IIRC v10 is only for the LE. In order to run it you need the LE PAL chip in addition to the ROM.

I think that v10.0 works in the standard, but 10.02 is LE only. That's not counting the requirement to put the shaker motor in...I'll leave that for another day.

Fuses: yes
LEDs in backbox: not sure what you mean. Is there a doc to gain info? Also, I haven't checked voltage at each pin of the 26 pin ribbon. Where can I get info on that? If nobody knows of the 'obvious' place, then I can google too. Don't mean to have any legwork done on my behalf. Just thought maybe there is some 'ONE INFO PLACE THAT RULES THEM ALL'. See what I did there?

I believe this might be the site you seek
https://mattsbasementarcade.com/product/lord-of-the-rings-lotr-pinball-stern-rom-upgrade-chip-set/

https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php/Sega/Stern_White_Star_Repair

In the backbox there are RED LEDs on the power driver board and CPU board. Are they all on (with the coin door closed)?

Checking voltages at the ribbon cable isn't necessary.

Yeah, all 4 lights were lighting up. I've monkeyed with it enough now that it feels dead in the water. I'll do a detailed write up today. Thanks for the input.

Thanks! I think I've bumped into Matt's Basement before. Seems like the site was down not too long ago.

Hey all, back to my LOTR LED question & identified solution - adding the LED OCD board...

I installed the LED OCD board last night, easy installation - works great & love the lighting effect!

But… there is a slightly concerning side effect. There is an audible buzz in the speakers now associated with the LED driver ?? Most noticeable when in attract mode and the lights are cycling on/off/etc. When there is no audio being played you can hear the buzz cycling perfectly in sequence with the lights. The more lights that are on, the louder it is.

I disconnected the board & rewired as stock & no noise at all when the lights are sequencing, dead silent. But with OCD card installed in circuit, its back there again.

Pretty low level, but if you are standing right at the machine, when the lights really kick in , you notice it – backboard and cabinet speaker. Not as loud as the speaker hiss was - but distinctly noticeable since it varies in pitch/intensity with the LED lighting load

I just got rid of the darn speaker hiss, and now this, ugh...

Can you advise if this is expected/normal or if I possibly have a bad board or if there a way to filter, is it a grounding issue with the OCD board?

It bothers me mostly because it should not be happening, but now that I hear it, it will annoy me until solved or I may pull the board out, which would be a bummer. Appreciate any/all thoughts.

Some things to keep in mind:
- This isn't HIFI equipment. It's commercial gear meant for loud location use. There are noise leaks all over.
- Try to keep your speaker wiring as far as possible from the OCD board.
- Consider adding EMI filters to the audio wires. Not sure it would work but it may. Likely picking up noise by induction (like with a plasma DMD).
- This equipment was not designed for LEDs. The issue you are having is caused by your modifications (adding OCD board to correct LED behavior).
- Incandescent lighting also creates some noise that intensifies the more lights are on (at least on WPC games). Related to power drain.
- Your statement "This should not be happening" is totally based on your opinion and doesn't indicate an actual problem (see comment just above).

I'm also very picky about sound but on some of my games I just accept that it's not ideal. WOZ hums and TZ hisses. TZ is here on temp loan so I won't mess with it. WOZ hum I spent months trying to fix it when I got it. It's the machine.

I play my games pretty loud in any case. It helps to have a wife that enjoys pinball as well. lol.

Turn off the game. Disconnect the 26-pin ribbon cable from the display board. Turn on the game. If you see a splash screen that shows the display ROM version, the display board and the DMD are working.

Turn off the game. Reconnect the 26-pin ribbon cable with the red stripe on pin 1 at both the CPU board and the display board. The pins are labelled on the PCB. Turn on the game. If you're getting the splash screen but nothing after, and if the rest of the game is playable, it's likely U201 (the output buffer for the 26-pin ribbon cable on the CPU board) is damaged.

I’m getting an occasional random reboot of the game. I did a little searching but came up empty. Anyone have any advice on this?

Had something similar caused by a flaky J16 connector on the driverboard.

I picked up a nice LOTR about a week ago. I'm having an issue with the VUK, shire kicker, and the upper right tower. It's happening during multiballs where 2 or more balls are sitting on the switch, the game doesn't register that there are any balls there. Eventually when I drain the remaining balls during the multiball, the game will go into ball search mode and kick them out. Is there a switch adjustment that I need to do?

Search mode is different than switch detection. Go into Diagnostics Switch test and test those switches first. If they don't fire in test then they may need to be replaced. The Shire and Gimli hole are common switches that need to be replaced. I have not heard as much about the rear right tower, test that switch as well. Then go from there.

The switches function fine under normal conditions, it's just when there are 2 or more balls on the switch that it doesn't seem to be registering, then the game will go into search mode with 2 balls sitting on the switch. I'll go into switch test, and try to replicate it with 2 balls on it. But it sounds like they might be on their way out. Thanks!

If the ball on the switch is getting pushed off the switch by the other ball then you have 2 choices. Wait for ball search or nudge the game to make the ball sit on the switch properly. Happens occasionally during multiball. Nothing broken or not working properly. It's just pinball.

It appears that I may finally join the club soon. The pin looks good except for the playfield. I'm currently looking for a good used or NOS playfield. Please let me know what you have. I do have a CPR silk screened (not digital) PinBot playfield if that helps someone - original run. Thank you.

I have an NOS Bill Davis clearcoated pf. While I am no longer going to Pinfest I have buddies that could bring it. 1100$USD firm(it's less than what I paid actually). No interest in the Pinbot pf.

Otherwise I suppose it could be shipped but I've never shipped a pf (or a game for that matter lol).

PM sent

I'm new to the LOTR club. my machine has a color DMD and an led board of some sort. I noticed my DMD has a white ground wire that connects to DMD and then to one of the screws on each speaker. Im thinking this may be to address the hum issue. Try grounding the speakers.

Another option is get Pinsound and run speakers off the Pinsound board? See my next reply regarding Pinsound on LOTR

I am new to the LOTR club...
My machine has a few minor playfield mods plus color DMD and LED upgrade with LED board to stop strobing.

Initial impression I liked the game and the sounds were cool but I was pretty disappointed by sound quality... It struck me as muffled/muddy and some sounds on default system were super annoying like the path of the dead (100 more... Etc)

*** BUT ***

I sprung for Pinsound + speaker upgrade and HOLY CRAP what a difference it makes. Not sure what sound pack I'm using as the card came preloaded and I had to toggle a few times to find one I liked but AMAZING. It's like playing a movie... If you don't have Pinsound for LOTR run out and get it now, at least the board and the speakers were definitely worth it, including sub. I got the shaker too but it's uninstalled and the sub actually shakes the machine. I'm actually tempted to not put shaker in as I'm worried about vibration damage to motherboard (anyone with experience on that?)

Did I mention you should get Pinsound?? LOL

I love the actual quotes of the original pin sounds. Is there a mix with basically high quality versions of the pinball sounds and maybe more movie music?

Try the wool and hawkhole mixes. Both are very good. I've been meaning to try the sjoend sometime but just haven't yet.

Just tossing it out there, if anyone is looking to sell... I'm willing to pay good money for a nice condition (LE or regular) LOTR shipped or local!

Machine - Wanted

Wanted: Lord of the Rings Archived

Wanted! - “Looking for a good condition LOTR (regular or LE). Looking to pay in the $8-10k range (for regular) depending on condition. Willing to cover shipping. Please only message me if y...”

2022-04-10

Eau Claire, WI

WildRover

Wanted

Archived after: 18 days

Viewed: 127 times

Status: Not sold

Just got my LOTR back together and noticed the right flipper seems to flutter at times when the button is pressed. I just rebuilt both flippers so I'm looking for a direction on what to check next. Thanks

Update - I adjusted the leaf switch so it's about 1/16" closer when off and that seemed to work for now. It could've been too far apart when open so when it closed there wasn't enough pressure to maintain a good connection. Of course I should've tried this before posting.

Yeah, on my last one I had the exact issue...and the exact same resolution

Pinsound question for everyone...

So my LOTR Pinsound came with a bunch of preloaded soundtracks.

I changed them using the volume up down trick until I found one I liked. How do I figure out which one I am listening to? Is there a way to get pin sound to speak out a reference number?

I have no idea how many preloaded tracks there are and I'm worried if I change to another one it will take forever to find the one I like because many are similar... I noticed when you switch they usually say something right in the beginning but many of the tracks say similar things at the start.

The way I did it was to just load and try 1 at a time on the card. But when I was doing that they were still coming out slowly so I didn't really have a choice. I only have my top two loaded on the card now.

Searched the forums but couldn’t find this specific stuck ball issue on LOTR. Seems like the ball is consistently getting stuck at the Orthanc entrance. I adjust the plastic tower and it works for a bit but then goes back to this again. I made sure the metal posts to the tower are as tight as they will go. Not sure what else to try.

Has anyone else had this issue before?

4E5AF140-67A8-4E2F-9410-344257B7FEC8 (resized).jpeg

That tower plastic is to far forward. It should sit about 1-2mm further back where it touches the playfield.

The Pinball Fairy came! Sold my Whitewater and bought an awesome LOTR!

IMG_4738 (resized).jpg

IMG_4741 (resized).jpg

IMG_4742 (resized).jpg

IMG_4754 (resized).jpg

Yes, that issue was driving me crazy. I ended up tapping that wire guide just to the right of the ball down further into the playfield and that finally fixed it.

No Splash Screen
No Nothing
Nothing but pain and agony.

Send some photos showing the backbox connections to the display board and ColorDMD to [email protected]. I'll try to help you out.

Smart move! LOTR is a fantastic game game!

That's so subjective.

I like the scratchy original sound, because I have had my game for so long that the original sounds make me feel nostalgic and happy. I don't like the idea of any sound upgrades.

We can get different things out of a game, it's OK.

Tighten those tower bolts. They’re tougher to turn but should be in all the way

Hello everybody.

Back in the Pinball repair hell after a long time - last time during lockdown.
I had fixed up the LOTR only for it to break again as per usual - it got a lot of use during Covid.

Now....what I remember - the top-right tower goes crazy so I assume that is the Mosfet on Q7, instead of fixing it I just unplugged the tower.

However: also the TOP VUK on the Orthanc tower is not firing at all.
What might cause this? It can't possibly be related to me unplugging the other tower can it?
Or could this simply be a failed coil?

Also found that I'd removed the fuse on the loop diverter....must be something else annoying and bad.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Coils don't typically fail. What is much more common is the wire is loose or fell off the coil lug. Start by looking at that.

Thanks Neal, yeah the wiring is perfectly tight, checked that straight away, could there be something else failing - board or coil side?

If the transistor is stuck on it will fire and hold the coil till it dies.
Use a jumper to touch only the tab on Q4 transistor to ground and see if the vuk fires. If it fires, the Q4 transistor is bad. If it doesn't then the coil might be bad. Check the resistance on the coil after that to see.

Mine rebooted here and there when a lot of stuff was firing - usually during a multiball. There was a connector (probably the same J16 that someone else mentioned) that sits right under the fluorescent backbox bulb that as a result was getting cooked. I was measuring 5v between the CPU and driver boards troubleshooting when I jostled that connector and the game rebooted. Reseated it, and 5v tested closer between the two boards, no issues since.

I put in an LED backbox light screen vs. the fluorescent up there. Might still have to replace that connector for long-term fix but figured that should stop it from getting much worse.

I reseated all the connectors and it seems my problem is gone for now!!

Do you happen to have a link to the led replacement? I’ve been wanting to do that anyway. Thanks for the response!

I think this is what I bought. There's cheaper / more DIY ways of doing it but I was lazy and wanted the auto-dimming when starting a game vs. bright in attract mode.

https://www.arcadeupkeep.com/shop/dimming-backbox-panel/

During the Escape the Ringwraiths mode there’s a note on the screen to hit the Ringwraith target to extend the time. Is that the Palantir target? I know that the Palantir Target extends the modes by 10 seconds but never knew it was referred to as the Ringwraith target.

Isn’t that the scoop in the back right you hit from the left orbit?

Right ramp

I installed the upgraded flipper coils on my machine but still get filler fade. Anyone put fans in theirs? If so, what kind?

Pinmonk spike fans will fit, but I couldn't figure out where the best spot was to connect.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/150#post-6437003

Thanks for the help. Could you explain the process a bit further for me? I'm not too smart in this field.
I can find the transistor, but where should I try to jump and what should I use?

Also, I'm not any good with multimeter work - so not sure about testing the coil either.

Thanks again