Went to install the colordmd today. Removing the old dmd, there is foam that is sticking to the dmd and to the speaker panel. Where should this keep stuck to? Aka where should I slowly cut it off from, the dmd or the speaker panel?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-do-i-remove-lotr-dmd

Got it

Having problems with Marcos carbon pinballs getting magnetized within a few games, I think it's issues with the trough metal itself having become slightly magnetic. I know pinbits has the sword lock thing, has anyone developed a piece for separation from the metal trough?

Previous to this the Marco's pinballs were what I found to be the best balls to use in games with magnets and they haven't caused any problems with Austin Powers or Goldeneye when others always seemed to become magnetic shortly after installation.

Ya! I’ve seen a few
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-16809

That’s the one I found quickly.

I’ve asked this before, I don’t believe they will fit in a stern game.
As to the pinbits sword lock, I had issues with the roll over switches when I installed this piece. You can try to adjust them which I did numerous times but could not get all the switches to make contact properly. I wound up just taking it off. But that doesn’t mean one should not try, j just couldn’t find the sweet spot for all 3 switches.

I thought I’ve ran across a stern one, but now I can’t find it :/

Wonder if Pinbits can cut a stern one

I only buy balls from Terry at PBL. Not only is pricing much better (especially in bulk at 50+) but I have never once had a magnetization problem with them.

the original owner of my lotr had what I assume to be one of these installed. it fits and seems to work well,

it is maybe a 1/8 inch too long and would tend to slide out of place as the two notches at the wider end would not stay engaged as a friction fit to the edge of the trough but a dab of plumbers goop at the wider end has worked well. alternatively one could trim a bit off the narrower end

Good to know...thanks

After numerous scores around 60-80mil as my old GC, just had an awesome game with a new GC of 133mil and destroy the ring of 1,32min.
Had 3 extra balls and destroyed the ring twice. I know probably nothing spectacular but I'm still pumped minutes after
Love this PIN!
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I'm curious about the same.

Hey guys,
technical question about Destroy the ring.
My game is set in DTR 2 balls but i can't manage to destroy it easily. Most of the time both balls falls from the ring or one go through and the other one takes its place.
Do you confirm that both balls ahe to go through to validate DTR ?
If so, any tips to improve the shoot ?
I've got he medium coils, the flippers plays really well.
I think i'm loosing a bit of speed at the spinner, but not so much, any recommendations on this?
Also, the tips of my central ramps are not longer sharped, there is a small sphere at the end, my that affect the ball power to go through the ring ?

Thanks

on my lotr it needs a nice clean shot , had issues with weaker shot on number 2 keeping both balls in the ring , suspected balls were magnetized and replaced which helped a lot but every once I a while I will still get the 2 ball in ring thing .

if you are knocking the one ball through and is not registering I would check the switch behind the backplate.

had an interesting DTR the other night where on ball one a pure shot blasted right through the ring to complete DTR!!

On 2 Ball DTR one ball is captured in the magnet and with the second ball you have to knock the first one through. So only one ball needs to pass the switch behind the board.
Check if your switch is working properly in the switch test. Use a Ball to test it.

Mine was also broken and after replacing it it works fine.
It needs a clear and powerful shot to knock the first ball out. Also had weaker shots when the magnet captured both balls. Replaced the balls with new ones, so far it did not happen again.

Same as pinballjj, had a DTR yesterday when the magnet failed to capture the ball due to a powerful shot and after shooting a second ball into play it gave me DTR instantly.

Thanks, need to check the second switch.

Anyone need a replacement plastic set for their game? I have an extra and no use for it. Send me a pm. will ship

Dumb question (but I got helpful advice in here on my last dumb one so I'm asking again):

My game completely quit registering Ring hits last night, I would shoot the ring (with 'start mode' lit) and the ring would grab the ball as usual, and then just drop the ball out the front (and not start a mode or pull the ball through the back). Am I right to assume an opto is to blame? I can run through tests this evening hopefully, just figured I'd ask before I go down the wrong path like last time.

Thanks for any help.

Hi guys,

Any idea where I can find the covered ball stop for the right ramp?
They jump down from time to time to so I am looking for it with no luck

The spinner turns on the magnet to grab the ball, and the opto there starts the mode and confirms it has the ball, so yes it sounds like an issue with that opto. Use the switch test to confirm.

What do you do with a Gollum VUK that the ball don't stay in the wire form? It just seems wrong to watch it go up and down 3-5 times until it stays up. Sorry, I know this has been discussed somewhere but I can't find it. Can you turn down the power of the VUK? I was all over the menu but couldn't find it. Thanks!

Can you record it to see what is happening?

Curious if it is hitting and bouncing back or it is just not getting up.

Is the game level?

I adjusted the ramp and levelled the shit out of mine but it would go back to falling out.
So what I did after watching it closely was put a small piece of thin plastic in there and it has not dropped once since.
Next time I take the glass off I will trim down a bit, but you really can’t see it when playing anyway.

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Some have reported that the ball bounces out because the ramp is not secure. Make sure yours is not loose and bouncy.

Thanks for the replies. I take care of a nice one on location so I'll check to make sure its secure (that might be it). The game is level, or at least not left leaning. It just seems like the VUK has too much power. Thanks again.

Same here, again both balls hold by the magnet.. So frustrating

I’ve seen this complaint a lot but do not experience it on my game. I’m using stock coils and a decent shot will knock the ball through.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect shot by any means. It seems like if I get it up the ramp enough to go into the ring, then that’s enough to knock the ball free.
The consensus seems to be either the coils aren’t strong enough (Maybe they need to be upgraded or flippers need to be rebuilt.) Or the spinner is slowing the ball down and requires adjustment

Magnet issues. Does not work. Soon as I turn on the game the fuse blows. I have a new rottendog board about two months old. It had a 3 amp SB fuse. Not sure if I should put a 4 amp SB in like the sterns board. Spinner does work as checked. Put mu finger thru and the opto work. I disconnected the Magnet as I also added a new 3 amp and then turned on the game and the fuse did not blow. Should it be the magnet itself. Have no idea how to check the magnet or what the readings should be as I do have a multi meter. I also read possible the transistor Q6? what #? IRL540N? as not sure if that is the one on the rottendog board also. Any help appreciate it. I do have a new magnet here also.

since you already have a new magnet i would swap it in and see if that fixes the problem .

I recently fitted the APB medium coils and I need a good clean shot but not a perfect shot. It would probably be better after a flipper rebuild.

Switch behind the ring was not registering the ball, might be the issue

I'll tell you once I have fixed it.

I was thinking to same to switch the magnet. Will give an update if that works. Just wondering about replacing the 3 amp fuse to a 4 amp as reading is what stern recommend. Not sure as this is a Rottendog board I am using. Anyone else has a Rottendog board that did this? Thanks for the answers.

Rotten dog boards can do anything..

I apologize in advance if this question has been asked before. I would like to upgrade my LOTR DMD to a color DMD; however, this upgrade requires a ROM chip 10.0. I have the original ROM of 4.0 (2003) so it won't work. In order to upgrade to ROM 10.0 is there anything else I also need to upgrade, like a higher chip for the sound board or anything like that, or would the main ROM 10.0 is the only thing I would need to upgrade? Also, where can I get the upgrade chip(s). Marco, Pinball Life???

I believe you need the CPU and Display ROMs both upgraded to 10.0. I would recommend buying from Matt's Basement Arcade - I bought my LOTR LE upgrade ROMs (for shaker motor) from him and he is awesome to deal with.

https://mattsbasementarcade.com/product/lord-of-the-rings-lotr-pinball-stern-rom-upgrade-chip-set/

I'd strongly suggest you do an NVRAM upgrade as well if you haven't done one already. it is really easy and will eliminate any future battery related issues.

Thanks, I'll do all your suggestions.

Switch behind the ring was guilty!
Dtr is now working with 2 balls as expected

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Still problem with Magnet. Installed a new Magnet and turn the machine on and fuse blows. 3 amp SB as this is in a Rottendog board. I am not sure if the transistor is Q6 like on a sterns board. First post I mentioned I unplugged the magnet and the fuse did not blow. I had a new magnet so I installed it and again plugging in the magnet the fuse blew right away turning on the machine. Then I pulled J8 off the power driver board added another 3am SB fuse and the fuse did not blow. So possible its the transistor on the Rottendog board? Anyone here can tell me if it is the same as the stern board Q6? Thank you for helping out here.

Correct. What’s the pitch of your game? I don’t know if I’ve had the ball bounce like that. Also what post is in your game?

I would start troubleshooting by looking at the switch that is at the end of the wire form.
If the post isn’t being fired when the ball is heading toward the lock, and the ball just bounces off, then I would assume the switch that registers a ball coming down the wire form needs a minor adjustment. It sounds like it might not be reading a fast moving ball, but can register the ball when it hits the switch backwards after it bounces off the post.

Another possibility: I had a batch of 3A fuses from Marco that would not hold up to the magnets in 007. They were labeled as "T3A" and "slow" on the box but looked like fast fuses with a fat part in the middle (single metal wire but with a big bump in the center). Using slow blo fuses that looked traditional (wire coiled around a thin cylinder) worked as normal.

I just got the same fuses from Marco. They do not look like SB.

Fuses I got are not from Marco so they are 3A SB's as well as I have 4A SB's Now sure now what the heck is going on. Transistor possible bad Q6 if anyone knows if that is the one on this Rottendog board

Can someone post a couple of photos from different angles showing how your spinner is positioned (especially if your game has smooth ramp shots).

Thanks!

If you have a problem with the T-nut backing out, just secure it with a screw like Stern does from the factory now.

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Did they make any play fields of this game that aren’t a washed out green color? Maybe lighting can help?