NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wish I could unread that!

Hey all. Does anyone know where to buy the 1.4 Rom domestically? The only source I have found was Ministry of PB overseas. Thanks in advance.

www.actionpinball.com most likely but they're closed until the new year.

500M points, then start working on it again.

Does the latest ROM have a different wizard mode?

Unfortunately, no.

This game is in desperate need of a "continued' version.

From Action Pinball http://www.actionpinball.com/tech/tom.txton ROM Revisions

Version 1.4H (Home version game ROM U6)
NOTE: USE OF THIS ROM REVISION REQUIRES THE FOLLOWING GAME HARDWARE:
1) REQUIRED: A custom U22 PIC security chip installed on the MPU board. This chip
is available at www.actionpinball.com/parts.php?item=ROMS349
2) OPTIONAL: Magic Post (working up-post between flippers) and working Tiger Saw
unit (motorized unit) which are operated by this software revision. These devices
were originally present on prototype (pre-production) models of Theatre of Magic,
so most games do not have them. An aftermarket spinning Tiger Saw kit is available
from some aftermarket sources which connects to the game and works with the
1.4H software revision (check eBay, Google search, etc. for sources)

Revision History- Commercial ROM Revision Releases:
---------------------------------------------------

Version 1.3
Date: August 9, 1995
U6: Checksum: 2713 (X - Export)
The X export version supersedes all A ROMs.

Changes from revision 1.2:
Correct a bug in the Multiball Lock logic where balls could not
be locked after video pinball was played.

The lockup device now behaves better when one of its switches
is broken.

Slingshots now disabled at game over.

Fixed the logic on the outlane proximity switches. If a switch
is stuck on, and Hocus Pocus is enabled, the magnet is no
longer fired.

Version 1.2
Date: April 7, 1995
U6: Checksum: 5112 (A - USA/Canada)
Checksum: 3012 (X - Export)

Version 1.1:
Fixed Trunk Test. It was incorrectly detecting and marking errors.
Date: April 3, 1995
U6: Checksum: 5811 (A - USA/Canada)
Checksum: 3711 (X - Export)

Changes from revision 1.0:
Trunk is now searched first during ball search.
Corrected the buy-in audit.

Version 1.0
Date: March 21, 1995
U6: Checksum: 6B10 (A - USA/Canada)
Checksum: 4A10 (X - Export)

Changes from revision 0.8:
Enhanced status report.
Enhanced Skill Shot bad switch logic.
Added French and Spanish translations.
Enhanced ball search logic.

Here's the cut and paste that is with the v1.4h ROM:

This is the Theatre of Magic 1.4 Home ROM. It supports the Magic Post and Tiger Saw motor on prototype playfields. There are no adjustments to control the behavior of these devices.

YOU NEED A #124 PIC TO USE THIS VERSION.

New coil assignments:
---------------------

Coil 19 = Drive to tiger saw EMI board. Use 12V supply for pin 3 of board.
Coil 23 = Flash drive for Magic Post.
Coil 36 = Solenoid drive for Magic Post (UL Flipper Hold).

1.40H u6.pp = CB14 10/31/96

L. Koziarz

1/6/97: WARNING
---------------
There is a known fatal in Multiball in this version. It will be fixed later. Caveat Emptor.

1/13/06: Addendum / History / FAQ
---------------------------------
After finishing Arabian Nights, I was asked by John Popadiuk to restore the tiger saw and magic post software to Theatre. Jeff Johnson had left for Midway after finishing the game, and I had some spare time to do this favor for John. 1.4H is a home-only ROM release and per the instructions from my managers
at Williams was compiled to require a #124 U22 security chip. Since very few of these exist in the wild, I would suggest buying one from ShiftedBits
(http://www.shiftedbit.com). Their chips are worth the money. It is *strongly* suggested you use an EMI (electromagnetic interference) board when connecting the tiger saw motor drive directly to the 12 volt bus in your game. I make no guarantee what could happen otherwise. You might blow a CPU or fry the driver transistor and lose your high-voltage fuse.

The Tiger Saw runs during Tiger Saw mode and Tiger Saw Multiball. It also spins briefly when the captive ball is hit.

The Magic Post is an up-down post that sits between the flippers and is raised when the "Poof" target on the lower right is hit. Coil 36 raises
the plastic disc between the flippers for a few seconds and has no latch to hold it in the raised position (unlike the old Bally mechanisms). You *might* be able to use an "Up/Down Post Assembly" from Stern Pinball (p/n #500-6293-00) and try to install it in a game, if you are brave enough to remove the lamp insert in your playfield. There is also a flash lamp underneath that illuminates the post when it is up. The flasher does not replace the controlled lamp that also shines in this position.

A few important notes:
----------------------

1) The coil notes above reference the coil drive positions used to control the various features in the prototype games. If you can't figure out what these notes mean or have little experience in hacking wiring on a pinball machine you should seek help before attempting anything on your game.
2) No, I can't go back and add anything else to this program. I had this ROM image (and the notes above) in a ZIP file on an old backup disk. I don't have the source or the means to test any patches to this code. This version was also not checked into the main source code library, so if some licensor of the Williams game source code claims they have it, they're being untruthful.
3) The multiball crash is rare, but it happens. I didn't learn about it until months later and I was already deep into development on another project plus the Magic I tested on was not in my possession anymore. I never had a chance to verify if the crash was always there or if the code modifications brought the crash into the open. Things like this happen when you're flying blind in someone else's code. Chalk it up to the price you pay for having a prototype game.
4) This ROM was uploaded to ipdb.org in the interest of halting traffic in home ROMs as an income source for greedy people. Anyone that tries to sell this code to you is ripping you off.

Can anyone speak of their experience using the rotating tiger saw mod from pinball pro or any of the other available kits?

My Tiger Saw Mod does not work properly. The Saw just spins non stop. Would the electromagnetic interference board fix this and where do you get one?

should be EMI board, should be able to google it. I believe the twilight zone one is the main one.

Is the mod plugged onto the right pin and are you use 1.4 rom?

Yes everything is done as per instructions. I have the right roms as well

Did any TOM’s come with brass side rails or are all of those modded?

Missed or add on

Which kit did you buy?

I believe they were all stainless steel trim.

I got mine from PDI - I think the pinball pro is the same one but incase it isn't I'd avoid PDI.

its expensive to buy, but is made incredibly cheap, like $30 at most! My saw fell off the motor and was impossible to re-centre so it goes a bit wobbly. Great idea but so cheaply made. shame really.

I have the one with the gold lighted mirror though that's never lit up. It came with the machine

Its not rocket science. The saw gets a pulse of electric to turn it on or constant to stay on, if its running all the time, it sounds like its hooked up to the wrong place.

Do any of y'all have the hex support post for the skill shot laying around? I need one for my game and am having a hard time finding one.

It is this part: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/02-4436-29

Go to McMaster Carr. It’s a standard part, non-pinball related. You’ll be able to find the hex stand-off there.

Hi! I just recently aquired a ToM, and I have a question. A friend of mine who also owns a ToM had so much problems with putting LEDs in it that he gave up in the end and reverted it to incandescents. Apparently he tried all sorts of leds, also non-ghosting ones, but he still got flickers. So my n00b question is, is this a common problems with ToMs for some reason, or should I just proceed with LEDs myself and see how it goes?

I could see using a lower quality LED would give you issues with flickering. If you try a high quality LED, it shouldn't be a problem. I have Comet Pinball 2SMD LEDs in natural white and have no issues, in both GI and inserts. I'm not sure how much shipping would be to Norway, but Comets are my first choice in LEDs.

LED OCD board works wonders. It doesn't matter what LED your using with that board. Dial in the brightness and fading with pre-sets or to your own liking.

There's a couple things going on here. First, understand that different people have different sensitivity to LED flicker. If you happen to be someone who can see it, it's like you can't "unsee" it, and it plagues you. Your friend might be someone with that sensitivity.

Second, tell him to invest in LED OCD and GI OCD boards. These modulate the LEDs and eliminate the flicker. They also introduce fading and dimming effects back into the LEDs that the designers intended. For example, when you hit multiball on ToM, the entire lighting (GI and inserts) all dim to darkness during the build up animation sequence. If you just install LEDs without the LED and GI OCD boards, the LEDs flicker and shut off, they don't dim. In that case, you either turn off dimming effects in the menu, or you use these boards.

Can a ball slip through your subway? They can on my machine (see attached image). I would like to know if I have something installed incorrectly.

IMG_3524 (resized).jpg

does anyone scan the insert "metamorphosis"?

Yes, I used to have that happen reasonably often, and it would come to rest on the trunk board. Interestingly, it hasn't happened lately, I think the difference may have been when I cranked the back legs all the way up, and the front legs all the way down.

1: yes. Did the same.

2: they all sound like that.

3: check the switches for bent arms or other obstructions. It should roll right down.

My ball was getting hung up where the back of the subway ramp goes into the trunk assembly. There was a little lip of the ramp that would not allow the ball to roll to the trap door and get ejected unless I gave it a good shake. I had to heat up that end of the ramp and bend it slightly so it was more flush and there was no longer a lip present.

Anyone have a rear right curtain plastic they'd be willing to sell?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/theatre-of-magic-squeaky-trap-door

I worked on the mech for quite a bit and tried to isolate the squeak, and every time I thought I got it, it never really went away. I've lubed every moving part of the mech with Super Lube, but never was able to get rid of it, so I've kind of given up.

I completely rebuilt it with NOS parts; it still squeaked.

its a trap door, its supposed to squeak, adds to the ambiance.

Probably a stupid question, but if I buy a LCD ColorDMD for TOM, can I then put it into a game like LOTR?

Would it work with both, and just require different software to be installed?

Thanks

Yes, correct. all ColorDMDs pretty much work on all games

Yes. ColorDMD doesn't work with every game, but they have a good selection and they are releasing new software for more machines on a regular basis. There is a list of machines available for their LCD displays here: http://shop.colordmd.com/displays/ and for their LED displays here: http://shop.colordmd.com/led-displays/.

But again, the only difference is that you have to swap the machine specific software, and of course swap around the ColorDMD from machine to machine.

Also I believe there are slightly different connectors used for Whitestar games (like LOTR) but the main panel is exactly the same. You can probably order a kit if you email Randy

Cool. I have TOM now, but will be swapping it with a friend for a LOTR in the summer, and wanted to enjoy ColorDMD in both games.

I played last night and got to Grand Finale for the third time, and it's a blast! I know people knock the game for being shallow, and for the wizard mode be anti-climatic, but I feel completely opposite about it. I think that the games flow and charm and makes up for the thinness of the rules, and I think that having to make a series of shots within a given time is a decent wizard mode.

To me, it's one of those games that I appreciate the more I play it, unlike games like TZ and IJ that I appreciated less the more I put in games.

Exact opposite of me . TOM is awesome, but I found it less appealing playing it over and over again. Then I take a break and it is awesome again. TZ and IJ i enjoy more and more every time I play. LOTR is another awesome one!

I've been playing mine quite a bit and have finally had it with a very annoying behavior that the machine has exhibited from the day I got it:

If you shoot the trunk when its moving (early shot on theatre hurry-up for example), the trunk will freeze in place and not behave properly until the game is rebooted. It is also fairly common to jam the ball to either side of the trunk (either underneath the plastic on the right, or in between the trunk and the post on the left). Either way, if I hit the trunk while its moving, I end up with a screwed-up game until I reboot.

I am running 1.2, and have the spinning saw blade mod if that matters. I looked at the software revision notes, and didn't see anything about this.

The game also "misses" the hocus pocus save from time to time (save is enabled and you can hear the sound effect but the magnet misses the ball). My understanding is that the game should serve up another ball if the magnet save is missed and the ball drains down either out lane. Am I missing something here?

Anyone else have this issue, and if so what is the fix (if any)?

Yup! And there is a board that you can buy that fixes this.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tom-trunk-error-leons-fix-anyone-done-this

Ok, here's one for you experienced ToM people. This has happened to me twice.

I'm on 1.4H. I'm at about 999M. I hit the last right orbit needed to go to Midnight Madness. The machine freezes, with only the top row of pixels showing on the DMD, and reboots.

Anyone else seen this? Bug? I'd say it was a 5v issue, but it's not like a big light show was going on at the time...and I've cleaned up my power driver board and it has very stable 5v.

That's the one. Where can I actually buy it?

You have to PM german-pinball (Ingo). He's a good guy with quality boards. Have bought a few of his boards and does awesome work. A must have.

For your Hocus Pocus issue, if you haven't checked your magnet connections or eddy boards, I would start there. Go into the test menu to see if your magnets work (if they pulse). Then check your oulane eddy boards. Make sure the pots are adjusted properly (turn the pot until the red LED light turns red, then back off enough until it turns off). If you find that the magnet pulses in test, and the game still fails to catch the ball, your eddy boards could use a replacement. Get the Pinbits auto adjust eddy boards. you'll need one for each side.

I don't know if I've seen it like that but mine reboots sometimes, not often enough to make it worth my while to figure out whats wrong. I think the motorized saw is overloading it.

I have a gremlin in my machine that surfaces only occasionally, maybe every few weeks, with one of a couple symptoms. It's a long shot, but sas anyone ever experienced something like this and figured out what it is? I have additional variables in the mix for troubleshooting, and that's that I have Ingo's board installed, and Pinbits auto adjusting eddy boards installed.

- Four or five instances of trunk stops registering hits. They do not start registering again until the machine is turned off and on.
- Four or five instances of magna-save triggering without ball rolling over eddy sensor. I think in particular it's the right side triggering it, as it once or twice triggered with the ball rolling down the inlane.
- Two instances only of left flipper registering a trunk hit when selecting illusion before plunging the ball.
- One instance of the background crescendo music not playing when multiball was starting, just silence followed by the voice yelling "multi ball".

Weird things, and not consistent. Any ideas?