(Topic ID: 112137)

The Lord of the Rings LOTR Journey begins here members club

By skywalker

9 years ago


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5 key posts have been marked in this topic

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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)


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#3891 5 years ago

I just put an NVRAM in our machine. Love it. My wife is a better pinball player than I am, she destroyed the Ring in 36 seconds, but then the batteries gave out. That was sad. She was urine'd off to say the least

When we went back in and re-worked the settings we left extended attract mode on. I have read that this can stress the game, and not to use it if it's a location machine.

Anyway, last night I had it on and I noticed that the display was just going blank. And the only light blinking was the Barad-dur light (which is part of the extended attract mode display). So I turned the game off, turned it back on and it did the same thing. So then, went into settings, set that to OFF and it still did it. Turned the game off, turned it back on this morning and it hasn't done it since.

Extended attract mode in this game goes through the lore poem, and uses various parts of the playfield as it does it. It's cool, but I wouldn't leave it on. For good measure, this morning, I reset the cable for the display.

But anyway, I have only added a four ghost Army of the Dead platform above the POTD. It looks really cool. That's the only mod. Game ROM's are 9, as I bought it. It is remarkably clean and in remarkably good shape, almost like new, but I may be somewhat subjective. Only issue I have ever had with it is the right VUK. It gets quirky and will not eject the ball from time to time. And just in the last two weeks, I had to replace the pop-bumper flasher transistor on the board, as those flashers were not working anymore. It took me longer to take the board off, and put it back in the box than it did to remove the old one and solder the new back on LOL.

I am the second owner of this game, bought it in early 2007 from the original owner who had to sell it because of space consideration. It's a great game, and I recommend it to anybody that has the money to find, and then purchase, it.

oh btw, no LED's yet. Not sure if I want to go there, and it's my wife's call. It's her game, I just work on it

#3937 5 years ago
Quoted from BOBCADE:

Mine has been on since it was unboxed and no issues. Why would you think it stresses it?

I read it, and I can't remember where. It was just 3-4 weeks ago, about the time I was in the process of getting the NVRAM for the game. I knew that I would have to go through and reset the game once I pulled the batteries. The nature of what I read was that, as it applies to setting the game up for play, if your machine is used as a location machine, that option might want to be set to off.

It wasn't a pro or con type of thing, just a settings recommendation. And then I had the issue I discussed. The first thing I noticed when I realized something was wrong was not only the screen blank, but Barad-dur doing what it does during that extended attract skit. And the playfield was shut down as it gets when you have that setting on ON. The game has been fine since I set Extended Attract Mode to off.

#3963 5 years ago

https://test.pinballrom.com/the-lord-of-the-rings.html

Added Feature Adjustment 36 "EXTENDED ATTRACT MODE". Can be set ON or OFF (default is OFF). When ON, the 4th then every 8th pass through attract mode will show the One Ring poem and accompanying light show. I DO NOT recommend you turn this on in a location game as it will tax the Ring and Eye flashers.

1 month later
#4157 4 years ago
Quoted from Chalkey:

I really, really wish I installed the NVRAM I got right before I did this but it has to go away forever. My best score yet by at least 2x.
[quoted image]

Isn't the high score capped at 250 million on the original production runs of this game?

Nice job btw, sorry you had to lose that.

btw, still having quirky issues with that right VUK. It knows the ball is there, but it takes it's good ol time sometimes kicking the ball up, usually ending up in ball search mode, and of course always right in the middle of a game.

Grrrr....

4 months later
#4698 4 years ago
Quoted from lpeters82:

Has anyone added a "Twilight Frodo" figure to their game? I know it's already loaded with figures, but I thought this one might look cool illuminated by the Ringwraith. I'm actually debating about removing the red flasher and just using a glowing figure instead.
[quoted image]

Where would I get this figure? A search returns many Twilight Frodo's, but not that one. Thanks in advance.

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#4700 4 years ago

tyvm

#4713 4 years ago

Flashing eye mod arrived, and was installed, this morning.

Palantir mod is on it's way

eta

I had to pull the playfield out - dropped screw - and a tiny piece of the corner of the playfield plastic mirror behind Barad-dur got caught. I wasn't even being reckless and have done this many times, but it got caught for some reason this time. Found the two broken pieces, glued them back into place. The decal is good. There is a stress crack that works it's way down from 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock, not quite halfway. It's not really noticeable, but I know it's there. Is that piece replaceable, and by that I mean is it available from somebody or somewhere?

I can live with it, just ticks me off. At least it didn't crack severely.

eta part II

it is a stress crack, similar to what happens on the Arwen piece coming down from the POTD. I have installed the protectors on those so the crack doesn't get worse and actually break through and chip.

#4715 4 years ago

update

found the mirror piece at Marco, but I don't think it has the art.

#4717 4 years ago
Quoted from DCFAN:

It probably has the art under a protective layer to peel off.

yes, it does

#4718 4 years ago

I called them, they said that it did not. I imagine the mirror back for a fix or an upgrade to the art in the form of a mod would be more expensive.

edit to add:

You have to buy the decals separately.

#4727 4 years ago

I am always happy when a fuse is the culprit, especially when you replace it and everything is fine

Gratz on the NIB. That's cool.

2 weeks later
#4829 4 years ago

Got the palantir mod - Ministry of Pinball version.

I don't like it. A smaller ball and one LED. That's it.

I like the ball without the screw, but it is difficult to mount over the enclosed LED. The rubber grommet is just a bit too small to stay in the hole where the original light with the condom came through.

Anyway, with a little glue I got it to stick, but that was not going to last forever with the vibration present during normal play. When I powered it up to check out the LED it burnt right up. Probably a bad bulb or maybe another issue. The old bulb did, and does, work fine. Maybe the pin that holds the gasket against the bracket made contact with the LED and shorted it right out. Thing is, it shouldn't be that tight.

But whatever....

I ended up drilling out the smaller hole where the original ball sat, and installed it there with the condom bulb in it's original position.

I have no issue with Ministry of Pinball on this item, they did their part, but it's not worth the thirty-three bucks I spent on it.

As to the original ball, I tried hard not to, but it got destroyed trying to remove it. So I had to make this work. It looks better, but I'm not happy. Not sure why this is a popular mod, but to each their own

#4837 4 years ago

I have seen that palantir, it is cool, but I am not very receptive to going LED and I am not as into mods as some of y'all.

To date, the only mods on the game for me have been a four ghost POTD mod, the flashing eye in the backbox and the twilight Frodo in front of the riding wraith. That AOME kit also came with two wraiths (attack on Weathertop fashion), which I put on the plastics at the top of the sword. They look pretty cool.

Anyway, the biggest issue I had with what I bought was the rubber o-ring. In my opinion, it should be a grommet, and slightly bigger than the "o-ring" included with the kit. That would have been perfect.

I do like the new crystal, and it doesn't look bad mounted in the stock palantir frame hole.

I don't think it was an LED power issue with the bulb I received, I believe it was so tight in that back hole that the retaining clip made contact with the LED and shorted it. I could tell it was a tight fit, when attempting to secure it during final installation. Shouldn't have needed the glue. I may try to find a rubber grommet and attempt the installation again.

thanks for the replies, much appreciated

edit to add

the o-ring that came with the kit fit inside that back hole.... loosely.

#4853 4 years ago
Quoted from insx:

I joined the club on Sunday with a slightly tatty machine but everything plays great. My Palantir target is leaning badly, does anyone know if the "Stern pinball target support" on Thingiverse fits it?

welcome aboard

#4854 4 years ago

my mods, minus the eye flasher in the backbox

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#4863 4 years ago

btw, from time to time it is a good idea to clean those balls. Good for your playfield. Replace if they looked severely nicked up.

I use a Lyman tumbler with walnut media. It does a great job polishing pinballs.

#4868 4 years ago

I have the Turbo 1200 Pro. I use untreated walnut media

1 month later
#5271 4 years ago

Been some time since I visited this forum.

My scoring display started to freeze from time to time. It's the factory DMD. The game would play, but the display would stay frozen, or just be blank. Turning the game off then back on, cleared the issue. But it started becoming more frequent.

I jiggled the two wire plug on the DMD board at the lower left as you look at the game, and got it to unfreeze one time, but then decided since I had it off that I would replace the two capacitors on the DMD board. That was ten days ago, and no freezes since.

I had been leaning toward replacing the caps on all of the boards anyway, since the game is 15 years old. I'm putting that on the to do list for this winter.

#5272 4 years ago
Quoted from PantherCityPins:

Woo hoo! I got to There and Back Again for the first time tonight! Started 5 multiballs, completed The Two Towers multiball and three modes. Got to Destroy the Ring but did not destroy it. I still have yet to do that. Set a personal best of 169 million! Going to sleep well tonight.

Gratz and well done. My bride had a DTR time of 36 seconds. Didn't take a picture of it, and then the batteries went bad and corroded just a little bit. Not enough to do any damage (caught it early enough), so cleaned up what little acid dust was on there, got that off the board and went with NVRAM. But all of those times were gone. This past summer she got DTR again, this time in 1:42.

Some have mentioned that the ball doesn't always go through the ring. In our experience, that is normal. Annoying when you're trying to DTR, but basically normal.

If the ball never sticks in there, check the fuse in the backbox.

#5273 4 years ago
Quoted from RGAires:

I have Novus 2 in the house, for sure i can try that...

I use a moist cloth to clean those up. Just lightly moisted terry-cloth with tap water. Distilled water would be fine if you have some handy. You can even remove them with a light bit of good wax, if you do it properly. You can even lick your finger and gently rub it out. I guess the marker is how easy they come up, which is probably directly proportional to how often the field is cleaned and waxed, which will be (or should be) dictated by how often the game is played.

I don't use Novus on my play fields. While it is a good cleaner, it also has a degrading effect on the clear applied to the playfield. This is over time. Take this fwiw, but if you're going to use Novus, apply wax after cleaning the affected area. It's a good idea to clean and wax the playfield on a regular basis anyway, so the less "corrosive" the cleaning medium, the longer the life from the playfield. There are many opinions on this, do a search and come to your own conclusions. A good hard wax, polished in, will also take care of a large portion of scratches or imperfections that come with normal use.

It can be a crapshoot when it comes to opinions on this, so dig in and read what others say. And when your head starts to hurt and your mind starts to fry.... you'll know you're a pinball addict

#5274 4 years ago

oh, don't forget

clean/swap your balls on a regular basis

#5306 4 years ago
Quoted from Jarbyjibbo:

Color DMD is great on LOTR. That would be my solution

I like the way you think.

#5307 4 years ago
Quoted from Forum-ninja:

3 shots from valinor again! Been so close so many times,almost frustrating.[quoted image][quoted image]

Outstanding DTR time. Well done.

As to that high score, I asked this once before, and got no answer. I want to try again. Is the score limit capped on older software revisions of this game. I was told by the original owner of my game (I'm the second owner), that 250 million was as high as it would score.

Is that true? I'm running version 9 on my game.

#5308 4 years ago
Quoted from red-line:

Oh shit, really. I thought there was soldering involved. Awesome

Nope, just pull the old one out, and pop the NVRAM in.

2 years later
#8800 1 year ago

I have a set of plastics that I am going to put up for sale. I bought them for spares some years ago, but have never needed them. They have been stored in the original bag, in a room that averages about 50-53% humidity year round. I would like to sell the entire set, but will consider breaking it up for interested buyers if it comes to that. I am working on getting pictures together before I go live with the sale. Hopefully, in the next 2-3 days, plus I want to get a proper box and a shipping quote before going live so there are no mysteries about the total cost. They still have the original protectors and look a bit foggy, but that is normal over time.

#8803 1 year ago

Pictures of the plastic set I'm selling, $170, plus shipping. Not sure what the shipping costs will be, as I need to get a box made. I'm hoping to have that information by tomorrow. I haven't shipped anything of this nature since before Covid, and I know everything has went up. I will get a price, so I do not under or over charge on shipping. I purchased this set from Pinball Life, 10/4/18, part number 803-5000-80.

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#8812 1 year ago

Plastic set sold. Thanks for the interest.

#8815 1 year ago
Quoted from DragonLord:

Nice looking machine! I love the gold powder coating.

+1

1 month later
#8999 1 year ago

Long overdue, but a major cleaning of the playfield was the task for today. Tedious and time consuming, but relatively smooth. Got a few touch-ups to do tomorrow then a good wax job. So, almost 16 year in and no major problems with the playfield. The clear still looks really good. Gotta love Naptha, does a remarkable job on playfields, plastics and rubber. Finally went LED for the Orthanc light. Standard 44's do not seem to last long for some reason in that particular socket.

#9000 1 year ago

More cleaning today. The ring ramp post has to be replaced. Got one on order. Pulled both ramps to clean, and put a mylar strip down which overlaps (precedes) the front of each ramp by approximately 1/16 of an inch. Don't really think it's necessary but have wanted to do it for a long time. Underneath the ramp, other than accumulated grime, and not much at that, the clear and paint was in excellent shape. The ring ramp was always off a bit, to the left, but it's off a bit more now. The game always played well so I ignored the ring ramp post, but after taking it off today, it just did not go back on properly, so can't ignore it anymore. Going to work on adjusting it back tomorrow, but the ball goes through the ring with no issue. It just looks off. As old incandescent 44's burn out, I am replacing them with LED's.

Twenty years old next year, 17 of those years in our home and it is still in excellent shape.

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#9003 1 year ago
Quoted from pinballlife:

Such a classic game.
I've owned one for 18 years and still love it.
All this talk of cleaning makes me want to take a closer look at mine. Alrhough I've keep it *shopped* and maintained all these years, I'm sure it could use a deep cleaning at this point.

Check the balls. And check the faces of the fellowship on the playfield. If they look like they got little blackheads on their face.... might want to take some naptha to it LOL. As for the balls, I usually put them in a dry tumbler. About twenty minutes in it, and they are nice and shiny. I spray them down with 90% alcohol, then wipe them dry and put them back in the machine. I try to do that every couple of weeks. Hopefully, now that the playfield has a deep clean on it, maybe I can spread that out.

My playfield cleaned up very well. It really wasn't that bad, except for trying to get into tight areas while trying not to break Gandalf's staff LOLOL....

but I should have attended to this before now. The clear still looks really good, even in the heavily trafficked areas. I'm going to get around to a flipper rebuild sometime next year. Flippers still play well, but they are twenty years old. I have taken care of the game, but it needs some of the special love I have been giving to the restoration and clean-up of my Fireball

#9004 1 year ago

Here's a pic of the gameroom, LOTR sandwiched between Fireball and Fireball II. The lights are a bit bright. I have to get around to doing some good photography. Phones take good pictures, but....

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#9011 1 year ago
Quoted from jazc4:

You may already know, but the best advice I can give is: Take too many pictures and videos; and be patient. In the videos I talk describing how things come apart and the order of reassembly. I'm sure it will go well for you.

Yeah, take a lot of pictures. I pulled my POTD stuff off today to get to the left upper lane. There is some ball travel lines that I just could not get out, with still so much left on the playfield. I cut out some mylar after cleaning thoroughly and put it in place. That may be the hardest part of the playfield to get to without tearing a whole lot of stuff down to get to it.

The mylar is not obvious, and it doesn't distract from the look of the playfield. It is good cheap insurance, applied judiciously and sparingly, imo. Here's a shot of the playfield, before disassembly began.

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#9012 1 year ago
Quoted from blizz81:

I’m ready to embark on my teardown/shop job myself. I’ve done what I could with the playfield all in place as far as cleaning but it’s time for a thorough job + replacing all rubbers + fixing my shire up. We’ll see if I get brave enough to attempt some shooter lane TLC too, would be the first time for me.
[quoted image]

I like the gold legs and lockbar.

#9013 1 year ago

While I had the playfield up this week, decided to write down the stamps on the edges of the playfield

Right side: Weber Playfield 20 1/4 x 45 17/32 7 Churchill Cabinet CDD0WK7ABC

Front: CG 12 19 03 Dec 13, 2003

One other thing I decided to tackle, the ring ramp. I've got the Post Kit replacement on the way from Pinball Life. The damage done to the left side of that ramp was pretty awesome, not in a good way. So, I took it off of the machine and took the dremel to it. It was pretty torn up, but it looks much better now, although some of the finish, unfortunately, was lost in the process. What finish I had to take off, was bent around, jagged and sharp. I'm really happy that no damage to the playfield occurred. The ball really took the hammer to that left front edge, literally beating a concave dent into the ramp. It would probably devalue the game somewhat, even though we have no plans to ever sell it.

Looking forward to getting the new kit and installing it.

#9016 1 year ago
Quoted from blizz81:

Somehow the left post issue had eluded me until recently noticing it mentioned in the thread. Of course I have a little playfield damage there. Will be getting the PBL post and putting some mylar down to keep the damage as is.

I was fortunate, there was no playfield damage. The post and the ramp took all of the damage. I'm being repetitive, but while you have the ramp off of the machine, or at least unattached, a couple of little squares of mylar under the ramp lip, slightly overlapping it in front, might be a cheap piece of insurance.

I don't know whether you can see it in the pictures, which I suppose is the point The playfield is cut out where the ramps begins, so it's easy to get the mylar in place, and then trim it around the inside edge of the front and side parts of the square, so the screw holes are not blocked for reinstallation.
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And here is as good a picture as I can get of the damage done to the ring ramp, and what it looks like after repair. I didn't dremel out anything in the concave section, the ball did all of that.

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#9019 1 year ago
Quoted from blizz81:

I assume the ramp damage is the left side getting bashed into a concave shape / the edge basically peeling back? Seems cosmetic/that it wouldn’t affect gameplay at least? Pic of playfield damage at post supplied for additional ughs.
[quoted image][quoted image]

Yep, that's what mine looked like. I guess it's a good thing that the metal just folds back. That stuff was sharp, imagine the damage it could do to the playfield if even a small piece broke loose in play.

Odd thing about it, even though the ramp post is, relatively, in place, the ball still did some major league damage to that area.

#9022 1 year ago
Quoted from Sorokyl:

Since nobody is doing the habit trail mod now (that I know of), I gave it a go on my own. If you look closely it's obvious someone did it haphazardly with some pliers but at a glance it looks stock and definitely better than the plastic. I had taken the plastic off weeks ago and lost a ball due to this ramp almost every game, so very glad for it to be playable again!
If anyone wants to give it a go, 14inch brass rods are pretty cheap on Amazon, and that gave me a couple of inches to spare.
[quoted image]

What exactly does that mod accomplish? Is it cosmetic, or does it actually enhance/improve play? Is that the piece of plastic that is riveted?

#9027 1 year ago
Quoted from Ranpastrana:

Hey guys. So, i did something negligent today. I had all metal powdercoated and i have having a great time pitting everything together. So time came to reposition my back box and forgot to thoroughly check to make sure no cables where caught. So i caught the main dmd power cable right with the dame latch on the game. And i turned on. Stupid of me. Now non of the leds on the main board are on.
The game lights up but now dmd doesn't work and no power of the board. Do you guys know where i can start looking to get it fixed? Cable that got jammed is thebone from dmd 12v that connects to power supply by coin box. But the top board looks like has no power either.
Thanks in advance

Check your fuses.

edit to add:

Although you didn't say it specifically, it sounds like you pinched your cable. If the wire insulation was compromised, there could have been metal to metal contact and this could have fried a fuse. If the fuses are all good, I guess the next thing to check would be for a broken wire, or pulled wire at the board and DMD connectors. Do any of the pins on the connectors look like they were pulled back out of the connector(s), even a little bit?

#9030 1 year ago
Quoted from Ranpastrana:

Thanks. Yeah it took me a while to figure out fuse because non broke. But lucky#23 had a black spot. I changed that 5v fuse and everything started to work.
Also, yes. The dmd power cable(all 3 insulation were compromised) i can see all 3 wire. I ordered a new cable from color dmd to replace. I hate using electrical tape
Thanks

Cool beans.

#9031 1 year ago

Has anybody ever tried to put a post on this spot on the POTD mini playfield? I am guessing that the ball drops on to Arwen would be reduced significantly.
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Speaking of the POTD, at the back of the playfield, where that plastic has a tab that has to be inserted into the back panel. After I got the slope where I wanted it to be, balls started hanging between the top post and Orthanc, where even rocking the game a bit wouldn't get it to roll out. It has always done this, but not as often as it did once I made the adjustment to the legs.

I came up with what I call the five cent solution.

Literally, a nickel sandwiched between that plastic edge and the lip it rests on. It's snug, but it is only a short term fix. It will do until I come up with a more expensive and permanent solution.

Thinking about shorter spacer posts on the cabinet edge. Anybody found a way to avoid that issue, at least most of the time?

#9035 1 year ago

How does one get the Balrog plastic off to change a bulb? Mine is working fine, but I might be upgrading to LED's soon, so I wanted to get an idea of what I will be dealing with. Looks easy enough, although I removed the two screws holding it in place and it would not come off. Didn't want to force it, so let it be for now.

Any tricks or tips?

#9040 1 year ago
Quoted from adrock:

Look up the Stern Balrog LED conversion kit instructions.
There’s more to it than just changing the bulb… I think, unless you already have an LED OCD board. They have several parts that are changed out when you switch it to LED.

I just need to know how to get that plastic off, to get access to the bulb. The manual says it is only held fast by two screws, utilizing two washers. Those were easy to get to and off. The plastic wouldn't budge and that's my issue.

Not sure I'm going to LED's. Sooner or later, LED's or not, that bulb is going to burn out and need replacement.

I found the service bulletin you recommended. It doesn't say anything about removing the plastic, seems to make it clear that it doesn't need to be removed to replace the lighting. Marco has that piece for sale atm, as well as the entire unit. It's expensive, both are for that matter. I'm wondering if there isn't some type of seal, that's making it difficult to remove.

#9044 1 year ago

No, that's the part I was missing. I see how to do it now. I'm not even attempting any mods at this time on the Balrog, just looking down the road and trying to get a hands-on heads up as to what is involved when I do make a change.

Thanks to all who offered tips. Much appreciated.

edit to add:

the manual specifically states that there are only two screws and two washers that are used to mount that piece of plastic. That's why I missed it, I actually read the instructions

#9046 1 year ago


Thanks. That's a nice write-up. Well done.

#9054 1 year ago
Quoted from Iamthelaw:

Still looking for help with this, thought the rest of the game was working correctly but tried to start a game tonight and it’s just makes a clicking noise through the speakers, can’t see the screen to see what the error is

I have the stock DMD on mine. So apples to oranges probably. I had an issue with mine a few years ago. Ended up replacing the capacitors on the DMD and it has been fine since.

It sounds like a connector, or a fuse, based on your description. You checked the connectors, and am assuming you checked fuses. Did something else somewhere in the vicinity get jarred and you just missed it? What about the main board, what type of flashes are you getting from the board LED's on power up?

Edit to add:

Can you get into the diagnostics at the coin door, or is that "dead" as well?

#9057 1 year ago
Quoted from Iamthelaw:

Fuses are good, think I can get into diagnostics but can’t see what I’m doing because dmd is out.

Yeah, I knew you wouldn't be able to see the screen, was just wondering what else might not be working. I guess a quick and dirty would be to remove the translite and power the game up and check the main board flashes. Or just to see that the game is booting up properly. Sorry for asking what might seem to be irrelevant questions, but.... are you using an NVRAM on the main board or are you still on batteries?

#9063 1 year ago
Quoted from jazc4:

I just got one of those. Let me look to see where I got it. I hope to install it this weekend.
EDIT- Pinball Life $40

Didn't see it under game specific parts, you got a link to the part? Or a name to search. Hockey puck isn't getting it

#9065 1 year ago
Quoted from Jarbyjibbo:

Not sure how you missed it, it's definitely under LOTR game specific parts: https://www.pinballlife.com/light-puck-for-lord-of-the-rings.html

It was hiding in plain sight

Thanks, not sure how I missed it.

#9070 1 year ago
Quoted from Iamthelaw:

Nvram has been installed for years, sounds like I was able to move around in the service menu. Took cpu off and inspected, no damage, took all fuses out, verified all are working. All the leds on boards I see appear to stay constantly lit

And all you did was take off the glass and speaker panel. Damn, routine maintenance, or whatever, and this happens. There is some tech information in the manual that may be helpful. I wonder if a full reset of the game would fix the issue.

I don't know enough about the boards to offer top notch technical help, so sorry about that. I can replace stuff on the boards, even track the problem down, the manual is relatively decent with diagramming where everything is and how it interconnects, but the deep tech on how it works, not as good at that as I would like to be. This kind of problem, in my personal experience, is usually always something simple.

#9080 1 year ago
Quoted from KING-HENRY:

Please test all the fuses out of the cuircut (fuses can look and test fine, in cuircut!)...even check the main fuse at the transformer.

This has happened to me on fuses on my Fireball II rectifier board.

#9096 1 year ago
Quoted from blizz81:

How is Gandalf mounted on his plastic? Trying to remove the plastic - I took the hex standoffs off but the plastic is still tight on that side / feels like I’m gonna snap it if I try to pull it up over those 2 screws any harder. Seems the front of the foot of the Gandalf plastic isn’t mounted but guessing maybe a screw on the back?
[quoted image]

I just had that piece off, to make access for cleaning easier. It was on snugly, and I had to jiggle it a bit. Those two mounting posts are secured under the playfield. If they work loose over time, and they can and will, the plastic is having more of the burden of holding them in the correct position, or alignment, as it were. This will make it harder to get off, especially if that piece has never been removed in the almost twenty year life of the machine. I had to correct this type of issue on the left side sling. It came off very hard, while the right side was pretty normal. The left side sling posts, especially the upper.... were pretty loose. This also had the added effect of increased chatter from that sling during game play, which tightening eliminated.

See if you have any slop in the posts, by trying to move one with your fingers. It doesn't take a lot of force, and if there is movement I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the plastic off quite easily from the post that has the slop. Gandalf is mounted directly to the plastic with a small zip tie. It may have never been off, the game is close to twenty years old, has been played, moved around, etc. Stuff changes and works its way loose.

Take your time and don't be afraid to put a small amount of elbow grease into getting it off. The biggest problem you may run into is if it pops free suddenly and other stuff in the area gets blasted by an elbow or the side of a wrist or crap like that. I hate when that happens

The plastics that came with the game, at least in my experience, are pretty tough.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

#9097 1 year ago
Quoted from jlbintn:I just had that piece off, to make access for cleaning easier. It was on snugly, and I had to jiggle it a bit. Those two mounting posts are secured under the playfield. If they work loose over time, and they can and will, the plastic is having more of the burden of holding them in the correct position, or alignment, as it were. This will make it harder to get off, especially if that piece has never been removed in the almost twenty year life of the machine. I had to correct this type of issue on both of the sling plastics on mine. They came off hard, but once I re-tightened the posts from under the playfield, they popped right on with no effort. I did not have to tighten the right side posts, they were still solid, however.com the left side, especially the upper post.... was pretty loose. This also had the added effect of increased chatter from that sling during game play, which tightening eliminated.
See if you have any slop in the posts, by trying to move one with your fingers. It doesn't take a lot of force, and if there is movement I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the plastic off quite easily from the post that has the slop. Gandalf is mounted directly to the plastic with a small zip tie. It may have never been off, the game is close to twenty years old, has been played, moved around, etc. Stuff changes and works its way loose.
Take your time and don't be afraid to put a small amount of elbow grease into getting it off. The biggest problem you may run into is if it pops free suddenly and other stuff in the area gets blasted by an elbow or the side of a wrist or crap like that. I hate when that happens
The plastics that came with the game, at least in my experience, are pretty tough.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.

#9098 1 year ago
Quoted from jlbintn:

I just had that piece off, to make access for cleaning easier. It was on snugly, and I had to jiggle it a bit. Those two mounting posts are secured under the playfield. If they work loose over time, and they can and will, the plastic is having more of the burden of holding them in the correct position, or alignment, as it were. This will make it harder to get off, especially if that piece has never been removed in the almost twenty year life of the machine. I had to correct this type of issue on both of the sling plastics on mine. They both came off hard, but the right side was fairly normal, didn't take a lot of effort. The left side sling posts, especially the upper.... were pretty loose. This also had the added effect of increased chatter from that sling during game play, which tightening eliminated.

See if you have any slop in the posts, by trying to move one with your fingers. It doesn't take a lot of force, and if there is movement I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the plastic off quite easily from the post that has the slop. Gandalf is mounted directly to the plastic with a small zip tie. It may have never been off, the game is close to twenty years old, has been played, moved around, etc. Stuff changes and works its way loose.
Take your time and don't be afraid to put a small amount of elbow grease into getting it off. The biggest problem you may run into is if it pops free suddenly and other stuff in the area gets blasted by an elbow or the side of a wrist or crap like that. I hate when that happens
The plastics that came with the game, at least in my experience, are pretty tough.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.

#9115 1 year ago
Quoted from Jkush18:

I was reading an old post in here about a habtrail mod? Would that help dial in the inner orbit shot?

I think the primary reason for that mod, was to reduce or eliminate the ball dropping on to the Arwen plastic from the POTD. Unless there is another mod to that rail, or the rail on the right side. There are a lot of mods for this machine, I can't keep up with them all, nor justify affording those I wouldn't mind having.

#9116 1 year ago
Quoted from DarthPaul:

It was a HUO machine but the original owner never replaced the batteries. He took them out but never replaced them, so it seems logical he wouldn't replace burned out bulbs.

Weird, but it sounds like the original owner had the foresight to at least get the batteries out of there before they caused damage. Or maybe they were just lazy.

IDK

I guess I could understand not replacing burnt out bulbs, depending upon which bulb is burned out. Some of the bulbs on this game are very hard to get to, without disassembling significant areas that surround them.

Edit to add:

DarthPaul, are you going to put batteries back on the board, or go with NVRAM? My unsolicited advice would be to go the NVRAM route.

#9122 1 year ago
Quoted from blizz81:

Making progress. My long & perilous quest continues.
[quoted image]

Welcome to the Dark Side

4 weeks later
#9210 1 year ago
Quoted from blizz81:

Think I should be ok removing the factory inlane and pops mylar and replacing? Also, any tips on cleaning the carbon gunk out of wood that has some wear like on the rollover switch here? Shooter lane and shire have some similar black staining into wood fibers - maybe just light sanding? Figured I could attempt to clean it up before maybe putting some mylar down (shooter lane, maybe inlane rollovers) / epoxying and cliffying the shire.
[quoted image]

Naptha and patience.

#9219 1 year ago
Quoted from Pinkitten:

PinSound is rockin on my LOTR! Now I just need my soldered prong to stay intact on that chip!

If you don't have to pull it again, it may last a very long time.

#9249 1 year ago

As stated earlier, we've all been there. I have learned the hard way to do only one mod at a time when I am making several changes, then test to make sure it's working, before moving on to the next.

3 months later
#9511 11 months ago

Is anybody aware of any place that sells capacitor kits for the boards? I can order them individually but a kit would be super nice. My game is playing very well, but it is also 20 years old and it might be time for some proactive maintenance.

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