Stern Rev B. Pinball Life sells an unofficial one for $99 or the official one for $149. I don't know any reason to pay more for the official one on a machine that is already out of warranty anyway.

The $99 one is the shaker I put in my regular LOTR.

The Stern $149 shaker listed only says LOTRLE, it still works on the regular LOTR I take it? That's probably the only mod I don't have on my LOTR. Is a Whitestar compatible shaker a recent adaptation? Why the heck wouldn't I already have one on my LOTR? Hmmmm....... I'm terribly vexed!

Is there a PBL $99 version for LOTR, I don't see it on the site.

LotR standard doesn't support shaker. You have to update to 10.02 and swap in a PAL chip. Then your LotR is effectively an LE.

So either of the motors work for LotR. The reason it isn't listed is that adding it is really a hack.

GREAT, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.
CHEERS

So I got my pinsound working. Then I got an extra power supply added to power my colordmd and mods.

I added the new flipper coils (the middle range ones available in the marketplace) but really can’t tell the difference. There are moments, (even early in a game) where the flippers just feel weak and maybe a tiny bit delayed. I mentioned in an earlier post that in a game last week, my left flipper just didn’t flip for a few seconds. Then it came back. Are there settings I should check? Key voltages I should verify? I’m leaning toward power problems due to needing the auxiliary power supply.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You could try the switch test diagnostic function and see if the flippers buttons are OK.

I installed the LED ColorDMD in my LOTR. It looks great. I don't have much exposure to their LCD offerings, so I can't do a comparison, but I really like the LED panel.

So I got my LotR less than a month ago and I've gone buck-wild. I know this is a lifetime keeper so I just said screw it and went all out.

ColorDMD
Shaker Motor (with necessary chip replacements)
Anypin DMD+
AotD figures
Cliffy's
LED Conversion w/ LED OCD
Target decals
Titan silicone conversion
Shire art
Decorated plastic ramp fix
Flipper bat toppers
Speaker acrylics
Full playfield protector (awaiting shipment)
Pinball Pro subwoofer (was the only mod it came with)

I also have a Gandalf the White on Shadowfax sitting in a box but to be honest I kind of like the Gandalf the Grey that's in it. Plus, it makes more sense from the movie perspective to have him near the Balrog Is there anything I missed that I should do? lol.

In addition to that I did a 75%ish teardown and vaccuumed/cleaned it out well. When I get the protector I'll do almost a 100% teardown and clean the playfield of all residue.

The machine showed up in good shape but dirty; it now looks beautiful. Everything works 100% and the only issue I have is a very rare restart which I think is from adding the Anypin DMD+ so I'll just reseat it.

Love this game.

Congrats, it sounds like you are going all in.

I would resolve the reset issues before starting modding which will just add to the difficulty of ruling things out. Nothing worse than a LotR that crashes when I'm enjoying a 1hr game.

If you jiggle cables or jiggle the playfield does it reset?

one thread to read..

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-resets

Any care tips on the LE lockdown bar / side rails? A new for sale thread said his started showing wear after 50 plays

Try cleaning your flipper button contacts with a dollar bill

The shaker integration into this game is great. It doesn't make any noise at all, just makes the machine rumble. On the other hand, the shaker in my Star Wars Pro sounds like a helicopter taking off every time it goes on. Sounds like shit comparatively lol.

https://pinballbulbs.com/products/lord-rings-interactive-army-dead-mod

I went bananas modding mine as well knowing I'll never sell it. Worth every penny.

Who says LEDs ruin the look of this game?

MVIMG_20190110_190901 (resized).jpg

Any note on where to get the two roms from? John's site is still down from 2017. I just found the other thread walking through how to do it.

Not me! They look great in warm white with an LED OCD board. Even better if you add ColorDMD and some speaker lights.

6C848AE1-2EF2-4B28-B2CA-3D51AE1DEF8D (resized).jpeg

Looks good. What bulbs did you use for the gi?

Did you change lighting in the back box? Pinball Life has a flasher for the eye of sauron that synchs with the ring ramp spinner target. It adds interest to the backbox.

I have that - really cool mod!

Matt's Basement Arcade for the CPU and Pinball Life for the PAL chip

I've seen that, seems cool. I may check it out down the line some time.

I used all retro bulbs from Cointaker for the GI. All warm white except in the rear I used a couple green on the left and 3 red on the right. Also put a green in the light under the path of the dead.

I'm not entirely sure I like/need the exaggerated green in the rear left, but it certainly looks nice. I have some extra warm white I'm gonna try.

I followed this guide verbatim: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-and-rubber-maps-for-lord-of-the-rings

Only different is I used warm white retros in the shooter lane lights. His guide calls for mini 555 but mine are in #44 sockets. Not sure if that was an error or if some machines are different. Either way, it's a great look. I paired it with LED OCD.

So the ball on my game keeps getting stuck by the gate switch on the gandalf lane. Right at the top of it and just sits there. Anyone have any tips what to do with it? I can't figure why it's getting stuck there. I tried moving the pitch of the game all around but again am having a hard time visualizing why it gets stuck.

So I am reaching out to ask for some help. I have been chasing an issue I keep having with balls becoming magnetized. I have searched and searched on pinside and I have done the following:

1.) Replaced balls. Often. I am talking three times within 100 games. Nuts.

2.) Changed ball suppliers. I am using carbon steel pinballs from different manufactures. I even looked up some posts here on pinside about Pinball Wizards version, who people claim that they have had better luck than normal not becoming magnetized.

I am getting trough jams, ball lock jams on the sword lock etc. I am at wits end (its a short drive for me). Any thoughts?

Regarding the post quoted below, you may be experiencing what I am. Any help would be appreciated fellow LOTR fans. Thanks.

New member really like it so far

20190113_115241 (resized).jpg

Greatest, most complete game ever!

I don't play mine often, as games can go on a while, but when I do I enjoy it more than anything else I own or have played.

A few weeks ago, I was on the final shot to the ring to reach Valinor. Played one game last night, and was pretty close to starting the final DTR.

There's simply no other games that pulls you in like this one does!

Out of curiosity, do you have DTR set on one ball or two ball? Or is the magnetization happening even when your aren’t making it to DTR? I haven’t had this problem (DTR set to 1 ball), so can’t give much practical advice... but just thinking about any potential sources of induced magnetism. Have you tried the plexi piece in the ball trough to reduce ball contact with the trough? Not sure what you’d do for the sword though. At this point, I’m wondering if you’ve also secondarily magnetized the metal in the trough and sword slightly (thus increasing your problems). I guess you could try to put a paper clip up against the sword or trough to see if it wants to attract to it at all.

Sorry I don’t have more concrete solutions... good luck as I can imagine this would be frustrating.

Thanks for the reply. I currently reverted to one ball on DTR. Two was impossible, as when I would shoot it, the two balls would latch on to one another. I replaced the balls after this and checking for magnetism (they were). Trough is not pulling on a paper clip, so I am pretty certain it is not magnetized, or very slightly if it is. Same with the sword. The issue is the balls are, and any place there is metal, they do not want to function as they should. I bought a demagnetization console type tool and when it shows, I am going to run both the trough, the sword and the umpteen balls I have put aside that pick up paper clips like a cheap parlor trick from their magnetized state. It is mega frustrating.

Plexi is now installed in the trough. I hacked up a piece that pinbits provides for WPC games. It isn't a perfect solution but it has helped. Pinbits also makes a magnet buffer for the sword lock, but I haven't tried installing it. Bottom line, is even if these are installed, the game is affected by the magnetized balls. They just behave slightly "off" on soft shots along rails and when stacking balls on a flipper during multiball. Argh. I'll keep digging on it.

Trying to think through the problem for root cause, and I wondered how all balls could get magnetized after only a small amount of games. It usually takes a while...

Then I thought - where do the balls hang out a lot? The trough. Google search showed someone else with this problem recently. Some suggestions there, but I would go further and try to find out how the trough gets magnetized, if that is the case.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-trough-is-magnetized-help

-Adam

I don't quite understand why many of these LED conversions/kits include a bunch of purple/pink and random green lighting? Just seems really off to me every time I see it... Granted, it's personal choice and I totally respect that.

I understand a little green in the rear left and a little red in the rear right, but why all over the playfield and why those colors? lol.

I still believe it is likely the wrong balls being used. Carbon core is what should be used. Otherwise the ring magnet will magnetize the balls within a game or two.

I had this same problem my LOTR. The problem wasn't just the balls being magnetized. In my game the ball trough was also magnetized. I swapped the balls and trough would magnetize the balls just from sitting there. Put a small metal washer on the trough and see if it sticks. If it does you found the problem. To demagnetize the trough, I used an arcade monitor degaussing coil. It took a little while, but it worked and the problem hasn't returned.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-trough-is-magnetized-help#post-4775451

Did you order the awesome Shire protector slide from the path of the dead that allows the ball to variably drop either into the Shire or the wireform? It’s only available from a company called RedshiftLED in Australia. I just ordered one about 2 months ago, and it arrived in about 2 weeks and is awesome. The other mods push the ball onto the wireform always, thus depriving you of some extra souls, as the rules intended.

I’ve attached a picture below of the slide. The other mod I didn’t see you mention is the clear acrylic piece with the famous “one ring” quote emblazed on it. It looks great. I also ordered 2 or 3 different colored (gold, black, white)one true rings and place them on the playfield in different areas. They are cheap on EBay, under $10.

Just some ideas, since you are going all out!

544A6F70-6BFB-4D17-9E7A-48BFFF8F28C0 (resized).png

F60F9037-FB85-4F71-BEDC-2F6D7C507A39 (resized).png

The website for redshift says "the store is closed until January". I sent him an email asking on an ETA to be able to order one and haven't received a reply. TimeBandit ?

This is a great mod. I wouldn't mind ordering another one for a backup.

Still a lot to do but sounds pretty good

I was thinking the same thing actually. Great mod and a much better solution than the diverter that directs the ball on to the wireform. This is the only solution that still allows you to play the game the way it was intended. Worth every penny.

Technically a protective plastic over Arwen would be the most accurate version of how the game was "intended" to be played. It's supposed to plop and go who-knows-where

Well... if we're getting that picky, then technically, a bare Arwen plastic is the the most accurate version of how the game was "intended" to be played. I mean, come on... the coefficient of bounce has to be affected by that plastic protector you suggest. Who knows how that will affect your score. You might never make it to Valinor!!

I second this.

I third this been their

I am in the market for a LOTR machine. Any condition, prefer something that needs a little TLC. I have a nicely restored BH is that is something you're interested.

Local trade/sale would be ideal. Thanks!

Todd

The Gimli VUK is driving me a little crazy. I don't have issues with the actual kicker power, but the switch. What drives me nuts is it always works perfectly when I go into the diagnostic menu and activate it with my finger or a ball... But then during games -- AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIMES -- it won't register and I have to wait for the ball search to come on.

I cleaned the portion accessible from the top with alcohol, that didn't really help much. I haven't taken the whole thing apart yet, but any advice? Should I just replace or disassemble and clean the switch?

If bending the actuator doesn't help, just replace the switch. Notoriously flaky.

What he said....

Make sure the little screws that hold the switch on are not tight. Tightening the screws on the switch can compress the black plastic casing of the switch and that causes the mechanical parts inside to bind up.

I went this route and I haven't had a problem since.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/34#post-3848992