Kelowna, BC
Just started my pinball journey a few weeks ago, and I have a set of pinstadiums coming to go in my LOTR. Looking for any info as to which lights I need to make the connections to. Thanks.
(Topic ID: 112137)
Linked Games
Lord of the Rings
Stern, 2003-
Lord of the Rings Limited Edition
Stern, 2009
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2 months later
Is there any other way to start TTT mb other than mystery or locking the third ball on the ramp? I feel it’s occasionally started without one of these, do I have a switch possibly messed?
Also a few days ago I got a seventh elf gift for the first time, I swear it said “super ring frenzy” but it played out in a multiball. Do elf gifts continue through the six on the inserts or are there different rewards?
3 weeks later
Quoted from RobKnapp:Hi , it is a 905 flash lamp bulb . Go into test to check to see if the 905 flasher in working. Hope this helps and good luck .
Thank you, turns out it’s not burnt out. Just never realized it was a flasher.
I’m also looking at swapping out some of the LEDs for warmer colors. The 555 bulbs look easy enough with the twist out from below the playfield, but the 44’s I’m unsure about. Do I need to undo the gold flat head screw holding it in place to switch them?
1 week later
Is there an extra ball in the elf gift “ring multiball”? My game is on factory settings and after a number of the 1M shots I’ve gotten a 5M shot and I’m pretty sure extra ball lights up. After that shots are worth 1M again. Thought maybe the ball dropped into Barad-Dur for the 47th tower shot, but I just had it happen again recently, so I’m unsure. Anyone else get this?
Quoted from RobF:Yep. I saw this today. I wasn't keeping track how many shots it took, but it was for certain awarded for RingMB shots and not for anything else. I am not sure if this is dependent on a game setting. I just picked this game up and I am not sure what has been changed from default.
Speaking of EB, I have seen this awarded in both Ring Frenzy and Super Ring Frenzy, although not during the same game. I have read that for RF, one needs to hit a few shots and it's lit after hitting the main ring shot. This was not the case for me. Once the mode started I hit the ring shot immediately and it was awarded. For SRF, I did hit some number of other shots before the center ring, so I am not sure if it awards the same.
Is the gift the only way to light special?
Mystery can light special, as well as extra ball. Depending how your game is going. The poorer the game, the better the reward from mystery I’ve found.
Just put up my best ring multi ball. The 5M shot is either the 9th or 10th shot after the shots are worth 1M. (And I believe the seventh 1M shot awarded an extra ball.) And then after I’m guessing the seventh 1M shot after the 5M shot Special was awarded. I have never seen that before. Is it the seventh shot that’s key? Kind of like the seventh tower shot to award extra ball?
7E451EA3-09E1-4F5C-ACFA-FE687F232B7C (resized).jpeg 1 month later
Does anyone else feel just a little let down nothing happens when hitting the last ring shot in There And Back Again? I mean, destroy the ring and the game goes crazy. Only complaint I can come up with so far in the six months I’ve had it. Well, that and ROTK is keeping me from getting close to Valinor, think I’ve only had one, possibly two games in which I’ve completed all three MB’s.
I put an nvram into mine 4 months after I purchased it. It came with fresh batteries so a reset counter. Checked the stats before I reset it and it had just over 1000 plays in that time. If you’re going to have it, may as well enjoy it. I do have three kids that play it as well.
Quoted from Pinkitten:I agree, seems crazy. I found my current LOTR in late 2018. The owner was active in pinball mostly in 2004-2005. He bought nib LOTR, TSPP, Ripley’s and a couple others. He opened them, and then played a few games every month or two. Eventually, he ignored them. LOTR had 124 plays, Ripley’s had 58. He’s a super nice guy. Sold me LOTR to finance a Hobbit, but refused to part with Ripley’s or TSPP, and I tried! I put more than 124 plays on it the first year I owned it.
Do you really think the batteries had never been swapped in that time? That’s fourteen years!
Quoted from chubtoad13:What’s your best scoring strategy on LOTR? Besides just getting as far as you can through the game, where are the best spots to maximize points?
What seems to work best for me is no drinking.
I’m curious too with this question, I try to always have a mode running through multiballs to collect points for both at the same time. If possible I try bring 2X scoring into There and Back Again, or Gollum can work too.
Quoted from Gogdog:No, I mean....lets say I gave you that post number in your screenshot, #6101. How would you be able to manipulate the url to go exactly to that post # in a particular thread instead of hunting for it?
Post # divide by 50, (posts on a page) should get you to the page it’s on.
1 month later
Quoted from WizardsCastle:I actually have a harness replacement, so would it be as easy as disconnect the old, reconnect the new?
And what the easiest way to access the harness?
Lastly, I noticed that I have Two Towers ready to go, and just needed to make the sword shot to start it, and hitting something else in the game actually started it (not mystery).
Is this likely due to vibration?
I’m having the same issue with Balrog not always registering and phantom hits when there’s no balls near him. Also have the occasional Two Towers mb starting during play without hitting the last sword lock or mystery rewarding it. So possibly these two are connected somehow.
2 months later
Quoted from billsfanmd:Thx
One thing I need to fix is balrog. Does anyone sell new wire harnesses. Want to make it close to bulletproof again
I just picked this up, shipping was super cheap from UK to Canada. Haven’t gotten it yet though so I can’t vouch for it. It doesn’t have the connections made yet, but is much cheaper than the one from Marco’s I believe.
E7510B63-4B94-43B8-AB7B-55611475ADDE (resized).jpeg 1 week later
Curious, probably half the LOTR’s I see have white targets at the shire, palantir, spot ring, and top of Aragorn ramp. Did the games come blank and it was up to the owner to put the decal on? This would also suggest why half of the games that have the decals have the palantir decal on sideways, (mine being one of those). So are the decals just still in the goodie bag?
Once you’ve played all the modes and all the mode lights around the ring are flashing, you need to collect the 3 elf rings to light mode start. This is the point at which the ring will not spot an elf ring anymore. Hitting the ring once you’ve collected the 3 elf rings starts “There and Back Again”.
2 months later
1 week later
3 weeks later
After contemplating for almost a year about wether or not to add an led ocd board to my LOTR, and if the cost was worth it, I bit the bullet. The install is super easy, and with running the settings stock, the difference is even better than I had hoped for. I feel a video doesn’t quite capture the whole effect, but when I put a before and after video side by side I can’t believe I played the game like that for so long. If you’re on the fence as I was, go for it.
1 month later
I’m having left flipper issues. The fuse will blow on first attempt to use it. I’ve traced the wire and can’t find any shorts. I’ve tested the transistor by grounding it with a wire and that acts the same as using the flipper button, blows the fuse. (I feel like a bad transistor wouldn’t blow a fuse, but I’m new at this.) The diode on the flipper coil looks normal. What should my readings be on the flipper coil? I’m getting 3.7 ohms on the right flipper coil, 1.6 on the left flipper coil, and I have a spare coil that reads 4.3. Is this my problem? These measurements are jibberish to me. Any info would be helpful, thanks.
Quoted from TheShaft:I’m having left flipper issues. The fuse will blow on first attempt to use it. I’ve traced the wire and can’t find any shorts. I’ve tested the transistor by grounding it with a wire and that acts the same as using the flipper button, blows the fuse. (I feel like a bad transistor wouldn’t blow a fuse, but I’m new at this.) The diode on the flipper coil looks normal. What should my readings be on the flipper coil? I’m getting 3.7 ohms on the right flipper coil, 1.6 on the left flipper coil, and I have a spare coil that reads 4.3. Is this my problem? These measurements are jibberish to me. Any info would be helpful, thanks.
So I replaced the flipper coil, and now once I turn the power on the flipper engages and sticks. If left on for 10 seconds the fuse blows. What did I do wrong? I get a similar reading from both q15 and q16 so I believe the transistor is still good.
1 month later
Quoted from Billekletser:Hey friends, the link not work anymore...do you have another link for me please? Thank you very much
I got my nvram from @astill, was a better price, and in Canadian funds. His nvram are tested and worked perfectly in my game. Not sure if he ships internationally, could send him a pm to find out.
I’m surprised so many don’t realize that balls landing in the shire off the path of the dead adds souls to your count towards Return of the King. And the amount grows every time up to 750 I believe. It’s the one multi ball that gets easier to re obtain as the game goes on. But I guess if your game came with a diverter onto the ramp, there’s no way to figure that out. My game came with the previously mentioned plastic ramp down to protect Arwen.
Quoted from killerrobots:I just destroyed the ring in 39:51 and that destroyed my previous. Curious what other people's best were?
My record is just over 24 seconds, but that included a “Free Merry”. When I hit the ring to start destroy the ring, the ball fell out of the ring and down the right orbit and triggered Merry, so I got spotted a free shot. “Free Merry” is a common saying in our home for when that happens, coming out of the pops just right to catch the switch, as it seems to be such a particular shot to register. I’ve looped that shot three times in a row before without it registering, so frustrating, especially in ROTK MB.
Quoted from fossmin:My right orbit the switch sits on the right side of the lane rather than the center and registers about 50% of the time. Very frustrating
It might be a later run thing? My game was built in 2006. I think it’s pushed to the right side so it’s in a spot where when the ball comes out of the pops the ball misses it, most of the time. But it’s possible to shoot the orbit and have the ball miss the switch as well. Curious to see where the switch is located for those of you that the orbit registers all the time. And does it register often as well when the ball falls out of the pops? I know mine will register Pippen when shooting Merry occasionally because the merry switch isn’t activated.
1 month later
Quoted from Shenanigander:Hey all! I'm about to restore one nasty LOTR pro I just picked up.
Any recommendations...like must haves?
I read if going LED's I need the OCD board. Agreed?
I will do color dmd.
Any must have mods?
Anyone have any mods that they want to sell?
I don't think I will go the full brass treatment.
What about rubber? Clear titans?
Let me know what you think. I know the sky is the limit here but I'm not looking to go high end. Just very nice restored condition!
Thanks![quoted image]
For me, Pinstadiums.
I’m curious to know how many are using these on their LOTR? I played mine for a couple months before getting them and I can never go back.
I definitely agree with the LED-OCD, 110% needs it if you’re going led. Path of the Dead mod fills in a barren area if you can find one. I have translucent Titans and am very happy with them, get the clear plastic protectors for the sling plastics as well. It’s also possible to find a Gandalf on Shadowfax to swap out for the grey guy, my opinion. I’m also very pleased with my choice to go with mirror blades over art blades. Have a palantir on the way from @AUKraut, excited to eliminate the clear sphere.
1 week later
Quoted from RobbyIRL5:Very excited to join the group. I’ve been holding out for a very nice example and while I sort of lost hope of finding one, I got one yesterday and think it was worth the wait! Basically new out of box.
This one has a December 2003 born-on date, has a playfield full of character toys, and has a yellow level (learned that when I ordered cliffy’s), so I think that means I have an early version. Still all original incandescent lighting, beautiful game!
The only thing that does not work is the light in the Balrog. Haven’t gone through the thousands of posts yet but will, I’m sure info exists. My first move is to put Cliffy’s on to protect the playfield, and is there something I need to put on the plastic where it drops down from the path of the dead?
Anything I need to know about re: boards, mechs, or fixes needed on the early ones? And what’s the story why do the early ones come with all the characters on the playfield and the later ones don’t?
I’d normally expect a game this old to have LED replacements, but it’s actually cool to see the originals. Any suggestions on LED’s and do they strobe and need OCD boards?
Lots for me to get caught up on, any thoughts appreciated![quoted image][quoted image]
Also look to add the clear flipper button area protectors if they’re not already on, LOTR fades easily there, and you look to have scored a nice one. I prefer the clear mylar protectors to the lollipop rails.
1 week later
1 month later
I was playing a game the other day and had a few Shire vuk attempts only half fire and got an “operator warning coil #3” on the dmd. (Can’t remember exact wording.) After the few half attempts it managed to get it up and out. Soon after the ball ended up in the Orthanc vuk, same thing, couple misfires, this time “operator warning coil #4” on the dmd. Then I started to smell electrical and I shut the game down. I couldn’t seem to tell where the smell came from.
Finally a few days later I’ve had a chance to look into it, I ran the coil test and and all between 1 and 12 don’t do anything, except the ring magnet. 14 and on seem fine. F21 is blown, I put in a new fuse which blows again, (unsure if it blew at power up or attempting coil test again.) I’ve pulled my power supply board and driver board to test transistors, supply board seems good, but to me it seems q17 through q32 don’t seem right on the driver board. I get a reading both directions which to my understanding isn’t right. Coil readings seem fine and they manually move without any resistance.
Any ideas on where to start? I don’t have much experience in this. Thank you.
Quoted from Neal_W:In the manual on page 141 you can see F21 supplies 50vdc to J10 pins 4 and 5.
On page 8 you can see the list of coils that J10 P4/5 (yellow-violet) powers.
You can also see the control signal next to it for each coil, which all use J8 and J9 various pins.
Look over each of the coil lugs for the coils associated with J10-p4/5. Are any coil lugs touching ground or loose wires touching ground there?
Does the fuse blow with J8 and J9 unplugged? I doubt it is a bad transistor, that would just make the coil be stuck on, not necessarily blow F21.
Looking through my game to try find what is blowing f21, assuming there’s a short somewhere. Noticed the coil on my trough eject is a bit unraveled and is touching the bracket it’s mounted on. Could this be the culprit?
9C9B75AB-8BA5-4E31-AA69-1511AF464FB9 (resized).jpegQuoted from DCFAN:Yes, short circuit. I would replace the coil.
Thank you, I love how fast I can get answers here.
3 months later
Quoted from RazorV23:Finally joined the group yesterday with an all original HUO LOTR. What are the must have mods and what are the ones to avoid?
[quoted image]
Palantir mod and Path of the Dead are two of my favorites. Hoping to get a colordmd soonish.
Quoted from RazorV23:What about LEDs in just the inserts?
Led Ocd a must with led in the inserts.
Quoted from MrMikeman:Wrong. You need all 6 gifts from the elves, 3 of which will come from completing the MBs. You not only need to start all the modes (including THere and Back Again) but you need to complete 3 modes to earn those 3 other gifts.
I believe you do get 1 from destroying the ring but not sure it’ll count towards starting Valinor since it’s only lit and not collected at that point. Valinor starts immediately after destroying the ring, as long as you have 6 gifts and successfully completed all 3 MBs.
There are actually 7 Elf Gifts, for the seventh the Gift arrow will light. I’m pretty sure you need that one as well to qualify Valinor. ROTK mb is my struggle as well. It took me to the 4th cycle through to beat it that game. Also have only beaten it a handful of times.
My favorite Elf Gift lately is Ring MultiBall. Not sure if it’s the change in music, the sound of hitting the ring, or that it’s just a fun safe mode. It can be pretty lucrative if you get it with either Gollum or 2X scoring running. Does anyone know exactly how the extra ball lights during that mode? I feel like it’s not a total number of ring shots, but maybe a certain amount within a certain time period? My game is set to factory default.
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:Got to there and back again the first time today. Amazing machine!
[quoted image]
There and Back Again is always a special experience, especially the first time. The music is just so unexpected, yet so fitting.
3 weeks later
Quoted from TylerJac:Anyone have pics with pinstadium lighting? Might treat my pin
Huge fan of pinstadiums on my LOTR. The extra lighting under the glass helps with the glare as well I find. Mine are the original model I believe, you won’t get the color streaks reflecting off the ramps and plastics as mine does.
442CEDB7-C8A1-4E67-A864-7E62EBA21F85 (resized).jpeg 3 weeks later
3 months later
Quoted from Ranpastrana:Hey guys. Does anyone by chance has a spare kit to convert a standard to LE in order to add shaker?
I was just about to purchase the kit from Matts website and he looks like he is taking some family time off.
I recently bought a home use only game with only 184 plays. The back glass was stuck shut. Had mess with it to get it loose from the foam edge. Chip is a 6.0.
Also just finished adding leds with ledocd board and color dmd. Came out great.
Shaker is next.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I believe Astill sells all the roms for LOTR, he also has nvram so you can take out the batteries. He has a shop called PINBALLROM here on pinside, I’ve bought from him before and have been happy with his products.
1 month later
Quoted from Tommy_Pins:For anyone looking for the one ring speaker inserts, they’re back in stock at speakerlightkits.com .
Thanks, had been wanting some along with the speaker light kit. Just ordered some.
1 week later
Quoted from drummermike:I think you will be satisfied with just changing the speakers. I did it in my LOTR, ST and LZ.
What speakers did you use? I have a speaker light kit on the way and would be a good time to swap them out. Any spacers needed? I have an external sub so not looking to swap out cabinet speaker.
Also when it comes to the speaker light kit, what order has been preferred in stacking the grill, lights and the etched acrylic rings?
Quoted from adrock:Can someone tell me where J-3 from the display board should connect? I received the machine but J-3 was empty and the entire Y-cable that connects to J-3 was loose/not connected to anything. So if someone could tell me where all 3 arms of the Y cable that connects to J-3 on the display board go to, that would be much appreciated!
I read the manual but I’m still not clear on how it connects.
It has a color dmd and pinsound, but from my reading of the color dmd install manual, J-3 still goes to the old location (I think)
Ty
Hope this helps.
F9F7359B-12D4-40EF-91A9-DC3EEB7B771E (resized).jpegQuoted from DugFreez:The order that things are mounted is more important with some of the acrylic designs than others. The general rule is, the more light that can shine through the actual acrylic part of the design, the more important it is to NOT have the grill between the back of the design and the light source.
With the LotR design....the only part that is allowing light to shine though it is the small bits of etched lettering. That is not really a large enough area to make the grill being mounted directly behind it a deal breaker.
However.......if you have the grill mounted in the back of the lit area (between the light frame and the speaker) you will be lighting the grill back there and not the speaker. This give a much cleaner look.
So if you can....I would recommend: design, light frame, grill, speaker. You may not be able to have the speaker mounted directly behind the grill, depending on its tweeter and if it protrudes any. With some designs in that case I would say....just leave out the grill, but with the LotR design with a speaker with protruding tweeters ....I would go design, grill, light frame, speaker. As that design it is not that important to have the grill away from the back of the design.
This pic is of the optimal: design, light frame, grill, then speaker mounting.
Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)
[quoted image]
Thanks for the rundown Doug. That pic is what I’m looking to achieve and why I choose your acrylic design over the others.
2 months later
Can someone let me know what the stock stern coil is for the trough ball eject please. My game has a Williams coil in its place. I’ve started to get weak ejects, sometimes takes 4 or 5 tries to get the ball into the shooter lane. Sometimes if it happens on a ball save it will just end the ball if it can’t eject on the first couple tries. Could there be any other issues causing this other than the coil needing to be replaced? The Williams coil has worked for a while, so I think it was compatible for the game, would just like to replace it back to a stern coil. Thanks.
1 month later
Quoted from glpinball:Nope just the LED kit.
Does the LED kit include the extra spotlights? I feel the stock spotlight placements a little underwhelming. What bulbs do you have in the spotlights?
I went with pinstadiums, but understand those that prefer incandescent lighting on this game probably would prefer not to as it would wash out the warm feel.
Quoted from KING-HENRY:In my observation there, it looks like those are ghosting bulbs. The LedOcd board will dramatically help this, but I don’t know how that board works with ghosting leds once you fix that, you will be in heaven, or the Shire. Take ur pick.
LED OCD states not to use “non ghosting” bulbs
Quoted from Sorokyl:Hey guys.. I believe my machine has been swapped to all LEDs (not sure if non ghosting??), with no OCD board. Is that what it looks like from this video? Path of the dead and flashers are the only incandescents I saw. So I can install an OCD to make the inserts flash a lot more smoothly?
Yes, that’s normal with LED’s. I’ve posted this in this forum before, this is what the LED OCD will do for you. Easy install as well with detailed instructions. Would be cheaper to go back to incandescents. I understand both arguments for which way to go. I personally have LED’s with the LED OCD board and pinstadiums, but have played the game with incandescent bulbs and see the appeal of the warmth that way as well.
2 months later
4 months later
Quoted from Hammerhead:FINALLY joined the club over the weekend, now on the search for the Palantir Eye of Sauron and Path of the Dead mods, ColorDMD in the future.
You may have to make your own POTD. The acrylic plates seem to be readily available, but you’ll probably need to source the figures on your own. They were made by a company called Play Along. eBay search “play along army of the dead” and you should find some.
5 months later
4 months later
Quoted from WizardsCastle:Ok, so maybe at some point in 2006, they decided to move to double contacts, and then they continued building like this when the released the LE.
Question, is your game a Canadian machine, and if so, did it have a double or triple coin slot door?
Double coin door. From what I know it’s an undocumented huo. Believe I’m the 4th owner and it’s always been in BC. Is there a way to tell if it’s a Canadian vs American game?
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