(Topic ID: 112137)

The Lord of the Rings LOTR Journey begins here members club

By skywalker

9 years ago


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Topic index (key posts)

5 key posts have been marked in this topic

Display key post list sorted by: Post date | Keypost summary | User name

Post #1907 Service bulletin noting lock down bar change Posted by Jarbyjibbo (6 years ago)

Post #4404 The Valinor Strategy Video Posted by CLEllison (4 years ago)

Post #5383 LOTR documentation for silicone rings and LEDs Posted by Daditude (4 years ago)

Post #9244 TECH:PLAYFIELD Opto Driver replacement board warning Posted by PinMonk (1 year ago)


Topic indices are generated from key posts and maintained by Pinside Editors. For more information, or to become an editor yourself read this post!

You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider fatpanda.
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#5144 4 years ago

I'm finally in the club! Picked up a game over the weekend, got it set up and playing with some tweaks. I've played in on location before but it's a completely different game at home, in a GREAT way.

I installed the PBL LOTR special coils for the flippers, and man, it rockets the ball around. One issue is that a left ramp shot will often send the ball flying, sometimes into the shire, sometimes into the left outlane. Any remedies to this?

Otherwise, I'm going to clean it up and get some new rings installed. It came with a set of Cliffys uninstalled, but I'm going to install them when the topside is torn down, unless there's a reason I shouldn't. Anything else that is a "must have" for this game before I place my parts order? Going to get an LCD OCD board as it has LEDs in it. It also already has FF speakers, ColorDMD, and speaker light kit with the acrylic rings.

#5146 4 years ago
Quoted from pipes:

I had installed those on my game and took them out after a few days. I found them to be way too strong. I felt like I was launching a wrecking ball at my playfield. I went with the medium strength coils and I think they're perfect - no issues.

Do you remember which part number?

#5149 4 years ago

I saw the link to his ebay post in another thread. I'll reinstall the original coils for now, and look into getting these some time down the road since it appears that he's away per his ebay posting.

#5151 4 years ago
Quoted from Neal_W:

Slightly loosening the screws that support the middle of the ramp gives it a little wobble/flex, which absorbs some of the speed and helps somewhat.

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to reinstall the OG coils and see how it plays. I was having the right flipper flutter occasionally, and thought that maybe it was the coil, but it turns out it was the flipper switch. Now that it's sorted out, I'll have to see how the OG coil plays.

#5153 4 years ago
Quoted from AUKraut:

Check out the following thread for the LOTR Habitrail mod. I believe he still makes them:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-habitrail-mod

The ball is flying out quite early in the ramp, next to the PotD as it's going uphill. I also have the plastic airball deflector mounted right there, with the inscription cut into it.

#5155 4 years ago

I might have to try something like this if the old coils are lose power and I have to install the new coils
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tech-lotr-fast-balls-flying-off-legalos-ramp

about halfway down.

#5172 4 years ago

I made a deflector and mounted using the bottom right post on the PotD and it seems to have solve the airball issues. Still playing on the high power coils for right now and no airballs after a few games. I like the speed of the high power coils, but I'm afraid it'll break things lol. I also installed the post mod to the left of the ring ramp. It fits very tight with a rubber sleeve installed!

#5175 4 years ago
Quoted from jim5six:

Got my powder coating back and am very happy with how it came out. Gold with a sparkly top coat. Now I can play this thing finally! I need to do that little piece of plastic over the left wire form to stop the ball jump. Looks like it just attaches to the single point under the POTD. Are you guys adding a second mount point to avoid rotation?
-Jim[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

I didnt add a second mount point. I had to find a screw that was 1/4" longer too, and snuggled it tight. Is holding up well so far without any rotation.

My game also had gold powdercoat trim, no sparkles, and I would rather have black, tbh. Gold just isnt my thing.

#5201 4 years ago

Just got finished with a topside teardown, cleaned, waxed, new titans, and 2SMD comets in sunlight white. This game was a bit more difficult then what it looked to be! Gonna do LED OCD board tomorrow. This will be my first time installing one. Anything I need to know? I saw something about connecting it to a computer or something?

#5204 4 years ago
Quoted from AUKraut:

I plugged and played mine, looks great. You can tweak the settings via USB, but I didn't find the need too.

You're right. It looks really great as-is.

#5206 4 years ago

So after my shop job, I've been getting frequent ball traps from the Golem VUK. Specifically, the ball gets stuck between the post that's to the right of Balrog and that wireform. (The VUK kicks the ball up, but the ball sometimes will bounce off of the wireform, and into that space).

Any solutions to this? I'm pretty sure the wireform is installed correctly from when I took it apart, unless I'm missing a washer or something underneath the mounting points?

#5208 4 years ago
Quoted from DCFAN:

Post a picture. Recently someone else posted pictures where the post next to the VUK was on the wrong screw.

I'd have to get one later today. I installed another 1/2'" hex post to extend it up a bit more, it seems to help only marginally. It may be on the wrong screw, but I remember the washer pretty much touching Balrog when he swings to the side.

Found this post here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-begins-members-club/page/9#post-2939475
I'll have to take a look when I get home. This is probably what's going on!

#5210 4 years ago
Quoted from red-line:

I had 2 issues pop up at the same time.
1) when you get 2 balls locked in, the machine kicks out 2 balls instead of 1, and as soon as the 1st ball drains, your ball is over.
2) my right in-lane no longer lights KEEP letters.
I went into a switch test and the in-lane doesn't work.
The last rollover switch in the trough was also not responding in switch test.
My pinball repair knowledge is limited, and this is the newest machine I have by 15 years. Are these both optos? Should I just order new ones and replace? Do I have to remove the entire trough to replace the rollover inside?

First, check for broken wires, and check to make sure the switch isn't loose where it's mounted. Check the switch to see if it's clicking when you press on it.

The trough switch is a rollover switch
https://www.pinballlife.com/data-eastsegastern-ball-detect-blade-with-roller-sub-microswitch-180-5119-02.html

The inlane switch might just be a regular Cherry Microswitch
https://www.pinballlife.com/microswitch-with-diode.html

Or this with the actuator arm
https://www.pinballlife.com/data-eastsegastern-shooter-switch.html

EDIT: Wrong switch linked. Corrected.

#5212 4 years ago

i see in the first couple pages of this thread that there were some people that added computer fans to their flippers for cooling the coils. Is this a worthwhile mod? Any suggestions for which fans to use?

#5214 4 years ago
Quoted from AUKraut:

That was before the different replacement coils came out. Once you swap to the APB coils them overheating is no longer an issue.

APB??

I had the pinball life coils in but swapped the stock ones back in since it was way too strong. The stock coils seemed to be ok after a 20+ min game I played yesterday. I played for about an hour overall but didn't notice any significant flipper issues.

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#5217 4 years ago
Quoted from Jarbyjibbo:

It's covered quite a few times in the thread which is a very good read if you have the time to read through it from the beginning. I try and do that for all my newly purchased pins to get caught up and learn from all the trial and error before me without having to repeat it myself. Several times it has saved my pins from damage and expense.
If you search in the marketplace you'll see them. They are the "medium" LOTR strength coils.

gotcha. I've seen them, and had them in my cart, but decided to wait to see how the stock coils play. I guess it doesn't make any sense to me as I'm sure Stern used these coils in other games at the time, but you don't see anything for the other games. I didn't do any cross-referencing to check, but just seems odd that this game is the only game known for fading coils. I don't necessarily want stronger coils, just coils that play consistently.

Fans seem to be the best compromise and seem relatively cheap and easy to connect in relation to the new higher strength coils.

#5251 4 years ago
Quoted from auspin:

I need to replace one of my potd micro switches as the plastic tab the broke
I'm a newbie and wondering the best way to go about it?
It looks like I could buy the actual db3 micro switch, then resolder the original diode back on.
https://www.pinballlife.com/data-eastsegastern-switch-180-5057-00.html
Other option is I could buy a DB5 Microswitch (which replaces the DB3) with the diode already pre soldered. Would the db5 be okay to use?
https://www.pinballlife.com/microswitch-with-diode.html
Also what is the diode for this one? It's difficult to read. N4004
Any advise appreciated.
Cheers
[quoted image]

Either switch would work. If you get the db5, all you would need to do is transfer the actuator arm. It wouldnt hurt to get a handful of diodes either as you can use them in many other games in many areas including solenoids. 1n4004 is correct.

#5258 4 years ago
Quoted from RGAires:

Is happens to all machines, some are more visible than others, i can live with that... my issue now is if there is a way to restore this small lines on the inserts.

Are they decals? the circular line of dirt indicates that they might be.

#5280 4 years ago

Based on the part numbers in the manual, and on Marco, it appears that 500-6747-00 was replaced with 500-6775-01 and can act as both a transmitter and receiver, so you would be able to replace both with this part.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/500-6775-01
lotr ring opto (resized).jpglotr ring opto (resized).jpg

Same info on Action pinball
http://www.actionpinball.com/parts.php?item=500-6775-01

#5284 4 years ago
Quoted from DCFAN:

It sounds like you are destroying the ring but not getting credit for it because the switch behind the ring is not working.
DTR is not a multiball. If the ball that is captured in the ring falls out of the front then it becomes a multiball by error which is a little unfortunate accident that occasionally happens because of the magnet design.
When DTR is set to 2-ball, you shoot the four shots, then shoot one into the ring magnet that is held, then the next ball is put into play from the shooter lane and you shoot that ball to knock the held ball out of the back of the ring/magnet which destroys the ring.
When DTR is set to 1-ball, you shoot the four shots and then shoot the ring twice to destroy the ring.

Is there any reason to set DTR to two ball instead of one ball? Is it just for the cool effect of having a ball float in the ring while you're trying to shoot for it with a second ball?

#5287 4 years ago
Quoted from DCFAN:

The game was originally designed for 2-ball, but some had problems and they added the 1-ball option. I would guess the problem with the 2-ball was the fuse blowing but I have not found that to be a problem.
I prefer the 2-ball but when I got the game I played with 1-ball for many years before changing the setting. One added bonus of 2-ball is if you drain the 2nd ball then you do not lose your ball and only the DTR mode ends (the ball in the magnet becomes the ball in play). In 1-ball mode you end the ball if you drain.

Good to know. I may have to change this to see what it's like. I'm wondering if balls get magnetized faster if it's being held long and often in DTR? That would be my other concern.

#5301 4 years ago
Quoted from red-line:

It was so close to the palantir that I just removed the short side of that cut, and soldered the long side direct to the palantir. No splicing needed. Thanks for the help, everyone.
Turning it off and unplugging it erased my high scores. Shouldn't the batteries prevent that from happening?

Get NVRAM. Its plug n' play for Whitestar. You won't have to worry about batteries again.

#5324 4 years ago

I just replaced the disc capacitors on my flipper switches and they still flutter at times. When I clip the leg on the capacitors, they seem fine. Do I need the caps installed and am I missing out on some extra power? Do I need to look elsewhere for issues?

1 week later
17
#5350 4 years ago

I'm not sure I could ever do better than this. All 4 shots plus 2x ring shots (2-ball DTR), no misses, stock coils. I surprised even myself!

20191201_191305 (resized).jpg20191201_191305 (resized).jpg
#5356 4 years ago
Quoted from pipes:

No kidding. I can't imagine being able to do it quicker than that though. Awesome stuff fatpanda! It's gotta be those new flipper switches

Ha! You never know! It could have been that the new switches allowed me to stretch my legs a little lol

2 months later
#5554 4 years ago
Quoted from Junglist:

Did anyone find a major power improvement after replacing the cabinet switches? I've seen comments that Stern had issues in early run LOTR and Sopranos. Were these the ones used for replacement? https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/500-6889-01 . Is there a good way to diagnose to see if the current cabinet switches are in fact flaky? The switch test shows them functional 100% but not sure how reliable that is for game play impact.
It looks like they are shorter than stock switches, so what's the best technique to mount them?

I replaced my flipper switches after I found that the flippers would flutter intermittnetly during a game. The paliney style switches are correct. I think Pinball Life has a better price on them if you care about that. I've been able to get 2-ball DTR on longer games with stock coils with no problems. I think the flipper switch was part of the problem.

#5556 4 years ago
Quoted from paynemic:

Can you send a pbl link please?

Pretty sure it's this one but check against the manual

https://www.pinballlife.com/stern-flipper-leaf-switch-single-contact.html

3 weeks later
#5641 4 years ago
Quoted from pipes:

So, I’ve been having some issues with the left flipper on my game and determined that it has something to do with the switch itself. I looked up the part# (180-5160-00) in the manual. On Marcos site it says to use SW-10A-48 as a replacement so I ordered a couple. I went to replace them and see that the original switches on my game each have a capacitor on them and the new ones do not. Am I okay to use the new switches without the capacitors?
[quoted image][quoted image]

Those switches are incorrect and won't work. You need the "Paliney" or "Palinery" style switches. Marco really needs to update that description.

This is the correct part
https://www.pinballlife.com/stern-flipper-leaf-switch-single-contact.html
https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=paliney

http://pbresource.com/buttswit.html
Single Palinery Contact Flipper Button

Sega/Stern Flipper Button Switch

500-6889-01

Stern Replacement for
500-6889-00
180-5160-00

DE-500-688901 $20.01

#5645 4 years ago
Quoted from pipes:

Well that sucks. Just ordered the correct switches, thank you for the info - much appreciated!

I did the same thing. Thankfully, I can use them in other games. The switches you ordered are high voltage switches that are typically used in classic Ballys, Sterns, and other in that era, probably up through the mid 80s, so if you have any of those games, they might work.

#5647 4 years ago
Quoted from pipes:

Unfortunately I don't and never plan to so they're not going to be of any use to me. Ugh. Given how expensive this hobby is already, it really sucks to toss money out the window like that. I didn't buy them from Marco but I did use their site as reference to make sure I was buying the right part from my local supplier - wow that worked out really well.

That's too bad. I think you're missing out on a whole different world of pinball with early SS games Maybe there's another local pinhead that can use them. Of course, I have a ton of "extra" parts that I've bought "just in case."

Marco is usually good with their cross-referencing. I use that site the same way. I'm not sure if it is just this particular switch with this particular game?

#5654 4 years ago
Quoted from insx:

Has anyone else had an LED fail on the Elf/Dwarf/Man board? I'm thinking that LEDs are pretty reliable so it's probably a solder joint with the connector.

Yes, I had 2 Elf LEDs fail on me. I replaced all 3 of them. It wasn't due to a solder joint or connector.

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