Quoted from Tsskinne:Okay, so all credit goes to crile1 and herg for this improvement of scoop performance on AMH. This is AMH #62 (I believe) and as some folks have previously mentioned in this thread it is likely that spookycharlie & company at some point during the builds of AMH already modified this scoop part so if yours is working great let it be. What was happening on mine is the scoop eject was not consistent. Often times it would take 3-5 attempts to get the ball back into play, typically the ball just falling back in while it attempted to eject and on rare occasions getting stuck on the edge or between the post and rubber on the far right side of the scoop. In a home environment, I never minded this as I knew it would eventually come out, or I could just open it and fix the stuck ball quickly (long story I'm the original owner of this game, I picked it up at Spooky, had it for about 2 years, sold it to a pinsider in new york who had it for about 2 years, last month it was bought back by a close friend who wanted to operate it at my location). My players at my location were annoyed by this behavior and frequently complained to me about it, and I was annoyed with them being annoyed so I decided something should be done. I read through this thread and saw largely what herg had done and copied him, he let me know he was copying crile1 and in the end, we all have better games so thank you.
Parts you will need:
1 Open back scoop from pinballlife https://www.pinballlife.com/scoop-weldment-assembly-with-open-back.html (roughly $90 shipped)
2 1/4'' or 2 1/2'' screws to replace the originals that hold the subway (less than $10 at Home Depot)
Spacers (I picked up several 1/4'' 1/2'' and 3/4'' inch so that I could get the subway just where I wanted it. If they make 1/8'' ones not a bad idea to get some of those too). The goal is to drop the subway height down so it no longer sits so high above the ball when it is in the scoop. Measuring my game it was 3/4'' above the scoop ball landing, it is now maybe 1/16''-1/8'' above the scoop ball landing.
Soldering Iron & solder
Phillips-head screwdriver & 1/4'' nut driver (taking off optos, attaching new bracket, and removing old scoop & attaching new scoop)
Optional Part:
Longer switch for in the scoop something like this https://www.pinballlife.com/sub-microswitch-with-19-straight-flat-actuator.html
Step 1: Remove the original scoop switch from original scoop mechanism
Step 2: Take pictures of coil wiring, desolder original coil, and remove the original scoop mechanism.
Step 3: Remove optos from the new scoop, save them for spare parts.
Step 4: Attach new 3D Printed Switch bracket to new scoop, and then the original scoop switch to this bracket, add hot glue or other adhesive
Step 5: Install the new scoop mechanism in place, rewire coil now or later, up to you.
Step 6: Undo original screws holding subway in place, using new longer screws and spacers lower it so that the subway and scoop ball landing area are basically level.
Step 7: While having the playfield still out, turn the game on and enter into switch test mode (recommend turning on the voice, it is switch 22). Drop balls in from the top of the scoop to make sure switch is registering every drop. Make adjustments as necessary. When satisfied that the switch is 100% registering lower playfield, and now drop ball in through rear entrance behind Hellavator and again make sure the switch is 100% registering a ball that enters the scoop from this path. Once satisfied throw the glass back on and enjoy how well your AMH is playing.
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The blue arrows show you how I have dropped the subway as well as the additional spacers and longer screws I have used to accomplish this.
The pink box and arrows show you how the subway and the scoop ball rest area are now essentially level with one another.
The green box is highlighting the entire new scoop mechanism from pinball life. It comes with optos but you will remove those, and now have some spare optos for your parts stash. Save the screws as you will need them to attach the new 3D printed switch holder and the original scoop switch to that.
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The purple boxes here show you where the optos were. I removed them and saved the screws to use to attach the new 3D printed switch bracket (circled in green) from herg to the scoop, and then use the other two screws to attach the actual switch to the bracket. This switch took a good amount of adjustment to get to reliably register, but I played several games after install and it worked every time. I also used some 2-part 5-minute epoxy to make sure the 3d printed part would stay attached to the scoop, as well as hold the switch. herg used hot glue, he was concerned the holes in the bracket were too big and the screws wouldn't have a good hold, the screws from the optos seemed to work well and get a good bite on the bracket, but to be safe I also added the adhesive. In the end, I wish I had a hot glue gun as I'm sure that would have been easier, faster, and not as regrettable when I need to make an adjustment to the part in the future. I would recommend ordering a new switch with your scoop personally. Probably something like this https://www.pinballlife.com/sub-microswitch-with-19-straight-flat-actuator.html but I would measure the arm on the current switch first before you place your order, essentially the one on there is just a tad short so if you could one a bit longer it wouldn't hurt.
I do have a cliffy already installed on the machine and I kept it in place with the new scoop although I doubt it is entirely necessary I would like to keep this machine as nice as possible for my friend while it is on location.
While doing this mod I also took the time to install herg 's Wonky Star Post mod in the pop bumper area and it has seemingly alleviated that issue as well. http://ledocd.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=35&zenid=cpa2snppqe62hbe56e4db40u33
I can honestly say that playing the game last night was some of the most fun I have had on it since initially owning the game 4+ years ago. Most importantly I hope my customers will be happier and I will now feel more comfortable using this game in our league and tournament events. I did not mess with my scoop coil strength at all, right now it is shooting out very fast as you can see in the video I shared to the location's facebook page (linked above). If holding the flipper up the kick-out does break the hold and cause the ball to shoot back up the playfield (typically it was hitting the Hellavtor call button stand up target, or going up the bar/war ghost lane) so I left it playing like that. If I flipped away at it I was often hitting either the ghost or the right orbit. I may mess with this setting, or more likely just leave it as it is right now because I like the game playing hard and fast.
Again huge thank you to crile1 and herg for their work. Hopefully, this helps a few more of you out there improve your AMH gameplay. Any other questions let me know I will do my best to help answer.
Video: www.facebook.com/NorthEndPubPinball/videos/345875979400315/
Baltimore, MD
Great Work
no sound out any ideas firmware was done b4 I did the mod.
Maple Ridge, BC
