I picked up a NIB Hobbit LE at the York Show from a seller on pinside. After getting it home in the rain (York show = guaranteed rainy weekend), and downstairs, it went together nicely. I added the green plastic protectors and green super bands. I am waiting for Cliffy protectors to arrive. The game has all of the fixes as far as I can see. I'll have to read through all these posts and look for questions on the lock bar. It does not open or close easily. It does not feel like a solid push to the right like on my other games. It simply locks the bar and has just enough clearance to close the door. Other than this, I plan to do some adjustments on the angle and height so that balls do not fly around and my pinball dolly can fit under the cabinet to move it around. I look forward to this game. Thanks, Michael

Left side of lock bar is really tight. In just a few times on and off it is affecting the decal. I did the photos without the glass in. When I get the lock bar on, the bar does not move freely to the right. When I push down really hard on the button decal I can move the lever to the right. This just does not seem right. Will it be much different with the glass?

There are two brass screws that look like they could be adjustments but I don't see what they could adjust. Thanks. Michael

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Thanks Lloyd. I'll do this later when I get home. It's amazing I've been doing this for years and never needed to work on a lock down lever.

Michael

The lock bar was a pain to adjust. Thanks for your help. It works more smoothly now.
Michael

Where did you get the corner protector or did you make it?

I have not had a chance to search but are the leg protectors that come with the game sufficient or do people still use pincabs?

When we went to the factory tour on September 17, 2016, this line of Hobbit LEs were waiting for a replacement Smaug. I think Jack stated that they received a bad batch and were waiting on replacements. Maybe this can be the first known picture of your game if it is in this batch

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I'm slowly reading through all 44 pages. On about page 12 or so, there was a question about the ball falling through the hole in the right ramp and immediately looping into the out lane. I have this game since October 1st and experience the same problem. I noticed that the ramp was at what appears to be a 15 to 20 degree angle to the right. I have been slowly trying to bend this to parallel with the playfield. It has helped but not much. I moved the post to the right to the smallest position and this has helped. It usually bounces the ball to the left flipper but once in a while it drains down the middle.

(I have centered the wire ramp as best as possible within the lane. The ball draining to the right outlane was happening before and after I added the Laseriffic green protectors.)

I added small felt sticker dots almost at the end of the ramp. So far, it appears to help. I have not had the ball fly off to the out lane.... yet. I played several more games and went into several multi balls. It is better but not really a perfect solution. I wonder if adding the blue square rubbers at the end of the ramp would help? Of course I would need a way to keep them in place.

Michael

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Thank you. I removed the felt pads and bent the bottom wire up a little by hand. (Is the the best way to do it?) Although not perfect, I did get my best game yet over 1 million (I am still using training wheels with 5 balls/game). It did spin a few times and go to the outlane twice and to the other in lane a few times. But I did not lose the ball as much. I may try to bend a bit more especially if anyone can suggest a better way to bend the bottom double loop.

Before I played this really good game, I was checking the menu to go through the tests just to try everything. I then played a game and during the second ball, the main display lost the signal. Very strange. I turned off the game and pulled out the playfield. I tightened the video connectors as much as they would go since there were not screwed in all the way. I turned on the game and the display worked and then I played this really great game for me. So hopefully that will not happen again.

I just noticed that post #905 from PinballInReno on page 19 has the solution and how to adjust it.

Pinball got stuck in a pop up. I thought the ball search would free it. It didn't. I thought when I took the ball out, it would drop. It didn't.

I took out the pop up. The "orc" (or whatever it is) does not move freely up and down. I thought maybe the ball got the mechanism out of alignment. After playing around for a while, the issue seems to be that the coil will not move smoothly on the shaft. The first picture (since they are in reverse) shows the coil just sitting at the top. It should have freely fallen down. The shaft looks good and straight. No burr at the end. The shaft looks okay. Any suggestions?

The plastic sleeve will not come out of the coil. I hope the coil did not fry and melt it in....

(Note the background live streaming of the Expo event with Pat Lawlor.... I thought I'd play a quick game and then watch the Expo....)

Thanks
Michael

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thanks pinballinreno. I can't quote your comments about my pop up through my iPhone.

I was afraid of that. I sent the pictures and explanation to frank. I hope the transistor is not also fried. Well, i owned the game since October 1. If this happens every 12 days or so I'll be going through a lot of coils

I hope the software can protect this situation unless it is just a fluke.

Michael

I just spoke to Frank at JJP and they will handle this. As usual, Frank is great and great service from JJP. After just 13 days, I will have Hobbit withdrawal until the new parts come.

I ordered some extra coils in case this happens again.

Michael

Hi! Even though this post was posted two months ago (post #1332 p. 27) with V1.21 of the software, item #1 was what happened on my game. I also watched your video and recognized that the pattern may be that before my Warg popup fried, it started going up and immediately down. I made a note to fix it but thought it was just an annoyance rather than an item that should be addressed immediately. Maybe the switch constantly engaging since it needs to be adjusted is what is causing the popup coil to fry and should be a way to protect for this condition in code to stop this from happening. My Warg coil melted after 12 days which is probably right at the 24 game time or close.

I copied some of this post and forwarded it to Frank. I will call him tomorrow to reiterate this and hopefully he'll do a good job of getting this information to the right people.

Thanks
Michael

Here is an interesting fix that may help others:

The top right EOS switch is not registering in dedicated switch test.

The Black Black wire shared between the 3 flipper EOS switches has connectivity between them.

The Black Red wire on the top right flipper EOS which goes to J601-5 and through the pass through connector J17-4 has connectivity to both connectors.

The EOS switch physically closes correctly and provides connectivity.

I reseated both connectors.

This sounds like an I/O Board issue. To be sure, I shorted J601-1 (black black ground wire) to J601-5 (Top Right Flipper EOS) and it did not register in dedicated switch test. I shorted J601-1 to J601-7 (Left flipper EOS) and it did register, just to ensure the paper clip was working.

I'll add more info when JJP sends a new I/O Driver board. I spoke with Frank today (10/11/2016) and they will send a new I/O Board.

10/18/2016 Update:

I replaced the I/O Driver board. It took 45 minutes and a pain in the neck since you have to raise and lower the play field to get to the front and back.

It did not solve the EOS switch problem on the top flipper. So I shorted the pins and this time it did work. Hmmmm. I realized what I did. I pushed the paper clip into the metal area of the connector and pushed the connector to the left or away from the board. I guess I was gentler when I did it before.

The EOS switch registered then it didn’t. I checked each pin and it was in correctly. I then stood on the left side of the cabinet and bent the connector towards me and tested the flipper and the switch worked. Then I left go and it didn’t. So I gently bent it more to the left side of the cabinet (or towards me as I was standing) and it is now at a slight angle and appears to work.

Therefore, it was probably not the I/O board although I got practice replacing it.

Thanks
Michael

Frank also sent me a new Warg pop up assembly (although he could have sent the coil and I could have replaced it). I put it back in and it works fine for the moment.

You all may want to consider buying extra FL-11753 Flipper Coil Lugless. Their part number is 23-002004-01. They are $29.99 each and come with the connector so it is just plug and play if your coil for a pop up fries. You also need to order (or they may assume and provide) 30-000014-42-1 which is a 2-5/8" Coil Tubing, Flanged. Yes, a bit pricier than a plain FL-11753 coil but it is configured correctly for convenience.

Thanks
Michael

I just updated to 1.9 using my mac. The file was extracted at the end of the download. A directory named

hobbit_update

was in my Downloads directory.

I took every thing off my USB card (color dmd updates) and copied this directory there. It took a few minutes since it is about 1.49 GB.

I ejected the USB and pulled it out.

I put it into the USB on the pinball and went to the appropriate menu and it did everything by itself.

Email with your phone if you need any help with a Mac.

Thanks
Michael

I just updated to 1.9. I just changed my number of balls back from 5 to 3.

I played the first game and got a ball stuck above the upper flipper resting on the light. Is there a fix for this?

I finally realized I could probably turn off the high score per day. While moving down the menu, I also realized I can change the high score initials from 3 to 11.

For "Multiple Initials/Player" the comment has a typo in initials ("initlials"). Do you think this calls for a new update?

Michael

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I posted it. Email or call if you need any help.

http://purcellvillepinball.com/HobbitLE2016.html#Cliffy

Michael

I have 1.9 code. I was playing tonight (and I noticed this before on 1.31 as well). There is a mode that says "knock down drop targets to find the correct one." or something similar. But when the mode starts, all drop targets are automatically dropped and I am not sure what I am shooting for.

Has anyone else seen this?

Thanks
Michael

I've owned my game 1 month (with some downtime to fix the Warg popup and an EOS switch). I played 59 games. That is about $140 per game; 305 balls (about $27 a ball); average ball time 130 seconds ($0.21 a second for play time). I need to play about 8,100 or so games to bring the cost down to $1 a game.

What does Chase Balls mean? I have 0 of them.

My "Ball Saved" count is 0. Is this the number of times I hit the target in the right outlane and then save the ball? Is it the number of times I lost the ball within the 10 second grace period I added? If so, then this is not recording correctly. Not really an issue but wondering what it is counting.

Thanks
Michael

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Besides the two questions I asked,
I was joking. I am a math geek (which may actually be the depressing part). I think in calculations and statistics.

For example, when I golf why would I want a hole in one when I can hit the ball 7 or 8 times to get the ball in the hole? My cost per stroke goes down considerably.

I was working on my Lord of the Rings and Hobbit LE. This makes an interesting photo. I love both games. I find both to be deep and engrossing. Every time I lift the Hobbit playfield I have to ensure I set myself up for the weight.

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Sorry if this is a duplicate question. I searched and cannot find this. Does anyone have a solution for the ball getting stuck on top of the right flipper? I’m trying to find something to put there. The ball sometimes goes there when it is launched off one of the pop ups.

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Thank. I didn't even think that it could be the wires. The post was okay for me. I just had to move the wires so they did not go around the post to cut off the clearance. The ball now rolls through and down. Thanks!

I always put them one. I put the inlane ones on too but overkill for this game. If you look in the topics index, I posted a link to photos I took when I put them on.

For HUO probably will never get used enough to matter. But I do all the protection for my games. Plastic protectors from Laseriffic and the Cliffy protectors including the plunger lane.

Michael

I am happy with the code as is since I have so much to learn. But....

Ted just posted the following sentence at the end of a thread in google for DI:

Regarding Dialed In! in particular, we're waiting on some graphical content. Personally, I've been giving Hobbit more attention lately.

--Ted

Thanks
Michael

For me, I have enjoyed playing Hobbit ever since I got it. I get Into the Fire occasionally and rarely get the other two modes. But I have fun so it is okay.

With the new update, I FINALLY know what I am doing. The extra callouts are super helpful. The color coding on the ring allows me to use it more often. (When I used to look at the screen for what it was, I would lose the ball.) I can also get all 5 Arkenstones and Into the Fire. More importantly, I now KNOW that I am actively doing it rather than it passively happening...

In the past few days I got Into the Fire more than I have in the last two years or so. Now the challenge is to repeat this to get the other multi-balls.

(It could also be that Star Wars Premium has made me a better player. )

Michael

I'm catching up on my pinside favorites. I was over 1000 posts behind on Hobbit. So I just came to the end and saw that my website (www.purcellvillepinball.com) was referenced by Cliff for my photos for his protectors. Kind of cool to see.

Since we are stuck at home, I have been cataloging my 14 pinball machines (Name, serial #, Battery type, Battery Quantity, Last changed, Manual reference and notes).

On page E-14 of the Hobbit manual and page E-11 of the Dialed In! manual, it notes that the battery is CR2032. (I assume this is true with all of their games but only have these two.)

I assumed these batteries would last for 10 years or so. I assumed I would change it with the power off when it died. But the manual states that the battery MUST be changed with the power on (16 steps). My Hobbit is over 4 years old and my Dialed In! is approaching 3 years. So I guess I should follow the directions.

I am posting this just in case someone is not aware of the method to change the batteries.

Both manuals state:
If your game's CPU battery discharges below 3V (or if you remove the battery) while the game is turned off, all BIOS settings will return to factory defaults. As a result, your game will not boot properly the next time you attempt to power it up. In this case, contact JJP technical support for assistance in restoring your CPU BIOS settings and getting your game to successfully boot again.

I just installed the pin worlds Bag End into my game. At first the wires were showing. Charles at pin worlds suggested the obvious to paint the wires black. I used Sharpie paint pens and a regular sharpie to get close to the mod and missed areas. It looks great.

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Yes. I didn't do many mods on this game besides the game blades and this mod. This mod looks like it came from (or should have come from) the factory. I am very please with it.

I also own LOTR and this same mod would look great in from of the shire loop on the left on the clear plastic in front of it. ( I also own the Doom and Gloom mods from pin worlds on LOTR. I wish I bought pin worlds mods for SW.)

Luckily I have 14 games from ones that last a minutes to epic quests (LOTR, Hobbit). I have done a lot better job at following the rules on LOTR than on Hobbit. I know what I have to do but basically happy if I can finish any mode to get credit for this to move forward in the game.

My goal this year is to not buy any more games since I can't seem to part with any right now. So I am trying to play them all to actually learn them better and hopefully become a better player. I really have to think and concentrate on this game. Which is good.