I tried emailing this fellow but unfortunately no reply is there a specific part number for these types of coils, I would like to switch mine out to a little lower strength to see if I get less rejections on ring shot.

Anybody get hang ups from the ring shot? Any ideas to stop this pretty annoying when you start a mode and it gets stuck.

3778C451-8264-4BAD-8680-DB2E97FB17ED (resized).jpeg

It did take a while to get a reply to my email when I first contacted him. He did reply the following day. You can try sending a PM to APB_Enterprises but he did mention to me that email was the best way to get a hold of him. There was no part number the coils I received, only a label saying “Lord of the Rings Medium Strength Coil”.

What is the ball getting hung on? Are the balls magnetized? Also what pitch do you have the game set at?

Around 8.0

Sounds like it is catching on something, your wireform is slightly bent, or possibly the rails are slightly Pinched together at that point causing the ball to rise and slow. At 8 degrees (hopefully measured from the Playfield!) you should have plenty of speed to ride down that rail.

Ya game plays super fast, for some reason every tenth ball in that wire form gets stuck. Will check out the wire form and see if there is an issue there

I was getting hang-ups just before the opening in the backboard when I first got the game. I changed the pitch and it solved the problem. If you're at 8.0 pitch that should be plenty to keep the ball moving down the wire form. Magnetization may be the issue if you don’t see anything obstructing the path of the ball.

Sorry about that, I am not on Pinside much.

We did not make a part number for this coil. If you want some, they are on our eBay store.

Pinside Shop Link: https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1065-apb-enterprises/01414-new-stern-pinball-medium-power-coil-lord-of-the-rings-gnr

LE: ebay.com link: itm

Regular: ebay.com link: itm

Thank you for the business! I hope you liked them.

Andrew

LOTRMP (resized).jpg

I have also listed them in my shop here on Pinside.

Andrew

Awesome thanks!!!

Thanks Andrew, I just put in my order! I have to say the Pinside Shops were a genius move.

No worries! I do like the idea as well, and it's easy to use which is a bonus.

Most of what we sell we like selling through our distribution network, but some coils (like the LOTR ones here) are not carried by any of the big pinball part distros. That is the kind of stuff I will load into the shop. Plus any seconds we may have.

Thank you for the business!

Regards,

Andrew

Looking forward to more APB stuff on the shops!

Just put in a Pinbits order as well, for the figure mounting plastics (good to have as a backup! Right now I don't have a plastic to mount Saruman or Gandalf, so that will come in handy), and the magnetizing plastic thing for the sword ramp, the wood rail protector, some foam for the cabinet, and the extra ring ramp plastics. Eventually I need to fix the cabinet and order the decals too!

Once I get this game working 100% again it's back the Monster Bash restore...

I don't remember the specifics as far as count (nor the context it came up or if it was even on Pinside or RGP) but cant we net the same thing just by removing a few winds from the original coils? Less winds=stronger coils if I remember correctly. Has anyone with coil issues attempted it?

I believe you have it opposite in that the number of windings/turns is proportional to the field strength meaning that more turns means more strength.

So if someone has the powerful coils, all they need to do is remove windings until they are happy with the strength.

Certainly this is correct - but I’m happy paying the $20 for the coil which have been tested and measured already

I have always heard that removing windings will increase the current which will make the magnet stronger. I found this that makes me believe that is correct.

Quote:
More current = more magnetic pull

Ohm's Law ... I = V/R where,
...I = Current
...V = Voltage
...R = Resistance

Holding voltage constant, reducing resistance (with fewer windings), increases current.
There are tradeoffs.

I'm sure a bonafide EE can chime in.
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://ChrisHiblerPinball.com/contact/
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/index.htm
http://www.PinWiki.com - The Place to go for Pinball Repair Info

For solenoids the more coils/windings, the stronger the magnetic field it produces, therefore the stronger the movement of the plunger in that field.

.....and yes, I'm bonafide.....

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/increasing-the-power-to-a-coil-remove-more-windings

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.games.pinball/8vXpikBRF7M

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenoid

Can anybody provide some guidance and destroying the "ring?" I have gotten there many times, hit the four shots, nail the shot through the ring and back through the wire path...even several times, but never got to destroy it. Am I missing something?? thanks!!! Love the game...awesome!! Want a second, faster game soon, but this is a keeper!!

Switch test the ring, I'm sure it's just not registering 100% of the time therefore not giving you credit for the final shots in the mode.

Thank you!! It registers for most, if not all, hits. Just seemed odd to have to hit it so many times and never "destroy" the mother!!

thanks!!!

Does the magnet work? In other words, if you shoot into the ring, is the ball captured by the magnet right at the entrance?

It sounds to me like it's not, so the first ball never gets captured there. So the second ball is never being launched.

Destroy the ring is (on factory settings) a two ball thing. First make the four shots. Then capture a ball in the ring. A second ball is launched into play. The objective is then to hit the first ball through the ring by hitting it with the second. When you do... (sorry, no spoiler here).

Run the magnet test. Then (most likely) replace the fuse for the magnet. As an alternative you can set DTR to be one ball destroy if you can't get the magnet working.

Each wire loop that is wound on top of each other contributes individually to the magnetic field strength. The length of a pinball coil is fixed by the coil bobbin dimensions so the more turns the more they are wrapped over each other. The current and number of turns sort of cancel each other out when removing or adding loops because the current is inversely proportional to the resistance in the wire. Thus adding additional turns does not increase the field by itself since the field from each turn will go down because it is supplied with a fixed voltage and V=IR (R goes up with more turns). The main factor is the concentration of the wire loops in a small length with each combining to provide a magnetic field which only extends a short distance. If you were to have a 100 loops on a 1 inch core/bobbin it would provide a much stronger field along the length of the cool than if you wrapped the same 100 loop wire on a 2 inch core/bobbin. Obviously the wire gauge is a factor in the design of a coil's strength, but does not really help with modifying an existing coil like in this thread.

Remove wire for a stronger coil. Decrease gauge for a stronger coil (IE 30 awg to 28 awg, 28 will be stronger.) There is a point of diminishing returns though, be careful.

The medium ones in specific we are selling now were tested in a few machines for months before we started selling them. LOTR is one of my favorites, so I enjoyed making something for it and testing them. I think we made 8 or so varieties before we found a happy medium. Different gauges and turns. I think the last set we made that we ended up using we were tweaking by around 25 turns or so.

Flipper power is a bit subjective to the user, and obviously the game as well... pitch and PWM settings. Not for everyone, but we have had a fair amount of positive feedback on this specific coil vs. the high power ones (which we also make.) I want people to like them, and welcome all feedback with the caveat about machine variables in mind.

Happy flipping!

Andrew

OK, you convinced me....ordering now!!!

See, this is what I’m talking about! It’s worth the cost for all the testing alone!

Yup, they're great! The game plays perfect now....huge improvement! Great product Andrew, thanks.

There is a wire switch behind the ring- it is located in the trough behind the ring. This needs to work to be able to “destroy the ring.”

I've had my LOTR for about ten years and today, finally, finally I got There and Back Again! Of course, I didn't get anywhere near to completing it, but it was so great to finally see it. Pretty decent 167m score on a three ball game, the only thing I did was max the ball save timer, everything else on defaults. I was soooo close to Valinor, too. I think my quest for Valinor is almost at an end...

Did you go from high power to the mid, or low power to mid? I just ordered the mids and am currently running the high power. I love the high power "kick" but a few times it is too much.

I went from High to Mid. It still has good "kick" for sure, but not so much that you literally feel as though you're trying to demolish everything on the playfield. The ball rarely skips off the left ramp anymore. That was a huge problem for me.

That is exactly how my game feels. And it came with a million broken plastics to prove it!

FYI Pinballlife has the center golden ring/jump ramp for sale

They also have a ramp post upgrade kit. This will help protect the ramp from being damaged when the existing post on a screw that is installed in the game gets bent back allowing the left front edge of the ramp to get smashed. It will also prevent damage to the playfield as the post gets bent back, jamming the existing post sleeve into the playfield. It's cheap, and a worthwhile upgrade to protect your ramp and your game.

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1045

Also, here is a link to the ramp mentioned in the post above: http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=4723

Andrew

I just bought this kit, only to find out it had already been installed!! Only $4 and an hour of trying to get it off without damaging the PF! It is a seriously needed upgrade.

It astounds me that this pin, as great as it is, needs SO much to be a long-term, good player. The thing with the coils getting too hot still stumps me. It’s like Stern did no playtesting before they shipped. Good thing the code and rules are so good!

Hello,
If someone needs to fix the ring on this machine, send me a message, im doing another run of the ring decal.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/57982

Regards

I was thinking this was the decal around the ring at the back of the game, which is peeling off a bit on mine. Does this ring area also wear easily?

Since I’m asking - has anyone had to repair or repaint the ring at the back of the game? Mine has gold worn off, and I’d like to re spray it. Anything I need to know?

You can repaint it with a airbrus easy pm me if you need some help

Thanks man, I have been looking for an excuse to get one. I might take you up on that!

After getting very close several times the past few weeks I finally got to Valinor. Very cool wizard mode. Now I need to rest for a few days. Those were some long games.

Just ordered a set.

I used to think Lotr was to easy, but something about my game or the way I have it set up is kicking my butt. I think I'm going to check the angle. Enjoying the butt kicking though and can't wait to put up a big score. I'm waiting on a fork switch right now before I get to try again

Funny you should say that - the very second game I played before an extensive shop job when the game came into the house, i got Destroy the Ring! Have not even come close since then; I can’t even start 2 of the multiballs half the time! Kicking my butt indeed