How many coils do you replace with these higher powered ones?
Cheers

The 2 flipper coils.

interesting idea, I wonder if you might see more pop outs from the ball hitting at a higher speed the back of the shire vuk ?
visually it looks not so much LOTR , did you 3d print it? maybe go for a cobblestone pattern , or I was thinking maybe a clear plexiglass ramp with a decal on the undersurface might look good.

It wouldn't cause any more additional bounceouts, the physics are the same, it's just not hitting the plastic on the way down. It was just a first prototype, I could do different colors and patterns.

Somebody previously tried the clear plexiglass, it couldn't hold up over time.

Were all LE playfields signed by Gary Stern and George Gomez?

The NOS pf I purchased was signed and is an LE pf. What are the differences in pfs between the versions?

I understand LE didn't come with figures, but I'm more interested in knowing if there are going to be challenges swapping hardware from an original pf to an LE.

One thing I notice is there are no holes in the LE pf for the bent rod pieces below the flippers. I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of that part is. Flipper alignment?
lotr pf pic (resized).PNG

Biff bars were not on the LEs. They are to stop the ball from bouncing back from the apron (sometimes by luck sometimes by bangback saves)

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-whats-the-purpose-of-these-metal-bars

So my magnet in the ring where you start a mode, grabs the ball and holds it fine. However, when the ball is supposed to be sucked in and around, down the metal rail, it often doesn’t go, it just falls to the Playfield? Any idea what could be wrong?

Just guessing, but maybe the pitch is too high?

A good friend let me know that the ball isn’t always supposed to be pulled through to the wire form when starting a mode. Only certain modes do that. Other modes just have the ball drop from the ring to the Playfield.

Housing league on Tuesday. What's ther best way to make ball times reasonable? Totally remove posts, or will just rubbers do it? Any other suggestions? Comedy option: disable left flipper

What I've observed is that it pulls it through for every mode, but I can cancel it with a flipper button and have it drop back out. Is this not how it's supposed to work?

I would like to get some gold colored pinballs for my lotr le, any idea of where and what suppliers would stock these?
I noticed some people were getting bronze/brass ones and polishing them.
Cheers

No need to go to crazy-
EBs Turned off. (extra balls = 0)
Ball save off (should be off by default)
Set posts to hard setting.
Make sure flipper rubbers are bouncy rubber, not superbands which have minimal bounce.
Make sure sling switches are sensitive.
Clean and wax the playfield.

Even harder, which I would skip-
Steeper playfield angle
Drop the flipper angle a little
Remove outlane post rubbers
Change global game setting to hard from normal. (harder to start MBs and relight modes and such)

Late to the party on this one. But, you NEED an LED OCD for this game.

Not sure which bulbs you are using, but comet 2-led smd frosted should work great. I used warm white for almost everything on LOTR.

For the green POTD and the red RING lights, I put color matching condoms over them to help tone them down a bit.

I will try to take a picture later today and post it. Its the screw that holds the upper playfield to the lower one. It's in the exact spot that you put the felt.

Thanks for the response. We've got some really good players. What I'll probably do is:

Extra balls off
Hard mode
Ball save off (is there a separate setting for multiball?)
Outlane post rubbers off
And maybe tighten up the sling switches a bit.

Just picked up a very clean LOTR last week, really enjoying it so far. Couple questions for you guys:

1. LED OCD, any reason to get a GI board? I haven't noticed any GI dimming effects but want to confirm I can skip it.
2. Playfield figures, I'd really like to remove these if possible... My machine has a couple additions (Boromir + Gimli glued on top of the pop flashers) which will require some new plastics I'm thinking. Any documentation on the best way to remove all figures from the game, is ordering LE-style plastics necessary or anything? I'll obviously be holding onto them for any future owner but I'm just not a fan, after seeing how clean the LE playfields look I'd rather go that direction.
3. Audio quality, any way to clean it up short of a Pinsound?

Thanks for any help!

I put in Flipper Fidelity speakers. I can now hear all the dialog clearly. Greatly improved sounds.

I have all LED lighting with no control boards. I think it is fine this way. To each their own.

Which Flipper Fidelity kit did you do, just the backbox speakers or a sub too (8" or 10")? And was it fairly straight forward to install?

And the LED's aren't horrible by any means, just some noticeable ghosting and the flickering during dimming bugs me, more during attract mode than anything else. Just something I'd like to do down the line.

Thanks. I do not use Pinside that frequently. Did not realize that 'marketplace' means on Pinside.

The high power coils are 090-5020-2OT. The original are 22-1080 - which cross references to 090-5032-0T. The ones on the Pinside Marketplace do not have an indication.

It would be interesting to me to know specs of these coils, such as number of windings, wire gauge and resistance. Not sure what the 5020 vs 5032 means, much less the 2OT vs 0T?

I used the single SMD LEDs from Pinball Life. I like them and they are great.

The big issues are the POTD lamps, which point almost at the player and the white inserts.

I got the LED OCD and it makes a wonderful difference. Strobing is gone. I have ghost busters in the inserts, so I might change those, but even with the ghost busters, the improvement is dramatic.

Before:

After:

The bummer for me is that installing the software requires a Windows machine and a laptop. There are instructions for working on Mac/Linux and Raspberry Pi, but they are not especially user friendly. Given that I am a Mac desktop with iPads, I cannot do the custom software installation. I would have to figure out how to power the board and position it next to my desktop. Either the primitive Mac interface, or use the VMware I have installed. Bummer.

Don't forget to check the tilt tightness and number of warnings.

I used the kit with back box speakers and the 8" sub. The install is easy.

You can turn off the dimming feature. I used green wide angle LED in the POTD sockets. The light is diffused and not blinding like regular domed bulbs.

Something to consider - you will get an epic audio experience, and end to end technical support:

https://pinwoofer.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Fpinwoofer-powered-super-kit

For LOTR select "Stern - SAM / Whitestar" under "PLATFORM AND DUAL AMP POWER HARNESS".

It is the single, best thing you can do for your pin!

Please see my post above with the YouTube videos.

I did not need the LED OCD for GI. But I sure did for the controlled lamps. Not sure why vs. others that say it is OK. I thought the strobing was terrible. I have converted several other pins including WPC, System 11. DE/Sega System 3, Bally -35 and (oh the horror) one EM. No issues with those, but this LOTR was terrible.

I volunteer as a tech at the Roanoke Pinball Museum and they got a LOTR LE with PinSound (I believe). I hate it. It added stereo music sound effects that would sound great, but they are interspersed with the original lo-fi mono sounds of the game. The contrast is terrible.

Unfortunately, it is the original game sound that is the cause for the distortion. Not even Pinsound can clean that up.

I left the backbox speakers as is. My experience with upgrading those speakers is that it just brings out the hash inherent in the sounds that were sampled at a lower rate in order to fit them into the limited sized EPROMs at the time. I had that happen when I blew out the backbox speakers (defective amp board) in a TAF and I put in 4" car speakers. The better high end of the speakers just made the sound worse.

But the LOTR can use an upgraded woofer in the cabinet. I did my own and am very happy with it.

If you can handle the hassle, then be sure to upgrade the software and install a shaker. The LOTR LE software for the shaker is very good. The standard LOTR can be upgraded to it.

http://homepinballrepair.com/index.php/install-a-shaker-on-a-lord-of-the-rings-lotr-pinball-machine/

IMG_6411 (resized).jpg

I am apparently an imbecile. My LoR periodically puts out an alert on the DMD that says "Attn.Operator #4 VUK" error. I cannot find a #4 VUK anywhere in the manual or the forum. I'd love to know which it is. The game still works. I believe it is the top right saucer but have gotten the message with ball in upper left tower vuk. I just want one on hand if it goes. If you know which part in the assembly is bad that's awesome or where to get a new assembly if I need a whole one. The model numbers for all vuks on LoR are out of stock online.

Also: What is the part number for the leaf switch inside the balrog? It has been adjusted and worked properly for about ten games and now again doesn't register hits very often. I already know from the previous adjustment that its always in contact and not a matter of being gapped too far to register hits. I just want to replace the switch. I have the proper switch tool but like i found on my iron maiden newton ball that just replacing a jacked up switch is sometimes easier.

As you can see I am not well versed in electronics nor manual reading.
Thanks for any help

There are 4 vuks. Shire, baldur, orthanc and gimli. It's very likely gimli causing the issue.

That error is typically reported if a switch is stuck closed, so go to switch test menu and see which ones are closed that shouldn’t be. Note that some are always closed, and some maybe closed for a reason (eg ball trough switch if there’s a ball in it. If you look at the switch matrix diagram in the manual, you’ll notice a series of numbers under each switch - that’s the part number (eg switch 28, Balrog hit is 180-5119-00)

Agreed. I put a sub in my last LOTR and it was a big add. Almost shaker-like when I cranked it up too high. Recommend highly. I have them in all my home machines now

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for a POTD mod? Finally getting to install and have lost the instructions... oops. Should have put it in years ago!!
Thx for any help

PM Steve from Pinball Refinery - he made them. HemiOrange09

https://mipinballrefinery.com

I have a few LOTR's mods left I'm selling and will be at EXPO starting tomorrow.

Projected Eye Palantir "Jay's Ver 6" (New never installed) - $150
Ring Spinner - $15
Shire Decals (2 sets) - $20
Balrog Votive holder with box - $150

Mod - For Sale

Various Mods - Tron, LOTR, SW, TSPP, ACDC and More Archived

New (selling multiple, business) - “All pinball mods are NEW and never installed. See Pictures and info below. Prices include shipping in the US. LOTR; Balrog - Votive Holder (makes an awesome topper) - $150 Tron; ...”

2019-12-29

Hartland, MI

Asylum

0

Archived after: 214 days

Viewed: 952 times

Status: Not sold

will do, thanks asylum!!!

Thanks for all the info, I appreciate it (along with the other guys that responded). I'm wondering if other LED's handle the stock lighting better cause yeah, pretty evident my game would benefit from an OCD. And for speakers I'm leaning towards doing flipper fidelity's 8", with backbox speakers just cause they're not much money and I'm curious. Pinwoofer kit looks legit but not sure I can justify the money. My game has a shaker installed already, pretty slick.

Interesting to hear that feedback on the Pinsound board, hadn't considered the mixed quality and how that'd work out.

There are multiple sound files on Pinsound for LOTR (6 to be precise). I find that there are some with level issues and others without. I personally wouldn't ever want the stock sound package back after playing with Wool's and Hawkhole's mixes. For me the sound package is an ever better upgrade than the color (which I love as well) since you interact with it so much more than looking up at the DMD.

My LOTRLE is currently not working. Anyone have a recommendation for a repair person in the Washington DC Area?

When you say not working, what is not working? Does it power on at all?

it turns on and it can't locate the balls and the tower just knocks continuosly.

Those sound like they could be pretty easy fixes. Quite often when the game can't find the balls it is a problem with the trough optos or switches.
For the tower, is it the left tower trying to kick a ball out that is not there? If so that would likely be the opto switches malfunctioning below the tower.
Also, make sure the game has exactly 4 balls in the game and none are stuck on the sword lock.

One other thing to check right away, make sure the batteries on the power board are not leaking out.

The
I sent the boards to stern and just got them back. I’m at a loss and it’s now above my skill level. Will probably just need someone to come and repair.

Don't give up so easily, could be an easy fix. First, check that it has 4 balls in the trough then go into switch test and make sure that the switches trigger. If you are not sure what switches to check, take a look at page 4 in the manual (if you don't have a manual, you can download it from https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=4858). I'd also take the balls out (assuming they are there and drop them one by one in the trough to see that the switches trigger correctly. If not, first thing to do is to reseat the connectors. While in the switch test menu, check out switch 46 (tower switch) to see if it's stuck closed (i.e. thinking there's a ball)

I have a couple sets left. Great addiction to your apron!!

Mod - For Sale

LOTR APRON MAGNETS Archived

New (selling multiple, business) - “These are brand new custom apron magnets. Very high quality!! Use these to cover up the girls on your LOTR Apron. Please see photos. $24 + $6 shipping. Sorry, magnets are expensive...”

2019-09-23

Howell, MI

Jimmyhonda

24 (Firm)

Archived after: 36 days

Viewed: 284 times

Status: Not sold: Decided to keep game

So, I've noticed lately that the game has been acting a bit strange. I'd be qualifying things without even making the appropriate shots to do so. I did a switch test and found that triggering the palantir standup target (sw29) will also activate the shooter lane (sw16) and the left vuk (sw9). When I test sw16 and sw9 on their own they work fine though....how is this happening? Any thoughts?

9EA34160-FB78-4DB6-8CF6-34340DD00BB9 (resized).jpeg

My first guess would be a Balrog switch or wiring problem causing the matrix issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=ZgSyTmyZAxM

DCFAN Thank you for that video! I checked the wiring and everything looks okay so I figured it had to be something else.

So if I'm understanding it correctly, I should be checking the diodes associated with switches 29, 13, 16, 32, 9 and 25?

That is my understanding as well. One thing to notice is that 13 is closed when balls are in the trough. I believe you could take the balls out of the trough and see if the problem goes away to test this rectangular switch matrix logic.

I also believe switch 32 is normally closed.

I removed and checked all of those diodes and they're all fine. As you suggested, I removed all of the balls from the trough and the problem does go away. As soon as ball #2 goes in the trough and triggers sw13, the issue starts. I notice that for whatever reason the left vuk switch is not affected anymore. What does this mean???

Do me a favor and check your switch matrix to see if it looks exactly like mine when all of the balls are in the ball trough and balrog is in the blocking the ramp position:

IMG_2779[1] (resized).JPG