[FSPA] LOTR magnet question

[Todd Yoder]

Thanks to all who responded yesterday, it's great to have the FSPA brain trust!

So here is what I learned after spending a lot of time with the glass off of LOTR, throwing the ball up the ramp over and over and over...

As soon as the ball hits the spinner at the ramp entrance, the ring magnet energizes, which then helps to attract the ball to the ring as it jumps off the ramp. If the ball breaks the beam of the opto in the ring entrance, then the game knows the ball is there and, depending on the mode, will pull the ball through to the back, or gently release it out the front.

However, I found that the spinner does not *always* energize the ring magnet. Sometimes it is not active (this is mode-dependent), so when the ball goes up the ramp it will hardly ever go into the ring then, but will just bounce out.

So this explains why the ball was sometimes not getting caught by the ring magnet. However there were also times when the magnet was energized by the spinner and the ball still did not get caught, but that just seems to be from an imperfect angle of attack as the ball jumped off the ramp. I bent the ramp edges down a bit and that seemed to help a bit.

In any case, I don't have to worry about it anymore -- my LOTR is now owned by a guy in Fredericksburg, VA, and I don't feel a need to play LOTR again for a long time!

- Todd

On Wed, Jun 12, 2019, at 8:11 PM, Ken Gestiehr via FSPA wrote:
> Todd, 
> The buzz from the right tower going down is normal. Sometimes, the tips of the ring ramp develops a little burr on the ends. That then gives the balls a little more lift so it doesn’t always smoothly enter to ring. File those burrs down and you should be good, no need to bend the ramp. Also, as Matt says, the ring briefly deenergizes so the ball falls a little toward the player then gives the ring a quick energize again to pull the ball back and propel it through the back box. This is not always 100% successful.
> 
> Ken
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Jun 12, 2019, at 11:44 AM, Todd Yoder via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:
>> Seems like the ramp is aiming a bit high and the ball is often hitting the top of the ring opening. Bending the edges of the ramp down a bit seems to help slightly.
>> 
>> Also, when my right tower “falls,” it makes a loud buzzing sound. Is that normal?
>> 
>> - Todd
>> 
>> On Jun 12, 2019, at 11:37 AM, Matt Wycoff via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:
>>> Mine does it sometimes too.. I think the intention is to swing the ball back towards the player briefly with a short pulse.. then pull it back quickly with a long pulse behind the backbox..
>>> 
>>> It doesn’t always work perfectly, and just drops out of the ring, which is why there is a metal ball guide just under the ring..
>>> 
>>> Buyer shouldn’t be overly concerned unless it always happens.
>>> 
>>> -Matt
>>> 
>>> On Wed, Jun 12, 2019 at 11:35 AM Barry.S.Schwartz--- via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:
>>>> I own one and am not aware of that as a 'feature'. It either goes smoothly through or gets caught by the magnet.
>>>> 
>>>>  -----Original Message-----
>>>>  From: FSPA <fspa-bounces at fspazone.org> On Behalf Of Todd Yoder via FSPA
>>>>  Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2019 11:32 AM
>>>>  To: fspa at fspazone.org
>>>>  Cc: Todd Yoder <todd at planetyoder.com>
>>>>  Subject: [FSPA] LOTR magnet question
>>>> 
>>>>  Those who know me know that I don’t learn game rules well, so I have a question:
>>>> 
>>>>  In LOTR, does the ring magnet sometimes actively repel the ball during a game, like during some modes? Mine appears to be doing that - while I have a guy here to buy it!
>>>> 
>>>>  - Todd
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