I found out something new I hadn't noticed before. Both the Stern flipper buttons as supplied and the
clear lighted ones don't have "e-clips" and the buttons aren't removable to sand or deburr. I was complaining in my last post that my new buttons were "sticky" and just didn't have a smooth action.
Well I saw that the old Stern supplied buttons had an "o-ring" something I'd missed when fitting the clear ones. Moved them over - and the difference is amazing! Now they seem tighter and more smooth. The shots are easier to make and the buttons feel "right" again. Yay! Lighted flipper buttons can stay.
BTW - Looking in the manual, the correct parts are:
SPI # 545-5850-00 Description: O-Ring 11/32" x 7/32 " x 1/16" (Flipper Buttons)
I would try to buy them from a good hardware store or o-ring supplier. Knowing Stern, they probably cost out at $5 each. :)
5 Apr 2011
4 Apr 2011
Worst Game, Ever!
Haven't been playing the LOTR lately, as I got interested in restoring and documenting my Williams Starlight '84
Also bought a Pinball 2000 game (Star Wars Episode 1) and set about converting it to use an RFM playfiel which had been in storage for years. Very successfully, I might add. It's running a hacked code:
v1.8 on RFM and v1.5 Star Wars -although still running on the original boards and not using nucore. I bought an extra prism card and CPU board for $100 from someone else that upgraded to nucore. This facilitates swapping, as you don't need to do any game code updates.
Anyway I digress, as usual. When I got back and played my first game, my skills had been lost. I scored my lowest score ever (although the game was working perfectly). I remember it as 5,180,000. I got better after a few games, but not by much. Compare that to making nearly 150,000,000 in early Jan '11.
So, I had the "worst game ever!" I hang my head as I enter the into the hallowed "hall of shame".
My only excuse is that the Stern flippers have a really different touch than the Bally/WMS games, and you need to be adjusted to them. I also think I will blame the flipper buttons! The clear lighted ones are "sticky" and just don't have a smooth action. I was hoping this would improve over time, but it hasn't. They may get reverted back to the original parts that came on the game. Looks aren't everything in pinball.
BTW: Added search bar and popular posts gadgets to the blog to make it easier to find things. It also searches linked pages so you can find links are parts suppliers for the mods. I also list most of them on a tab called "LOTR Pinball Parts".
-Richard
Also bought a Pinball 2000 game (Star Wars Episode 1) and set about converting it to use an RFM playfiel which had been in storage for years. Very successfully, I might add. It's running a hacked code:
v1.8 on RFM and v1.5 Star Wars -although still running on the original boards and not using nucore. I bought an extra prism card and CPU board for $100 from someone else that upgraded to nucore. This facilitates swapping, as you don't need to do any game code updates.
Anyway I digress, as usual. When I got back and played my first game, my skills had been lost. I scored my lowest score ever (although the game was working perfectly). I remember it as 5,180,000. I got better after a few games, but not by much. Compare that to making nearly 150,000,000 in early Jan '11.
So, I had the "worst game ever!" I hang my head as I enter the into the hallowed "hall of shame".
My only excuse is that the Stern flippers have a really different touch than the Bally/WMS games, and you need to be adjusted to them. I also think I will blame the flipper buttons! The clear lighted ones are "sticky" and just don't have a smooth action. I was hoping this would improve over time, but it hasn't. They may get reverted back to the original parts that came on the game. Looks aren't everything in pinball.
BTW: Added search bar and popular posts gadgets to the blog to make it easier to find things. It also searches linked pages so you can find links are parts suppliers for the mods. I also list most of them on a tab called "LOTR Pinball Parts".
-Richard
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