.

Just for reference are you talking about this one: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rerun-of-the-improved-arwen-plastic-protector-ramp

Yes!

So what's the best recommendation for protecting the Arwen plastic? Anything I could readily buy?

I was doing some tests and noticed that when trying to obtain the fellowship members, I had to roll down the legolas ramp 3 times before his light would turn solid and then hit the boromir pops 3 different times as well before his turned solid. On your machine is it always 3 times for all members? Or one hit each for all?

Boromir is a certain number of pops, like 20. Legolas I'm not sure. I think on default settings it should be 1 ramp for first time around and 2 ramps for second time around.

Most are one shot as above boromir I think 15 pops,check your settings you may be on extra hard?

Ah that explains alot. I may have been farther in the journey when I started testing. Will try it some more and also check settings.

This weekend I finally put in my medium strength flipper coils, they are great! My stock ones were also pretty tired, so it was a huge difference. Saw some mushrooming on my coil stops so will get those ordered as well.
Also replaced all the boromir pop coils and the associated Q9,10,11 transistors since they were sticky. Immediately threw up a high score

Made progress on my figure holders- Came out great! Need to cut some more clear disc so that maybe I can get rid of the steel washers on the slings? Also added some weapons to Merry and Pippin and replaced Merry as he had been separated from the fellowship previously due to airballs from the palantir I believe(my palantir target was bent previously) based on all the scuff marks where he had been. Used Ranger tracking to deduce that, as he was long gone.

The right side sling is not complete washer/spacer/nut wise yet, just testing the fit. Also want to add weapons to that side.

20210718_134351 (resized).jpg
20210718_203508 (resized).jpg

20210718_134910 (resized).jpg
20210718_141859 (resized).jpg20210718_141936 (resized).jpg20210718_150017 (resized).jpg

Just listed a beautiful HUO, nicely modded LOTR in the market place.
$8000 no trades.

Strongly looking at purchasing a LOTR. The example I'm looking at seems to have figurines with weapons missing. Is this the way they were shipped from the factory? Looking online I seem to see a mix of characters with and without weapons like in the photos above.

Thanks!

The weapons were not there from the factory, at least that's what I have read. None of my characters have weapons.

Hey guys. Have had my game for a couple weeks now, and noticed that my Orthanc skill shot started being unreliable, and now hardly ever triggers. Orthanc itself works perfectly and always triggers POTD, but the skill shot is almost always ignored now. Am I looking for a dirty or possibly broken optic sensor somewhere? How to correct if that is the case? Thanks much from a hardware newb.

Which version of code is installed in your LOTR? Some of the earlier versions had some bugs in the skillshot part of the code that caused problems.

Are you timing your plunge with the middle light in the shooter lane? The 3 inserts select your skill shot. Orthanc only awards a skill shot if the center insert is lit when you plunge.

How smooth is the Merry shot for you guys?

Mine is super bricky and I can’t figure out why. It just seems like anything not 100% perfect bricks out before it even goes through the gate. It almost feels like a ball guide or rail is missing on the bottom right side of the sword ramp, but i think that’s just how this game is setup.

BBAE971A-ED4F-4C27-8FC5-D576440574D5 (resized).jpeg

Seriously? I'll look into this. Thanks.

A long time ago someone in this thread mentioned that the skill shot locks in when the ball comes off the shooter lane switch. You can bump the shooter rod to lock in you skill shot selection and then take your time plunging.

Your yellow post rubber is much wider than stock. See how it hangs over the nut underneath compared to mine:

IMG_9873 (resized).jpg

Thanks for the help! I am an idiot and it is working exactly as you said. I never even noticed those shooter lane lights before because they are mostly obscured by my Aragorn figure. I also missed this info in the online rulesheets apparently. Thanks again.

Thanks, I'll experiment with that.

Look at that! Yeah previous owner likes really hard games so they must have made those thicker.

Things were going a little too smoothly. Finally beat Fellowship MB ("You shall not pass!"), and now my Balrog won't cooperate. Hopefully something similar has happened to someone here and you can put me on the right track with a Balrog 101 class?

When I boot, he moves correctly to the right and parks there without issue. When I start a game, he moves to his correct left position, then can't seem to move right again to his hidden position. He goes about 3/4 of the way, then bounces back left. This repeats over and over. The ball never enters the shooter lane because it must be waiting for the Balrog. I can move him by hand with the game off without issue. Any ideas, or need any more info? Thanks so much.

Check this part. Listed as POTC but the same part is used on the Balrog . Make sure the screws aren't loose. The clutch is designed to provide drive, but also to allow slip if necessary so the motor doesn't get torn up.
https://www.pinballlife.com/potc-coupling-clutch-assembly.html?Category_Code=

Thanks, I'll take a look at the screws.

So in the middle of a multiball my game just reset and when it came back the right flipper was dead. I'm thinking it's just the fuse - but is there anything else I can check? I managed to crack the fuse on the removal so I couldn't confirm but it did not seem to have continuity on the MM. I was thinking of swapping left and right but I'm obv not very good at removing fuses and i need a new one regardless. Any tips before I put the new one back in?

You may have a blown transistor, I'm not sure if this is an LE only issue but read this post: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tech-lotr-le-flipper-fuse-transistor-failed

After swapping the fuse still no flipper action. Took a look at that article and some of the others - here's my current state:

Checking resistance on the left and right flipper coils (at each of the lugs) I see 3.2 on the working flipper and a 0.2 on the broken flipper. So I think this means a short. I also checked the Q16 transistor which seemed to read differently that the Q15 but I will have to try again as it was awkward to get at it without some disassembly. However, given the low resistance on the coil, could that mean it's just the diode? just the coil? Or is it just the transistor? Or some combination? I'm a little green at my pinball electronic diagnosis so any help appreciated!

I'd say swapping the diode is the easiest thing I could likely do myself, coils and transistors would need ordering and possibly some hired help for the repair for the transistor.

Brass looks great on LOTR. Even just new brass bolts adds a nice, fairly cheap touch.

72D27024-B859-469E-86A3-81186AFF80B4 (resized).png

760E2209-2C2B-479B-B169-118C6D358232 (resized).png

Ok so I confirmed the Diode on my right flipper was not working. Once removed the coil gives a proper resistance of 3.2. Do I just need to replace the Diode now? Or is my transistor shot as well or did the fuse possibly save it?

When attaching the diode can I just solder it to the wire? (there's no real room to thread the holes in the lugs where i snipped the original diode from)

thanks

Diodes do go bad. To confirm, use diode test on the meter and check the diode in both directions. You should see a reading of around .5 to .7 volts in one direction and an open circuit in the other direction.

I highly doubt it is just the diode though. Usually when a diode fails, it takes out the transistor and the fuse. BUT, the most common failure of a transistor is shorted, meaning the flipper will flip up and stay there as soon as power is applied. Transistors can fail open, but it's not as common. Look on youtube for a video on how the check a transistor. Similar to checking a diode but a little more complex. If it's bad, you want IRL540. It's a more robust transistor than the ones that come on the whitestar board set.

You cannot beat the price and low shipping from this guy.
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=IRL540N

This is perfect timing. This happened on my left flipper, non-LE LOTR, so Q15 transistor went bad. Haven't tested diode yet.

Actually....do you happen to know if I did want to switch the Diode.....what diodes I would need? I do have some 1N4004 from pinball life ->

https://www.pinballlife.com/diode-1n4004.html

But I'm not sure if those are the appropriate ones.

Question for the group,
When this game came out, did Stern utilize LEDs for their games, or were they using and selling the game with incandescent bulbs? My guess is that they were still at incandescents, but wanted to check the groups response. Just curious.
Anyone using and preferring JUST warm white LEDs as opposed to colored LED (for top of pf or at inserts)? Anyone using and preferring incandescents? Again, just curious. Recently picked up a game and has colored LEDs in various spots and I'm thinking I'd like to tone it down a fair amount.
Thx!

Yes the original release was in 2003 and games were still shipping with incandescent. I'm not sure when STERN stopped and switched to LED but I think it was their first SPIKE system releases.

As a new member, I have another question as it relates to the right ramp.
Looks like it's designed to utilize the side wall of the pf before going down that sword part. Should there be a protector there, or it that the way it is. Sure I've played the game on location, but in the loud environment of bars, never really heard the ball hit the side wall (which I can hear at the house). Doesn't bother me, just curious.
If that's the way it is, has anyone ever made any protectors for this area? Think it would really be needed?
Thx!

Yes, that is the correct diode.

The KaThunk is part of the charm. I've never seen any need for a protector.

If I'm not wrong, wasn't Star Trek the first game with leds from the factory?

Regardless, I kept mine with incandescent bulbs, except the gi which I have all white leds. I like the way the incandescent bulbs pulsate in this game. Without the led ocd board, leds don't look right. I am happy with the way it looks. I just don't want to spend the extra $ for the proper board.

I too was thinking about transitioning to incandescents for this machine, just wanted to see how others felt about it as well. Sure, in an arcade, machine on for 8-12 hrs a day everyday, can have it's issues...but in a home environment, unlikely to have the long term issues associated with ustilizing those bulbs. Has anyone used the green incandescents for the Path of the Dead?

Not everytime, but on occasion I've noticed that even though ball one lock on the sword triggers the "Helms Deep" comment, signifying that the switch registers, sometimes (not everytime), there is failure for a ball to then be released from the trough (which should occur as that first locked ball sits there behind the uppost at the swords edge). Is that an intermittent issue for anyone else? Anything I can do to increase the reliability that a ball is them triggered to release from the trough once that ball is locked there at the sword behind that uppost?...otherwise I have to wait for ball search and ultimately the locked ball just releases as the game goes on as usual.
Again, new owner and member, and fortunately, not too many questions, for now but thanks everyone for your responses.

Could be magnetized balls. Get new carbon core balls.

https://www.pinballlife.com/1-116-pinball-standard-size.html

I've had mine since I bought it new in 2003. I've always had incandescent bulbs in it and I always will. Literally every game I've owned I've put LED's in but not this one. A few colored incandescent bulbs is all I've changed out.

Thank you all for your replies. Really appreciate it

My flashers are still incandescent. As are the green bulbs for the path of the dead. I have no idea where to get replacements once one burns out (but haven't looked either). Owned the game 3 years, replacing all the bulbs when I got it to new incandescents. Haven't had to replace one since. Like others, I have leds in all the other games I have owned, but not this one.

Here's a link to a green incandescent bulb that Marco sells that you can replace it with. They come either bayonet or wedge.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/04-0044G

I thought the same way about my Tron. It also came with original style incandescent lighting and I actually found myself enjoying it like that and also never changed to LEDs on that game.

Many LOTR owners prefer to keep the original appearance of incandescent bulbs. I chose to switch to LEDs, but LOTR is a game where you really need an OCD board to prevent flickering and strobing of the LEDs. I’m happy with the brighter (I only go as bright as sunlight white) look and less heat and power involved with the LEDs. Just me tho!

C72221B8-DD7C-4C26-B228-44AB22B89DA6 (resized).png

I put in mostly warm whites. I think the yellowish glow fits the theme nicely.