dont' know if there any deadheads but for fun messed around with a different image for palintir ,(thinking of trying a smaller globe with a more standard eye of sauron as well), i could see gandalf painted to look like jerry garcia holdin a lit joint in place of the staff and a replica garcia guitar on top of the aragon ramp!

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Blasphemy!!

I would have gone with Led Zep due to their Hobbit tie-ins 'The Battle of Evermore" and 'Misty Mountain Hop'.

GD and Hobbit tie-ins are lesser known. (Such as - Phil Lesh named his 2002 studio album There and Back Again. etc.)
http://danb.altervista.org/gdhobbit.htm

Not sure if this photo shows it, but here goes....

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Bingo! When your ball hits that spinner it hits it on the bottom leading edge that is angled forward. That will absorb a lot of energy from the ball, making the ramp shot so much harder. Ideally the spinner should be almost perpendicular to the playfield, with the bottom edge just slightly away from the direction the ball will hit it from, i.e. in this case the bottom edge should be just towards the ramp. Adjust the spinner to that, and then the spinner will no longer absorb as much energy from the ball.

Can you share a photo of yours?

Unfortunately my LOTR is "on location" at a friend's house, but I've made a quick crude drawing showing the spinner in both configurations. With the spinner bottom edge forward it absorbs a lot of the energy from the ball up the face, following that blue arrow upwards.. In the correct configuration the spinner just spins from the ball hitting it.
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I'm a little confused on how you solve that. Mine isn't always like that but at least a portion of the time it settles in the wrong direction.

I'm not sure how or where to bend the spinner.

Won't bending it negatively affect the circular motion it rotates in?

The spinner I have is brand new, so shouldn't it be set correctly?

Slightest bending of the spinner arms is all that is needed in many cases. This thread got a few other hints:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spinner-balance#post-2394292

How are you bending it to ensure both sides are done equally?

If the spinner was flat on a table, are you bending the arms up or down parallel to the table, or perpendicular?

The spinner arms get bent forwards after being beaten on. The best way to get everything straight is to remove it from the bracket and make sure everything is perpendicular or straight 90 degrees. If you are lazy you can just grab the bracket and push the body of the spinner forward to bend the arms back.

great link, I would never desecrate my beautiful LOTR merely pondering . I think retheming an older game to a grateful dead or allman brothers theme with some of the 60's psychedelic artwork or eat a peach artwork and a song package would be cool .

hard to tell from your photo if you have it but there is also an upgraded heavier duty post for the spinner . ( original post would bend causing spinner issues?) stern service bulletin 154

https://www.pinballlife.com/lotr-ring-ramp-post-kit.html

aukrauts diagram very helpful! will check my orientation tonight

although I get a lot of ring fails or ramp rejects leading to STDM if I do not hit the shot clean I blame it more on my general suckage . I think I probably get some flipper fade over a long game and thinking of changing to upgraded flipper coils but then I will have nothing to blame....

I think I bought the upgraded post and have it in a box somewhere.

I'll have a look to see if the post has shifted. The game is almost brand new, so doesn't have much wear on it.

Definitely need to get this ring shot sorted because it's really getting in the way of my trip to Valinor

So any suggestions on what direction I need to bend the spinner arms?

Leave the spinner in place, grab one of the arms with a pair of needlenose pliers, and slightly push the spinner into the direction you want it to move. Don't force it, those arms aren't very big. Next do the same to the other arm. Lather, rinse, repeat until you have it where you want it....

Cheers!

I wonder if it will need pushing or pulling based on the current position

you got a 50/50 shot, and if it's the wrong way just redo it in the other direction.

My guess is for your pic is pushing the bottom towards the ramp...

I just shove mine in whatever direction is needed while its sitting there. This isn't fine china, it's a machine designed to be commercially operated and I'd be amazed if you were able to break the wire. Don't be scared to manhandle it when needed from time to time. Hell the last time I missed DTR on the last shot that dribbled off the ramp I thought I was going to break the glass

Pushing the spinner toward the back of the game straightened it out.

Now just have to figure out how the heck to align this ramp with the ring!

That's correct. It's actually the hidden 7th elf gift. You have to earn it with a 7th success of some sort (Mode, MMB, or DTR).

Sorry...another LED question.
I have not bought any LEDs yet.
I did however buy the LED OCD board.
But now I've noticed they also have an OCD GI board, is that something I should have/need too?

Thanks!

BobC

I posted this in Tech Generic and was wondering if anyone here has any ideas. Thanks,
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-strange-boot-up-issues

Sold.
FYI: conus stands for "continental United States"

One shot on ROTK away from starting DTR for Valinor... Not the closest I've been, but definitely close enough to blurt out some colourful language.

Still my favorite game of all time. An absolute masterpiece!

Same experience as the original coils.

Am I the only one who had to google what a conus was?

I did, but about 14 years ago when I first came to the US

I changed it for you. Lol!!

Mezel Mod Ring of Fire is awesome! Below is a link to a quick vid of what it looks like on my LOTR. Lord of the Rings

I also installed a new acrylic for my path of the dead mod. Bought it from pixmanohio here on Pinside biz. Take a look, it's a huge improvement in my opinion.

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Just joined the club! My machine has been on location, but the playfield is nice, everything works, and no broken or missing pieces. First question: suggestion for color dmds? Lcd or led?

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welcome! I went with a color led I thought it fit the overall game lighting and theme better , as well I had concerns with the dmd screen not being bright enough in a sunny room . installed a glare guard from comet that definitely darkens the display as well , had to turn up the led brightness to 8/9 to compensate, led looks great , dmd looks good too, although some of the settings look a little blobby to me

The LCD model of ColorDMD really shines installed on a LOTR, probably the showcase model for ColorDMD capabilities hands down!!

Any mods i should be looking for? Toppers?
Thank you for the suggestions, im already addicted

LEDOCD board. LOTR is a seizure inducing LED mess without it. Shaker motor from pinball life is an awesome edition as well. LOTR is also fairly dark. Either buy pinstadium or make your own. (I made my own for under $100) that also shuts off with the game and works directly with the GI.

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A few more questions -
Are the pop bumpers supposed to be weirdly shaped? trying to figure out if they are like that naturally or if mine has chips out of it.
Any suggestions for a good topper?
Planning on Palantir mod, any other amazing mods I should seek out?
Thanks again

Tons of mods out there. Side blades, Gandalf’s staff, path of dead mod. Palantir mod is going to be tough to find. Just do a search there are some very nice mods out there.

https://tilttopper.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Flord-of-the-rings-pinball-topper

Done to prevent any chance of stuck balls.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-pop-bumper-plastics

Go on the pinside shop theres a killer sword mod my buddy makes

Sillyoldelf side art is the only way to go especially if you're a fan of the books imo. It's not called "Lord of the Valcanos".....

The topper above is really nice. If I didn't have any original Matt Mckee topper from back in the day, I would probably purchase on of those. Color DMD is a must of course (I have LCD on all my games and prefer it). The shaker mod I wasn't impressed with for all the trouble it was to put in on a non LE game. I barely notice it at all especially with an external sub attached (which seems to shake the game more than the actual shaker). PDI glass is a must on all my games. Be prepared to by a sheet for every game if you buy 1 sheet because it really makes a noticeable difference. The aforementioned palantir mod is a must as well. Cliffy's around the game are required for all my games. The rest of the mods available (of which there are many), are based on your personal taste and budget. Fortunately LOTR is feature packed, artfully coded, and fully equipped so doesn't require much to make it feel "finished". Stern did that very well from the factory.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
Got the color dmd and palantir ordered!
is it worth it to upgrade speakers? Speaker recommendations? Loving this game

Spend the money on a pinsound instead of the speakers imo. The hi fidelity sound packages are amazing. You can get an external sub which is nice too.

I love my sword mod. Speakers are a hit and miss

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I put in Flipper Fidelity speakers. Now I can understand every word said clearly. Massive improvement.

all the really nice mods are listed good call on a color dmd and palantir probably the 2 best , I would rank ledocd and potd mod next , lots of things you can light up with some different sizes leds and some matrix bulbs from comet . this shaker kit from pinballshakers looks interesting as well!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/introducing-the-pinshakers-universal-plug-amp-play-shaker-motor-kit#post-5108442

This speaker system rocked my lotr. Highly recommend. Sold by a friend. Check the thread to read reviews of his customer service, etc.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-amplified-subwoofer-kits-by-pinwoofer/page/6#post-5100218

Where did you guys get those speakers mods with the ring?