibrate the servo(not fun). In the service menu go to devices(Smaug) and you can set the end points of the servo. When you set the end points in service menu you are setting how far his mouth moves up and down.

Depends on what you are currently running. Anything older than 2.991 and yeah, I'd do it.

Holy crap, glad mine is working acceptably

Mine has been dead for the past year. Someday I will get around to fixing mine.

Have one of NJ’s finest techs here. We have Smaug’s head completely apart to recalibrate. Pia. Going by the Hobbits manual instructions. Fingers crossed this will finally do it. Just btw, all was ok till a software update in early 2018. Tried recalibration to the specs on the service motor which never worked.

Good luck hope you get Smaug working. Just wondering did Smaug turn and work correctly as far as locking balls and he turns and looks at you? Is it just his mouth not working? Did you verify that the servo is operational? Getting Smaug out starts to get pretty easy after the 5th time. I also had to adjust the servo horn in order to get the mouth linkage to fit and not rub on the inside of Smaug.

Thks wildbill
So couple issues and yes we had the service horn adjusted.
Now the mouth moves but it goes all the way and hits the led light. Can hear the motor wanting it to go higher even though we keep changing the values. Also now, the motor at the bottom of Smaug that makes it swivel is heating up to the point it started smoking.

With the power off try rotating Smaug and see if he has free rotation and not hitting the ramp, I also had to make sure all the wires that run through Smaug were not hanging up to the point it put a lot of resistance on Smaug’s rotation. I never had smoke come out of my motor so not sure about that. When you set the horn on the servo was his mouth closed?

Good question re mouth position, well we had the top mouth off so not sure the exact position of the bottom. But we followed the directions perfectly.
My servo motor had 106 and 125 marked on the bottom of the motor. So should the 106 be the mini value and the 125 be the max?

After I got my Smaug’s mouth working I had to bump the numbers up to set the end points on the mouth servo(in service menu)I think the original numbers were around 100 or so and now they are a lot higher. Try to set the number and you can flip from max low and max high quickly with the button to see if his mouth is moving to your satisfaction. The hard part is if the servo horn is off then you have to take him out to adjust it. You are close so good luck.

Again thks Wildbill. Well after 3 hrs its a no go. I can hear the servo motor working which is a good thing. So what happens is the mouth moves all the way up AND wants to go higher, but will not move down. The motor continues to run till you literally get out of Smaug device test. The mouth then relaxes about a 1/4 in but will move no lower, despite changing the values. Frustrating.

Update: I was about to send the post above and my tech after leaving my house for 15 minutes comes back. He has Steve from JJP on the phone.

Another Update...after being on the phone with Steve (who spent close to an hour on the phone...what a great guy), everyone is baffled as the mouth will only go up not down. This after we took apart the whole mech for a third time which as you say, gets easier.
Steve is going to send another servo motor. Not sure that's the issue as the motor stays engaged (till you drop out of the smaug device test). Unless there is something in the motor that prevents the mouth from lowering, its a mystery. Hope no one has to go thru this.

Sorry to hear that Smaug is still down. When I had Smaug out the first time I opened the servo to make sure the gears were not broken(this is common in the RC car world). If a gear is broken you can usually hear a grinding sound. I almost put my RC servo in Smaug thinking the original one was broken. I’m glad I didn’t because after some research the one in Smaug is a $8 servo and my Rc servo is $150. I’m also wondering why it would only work one way. Keep us posted as I know this will help others.

Apologies, don't mean to derail the issues up above.

I'm coming close to getting either an LE or Black Arrow edition Hobbit, and was wondering if there are differences other than cosmetics, like if one run is newer and more improved over the other? Does anyone have preferences over all in Hobbit versions, Smaug included?

Black Arrows in general are going to be newer because they didn’t come along until after the main production run was coming to an end. LEs are all over the place in terms of when they were built - there were some built during the later run and alongside the BAs and there are a few NIB LEs out there amongst distributors. They could be from anywhere in the run especially if you are buying used so you have to see if, for example, they have the beast mech inserts installed either at the factory or added later by the first owner, whereas all the BAs will certainly have them along with the longer drop target springs and so on. As to personal preference, of course that’s up to you. I have a Smaug edition but I happen to like the Hammered darker brown finish on the LEs the best. The BAs have a smooth black finish on the armor which I don’t favor, but the BAs cabinet artwork is great. Rad cals are a matter of personal preference also.

I do like individual aspects of each, but I guess ultimately, production issues guaranteed corrected will guide me most. I love the Smaug, except having to do the installs, and I do appreciate the fact that the Black Arrow also has it's own unique attract mode!

Interesting, there's a swivel monitor in the Black Arrow? I hadn't read that before. So you can angle it while playing? Do any other JJP games feature that?

The swivel I think is meant for ease of access and working on that area behind it.

Oh.... because of the boards being moved up there? Is all of that an improvement in design or potentially more impactful due to space and overheating concerns?

Actually the boards being in the head and the swivel monitor mounted on the pivoting arm didn’t start until Dialed In (and continued with Pirates). Black Arrow Hobbits still have the earlier style monitor mounts.

My Smaug was done in July 2016 and had all the factory mods - beasts, ramps, etc - so I didn't have to swap out anything. So you can find Smaugs with those installed for sure.

Do you think they're worth the extra $500?

Not sure about 500 bucks. Some really like the LE and BA better. I think Smaug is the best - but you will need to decide

What extra $500?

Hi there,
So the general consensus is, if you buy a Black Arrow....it should have all the issues ironed out from previous early builds?
Thinking of maybe pulling the trigger but have zero experience with JJP.
Cheers

I got a nib le and it had all the factory upgrades . I love the armour ( the best I've seen from a factory PIN ) and I love the artwork . Couldn't be happier , as long as it has the upgrades I think it's just a matter of choice which one you like the best .

New lighting effects , I'm sure I've seen some new animations and heard some new callouts overall the game just shines don't think about it just do it !!!

I chose LE over BA for the armor and art as well. BA is just black armor vs the hammered bronze (or gold for Smaug). But as a fan of the movies I prefer LE art because has all the characters. But, whereas some (mainly non-JJP owners) complain about multiple versions, I like that I had a choice. I mean, bring on Yellow brick road WOZ, because I am not selling my beautiful ruby red! BA and LE all have the same upgrades from early Smaugs, just choose the one that you click with and don't look back.

I love the different artwork on each side of the cabinet the whole game just kicks ass

Decals with unique art on all three sides and trim levels help JJP games stand out. I like most of the different packages offered and settle on the one that is available when ready to buy. Finish on the regular decals look spectacular, I can’t even fathom how good radcals might look.

FWIW - the BA armor is not just black, it's black hammered. Same texture, different color. They all look great.