Love this machine. Probably have 20 plays on it now since getting it. But it is so immersive. What a blast to play. One of my pop ups is in need of adjustment as I can hit it solidly and it doesn’t register. But otherwise it’s amazing. Into the fire today and a new GC today! I have to read more of the rules. What a great game!

Common issue is broken wire to the leaf blade switch on the target.

You'll have to remove the mechanism to get at it.

LTG : )

I'm doubtful your mouth settings are suddenly wrong without you having adjusted them, but that's a great place to start looking. Regardless of the particular problem in your Smaug mouth mech, you can confirm it's Smaug mouth related by unplugging the yellow ethernet cable going into Smaug. If the problem ceases, there's your culprit.

My Smaug mouth mech would jam and cause the servo to run continuously even when the jaw settings were appropriate. It's a similar effect to having the closed setting "too" closed, but a different cause. If your mechanism is sticking/jamming, I've got something you can try that worked for me (or search this forum for "rubber band").

Hey guys,

What pitch should Hobbit be setup at?

Also does the Smaug lock magnet supposed to catch the ball every time before it drops?

A lot of times it grabs but sometimes it does not grab the ball on my machine.

Thanks,
Ted

I measure in 3 locations up the center and find that the game is pretty flawlwss at 7.2 degrees.

Flipper power is a real issue.

Set the flipper power so that the ball can make either ramp from either flipper slowly but easily from a cradled positsion.

The ball shouldnt race around the ramp and wireform, but decelerate up the famp and slowly make it back down the wireforms. But it should make it each time.

Too fast and the ball will fly off the wireforms on a strong rebound hit.

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

There are two screws to the right of the Smaug magnet. Loosen and adjust the magnet up a bit so it sits flush.

Thanks man.

Any experience as to why the Orc mech does not registered pinball contact while playing the game? It pops up fine, all wires look intact and it registers contact on the dedicated matrix switch test.

Thanks much!

Just to be clear - Tests - Switches - Dedicated, aren't playfield switches. Tests - Switches - Matrixed, are playfield switches.

In test you may be pushing it just right, or harder, than a ball hitting it in game play. It may need a little adjusting to be more sensitive.

Call jack or jjp and tell him or them to get LTG : ) Back !

Yes sorry I should clarify, when I press the ORC mech while running the Matrix mode it registers fine. Any advice on how to adjust it?

This is a MM troll, same thing. The shorter rear leaf blade switch needs to be closer to the longer front one. Adjust as close to the fiberboard spacers between the leaf blades as you can. Finger, thin pliers, leaf blade adjuster.

It might take a tweak or two to get it right. So slightest ball hit triggers it, but vibration doesn't going up and making it fall back down immediately.

Call jack today and tell him you miss LTG : )

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I love all the help on this forum. Thank you.

Lloyd is the best.

Lloyd is amazing and has been for many years on this and other pin sites. He gives so much of his time and knowledge. Whatever reason JJP let him go makes no sense. And he still helps out on this thread which I think is ultra classy!

So they could afford the "custom" cake topper figures for Toy Story games.

Anyone know where I can get the equivalent part for the "Microswitch with internal roller actuator" is? Part number 18-3005-01...
This is the beast "pop-up-detect" switch.

I see this one, at PinballLife..
https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-ball-detect-blade-with-roller-sub-microswitch.html

This one at Marcos:
w/o Diode... https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/180-5168-00
----> I think this is the one I would need... because there is a diode on the one, now. / Diode: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-12953

JJP Part Number 18-003005-01
Display Name/Code Microswitch w/Internal Roller Actuator
$2.99 plus shipping
order directly from JJP

Thanks.... but that one isn't coming up in the online search.

Thats pretty common with JJP parts.
You have to call direct to order most stuff.

its been a while...! I remember now. Thanks.

Call Martha

LTG : )

Hey guys, I have had my hobbit about a week and the Smaug head has been off about 6 times already. I reached out to jjp and no answer a week later. This has been the most frustrating game I have ever owned and my first pin was Sttng!

First the head movement was all messed up (now it’s back again. More on that below) then the jaw servo went (tough to find replacements as that model is discontinued).
Anyways, maybe someone can confirm my diagnosis.

So, head movement is all weird. When it calibrates in start up, moves all the way to the left, comes back about 1/2 way, and has an epileptic episode and stops. Go into test report and it moves back and forth no problem, but, it seems like the far left limit opto isn’t telling it to stop and it isn’t registering everytime. So it does this every time the opto doesn’t register. Would a cold solder joint on that left opto cause this? Or maybe a bad opto? I have reseated the cables on the stepper and the cat5e cable a number on times and thought I had this beat. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. I love the game, but, not if you have to be under the hood daily.

Thanks,

Jamie

Replace the servo board, its likely cooked.

Although you can also rebuild it.

Maybe get a board and servo from jjp.

Pretty much any similar servo will work if it has metal gears and fits.

Its not a pre programmed part or anything special.

Reflow the optos or just replace them if you are rebuilding the board.

Call JJP!

The ordering website is terrible.

You can also open a ticket.

But you can also call for support.

You can also just unplug Smaug until you collect the parts and enjoy the game. Tons of games have him unplugged lol.

He doesnt actually do anything that affects gameplay.

The flyer ads are a lie lol. He doesn't interact with the ball at all.

Replacing all the parts is somewhat the way to go. Then you have to calibrate it and maybe put a rubber band on the mouth pushrod the keep it snappy.

https://www.hobbytown.com/onyx-s45-standard-metal-gear-servo-onxm0245/p1208203?utm_source=transactional_email&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=order_complete&utm_cid=5674619&utm_content=%2fonyx-s45-standard-metal-gear-servo-onxm0245%2fp1208203

This is the same spec Servo for Smaugs mouth as the one that is no longer produced

<blockquote

cite="#7110395">https://www.hobbytown.com/onyx-s45-standard-metal-gear-servo-onxm0245/p1208203?utm_source=transactional_email&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=order_complete&utm_cid=5674619&utm_content=%2fonyx-s45-standard-metal-gear-servo-onxm0245%2fp1208203
This is the same spec Servo for Smaugs mouth as the one that is no longer produced

Thank you

Mundy53 thanks
This is the same spec Servo for Smaugs mouth as the one that is no longer produced

The jaw servo motors are in stock at JJP

When you say servo board, do you mean the board under Smaug?

Ya, I’m finding JJps site fairly tough to navigate. Also tough when you place an order and the shipping total isn’t presented right away. I tried to open a service ticket but one of the menus wouldn’t open. It’s been a day! Haha Maybe best to call them.

I know that he is mostly aesthetic, but, he is a cool part of the game. For the price of this thing, it needs to be working as close to 100% as a pinball machine can be

I saw that they were in stock, tried to order a few and haven’t heard back. As I am horribly impatient, I looked on hobby king to order one and it is listed as discontinued

Email tomorrow [email protected]

yes.

For some reason the boards get burned up badly when servos fail, or there is binding in the mech.

get a servo here:

https://www.hobbytown.com/onyx-s45-standard-metal-gear-servo-onxm0245/p1208203?utm_source=transactional_email&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=order_complete&utm_cid=5674619&utm_content=%2fonyx-s45-standard-metal-gear-servo-onxm0245%2fp1208203

Again, a lot of heat is created when things go wrong, it tears up the little board..

Ok, thanks. I will grab a few servos. The one I found at work matches the spec, just a plastic gear instead of metal.

It seems the mouth is moving mostly the way it should. It’s the head movement that is all whacky. I will check that board tomorrow and likely order one. I wonder if that cat5e socket is suspect as well? Not a pile of room to work under that playfield.

Will do. Thank you

I was always wondering on this one : for me in test mode, the opto register fine the end of movement, every time. But at startup of the machine, and only at startup, it seems to try to force when going left, then go back toward the middle. Looks like you have a similar behavior.

Can someone record the normal movement of smaug at power up?

Regards

Call jjp. Tell Pat and jack to get LTG : ) Back !

OK, so mine absolutely does not do that. It tries to force rotating clockwise but it only does so at startup.

During gameplay, it does not, it seems to register the end of movement optos correctly

It does register them correctly in test mode.

Is there a different behavior code wise at startup vs gameplay? Is the safety mechanism with the optos built in at the smaug control board level, or higher up the control chain? The schematics of the smaug board are not very explicit on that subject

Edit : I take it back, it is explicit, all control is upstream. So unless the optos are not operating correctly only during startup (how can I check that???), I don't understand why it would try to force during startup, but not during gameplay

No.

LTG : )

Check to be sure it isn’t touching the ramp to the left. I found that mine was getting hung on that and it looked like it was forcing movement.

Does the top part of Smaug head move up and down also?

In LTG's video his head looks like it moves up and down a little.

Just the lower jaw

Thanks Lloyd. That is what I though. But it looked like it moved in your video.

Same was happening to mine, hitting / rubbing on ramp...

So while I'm dismantling smaug head, I found quite a few issues.

I dare say that 'designed for maintenance' is not the first thing that defines 'the hobbit' pinball there are quite a few very fragile wires connecting the RGB PCBs, just next to screws that you need to remove to access the drop target mechs.

So three questions :
- one of the wire on this RGB connector is cut. It will be far easier if i can unplug the connector, however I dare not pull too strongly, there seems to be a lock mechanism which i can't figure out. Any pointer?
- one blocking plastic which 'locks' the drop target in up position is broken and rotates around the rivet (see picture of the part). I assume that to access it I need to remove the drop target, and this is done by removing the small blocking ring on the ring behind the target?
- the arkenstone flasher was not working, checking the wire the pin has been dislodged from it's header. It's the same type of connector than what's on the RGB board it seems. Likewise, I can't unplug it... And I don't want to pull too much. Also, can I hope to reinsert the pin in the header? Or do I need a new header, in which case what is the reference?

[EDIT] Figured out how to remove the drop target in front of the mech. But the plastic part is damaged, I'll attempt some superglue repair. Otherwise I'll have to print a 3D part to replace it and replace the rivet... Lovely...

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So, I talked with Brian from jjp. After running through a few other tests he suggested that maybe the “flag” that interrupts the opto wasn’t deep enough. That’s a good thought and confirms about the behaviour being caused by a missed opto switch. So, optos are fine, no cold solder joints and seems to be working right now. If it does in fact happen again, I will check the flag depth to ensue it’s deep enough to block the light transferred from the opto. If it seems shallow, I will add to it.

Turned on machine tonight and got this. What does that usually mean I need to do?!

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Check the goblin head leaf blade switch.

Tests - Switches - Matrixed, push it. If it doesn't register, remove the whole mexh and fix broken wire(s) If it works, Tests - Coils - see if the goblin mech pops up, if not, fix it.

Then call jjp and tell them to get LTG : ) Back !

The wire might have sheared off the switch.

If thats the case, this thread has some fixes for that.

Anyone would have any advice on how to unplug the RGB board connectors? The cabling is super fragile, I really don't want to try to force