Happy to say I am officially part of the Fellowship. Slowly but surely making my way through all the older posts to decide which mods to go with (Color DMD, palantir, etc…).

In the meantime, would anyone know which size hex nut caps the slings? Just noticed it is missing. Thanks!

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AUKraut Jarbyjibbo
Thanks. I would like to get the ColorDMD but am still trying to resolve an issue with one that was just put into my TSPP. The display registers and shows the correct image when a shot is made but when the ball is in play it cycles through and displays random other images. ColorDMD support says it’s a communication error from the board to the CPU and recommended the 26-pin be removed and put back in but when I did that it didn’t resolve the issue. So until I get that fixed and have confidence in the ColorDMD I’ll hold off on getting one for LOTR. I have been bookmarking posts on this thread and will need to look into Pinsound.

Yeah, I think I need to swap out ribbon cables and see if that fixes it. I wasn’t the one who actually installed the ColorDMD but when I played a game after it was in everything was fine. Then 2-3 weeks later I fired it up again, noticed the display wasn’t showing properly (in high scores “BRIAN” was showing as “BRIAJ” and was showing random messages like “49 balls are missing”). When in play it then cycled through random images but when I hit the shots the correct one displayed. I think when we initially instead it I downloaded the wrong game file from the ColorDMD before downloading/installing the right one into the display but hope that’s not causing the issue.

Nevertheless, once I get that fixed I’ll surely get one for the LOTR. I’ve cycled through most of these posts and here’s my list in order for the LOTR LE I just acquired, which has no mods:

-silly old elf art blades (currently out of stock, sent PM inquiring about next run)
-shaker motor (LE software is compatible but I still need to purchase/install, correct?)
-ColorDMD
-Palantir mod (2 versions seem available)
-NVRAM
-POTD (need to source figures, then purchase acrylic and lighting)
-Anduril sword ramp
-Arwen plastic protector
-Pinsound (lowest priority since I’d have no idea how to install)
-Custom plunger
-Carbon balls (if experienced magnetism issues)

Mine has incandescent so will leave it as is.

Anyone know what the flipper adj setting does? Seems to have 3 settings (Adj 1, Adj 2, Adj 3).

I’m finding the flipper to be a bit weak for my taste to get up the center ramp and into the ring. Does that mean I should consider a coil replacement (medium strength?) or can I change those settings to make it stronger?

LOTR_breath Jarbyjibbo

Thanks. I did see previous posts about medium coils and no mention of a flipper strength adjustment setting. I believe on my newer Stern there’s actually a flipper strength setting but it sounds like that wasn’t an option for the older ones.

Is there a “right way” to put these decal stickers on? I was thinking just popping off the glass and putting them on. Should I wipe off the target first (with anything specific?) or should I be fine just sticking them on?

Also noticed that factory machines have the metal dot in the middle of their “stickers” but if I put these on it would cover the dot. Guessing that wouldn’t be a problem?

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How do your POTD figures stay on? Are they just glued down to it? Do they also light up or are they the figures only?

Potential spoiler alert…

…but figure it’s fine since this game has been out for almost 20 years.

One month into ownership and just have to say this game is as good as I hoped it would be. Love the theme and still learning the gameplay as apparently after many games I thought I understood everything. However, a couple of nights ago I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my efforts against Saruman weren’t over after being sent to the top of the tower and the display showing me the “Gandalf vs. Saruman” total. One additional shot up the middle continued the journey. I tried to replicate it again but it looked like that additional shot changed to Merry’s. Does that shot rotate or was I not paying attention?

Are there any other episodes that have continued scenes after showing the episode’s total by making additional shots?

Great, I’ll definitely read up on that at some point. For the time being I don’t mind learning live and being pleasantly surprised.

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.

What’s weird is that this happened to me this morning. I considered it a one off and opened the door and manually plunged it into the lane. I’ll monitor going forward as my machine had some weird things happening this morning so hoping it will be back to normal when I play next.

For instance, this morning when starting a new game and plunging the ball from shooter lane past the right orbit the “Merry” switch gets activated automatically, therefore picking him up immediately. I don’t think that has happened before. Then when plunging ball 2 after Merry was deemed collected it still activated that switch and gives off updates like “3 Rings of Men”. It’s not normal for that switch to be activated right from the start, right?

Another thing that happened this morning was when in multiball the auto plunger doesn’t kick off all the time so there end up being 2 or more balls in the lane. It eventually goes to ball search and then kicks them to the playfield but I even had 3 balls get stuck where the auto plunger didn’t have the muster to shoot them all into the playfield so had to take off the glass to do so.

I’m hoping today was a total fluke and will try back later but if these have been common issues with others then I’d appreciate any insight, thanks.

Would someone mind confirming that the bracket switch shown shouldn’t register (as Merry) when the game immediately starts and you plunge a ball through the right orbit? Mine is so it collects Merry right away. If I plunge softly with not enough speed to pass through it, but instead it falls backwards down the right orbit it hits what I presume is the correct Merry switch that’s on the playfield but even then it seems to collect Merry. This is the first time I recall getting Merry regardless of which switch so that doesn’t seem to be correct and not sure why the game is registering that shot right away.

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Are the medium coils applicable for the LE versions also? I have an LE and feel like the flippers are pretty weak but thought I read somewhere that the LE shouldn’t need these special coils.

Want to be sure I’m not being paranoid as I never really paid attention to it before. When your multiballs start (FOTR, TT, ROTK, Ring Frenzy) is it normal for 2 balls to get kicked into the lane, then after a brief pause the auto plunger pushes them both into the playfield?

Never really noticed but thought it would have been one kicked into the lane and then plunged, then another after.

Are those still being sold? I didn’t see anything on the market a couple of months ago and reached out to him directly but don’t recall receiving a reply.

My two cents as a fairly fellow pinball noob echoes what others have said about supply and demand. I was kind of in the same boat as you trying to decide what next (newer) Stern was on deck with Jurassic Park in mind but when a local opportunity to get a LOTR came up I didn’t want to miss out. I actually purchased my LOTR about less than a year ago after playing it less than 5 times total and not knowing all the rules. I don’t regret it at at all and it’s actually been more fun figuring out the gameplay. It’s probably the pin I play the most now and even though there are longer ball times I actually like the callouts and such. My thought process was that I’m in the “accumulation” phase where I would hold onto them forever (although that may be flawed thinking based on what everyone says) so when an local opportunity came up I jumped on it. Who knows when the next chance to get one would have presented itself. Note that it was one of the dream themes for me so FOMO was real. I’m still looking to get a Jurassic Park but am less stressed knowing they will be around for a while and easier to get than an older pin.

I may have missed it but how does one purchase this V2 Palantir? I don’t see anything on the market place so is it direct via email?

Ditto, I find the non multiball Balrog annoying, didn’t know we can turn that off so will also look to do so.

Is the Consolation Balrog LOTR game adjustment 34 the one to control whether the Balrog blocks the ring path? If so I should turn to No to disable I presume?

Well, I’m finally mustering up the courage to try to install the 2Niro Palantir v2 mod. My only modding experience this far has been successfully swapping out the Cointaker plastic with elvish writing on it…just for reference of how limited my skills are.

I’ve watched the YouTube videos and read the instructions. Not sure if it’s totally straight forward because the YouTube was made for v1 but hoping I’m following correctly.

Here’s my plan of attack so please call me out where I’m off.
Here’s what came in the package. My first thing to do is to swap out the control board from the original, which seems to be the this other pic.
Second is to follow the instructions to put on the globe and put the yellow connections cable underneath.

Now for the part I’m hoping someone can provide clarification. The YouTube video shows the yellow 2Niro part plugging into the power cable from the original bulb at the top of the 2Niro block but this version has a 5 prong cable that looks like it should feed into the control board. Is that correct? The original bulb power seems to be a 2 prong so not sure where I’m supposed to connect that to any of the parts that came with the Palantir.

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Ok, after re-watching the New Control System video my understanding is that all 3 parts plug into each other, as shown in the pic below. Is that correct?

That would mean I would uninstall the original Palantir bulb and nothing gets re-attached to it so it is an open / unused cable going forward?

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Yeah you’re right, good catch. I’m glad to report that the install was successful and pretty straight forward! Attached is the picture of the control board I replaced, only providing because it is upside down compared to the New Control Board video so YMMV.

I will say this is a sweet mod. Seeing the eye as expected is a cool upgrade against the stock Palantir. I was expecting the Gollum visual to only come up when I’ve captured the 9 rings of men and initiate only when the Gollum multiball is triggered but the video appears every time the ball gets into the Gollum/Gimli shot. Definitely not complaining. Also, the one time I was looking when I did activate the Gollum multiball it did appear the video was in sych with the audio which was cool.

Definitely recommend this mod. If I can install then I’m sure anyone can as this was my first real mod ever to put in.

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I don’t want to mislead anyone as it seems the video synching with the Gollum audio may have been a coincidence as I haven’t experienced it again the few times I’ve initiated Gollum multiball.

Still recommend the mod regardless.

Dang that end credits music gave me chills. What’s the best way for me to purchase this so called Pinsound?

Does it come with the audio already included or is there an entirely separate process to download preferred tracks? I guess I should search for the Pinsound forum.

Mine still have the originals I believe and I need to cradle to get up the ramp. Is it widely recommended to get these medium coils? I read when people have swapped out it was too strong and they reverted back but that may have been with the stronger ones.

I have haven’t and think they may be original.

What goes into rebuilding flippers? Are there a recommended rebuild kits I can purchase?

Also, would i then rebuild flippers first or would I look to replace and install the medium coils at the same time?

Thanks. I’ll add to the list of work to get done (still need a color dmd so can probably live with the flippers as they are for a bit.)

Did you use a specific glue to keep them on?

So this may be pretty random but when I got my LOTR it came with the original box, which I’ve kept in the basement storage area. Thought it would be cool to have but am now I’m thinking about tossing to free up space as I’ve run out of storage.

Anyone think it a good idea to keep?

This is the exact answer I was looking for, ha ha. Right now I have 2 boxes that are in the same shape from when they came so will definitely break them down flat to clear up some space. Not sure why I didn’t think of this earlier so thanks!

About to place an order for a shaker motor when I remembered this post. Is it safe to order the Silly Old Elf rendition Art Blades from Pinballlife now and expect them to apply the same as the Stern art blades?

Were all of the action figures that came with the non LE versions sourced from the “Armies of Middle Earth” series?

If so, we’re Legolas and Gimli included?

I know that’s what’s recommended for the path of the dead. After sitting on some figures for a year or so I think I’m going to add them to the playfield. Any recommendations on what to use so they stick?

Awesome, thanks. This is what I was looking for.

I purchased mine from the original owner and it had Frodo, Gollum, Sam, Merry and Pippin on it but also included Aragorn, Saruman, Gandalf with Shadowfax, a Uruk Hai and the dark rider in ziploc bags. I didn’t notice a Legolas, Gimli or Boromir so maybe even the originals didn’t have those three which is odd since they round out the fellowship.

I do see 3 packs that contain those in the AOME collection so will probably get them.

Is superglue a good option to use or is there something better people recommend?

I purchased a shaker motor to install into my LE a year or so ago but haven’t gotten around to it yet. This past week I installed shaker motors for the first time into my other newer Stern machines and realized it was pretty straight forward so decided to open the LOTR shaker to see this.

Not sure what I’m supposed to do with the cables and interface board so unfortunately not as straightforward as bolting it down and plugging in.

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Awesome, thanks!

For some reason I couldn’t find it using the search feature and I may have asked this already but does anyone know where I can find a link to the medium powered flippers?

I recall someone saying that a shop doesn’t exist but a user (Andrew?) lists them on eBay?

EDIT: I found previous posts that there were special coils from Andrew @ APB Enterprises. However, it seems his Pinside shop is no longer active and the eBay listings aren’t there. Does anyone know if these are still available?

Ah, I just found it via post 9595.

My flipper strength in long games gets weaker and weaker. Almost to the point where I’m almost slinging the ball to get up the ramp and when in the 2-ball DTR mode it doesn’t have enough power to knock the ball out of the ring. I recalled reading about these coils about a year ago and never followed through but may now place an order.

Yeah, I’m not sure how the Pinball Life coils are now but the comments years ago were comparing their coils to the APB ones and saying the PBL ones were a bit too powerful whereas the APB ones were just right. Good to have options though.

The previous posts spoke to this where the PBL ones seem to be too powerful off the bat but these Marco/APB ones seem to be just right. I'm not sure what that really means but hopefully anyone whose had the PBL or Marco/ABP ones can chime in with their recent experience as what I read was from over 5 years ago.

I finally got around to installing a ColorDMD in my LOTR. The install was fine where I used the provided Color DMD power cable to the open 5v cable I had near the coin box.

Game powers up as expected, I was able to download and install the ROM and screen showing color which is way better than the orange screen before.

However, I now noticed that some of the lights now longer work. Specifically the K in KEEP, the O in ORC, and the Legolas and Pippin lights. There may be others but I’ll need to continue playing some modes to verify. Anyone know what the issue may be? Seems like a power but again I plugged the power cable back into the regular power control display panel and the color dmd now has power to the open 5v per the instructions…

Edit: Gimli and Aragorn no longer flash either. Nor do the Pippin and Boromir circle across the bottom of the playfield.

Thanks, any chance it’s this loose wire? If so, any idea where it should be connected to?

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Thanks. Dumb question but isn’t the power board in the back box?

This is a yellow-brown wire on the bottom of the playfield. I’m hoping I didn’t sever it when putting the playfield back in. It doesn’t seem like it has any give and I don’t see the other piece if I did accidentally cut it. Although it seems like it would be the culprit but I really don’t see where that would go to since it’s just commingled with a bunch of wires and doesn’t seem to have enough slack to go anywhere.

Yeah I don’t see one 10 pin connector that fits that description.

I guess my fear is that the molex connectors don’t have a wire that seems to be missing so would this open wire mean it’s more than likely that it got cut in half and therefore isn’t supplying the power to the right sources?

The only counter to that is I don’t see the other side of the wire. I’ll keep looking but may need to get a tech out to resolve.

Awesome, thanks. I appreciate it.

I think I saw that and it wasn’t missing anything but I’ll check again in the morning.

Another thing I’ll check in the morning. I did open the tubing but didn’t see another piece but will take another look.

Assuming that I did sever it, is it a pretty easy fix? I’m guessing I need to get the wire replaced and routed to all the respective lights, which doesn’t sound like a quick job?

Finally found the other piece. So here’s where my lack of k wiring/soldering knowledge sticks out…can I just twist the medal fiber wires together and try to stick back in?

I’m guessing not and I’d need to exposure the wire on other piece and solder together?

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Nope, only thing I’ve done with this machine is install the Palantir mod a year or so ago and then just recently the color dmd 2 days ago. The only thing I can think of is it maybe getting caught when I raised the playfield up but it does seem odd that it appears so clean.

Is this metal piece that sticks up at the back of the Orthanc tower normal? I never noticed it before but I was having a good game and trying to hit the Gift of the Elves shot for my 5th slice. I usually use the bottom right flipper and wrap the Pippin shot all the way around but for some reason even if I hit a good shot it lost momentum just around the Orthanc shot. Wasn’t happening before in the game.

Then I saw this sticking up and during the game I was thinking if it was like a code to make the last couple slices more challenging but when I drained and started a new game this piece still seems to be up.

Edit: Just played a quick game and even the plunger shot was getting caught on the metal sticking up, forcing the ball into the Orthanc tower. Then when I hit a Merry shot that wrapped around it went over the metal knob post and the post went and stayed down. Is this a gameplay thing where the post comes up and stays up intentionally?
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Ah, ok thanks.

Would you happen to know which shots should trigger that diverted? I know the orbit shots for The War of the Ents mode does.

However, when I just qualified Pippin it seems to divert the ball into the Orthanc tower so not sure if that’s correct or not. It may make sense so it doesn’t go all the way to Baradur but a subsequent left orbit shot after Pippin was qualified did make it all the way to Baradur. Then when doing the Witch King mode I hit the left orbit and it diverted into the Orthanc tower.

I can’t recall if this is normal or not as I never really paid attention before. The diverter does seem to be working so I think it would be weird if it’s randomly triggering on orbit shots.