I officially joined the club!
LE #251
Only put two games on it before I had to leave for the weekend but wow what a well built machine!
Second game I hit 1.2m. Have no idea how or what happened but it was fun as hell.
Looking forward to learning so much more about the rules/modes.

So I accidentally did a factory restart and not the 3 barrel bumpers like to fire randomly.
Do I need to adjust somethings in the settings?
Also, is there a solve for the Smaug ball catch magnet so it grabs the ball more consistently? Half the time the ball just screams over the magnet and drops into the hole.

Make sure you have the white high power switch to the left of the coin door pulled out when the coin door is open.

So around every other game I play on my THLE, I have a ball stick to the switch wire in the left inlane. Is it possible one of my balls has become magnetized?
Weird that it only sticks to this metal section of the game and not elsewhere.

My THLE was built on August 1st.
Built like a tank and has all the updates.
Only minor tweaks needed out of the box and one more significant fix (but easily fixable).
The flasher wiring harnesses had a bum connector on the flasher LED behind the u-turn gate.
JJP got a new harness in the mail to me within a week. Hope to swap in the new connector this weekend.

Man-o-man...the more I play it, the more I love it.
Can't wait to see what else Keith has in store for us!

What koops said.
I have had about 4 balls go off the wire habitrail and land in that same spot over the course of owning my THLE (about 4 months).
Each time was after I tweaked either the playfield pitch or flipper strength.
I've learned that this game requires a more precise give-n-take between coil strength (all coils) and pitch to really dial it in and play perfectly.
I'm also noticing that I need to make minor tweaks every 20 games or so as it continues to break-in (I'm at about 240 plays).

Had similar issue. Just adjust the power of that VUK coil. Also make sure your game is at the pitch you want and is level (horizontal).

Open the digital manual on your game and scroll towards the end. One of the pages has the rubber sizes and placement on the game. I personally went with clear Titan rubbers for everything on the playfield minus colored posts to match certain areas and green slingshot rubbers.

Also make sure any wires aren't getting pinched under the mech causing it to it to not go down all the way.

Glad you're loving your Hobbit! It such a great game once you start to understand the modes/rules! As for the extra ball holes, there are cliffy protectors available. The left hole requires some dismantling of things to put it on. I don't have cliffys on my THLE yet and have not had any wear in those areas yet (about 400 games on my machine).
When I do a tear down to clean/wax in a few months I may throw them on.

This game is built like a tank!

I have them installed on my THLE bottom flippers and they look amazing and are incredibly durable!

Oh, one quick owners question.
When does the static sound from the speakers happen and what does it sound like? I have some clipping (which I figure is code related) but have recently been getting static scratch sounds during certain times...especially when Smaug is talking.
-Ran

Can someone tell me what they think are the best settings for speech/music/fanfare/etc volumes for the stock speakers THLE comes with?

Thanks for the info! And I'll go poke around and look for some of your old posts to see how you set your sound levels.

That mode is horrifying
But seriously, I do need to find out how to add pics like you did. Could be funny to see my kids/wife reactions.

Sweet! Thanks LTG!

Totally out there but is it possible either the newton or the ball have become magnetized to each other?

I really dig the barrel beer holder! Also, do the mini barrels mount over (or attach onto) the existing playfiled spotlights? If so, that’s awesome!

Looking for someone who can share what they consider the best sound settings for hobbit.
Been scouring our different hobbit threads without any luck.

I know I saw them mentioned somewhere lately.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I really want to get all the optimal setting on my hobbit up to date prior to the next code release.
Over the years I’ve messed around with all of them but now feel I need to start from scratch and dial in all the settings starting with the sound.
Thanks in advance!

Mine sounds great and i'm running all original speakers (no subwoofer).
Guess what i'm looking for is the best balance between sounds/fanfare/music/etc.
I swear someone posted their optimal levels after testing different sound level combinations.
Will keep searching for that post.

Thank you JVSPIN!!!

Love the new code!!!!
Couple little things I noticed.

“The Arkenstone” seems to be randomly mentioned every once and a while during the multiball fanfare video when Smaug chasing bilbo down the stairs. No big deal but felt out of place.

Also noticed that Smaug doesn’t talk anymore after your game is over. No more “I think our little game ends here” comment. Maybe I just need to play more games. Not sure how often the algorithm triggers Smaug’s post-game comments.

Seriously great great work JJP team!!!!
Thanks for always taking care of your fans/customers!
-Ran

Thanks for the heads up. I just updated my sound to your recommendations a week ago. Will re-adjust to the new 2.95 stock values. Thanks Rarehero

I’m actually quite surprised Hobbit has lost some value. It may not be jam packed with toys/gimmicks but it is overflowing with quality, reliability and things to accomplish during each game. And the code keeps getting better!
So proud to call it my first NIB and my family’s favorite.

Was able to do the new 3.0 download via my Mac Mini (running most recent iOS) and a new 16GB Sandisk Cruiser Glide flash drive from Walmart. Was also able to do the upload to my THLE via the USB cable and not plug it directly into the open USB port on the main computer.

Took a few tries to get unerbootin to play nicely and load on my Mac Mini.

Had one pop-up after it all the files loaded where I had 3 options. Click “No” “Yes To All” and something else I can’t remember. I clicked “Yes To All” which apparently was the right choice because it all worked out.

If there is anyone close to me (norther NJ) having issues, you’re welcome to come borrow my loaded flash drive.
-Ran

BTW-
Now that we have TH 3.0 is there anyone out there that can share the best “stock” speaker settings they think sound the best with this full 3.0 update?
I saved my setting prior to 3.0 and they all uploaded fine after the 3.0 load but I feel the speakers don’t have the “oomph” they used to have.
-Ran

This update is awesome!!!!
Finally put some time on it.
So much tighter! Can’t put my finger on what exactly makes it feel so much more orchestrated but it totally does.
Thank you Jack, Ted, Keith and everyone else that helped get TH to 3.0!

The new 3.0 code on my THLE has completely changed the game for me. It truly plays like you’re in the movie. And the new voiceover callouts have helped me a ton to keep me focused because this is one of those games that requires guidance, focus and patience. Such a phenomenal game and so proud of what the JJP team has done to make this game what it has become. Hope they are proud, too.

Hey guys.
Quick question that normally I thought I could figure out but this time I’m stumped.
My hobbit sound keeps cutting in or out or goes from stereo to mono.
Is this simply connection issues or something bigger.
Bought my THLE NIB back in September 2016 from Automated (Mike is amazing). Came from directly from Lakewood with all the updates (habitrails/flaps/Beast pop ups/etc.)
Never had issues before so this sound problem is new territory for me.
Thanks in advance guys!

BTW- been running most recent code perfectly for a while prior to the sound issue.

Sounds like a plan.
Fingers crossed.
Thanks LTG!

So I reseated all the audio cords in the head and the ones that go into the main computer area (from the inside and outside).
Doing audio tests and sometimes I get “speech” and sometimes I don’t. Also not getting any noise mono Or tone low and a bunch of the others are temperamental (sometimes make soundss in test and sometimes don’t).
Confused and open to any feedback/ideas.

I did put a ground loop isolator on a few years ago per JJP’s advice. And after just restarting game again now I have tons of static at all times coming from the top speakers.

Wow!!! Just disconnected the ground loop isolator and the sound is all working again.
So weird.
Wonder why the ground loop is now causing problems instead of curing them.
Thank you pinballinreno for the advice!

Is this something I should let JJP know about (or is it safe to assume they are reading this tread regularly?).

Ahhh. Didn’t realize these isolators break down. Should I buy another or leave it without. Love this game and want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to keep it healthy.

That’s the same one I have. Will order a couple more.
Thanks again for everything LTG!
Stay safe and healthy.

Just installed the new ground loop isolator I ordered per LTGs recommendation. My THLE sounds absolutely amazing again!!!!

Jeff- I put a new ground loop isolator in about 2 months ago. Wire could be loose. Also check the main Speaker wires That go into the computer box. I never had crackling but maybe something started to jiggle loose when we were moving it?