Chesterfield, VA
Wow!! Most impressive.
(Topic ID: 112137)
Linked Games
Lord of the Rings
Stern, 2003-
Lord of the Rings Limited Edition
Stern, 2009
Topic Gallery
Quoted from AUKraut:Due to the great response Coupon has been extended thru CyberMonday!!!! At this point I have 7 Palantirs still available, however I'm not making another run of these until sometime in 2020.
Best mod for LOTR!
Quoted from FatPanda:I'm not sure I could ever do better than this. All 4 shots plus 2x ring shots (2-ball DTR), no misses, stock coils. I surprised even myself![quoted image]
Great time!
Toronto, ON
Quoted from Pinkitten:Incredible time. Under 20 seconds??? I have a new goal!
No kidding. I can't imagine being able to do it quicker than that though. Awesome stuff @fatpanda! It's gotta be those new flipper switches 
Quoted from pipes:No kidding. I can't imagine being able to do it quicker than that though. Awesome stuff fatpanda! It's gotta be those new flipper switches
Ha! You never know! It could have been that the new switches allowed me to stretch my legs a little lol
Wickford
Quoted from red-line:How many different people do you guys think have been to Valinor? Under 1000?
Under 200, legit with glass on.
Quoted from CLEllison:The day I make it is the same day it goes up for sale.
lol, I hear a lot of people say that.
I have a question about shopping the game. I have had LoTR for a while now, but I have only done the somewhat superficial cleaning and adjustments. I want to now do a deeper clean / waxing, and replace all rubbers.
My question is: how much of a pain is this to do? Eventually I want to do a full LED conversion with an OCD board; does it make sense to do this right now along with cleaning / waxing / rubbers because of the difficulty of getting to all the playfield parts?
Quoted from -ZZZ-:I want to now do a deeper clean / waxing, and replace all rubbers.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:how much of a pain is this to do?
It's fairly easy. The right side with the sword and figures is a little fiddly but nothing you couldn't do in a few hours taking your time and being careful. I put Titan clears on mine. You'll need some zip ties and a pair of flush-cutters to trim them in order to remove and reattach some of the figures. Be careful of the ones with swords, they're easily broken off.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:I have a question about shopping the game. I have had LoTR for a while now, but I have only done the somewhat superficial cleaning and adjustments. I want to now do a deeper clean / waxing, and replace all rubbers.
My question is: how much of a pain is this to do? Eventually I want to do a full LED conversion with an OCD board; does it make sense to do this right now along with cleaning / waxing / rubbers because of the difficulty of getting to all the playfield parts?
It's not the worst game and not the easiest. Just take your time and lots of pictures and you should be fine. If you are going to LED and LED OCD it, you might as well do it all at once, but you don't need to. I believe all the lights can be changed without disassembly. It's been a while since I LED/OCDed mine, but I don't recall having to pull anything major apart to change bulbs.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:I have had LoTR for a while now...I want to now do a deeper clean / waxing, and replace all rubbers.
My question is: how much of a pain is this to do? Eventually I want to do a full LED conversion with an OCD board; does it make sense to do this right now along with cleaning / waxing / rubbers because of the difficulty of getting to all the playfield parts?
Quoted from Gogojohnnyquack:It's fairly easy. The right side with the sword and figures is a little fiddly but nothing you couldn't do in a few hours taking your time and being careful. I put Titan clears on mine.
Quoted from Lamprey:It's not the worst game and not the easiest. Just take your time and lots of pictures and you should be fine. If you are going to LED and LED OCD it, you might as well do it all at once, but you don't need to. I believe all the lights can be changed without disassembly. It's been a while since I LED/OCDed mine, but I don't recall having to pull anything major apart to change bulbs.
I agree with the above sentiments. LOTR was the first game that I thoroughly cleaned the playfield by taking apart many of the top elements to access everything. "It's not the worst game and not the easiest." I put black titans on mine ('cause at the time I wasn't sure that I'd be able to get all the black off the game from the aging black rubber). I have not done LED OCD yet.
One thing I would add - once you have taken off enough elements to clean well, you may want to take a few more off in order to put warm white LED bulbs in for all the GI lighting (if it hasn't been done yet). I think it may be easier to do from the top... Make sure you get a frosted bulb for the one that shines at you from Legolas ramp. For the ones under plastics, I liked clearer bulbs because they gave off more light. Bulbs are kind of cheap - get a couple different types and see what you like.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:Should I put any LED GI bulbs in before I have the OCD board? Not sure how annoying the general fading effects are without that add-on.
Thanks so much for the help everybody!
The LED OCD board is for the inserts only, it has no impact on the GI lighting circuits. Here also sells a GI board for LEDs. I use it on my LOTR, but some feel that it’s not necessary it as long as you use quality nonghosting LEDs.
Quoted from AUKraut:The LED OCD board is for the inserts only, it has no impact on the GI lighting circuits. Here also sells a GI board for LEDs. I use it on my LOTR, but some feel that it’s not necessary it as long as you use quality nonghosting LEDs.
That's interesting. I thought that for GI lighting you actually WANT to have ghosting LED's in order to smoothly display GI fade effects, etc.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:That's interesting. I thought that for GI lighting you actually WANT to have ghosting LED's in order to smoothly display GI fade effects, etc.
LEDs do nothing smoothly, they are either off or on. The smoothing is done by some electronic PWM circuitry that control the on/off cycles of the LED. Highly technical bordering on magic black box stuff, more information can be found at Herg's website: http://ledocd.com/faq_led.html
Quoted from -ZZZ-:That's interesting. I thought that for GI lighting you actually WANT to have ghosting LED's in order to smoothly display GI fade effects, etc.
Correct. I had fancy/expensive non-ghosting LED's and switched them all out for basic LED's. Looked much better with the LED/OCD board. Might be a way to configure the LEDOCD board to work better with non-ghosting, but decided it was simpler (and less expensive) to use LED's with less complexity.
Quoted from Lamprey:Does LOTR have "fading" GI?
I had mine for a month or so before I converted to LED and I never noticed the GI fading: it was either on or off.
I have an extra GI OCD, but I never saw the need to add it.
There is a really sweet fading "effect" done by the lamps next to the shooter lane. I actually don't know if these are GI or controlled lamps but the effect looks really good.
Quoted from LOTR_breath:There is a really sweet fading "effect" done by the lamps next to the shooter lane. I actually don't know if these are GI or controlled lamps but the effect looks really good.
Any idea when that effect triggers?
If I know what/when to look for I can try with and without the GI OCD and see how it changes.
Quoted from Lamprey:Any idea when that effect triggers?
If I know what/when to look for I can try with and without the GI OCD and see how it changes.
I am fairly certain the lights next to (parallel along the length of) the shooter lane are controlled lamps.
Lamps 64-72 in the lamp matrix.
And to add on to the previous two posts, an LED OCD board and warm white retro LEDs looks AMAZING there.
Quoted from TinyBlackDog:And to add on to the previous two posts, an LED OCD board and warm white retro LEDs looks AMAZING there.
Thanks for following up with the info & recommendation. I put good LEDs in the shooter lane lights because a few were out and IMO it was a bit of a pain to change them. The LEDs look good to me, but I knew they were part of the controlled lamps. I look forward to an improvement someday when I LED OCD my LOTR.
Will wait until next year, though, because my sound board died a few months ago, and I installed PinSound to solve the problem rather than repair the board. I really like the PinSound options and the headphone jack. Yeah, I know it might be "best" to get the board fixed first....
Quoted from -ZZZ-:I am considering getting Comet Pinball's full LED kit with the OCD board. Has anyone installed this particular kit? If so, what are the overall impressions?
Kits are always more expensive and you have to take what they give you in the kit. I never use kits as I like the freedom to choose my own colors and quality of LED's.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:I am considering getting Comet Pinball's full LED kit with the OCD board. Has anyone installed this particular kit? If so, what are the overall impressions?
See this thread and discussion. Very useful stuff.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-and-rubber-maps-for-lord-of-the-rings
Really should be a key post in LOTR club. Maybe make the post below a key post, since it references @flynnibus original thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/90#post-5071487
So much good info out there on a much-loved machine like LOTR, that it's sometimes hard to locate good or basic info.
Quoted from Adaminski:Will wait until next year, though, because my sound board died a few months ago, and I installed PinSound to solve the problem rather than repair the board. I really like the PinSound options and the headphone jack. Yeah, I know it might be "best" to get the board fixed first....
Nah, you did the right thing going to PinSound, the Whitestar stock sound is just so bad IMHO
Quoted from Adaminski:See this thread and discussion. Very useful stuff.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-and-rubber-maps-for-lord-of-the-rings
Really should be a key post in LOTR club. Maybe make the post below a key post, since it references @flynnibus original thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/90#post-5071487
So much good info out there on a much-loved machine like LOTR, that it's sometimes hard to locate good or basic info.
Copied originally from flynnibus:
Ok, back for another round.. Here is my effort to improve upon the original documentation for adding silicon rings and LEDs to Lord of the Rings!
For LOTR, the original manual is pretty good, with only minor errors and confusing info for the rubbers. Specifically the photo map for rubbers is incomplete and the list of rubbers is far more extensive than you need for a silicon ring upgrade. LOTR uses 7/16" OD rings extensively for grommets on assemblies and mounting lights to the playfield. These do not need to be replaced when simply adding silicon rings. This also applies to the bumpers used in mechanisms, and two places where rubber rings are used as friction nuts (Sword Ramp and Palantir). So these rubbers are excluded from my charts. I also do not include the blue pad rubber used on the playfield and a shooter tip.
So let's get to the meat of the matter.. The way I assembly my info is I have a google sheets doc that has all the information, and images that help identify the locations used. The Google Sheet can be found here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AMfgqSx6CONrXw0tBQ8sucsd7wiVSB2cASlilaRADR0/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the Rubber Map. I chose clear rings. Photos of the final install will be added in later posts. (1st pic)
Next.. LEDs!
Why pay for markup on a kit when you can buy the individual lights? Plus, it helps to have someone find out which lights work best where, maybe even some artistic choices.
For LOTR, things are relatively straight forward. I've chosen some subtle color adds for the rear two corners of the game, as well as the GI lights on the backboard. The spreadsheet highlights which bulb changes are alternate styling vs an OEM look. There are no errors in the manual that I noted - its just about which LEDs work best for your intended look.
The spreadsheet includes a BOM of all the LEDs and Flashers used, and a graphical map of where to use each. My list is based on using cointaker LEDs and I try to use the cheaper LEDs where possible. This, along with the style of using Retro bulbs is why you see a mix of Retro, Frosted, and Mini bulbs. This build is also based on using an OCD LED board - which is a HUGE improvement on Lord of the Rings. You could use anti-ghosting LEDs, but my guide is not built around those.
So, onto the graphical map! Photos of this install will be added in a later post. (2nd pic)
And here we go! This is with Titan Comp Silicon Rings, Cointaker LEDs, and a OCD LED Board. Let me know what you think of the final product!
The exposure has been tweaked a bit to try to get the digital cam to look true to life. (3rd and 4th pics)
Screenshot_20191207-002554~2 (resized).pngScreenshot_20191207-002649~3 (resized).pngScreenshot_20191207-002722~2 (resized).pngThank you so much for the updated info. I love the bulb map and will use it as the basis for my LED conversion.
I do have a whole bunch of Comet bulbs on hand. The flashers are easy to match, but I find the regular controlled lamp specs confusing. Can anyone tell me whether these are the appropriate equivalents for the Cointaker bulbs listed?
COINTAKER LED --> COMET LED
Mini 555 --> 1SMD Wege, No Lens
Frosted 555 --> 1SMD Wedge, Frosted (or is 2SMD Wedge Frosted a better equivalent??)
Retro 555 --> 2SMD Wedge, Clear Lens
Retro 44 --> 2SMD Bayonet, Clear Lens
2LED Green 555 --> ????????
Quoted from Daditude:Copied originally from flynnibus:
Ok, back for another round.. Here is my effort to improve upon the original documentation for adding silicon rings and LEDs to Lord of the Rings!
For LOTR, the original manual is pretty good, with only minor errors and confusing info for the rubbers. Specifically the photo map for rubbers is incomplete and the list of rubbers is far more extensive than you need for a silicon ring upgrade. LOTR uses 7/16" OD rings extensively for grommets on assemblies and mounting lights to the playfield. These do not need to be replaced when simply adding silicon rings. This also applies to the bumpers used in mechanisms, and two places where rubber rings are used as friction nuts (Sword Ramp and Palantir). So these rubbers are excluded from my charts. I also do not include the blue pad rubber used on the playfield and a shooter tip.
So let's get to the meat of the matter.. The way I assembly my info is I have a google sheets doc that has all the information, and images that help identify the locations used. The Google Sheet can be found here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AMfgqSx6CONrXw0tBQ8sucsd7wiVSB2cASlilaRADR0/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the Rubber Map. I chose clear rings. Photos of the final install will be added in later posts. (1st pic)
Next.. LEDs!
Why pay for markup on a kit when you can buy the individual lights? Plus, it helps to have someone find out which lights work best where, maybe even some artistic choices.
For LOTR, things are relatively straight forward. I've chosen some subtle color adds for the rear two corners of the game, as well as the GI lights on the backboard. The spreadsheet highlights which bulb changes are alternate styling vs an OEM look. There are no errors in the manual that I noted - its just about which LEDs work best for your intended look.
The spreadsheet includes a BOM of all the LEDs and Flashers used, and a graphical map of where to use each. My list is based on using cointaker LEDs and I try to use the cheaper LEDs where possible. This, along with the style of using Retro bulbs is why you see a mix of Retro, Frosted, and Mini bulbs. This build is also based on using an OCD LED board - which is a HUGE improvement on Lord of the Rings. You could use anti-ghosting LEDs, but my guide is not built around those.
So, onto the graphical map! Photos of this install will be added in a later post. (2nd pic)
And here we go! This is with Titan Comp Silicon Rings, Cointaker LEDs, and a OCD LED Board. Let me know what you think of the final product!
The exposure has been tweaked a bit to try to get the digital cam to look true to life. (3rd and 4th pics)[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Keep in mind for myself and many others there is a typo in the guide: The Shooter lane LEDs mini warm white 555 should be 44s.
Quoted from -ZZZ-:Thank you so much for the updated info. I love the bulb map and will use it as the basis for my LED conversion.
I do have a whole bunch of Comet bulbs on hand. The flashers are easy to match, but I find the regular controlled lamp specs confusing. Can anyone tell me whether these are the appropriate equivalents for the Cointaker bulbs listed?
COINTAKER LED --> COMET LED
Mini 555 --> 1SMD Wege, No Lens
Frosted 555 --> 1SMD Wedge, Frosted (or is 2SMD Wedge Frosted a better equivalent??)
Retro 555 --> 2SMD Wedge, Clear Lens
Retro 44 --> 2SMD Bayonet, Clear Lens
2LED Green 555 --> ????????
ZZZ: 2LED Green 555 -- 2 SMD Wedge Frosted Lens
I did use Flynnibus's quide to LED mine and it in combo with the LED OCD & GIzmo board makes it look fantastic. The only changes I did compared to the guide besides the shooter lanes being 44s was make the 3 O-R-C tope lanes Orange. I also changed the 3 Movie inserts to Red, Green, and Blue to match the DVD covers.
Quoted from AUKraut:2LED Green 555 -- 2 SMD Wedge Frosted Lens
So what is the difference between that lens and "Frosted - Green - 555" in the guide? Is that supposed to be a 1SMD Frosted?
Quoted from -ZZZ-:So what is the difference between that lens and "Frosted - Green - 555" in the guide? Is that supposed to be a 1SMD Frosted?
Frosted - Green - 555 is used for Playfield Inserts, having them too bright distracts while playing. The others are used above the Path of the Dead.
Quoted from Lamprey:I don't know that I'd make that bulb "guide" a key post as there is a lot of color GI, which looks terrible IMHO. Also, no need to color match inserts. Meh..
It's a guide, not an edict. The rubber & LED maps & tables (in original thread) provide the info from the manual in a much more succinct format. Most people that use the LED section make their own substitutions and choices on colors (or not colors).
There are always new owners that can benefit from a quick pointer to some good information. It's a daunting task to wade through 5000+ posts in the LOTR club, or search the forum for other LOTR threads (many useful, many not).
Quoted from red-line:I turned my game on today and the message "OPEN THE DOOR" was flashing. I opened the door and the game started, but all my high scores are gone. Anybody have my ideas?
Batteries dead or leaking?
Quoted from red-line:I turned my game on today and the message "OPEN THE DOOR" was flashing. I opened the door and the game started, but all my high scores are gone. Anybody have my ideas?
This just happened to me after I installed NVRAM. It did that the first time I booted up the game only. Now it turns on as per usual.
Quoted from pipes:This just happened to me after I installed NVRAM. It did that the first time I booted up the game only. Now it turns on as per usual.
Did you lose your high scores?
Quoted from Vyzer2:Did you lose your high scores?
Yup.
Quoted from RGAires:Can someone help me, ive been restoring my LORD, and ive removed the display to clean it an etc, i didnt take any picture of the position of the cables, can someone help.
The red stripe on the ribbon cable marks 'pin 1'. The manual has diagrams that will show you which pin on the board is 'pin 1' so you can orient the cable correctly and connect the red stripe to 'pin 1'.
https://www.ipdb.org/files/4858/Stern_2003_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_English_Manual_complete.pdf
Quoted from Gogojohnnyquack:The red stripe on the ribbon cable marks 'pin 1'. The manual has diagrams that will show you which pin on the board is 'pin 1' so you can orient the cable correctly and connect the red stripe to 'pin 1'.
https://www.ipdb.org/files/4858/Stern_2003_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_English_Manual_complete.pdf
Thanks sir
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