I had an extra dimmer from comet so tested this. Alligator clipped it to my hobbit spotlight with exposed leads and then to a 6v post lamp. The voltage on the light was 10.97v on its own, and with the comet dimmer turned all the way down the voltage on the post lamp was 4.4v so I think what comet recommended is viable, but I’m not an electrical engineer so proceed with caution!

Double posted.

Finally got my hands on one of these games. I’m completely blown away, absolutely incredible. So underrated.

You ain't never lied!

Quick question. Given a choice, which model do you think is the best to buy? Thanks

I like black arrow, I own a gold Smaug edition. It's up to you on art and what is available. Playfields are the same. Some argue the black arrow being late production has improved beast mech designs. I can't confirm that. I'd take anyone, it's all about the game play

Smaug for me and soon, the lighted, pulsing Arkenstone for his hoard of gold!!

Plungerboy: When I got my LE Hobbit 4 yrs. ago (on either the Hobbit Owners or Hobbit Mod threads), LTG/Lermods/or another pinsider warned that if you install a lighted mod using the Hobbit's 12v electrical system & something goes wrong, you will void the 1 yr. warranty. So I installed an independent electrical system: DC 120v converter to 5v/10v/Gr. wire leads to the 8-Way Power Splitter Board from Pinball Life with use of 3 port Molex connectors. I use the 5v Molex connector to back light Bill's Arkenstone with a blue Star Post Light from Comet Pinball. It's a circle of 4 LED squares that fits perfectly behind Bill's stone. With the 5v source, the stone shows diffuse illumination without the squares showing through it's back white membrane. If you use the Hobbit's 12v source, the squares show through and you have the risk of an electrical hazard!!! If you use the Hobbit's 12v source and a 6.3v LED, you'll need to also install a voltage (Buck) regulator. I pulsate the stone using the LED Controller for STERN Whitestar / Sam (BRIGHTMODS.com).

I'll try to post a video of the final installation soon. The lighted, pulsaing Arkenstone is unbelievable!!!

I'm not trying to mod my hobbit, I was replying to another post that was trying to understand the voltage dimmer from Comet and if it could be used on a 12v system with 6v lamps as the folks at Comet stated. It seems to be possible.

Thanks for your input. Let me emphasize the superior quality of Bill's Arkenstone. You don't have to back light it. It reflects ambient light on it's own & it's a simple mod to affix either the Smaug's Hoard Stone or the 30mm stone (sold by superskillshot.com) to the back pillar sculpture with double sided Gorillar tape (see previous posts). If you want to pulsate it, then you have to jack around with issues of 12v, 5v, current regulators, etc.

I have the LE (not Smaug). The bronze powder coat looks sooooo good. I held out till I found the one I want.

My fav too but I did have a number of early production issues to fix

Hey halflings, I thought I'd share my latest upgrade I was never happy with the stock backbox lighting, even with the amber gel light filter over the overly-blue LEDs that came with the machine. So... yesterday, I took some time to re-light the backbox/translite. I unplugged the old light strip and then essentially circled the inside of the backbox with LED strips... plus lamp controllers, duh! The overhead strip is set to full bright, the side strips are full dim, and the bottom strip is one step up from full dim.

I'm super pleased with the results! Before and after pics attached.

And, as always, big thanks to you all who keep supporting my mods! I've run out of parts for the Smaug's Horde Arkenstone lamp/controller and don't plan on buying parts to make another run of those unless there's some surge in interest, but I do have a handful left ready to ship.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1305-trumpanche-mods

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Anyone getting chipping on the backside of the right VUK hole? I know why it happens, just looking for suggestions on how to slow it down. Cliffy’s don’t cover that part and I’m not sure if Mylar would be helpful or not. Open to suggestions.

I have Cliffy's on those VUKs as well, but I don't 'think' they offer much protection for the backside of the VUK hole. I am interested on hearing other thoughts on how to protect as well. I want to keep this thing looking good and as well protected as I can because it's never leaving! #BoltedToTheFloor
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I bought a new SSD drive and tried several different USB sticks and get the same type of kernel panick message. Sometimes it says "loading" for 60 secs or so and then does the kernel panick. Most times it goes right to the error message.

I tried reseating the CPU, reseating memory with no luck. I also used rufus to burn the USB image, same result. Any ideas?

Here is the error it gives again.

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Slightly different error, it changes slightly. I have tried it so many times I noticed that sometimes this error occurs.

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It may take JJP support (or Keith himself) to advise on this error. I am not a Ubuntu expert or even user for that matter. From what I have found it 'could' be an issue with your RAM. I wonder if JJP would ship you a new SSD with the latest Hobbit update on it. If that didn't work, it may point to RAM as the next thing you can change to resolve.

Disclaimer: This is not hobbit pinball medical advice. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Thanks, I have reached out to a few different people in support and haven’t heard back. Does anyone know the best way to get help from JJP these days?

Call them or open a support ticket.

I'd be tempted to try a new SSD. Stick it in. Then do a Full Install of the software.

LTG : )

sometimes you just have to wait a few minutes (10-15 or so?)

Then see if it clears up.

KevInBuffalo - I missed your stream in real time but caught the results . Next step is to try the rubber band fix!! If the only cable you need to disconnect is the Ethernet/RJ45 cable, that was my situation and the rubber band / fixing his mouth mechanism was the long term fix for me

I think he already bought a new SSD and it didn't resolve it - do you think he should try another new SSD?

Yes, I tried a new SSD per the recommendation. I also tried a new Sata cable and even a different sata port on the motherboard. From the error it almost looks like an issue with how the usb stick is setup with the Ubuntu script but that couldn’t be it! Very much a mystery still, usually I can figure this stuff out. I’ll submit the ticket today, hopefully someone out there at JJP has some ideas.

Yep I'm happy with the results after last night. I mentioned at the end of the stream that there were a number of things I tried, including reseating power connections, changing USB ports for the cable that feeds the playfield, and adjusting the values of Smaug's mouth. Considering it held up after that last game where I defeated Smaug and got to Five Armies I'm calling it good to go.

I may have missed your earlier post - what did you do to resolve?

Try to disconnect the USB extension cable that goes to the coin box area for updates, and install the USB directly into that USB port on the motherboard.

I have been using that method since the SSD install. Same result with the errors. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hey Trumpanche, how do you download/post your videos? When I try, I get "invalid extension." It needs PDF or some other extension I've never encountered. I'm not that computer literate. I can email the video as a file, not picture/image. On Pinside posting preview, there's a notation "DROP FILES HERE TO UPLOAD (OR CLICK THE UPLOAD BUTTON)." It's not highlighted as the blue "Attach image(s)..." and of course if you click on it, nothing happens.

I did all those things: reseating power connections, changing USB ports for the cable that feeds the playfield, and adjusting the values of Smaug's mouth. One of those things did the trick, but since I didn't playtest after each change I can't say specifically what worked, but I'm guessing it was Smaug's mouth binding.

Awwww - quitter!

This is driving me nuts. Can someone tell me where this wire connects to? It is located directly under the smaug head and I can't seem to remember after replacing the servo in the the Smaug. Ugh.

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Maybe to the light on the gold pile in front of Smaug ?

LTG : )

Does anyone know a fair price for a Smaug Controller pcb board? I have nos one i found in my parts stash but I didn’t know what its value was. I’m willing to sell it for a fair price to anyone who could use it.

Looks like it goes to the board on the Smaug mech, maybe from the servo to that board?

Those are tiny and blue

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That’s what........

Here is Smaugs connectors. The two black fiber covered ones go up into Smaugs head.

LTG : )

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Looks like you gotta pull him back out to plug it in :-/

Thanks you guys saved me! Next time I'm documenting every step!

Man, this project is never ending.

I changed the servo in Smaugs head and had everything working, turned off the machine, came back the next day and now the side to side motor doesn't seem to be working. I don't know how best to explain it... but it seemed bumpy and rough when turning side to side. So I pulled the head back off.

Any time it is plugged in the side to side feels rough and bumpy when manually turning by hand or having the machine turn it. As soon as I unplug it the motion is smooth again by hand.

It also seems to be causing excessive heat in the motor.

I'm totally lost on what to do next. What did I do wrong? Has anyone experienced this or seen any posts about this? Do I need to replace this part; if so does anyone know where I can buy the side to side motor?

Any help in troubleshooting this would be greatly appreciated!

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This has happened to me a few times. I’d just try powering on the game with his head turned at different angles until it works again. Seems to usually fix it for me. Also check in the switch matrix test and see if his end of travel switches are activating at each end. If those aren’t tripping, you might need to double check your connectors and such. Good luck!

Oh and that ‘cogging’ (bumpy) you’re feeling in the motor is probably normal.

Mine has that feeling and works well (thank goodness)....but it does run hot as hell.

Mine seems to usually be too hot to touch... hasn't failed yet, though! :-/

Photos of Dragon Eye affixed to back left indicator red plastic plate. Photo 1 is without game lights on. Photo 2 is with indicator (game lights) on. I plan to increase the brightness of the LED indicator light & have it slow blink with a mode harness. As it stands, it's just okay. With increased blinking brightness, it would be more apparent & dramatic. I've alerted Trumpanche for his input.

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Some kind of 3d surround to frame it maybe?

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Print-Store-Sauron-Poster/dp/B0718TT1RC

Still photo and brief video of pulsed lit dragon eye affixed to back left red indicator plate (final mod). Special thanks to Trumpanche for help in posting video.

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