Have you checked fuse F27? And no, do not start splicing wires together. That will only cause more issues later on.

I have the service manual, but could not find any info on GI. i didnt even know this was protected by a fuse. I'm out of town for the week. But will look at and replace that fuse when i get back. thx

I expect this to be an easy answer. I have a replacement spinner, but wondered the best way to install it. I am used to spinners that are on posts that you can unscrew, etc, but with LOTR, the spinner is on the ring ramp. Do you just bend it gently to get the new one in?

that's what i did. Do the side that activates the switch first, make sure when u put it on that it in fact activates the switch. Then gently flex the other side into the hole.

Agreed, I did the same when I replaced the spinner on my first LOTR. Just gently, but firmly, bend to fit into place. Also, I dig your Strikes and Spares backglass icon! I just bought a really nice one and it should arrive any day now. That backglass cracks me up!

Ha, thanks! S&S was my first game I owned, and I love the backglass, a true work of art. I laugh all the time at the boyfriends getting in trouble for gawking at the girl. Enjoy!

Anyone use lube on their spinner? Find that the spinner sometimes rejects shots.

I just replaced my spinner, and what a difference it made. The old one was mashed a bit, and caused rejections sometimes. The new one spins forever and no rejections. Scores went up immediately.

I put a tiny tiny drop of sewing machine oil on them, and works great. Just need a small amount, I use a toothpick.

Does anyone else find that most of their right orbit shots miss during War of the Ents because the post doesn't raise quickly enough? I'm using medium coils and the shots are quite fast.

About half of mine fly past the up-post event. I generally go straight into Orthanc because of it, even though the shot is worth more on the right orbit.

I’ve never had that issue. I’m using normal coils though.
Have you tried increasing the pitch of the game?

mine works ok but in general I try (orthanc- potd- left inlane - backhand left flipper to orthanc.) " rinse and repeat"

i have tried a little " triflo" chain lube Teflon based lubricant . just a tiny drop on the end of a needle, seems to help,

someone should invent a spinner with a nice little roller bearing...

I found that the problem wasn't that the post didn't raise quickly enough, but that the ball somehow missed it on the way around.

I added one of the plastic post sleeves to the post that pops up to fix the issue. It was the same size sleeve from other areas of the game. And was surprisingly easy to do, just slid it down onto the post and it fit tight enough without causing an obstruction for the post going up and down.

Same with my machine. It doesn't eliminate it altogether but does improve it significantly.

The diverter post is at the top edge of the orbit, so you can imagine that a slow rolling ball will pass under it and not divert, or a ball rattling around orbit will miss it.

the fuse was fine, but the fuse holder was not making contact. thx.

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Simple fixes are great!

I just joined the club. It appears like it will be an epic journey.

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Welcome. I'm constantly amazed by the depth of this games rule set. If u haven't already down load the rules. But even with the rules there are so many different strategies to understand. Or u can do what most of my friends do,- just keep the ball in play.

I found a plastic sleeve that I could drill out and fit to the post without stopping it going up/down and it changed things a lot. 5/5 shots missed, LOL. It seems to make it even easier for the ball to make its way around the post. I tried a post rubber but it was too fat.

Got to There and Back Again on Friday for only the second time! Love the unique music for that mode. Failed to complete it, but that’s what makes this epic pin one of the best ever. The code is simply great. Valinor is always ahead.

There are fatter and thinner post rubbers. I have a post rubber on mine and it stops the ball EVERY time.

installed a pinduino along wtih led strips on backboard trough under sword ramp and left rail , pinduino is very cool if you like to tinker with lighting and can solder with options for programming effects limited only by your imagination and programming skills( me i am a cut and paster of existing code!) .i liked keeping the strips down low on the sides rather than up high like pin stadiums to preserve the darker nature of LOTR lighting..

ignore the playing although i do suck, no fancy tripod for me i have my cell phone duct taped to a high backed living room chair and am straddling it while playing at about 3/4 the height i usually stand!, the squawking in the background is a ring neck parrot that hangs out with me in the man cave, knows a few words surprised that most of them are not curses!

Got around to sprucing up the shire . For you LOTR fanatics this is an really nice detailed replica of 5 hill lane in hobbiton by weta (the designers who did these worked on the sets for the movies) . as well once you get there a road sign is needed
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not totally sold on the floating island feel of it , tried this one in the area of the sneeze guard , it looks good from the side but from the playing position it did not look right .

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i have some ideas to pull it more into the play field .
think silverball mania backglass meets hobbiton!!

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Yeah, I'll have to find something. I'm sure something in grippy rubber would stop the ball better.

came across this on the mod board done by the fire ring creator which is awesome and really well done , these look to be at the same high level of excellence , WANT the eye of Sauron!!
I think PM him for pricing and ordering info.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/barad-dur-sauron-eye-and-palantir-interactive-orb-mods-lotr

I think I used the wrong word/description. It probably was a post rubber that fit so well and continues to work.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stainless-steel-speakerpanels-acdc-tron-lotr-star-trek/page/3#post-5504553

re run 2020

stainless steel panels

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Hi all, would appreciate some help/opinions on my LOTR issues:

#1 - NOW SOLVED!!! by new coil stop + sleeve: the left flipper buzzes when held. It also feels quite weak so with the glass off, you can press the flipper down when held. There is some resistance there but nothing like the right flipper which is very strong when held. Is this normal?

#2 - the auto-launch has been weak for a while, sometimes not making it all the way round and stopping at the lanes/Orthanc. I've replaced the coil and the mech looks fine. There are a lot of comments on Sterns auto launch so maybe I have to live with this, but am open to ideas...

Cheers all!

Hi,

What's the best option to fix the palantir switch from going back and throwing the ball in the air, above flippers ?
I've read about an alternative fixation, from Capcom but was not able to find that, in Europe at least.

I used an adhesive felt pad behind it. The material was a little hard and it caused a few misses at first but it seems to have softened up after a few dozen games.

I think swinks makes some brackets that adjust your switch angle and helps eliminate most air balls

Check if your metal bracket behind it is bent. Mine was bent back from all the hits already going into the wood causing a lot of airballs.
Just replace the metal bracket and a new foam pad and since then had 0 air balls off the target.

Yes, it's bent.
Any reference for a replacement?

Part number is 535-6452-00
There is also a complete Kit but changing the part should to the trick.

Thank you

So, I’ve been having some issues with the left flipper on my game and determined that it has something to do with the switch itself. I looked up the part# (180-5160-00) in the manual. On Marcos site it says to use SW-10A-48 as a replacement so I ordered a couple. I went to replace them and see that the original switches on my game each have a capacitor on them and the new ones do not. Am I okay to use the new switches without the capacitors?
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seems not the bracket behind the target, this ref points me to a VUK bracket ?

I'm about to experiment with this, I have some clear rubber "feet" or some felt pads to try.

Those switches are incorrect and won't work. You need the "Paliney" or "Palinery" style switches. Marco really needs to update that description.

This is the correct part
https://www.pinballlife.com/stern-flipper-leaf-switch-single-contact.html
https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=paliney

http://pbresource.com/buttswit.html
Single Palinery Contact Flipper Button

Sega/Stern Flipper Button Switch

500-6889-01

Stern Replacement for
500-6889-00
180-5160-00

DE-500-688901 $20.01

Its that part you need to replace:
https://www.pinballlife.com/data-eastsegastern-standup-target-back-plate.html

535-6452-00 (resized).jpg

Thanks a lot

Well that sucks. Just ordered the correct switches, thank you for the info - much appreciated!

I did the same thing. Thankfully, I can use them in other games. The switches you ordered are high voltage switches that are typically used in classic Ballys, Sterns, and other in that era, probably up through the mid 80s, so if you have any of those games, they might work.

Unfortunately I don't and never plan to so they're not going to be of any use to me. Ugh. Given how expensive this hobby is already, it really sucks to toss money out the window like that. I didn't buy them from Marco but I did use their site as reference to make sure I was buying the right part from my local supplier - wow that worked out really well.

That's too bad. I think you're missing out on a whole different world of pinball with early SS games Maybe there's another local pinhead that can use them. Of course, I have a ton of "extra" parts that I've bought "just in case."

Marco is usually good with their cross-referencing. I use that site the same way. I'm not sure if it is just this particular switch with this particular game?

As a general rule I need at the very least, a DMD and one ramp for a game to live with me in my house.

My ring ramp has was looks like blobs of solder on the two tips, is that normal?

Yes - they get beaten up pretty bad but you can (and should) use a metal file to get them smooth again. If not, they'll throw shots off line and make the ring shot harder to hit