Hi guys – I hate to keep asking the same question but that's how much this is bugging me! Ha ha. Just don't understand the backstab. Someone said it is like a MM troll bomb, but I'm not sure that's the case. A troll bomb registers a hit. When I hit backstab it literally does nothing.

Take a look at my original post if you can shed some light on what is probably a cool feature that I just can't figure out!

Thanks.

I understand it as, you have to hit it when the ball hits the backside of the pop-up. When in test mode there is a trigger that senses when you tap it from behind.

Damn if Hobbit isnt the finest looking machine ever built!

Just posted a mint Smaug hobbit for sale in the market...has radcals and a little over 100 plays. Got another one in a large package deal and am letting this one go. Price is negotiable

sometimes, the balin vuk takes twice to eject a ball. weird?

software version 1.90, factory reset.

the other thing i had to do:

i had to boost coil level from 8 to 12 so a ball would reliably pop in the shooter lane. but in test mode, it always works.

i have a feeling test modes use full coil power and ignores software limit settings...

I think I have it figured out. In every firmware before 1.90 backstab would kill a beast if I had a fully powered ring. Meaning if one pops up and you miss it, you can quickly hit backstab and it would register a hit. Ever since 1.90 though, it has not worked. It would reliably work for me before, and now after the update it doesn't do anything, from forwards or backwards. I'm sure it's just a bug that will be fixed, just like reverse power windlance.

Sounds right. I thought there was more to it – but I only had the game a week before installing 1.9. We'll wait and see. Thanks for your reply.

Hey, Hobbit owners! Here is hoping you might lend a hand. Just recently, my ball has been getting stuck on the ramp after kicking up the Radagast VUK. A month or so ago, it would only occur on occasion; not it happens every time. I'm still running 1.9 code. Coil strength on Radagast VUK is 23 (20 on Balin). Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

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What's the steepness of the playfield? Maybe simply steepening the PF could help. If I remember right I'm about 7.0 degrees but it has been a while since I levelled so I might be slightly off on that. IF you do steepen the game a little, you might need to bump up the power slightly on the flippers to still be able to make the ramps. Not too strong though as then you might risk damaging the beast pop-ups.

See any humps/divots where the ball is landing which could hold it up there and not allow it to start travelling down?

Those are my first (and probably only) thoughts to your situation.

Darin

if that doent work you could look at adding a washer or adjusting the position of the part that drops the ball.

Try adding a washer under the VUK wireform mount to raise it slightly.
This will give it a little more clearance and bounce room.

Your VUK height looks slightly lower than mine from the photo.

Adjust your playfield pitch to 7.1 degrees, i think the game plays well at that pitch.

Thanks for the input, guys. I'll check the pitch on the machine when I get home; frankly, I'm not sure what it is. Great idea on the washer...I'll try that too. Appreciate the help!

Looks like either your vuk wireform needs to be raised or the ramp wireform lowered. What does it look like where the ramp connects at the Inlanes? Have you had anything apart recently? Maybe the lower ramp connections isn't tight?

I still have a recurring problem with my Goblin Pop-up. I've previously posted it on this thread (p. 55), but the problem persists. After several hits, the Goblin head stops popping up. The LED lights up, but the steel flap only moves upward above the PF surface about 1/16". I then stop game play & manually pop him up & twist head slightly. It then pops up for only a few additional hits & then quits working.

With the PF raised on skids and manual movement, there is absolutely no obstruction or impingement of the mechanism. It moves freely without hitting the PF wood edge. The Goblin head does not hit the plastic insert. I even removed the insert to make sure.

With the PF down & in the test mode, the Goblin steel flap only moves upwards 1/16"' to 1/8" above the PF surface, even after twisting the head ever so slightly. The other Pop-ups (Orc, Warg & Spider) work fine. In their test modes, the the steel flaps move about 1/2" above the PF & their mechanisms make a loader noise.

With the PF raised against the back box & in the test mode, the Goblin mechanism slides up to the steel flap & stops. With the other pop-ups, their mechanisms slide up to & hit the steel flaps and, as stated previously, make a loader noise. It's as if the Goblin coil is not strong enough/defective.

Any thoughts? I really think it might be a defective coil/sleeve. I really don't know why the slight head twist allows the mechanism to work a couple of times, since there is absolutely no obstruction or impingement to movement.

I emailed Victor 3+ wks. ago and he has yet to respond.

If it is the coil, how do you switch it out for a new one? I ordered a coil from the Hobbit Parts Store for $35 plus $28 two-day shipping. To switch coils, I assume you have to remove the two flap compression springs, lift off the steel flap, unplug the respective Molex connectors, & unscrew the 4 anchoring screws of the mechanism & pull entire mechanism out.

Thanks for any replies.

Page C-50 of the manual available for download at jjp's web site.

I don't know exactly. But looking at the schematics, moving the head might re-align the assembly that rides on part #7? (pop-up guide shaft).

Any play at all on that shaft?

I think more experienced techs would also tell you to measure voltage at your coil? (to rule out bad coil).

EDIT: Also make sure all screws (parts 17 on the schematics) are tight. Play in them could "derail" the upward linear motion.

I doubt it.

And then tear it all apart to switch coils. Getting it all back together and having it move freely is a huge time and aggravation ordeal. If it were me, I'd pull it out. Loosen, tweak, retighten, etc. etc. until it moves up and down freely.

I took one apart to make some pictures. And I marked where things lined up and screws went. And still wish I hadn't done that. I spent an hour tweaking things back to normal. I've included what torn apart looks like.

LTG : )

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Hi there,

I had this problem almost a year ago with my Orc Mech. I raised a ticket with JJP and Victor replied with the following and after just a slight push forward it's been fine ever since...

"I do have something to try before you take the mech out . pop up the mech in test or force it up by picking up the trap door. ******WARNING******** the door can be very sharp and has been known to cut people. while its raised use a rag to protect you hand and with the palm of you hand push the Back of the mech slightly. then try just to adjust it a bit in case it was binding up. From the bottom can you push the mech and does it Come up smooth?"

Cheers
Geoff

check the wiring...I had the same problem and messed with the plug and it started working..

Hi guys – any thoughts on how to stop the ball from getting trapped above the gate? The ball sits on the plastic and I have to take the glass out every time. Seems like there should be a post mounted on the plastic. Thanks.

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Kaneda's Pinball Podcast just did an interview with Jack. He said that there would be more code coming for The Hobbit.

Yes!

I don't understand where the ball is getting stuck, and I don't see the ball in your picture. Can you elaborate and/or post a picture that shows the stuck ball please?

Am not getting my hopes up until I hear it's actual expansion as opposed to bug fixes/reserve ball play. I heard from JJP that they are going to make the last beta an official release which does nothing for me to be honest. Only time will tell if JJP support their all games like WOZ...

I just listened to the podcast. I think the code will come and feel loads better just hearing Jack talk about it. Go JJP!

That's great to hear, I still need to listen to it.

Thanks for asking. Wasn't 100% sure myself that the post made sense! Ha ha. Anyway here's a picture of where the ball gets stuck. Happens all the time. Seems like a perfect ball trap that should've been caught when designing the game.

I could drill through the plastic and install a post, but hate to do that obviously. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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Not sure you can do anything without altering look but a small triangle shaped foam block--maybe black to blend might make it bounce/roll off? It would cover an inch of your plastic there...? That's a removable solution at least with no damage.

I'll have to look at my game, but how does the ball get up on the plastic? I've never had a ball stuck there before.

Install one of those rubber footings that go on the bottom of shelf speakers maybe. It's adhesive and would pop right off if it doesn't work.

Its possible that the leaf switch is registering a false hit and lowering the mech.
Try opening it a lot and see if it raises, then adjust until it works properly.
I had this exact problem on my warg mech.

I have seen this before, the game needs to be toned down a bit.
The game is too active.
You have too many air-balls.
I have shot balls past the backboard and into the cabinet, its fun but breaks things.
Adjust things down a bit and try to get rid of them. Tweak things by bending down targets and switches. Lower flipper power a little etc.

It is totally possible to have a game play super fast and still have the balls rolling on the table and not get airborne.
Really, air-balls (though fun) or too many of them is considered bad.

My game is set at 6.8 degrees.

The only coil power changes I made (from the factory settings) are Balin VUK and trough VUK. 2 units more than default I think.

Did you guys have to really tweak your coil power settings that much?

Just leave that ball there and add another ball to the game for playing. Problem solved!

I have never had one stuck there before. I did once on top of a pop barrel - but the new right ramp will likely prevent that. I am with another poster - I would go to lowes and get a clear rubber that you can put under speakers and the like to prevent it from scratching the floor or bookshelf. That would likely clear that up for you and can be removed easily anytime.

Too many air-balls and the balls can go anywhere.

True, you can get them from drop targets popping up or the beasts popping up in multi ball for sure

I had to turn down my flipper strength hen i first got mine. Game i at 7 degrees

I spent a couple days tweaking flipper coils to get it just right.

Right now with the PF pitch at 7.1 degrees (average, checked 3 areas) the left is at 26 and the right is at 27.
This can change as the wall voltages change.
When the street power is s little low I have to change the flippers to 27 on the left and 28 for the right.

The right flipper needs slightly more power than the left to consistently make the ramp from a cradled position.
In all cases you need just the right power to keep balls from flying off the ramp and wireforms, and yet strong enough to make solid shots consistently.

All of the other settings, after dialing them in, dont seem to need adjusting that much.
I also have the lower pop bumper set 1 increment less than the others. Seems more controllable that way and less cheap drains.

Depending on your street current and voltage your mileage will most likely vary from this.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on the ball getting stuck. Solid suggestions. I will tone down the game a bit because it is likely coming from air balls.

Also like the idea of a removable adhesive and will experiment with that.

But I also have to say the idea of leaving the ball there and just putting another one in the game is genius! A little bit of pinball art inside the game! And trust me, that ball is going nowhere when it sitting there.

Weird it's not a common problem though – it looks like such a trap for the ball. I thought my post would be filled with a bunch of 'me too'. So the good news is that it's not a common problem and if I tone down the game a bit it'll likely take care of it. Removable adhesive will be next.

Thanks again guys!

The good news is that IF the ball comes loose you'll get another multi-ball. Which are kind of hard to get in the hobbit anyway

My Warg mech is getting stuck open and either won't go back down or goes down slowly. I've worked on it, but can't seem to permanently fix it. It feels like it binds up in the second half of its travel. It's not catching on the playfield, what other areas do I need to check?

I hate to say it, but remove the mech, try loosening and adjusting the framework better. It can be quite the chore, time killer and frustrating. But well worth it when you get it right.

LTG : )

I finally got around to putting in the ground loop isolator and found that the static was gone but the callouts were very quiet. I went into the settings and bumped it up to max and still could barely hear Gandalf. Suggestions?

Best game ever last night. Took over 30 minutes. Killed Smaug for first time and made it to all 3 mini wizard modes. Was my first time to battle of 5 armies. 3 ball with extra ball on free game. Funny thing is my last 2 balls sucked big time lasting maybe 30 seconds max for less than 20,000 points probably.

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Replace the 3.5mm audio cable with a higher quality cable.

The Goblin mechanism is now working correctly. It was not the coil (thank goodness!). With the PF raised up against the back box, I noticed that if I manually moved the pop-up guide shaft forward about 1/2" and then test fired, the mechanism worked normally like the others. The guide shaft slides through a centering bracket. The hole in the bracket is surrounded by a short blue synthetic sleeve. Even though the shaft moved through the sleeve with absolutely no resistance, I added a micro drop of high grade/premium machine oil. As an after thought, I also disconnected & then reconnected the coil plug. I then tested the mode & it worked fine. So either the lubrication did the trick, or there was a poor connection at the plug.

I don't like using oil but I didn't have any graphite. With pinball play & the eventual production of the "dreaded black dust", the centering bracket aperture may get "gummed up". I'll have to wait & see.

Thanks for taking the time to post. Awesome information.

If there isnt anything underneath hitting it then Its probably bent.

The black metal weldment that holds the up and down slider is of fairly soft steel.

Pull out he PF onto its maintenance rails and push up the warg mech manually.
It should have zero resistance and drop like a rock.
If it binds at all, raise the mech (push it up from the bottom) and push it towards the back of the PF a bit (bend it a little).

Sometimes the binding is half way down the track, lower the mech and bend it at a lower position, you get the point...

Be careful the metal lid is super sharp like a razor, tape the edges with masking tape if necessary.

Most of the mechs that bind seem to benefit from being bent back a little.

Do this either towards the back or towards the front in small increments until there is no binding at all.

Again properly adjusted the mech should drop like a rock.

I have had to adjust my leaf switches from time to time, and lightly bend them forward when they get a little slower to drop. But, when tuned they drop like a rock - and register hits very well.